White Colne

Parish Council

White Colne

Parish Council

White Colne

Parish Council

White Colne News Archive

July 2009

Nasty Niff to be investigated

Anglian Water technicians will be inspecting the seal around the manhole in A1124 along Colneford Hill in an attempt to stop sewage odours from being released. Depending on their findings, it will either be grease sealed to prevent odours escaping or an odour logger will be installed to monitor the levels of gas within the manhole.

NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

Current trends: In the Halstead Area dwelling house burglaries, criminal damage and theft of or from motor vehicles are on the increase. Please secure properties and vehicles and do not let unwanted callers into your home. In White Colne on 1st June there was criminal damage to a double-glazed window of a house fronting Colchester Road and, on 25th June, an insecure grey Ford Transit (part index EF57....) was stolen between 1335hrs and 1350hrs (also in Colchester Road). If you have any information on these incidents please call our Neighbourhood Specialist Officer Paul Andrews on 07974 442984 or Braintree Police Station on 0300 333 4444. Also, Farm Watch have been asked to look out for a vehicle, a Vauxhall, registration P567 RKX seen on farmland without permission, believed to be connected with hare coursing. Again, any information please phone Braintree Police

Tree Preservation order on tree adjacent 2 Colchester Road  

BDC commissioned an independent engineer (Kelsey) to review the application submitted by OCA. In line with their recommendation the application has been returned ‘undetermined’ as further information on heave potential and geology is required before a decision can be reached.

If you wish to read the engineers report it should now be available on the website.

OCA would now appear to have the following alternatives, reapply with the additional information or appeal BDC's decision.

Land behind the village hall - an update.

A draft out line planning application has been prepared by Essex County Council for discussion with the planners at Braintree District Council. At this stage there are too many issues and discrepancies to go into in this letter but rest assured these are being addressed. On that note,the suggestion that the Parish Council has given up its right to object to ECCs plans is not true. The heads of agreement said we would co-operate in the promotion of the best planning consent obtainable for the site, insofar as our statutory obligations permit us to do so. This clause therefore does not interfere with our duty to act in the best interests of White Colne. Incidentally these are the same heads of agreement that Essex County Council agreed to pay all of White Colne's legal fees and have now reneged on. I have written to Lord Hanningfield, Leader of ECC on a number of occasions asking for our outstanding costs of £1100 to be paid but each time he has flatly refused. We are becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation but refuse to be bullied into backing down over a sum that forms a significant percentage of the Parish Councils annual budget.

If you would like to write to Lord Hanningfield to give your personal view he can be contacted at

Essex County Council
County Hall
Market Road
Chelmsford
CM1 1QH

Electrics in the power pillar have been replaced

I am pleased to confirm that on Friday the electrics in the power pillar on The Green were replaced. We now have 4 timed sockets suitable for lighting and 4 power sockets suitable for normal use (water heaters, amplifiers, snow machines etc).

The system has full earth and current protection as well as a built in timer unit so should be suitable for what ever uses we can put the Green to. With that in mind if you can think of an event to stage on The Green before our Christmas gathering it would great to put the new system through its paces.

THE VILLAGE GREEN - HELP US TO HELP YOU!

This letter is being sent to all properties in the immediate vicinity of the Village Green and, although it will obviously affect some residents more than others, we would like you all to know of our latest attempt to try and resolve the ongoing problem with the Green.. If you wish to discuss this matter, please contact Chris Pearcey or John Watt or come along to our next Parish Council meeting on Monday 20th July

You will have noticed that the bottom of the Village Green has taken a tremendous buffeting recently and especially so when the village flooded at the beginning of February and traffic had to be diverted up Colne Park Road. We feel the problem is caused by HGVs cutting off the corner when turning right up Colne Park Road from Colneford Hill. ECC Highways feel this problem is exacerbated by residents (or their visitors) parking in the road at the junction (or in close proximity to the junction) leaving insufficient room for other vehicles to pass without encroaching onto the Green. The Parish Council does not feel this is the primary cause as witnesses have seen large vehicles cut off the Green irrespective of whether cars are parked there or not.

This issue has been going on for years and Highway's only answer to the continual erosion of the Green is to impose double yellow lines at the junction which will effectively make it an offence for vehicles parking 'off road' on the piece of land immediately adjacent to the junction in Colneford Hill. With little enough parking space already in White Colne, we do not want this to be curtailed further.

If the damage to the Green continues Highways have said they will consider raising the kerb at the bottom of the Green to protect it, but only if we can convince them that the problem is not being caused by parking in the road.

Can we respectfully request therefore that you or your visitors do not park in Colne Park Road within 50 feet of the junction. Highways have also requested that vehicles parking on the verge in Colneford Hill should be positioned at least six feet in from the carriageway to allow good sight visibilty for drivers entering Colneford Hill from Colne Park.

The Parish Council have agreed to review the position again with ECC Highways in several months time and, if residents are able to comply with our request (which is not legally enforceable) we may hopefully receive some real protection for our Village Green in the form of a raised kerb, without the necessity of legally enforceable parking restrictions, which is the last thing we all want.

Bus Shelter Update.

Although we were originally lead to believe that White Colne was earmarked to receive its first bus shelter outside the Old King's Head Pub before last Christmas I'm afraid we're still waiting. Unfortunately ECC Highway's programme of works fell behind schedule and this meant that funding for the shelter had to come out of the following year's budget. We were then given a revised date of installation for May. Again this date came and went and it was then discovered that some residents who might be affected by the structure had not been properly consulted.

We're assured that a meeting will take place shortly and then hopefully the work can go ahead without any further delay. On a positive note - at least the raised kerbs are in situ in preparation for the shelter!

Do you know someone who work tirelessly for others?

Or a group who make a real difference to the community?

If the answer is yes, there’s your chance to reward them for their efforts.

Braintree District Council is running the Community Achievement Awards award for the second year, designed to celebrate and reward the effort of people who stand out for the commitment they make to their community.

Nominations can be made for one of the six categories below:

      1- Contribution to the community (young person 11-17);

       2- Contribution to the community (group of young people 11-17);

      3- Contribution to the Environment and Conservation;

      4- Contribution to a voluntary body or to the community (individual 18 and over);

      5- Contribution to a voluntary body or to the community (group- 18 and over);

      6- “Long Service” Contribution to the community (individual 18 and over).

Nominations must be received by 30th November on paper or by email, using a form from the council’s website www.braintree.gov.uk or on request. The winners will be announced next March

White Colne

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