The Parish Council met on February 11th, again online. There were seven councillors present, one Borough Councillor and our Essex County Councillor. Also present were three members of the public.
I am delighted to report that we have two new councillors, Heather MacDonald who has lived in the village all her life, and John Collier who has lived here for many years. Both spoke to the Council and outlined their ideas. The Parish Council voted unanimously to accept the candidates and both were duly co-opted onto the Parish Council.
As an aside, we now have two young councillors and it is fantastic to see much younger people becoming involved in local decisions for their community. We are still one councillor short and we would encourage people to come forward and stand as a councillor – anyone who lives in the parish may apply.
As many of you will be aware the sale of Eagle Field and Doddinghurst Common is complete and the new owners are taking measures to secure the sites. Since works began there have been many comments with regard to both the work being carried out and concerns about what is likely to happen. A statement has been put out by the Clerk which you can view on the Parish Council’s website, on Twitter @KHParishCouncil and on Next Door, www.nextdoor.co.uk. We would like to emphasise that the present works are to both improve and protect the land.
On Eagle Field brush and diseased trees are being cut back and removed. There are barriers to stop people accessing the field while works are being carried out as there is both large machinery and fires to burn wood, there are also plans to fence the field boundaries. Please respect any notices and barriers as they are there to protect the public. A few people have insisted that they have a right to access the field and have continued to do so. This could result in injury so please respect the notices and barriers while this work continues.
The Parish Council has been talking with the owners about leasing the site which would enable villagers to access the Eagle Field, to walk across it, walk their dogs etc. However, we must emphasise that this is private land and as such the villagers do not have any rights to cross the land without the owners’ consent. Eagle Field is not recreational land but is pasture. It would be a great pity if misuse of the land prejudiced any arrangement that the Parish Council may come to with the present owners.
Lastly, with regard to the concerns raised by villagers, there are no plans to build houses, flats, or place caravans. The land is green belt and the owner would have to pay a considerable sum of money if the land was developed within 10 years of purchase.
With regard to Doddinghurst Common, again works are being carried out to protect the site and the trees. A lot of damage has been caused to the trees by vehicles such as four by four off roaders and quad bikes driving through the trees though there is no right for any vehicle to leave the roadway and access the rest of the land.
There have been many comments about the amount of litter along the Ongar Road between Ongar and Kelvedon Hatch and again along the road once you leave the village. It was noticed that there is so much less litter along the road as you go through the village. This is due both to public awareness and concern within the village and the Parish Council’s litter clearing every week. While we would ask people to continue to dispose of litter (including many facial masks) carefully, there is unfortunately nothing we can do about the amount of litter thrown from cars apart from clear it up..
Due to Covid19 and lock down the Village Show will not be able to go ahead as usual and a suggestion has been made that work be put up in peoples’ windows, it would be interesting and helpful to have your views on this and any ideas for how the Village Show could go ahead remotely, online perhaps! That last one was mine so please don’t take that as official.
While many have now been vaccinated, there is still a high incidence of the virus, so please stay vigilant and safe.
Our website has now been updated and includes a diary section. The next Parish Council meeting will be at 8.00 pm on the 11th March online. If you wish to attend please ring the Parish Clerk and he will arrange it.
Cllr. Jan Wright
Kelvedon Hatch Parish Council