MINUTES OF WEST DEREHAM ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL THURSDAY MAY 4th 2012

Present:  Mrs Claire Cann – Chairman, Mrs Pam Bullas, Mr Mark Dawson, Mr Tom Foy, Ms Paula Kellingray, Mrs Ruth Marsters, Mrs Pam Walker. Mr Richard Rockcliffe –CountyCouncillor. 10 members of the public

Councillors were presented with the following:

Glazewing Report

Accounts summary for year ending March 31st 2012

Clerk’s Timesheet

Updated Standing Orders and Financial Regulations

Copies of information from Norfolk Link: Pre-determination, Members’ conduct and registration of interests

Karen O’Kane, Project Co-ordinator for the Better Broadband for Norfolk Initiative was present before the meeting to give an update on broadband provision for West Dereham.

Karen O’Kane stated that Norfolk has been one of the first areas to be granted investment which will encourage commercial broadband provision in the county. Before the investment was guaranteed Richard Rockcliffe had pressed for Norfolk County Council to provide Broadband forWest Derehamand various options have been considered. Trials to provide a signal fromHilgaySchoolbegan in 2010. It was hoped a hub type system could be established to provide broadband for the village; however it has been proven that this would be impractical for users who are not close to the proposed mast. The mast was to be erected in the grounds of West Dereham Village Hall. It was noted the service that could be provided would be considerably restricted and unlikely to benefit business users.

Although Norfolk County Councillors had agreed investment of £10000 for the proposed project it is now felt that following trials the service would be inadequate and the Better Broadband Project has now superseded the initial planning. The project as it stands would be likely to cost more than the original £10000 allocated. All households inWest Derehamhave been canvassed by leaflet drop asking who was interested in the restricted broadband package. As only three households expressed interest it is not viable to continue with the project, especially as allNorfolkshould have 20megabites or more broadband provision by 2015.

Mark Dawson asked if Karen O’Kane could have any influence over how the Better Broadband Project might be rolled out across the county. As Norfolk County Council requires the project to provide as many users with as much broadband speed as quickly as possible then it must be allowed to be rolled out to achieve this objective. The project is about to go out to tender and once a provider has been accepted then more will be known of the running time/order. The rollout should begin in January 2013 and be finished by March 2015. Optimum design should mean new ducting for cable connections.

It was noted that the money available for the previously suggested library connection interim solution forWest Derehamcannot be used for the Better Broadband Project. Karen Okane did offer to provide information regarding current satellite services available in the area and if the successful provider of Better Broadband has need for a pilot area then she will suggestWest Derehamfor this role.

1.    Election of Chairman

Claire Cann was proposed and seconded and with no further nominations was elected to remain as Chairman.

2.    The Chairman signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

3.    No Apologies for Absence received.

4.    No Declarations of Interests made.

5.    Election of Vice-Chairman

It was proposed and agreed that the current situation of Pam Walker and Paula Kellingray sharing the role of Vice-Chair should continue.

6. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 05/04/12 were agreed as a true record.

7. Matters arising from previous meetings

• The Parish Council has requested information from the Environment Agency (EA) regarding the Rights of Way along the Cut Off Channel betweenWest Derehamand Wretton. There are no official permissive Rights of Way on this section, although there are provisions for access along the bank by the use of pedestrian gates and stiles. Banks are cut by the EA and will probably next be cut in early September. The Clerk will write to the parishioner who originally raised the query.

8. Reports:

8.1 Chairman’s Report:

• The Chairman thanked Councillors for standing for election and for their hard work over the past year. She considersWest Derehamis lucky to have such committed Councillors. The Chairman also thanked former Councillor Paddy Murfitt who had been a valuable member of the Parish Council.

The present Council is truly representative of the village population with members in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, single and married Councillors, Councillors with babies, primary school children, university age children and no children at all. Councillors also have experience working in both the public and the private sector and some have grown up inNorfolkwhereas others have not. All in all the mix provides very varied views.

• The Chairman has received an enquiry from one of the allotment holders who lives outside the village regarding whether the Parish Council can provide further allotments to possibly facilitate community food production.

Research is being undertaken into the history of the allotment and farm tenancy provision and the allotment holder who made the enquiry will be asked to test opinion to establish whether there is a local body within the village looking for more allotment space. Opinion could be gauged through the village leaflet drop.

The meeting was briefly suspended to allow Richard French, Allotment Liaison Officer to contribute. Richard French would be supportive of such a venture but at present it is still difficult to find new tenants for vacant allotments so demand is questioned.

• An e-mail has been received from Duncan Slade, Assistant Land Agent for Norfolk Property Services, regarding fly-tipping along Lime Kiln Road. The Parish Council reported fly tipping along Lime Kiln Roadover eight months ago and this has now been inspected by Norfolk Property Services with a view to clearing the waste. The e-mail states that the area will be inspected on a regular basis.
• The Mineral Site Specific Allocations Development Plan Document and Waste Site Specific Allocations Development Plan Document have reached the Pre-Submission stage. There are no longer any proposed new sites located in West Dereham.

8.2 Clerk’s Report:

• Norfolk County Council has been contacted regarding concern that the school bus stops on the junction of Lime Kiln Roadand Church Road. This has been the stop for a number of years but it may be possible that children could be picked up from the bus shelter by the Village Hall. If this is thought to be a more suitable location then the bus company can be asked to change stopping place. Village opinion will be sought through the village leaflet drop.
• The April Parish Council minutes have not yet been published in the Village Pump. The minutes of the 2012 Annual Parish Meeting will be distributed to every household the village as part of the Parish Council Annual Report.

8.3 Broadband Update:

Given prior to the start of the meeting.

8.4 Glazewing Report:

Copies of the monthly Glazewing Report had previously been passed to councillors and copies were available at the meeting.

• A planting scheme for the northern boundary has been submitted to Norfolk County Council as required as a condition of planning permission C/2/2011/2024. The Clerk will contact Paul Norris, Health, Safety & Environment Manager to confirm whether the planned planting will obscure the skips along the river bank.
• A resident ofWest Derehamhas raised concerns regarding the netting of skips. The Environmental Protection Act requires a waste carrier to ensure waste is adequately contained. Glazewing claim their drivers are trained to assess the skips they collect and if material is heavy and of a size which will not fall from a vehicle in transit then netting may be deemed unnecessary.

The Chairman reported that metal has been seen falling from a Glazewing vehicle; the driver stopped and threw the metal into the verge.

It was agreed that Elizabeth Truss MP will be approached regarding making a case for all loaded vehicles to be netted.

The meeting was briefly suspended to allow members of the public to contribute:

It was noted Paul Norris has stated that Station Road is to be resurfaced by the Highway Department. County Councillor Richard Rockcliffe was asked to confirm when this is likely to occur.

9. Accounts

Financial position update:

The bank reconciliation for the year ending March 31st 2012 was £9132.52.

10.1 Payments agreed in accordance with the budget:

Clerk’s salary (April)                           £300.20

CGM(grounds maintenance)                                                     £107.90

Stamps (investment prior to price increase)                              £46.00

Broker Network (insurance)                                                       £371.65

EFS Solutions (printing)                                                                                 £30.42

MethwoldHigh School(printing)                                                                   £9.60

West Dereham Village Hall (rental)                                        £100.00

9.1 The 2012 end of year bank reconciliation and financial statement for the year ending31/03/12 were accepted as presented.

10. Date for Annual Allotment Inspection

It was agreed that the annual allotment inspection will take place on Friday May 11th @6.00pm.

11. Transfer of ownership of land adjacent to the Village Hall

It was agreed the land purchased by the Village Trust adjacent to West Dereham Village Hall should be passed to West Dereham Parish Council as Custodial Trustees of the Village Hall on behalf of the village. The cost of registration with Land Registry is £50.00 and the solicitor’s fees to transfer the land will be £250.00.

12. Standing Orders and Financial Regulations

Standing Orders and Financial Regulations have been reviewed and will remain as they stand.

This year the Parish Council has agreed that the following be added to Standing Orders:

“No business may be transacted at a meeting unless at least one half of the whole number of members of the Council are present and in no case shall the quorum of a meeting be less than 4”

and

“A nominated member of the Council will be elected annually to monitor original bank statements and agree the bank reconciliation quarterly with the Clerk”

has been added to Financial Regulations.

13. Risk Assessment of Parish Council assets

A risk assessment of Parish Council assets was accepted as presented. The Risk Assessment will be reviewed annually.

14. Planning applications:

14.1        Demolition of existing bungalow and associated ancillary outbuildings and the construction of one detached dwelling and garage at Homefields, Basil Road, West Dereham 12/00525/F                                                                                                                                        Objection

The meeting was suspended to allow members of the public to voice their views regarding this planning application.

The large scale building planned is considered not to be suitable for the location both in terms of increased footprint, increased height to two floors and its design which is out of keeping with surrounding properties. The building will overlook neighbours and such a large dwelling could result in a greater number of cars needing access/egress to the site.

Neighbours who wish to object were advised that their concerns can be recorded on line and it was stated that anyone can pass comment electronically on any planning objection via the Borough Council’s website.

The Parish Council will object to the development due to its considerably increased size and design not being in keeping with neighbouring buildings.

15. Correspondence

15.1       NorfolkPlaying Fields Association “The Playing Field”.

15.2       NorfolkLink – articles copied to Councillors

15.3        Further correspondence received regarding the proposed incinerator at Saddlebow,King’s Lynn. It was agreed the Parish Council would write to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to further register objection to the incinerator.

16. Further reports/items for the next agenda:

16.1        Paula Kellingray gave a Police update. It was noted that there appears to have been a reduction in anti-social behaviour in the village due to a clamp down by the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

Advice remains to ensure valuables are locked safely away as petty theft is occurring locally.

16.2        Norfolk County Council is promoting the cleaning and repair of milestones in the county. Richard Rockcliffe has suggested the broken milestone inLime Kiln Roadshould be repaired. Norfolk County Council is prepared to contribute £60.00 to repair and clean the stone and the Parish Council has been asked to contribute the other half of the cost. This will be an agenda item for the June Parish Council meeting.

OPEN SESSION

It was suggested a “Beware of Horses” sign should be erected along the footpath by the Cut Off Channel.

• It was questioned whether vehicle movement figures to and from Glazewing were ever monitored by Norfolk County Council as had been requested. Glazewing will be asked to quantify traffic movement to and from theStation Roadsite.

Any vehicle movement recording strip should be positioned between the Glazewing site andBasil Roadso all traffic is noted.

• The Parish Council would like to provide a Playing Field adjacent to the Village Hall. Three letters have been sent to the land owners asking if they would be willing to sell land but no response has been received.
• It was asked if the Parish Council could adopt a policy regarding light pollution which could be applied to all planning applications. This will be considered at the June Parish Council meeting.