This will be my sixth report as Chairman of KHPC.
Unfortunately we lost the services of Terry Portch – our Parish Clerk – who decided that the wanted to resurrect his career in teaching. On behalf of the Parish Council, I would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best for the future and offer him my sincere thanks for a job well done.
However, we had waiting in the wings Luz Loizou who was keen to take up the mantle of serving our community in what can be a complex and demanding position as Parish Clerk and RFO. To date, she is learning the responsibilities of the roles very quickly and I am confident that she will prove to be as capable in the job as her predecessor.
The issues surrounding Eagle Field remain as before. The owner has now made it clear that he is very keen to develop the land for housing but would prefer to act in consultation with the Parish Council so that the local community will get some benefit from such development.
We still await the outcome of the tribunal considerations regarding the parcel of scrubland in Eagle Field. Assuming that any decision will favour those against development of the land, the question is “what comes next?”. Hopefully, this matter will be resolved in the very near future.
We have commissioned the services of a security company, S-Type Security, in order to curtail any anti-social activity including drug dealing and vandalism in the area. We shall monitor whether this proves to be successful.
Once again, our Senior Citizen’s Christmas Lunch had to be cancelled due to the Covid 19 restrictions and we continued to provide Christmas hampers by means of a compromise. It has been decided to try to have some form of ‘get together’ luncheon this year but more in the manner of a buffet with entertainment as before. The Community Relations Committee will be working hard in the coming months to make this happen.
However, with a dwindling number of Councillors available to organise such an event whilst still trying to carry out other Parish Council duties and maintain their own normal day to day home lives, it is a daunting task.
In the past year, we have lost the services of Councillors Peter Bowman, Georgia Saunders and Suemarie Du Val and were fortunate to recruit Matt Steczeck and James Hart. I would like to thank the former for all their efforts in Council and look forward to working with the latter over the coming months so that the Parish Council can carry on with its good works. The fact remains that we lost 3 Councillors and gained 2 so our position is slightly worse than this time last year. We continue to encourage residents to come forward and join us.
The Parish Council’s finances remain very healthy which allows us to continue providing those services which our residents have become used to and expect.
In closing, I would like to thank our Ward Councillors, Cliff Poppy, Chrissy Gelderbloem and Keith Parker for their collective attendance at our Parish Council meetings and for the information and assistance they have provided us with when needed. Also, I must thank Cllr Lesley Wagland – our ECC member – for keeping us abreast of the broader workings of Essex County Council.
Steve Saunders
Chairman