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HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL |
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MINUTES OF TOWN COUNCIL MEETING PUBLIC SESSION MINUTES 11 December 2024: at 19:15 |
Membership:
| Councillor Andrew Munday | Chairman | Present |
| Councillor James Bond | Vice Chairman | Present |
| Councillor Janet Atkinson | Apologies | |
| Councillor Malcolm Fincken | Present | |
| Councillor Linda Hilton | Present | |
| Councillor Gemma MacAndrews | Apologies | |
| Councillor Grahame McCoyd | Present | |
| Councillor Paul Nunn | Apologies | |
| Councillor Jackie Pell | Present | |
| Councillor Felix Preston | Present | |
| Councillor Linda Smith | Apologies | |
| Councillor Garry Warren | Present |
Also in attendance: Cllr Chris Siddall, Sarah Greatorex (Town Clerk)
24/111 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllrs Atkinson, Nunn and MacAndrews sent apologies for personal reasons, Cllr Smith sent apologies as she was working.
Cllr Munday proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, acceptance of the apologies. This was unanimously agreed.
Chairman’s statement 11 December 2024
HTC Councillor representatives have held meetings with the CSGMC representatives on two occasions providing different options as to the way forward with governance arrangements in the future. A reply has been received from the CSGMC which does not respond to the suggestions, and therefore at the next full Council meeting proposals will need to be put to the Council on a way forward.
After meetings and discussions with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the United Reformed Church, it has been agreed to reopen CAB in Halstead from January 2025, initially with one session per month at the URC. This will be a great improvement, since the nearest CAB to Halstead at present is in Witham.
The repair to the locking system at the public toilets in Kings Road is finally to be carried out on 12 December, which will greatly improve the safety and security at the toilets as it will be possible once again to lock them at night.
There is also fantastic news that the Halstead Community Fund has awarded a grant of £48,423.40 to the Empire Theatre for a projector capable of running first run films. A kick-off meeting to formalise the project plan is being held on 7 January.
Finally, we must celebrate the Christmas events put on by the council recently, firstly the lights switch-on, this year including amazing colour-changing uplighters in the trees in the public gardens. Secondly, the torchlight procession last week was greatly enhanced by the presence of a 10-piece pipe band. Our thanks must go to all council staff who organise these events, in particular to the groundsmen who work tirelessly to ensure that nothing goes wrong. We are also grateful to all those who volunteered from BDC, from the Rugby club and HiB, and to the Halstead firefighters who kept us all safe.
24/112 DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS:
Cllr Pell declared NPI, item 5 24/02420/REM as an objector is known to her, item 7b and 7b(a) as a member of BDC and CSGMC, item 11 as Vice president of Halstead Cricket Club and member of CSGMC. Cllr Warren declared NPI item 7b& 7b(a) as a member of CSGMC. Cllr Fincken declared NPI, item 5 as a member of BDC planning committee, and item 5a as a member of the Local Plan subcommittee.. Cllr Munday declared NPI, item 5 as a member of BDC planning committee, and item 5a as a member of the Local Plan Subcommittee. Cllr Hilton declared NP item 7b and 7b (a) as a member of CSGMC. Cllr McCoyd declared a pecuniary interest in item 5b, as he lives on Sudbury road and this strategy might lower the value of his house.
24/113 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
a) Cllr Chis Siddall gave his report
Cllr Siddall thanked HTC for the torchlight event which he had greatly enjoyed. He said that work would start in early January on the improvements to the crossing on Chapel Hill. The crossing by the library was also going to be upgraded. He said that ECC is now considering its budget, and he mentioned the possible devolution plans for Essex, which would include a mayor for the county. Essex would be seen as a pilot. He said that grants were now available for areas subject to flooding.
He also said that Essex Highways had upgraded their website, and that it is now possible to report faults more than once.
24/114 MINUTES To approve the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 11 November 2024. Minutes had been circulated and proposal to adopt minutes of the Full Town council meeting of 11 November 2024 was put forward by Cllr Fincken, seconded by Cllr Bond, and unanimously agreed.
24/115 PLANNING APPLICATIONS – Cllr Pell, Lead for planning
Cllr Fincken and Cllr Munday left the meeting.
The following Planning Applications, which were received and circulated electronically, were considered at the Council meeting.
24/02266/HH – 25 Pretoria Road, Halstead, Essex – Construction of a ground floor rear extension to replace existing conservatory
including roof alterations to the adjoining ground floor projection.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Warren that no objection be made to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
24/02386/FUL – Symonds Court, St Andrews Road, Halstead – To replace existing roof of conservatory with a replacement flat roof and balcony gullies.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that no objection be made to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
24/02413/HH – 5 Poplar Close, Halstead, Essex – Single storey side/rear extension
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Preston, that no objection be made to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
24/02371/LBC – 12 Adams Maltings , Trinity Street, Halstead – Installation of Flood Protection Barriers to all areas on ingress in line with RABs
Flood Risk Report recommendations enclosed, as part of Essex County Council Flood Alleviation Scheme. This will alter the property by either replacing existing doors with Flood Doors or by installing demountable flood barriers to each doorway
and window below the 600H flood threshold.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that no objection be made to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
24/02420/REM & 24/02300/REM – 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.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Hilton, that HTC should support Greenstead Green and Halstead Rural parish council in its objection to the landscaping, the appearance and the overall number of houses. This was unanimously agreed.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Hilton, that HTC should object to the arrangements for public transport as they were not suitable for the roads in question.
24/02503/LBC – 28 High Street, Halstead, Essex
Repair damaged leadwork, replace existing felt and repair to the timber deck to
canopy at front of building.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Warren, that no objection be made to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
24/116 Further additions to the Local Plan – Cllr Warren proposed, seconded by Cllr Pell, that HTC should object to GGHR2416 as there is no infrastructure for the planned housing, it is prone to flooding and it is outside the town boundary. This was unanimously agreed.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Warren, that HTC should object to GGHR2141 as it was a very large piece of land, which would result in an unmanageable increase in pressure on the infrastructure, access would be significantly restricted, and there were concerns about safety issues. Any final plan must take account of an assessment of the impact.
Cllr Fincken and Cllr Munday returned to the meeting.
24/117 To consider weight restrictions on the A1092 – Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that HTC should oppose the weight restriction in order to prevent further heavy traffic being diverted through Halstead, and should resume contact with Sudbury Town Council and Suffolk County Council. This was unanimously agreed.
24/118 To consider a name for the road associated with the commercial units to be built near Rosemary Lane
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Preston, that the new road near Rosemary Lane should be named Humbugs Close, as the local football team whose ground is nearby is called The Humbugs. This was unanimously agreed.
24/119 MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS
The mayor’s appointments were noted, proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Bond, and unanimously agreed.
24/120 FINANCE
Finance – Cllr Munday, Deputy Lead for Finance, led this part of the meeting.
All members of the Council are members of the Finance section
a) Income and expenditure for November 2024
Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, approval of the income and expenditure report for November 2024. This was agreed with one abstention.
b) To approve the List of payments and the supplementary list of payments.
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, approval of the lists of payments. This was agreed unanimously.
c) To consider charges for payment by cheque and cash
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that HTC should promote payment by card and BACS, rather than cash and cheque, but that those who paid by cash or cheque should not be charged for doing so. This was agreed unanimously.
d) To consider the Budget 2025/26
Cllr Hilton proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond that parking charges should not be increased. This was agreed unanimously.
Cllr Warren proposed that HTC agree to the budget, and a precept figure of £247,051.This was seconded by Cllr Bond and unanimously agreed.
e) To consider installing a permanent outside light at the East end of the hall.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Munday, that the light should be installed. This was agreed unanimously.
24/121 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS
Cllr Fincken said that he had attended a briefing on changes to waste collection which are aimed at a more consistent approach. There would be a kerbside glass collection and 5 bins per household. At Full Council there had been discussion of inheritance tax for farmers.
Cllr Pell had attended Full Council, the budget meeting, Cabinet, Governance and a developing democracy meeting. At Planning Forum it had been agreed that the tennis courts could go forward.
Cllr Bond said that he had attended Full Council and the Scrutiny committee, which had looked at the budget
Cllr Munday said that he had attended 2 planning meetings, a members’ evening, the Governance and audit committee, Full Council and the Planning Forum.
24/122 To receive reports from Champions
Doctors’ surgery – Cllr Pell said that doctors from the Elizabeth Courtauld surgery were now using rooms at Halstead Hospital.
Education.- Cllr Bond had been in touch with Ramsey school and would be visiting shortly.
Police –. Cllr Warren said that the police had attended the torchlight and been very helpful with crowd control. There was a surgery at the office on 13 December.
Open Spaces –.The reports for possible improvements to the Open Spaces would be discussed later in the meeting.
Tourism –..The torchlight procession had been a huge success.
24/123 To consider installing a shutter at the Empire Theatre
Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, acceptance of quote 2, at £2980 + VAT. This was unanimously agreed.
24/124 To consider amendments to the Potential Open spaces Improvements
Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the possible improvements be sent in to BDC. This was unanimously agreed.
24/125 To consider amendments to the Financial Regulations on procurement
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken , that the suggested additions to the Financial Regulations on procurement be approved. This was agreed with 1 abstention.
24/126 To consider an update to the Grant awarding policy
Cllr Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the update to the grant awarding policy be approved. This was unanimously agreed.
24/127 To consider Devolution plans put forward by central government
Cllr Warren proposed, seconded by Cllr Munday, that the Devolution plans be noted This was unanimously agreed.
24/128 To consider NEPP’s plans for managing parking in Halstead High Street
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond that:
HTC continues to reject proposals put forward by NEPP to start charging for parking on the High Street.
HTC is keen to take over the monitoring of the parking on the High Street.
HTC agrees to update its Parking Order to allow it to monitor the onstreet parking in the High Street.
This was unanimously agreed.
24/129 To consider a Whistleblowing policy as part of the review of the disciplinary process-
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Fincken, that the Whistleblowing policy be adopted and reviewed in one year, and thereafter every 3 years. This was unanimously agreed.
24/130 Items to be considered at the next Full Council meeting should include:
• Internal control and Financial Regulations at the same meeting
• The Local Plan at some time- the Clerk to contact Cllr Spray
• Courtaulds sports ground management committee
24/131 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 Fincken proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting. This was unanimously agreed.
24/132 Recommendations of the SAC were approved.
24/133 An aspect of the budget was considered.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 21.36