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BLACKMORE, HOOK END & WYATTS GREEN PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
Of the Annual Meeting of the Blackmore, Hook End &
Wyatts Green Parish Council held on
THURSDAY 15th JUNE 2023 at 7.30pm
At Tipps Cross Remembrance Hall
MEMBERS PRESENT: Cllrs T Lockhart, (Chairman), K Bennett, N McCarthy, V Dean, K Wood, J Clarke, K Parkinson, J Lewis, Mrs R Nelson, RFO
0482 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – Cllrs Keeble, Thomas, Cannon, Watley, Hinton, Mrs S Clapham, Clerk, Essex County Cllr L Wagland, Borough Cllrs T Bridge, R McCheyne,
0483 APPROVAL OF MINUTES – 18th May 2023
The minutes were signed as a correct record by the Chairman with no amendments.
0484 DECLARATION OF INTEREST (for items on the agenda) – None
0485 OPEN FORUM – No residents were present for the Open Forum.
0486 PROGRESS/CHECK REPORT – Nil
0487 CORRESPONDENCE/COMMUNICATIONS –
Cllr Watley had notified the Clerk of a request from residents, Mr & Mrs Church. They had reported the lack of trimming of the ditch (at numbers 1,2,3 and 4 Green Lane) and also the overgrown state of the trees. Councillors were unsure as to whose responsibility this was (Parish or BBC) and the Clerk will be asked to check. In the meantime, Mrs Nelson will inform Mr & Mrs Church that the matter is being looked into.
Action: Clerk/RFO
0488 REPORTS OF BOROUGH / ESSEX COUNTY COUNCILLORS
No Borough or County Councillors were present and no reports had been received in advance of the meeting.
POLICY & RESOURCES
0489 Finance – Payments made online:
S Clapham –
Pension –
HMRC –
Mrs R Nelson –
Mr & Mrs T E Smith, Year Book expenses – £175.20
Castle Water, War Memorial May usage – £8.18 (inc VAT)
Bits & Bytes, computer support – £125.00
M D Landscapes, grass cutting May – £1,147.10 (inc VAT)
Interact Technology, VOIP telephone – £41.53 (inc VAT)
Zurich Insurance, Parish insurance – £1,949.81
Tipps Cross hall, office rent – £275
Total Landscapes, approved work at Ted Marriage field – £996 (inc VAT)
M D Landscapes, grass cutting April – £!,327.10 (inc VAT)
Defib Store, replacement parts for Blackmore defibrillator – £390 (inc VAT)
Castle Water, water supply to Allotment Garden – £272.31 (inc VAT)
Broadmead Leisure, various maintenance work arising from ROSPA safety reports – £2,646 (inc VAT)
Cllr McCarthy, reimbursement for award frames – £35.24
Mrs H Eltham, reimbursement for beacon plaque – £185
Mrs S Keeble, reimbursement for Coronation flowers for War Memorial and planters on village green – £165.26
Payments made on the PC Credit Card: Nil
Cash drawn: – Nil
Transfers: – Nil
Memberships:– Nil
Income/receipts/Reimbursements:
0490 FINANCIAL REPORT to 31st May 2023
All in accordance with the Finance reports circulated ahead of the meeting, with no amendments.
0491 FINANCIAL POWERS
Receipt of Internal Audit report and recommendations
Mrs Nelson presented the report prepared by the internal auditor, Mr T Brown, following his audit visit on 7th June. His report was positive and complimentary and included the following recommendations:-
- That the Clerk and RFO should review and update where appropriate, the existing Standing Orders, Code of Conduct and Financial Regulations.
It was proposed by Cllr Lockhart and seconded by Cllr Parkinson that the report and the recommendations therein be approved.
Receipt of Audited Annual Accounts – the audited accounts (unchanged by the auditor) had been circulated to all members by the RFO. These were considered by Members. Cllr Bennett proposed, Cllr Wood seconded and it was unanimously agreed that these be approved and signed by the Chairman and the RFO.
Approval of Annual Governance Statement (Section 1 AGAR)
This was considered by Members. It was proposed by Cllr Lockhart, seconded by Cllr McCarthy and unanimously agreed that this be approved and signed by the Chairman and the RFO.
Approval of Accounting Statements 2022/23 (Section 2 AGAR)
The statements were considered by Members. It was proposed by Cllr Dean, seconded by Cllr Lewis and unanimously agreed that these be approved and signed by the Chairman and the RFO.
It was noted that the period for the Exercise of Public Rights will run from Monday 26th June to Friday 4th August 2023.
Cllr Lockhart thanked Mrs Nelson for her work as RFO.
0492 PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Planning Committee had not met since the last Parish Council meeting. Cllr Lockhart confirmed that the next meeting is scheduled for Monday 3rd July 2023. .
PARKS & OPEN SPACES
The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 12th June 2023 at 10.00 a.m. (Zoom) were circulated prior to the meeting. The Minutes were accepted and the following items were further discussed/approved:-
0493 Wobbly goalpost at Ted Marriage playing field – Cllr Lockhart confirmed that this had been removed by Total Landscapes.
0494 Vandalised nest swing at Walter Hobbs – Quotations for a new nest swing had been received from Broadmead Leisure (£902) and Playquip Leisure (£1,185 for an equivalent replacement or £1,466 for a rubber, more durable seat) both including fitting. These quotations were considered and purchase of the nest swing from Broadmead Leisure was unanimously approved. Action: Clerk to inform Broadmead
0495 New see-saw for both Mill Lane and Walter Hobbs play areas – Quotations had been received from Broadmead Leisure (£1,400 plus £750 installation, including 4 rubber mats – total £2,150) and one is awaited from Playquip. Cllr Keeble and the Clerk will be meeting Paul Tucker of Broadmead Leisure on Wednesday 21st June and they will discuss this with him to establish whether a cheaper price might be obtained if two seesaws are purchased at the same time. In the meantime, the price of £2,150 for one seesaw was proposed by Cllr Clarke, seconded by Cllr Parkinson and approved in principle, unless the Playquip quote (when received) is significantly cheaper.
Cllr McCarthy reported that the equipment at Mill Lane is being used much more in recent months.
0496 Millennium Park – carpark laurel hedge cutting – A quotation had been received from Mr Tim Dickinson to do this work at £480. It was recommended that this cost is split two-thirds Parish Council (£320) and one-third Village Hall (£160). This is proposed by Cllr Lockhart, seconded by Cllr Parkinson and approved with the proviso that the work must not be done until the bird nesting season has finished.
Action: Cllr Keeble to liaise with Village Hall
0497 Damaged fingerposts – a number of fingerposts in the Parish now need repair. It was noted that some of these may be the responsibility of ECC rather than the PC and the Clerk will be asked to write to ECC to confirm “ownership”. Action: Clerk
0498 Blackmore Village Hall – Proposal for a 3G football pitch – In line with the observations minuted at the June POS meeting on 12th June 2023 and circulated to all Members prior to the PC meeting, the POS Committee recommends to the Parish Council not to proceed with a 3G pitch for the reasons listed below:-
- It would be detrimental to the Cricket club as it would mean reducing the number of cricket strips to cope with the dimensions of the 3G pitch.
- It seems that the Village Hall committee are not in support of this and does not feel it is necessary to provide a 3G pitch for the existing clients/clubs, or suitably potential new clubs for this type of complex.
- Parking is already an issue and often beyond full capacity, hence the need to extend the parking into the Millennium Park overflow car park. The work and flood lighting required is going to come at an expense to the complex to accommodate the current users of the complex. It was not convinced there would be adequate parking for the additional football teams and visitors the 3G pitch would undoubtedly attract.
- It is not only out of keeping with the village hall complex but also the village itself. It was felt that 3G pitches are generally better suited to less rural community sites and are more in keeping with large towns and built-up areas, which are also more accessible.
- Additional traffic to the village along-side the new houses designated for sites R25 and R26 in the Local Development Plan (LDP) was an existing concern for local residents. This was documented in the LDP Consultation process. Additional traffic would exacerbate this.
- The Committee also acknowledged that Brentwood Borough Council and the Brentwood Centre are building 6 new football pitches which will include two new 3G football pitches due to be delivered in 2024. These 3G pitches are more suitably located but still close enough for local Teams to ‘hire’ them.
ACTION:
The Parochial Charity Trust leases the Walter Hobbs Recreation Field to the Parish Council on a seven year renewable lease. When it was placed in trust by the family of Mr Walter Hobbs it was to benefit the local residents of the Parish with a recreational and social space. Any covenants placed on the land would have to be considered.
As the whole complex is managed by the Blackmore Village Hall Management Committee, it was agreed that they should confirm their opposition to the 3G pitch in writing to the Parish Council and the Clerk will be asked to contact them for this confirmation. Action: Clerk
The Members acknowledged that Mr Lucas’s very kind offer of funding the complex’s upgrades would be much more appreciated for the other more urgent maintenance improvements, such as the car park extension, floodlighting and the urgent roof repairs which are needed to remedy the existing leaks and water damage it has suffered as a result.
0499 Resignation of POS Chairman – Cllr Andrew Watley announced that he wished to stand down as Chairman of the POS Committee and a volunteer was sought to succeed him. All agreed that this would be a great loss to the Committee. Further discussion will be deferred until more Councillors are available to review the position.
0500 CLERK’S REPORT – Cllr Lockhart gave a brief report on the recent BBPCA meeting which he had attended with the Clerk. Gareth Barrett (new Brentwood Mayor) had attended and described the new administration. He offered to attend any local Parish Council meetings when available. The Clerk had reported on how the Blackmore Parish was run and Cllr Lockhart reported on how we ran our Planning meetings. Minutes of the meeting and the Clerk’s report have been circulated to all Councillors.
0501 Date of next meeting(s):
POS – Monday 17th July 2023– 10.00am – Zoom
Parish Council Meeting – Thursday 20th July 2023 at 7.30pm – Tipps Cross R Hall Committee Room
Planning – Monday 3rd July 2023 at 10.00 a.m.
0502 INFORMATION EXCHANGE/NEXT AGENDA
Security Company – In response to the Chairman’s question, Cllr McCarthy reported that there had been a free trial of a commercial security company. Their contact number was retained by the Clerk should any occasions arise when their services might be needed.
Meeting attendance – Cllr Clarke reported that he had been considering stepping down as Councillor because of his work commitments and unavailability at meetings. The Council was sorry to hear this and as a result, he agreed to remain on the Council for the time being. Cllr McCarthy pointed out that the increase in electronic communication reduced the need for meeting attendance. Cllr Clarke suggested that a Whatsapp group might be set up to speed up day to day communication. This will be further considered but Councillors must be mindful of not messaging the Clerk out of hours.
Road surface and overhanging tree in Plovers Mead – Cllr Lewis reported on the dreadful state of the road in Plovers Mead and also a tree which is overhanging into a resident’s garden. She had notified the Clerk about the latter and she has reported this to Essex (whose responsibility it is). Cllr Lewis had emailed Cllr Wagland over a month ago about the road condition and has had no reply. Cllr Bridge had responded to the Clerk saying that a letter from the Parish Council may speed up the process. Cllr Lockhart will provide Cllr Wagland’s contact details to Cllr Lewis. Action: Cllr Lockhart
Dead wild animals – Cllr Parkinson reported that there had been a carcass of a wild animal near Poplar Close but this has now been removed. For future reference, Cllr McCarthy confirmed that BBC was responsible for removing such carcasses.
CLOSE OF MEETING –
There being no further business the meeting was closed by the Chairman at 8.50 pm