Minutes HPC Meeting 6th February 2025

HENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes (unapproved) of a Parish Council Meeting

Date: Thursday 6 February 2025

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: OSCA, Henham

Present: Cllrs N. Baker, S. Lee, P. Franklin, J. Leech, M. Fisher, C. Walker, G. LeCount, County Cllr R. Gooding and Clerk M. Dacey

Declaration of interests: The Chair reminded Councillors of their duty to declare any relevant personal or pecuniary interests.

1. Apologies for Absence: District Cllrs P. Lees and B. Donald, Cllr Z. Rutterford

2. Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting

The minutes of the 5 December 2024 meeting was approved and signed by the Chair.

3. Matters Arising –

The Parish Council was sad to hear of the passing of Don Bishop, a resident of Henham. Don served as Vice Chairman on Henham Parish Council and is remembered as a very effective and hard working Councillor.

4. Reports and Recommendations

• Greens and Village Estate – Cllr. Baker:
• Greens damage – Village greens particularly by along Crow St will be monitored over the winter months and any necessary repairs carried out in the Spring. In the meantime, Cllr Leech will be investigating methods to strengthen greens. Update from Cllr Leech re weeds in large pond – barley straw bales placed in pond appear to be alleviating the weed problem.
• Greens Bylaws – Bylaws submitted to Secretary of State for approval by our solicitors and receipt acknowledged. An initial response from Secretary of State expected shortly, our solicitors have chased SoS again on 20/12/24.
• Church works – The Parish Council to monitor the state of greens following the works.

Village ponds/Woodland – Update by Cllr Walker: the team are looking into installing nature cameras, rather than benches. 36 saplings to be planted in the next few weeks.

Village Hall – (1) General – update from Cllr Fisher (2) Solicitors – Cllr Fisher is liaising with the village hall committee regarding trustee positions and about the Parish Council becoming Trustee of Village Hall in addition to being the Custodian Trustee. It is not clear if the Parish Council will be able to benefit from the Village Hall insurance cover for individual trustees but the Parish Council will try and would need to notify our insurers anyway. If agreed by Cllrs, the Parish Council will need to notify the Charity Commission to be added as a Trustee. Following a discussion Cllr Fisher proposed that the Parish Council becomes a trustee of the village hall as a Parish Council, seconded by Cllr LeCount, approved nem con. (3) HPC Community Support Fund – a resident has made an initial enquiry regarding setting up a social support group. It was agreed in principle that the Parish Council would support this application and Cllr Fisher will liaise with the resident.

Speedwatch – update by Cllr Walker: more speedwatch sessions in the pipeline. Woodend green VAR sign has now been recalibrated and is working again.

Christmas Tree – the Parish Council thanks the volunteers who helped set up and dismantle the village Christmas Tree. Cllr Leech will look into repairing the tree hole.

Village Fete 2025 – The Parish Council has been advised by the Village fete Committee that the village fete will take place on Saturday 21^st June 2025.

           (ii) Finance

Treasury Management Investment Policy and Strategy 2024/25 – Cllr Fisher update. The Chair, Cllr Fisher and Clerk have requested £20,000 from our Nationwide 35 day notice account to be withdrawn and transferred into the Parish Council’s Barclays Business bank account to ensure we have sufficient funds for immediate access in case of emergency.

2025-2026 Precept – The HPC Income requirement increased by 3% from £41,140 to £42,374 as agreed in the December 2024 meeting. The net tax base for Henham (i.e. number of properties paying council tax) has gone up slightly from 685.71 (last year) to 687.65 this year. This has the effect of increasing ever so slightly the amount of council tax raised per household for the precept; for example, the band D rate for 2025/26 will be £61.62 compared to £60.00 in 24/25.  All bands will increase by 2.7% for the 2025-26 precept contribution. Paperwork regarding the precept was submitted to UDC on 08/01/25 by the clerk.

2024-2025 Accounts – Q1 and Q2 Accounts for 24/25 have been signed off by Cllr Fisher.

Employer NI contributions – Due the recent budget the Parish Council will now need to pay Employer’s Nation Insurance from April 2025, approximately £300 to 400 pa. Clerk and Chair are investigating how to pay this to HMRC every month.

• Planning and Developments –

• UTT/24/1141/FUL – proposed development of 3 no. detached houses, creation of wildlife garden and pathway route (privately owned and maintained public open space), landscaping, driveway access and associated works, Land Adj Grind Hall Wood End Green Henham Hertfordshire RECONSULTATION. Barrister’s advice has been received regarding greens access. Chair has written to both UDC planning and the owner’s planning consultant on 18/11/24 in response to the Town and County Procedure Order 2015 notice. UDC planning meeting 6/12/24 including site visit in the morning. Permission granted by UDC. The Parish Council have raised a couple of additional queries with our solicitors, response awaited.

• UTT/25/0056/FUL – Erection of new 3 bedroom self-build dwelling adjacent to the existing detached dwelling, Land At The Chalet Old Mead Road.

• UTT/25/0212/HHF – Proposed conversion of existing double garage and store at ground floor level to studio and fit out existing first floor storage area to form residential annexe to main house, The Bell House Old Mead Road

Breaches:  none

Appeals:  S62A/2024/0049 (planning Ref UTT/24/1618)– 50 Houses land south of Bedwell Road in Elsenham Parish– Approved.

Developments:

UTT/24/0670/DFO (Re- Consultation) Mill Road Development (45 houses): UTT/24/2419/DOC proposed Application to discharge condition 17 (lighting design scheme for biodiversity) attached to UTT/20/0604/OP (approved under Appeal APP/C1570/W21/3272403).

Cllr Walker is liaising with Bellway on behalf of the Parish Council. Revised Condition 17 Lighting scheme is under discussion, the Parish Council’s wishes are for a further reduction in the number of lighting bollards to less than the proposed 6, effectively reducing the illumination around the perimeter of the SUDs area.  In addition with a timer control to further reduce the lighting late at night. Deadline for comment 6/12/24. The developer has proposed an updated lighting layouts and reduced them to 2 bollards, which are located by the main entrance. Note that these are also specified to work on a timer to reduce their use throughout the night.  UTT/25/0122/FUL – Section 73 removal of condition 14 (highways) of UTT/20/0604/OP (approved under appeal APP/C1570/W/21/3272403) – Cllrs Walker and Baker had a catch up meeting with Bellway 6/2/25.

Bloor – UTT/23/2063/DFO (200 houses) – Land East Of Station Road – Cllr Franklin emailed Bloor 11/12/24 regarding installation of a footpath by the Level Crossing. Cllr Franklin has written several emails both to our District Cllrs and County Cllr Gooding to request support from them regarding putting pressure on Bloor to respond to the Parish Council’s request to install a footpath by the level crossing. Bloor have been unresponsive to date.

Proposed development Land South of School Lane – The Parish Council has been approached by Magenta Planning Ltd regarding a meeting to discuss the proposed promotion by Montare LLP (developer) of a development of land south of School Lane. A proposed development on this site was previously turned down on Appeal in 2017 (previous developer was Persimmons). It has been noted that surveyors have recently been on the site.

Decisions: UTT/24/1757/FUL – proposed erection of 3 self build dwellings with garaging and associated landscaping, Saffron House, High Street – REFUSE

• Highways – Update OMR-OML – pot holes are an issue again.

Essex Waste Lorries – Cllr Fisher has contacted County Cllr Gooding with details of numerous resident complaints. The Parish Council understands that not much can be done as it is not illegal, but has been advised it should collate reports as evidence. Cllr LeCount continues to monitor.

Mill Road/School Road yellow lines – Nothing new to report.

School parking – Nothing new to report other than this is ongoing.

Potholes – It was noted that potholes in the area are a problem again due to the winter weather. Residents are encouraged to report potholes to Essex Highways.

Footpath 32 – Nothing new to report.

Toot Toot signage – Cllr LeCount has previously asked County Cllr Gooding to follow up on obtaining road safety signage. It was also noted by Cllr LeCount that the damaged railings by toot toot need to be repaired as a matter of urgency and he will report this to Highways in his capacity as Cllr, having already reported as a resident.

Residents are encouraged to also report any matters to Essex Highways direct via the Essex Highways web site www.essexhighways.org (details also on the Henham Website), as the more people who complain regarding Highways matters the more likely something will get done.

Residents are encouraged to report unsafe or dangerous parking in our village to: swilliams@uttlesford.gov.uk Stansted Airport Limited operates a Freephone number for reporting suspected on-street airport related car parking. The Freephone number is: 0800 7312385

5. Correspondence

Sent/Received: Resident complaint regarding state of churchyard gravestone; Openreach re wayleave, PWC re YBS audit, various enquiries via website.

Planning Applications  – see 4(iii) above

• Clerk – approximately 250 emails in December and January respectively.

6. Waste and Minerals Development Issues – Local Plan Review – 2025 to 2040 Nothing to report.
7. Stansted Airport – (1) The airport is introducing a new barrierless system: Extract below from recent press announcement “We recently informed you about the introduction of a new barrierless system for Express Set Down at London Stansted Airport. We are now pleased to confirm this system will be in place from Wednesday 22nd January 2025. From then, you will be able to drive straight through and pay your charges remotely, eliminating the need to stop at a barrier. What does this mean for you as a member of the local resident discount scheme?The barrierless system will make dropping off and picking up passengers more convenient by reducing wait times and improving traffic flow.  To make your journey even easier, we recommend creating an account where you can add a payment card. This will allow for automatic payments for each of your journeys through the Express Set Down. You can create your account now by visiting the Stansted Airport website Express Set Down – Stansted Airport. Alternatively, once the new system is introduced, you will be able to pay online or by phone after your visit to the Express Set Down area. Please note that payment must be made by midnight the day after your visit to avoid a Parking Charge being sent to the vehicle holder. Here are the ways to pay: Online: https://pay.stanstedairport.com/  Phone: 0345 017 5046.” Further details are on the Parish Council website.

Cllr Lee recommended that residents check their accounts to ensure only 50p is being charged and not £7, whilst the new system is in its infancy.

(2) Cllrs have received a press release from the airport regarding a consultation to expand passenger numbers from 30 million to 51 million by 2040. The Chair will respond on behalf of the Parish Council.

8. Governance – Nothing new to report.
9. Local Plan – Documents related to the local plan can be found at: www.uttlesford.gov.uk/new-local-plan. (1) Local Plan numbers allocation – Nothing to report.

(2) Neighbourhood plan – Nothing to report.

(3) RCCE- Introduction to Rural Affordable Housing – Cllr Franklin and Cllr Lee attended a free online briefing on 4th November 2024 on behalf of the Parish Council planning sub-Committee. Following a discussion, it was previously agreed that the Parish Council would proceed with preliminary investigations. Cllr Franklin has written to RCCE on 22/11/24 for some initial guidance. A process guide has been received. RCCE have provided a quote based on RCCE quote for carrying out Housing Based on 688 houses & a response rate of 50% Needs Survey for £2240 plus VAT. The Parish Council will await the outcome of the Local Plan allocation before proceeding any further.

10. Henham SOV 100 Club draw –

Cllr R Gooding conducted the draws. He drew from a black bag containing all current members lottery numbers.

December winning numbers were: 

1st Prize Number 8  (S Cowan)  £239
2nd Prize Number 29 (S Morris)  £115

3rd Prize Christmas Bonus Ball Accumulator £58

Total funds received per draw were £825. Half will be paid in prizes plus the cumulative Christmas Bonus Ball with the balance of £413 paid to Henham Parish Council SOV Funds.

January winning numbers were: 

1st Prize Number 138 (F Frindle)  £239
2nd Prize Number 29 (S Johnson  £115

3rd Prize Christmas Bonus Ball Accumulator £58 CBB £116

Total funds received per draw were £825. Half will be paid in prizes plus the cumulative Christmas Bonus Ball with the balance of £413 paid to Henham Parish Council SOV Funds.

11. Date of Next Meeting

The next Parish Council meeting is on Thursday 6^th March 2025. The April Parish Council meeting date has been changed to Thursday 10th April 2025 at 7:30pm. Everyone Welcome

Mareike Dacey, Clerk