PARISH COUNCIL

A parishioner asked district councillor John Archer, in his new capacity as chairman of the Crouch River Harbour Authority, why boats were being left moored on the pontoon for up to three months when a visitor's licence under Yachting Federation rules was only for 23 hours. The pontoon should not be used as a marina.

Mr Archer agreed to look into the matter and report back at the next parish council meeting.

A parishioner voiced concern that several of the cars seen speeding through the village were driving to/from the nursery.

Councillor Cook confirmed that speed restrictions signs are highly visible in the nursery entrance and reminders placed in every newsletter.

Further concerns were raised about the building work proceeding at Northside in Roberts Road, where retrospective planning permission has been granted by Maldon District Council. A further objection letter had been sent by the parish council to the planning department after the last meeting requesting assessment of how the planning decisions were made in this case, but to date no reply has been received. Mr Archer said that the planning decision was dealt with under delegated responsibility to the planning officers, but he agreed to investigate the matter further.

Following two accidents on the Burnham Road outside the village this week, concerns were voiced regarding the frequency of gritting on key roads. The clerk will seek confirmation that this road is included on a priority rota.

Highways - councillor Garrood and the clerk reported on a meeting held with Jackie Roerig from ECC Highways and the engineer responsible for the siting of vehicle activated speed indicators.

Four possible sites were considered and it was agreed that the most appropriate one was to the left of the entrance to the recreational ground, which will be able to pick up speeding vehicles from 100m in advance of the sign. This site will give maximum protection to children at the recreation ground. It is also beneficial in that the lights will not interfere with any nearby housing.

Village appraisal - The public meeting and AGM of the North Fambridge Parish Plan Group will be held at 7.45pm on Wednesday, March 5, in the village hall.

The committee has looked at the top six questions raised and will discuss these. After the meeting additional comments may be added into the final write-up of the appraisal. As this is an elected group villagers will be encouraged to attend the meeting, not only to discuss issues raised but to vote on the new committee.

Grass-cutting quotes - Three quotations have been received for this year's grass cutting contract.

These will be circulated to councillors for comparison and the contract will be awarded at the next meeting.

District councillor's report - John Archer reported that Maldon District Council's budget will be confirmed and announced on Thursday, February 14.

Various planning matters were discuss.

Resolution from councillor Perrins regarding planning application procedures.

Councillor Perrins outlined the current procedures for dealing with planning applications. Documents are received from Maldon District Council and circulated amongst councillors within an allotted time-span. A response is given to MDC based on a consensus view of the comments made.

In cases where there is felt to be either a major impact to the village or significant disagreement between councillors, the planning application will be discussed at the next parish council meeting, if necessary requesting a time extension from MDC.

In order that the parish council can better reflect the views of the parishioners, councillor Perrins proposed that submissions from both the applicant and those affected by the application will be accepted by the council. These submissions must be received at least two weeks before the closing date of any responses required by MDC.

However, applicants always provide detailed submissions as part of the planning application itself, people affected by the applications far less so. These submissions can be used by the parish council when making any recommendations to MDC. However, he stressed that any comments passed to North Fambridge Parish Council by parishioners should also be sent to MDC directly.

Councillor Garrood expressed the view that it was not the business of the parish council to transmit the views of others, but to express its own views on behalf of the village as a whole.

As a result of further discussion about accepting and transmitting written submissions it was decided that advice/guidance would be sought from Simon Quelch, the solicitor at MDC, regarding the basis upon which the parish council should handle planning applications.

Maldon District Council is restricted by the Audit Commission as to how much time they have to turn a planning application around. These time constraints are passed on to the parish council. There may be a case for holding a brief public interim meeting midway between the monthly meetings for a fuller, combined discussion of planning applications currently in circulation.

It was agreed that the matter should be held over for further consideration and reports at the next meeting.

Lottery winners this month were - No 28, Dave, who lives in Franklin Road and No 141, G Jago, who lives in Fambridge Road.

The next meeting of the parish council will be held in the village hall on Monday, March 10, at 8pm.

LADIES AFTERNOON CLUB

THE next meeting will be held in the village hall on Tuesday, March 4, at 2pm. This will be the club's AGM and a general Social Afternoon with sherry and nibbles.

Members are invited to renew their membership of the club and new members will also be very welcome. The annual membership subscription remains at £5, £1 for visitors.

EASTER LILIES

PLEASE give Katy Gridley a ring on 01621 741420 as soon as possible if you would like a lily placed in the church at Easter in remembrance of a loved one.

VERY IMPORTANT MEETING

ALL residents are invited and urged to attend the public meeting and AGM of the North Fambridge Parish Plan, which of course concerns everyone living in the village.

The committee is an elected group, therefore it needs your vote if it is to continue to produce the village plan.

The preliminary results of the questionnaire have now been received.

The AGM will be followed by a presentation of the outline results of the questionnaire and an open discussion on an initial draft of the village plan.

Please support the committee as they need your votes, and your views are important.

The meeting will be held in the village hall on Wednesday, March 5, at 7.45pm.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

FAMILY Service on Mothering Sunday, March 2, at 10am. All welcome.