In Attendance: Mr & Mrs Willmer, Mrs Julie Lowe

Mr and Mrs Willmer were in attendance mainly to observe, but did raise concerns about (i) the conditions of the pavements in that they were mossy and felt residents should take responsibility for areas in front of their homes and (ii) the poor state of the pavement adjacent to the White Hart. Regarding the former they said they would write a letter to the BT to encourage residents to get involved and the Clerk would report the broken pavement to ECC.

Mrs Lowe, wished to reiterate her offer of land for use as an allotment garden area. The Chairman explained the position so far and it was hoped that those who were interested would form a group to establish and maintain the area. She had also spoken to Peter Morris who gives lectures on the subject and the organisation of a public meeting was possibly the best way forward.

Declarations were received from Cllr Slemmings in respect of Finance.

Apologies were received from Cllr Walsh (business) and Cllr Ruffle (personal).

These were signed and approved as a true record of the meeting. Proposed Cllr Hayward, seconded Cllr Hockley.

Youth Notice Board: The grant of £1000 has been received and the notice board ordered. Cllr Slemmings would take the opportunity to speak to Mr & Mrs Cutler as the preferred location is close to their property.

Playground Work: Cllr Hockley was monitoring this and things were progressing well.

Street Lighting Survey: The 80% grant for this work had been secured from ECC, and the updating and refurbishment has commenced; it will be spread over two/three weeks.

Additional Sand Bin: This has been installed and sand delivered free of charge by BDC.

(a) Lap Top: In view of the need to ensure professional presentations at our meetings the Clerk had asked if we could purchase a lap top. The Chairman clarified that money had in fact been granted for such expenditure in 2005, under the NALC Quality Council scheme, which was held in the Special Projects Account. This expenditure was agreed. Proposed Cllr Hayward, seconded Cllr Slemmings.

(b) Paint Purchase: The Community Workers would be returning to the village shortly and it was agreed to purchase suitable paint to enable them to carry out work on the railings around Causeway Green. The intention was to have this work completed prior to the first round of judging in the Best Kept Village competition.

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – Section 77, has extended the power of well-being to "eligible parish councils". Such councils must have a qualified Clerk (there are various ways of achieving this); meet the criteria of an electoral mandate and at least 80% of the members must be trained. EALC are able to arrange bespoke training sessions to fit in with parish councils and it was suggested that, if appropriate, this could be shared with Finchingfield. The Clerk would make the necessary arrangements. The Power can be used to promote or improve the economic, social and environmental well being of its area and, unlike S137, can be a power of "first resort".

Since the March meeting, some of the members had visited developments in Radwinter, Wimbish, Steeple Bumpstead and High Easter; the latter two were considered the most attractive.

Regarding the proposals for Great Bardfield, informal discussions had taken place between the Housing Association, the land owner and a representative of the Council. As far as the land owner was concerned, key factors were design and location and availability to local people. The support of the Parish Council would rely on assurances and conditions that applicants had strong links with the village and that all applications would be referred to the Council.

A presentation was to be given at the Parish Assembly when a full explanation would be given and questions could be asked.

Cllr Hayward explained the position thus far and the proposals to undertake work to reinstate certain areas, maintain a pleasant area for normal public access, but also prevent unwelcome access. In the long term it was hoped to achieve this with appropriate planting, stakes would be purchased to mark out areas and wild flower grass mixture would be used to re-seed. It was suggested that Doug Joyce be consulted regarding planting and the introduction of the Oxlip and bluebells could be considered. Regarding immediate expenditure the figure of £200 was agreed. Proposed Cllr Holmes, seconded Cllr Slemmings.

The Document "Parking Standards, Design and Good Practice" had been circulated. There were no particular comments, however, Cllr Hayward said it was to be hoped that parking on pavements – which could be useful in rural areas where there was insufficient off road parking – did not become the focus of prosecutions.

00387/FUL Beattie House erection of single storey summerhouse. No objections.

Cllr Slemmings reported on the progress with the pavilion painting undertaken by the Community Workers and provided an update on the fund raising.

Police: The most recent ‘newsletter’ had been circulated and the PCSO and/or PC Carter hoped to attend the Annual Meeting.

Highways: Regarding the potholes in Braintree Road there had been a disappointing response from Highways and the Clerk was asked to write again. Footpath to Blue Egg – the PRoW Officer – Jim Bartley – had asked if the Council were pleased with the work so far undertaken and if so, could we write to that effect, as they were having an audit of their work. This would be done, however reference would be made to the need to achieve a totally safe pedestrian access between the village and Blue Egg/Post Office.

Bell Lane: No further information, although Cllr Walters was still hoping to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Two letters of appreciation had been received from Marian McDonald and Jenny Wright.

Street Scene Partnership 2009-10: A new agreement had been received from BDC in the sum of £1228.64 – there had been no increase since last year – and would was approved.

Project Management: The Chairman wished to discuss this with members and, as Cllr Slemmings would have a prejudicial interest, he was asked to leave the room. It was agreed that the work he had so far undertaken to steer the pavilion project forward, was essential, both onerous and time consuming. It was felt that some remuneration should be made and be placed on proper footing. The Clerk would be asking to liaise with the Monitoring Officer regarding the official stance and also with Cllr Slemmings to establish what would be reasonable remuneration. There was unanimous agreement with this way forward.

Youth Club: Cllr Slemmings said how pleased he was by two recent approaches, the first from Lucy Gibson of Bardfield Hall, who offered to undertake instruction in craftwork and dressmaking and the second, from Jenny Ratcliffe of School Farm, who offered the use of her tennis court to Youth Club members.

BT Meeting: The Chairman reported on the informal meeting she and the Clerk had with Vivienne Kerry and Liz Craig. They had dealt with some of the misunderstandings and the importance of accountability to the Parish via the Annual Meeting.

CIP Staff: After over six years of working in the office, Louise Egger had advised that she would have to leave. Additional work taken on during the week meant she could no longer continue with her Saturday duties. Her dedication, despite some very poor spells of ill health, was much appreciated and it was agreed that the Clerk would purchase a card and gift voucher on behalf of the PC. This post needed to be covered and some thought would be given to approaching a suitable candidate, bearing in mind the particular skills necessary for the role.

Variety Show: There was a discussion about the plans for the show, which was a community event to raise money for the Pavilion Project.

The next meeting, which was the AGM, would be held on 20^th May 2009.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 10.15 pm