Minutes of Town Council Meeting 14 April 2025

24/193 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE  Cllr Smith, Cllr Preston, Cllr MacAndrews and Cllr Atkinson sent apologies as they were working. Cllr Warren sent apologies due to personal commitments.

Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, acceptance of the apologies. This was unanimously agreed.

 

Chairman’s statement 14 April 2025

 

The main focus of the past month has been all things dementia. A meeting was held on 12 March in Queens Hall, organised by Kim Richardson of CareUK, and attended by all those who are working towards making Halstead an inclusive dementia community. Representatives from care homes were present, and also Michelle Vagg, social prescriber for the Pump House surgery. This was followed by a meeting held on 14 March, attended by James Cleverly MP, for him to lend his approval to the project, along with Keith Brownlie of the Rotary club. 

Since those meetings, Halstead Town Council has offered the Queens Hall as a free venue for monthly Dementia drop-ins on the first Friday of every month 10.00 -12.00, starting in June.

The other good news this month is that the roller shutter planned for the Empire Theatre has been installed to improve security. 

The Annual Town meeting held on 7 April was largely an opportunity for charities and voluntary organisations in Halstead to meet, connect and establish support.

 

24/194 DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS: 

Cllr Pell declared NPI, item 5, 25/00423?LBC, as the applicant is known to her, 25/00557/HH as the agent is known to her, 25/00550/FUL as the objector is known to her, 25/00530/FUL as the chair of trustees, items 7b, 7b(a) as a member of BDC, item 10 as a member of H4C. Cllr Fincken declared NPI, item 5 as a member of BDC planning committee. Cllr Munday declared NPI, item 5 as a member of BDC planning committee. 

All councillors declared an interest in Item 10, as HTC owns the Empire Theatre.

 

24/195 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 

a) Evelyn Roulson of Holy Trinity Primary school reported on her campaign to ban the use of single-use plastic in Halstead. She collected 100 signatures. She asked HTC to spread the word, and the Chairman promised to add this to HTC’s Climate Action plan.

b) Christine Lawrence spoke on behalf of Halstead in Bloom, to express their concern about retaining the composting bin behind the Empire Theatre. They had been allowed to use this for 10 years and would like to be able to continue to do so, if the plans to extend the Empire go ahead.

c) Martin Lawrence said he was totally in favour of the plans to extend the Empire.

 

24/196 MINUTES  To approve the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 10 March 2025. Minutes had been circulated and proposal to adopt minutes of the Full Town council meeting of 10 March 2025 was put forward by Cllr Fincken, seconded by Cllr    Bond, and agreed  unanimously.                    

 

24/197 PLANNING  APPLICATIONS – Cllr Pell, Lead for planning

 

Cllrs Munday and Fincken left the meeting.

 

The following Planning Applications, which were received and circulated electronically, were considered at the Council meeting.

 

An extension to the deadline was not obtained – (Comments already sent to BDC – Councillors raised no objection to this application)

25/00208/ADV (Revised Application) – ATM At, 31 High Street, Halstead

Proposed ATM to receive new ATM Surround  

 

25/00423/LBC – 13 The Causeway, Halstead, Essex 

Proposed removal of existing flag pole and bracket and erection of 6m tall floor standing flag pole  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00468/HH – 52 Tidings Hill, Halstead, Essex 

Proposed two-storey rear extension and internal alterations.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn,  no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

24/02300/REM (revised Plans) – Land Off, Bournebridge Hill, Greenstead Green

Application for Approval of Reserved Matters (in respect of Appearance Landscaping, Layout and Scale) pursuant to outline planning permission 19/00493/OUT granted 16.11.2022  (Allowed at appeal) for: Outline application for up to 200 residential dwellings (including 30% affordable housing), planting, landscaping, public open space and children’s play area and sustainable drainage system (SuDS). All matters reserved with the exception of access

 

Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural Parish Council made the following response We ‘Object’ to this application for the following reasons: 

General Comments: 

The primary issues that the parish council are concerned with are as follows 

• Landscape – A demonstration of a strong and defensible landscape buffer to the south which accords with the character of the area 

• Light spill into the countryside 

• Community Engagement 

 

There is no follow up Landscape and Visual Assessment submitted with the reserved matters submission to demonstrate how the proposed landscape strategy under reserved matters accords with the landscape planning and land management guidelines set out in the Gosfield Wooded Farmland Landscape Character Area. Policy LPP 67 of the adopted Braintree District Local Plan Section 2 states that “proposals for new development should be informed by and be sympathetic to the character of the landscape as identified in the District Council’s Landscape Character Assessments.” Landscaping is a reserved matter and therefore, all forms of proposed screening, planting, earthworks, gardens and amenity features should be formally assessed. 

Design and Access Statement – there is a lack of any reference in the document to the fact that the site lies outside the town of Halstead within the parish of Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural. The importance of a defensible landscape boundary between the southern edge of the Site and the open countryside to the south is missing from the design principles. 

Planning Statement and Statement of Community Involvement 

• Para 2.1 should read “Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural Parish Council.” 

• Para 4.45 – there is no reference to the local landscape character assessment; 

• The title of the document refers to a Statement of Community Involvement, yet this appears to be missing. There has been no engagement with either Halstead TC or GGRH PC by the applicant. The BDC Statement of Community Involvement was updated in October 2024 and therefore is up to date. Paragraph 8.16 of the BDC SCI states that applications for new residential development should consider meaningful engagement with the local community including consultation with the parish council or town council. The applicant has failed to do this which is disappointing. 

 

Street lighting assessment – drawing no WLC1169-1300-002 shows that lux contour lines can be contained so that they do not infringe upon the ecologically sensitive areas. This is partly achieved by placing street light L12 close to the edge of the road. However, some of the lux contours spill outside the planning application boundary to the south and into the countryside. This is due to the positioning of street lights L14, L16, L18 and L20. This section of the spine road is safeguarded for a future extension which may not come about for some time. Please can these four lighting columns be removed from the drawing until this section of the spine road becomes adopted in order to reduce light spill into the wider countryside. 

Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that HTC support the objections made by Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural Parish Council, and add that there is not sufficient evidence of sustainable transport to the town and pedestrian access. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00497/HH – Trafalgar House, 4A Hedingham Road, Halstead

Demolition of part of the existing single storey rear extension and erection of single storey rear extension with flat roof.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection to this application. This was unanimously agreed.

           

25/00557/HH – 50 Ronald Road, Halstead, Essex

Proposed single-storey side and rear extension with flat roof 

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00572/HH – 16 Ashlong Grove, Halstead, Essex 

Proposed single storey rear extension. Extension to front elevation & insertion of 1 No. front rooflight.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00550/FUL – 7 Orchard Avenue, Halstead, Essex  

Demolition of existing rear extension, conservatory and outbuildings and extension and alteration of existing dwelling to create an additional dwelling, along with parking, landscaping and associated works.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, a strong objection to this application, as it appears to be overdevelopment, and is not in keeping with the street scene. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00671/HH –  196 Colchester Road, Halstead, Essex

Proposed single storey rear extension.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00675/HH – Hillcrest , Tidings Hill, Halstead 

Proposed extension to rear elevation and demolition of existing outbuildings.  

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00741/HH – 17 Mount Pleasant, Halstead, Essex

Proposed first floor rear extension

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

25/00682/HH – North Hill, Howe Chase, Halstead 

Proposed increase in roof pitch to increase ridge height   

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

Cllr Pell left the meeting

 

25/00530/FUL – Land Adjacent Car Park, Butler Road, Halstead

Removal of contamination and associated remedial and reinstatement works.  

Cllr Nunn proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, no objection. This was unanimously agreed.

 

Cllr Pell returned to the meeting.

 

HASA2506 Mixed use Land at The Vicarage, Parsonage Street, Halstead

Cllr Bond proposed objection to this site, due to limited access down a one-way street. This was seconded by Cllr McCoyd and unanimously agreed.

 

HASA2507 Residential Land to the south of Boxmill Lane, Halstead

Cllr Bond proposed objection to this application, due to its encroachment on open space, and overdevelopment within a rural space, which is prone to flooding. This was seconded by Cllr Nunn and unanimously agreed.

 

Cllrs Munday and  Fincken returned to the meeting.

 

24/198 MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS

The mayor’s appointments were noted, proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Hilton, and unanimously agreed.

 

24/199 FINANCE  

All members of the Council are members of the Finance section. Cllr Munday is Deputy lead for Finance and led this part of the meeting:

 

a) Income and expenditure for March 2025 and end of year outlook

Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, approval of the income and expenditure report for March 2025.  This was agreed unanimously.

 

b) To approve the List of payments and the supplementary list of payments for 

April.

Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr  Fincken, approval of the lists of payments.  This was agreed unanimously.

 

c) To approve the reconciliation of bank and petty cash accounts to 31/03/2025 

Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Hilton, that the reconciliation should be approved.

This was agreed unanimously.

 

d)To reconsider an upgrade to the public toilets

Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that the upgrade be approved, in that symbols should be bought and painting carried out.  The Clerk should bring this back to the meeting if there were further updates on moving or painting the CCTV brackets.  This was unanimously agreed.                          

 

24/200 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS

Cllr Fincken said he had attended the Corporate Policy development committee, and that response to the Waste report had been surprisingly positive from the public, and that BDC would be providing a special receptacle for biohazard waste. There would be adaptation for those living in flats, to provide a communal bin. BDC is also moving towards a strategy for antisocial behaviour.

Cllr Pell had attended Cabinet, a Fit for the Future meeting on Devolution, a meeting with the Monitoring Officer, and a meeting on the Public Gardens.

Cllr Bond had nothing to add.

Cllr Munday had attended.2 planning meetings where nothing came up related to Halstead.

Cllr  Munday  proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the District councillor reports be noted. This was unanimously agreed.

 

24/201 To receive reports from Champions

Doctors’ surgery –  Cllr Bond reported that Covid vaccinations had started again.

Education – no report

Police – no report

Open Spaces – no report

Tourism – Preparations are being made for VE day.

 

24/202 To receive an update on the proposed Community Arts Centre

1.Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Hilton, that HTC seek pre-application advice from BDC when appropriate. This was unanimously agreed.

 

2. Cllr Munday proposed that the Town Clerk contact Trading Standards at ECC and ask them to go ahead to explore what is under the carwash section of the land at the Empire, and how to deal with it, with a budget of up to £500 from the Earmarked reserves set aside for the Community Centre. This was seconded by Cllr Hilton, and agreed with one abstention.

 

3. Cllr Fincken proposed that HTC carry out a survey of public views on the proposed Community Arts Centre, in order to work towards a business case, with which BDC has offered assistance. Up to £10k from the Earmarked reserved funds set aside for the Community Centre should be used for this task. This was seconded by Cllr Hilton, and agreed with one against.

 

4. Cllr Munday proposed that outline drawings be sought from the architect (to be chosen in private session) using Earmarked reserves. This was seconded by Cllr Bond, and agreed with one against.

 

5.Cllr Bond proposed that once the survey and business case have been completed, the Arts Centre be brought back to council by April 2026, in order for a decision to be made on the next steps. This was seconded by Cllr Nunn and agreed with one against.

 

Cllr Munday proposed extending Standing Orders until close of business, seconded by Cllr Fincken and unanimously agreed.

 

24/203 To consider a Dignity at work policy

Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd that the policy be approved. This was unanimously agreed.

 

24/204 To approve Christmas office hours 2025

Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that the Christmas Office hours 2025 be approved. This was agreed unanimously.

 

24/205 To consider parking at Mount Pleasant

Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that HTC requests double yellow lines on New Street and Trinity Road, at the junction with Mount Pleasant. This was agreed with 4 in favour.

 

24/206 To consider BDC’s Cost of Living Funding project

Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that HTC discuss the Cost of Living grants at its next meeting, to be advertised by website and press release. This was unanimously agreed.

 

24/207  Items for the next meeting

There were no items suggested for the next meeting.

 

24/208 EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS

To give consideration to adopting the following resolution: – “That in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted and pursuant to the provisions of section 1(2)-of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, as amended, the public and the press be temporarily excluded from the meeting”. 

 

Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting. This was unanimously agreed.

 

24/209 A property matter was discussed.

 

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 21.33