Castle Hedingham Parish Council News

Kissing Gates – Mr Philp will supply the clerk with the relevant information regarding landowners and style locations to allow the appropriate paper work to be completed for kissing gates to be installed in Scotch Pasture and other relevant styles in the Rushley Green area.

Table Tomb, St Nicholas Churchyard – It was agreed that Mr Cooke would obtain up-to-date quotations for the work approved to the table tomb in St Nicholas Churchyard.

a) 4.5 Tonne Weight Limit - It was noted that the 4.5 tonne sign has been removed.

b) Matters being pursued by the County Councillor - The county councillor agreed to chase the following matters: potholes in Nunnery Street; remarking of the road at the Queen Street traffic calming installation and the Keep Clear sign painted on the wrong side of the road in Church Lane. He also agreed to discuss problems with a faulty manhole cover on Sudbury Hill with Essex County Council.

c) Crouch Green -The bollards at Crouch Green are still awaiting power and Essex County Council are putting pressure on the electricity company to complete this work as soon as possible.

d) Weight Restriction -The recorded details of lorries breaking the village’s weight limit have been passed to Trading Standards.

e) Overhanging Trees, Sudbury Hill and Bayley Street – These have been reported to Highways. It was noted that Mr Southgate had contacted Essex County Council regarding a similar problem in Crown Street and action had been taken very quickly.

f) Safety on the Sudbury/Halstead Road – The Parish Council discussed the safety of this road where there had been a number of accidents including one recently when three young people were killed. The county councillor will discuss this matter again with Highways.

g) Kirby Hall Road – It was noted that Essex County Council Highways had made an excellent job of clearing the ditch in Kirby Hall Road but some damage had occurred to the road surface during these works. The County Councillor agreed to take this matter up the Essex County Council.

h) King Street – Later in the meeting a letter from Mrs Medcraft requesting that King Street pavement be resurfaced was read to the Council. It was agreed this request be forwarded to Essex County Council Highways.

a) Application - 07/01238/FUL & 07/01239/LBC– Erection of first floor extension and alterations to existing dwelling and provision of new conservatory – 3 Crown Street, Castle Hedingham – The Parish Council object to this application as Councillors are concerned about the negative impact the development will have on the adjacent property in relation to drainage, maintenance, sewage and problems of damp. It should be noted that there have been problems with flooding in this area and the neighbouring property has no foundations..

b) Application 07/01185/FUL – Erection of jumberalla type canopy to form external covered dining area within existing pub yard - The Wheatsheaf, 2 Queen Street, Castle Hedingham - No objections.

c) Application 07/01289/OUT – Conversion of existing building to 4 No. 2 bedroom apartments and erection of 1 No. new two storey dwelling with associated car ports and parking - The Old Police Station, 32 Queen Street, Castle Hedingham – The Clerk read number of letters of objection received from parishioners to this application. This matter was discussed in detail and the following comment was agreed:

The Parish Council does not object in principle to the sympathetic conversion of the existing building into living accommodation. However the Parish Council does object to the above application on the following grounds:

Proximity and Impact to the environment of Listed Buildings – The addition of a new two storey dwelling in the grounds of the Old Police Station conflicts with Policy RLP 100. This Policy states that Braintree Council will seek to preserve and enhance the settings of listed buildings by appropriate control over development, design and adjoining land. All the proposed development’s immediate neighbours are listed properties and the new property would be detrimental to the setting of these buildings.
Density and height of the proposed development and impact on the Conservation Area– The council is concerned that with the inclusion of an additional property the overall density of the development would have a detrimental impact on this part of the conservation area. The new property is out of keeping with the conservation area.
Access - The Parish Council has extreme concern regarding access to and from the development and feels the problems already experienced with traffic at this junction would be exacerbated further. Accordingly the Parish Council request that it be allowed to be represented at a at site meeting with Essex County Council Highways when they are considering their response to this application.
Parking Provision – The proposed parking for 5 vehicles does not meet the parking standard as set out in the Braintree Local Plan Review. This development is not in an urban area and there is no available off street parking and access to public transport is poor at best.

The Parish Council has had many letters from local residents who object to the application on similar grounds.

Parking, Allfrey Court - Councillors discussed problems with parking taking place in turning bays at Allfrey Court in detail and noted it made turning in this area very difficult. It was also noted that parking provided for these houses is reported to be under used. It was noted that there are no parking restrictions but emergency vehicles have had difficult in turning in this area. It was agreed that the Clerk contact Essex County Council regarding a possible solution to this problem.

Electricity Supply - It was agreed that as there continue to be frequent power cuts in the village a representative of EDF will be invited to a special open meeting in September at the Memorial Hall. The Clerk will contact EDF and the meeting will be arranged for a Monday evening

Wednesday 15th August 2007 and Wednesday 12th September starting at 7.45pm in Castle Hedingham Club, Church Lane, Castle Hedingham.

Castle Hedingham Parish Council and Burial Board

Report of the meeting of the Parish Council of Castle Hedingham held on Wednesday, 11th July 2007, issued by the clerk