Northwold Parish Council

MINUTES OF NORTHWOLD PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH 2012

Present: Mrs R Crisp, Mr M Peake, Miss A Muir, Mrs S Jackson, Mr A Collins. 4 members of the public

1.    Apologies for absence:

Mrs V Lynch, Mrs S Leet, Mr F Eglington

2.    Declarations of Interest made:

Miss A Muir declared an interest in item 9.1.

3. The minutes of the meeting held on 07/08/12 were agreed as a true record.

4.  Matters arising from previous meetings:

• Concern was raised regarding the dangerous condition of the bridge at Common Drove. River water is high and currently reaches up to the bridge. The public footpath is impassable as flooding is occurring. Norfolk County Council will be informed of this.
• Further communication has been received from the Vice-Chairman of Northwold Sports & Social Club regarding the proposed new lease for the Sports & Social Club building. The Parish Council is very disappointed that the lease/agreement has not yet been signed, especially as when members of the Parish Council met representatives of the Sports & Social Club at the Club on July 25th it had been felt both parties were in agreement regarding the lease. A letter will be sent to the Chairman of the Sports & Social Club to clarify the position.
• It was noted that vegetation on the roundabout at Whittington has been cut.
• The Parish Council has received correspondence regarding the problems caused by rabbits at the allotments. It was felt there is no apparent problem with rabbits in the Cemetery at present and even if it was felt that fencing of the Cemetery would help control the local rabbit population the Parish Council could not afford to fence the area.

5.  Reports

5.1          Chairman’s Report

• A local young man has offered to submit a quote for grounds maintenance ofNorthwoldCemeteryonce the current contract expires. It was noted it is necessary for all contractors to hold adequate public liability insurance.
• A request has been made by the Youth Club to use Northwold Playing Field for archery sessions for a limited time on Saturdays.The Parish Council felt more information regarding risk assessment of the activity was needed before agreement could be given for use of the Playing Field.

5.2               The Clerk’s Report

• Two seats to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee have been ordered. One will be placed along theMethwold Roadby the telephone box in Northwold and one at the entrance toNormans Drive, Whittington.
• Northwold Cricket Club has informed the Parish Council that grass is being lost at the Playing Field due to the infestation of chafer bugs.

5.3               CAN Update

The meeting was briefly suspended to allow an update from the Chairman of CAN

• The CAN meeting held on 9th August was attended by only two officers and a further meeting held on August 30th was also not well supported. Consequently an Extraordinary General Meeting has been called to be held at Northwold Sports & Social Club on October 25th at7.30pm to ascertain whether Community Action Northwold should continue to operate.

5.4               No update regarding Manor House

6. Sports & Social Club agreement

Dealt with under item 4.

OPEN FORUM

• Mr A Jenkinson presented the Council with a petition he has compiled to fight for a reduction in the speed limit on the A134 through Northwold between Pooley Farm and thePriorySchool. Mr Jenkinson has spoken to the Police who suggested a petition for a 40mph speed limit which will be passed to the Highway Department.

7.  The following payments were agreed:

Village Hall Committee                                                                  £12.00

Clerk’s salary                                                                     £151.20

K & M Lighting                                                                     £53.76

Councillors were presented with a current internal statement showing bank reconciliation for04/09/12of £24,299.89.

7.1   It was agreed to provide a dog waste bin atChurch Road, Whittington.

8.  Correspondence:

8.1 Second letter received regarding the population of rabbits in the Cemetery:

8.2 NorfolkLink Magazine etc. Information regarding Natural England’s Paths for Communities copied to Councillors. www.naturalengland.org.uk/p4c.

8.3 Better Broadband for Norfolk Information sheet 7.

9. Planning applications received for consultation

Miss A Muir left the meeting for item 9.1

9.1 Change of use from car sales to general retail at Bulldog Service Station,14 Thetford  Road, Northwold 12/01249/CU

No objections

Some concern was raised regarding parking for the proposed development. Parking on the road could result in visibility being hampered and the view from the neighbouring driveway should not be impeded.

The meeting was briefly suspended to allow a neighbour of the development to voice his fear that the development could result in traffic noise at night if access is not controlled. However, as no rear access is planned it was felt vehicle noise should not be an issue.

9.2 Proposed sports barn atSheridanSchool,Thetford Road, Northwold                                         12/00985/F

No observations

9.3 Proposed 32 No. fishing pegs along river bank and proposed 2 No. temporary boat moorings along with retrospective approval for upgrading existing road surfacing and kerbs atBridge Road, Stoke Ferry 12/01358/F

No observations

9.4 2 Storey extension at rear with loft conversion at 79West End, Northwold 12/01308/F

No observations

10. Trees to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

It was agreed trees to be planted at the school to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee should be small ornamental trees such as flowering cherries and mountain ash.

11.     Maintenance of the War Memorial.

A local stone mason who has worked on the village war memorial in the past has advised the Council that the memorial could be cleaned but he would not recommend any work on the inscriptions due to the softness of the stone. He recommended that new granite tablets for inscriptions could be either added to the memorial or erected somewhere adjacent to it.

Cleaning would cost in the region of £1000 and granite tablets would cost £1000 plus £1.50 per letter for inscriptions to be added.

Mr Alan Collins offered to speak to the lady who has offered to contribute to the maintenance of the war memorial and future maintenance will be considered in conjunction with the precept request. It has been suggested the memorial should be cleaned every five years.

12.     Further reports/items for the next agenda

12.1      A request has been made for a donation to be made from Constables Charity funds to provide repair material for Little London Lane.