Castle Hedingham Parish Council Main Page
A Brief History of Castle Hedingham
Old Pictures of Castle Hedingham
Castle Hedingham Parish Records
Simon Daw (website administrator)
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Castle Hedingham Parish Council Main Page
A Brief History of Castle Hedingham
Old Pictures of Castle Hedingham
Castle Hedingham Parish Records
Simon Daw (website administrator)
Castle Hedingham Parish Council
The Parish Council would like to invite you to attend the Annual Parish Meeting on Thursday 25th May 8.00 pm at the Memorial Hall, Castle Hedingham. Please find below a summary of the Parish Council activities during the past year.
Sadly
this year has seen the passing of two people who played a significant
role in the community: Jim Moore and David Seaman.
Jim had worked for the parish keeping the village neat and tidy for over ten years. His tireless efforts and massive contribution to the community were always deeply valued and will be missed.
David had served as a Parish Councillor since 1970 and was a prominent figure in the local community. He cheerfully took responsibility for greeting new residents and ensuring they had information about local services. He was always very approachable and brought a great many of parishioner’s concerns to the attention of the Parish Council so they could be resolved. He will be sorely missed and as Mr Hatfield said at his funeral ‘the community has lost a friend.’
The Council’s deepest sympathies go to both families.
The Parish Council have undertaken a joint project with the Memorial Hall Management Committee to restore the garden at the rear of the Memorial Hall. This has been made possible with a grant from the Rural Communities Development Fund from Braintree District Council and an Essex County Council Grant. The project is nearing completion and the Parish Council would like to thank in particular Alan Shaw, Tony Burch, Kevin Shears, Roy Mortimer, Ian Higgins and John Cooke for their contributions to this project. This will provide a peaceful area in the village for use by groups hiring the Memorial Hall, visitors and residents. A memorial to Jim Moore has been incorporated into the garden.
The Parish Council have recently appointed Mr Arthur Carr as the new Village maintenance employee.
The funding for the two community buses that the Parish Council was instrumental in starting came to an end on 31st March 2006. It is very unlikely that the 332 bus service to Braintree will continue as this service has not attracted many passengers. However, the 331 Service to and from Sudbury launched in April 2004 has proved to be very popular and is very likely to be adopted by Essex County Council and continue to run. The council would like to thank Mr Trevor Hood for his extensive work on this project.
Elections for the Hedingham Youth Council took place earlier this year and the council’s official launch took place on 28th April 2006. Youth Council representatives attend Parish Council meetings in Sible and Castle Hedingham as well as holding their own meetings. They have a great many ideas and plans for the coming year including liaising with the Police about anti-social behaviour, promoting the use of the Hedingham Youth Centre and raising funds for charity. The Parish Council welcomes a direct link with young people and wishes them every success.
At last year’s Annual Parish Meeting Councillors made parishioners aware of the benefits of drawing up a Village Design Statement. The statement describes the village’s buildings dividing it up into ‘Character Areas’ and gives guidance about the type of materials and developments that would be acceptable to the community. It must be produced by residents in consultation with the whole community and if the correct procedures are followed can become part of Planning Law. There was a positive response to this idea and at a well attended open meeting a committee was formed from representatives of a wide spectrum of the community and the project has begun to move forward. The Parish Council would like to thank those Parishioners involved as well as to Jan Cole from the Rural Community Council of Essex whose support and guidance has been invaluable.
Braintree District Council have provided a Parish Ranger for each Parish. Councillors have been glad to welcome Tom Newman, Castle Hedingham’s Ranger, to several of their meetings. Tom works closely with Community Support Officer Deb Green and together they have had a very positive impact in reducing the fear of crime and crime itself.
Following a house fire in Church Ponds the Parish Council received requests from Parishioners for a temporary one way system in Church Ponds whilst repairs works took place. Essex County Council agreed to the Parish Council’s request for a system which was installed and worked extremely well. However, following numerous incidents of vandalism which had the potential for causing serous damage to properties the County Council had no alternative but to remove the scheme. The Parish Council were very disappointed that the irresponsible actions of a few people should cause such unnecessary distress to local residents and result in the removal of a helpful system.
Following requests from parishioners the Parish Council have asked for double yellow (primrose) lines to be installed in Majendie Lane. The County Council plan to prohibit parking on the highway verge at Crouch Green and this restriction should come into place shortly. The Parish Council ask motorists to park considerately and observe these restrictions which have been put in place for road safety reasons. Please note Braintree District Council make regular parking enforcement patrols.
Braintree District Council will be providing a refuse lorry in Castle Hedingham to collect green waste on the following dates: Saturday 10th June, Saturday 8th July, Saturday 5th August, Saturday 9th September and Saturday 7th October. The vehicle will be available between 08:45 to 09:15 and will park in Kirby Hall Road.
The Parish Council ask parishioners to report any incidents of fly tipping to Braintree District Council Clean Team on 01376 331616.
Below is a summary of the Parish Council income and expenditure for 2005/06. Copies of the full accounts will be available at the Annual Meeting and displayed in the St James Street notice board.
Income: | |
| Precept and Parish Support | £26,064.00 |
| Burials | £3,045.00 |
| Community Transport Grants | £17,558.77 |
| Memorial Hall Garden Grants | £4,982.25 |
| Other income | £3,745.19 |
| Total | £55,395.21 |
Expenditure: | |
| Village Maintenance | £9,718.44 |
| Administration | £7,781.06 |
| Community Transport | £22,869.33 |
| Memorial Hall Garden | £4,793.84 |
| Loan payments | £1,795.31 |
| Grants | £335.00 |
| Other payments | £3,466.98 |
| Total | £50,759.96 |
| Plus net income | £4,635.25 |
| £55,395.21 |
County Councillor: David Finch 01787 - 371878