The Council Rules provide for questions by any member of the Council to the Leader or any Portfolio Holder, without notice on:
(i) reports under the previous item; or
(ii) any other matter of a non operational character in relation to the powers and duties of the Council or which affects all or part of the District or some or all of its inhabitants.
Council Rules provide that answers to questions without notice may take the form of:
(a) direct oral answer from the Leader or, at the request of the Leader, from another member of the Cabinet;
(b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication;
(c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner; or
(d) where the question relates to an operational matter, the Leader or a member of the Cabinet will request that a response be given direct to the questioner by the relevant Chief Officer.
In accordance with the Council Rules, a time limit of thirty minutes is set for questions. Any question not dealt with within the time available will receive a written reply. The Chairman may extend this period by up to a further 10 minutes at their discretion.
Minutes:
(a) Parking Enforcement in the Council’s Ongar Car Park
Councillor P Keska asked the Safer, Cleaner and Transport Portfolio Holder whether he was aware of a volunteer in Ongar, who had been given a parking ticket for using one of the dedicated library spaces on a Sunday when the library was closed.
Councillor S Kane advised that he had not been aware and would investigate, although he advised that an enforcement officer had followed the correct policy, which ensured that users were correctly parking.
(b) Epping Forest Retail Park
Councillor S Murray asked that the Assets and Economic Development Portfolio Holder whether there were any future plans at the Epping Forest Retail Park to;
(i) reconsider the crossing arrangements for pedestrians at the Langston Road and Chigwell Lane Junction;
(ii) for an impact assessment on other Council owned retail areas within the immediate area, in particular the Broadway; and
(iii) have a bus service into the Retail Park.
Councillor A Grigg advised that following Councillor S Murray previous question at Council in November, she had visited the Retail Park to examine the car park usage and pedestrian crossings. She confirmed that it appeared commuters had been using the car park, although this had been rectified. She had observed that the traffic light sequences used to cross the Langston Road and Chigwell Lane junction required careful observation and these concerns had been raised with Essex County Council (ECC) Highways. Although ECC had confirmed that the lights had passed the Safety Audit, she thought that this situation could be improved. She suggested that the safe crossing point for pedestrians to access the Retail Park was the Puffin Crossing by Debden Tube Station. Regarding the bus service, she informed members that this would not be viable because of the space required for buses, potential loss of parking spaces and the additional costs involved now that the Retail Park had been built. Lastly, she advised that there were no plans for an impact assessment, but she would look into this and respond via the Members Bulletin.
(c) Online Catalogue for the Epping Forest Museum
Councillor C C Pond asked the Leisure and Community Services Portfolio Holder whether she would convene a meeting between Local Historical Society and the Museum, to compile an online catalogue of documents and artefacts that the Epping Forest Museum held.
Councillor H Kane advised that she thought that this was a good idea and would speak to officers.
(d) Buckhurst Hill Conservation Area
Councillor G Chambers asked the Safer, Cleaner and Transport Portfolio Holder whether the proposed Conservation Area for Buckhurst Hill would progress in 2018.
Councillor S Kane advised that it most probably would.
(e) Gazetteer System - Street Naming and Numbering
Councillor J H Whitehouse asked the Technology and Supports Services Portfolio Holder whether Parish and Town Councils could be consulted to enable commemorative names associated with the area to be used for the naming of roads or developments in the district.
Councillor A Lion advised that it was something he would consider and put forward to officers, although the team was only responsible for the information already received and not the designation.
(f) Boundary Commission Review
Councillor B Surtees asked the Planning and Governance Portfolio Holder whether he agreed with the importance of the Local Government boundaries remaining, especially with regards to Ongar and North Weald.
Councillor J Philip advised that when the Parliamentary Boundary review was discussed at the Governance Select Committee, it was very clear that the local communities within the district wanted to remain unchanged and they had expressed the view that any Parliamentary changes should not effect the Local Government Boundaries.
(g) Cottis Lane Car Park, Epping
Councillor J M Whitehouse asked the Safer, Cleaner and Greener Portfolio Holder whether he had any future plans to look into the length of the car parking tariff’s in Cottis Lane, Epping especially on Market days when it was at full capacity. He also raised concerns on the pay by phone system, which seemed to allow parking beyond the theoretical maximum period.
Councillor S Kane advised that he had attended a recent meeting with Epping Town Council to look at parking situation, especially on market days. He would also investigate the pay by phone concerns.
(h) Volunteers within the District
Councillor S Murray asked the Leader of Council, whether he agreed with him that the Council should pass on it’s appreciation to the community and voluntary organisations that help the residents of Epping Forest District.
Councillor C Whitbread agreed that the community and voluntary organisations had done a great deal for the Council and its residents in the past year. The Council thanked all the community and voluntary organisations that helped.