The Parish Council met on 4th May for the Annual Meeting, hopefully this will be the last time we will have to meet online. This was an important meeting because it is the time when the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected and committees are set up, membership agreed and meeting schedules are set.
Steve Saunders was elected to be Chairman and Richard North as Vice-Chairman, these appointments are the same as the past year.
We agreed to have a total of five committees:
The Environmental Committee
The Finance Committee
The Personnel Committee
The Planning committee
The Community Relations Committee.
Please look on the Parish Council website, in the Village News and on the Parish Council notice boards for dates and times of the meetings. We would welcome more input from our residents.
We also elect liaison representatives to Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall, The Church Centenary Fund. The Brentwood Borough Parish Council Association (BBPCA) and a Transport Representative.
The Annual Governance Statement and the Annual Accounting Statement were agreed and they will now be sent to the External Auditors.
Last year the Parish Council set itself two targets.
Firstly, increasing public participation in Parish Council activities. This involved tasks such as keeping the website up to date and updating social media regarding current events and issues. Articles and information was also provided in the Village News. We were delighted by the response to the proposed purchase of Eagle Field and Doddinghurst Common even though we were ultimately unsuccessful. During lockdown we have had some residents joining our virtual meetings and we hope that more of you will attend as we return to meeting in person.
Secondly we aimed to increase the number of Parish Councillors. During the last year despite losing two long serving members we have been able to recruit more Councillors and we now have only one vacancy on the council. We have also increased our diversity in terms of age and gender.
This year we have set ourselves three targets:
To develop more effective communications with residents
To develop community engagement
To develop the Parish Councillor Skill set.
As always we welcome ideas and suggestions that would help us to achieve our goals.
Over our last few meetings there have been a number of ongoing issues.
Firstly, the encroachment on to Eagle Field is still ongoing. There are still a few residents who have not responded but hopefully Brentwood Council will engage with their tenants and the remaining homeowners will soon correctly reinstate their boundaries so that more serious measures do not have to be taken. When the field is correctly fenced it can hopefully be cleaned and tidied so that the Parish can rent it for residents to use once again.
Secondly, Doddinghurst Common now has a Woodland Manager and some improvements have started but the damage caused to the site can not be easily rectified. Going forward if vehicles stay on the Byway the woodland can start to recover and perhaps become an asset to the community.
Thirdly the decision to purchase new play equipment for the Children’s play area has been made. We have received the grant from the Community Fund and are just waiting for final approval from the Village Hall Trustees. The multi-play unit and nest swing can then be ordered and the equipment installed and if all goes well it will be ready for use this summer.
I have just one final issue to raise. In 2022 the Queen will have reigned for 70 years and we need to decide how to celebrate this remarkable achievement. We will be discussing this at forthcoming meetings so please share your thoughts and ideas at our meetings, on line or via contact through the parish clerk.
With the easing of Lockdown, please do take care to keep everyone safe by following the Government Guidelines.
Cllr Linda Matthew