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HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL |
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MINUTES OF TOWN COUNCIL MEETING PUBLIC SESSION MINUTES 15 June 2026: at 19:45 |
Membership:
| Councillor James Bond | Chairman | Present |
| Councillor Paul Nunn | Vice Chairman | Present |
| Councillor Janet Atkinson | Apologies | |
| Councillor Malcolm Fincken | Apologies | |
| Councillor Linda Hilton | Present | |
| Councillor Gemma MacAndrews | Present | |
| Councillor Grahame McCoyd | Present | |
| Councillor Andrew Munday | Apologies | |
| Councillor Jackie Pell | Present | |
| Councillor Felix Preston | Apologies | |
| Councillor Linda Smith | Apologies | |
| Councillor Garry Warren | Apologies |
Also in attendance: Ewan Hair, Sarah Greatorex (Town Clerk)
025/26 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr Fincken and Cllr Munday sent apologies as they were attending the Local Plan committee meeting at BDC. Cllr Smith, Cllr Preston and Cllr Atkinson sent apologies due to work commitments, and Cllr Warren for personal reasons.
Cllr Hilton proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that the apologies be noted.
026/26 DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS:
Cllr Pell declared NPI item 5 26/01041/HH as the applicant is known to her, item 7 as a member of BDC , and a PI item 10, as a member of H4C and there is a conflict of interests, and an NPI item 12 as Vice president of the Cricket club.
027/26 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
- There were no public questions.
- ECC Cllr Isa da Rocha sent her apologies.
028/26 MINUTES
To approve the minutes of the Annual Town Council meeting, and the Town Council meeting held on 18 May 2026. Minutes had been circulated. A proposal to adopt minutes, of the Annual Town council meeting of 18 May 2026, was put forward by Cllr Pell, seconded by Cllr Hilton, and agreed. A proposal to adopt the minutes of the Town Council meeting of 18 May was put forward by Cllr Pell, seconded by Cllr Nunn, and agreed.
029/26 PLANNING APPLICATIONS – Lead for planning Cllr Pell, deputy lead for planning, Cllr Nunn
26/01041/LBC – The Wash House , 5 Bridge Street, Halstead
Part-retrospective application for partial demolition of boundary wall and rebuilding to match the existing.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that there should be no objection, subject to the comment made in the Heritage statement. This was agreed unanimously.
26/01149/HH & 26/01150/LBC – 11 Factory Terrace , Factory Lane East, Halstead
Internal alterations and creation of a family bathroom to a listed building
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, no objection. This was agreed unanimously.
26/01170/VAR – Little Stubleys Farm, Sudbury Road, Halstead
Removal of condition 4 (Hours of Operation) of permission 25/02445/FUL granted 19.03.2026 for: Replacement building to provide storage, office space and maintenance facilities and additional provision of 3 No. maintenance bays and coach washing facilities
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, no objection to this application. This was unanimously agreed.
030/26 MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS
The Mayor’s appointments were noted.
31/26 FINANCE – Cllr McCoyd Deputy Lead for Finance, led this part of the meeting.
Cllr Bond thanked Cllr McCoyd for the time he had spent to assist with the accounts.
All members of the Council are members of the Finance section.
a) 2025/26 Financial accounts and current assets
The accounts of the year 2025/26 were noted.
Cllr Bond suggested that it might be useful to set up a working group to manage the annual accounts. This could be formalised at the July meeting.
Cllr Bond proposed that £20,000 of the surplus be moved to the Community Arts Centre EMR, and £10,000 to support solar panels and sustainable energy, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, and unanimously agreed.
Standing orders were suspended to allow police officers, Sgt James Draper and Sgt Claire Bailey to speak. They stated that they were aware of current issues with electric bikes and scooters, allotment vandalism and ASB at Tesco’s.
b) To approve the annual governance statement
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, that the annual governance statement be approved. This was agreed with 1 abstention.
c) To approve the Accounting statements for audit
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, that the Accounting statements for the year 2025/26 be approved. This was agreed with 1 abstention.
d) To approve the bank reconciliation and the explanation of variances
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that the bank reconciliation and explanation of variances be approved. This was agreed with 1 abstention.
e) To approve the lists of payments
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, that the lists of payments be approved. This was unanimously agreed.
f) To consider income and expenditure, EMR and balance sheet for May 2026.
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn, that the income and expenditure, EMR and balance sheet for May 2026 be approved. This was unanimously agreed.
g) To reconsider the repair to St Andrews church wall
Cllr McCoyd proposed, seconded by Cllr Bond, that quote 2 be chosen. This was unanimously agreed.
32/26 DISTRICT COUNCILLORS gave their reports
Cllr Pell said that there had not been any proper meetings, but that Cllr Tom Cunningham had been chosen as Leader, Cllr Van Dulken as Chairman, and Cllr Butland as Vice chairman
Cllr Bond had nothing to add.
33/26 TOWN COUNCILLORS gave their reports
There were no items to report.
34/26 To review events planned and approve Minutes of the Events Committee meeting of 8 June.
Cllr Pell proposed approval of the Minutes of the Events committee meeting of 8 June. This was seconded by Cllr Bond and agreed with 2 abstentions.
Matters discussed at the Events committee meeting were considered.
Cllr Bond reported that the members present felt that the risks prevalent with numbers on the hill and insufficient marshals, and other risks, led to the conclusion that it would not be wise to continue with lit torches at the December procession. Safety has to be the key factor, as HTC is liable, individually and collectively. Other options such as glowsticks, phone lights, closed lanterns and laser light shows are being explored. The events committee will consider the additional suggestions and representations made at this meeting.
Cllr Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr MacAndrews that the Brian Smith jazz band should perform on 5 July. This was unanimously agreed.
Cllr MacAndrews proposed that :
- Courier’s mobile phone number for each coach to be given to all passengers
- All couriers to have in-date first aid training
- All couriers to be physically able to assist anyone on the outing who may become ill or suffer an accident
This was seconded by Cllr Hilton, and unanimously agreed.
It was agreed to further discuss the rides at the Events meeting on 2 July.
It was agreed that the Christmas Fair should be combined with a late night shopping event after the lights switch-on. There could be stall holders in Weavers Court, rides possibly in the Centre, and music in the High Street.
Cllr Bond stated that he was planning Business breakfasts with local businesses, to open the Public Gardens for 2 evenings while the lights were up, and to run a civic event in the park in May, as a replacement for the civic service, with a maypole, food trucks and no receptions provided by HTC.
It was agreed that the skatepark event should go ahead.
35/26 To note the update on the proposed Community Arts Centre project
Cllr Bond reported that CAC was moving forward towards making its application for funding. Sainsburys had offered to provide consumables for an indefinite period, and an electrical contractor to provide one day of service.
36/26 To consider an update to the Member & Officer protocol
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr Nunn that the new model Member & Officer protocol be adopted to replace the existing version. This was unanimously agreed.
37/26 To consider the Recreation, sport and culture strategy
Cllr MacAndrews proposed, seconded by Cllr Hilton:
- that the draft version of the strategy be accepted
- that a working group be formed (the existing group being Cllrs McAndrews, Fincken and Bond)
- that a survey be prepared
This was unanimously agreed.
38/26 To consider a report on BALC
Cllr McCoyd reported that he found the BALC meetings very stimulating and interesting.
39/26 Items to be considered at the next meeting
- Holding more meetings in the evenings to allow more councillors to attend.
40/26 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 Pell proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting. This was unanimously agreed.
41/26 To consider the Minutes of the Staff Advisory Committee meeting of 15 May 2026
Cllr Bond proposed, seconded by Cllr McCoyd, that the SAC minutes be noted. This was unanimously agreed.
Given that the business of the meeting related to individual staff members the details remain confidential.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 21.14