Cllr Mrs A M Aranha     Cllr Mrs J Fowler *Cllr A Baxter      *Cllr B H A Morris
*Cllr W Bird       *Cllr Mrs F Tate *Cllr W Compton      Vacancy
*Cllr M L G Dillon (Chairman)

* denotes present

In attendance: 7 members of the public
  Cllr M Carver (EHC)
  Cllr Mrs L Newlyn (HCC)

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs Aranha and Cllr Mrs Fowler.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None.

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING HELD ON 11 JANUARY 2011

RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting held on 11 January 2011 be accepted as a correct record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

MATTERS ARISING

None.

PLANNING

1. Planning – General

To note the contents of the attached document.  (See Appendix A)

2. Consultation on Planning Applications

A letter had been received from East Herts Planning requesting the Parish Council to consider receiving and responding to consultations by e-mail and/or view documents via the web.

Members were firmly of the opinion that it would be totally inappropriate to accede to the request.

PARISH PATHS PARTNERSHIP

No further matters were raised.

STANSTED AIRPORT

1. SSE Parish and Town Council Liaison Group

SSE was establishing a Liaison Group in order to tackle issues of concern to all Parish Councils in the immediate vicinity of the airport.  The Parish Council was being invited to send a representative to the inaugural meeting to be held on 30 March 2011.

Cllr Baxter and Cllr Compton agreed that between them one would attend the group meeting.

HIGHWAYS MATTERS

Reference was made briefly to the following matters which had been raised at the Annual Parish meeting.

· Vehicle activated signs.
· Church Lane – new drainage installation.
· New concrete apron – Watery Lane.
· New village sign on Winding Hill.
· Work had commenced on Blackbridge Lane.
· B1004 was to be resurfaced this year.
· Pot holes around the Parish were a problem.

PARISH PLAN

No matters were raised under this item.

HENRY MOORE FOUNDATION

The Chairman stated that the lease had not yet been drafted and he requested that delegated powers be given to the Planning Sub-Committee to approve the contents.  Members approved the request with a plea that the documentation be completed before the Council elections on 5 May 2011.

TRANSFER TO THE PARISH COUNCIL OF THE SPINNEY BETWEEN THE SPORTS FIELD AND THE HIGH STREET, MUCH HADHAM

The Chairman advised members that the transfer document had been executed and the title registered with the Land Registry.

A brief resume of the history of the transfer was given for members’ information.

REVIEW OF STANDING ORDERS

Members had been circulated with a copy of the recommended Standing Orders for Parish and Town Councils compiled by the National Association of Local Councils.

Members questioned the validity and need for a number of the recommendations, especially Section 28, clause (a) and (b).  The Chairman stated that a revised draft document should be in place before the new Council took office.  They agreed that the Chairman should amend the NALC draft and that the amended text should be presented for approval at the next meeting when the new Council would be in office.

PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND CURRENT FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. Payment of Accounts

RESOLVED that the accounts as set out on the attached schedule be duly authorised for payment.  (See Appendix B)

2. Financial Statement

RESOLVED that the contents of the attached statement (Appendix C) be received. 

ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA

· Future use of adopted telephone kiosks.
· Standing Orders.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

1. Much Hadham Village Hall

(i) EPC Certificate

Cllr Mrs Tate informed members that, as the building was under 1,000 sq ft, there was no requirement to have in place an EPC certificate.

(ii) Parking at the front of the building

Cllr Mrs Tate stated that indiscriminate parking was taking place at the front of the building, especially near the bench, which effectively made it impossible for members of the public to use the bench.  Permission was being sought to paint a ‘Keep Clear’ notice on one of the bays.

Cllr Morris stated that there could be potentially more parking problems in the High Street in the future and he felt that the Village Hall Committee needed to address the whole question of parking at the Village Hall.
RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS

1. Parish Plan

A resident enquired when was the Parish Plan going to be printed as it had been nearly four years since the decision had been made to undertake to produce a document.

Cllr Carver stated that it was important that such a plan was in place which would be a significant contribution to the production of Neighbourhood Plans as set out in the forthcoming Localism Bill.

The Chairman stated that the organising Committee would be chased.

2. Telephone Box – Tower Hill

It was reported that there was a damaged pane in the box.

CONFIRMATION OF DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting would be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council and would be held on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, at 7.30 pm in the Green Tye Mission Hall.

__________________________________________

There being no further business the meeting closed at 10.10 pm.