Birch Parish Council

YEAR END REPORT
31st March 2011

Matters arising from 2010 report:-

• 1022 Old Post Office Junction: The Parish Council have been unable to persuade Colchester Borough Council that alternations need to be made to this Junction as there is no history and of low priority but we will continue to press for the alterations to be made. Progress has been made however in improving safety at the junction as well as near to Heckford Bridge with the installation with better signage and more speed checks in the area.
• Neighbourhood watch: The amount of unsociable behaviour activities has reduced although there have been a number of minor incidents reported during the year. A Police Beat Surgery is held each month at Birch Gallery. The regular visiting Police mobile unit has had poor attendance this year and was stopped in February as part of budgets reviews.
• Vacancies: The council elections were held in May with all members of the previous Council being elected for another four year term unopposed.
• Village Facilities Update: New grant and donations obtained during the past year have amounted to (£41,500 excluding VAT). The majority of the money will be spent during the next financial year at the Play Area, plus work to extend the Village hall car park and install a replacement bus shelter at Hardy's Green, which is on the route of the new Shop Mobility Bus. The two main ongoing projects for Parish funding remain the Play Area and the Village Hall.
• Improvement at the Play Area: The third phase of new fencing and landscaping has been completed with further grants applied for in 2010 to complete the rest of the fencing. New grants obtained for around £30k will mean the fourth phase of development can start in the summer. The original old children's play equipment will be replaced with new equipment aimed at the 2-4 year age group. In general there has been an improvement in the litter and dog fouling problems at the site.
• Improvement at the Village Hall and its facilities: The floor at the Village Hall has been repaired and resurfaced and new chairs and tables purchased by the hall management committee. A Grant has been obtained on behalf of the TVCA to extend the parking facilities at the hall with work due to commence in the spring.
• Remembrance Sunday: This occasion was again well supported by residents, with the Parish Council opening the Village Hall for tea and coffee. A donation of £50.00 was made to the Royal British Legion towards their Poppy Appeal fund. The Police were thanked for closing the road during the period of silence.
• Planning: No further news has been received regarding the proposed planning application to extend St Peter's Church development.
• A planning application has been presented to extend Birch Pit which is being considered by ECC/CBC as part of general expansion in the County. An application has also been made to expand Waste disposal at Birch Airfield. Both expansions are opposed by the Parish Council with the major concern being increased Road Traffic, Noise and Safety issues.
• Progress on the expansion of Abberton Reservoir has been monitored particularly regarding any potential increase in traffic through the Parish, which has been minimal.
• Police: This good communication between the Parish Council and the local police has been maintained with a Police presence at most of the Parish meetings, a detailed report has been sent when they were unable to attend.
• The main concern to residents continues to be general safety as well as traffic problems near to Birch School. This subject will be taken up with ECC during April 2011, to see if traffic congestion during school time, as well as general parking in the area can be improved following. The Mobile Police Station has recently stopped visiting the village as part of rationalization of the mobile sevice. The Parish Council is thankful to Police Constable M Wilson for all her hard work in the community during the year.
• Grass Cutting: Guildhall Services were again awarded the contract for grass cutting as well as extra projects such as vegetation cut backs and maintenance in the Parish, all of which were on a tender basis.
• Village Cleaning: Following Birch and the Maldon Road being added to the CBC cleaning department regular rounds for sweeping and litter picking, general tidiness in the parish has improved. The Parish Council continued to fund cleaning of the Play Area twice a week during April and October 20010. Some new bins were also installed at the Play Area and other locations in the Parish which has helped to improve the litter problem throughout the Parish.
• Dog Fouling is still a problem but steps taken to improve the situation with the installation of new bins, new signs, the supply of free dog waste bags and visits by CBC dog wardens seem to be having some success. At the end of the day however it is Birch residents who really have the responsibility of improving the situation by clearing up after their pets.
• Greenfields Houses: In general the problem in the area regarding dislodged kerbs has improved. The Parish Council was unsuccessful in its grant application to highways for a £50k grant to have the kerbs and paths repositioned. It was decided by ECC that this work should carry on being classed as general highways maintenance.
• Footpaths: Work has taken place to improve access to the main footpaths and where possible improve access for wheeled chairs. A team of volunteers has been established to report back on any work that needs to be carried out on any right of way in the parish. In 2010 Footpath 31 was removed from the ECC definitive map. School Lane was opened up as a restricted Byway for pedestrians and horses only.
• Potholes, Flooding and Signs: Birch is fortunate that the highways team reacts quite quickly to any problems reported. This has been a particularly bad year for incidents but in general they have been dealt with efficiently, and a special mention is made to Cllrs. Ellis & Bentley as well as the Parish Clerk for keeping on top of all requests and actioning them in a timely manner.
• Mobile Youth Bus: The Mobile Youth bus stopped visiting Birch during the tear due to poor attendance and use age. It is hoped to arrange some more visits during 2011.
• Parish Website: The Parish website, www.birchpc.org.uk, was expanded during the year and is now updated on a regular basis. The site complements other sources of information available for residents of Birch in both electronic and hard copy formats. Special mention is made to Mr. Carr who is the Webmaster and has worked with the Council on a voluntary basis to keep the site updated on an ongoing basis.

Matters arising from 2011:

• Shop Mobility Bus: The Parish Council has arranged for a new shoppers bus service to Sainsbury's as well as a service to the Town Centre and Colchester Leisure Centre to come to the village each Wednesday starting in March 2011. At the same time a Grant was obtained to replace the bus shelter at Hardy's Green which will be one of the stop/pick up points for the service. The new bus shelter should be installed during April.
• St Peter's Church Graveyard: The Church Grave Yard is not the responsibility of the Parish Council but the PCC; however the Parish Council has worked with the PCC to have the Graveyard cleared and maintained on a regular basis to improve the general safety and presentation of the site. The Essex Probation Service has under taken this work as part of the Community Pay Back Scheme and will be used for similar work in other parts of the Parish during the coming year.
• EDP Pylon Compensation: Ongoing discussions are still taking place with EDP regarding a compensation claim to cover the pylons that cross the Play Area.
• Essex Wildlife Trust: The Parish Council is still working with the trust regarding their Living Landscape vision for Birch & Layer Breton. A number of suggestions have been made on how to improve the nature facilities for local residents. This is an ongoing project which will take some time to come to fruition
• Parish News Cartoons: The Parish Council is still supporting the production of the Parish News and regular inclusion of a cartoon to bring Neighbourhood Watch issues to the attention of residents. A special mention is made to Mr. Harrison for producing the cartoons, the PCC, Mr. Russell Grant & his team for producing and distributing the Parish News to residents.
• Fly Tipping: Many locations such as Lower Road and Birch Park have been used by fly tippers on a regular basis during the year. The Council has worked hard in getting rubbish cleared away and residents have been vigilant in reporting any cases of tipping as soon as they occur. This problem is not restricted to Birch but to the local area in general.
• Parish Benches: A new scheme was introduced allowing residents to install new or sponsor existing Parish benches in memory of their loved ones. Two new benches have resulted from this scheme as well as much needed funds that have been spent with in the Parish on other projects.
• Cycle Races: Following requests and complaints from residents regarding cycle races being held in the Parish without suitable notice being given, the Police have instructed those concerned to warn the Parish Council in advance of any such races so that residents have sufficient time to plan for problems that may occur while a race is being held.
• Layer Breton Parish Meeting: A formal approach has been made to Layer Breton to join Birch in forming a new Birch & Layer Breton Parish Council. To date no response has been forthcoming from Layer Breton though this is not likely to happen until their next Parish Meeting. There are a number of financial benefits that would be obtained by forming one Council covering the two Parishes.
• Abberton Reservoir Expansion Project: The Parish Council has worked closely with Cllr Ellis & Bentley to make sure that any disruptions to residents are kept to a minimum while the work on both the reservoir and pipe laying is taking place. To date, keeping lorries out of the village has been successful and any increase in heavy vehicles has been from the usual agricultural vehicles.

Date of next Year End meeting will be in April 2012; the date and time to be confirmed.