Northwold parish Council

Minutes of the March meeting of Northwold Parish Council

MINUTES OF NORTHWOLD PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD

AT THE VILLAGE HALL ON TUESDAY MARCH 2ND 2010

Present: Mrs R Crisp, Mr D George, Mrs V Lynch, Miss A Muir, Mr M Peake, Mr M Roberts, Mrs T Waller, Mr M Wells.

4 members of the public

1. Apologies for absence

Mr J Norris

2. No Declarations of Interest made.

3. The minutes of the meeting held on 01/12/09 were agreed as a true record with the following amendments:

* Mrs V Lynch declared an interest in item 8.1.

* 9.2 should state Church Lane, Whittington not Church Road.

4. Matters arising from previous meetings

* Miss A Muir has contacted the driver of the vehicle who damaged the Old Chalk Pit fence and it is hoped the fence will now be repaired by him.

* The rent on the Garden land is due this month. Mr David George does not wish to renew his lease of the land and thus his plot will be advertised as vacant.

* The tension of the spring on the latch of the gate at the new play area has been relaxed so the gate closes slower and thus more gently. Padding has also been added to the gate to help protect children form any hard impact should the gate close on them.

4.1 It was suggested Mrs Anne Howarth should be asked for suggestions as to how the Pride in Norfolk money should be spent as she was instrumental in obtaining the funding.

5. Reports

5.1 Chairman's Report

* Mrs Anne Howarth is still completing the transfer of the Burial Books to a spreadsheet. The Parish Council is grateful for her assistance.

* Northwold application for funding towards new notice boards was short-listed in the Norfolk Association of Local Councils Your Parish Your Decision awards project. Schemes directed towards benefiting young people received the majority of the votes and the Northwold project was unsuccessful in securing any funding. Mrs Sharron Freemantle was thanked for her efforts and she will continue to look into finding money for new notice boards for the parish.

* Mrs Verity Lynch and Miss Alison Muir spent time trawling through the contents of the Parish Council filing cabinet held in the Village Hall. As a result it was agreed deeds etc. should be placed in safekeeping as it appears past agreements may have been mislaid. A list of documents found in the cabinet was passed to Councillors and Miss Muir will arrange for original important documents to be stored with solicitors Metcalfe, Copeman and Pettefar. It was agreed that voluntary registration of land belonging to the Parish Council should be undertaken.

It was suggested the Parish Council should check the loft at the Village Hall for old papers that may have been stored there. Mr David George offered to undertake this task.

* Mr Harry Everett has been voluntarily working in the Old Cemetery and has contacted the Parish Council regarding two trees which are close to the road and possibly in a dangerous condition. The Tree Officer at the Borough Council will be approached for advice.

* Mr Ian Harper was thanked for repairing the dog waste bin at Riverside.

* Concern has been raised with the Parish Council that the meals on wheels service provided to elderly residents of the village through Social Services is to cease. This will be investigated and if found to be the case a letter will be sent from the Parish Council stating that this service should not be taken away from vulnerable people.

5.2 Clerk's Report

* A date for the Annual Parish Meeting should be set and this will be an agenda item for the April Parish Council meeting.

OPEN FORUM

* It was noted that the fate of the Manor House is no longer discussed at Parish Council meetings. The Borough Council was thought to be considering compulsory purchase of the building and Mr Mick Peake continues to enquire about this through Pam Lynn at the Borough Council. This matter will be an agenda item again for a future Parish Council meeting.

* It was suggested Parish Council minutes should be published. Some debate took place as to whether or not minutes of Parish Council meetings should be published before they are signed. It was agreed to publish the signed minutes in the Stoke Ferry Pump magazine and to place a copy of the minutes in the notice board outside the Village Hall. Mrs Verity Lynch will also continue to publish a summary of Parish Council minutes in the Village Life magazine. It was felt unsigned minutes should not be published and that there would not be room for the full minutes to be printed in the Village Life. A summary of meetings is appreciated to keep residents informed.

6. The following payments were agreed:

MHB Services (street lighting maintenance) £50.14

E.on Energy (street light electric) £146.98

Village Hall Committee £15.00

Clerk's salary (Feb.) £115.20

The bank balance will stand at £1643.86 once the above payments have been made.

6.1 Mr Mark Roberts will check the cost of installing water meters at the Playing Field so that the use of water can be billed fairly. An issue with payment of a past water bill still remains with the Bowls Club. The Bowls Club has not contributed towards the cost of a water bill whereas other parties concerned have paid readily. A letter will be sent to the Bowls Club requesting payment before April 1st.

A new lease agreement needs to be undertaken between the Parish Council and the Sports and Social Club. It was decided Councillors should invite representatives of the Sports and Social Club to a meeting to discuss a new agreement. Dates will be offered when Councillors are available to meet.

6.2 It was agreed the 2010 grass cutting contact should be discussed at the end of the meeting after an agreed resolution to exclude the public.

6.3 Arrangements relating to the lease of the Constables Charity land at Stoke Ferry will be reviewed by a Parish Council working party. Mrs Verity Lynch, Mr Mark Roberts, Miss Alison Muir, Mr Martin Wells and Mrs Rosemary Crisp volunteered to be part of this group and a date will be set for the party to meet. The working party will undertake research into land held by the Parish Council and consider what should be done to ensure lease agreements etc. are up to date. Findings will be reported at Parish Council meetings when any decisions on action that may be needed can be taken by the full Council. An application has been made to the Parish Council for a contribution from the Constables Charity towards upkeep of Little London Lane. This request will be considered by the working party and a recommendation will be made to the Parish Council in due course.

7. Correspondence

7.1 BCKLWN Financial Assistance Scheme and Funding Opportunities Newsletter

7.2 Energy Saving Trust leaflet - Green Communities

8. Planning

Mr. M Peake took no part in discussion relating to agenda item 8.

8.1 Construction of conservatory and conversion of garage to garden room at 64 School Lane, Northwold 10/000

Support

8.2 Notification that an appeal has been made to the Secretary of state in relation to proposed change of use of land for the siting of four mobile homes at Didlington Farm, Little London Road, Northwold. Ref. APP/V2635/A/09/2117525

The appeal is against the decision of the Borough Planning Authority to refuse planning permission.

9. Co-option of a new Councillor

Being the only applicant Mrs Sue Leet was duly co-opted to fill the vacancy on the Parish Council.

10. Further reports

10.1 A poster will be displayed around the village advertising a meeting to be held on April 21st in Northwold Village Hall calling for interest in new affordable homes for local people in the village.

10.2 It was suggested the £400 Pride in Norfolk award could be put towards the provision of new parish notice boards.

Resolution to exclude the public to discuss the following:

2010 village grounds maintenance contract

Discussion took place regarding the 2010 maintenance contract and it was decided to employ Country Grounds Maintenance for a three year period at the same annual cost.

Parish Clerk