uttlesfordNews, views and stories from Uttlesford District Council • It’s our community

Inside:

SUMMER 2010

Have your say on council spending

Help with unwanted insects Keeping district restaurants clean

Cut-price pet microchips Uttlesford at leisure – new museum exhibition Saffron Screen – Going Digital latest

Keep our district clean!

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news from the council

Uttlesford Life is the magazine from Uttlesford District Council.

It is designed to help residents learn more about the services the council offers and keep up to date with developments that may affect them.

It is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper and delivered to homes across the district.

If you would like this magazine in another language or format, please call our UConnect Customer Service Centre on 01799 510510.

Comments or suggestions for the magazine? Email us at uttlesfordlife@uttlesford.gov.uk

The district of Uttlesford is one of the most desirable areas to live in the country and is frequently recognised as such in national surveys. The residents of our district have a strong culture of civic pride in their environment.

However, we are never complacent about this and strive successfully with our town and parish council partners to keep our towns and villages great places to live. One of the things that you tell us in our own surveys is how much as residents you value a clean and tidy environment. Uttlesford has been recognised in recent Audit Commission reports for doing a good job at keeping our district clean.

Nevertheless, we recognise that there is a growing culture of litter being dropped in the country as a whole – but we want our district to become an example to others.

To achieve this we have to change attitudes towards people throwing down their litter, for if we do not, the problem will outgrow our ability to clear it up. We know littering is caused by a minority of people but the impact on our towns and villages and the countryside in particular is a real issue for all of us. Litter thrown from moving vehicles causes an eyesore on our rural grass verges and seems to be a

growing problem nationally.

This is why we are mounting a campaign to highlight the problem and to seek to involve all of our community including fast food outlets, retailers of takeaway drinks and snacks, schools, town and parish councils; indeed anyone and everyone can play a part in keeping our district tidy. But we can never win if we just concentrate on picking litter up, important

as that is. We must seek to make it socially unacceptable to deliberately throw down litter in the first place.

Jim Ketteridge

Leader of Uttlesford District Council

The withdrawal of the second runway planning application for Stansted Airport marked the culmination of a hard-fought eight-year battle for Uttlesford District Council.

Back in 2002, the council held a referendum into expansion at the airport, asking whether residents wanted more runways at Stansted. The result was 89 per cent against more runways.

Over the next eight years, the council has fought the plans with the support of local authority partners at Essex and Hertfordshire county councils and East Herts District Council.

Airport owner BAA formally withdrew its application in May.

Second runway threat lifted

Uttlesford District Council leader Cllr Jim Ketteridge said: “BAA’s welcome announcement draws to a close the fight against both the principle of, and the reality of, the planning application for a second runway at Stansted Airport.

“Growth at Stansted has been the single most important issue facing our district for many years and the council is very pleased that we finally have had the result we wanted.”

Peace of mind for your poochCut-price microchipping could help provide peace of mind for pet owners across the district.Uttlesford District Council offers a pet microchipping service – a quick and painless procedure that greatly increases the chances of pet and owner being brought back together if your beloved beast goes astray.

Animal Warden Sue Knight is available to carry out home visits, making it more convenient than ever to safeguard yourself against losing your pet.

The service is currently available at a discounted rate.

Until the end of July a home microchipping visit costs just £16 (usual price £24.50), or £12 for people in receipt of council benefits. Additional pets can be microchipped during the same session for £8 each.

Sue said: “Last year the council dealt with 107 stray dogs, only 26 of which were able to be returned direct to their owners. If more had been microchipped, the number we’d been able to reunite with their owners would’ve been far higher.

“Anyone who wants to find out more about microchipping or book an appointment for a home visit can give me a call on 01799 510594.”

Changes to the way benefits are assessed could mean you are entitled to money that you are currently not receiving.Regulations relating to the assessment of eligibility for benefits have recently changed. If you receive child benefit, or child maintenance payments, we no longer need to include these as part of your income when assessing entitlement, although we still need you to tell us about it. This change in regulation means more people are now eligible to receive financial help.

If you think these changes might affect you and would like to find out whether you are entitled to help paying your rent or council tax, you can do so by visiting the council’s website.

Log on to www.uttlesford.gov.uk/benefits, where you can complete an online benefits calculator assessment to quickly and easily find out what you are entitled to, or call 01799 510510.

Well over 2,000 people took part in our Developing Uttlesford consultation earlier this year, which sought opinions on where best to site thousands of new homes in the district.

The council received about 2,300 responses in total by email, post and through our online consultation system.

The vast majority of the responses – some 95 per cent – came from individual residents. However, the council also received responses

Incidents such as the heavy rainfall that struck in June 2007 can cause hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage in just a few hours.

Because of the risk of flooding, it’s crucial that the impact on drainage that development may have is considered. This will help mitigate the risk of flood damage in future.

This even extends to paving in front gardens. While simply paving or laying a driveway outside the front of your house may seem an insignificant act, the cumulative effect of many front gardens

Drive to cut flood riskbeing paved can have a substantial impact on the land’s ability to drain water, increasing the risk posed by flooding.

For this reason, planning permission is now required for any paving or driveway more than five metres square that uses impermeable materials.

The use of a porous construction – both the paving itself and the base beneath it – negates the need for planning permission.

You can find out more information on this in a new leaflet. Visit www.uttlesford.gov.uk/drainage or call 01799 510521 to request a copy.

Consultation thanksfrom parish councils, neighbouring district and county councils, national organisations such as the Environment Agency, English Heritage, local groups such as Sustainable Uttlesford, and development companies, landowners and others promoting land for development within the district.

Officers are currently looking at all the representations received and will be reporting back to councillors in the autumn.

The council would like to thank everyone who took part.

Help paying rent or council tax

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uttlesfordlife news and comment from around the district

news from the council

Hygiene comes first for Uttlesford restaurants

A major fundraising campaign for Uttlesford’s only cinema is approaching the half-way point.

Saffron Screen is Going Digital – but needs to raise tens of thousands of pounds for new equipment.

Throughout the year, the campaign aims to raise the £60,000 necessary to buy and install digital projection equipment.

The movie industry is rapidly converting to digital distribution and this new technology is required to keep Saffron Screen open in the future. Additional benefits of digital equipment are that films will be screened in pristine condition and Saffron Screen will have

Community cinema’s digital bidthe opportunity to show live cultural events like ballet, opera and sports.

As of June, £28,000 had been raised through generous donations from the public, local businesses and small grants. Uttlesford District Council pledged its support with a grant of £3,000 and joined other local sponsors – Adams Harrison Solicitors, Saffron Insurance, Saffron Building Society, Furniture & Things and Saffron Walden Town Council.

Anyone interested in donating or finding out more about the campaign can visit the website: www.saffronscreen.com

Saffron Screen, a not for profit organisation, has a dense programme

of exciting films over the summer, including a Sex and the City 2 cocktail night on 22 July, with a prize for the most glamorous outfit.

Visit the website for more information, or visit the tourist information centre in Saffron Walden Market Square.

Scores on the Doors, to be launched later this year, aims to take the unknown element out of buying prepared food when out and about.The brainchild of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Scores on the Doors will make available essential information about vendors’ food hygiene standards on an easy-to-use website.

Shops, supermarkets, cafés, pubs, takeaways, mobile food vans and schools are all eligible to join the scheme, so you can check the standards of a premises’ kitchen before you or your family eat there.

Each business will be rated in three areas: adherence to food hygiene practices, the condition of the premises and its management. Ratings will be given by Uttlesford District Council environmental health officers.

By visiting the site you will be able to see how different food sellers compare, before eating somewhere you can be certain has high hygiene standards.

Geoff Smith, head of environmental health at Uttlesford District Council, said: “The council is very pleased to be able to take part in this new national scheme, which will better inform residents of the hygiene standards of places selling food.

“This can only be a good thing for consumers in the district, giving them confidence that the place where they are buying their food is up to scratch on health and hygiene.

“I am sure the majority of food businesses in Uttlesford will

welcome being part of the scheme and look forward to allowing consumers to make more informed choices about where to eat, drink and shop.”

The Yuva restaurant in Debden, pictured, is one place looking forward to the introduction of the scheme.

Owner Imran Khan said: “Food hygiene is something we take very seriously at Yuva, which is why we’re very happy that Scores on the Doors is being introduced in Uttlesford.

“As well as giving us and other food establishments a chance to publicise the fact that we place such an emphasis on high standards in the kitchen, it also empowers consumers, who will be able to find out at a glance whether the place they’re considering buying their food is up to scratch.”

You can find out more about the scheme, which will be launched in Uttlesford later this year, at the FSA’s website at www.food.gov.uk

Take pride in where you live – Uttlesford District Council is launching a new drive to make sure the district remains one of Britain’s most beautiful places to live.Most people in the district behave very responsibly, but our environment can be spoilt by a small minority. That’s why the council is launching a campaign encouraging residents to look after where they live.

One of the key aims of the campaign is to step up the anti-littering message – including reaching the youngest members of our community.

Cllr Jim Ketteridge, Leader of Uttlesford District Council, said: “We want to get everyone, including children and teenagers, thinking more about their responsibility to keep where they live clean. Of course, that is not to say that littering in the district is solely a problem caused by young people, but by educating them at a young age we

can hopefully have a long-lasting positive effect.”

The council will be coordinating a district-wide Big Clean Up event later in the year through which it hopes to encourage people to spend a couple of hours

litter-picking the area where they live.

The council has recently carried out a thorough review

of its street sweeping operation to make sure resources are deployed in the most effective way possible and is targeting so-called “grot spots” more effectively than ever.

Cllr Ketteridge said: “This campaign is not just about tackling

litter issues. Through it, we also want to encourage people to think about where they live and what makes it so special to them. It is very much about celebrating this district – most people, quite rightly, are already very proud of their village or town and their district and we want to recognise that.”

Also through the campaign, the council will celebrate the district’s community heroes and work closely with parish councils, businesses and landowners across Uttlesford to keep the district as clean as it can be.

Cllr Ketteridge added: “Uttlesford is one of the best places to live in the country and together we can keep it that way.”

Among the initiatives being planned for the coming months are:

A district-wide Big Clean Up day

Photography competition

Poster and multi-media competitions for school children

Community Achievement Awards to recognise the hard work of individuals who make a real difference to where they live

More publicity around anti-littering

Helping businesses and landowners recognise their responsibilities

Take Pride!

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council services for the community

Keep Summer Pests at BayThe arrival of summer means the arrival of wasps, and if you’re unlucky enough for them to choose your property in which to build a nest, it can cause serious problems.By this time of year the creatures’ nests will be well established, having grown from a walnut-sized construction created by a solitary queen shortly after leaving hibernation at the beginning of the summer.

If you are unfortunate enough to have a wasp nest in your loft or garden it can be a major source of stress. By the end of the summer a single nest can house more than 10,000 wasps.

Fortunately Uttlesford District Council’s environmental health team is fully equipped to exterminate these nests, responding quickly and efficiently where needed.

Environmental health technical officer Keith Hitchings said: “Although wasps can be good news for gardeners because they eat garden pests, they can be a real headache for homeowners when they set up shop in a property.

“Using effective methods, we can dispatch an entire colony of wasps with the minimum of hassle, making your property a safe place to venture once again.”

The team will only treat nests near human contact; wasps in more isolated areas are actually largely beneficial, as they kill many insect pests. But if you are concerned you may have a wasp nest in your property, call the pest control team on 01799 510510. Advice on all sorts of pest control and infestation is available free of charge. You can also email Keith Hitchings at khitchings@uttlesford.gov.uk

A nest in a domestic property will cost £56 to treat, or £44.80 for those receiving council-administered benefits. Additional nests at the same location will be £28 each. The cost for commercial premises is £80.

WASP OCCURING?• Although there are almost 300 species of wasp in the UK, the two

most prevalent are the common wasp and the German wasp

• Wasp nests are made from a mixture of chewed wood pulp and saliva

• Wasps tend to search for food within a 400-metre radius of their nest

• Only female wasps can sting you

• The Italian word for wasp is “Vespa”; the creatures’ characteristic buzzing led to this being used as the name of an Italian moped

A wasp nest

Avoid a Costly Clean-UpIf your home or business uses oil-fuelled central heating, it’s important you keep an eye on the condition of your oil tank.

Even a small central heating oil leak can have disastrous consequences. At best, you could be faced with a substantial clean-up bill; at worst, it could pollute the water supply and lead to the evacuation of your property.

Between 2001 and 2008 more than 150 pollution incidents reported to the Environment Agency in Essex involved spills from domestic and commercial heating oil facilities, with one recent domestic spill costing a householder more than £100,000 to clean up.

Other consequences include health risks, damage to the structure of buildings and harm to local vegetation. Causes of leaks can range from overfilled tanks, poorly installed systems, corrosion, boilers which have not been serviced and worn out pipelines. Signs of a leak can include a strong kerosene smell, black stains and dead plants or grass around your tank and a sudden increase in the amount of fuel you seem to be using.

By having regular checks on your equipment you can greatly reduce the risk of a costly failure in future. Keep an eye on your oil storage facilities – a small outlay on maintenance now could save you a small fortune in future.

For further advice contact Uttlesford District Council’s environmental health team on 01799 510510.

England at Leisure is a collection of exhibits and photographs that tell the story of how our forebears would have let their hair down, when not at work or school.

With photographs spanning a century, from 1860 to the beginning of the 1960s, the exhibition reflects on the golden age of British leisure, when seaside resorts such as Brighton and Clacton would attract heaving throngs of holidaymakers every year and an overseas break was unthinkable for most families.

Principally formed from photographs from the public archive of English Heritage, the National Monuments Record, and bolstered with exhibits from the museum’s own collections, England at Leisure will run from 17 July to 26 September.

A Leisurely Look at Times Past

Cycling at Mill Green, Broxted, Essex,

1930s. Reproduced by permission of

English Heritage.NMR

Museum Curator Carolyn Wingfield said: “The wonderfully evocative photographs in this exhibition explore leisure time enjoyed by adults and children from the 1860s up to the 1960s.

“From Victorian ladies with bicycles riding in Hyde Park to holidaying at English seaside resorts in the 1950s there is something for everyone in this selection of photographs.

“The exhibition is supplemented with a range of objects from the museum’s own collection, including a donkey’s straw hat, vintage swimming costumes, conductors’ batons, sports trophies and Punch and Judy puppets. An illustrated book, Leisure, accompanies the exhibition.”

Saffron Walden Museum is open 363 days a year. Entry is free for children, 75p for discounts and £1.50 for adults, with season tickets also available for £2.50 and £5.

Call the museum on 01799 510333 or visit www.saffronwaldenmuseum.org for more information.

The National Monuments Record is an incredible archive available to everyone – find out more at www.english-heritage.org.uk/NMR

Cowboy traders give their fellow tradesmen a bad name – but now a new scheme has been launched to weed them out.

Buy With Confidence is an initiative from Essex County Council Trading Standards designed both to help consumers find a trustworthy trader and to ensure trustworthy traders aren’t tarred with the same brush as some of their disreputable counterparts.

Consumers can visit the Buy With Confidence website and immediately see a list of traders that have undergone strict checks from Trading

Standards to ensure they trade fairly, legally and within the spirit of the law.

Likewise, if you are a trader keen to demonstrate that you can be trusted to do a good job at a fair price, you can register with the service. Once Trading Standards have carried out their stringent checks and you have paid a membership fee to cover costs, your company will be added to the website.

You will also be able to display the Buy With Confidence logo and “Trading Standards Approved” on your vehicles and promotional materials, letting everyone know that your

company believes in fair trading.

The initiative began with a focus on energy-saving products and services, but has now become wider-reaching, encompassing the whole spectrum of businesses across Essex.

Buy With Confidence is a national scheme. You can find out more, including which other counties are participating, at www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

Recreation in a bygone age: Saffron Walden Museum’s summer exhibition provides a fascinating glimpse into the leisure pastimes of yesteryear.

Tackling Rogue Traders

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Every item in the exhibition has its own story. Here, museum officer Susan Collier (left) holds a silver trophy made by the Goldsmiths’ Company of London. It is inscribed “The Gate Bowling Club. Presented in memory of CHC Watson, a founder member 1922–1944.”

The club met at The Gate pub in Thaxted Road, Saffron Walden, and played on a green on the opposite side of the road, on the corner of Victoria Avenue. The site was developed for housing and the club disbanded in about 2000/2001. The trophy was donated to the museum by the club’s last chairman.

Susan’s colleague Sarah Kenyon is holding a donkey’s straw hat – these were sold at Godfrey’s shop in King Street, Saffron Walden until 1938. Godfrey’s was an old Essex family firm that produced and sold marquees, tents, ropes etc and also sold sporting goods until it closed in the 1980s.

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The council is launching its annual consultation around spending priorities for the next financial year and wants to know what you think it should be focusing on.

The results will help design the budget for April 2011 to March 2012, as well as contribute towards the Corporate Plan – the key council document setting out the main priorities for the coming years.

Council leader Cllr Jim Ketteridge said: “The council has four main priority areas, covering financial management, working in partnership with other public bodies and private companies, dealing with environmental issues and making sure we deliver good customer service and talk to the community. Public sector finances are tight and will only get tighter, so it is very important that the council uses its limited resources in the best way.

“This is a very important consultation as the results help shape the council for the coming years. So please take a few minutes to respond.”

Once the results have been analysed, a second round of consultation will be carried out later in the year, before the budget and Corporate Plan are finalised next February.

To take part in the consultation, fill in the form on this page and post it back to us – remember you don’t need to use a stamp. Alternatively, you can take part online at www.uttlesford.gov.uk

To read the current Corporate Plan, visit www.uttlesford.gov.uk/strategies and to read financial documents, including our Medium Term Financial Strategy, visit www.uttlesford.gov.uk/finance

council spending have your sayUttlesford District Council provides dozens of services to the community – and everyone has a view on which are the most important.

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Below is a list of our current key priorities. We would like to know how important you think each is. Please score each option from 1 to 5, with 1 being “not at all important” and 5 being “very important”. FOR EXAMPLE:

Then fill in your contact details, put the form in an envelope and post it to:

John Mitchell, Chief Executive, FREEPOST, PO Box 13, Uttlesford District Council, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB11 4ER.

Closing date is Friday, 13 August.

Finance Score each option from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important)

Ensuring the council remains financially sound

Making sure we buy supplies and manage council assets such as buildings and land in an effective and sustainable way

Increasing the emphasis on value for money

Partnerships Score each option from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important)

Developing partnerships with organisations, including other councils, to share services or have them deliver services on this council’s behalf

Working with other organisations such as the county council, police, fire and health services, on joint projects to improve the safety and health of people in the district, including those affected by the recession

Improving access to affordable sport, leisure and cultural activities, such as district leisure centres and Saffron Walden Museum

Encouraging business opportunities through joint work with other organisations such as the county council and Federation of Small Businesses

People Score each option from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important)

Encouraging the community to get involved through consultation and engagement events such as public meetings and forums

Improving access to services for all sections of the community

Environment Score each option from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important)

Managing development and delivering affordable housing for local people

Helping communities by protecting and encouraging local facilities

Reducing our carbon footprint and fighting fuel poverty

Stepping up enforcement against environmental crime such as fly-tipping, littering and abandoned cars

Promoting recycling

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