| This year has been a busy year for our nine Parish Councillors
and our clerk Lorraine Green. |
| The Queens Golden Jubilee was the major event in the
village and the P C handed the event over to Mr Stan Elgar and his very
efficient committee. The village and many from outside the village enjoyed a
very successful weekend. |
| The Parish Clerk has had a lot of work to do setting up
the new Model Code of Conduct and the Freedom of Information Act which all
Parish Councils have to adhere to. The Standing Orders and the Financial
Regulations have had to be updated and given to all Councillors. The new filing
system is under way and we hope will make PC business more efficient. |
| Bus Shelters. Two shelters have had to be replaced. The
one at The Ship was blown down and shattered. The new one has been slightly
relocated to improve the site line. A vehicle hit the Chelmsford bus stop in
the village one evening and the roof and part of the pillars were removed. |
| Village Hall Car Park. This has now been completed and has
an additional 42 parking spaces. |
| Grass Cutting. This has as usual been reviewed and put out
to tender for the coming year. It has been agreed to employ the same firm as
last year for this year. The PC now assists the PCC more with the maintenance
of the Parish graveyard, which we hope will improve the appearance. |
| Affordable Housing. The Essex Rural Housing Trust have
visited the village and have located possible sites which they have submitted
to the CBC Planning Dept. The PC have not been informed of the sites. |
| Street Lighting. Some new streetlights have been
requested. One in Common Lane, one in Common Road and one in Mill Road. The
application is being dealt with at the present time. |
| Play Area. The Council has been working on trying to
locate a play area for play equipment, which will be more varied and extensive
than the present swings and spring animal. To-date a suitable site has not been
found. |
| Roads and Verges. The state of the roads and verges around
the village is continually being reported. We are told that in the present
financial climate all that can be done is to 'patch-up' the worst holes. Verges
that get ruined by developers should be reinstated by them. It would be
appreciated if all villagers could refrain from parking on the grass verges. In
the lanes where the verges have been broken up by two-way traffic, or
excessively heavy traffic, CBC will, when resources permit, endeavour to
reinstate. |
| Traffic Management. The Parish Council have continued to
work with Chelmsford Borough Council, Essex County Council and Essex Police to
identify suitable measures to manage traffic in and around the Village. This
work has been linked to the opening of the new A130 and has focused on finding
technically feasible and enforceable solutions. At the most recent meeting in
March, a proposal was made for the High Street which seems promising for both
the control of speed and enhancing the environment of the area. Limited actions
have also been identified for the Downham Road area. We were also advised that
a reduction in the 'de-restricted' speed limit was moving through Parliament,
which would help improve the situation in surrounding lanes. Chelmsford Council
are now carrying out a detailed design and we hope to arrange a public
consultation during May. |
| Bin it Day. This will be on Saturday May 10th. Everyone is
asked to participate either by tidying up around their own property or by
coming out on Saturday morning at 9.30am to the Common and collecting a litter
picker, a pair of gloves and a sack and going around the roads and ditches
picking up the litter. A skip will be placed on the common for all the litter.
As we have once again entered for the Best Kept Village competition we want the
village to look at least free of litter. Please put the date in your diary and
do your bit. |
| Broadband. We have also been involved with a number of
local initiatives to bring broadband Internet capability to the Village. The
key to gaining this service is for sufficient number of British Telecom
customers in the area to register their interest. There are currently 80
registrations for the Stock exchange and it appears that a level of around 250
would be required to 'trigger' the service. We would encourage as many
residents as possible to register their interest at
www.btopenworld.com/broadband/reg10 - other useful information, including a
list of registrations may be found at www.adslguide.org.uk. |
| Finally. The Local Elections are coming up on May 1st.
Please make sure you come out and vote for your Borough Council and your Parish
Council. With the prospect of a new Council, I would like to thank all the
present Council very much for their support and hard work over the last four
years and our Parish Clerk for all her hard work. Our Borough Councillor Gary
Stringer is resigning. He has worked so very hard on behalf of this village and
has been a great help to this Parish Council. We thank him most sincerely. |
|
|
MRS SALLY JOHNSON
CHAIRMAN TO STOCK PARISH COUNCIL |
| APRIL 2003 |