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Items
No. Item

1.

Public Speaking

Minutes:

Mrs S Tilstone and Mr R Tongue made separate public statements as residents of De Vigier Avenue about the Cabinet’s decision to dispose of land originally set aside for use as public open space.  Mr Tongue is chairman of the De Vigier Avenue residents’ association.  Their statements are set out in full in the appendix to these minutes.

 

Councillors asked a number of questions in clarification of points raised by Mrs Tilstone.

 

Mrs Tilstone said that the Walden Local had claimed there was no rat problem but this was not true.  However, the problem had improved since her neighbours had moved because there was now less bird feed left on the ground.  She confirmed that she did not want the wood to be cut down but wished it to be managed so that pigeons and rats could be controlled.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest

To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor S Harris.

 

3.

Covering Report to call in of Land at De Vigier Avenue, Saffron Walden pdf icon PDF 76 KB

To consider the call in of the Cabinet decision on 7 September 2017 to approve the disposal of land at De Vigier Avenue, Saffron Walden submitted by Councillors Asker, LeCount and Light.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that the meeting was being held to consider the call-in request made by Councillors Asker, LeCount and Light of the Cabinet’s decision to dispose of land at De Vigier Avenue, Saffron Walden.

 

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

He referred members to a flow chart tabled at the meeting explaining the options open to the Committee in considering the call-in request.

 

                        The Chairman invited Councillor R Freeman to make a statement as one of the two ward members for De Vigier Avenue. 

                       

                        Councillor Freeman asked members to reflect on the reasons for holding this meeting.  Call-in was part of the democratic process of enabling checks and balances.

 

                        There were two factors he asked members to consider.  First, there was the ecology of the site.  The triangle of land forming part of phase 6 of the adjacent Ridgeons development site was home to many species of bat as detailed in the commissioned ecology report. There were also many species of reptile not identified in the report.  The findings of the ecological reports justified taking a more careful look at the future uses of the land before anything was agreed.

 

                        The second factor was the question of morality.  Councillors had a robust moral compass but this had now been skewed.  The land was given over to the care of the Council 29 years ago but the Council had done nothing with it.  The land was valuable as a building site able to accommodate between 10-14 houses and might be worth at least £1m.  However, this sum would not be used for the benefit of the residents of De Vigier Avenue. 

 

                        The problem with rats would vanish when the development took place.  However, because something could be done there was no reason why it must be done.  For these reasons the Council did not have a strong moral compass.

                       

                        Councillor Dean referred to the original S106 covenant.  He asked whether any part of the covenant inhibited the Council’s actions now. 

 

                        The Head of Legal Services said the Council was a beneficiary of promises made when the land was transferred. When transferred, the land had statutory protection under the Open Spaces Act 1906.  However, the statutory procedure followed by the Council of advertising the intention to dispose of the land, and its consideration of objections, meant that the statutory protection would be overridden.

 

                        Councillor Chambers asked the Chairman to allow the Cabinet member to speak first.  The Chairman agreed to this request.

 

                        Councillor Howell then spoke as the Cabinet member responsible for the disposal of the land at De Vigier Avenue.  He said that he had proposed to

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

                       

Cabinet disposal of this land and this had been agreed.  He had been a member of Saffron Walden Town Council for eight years and had had contacts with local residents about the land concerned.

 

The intention had been that the land would be transferred to the Town Council for use as allotments.  A major difficulty was that access to the site could only be gained between numbers 16 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Public Statements

Minutes:

Appendix to the Scrutiny Committee Minutes of 25 September 2017

 

Statement made by Mrs S Tilstone

 

I moved  to24 devigier ave inmay 2014 andwithin two months  sawrats runalong myfence andgarden.

 

Agroup ofpeople hadcongregated  onthe greenoppositeto signa petitionof whichneither  myselfor my neighbourat no26 hadbeen invited,we werethe people most affected  by thewood aswe actuallylived directlyin front  ofit

 

Contrary  tothepapers claimthat there  was norat problem,i contactedtheenvironmentalhealthas the ratswere hangingoff thetrees, onthe fencesand going across gardensgettingundersheds anddecking. isent e mailsand photographsto thecouncil

 

Asa newresident  icontactedcllresker whoas anew mayor  wason holiday,she saidshe would  come andsee me butdid notand iwas forcedto contact  cllr rolfe

 

Ihave kepta tapedrecordingfromcllr rolfesaying they were dealingwith theproblemandthat  aneighbourhad been shootingtherats, infact shootingthirtyofthem. myneighboursaid theywere baggingthem  upand disposing of themin thedustbin

 

Thecouncil sentout thepest control  peoplewho baited


 

 

 

theareawith trapsplaced wherethey wereallowed and without bait.

 

Thecouncil also orderedpeople toclear wastedumped and stop puttingout feedand theycut backthe overhanging trees etc

 

Iwas sodistraught atit alliput myhouse upfor sale afteronly oneyear butremoved itwhen myimmediate neighboursmoved away

 

theproblem  was greatlyimproved  withmy new neighbourand whenfaced withrats inher gardenlast year we askedto jointhis residentsassosciation,to be toldthat itdid notreally existother thana coupleof people

 

thosethathad signedthe petitionoriginally hadin fact onlybeen askedfor thatpurpose andhad hadno other contact

 

Thesituation  hasdefinatelyimproved  thisyear asthere have been nositings of therats buti would like

assurancethatif thiswood isleft aloneit willcontinue to be cutright backand baitedfrom ourproperty

 

Itmust notbe leftdormant foranother thirty  yearsto


 

getevenmore overgrown  and unmanageableand the maintainingmust becarried outby peoplewho are authorisednot byresidents

 

Therat problem  willgrow asthey willnot onlygo into our estate butinto thenew oneat ridgeons

 

Ifitisto bebuilt onthen thebuilder shouldmake ita more pleasantopen spacefor allto enjoy

 

Iam notagainst thesurvival ofthe woodlandbut against the claimsthat therewere noproblems


Statement by Mr R Tongue

 

The decisionyou willbe lookingat tonightshould havebeen decidedon whetherthe land  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.