Stock Parish Council held its Annual Council Meeting at Stock Cricket Club on Tuesday 14 May, when Paul Fenwick was elected Chair for the coming year, with Mark Rolph elected Vice-Chair.
The Parish Council has a number of village works and projects which were discussed, with progress made across a number of areas.
The first is the works to The Common. The Parish Council has submitted a non-material minor amendment application to Chelmsford City Council for the car park, swale and gabion baskets installation and is currently awaiting a response. The Parish Council appreciates villagers’ patience regarding this project.
The second issue discussed concerned the public car park outside All Saints’ Church, with a view to improving access for villagers, without making the car park accessible for HGVs. Following a previous on-site meeting held between councillors and church representatives, drawings of proposed alterations have been shared, and a further site meeting will be held in the near future to finalise a solution.
A third issue discussed focused on road safety issues. The Parish Council has received the results of speed surveys carried out in April at two locations – one in the High Street and the other in the 60mph section of Stock Road to the immediate north of the village centre.
The first showed that over 8,000 vehicles were caught speeding through the 30mph zone in the village centre in the space of a single week. The Parish Council intends to discuss the survey results with Essex Highways with the intention of improving road safety by way of average speed cameras.
Councillors also reported that the Community Speedwatch scheme had also caught motorists exceeding the speed limit in High Street and Mill Road, with the recorded data passed on to Essex Police.
The results of a separate pedestrian/vehicle (PV2) conflict survey undertaken in the High Street confirmed the Parish Council’s intention to replace the Zebra crossing outside Budgen’s with a Pelican crossing is justified. A Local Highways Partnership (LHP) Scheme request has been made to make this replacement.
Sticking with roads, the Parish Council is working with South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) and the Essex County Council Traffic Regulations Orders Team (TRO) with regard to the implementation of legal and enforceable parking restrictions at suitable road junctions in the village and, specifically, on the blind bend in Mill Road.
After sourcing multiple quotes for the works, the Parish Council also signed off funding for the repair of bus shelters in High Street, opposite The Hoop, and in Stock Road, opposite The Ship.
The Annual Council Meeting also saw the renewal of insurance cover agreed for current year, a policy review for standing orders and financial regulations, and an internal audit agreed and signed off before being submitted to PKF Littlejohn, before being published on Parish Council website when actioned.
Regarding the local environment, the Parish Council and villagers are working together on the ‘Where Does The Water Go?’ project to assess local flood risks.
The Parish Council also voted to formally object to the National Grid’s Norwich to Tilbury project to build pylons carrying high-voltage electricity through countryside close to the village.
In response to an email from a villager, it was explained that responsibility for grass cutting in the Dakyn Drive and Brookmans Road is with a housing association, CHP, rather than the Parish Council.
Looking forward, the Parish Council will host an event for the lighting of the beacon on The Common to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday 6 June at 9.15pm.
Stock Parish Council would like to thank parishioners for their support as we work together on projects to improve the village for everyone. Regular updates will be published on our website and Facebook page.
Our next monthly meeting will be held at Stock Cricket Club on Tuesday 11 June at 7pm.
