Boughton  Parish Council.   Councillors are summoned to a meeting on 3rd May 2013**, following the** AGM at 7pm in the Church for the purposes of transacting the following business.

1. Apologies
2. Minutes

i.      minutes of annual meeting 2013 - D Horkan

ii.      meeting 11th January 2013

1. Matters Arising
2. Chairman’s Report – F. Reid
3. Report from Councillors/Clerk

i.      Highways                                                 F. Reid

ii.      Drainage                                                  G. Proctor

iii.      Signs & Street Furniture                          P. Agate

iv.      Public Rights of Way                              D. Cooper

v.      Fen Report                                               M. Pogmore

vi.      Planning                                                   D. Horkan

4.             Parishioner Comments

i.      Chapel Road verges

ii.      Wishing Well

iii.      Village sign

5. Correspondence

Meeting Closes

Open Questions

Date of Next Meeting 2nd August, 2013 – 19:00

The Public are welcome to this meeting

Date held:                            3rd May 2013                            Venue:             All Saints, Boughton

No    Item                                                                                                          Action by      Action  date

1.     Apologies

Councillors PAG cannot attend due to personal reasons and TRO is on vacation.

2.     Minutes of the Meeting – 15th February 2013

Minutes of Annual meeting and previous BPC meeting, 15th February provided by DHO, agreed, signed and initialled throughout by FRE, file to copy.                                                                           DHO              3/5/13

3.         Matters Arising

None

4.     Chairman’s Report

– F Reid                                                                     FRE

Retiring Chairman’s Report.  May 2013.

Financial Footing.

We are a relatively small Council, with a relatively small Precept. However we take our financial responsibilities very seriously, and thanks to the efforts of all Councillors, and Mr Horkan, we operate on a sound financial footing. We have for the past three years been able to keep our Precept at a zero increase, this due to the considerable input of volunteers helping with work around the village and the PCC taking a share in the cost of Churchyard maintenance.

Parish Council Membership.

It is very pleasing to report that we are now a full Council. Andy Beeston and Tom Roberts were co-opted at the February meeting.

It is a pleasure to have them with us.

Fly tipping & Litter.

There have unfortunately been a number of incidents of Fly-tipping. The Fen, Cavenham Rd, Oxborough Rd, Gibbet Lane and Stoke Road have all been subjected to this mindless antisocial behaviour.

We enjoy very good support from the Borough Clean-up team and once reported the offending rubbish is cleared away very quickly.

Agreed to compile letter of thanks and CSA who is meeting the team leader shortly, will submit to them personally.

Our local litter picking volunteer heroes have also been out and about down our lanes keeping us as tidy as possible. We thank MPO and them all for their efforts.

Pond Overflow.

The overflow system installed some time ago finally gave up the ghost after a number of years service. Numerous attempts by Councillors Cooper and Proctor, and the Borough jetting team failed to establish a flow. The pond reached its highest level for many years, and water was seeping onto Mill Hill Rd.

A new over flow was installed in March which has been configured to make it very much easier to keep it free of blockages.

Regulations and Policies.

Following the 2012 internal Audit by Mr J.Cross it is pleasing to confirm we now have in place all the recommended local Regulations and policies for Councils and its committees.

The one remaining issue pointed out was that we have not been holding an Annual Parish Meeting. This omission was addressed in February when we held our Annual meeting. Probably better to say we got it almost right. According to regulation we should hold this meeting between March and April. So the 2014 meeting will be held in March or April.

Notices.

An agreed policy on village signs became necessary. Following discussion with Councillors, some Boughton Parishioners, and some Councillors from neighbouring villages, a policy was formatted and agreed.

It was also discussed whether the sign on Church Lane should now be removed, all agreed.

Responsibilities of Councillors.

The ownership of councillors of various functions in maintaining our village has been an advantage, and works well. Operating in this manner however never precludes any Councillor from an input to any issue that arises. I propose we continue in this manner. We have discussed the roles that our new Councillors will undertake. Tom has agreed to be our link with County Highways and oversee road surfaces. With Council support Tom will also examine the potential for a community support role. We have a number of groups in the village all working for the benefit of our community and there may be the opportunity to provide some additional support as and if needed.  Andy will assess the condition of our Playground equipment with a view to maintaining the safe condition of this asset in the long term. In addition I propose that Councillor Agate takes on the role of Communication and publicity on behalf of Council.

Fen Committee.

The Parish Council Fen committee have continued the work of managing and improving Boughton Fen. This year their hard work, constructing and forming a nature walk through the Fen was recognised with two prestigious awards. A CPRE award and the Boldero award.

I take this opportunity of congratulating the committee and thanking them wholeheartedly on Councils behalf.

In closing this report I thank Councillors for their unwavering support over the past year, and their collective efforts to keep Boughton a delightful place to live. My thanks also to Mr Horkan our clerk. David has worked hard to keep us in order, and in line. It should be noted that Mr Horkan executes his duties without any financial reward, we should all recognise that his efforts incur no charge against our village Precept. The role of the Clerk is vital to the proper organisation of a Parish Council.

It was also disclosed that Friday night may be an issue for public attendance, council will research possibility of alternate evenings which is currently adopted due to clerk working practices/location.

10/5/13

5.     Councillors/Clerk Reports

i. Highways                                                                                           FRE

Good relations have been maintained with County Highways, and they have given us a good degree of attention within their resource and budget constraint.

We are pleased that they have finally attended properly to a leaking redundant drain facility at the Fen; and as already reported the new pond overflow.

ii. Public Footpaths                                                                                  DCO

Footpaths are in good condition and have just received a further cut with new growth promoted by the weather conditions.

All footpath signs are now erected.

iii. Drainage                                                                                             GPR

Very little to report with minimal rain in the period in between meetings.

iv. Signs & Street Furniture     PAG

Signs Furniture etc.

The circular bench around the sweet chestnut tree has been cleaned and given a preservative treatment much improving its condition.

During the next period the village sign, and hopefully the Frank Savage memorial table will also be refreshed.

Playground.

The last matters raised on the annual safety review of the playground were also resolved since the last meeting. (Bolt tightening, gap filling etc.)

Publicity.

The next Parish council Newsletter will be issued after the next PC meeting

v. Fen Report                                                                                                                           MPO

Since our last meeting, we have continued with well attended working parties on the drier areas of Highland Fen, cutting back areas of scrub that had begun to advance again from our trimming a few years ago.

We also constructed a bridge over the ditch at the entrance to the fen as this had been impassable for much of the winter with high water levels making access a very damp affair.

Using contractors, larger areas of scrub have been cleared in an area adjacent to Stringside Drain on Middle Fen.

All clearance work has now been completed for this season, but we will turn our attention to keeping the Wildlife Walk clear throughout the growing season so that everyone can enjoy a nice stroll around the fen.  If you would like to help with this work throughout the summer, please give me a call on 01366 500461.

On a more disappointing note, we seem to be suffering from some dog mess on the walk, and we believe it is always the same culprit.  It is a great shame that the enjoyment of the fen is being compromised by one irresponsible dog owner.  Please enjoy the fen with your dog, but keep it on a lead and clear up after it.

Hopefully, the Environment  Agency will be able to carry out the promised work on the Stringside Bank this autumn as part of the water management plan for the fen.  They were unable to do this over the winter due to the excessively wet conditions.

An interesting visitor came to the fen a few weeks ago in the form of a Great White Egret, which is a rarity for this part of Britain.  It is a heron, similar in size to our usual birds, but pure white in colour.  Spring is at last here, with many summer visitors arriving, including cuckoos, which have been heard by several people over the last few days.

Once again, a huge thank you to all those who have helped in any way over the past few months.

MPO also informed council of a donation to funds of @£250 a 50% split of remaining funding with Wereham village hall committee following the closure of the Wereham Woodlife Fund.

vi. Planning                                                                                                                              DHO

n improved formal approach to Planning Application appraisal has been formatted and agreed, and is on file.

It is intended to make Councils debate on any applications more focused, directed at planning issues, and uses to best effect the expertise that currently exists on Council.

As applications are received directly by the Clerk, he is responsible for alerting council and answering council position direct.

Since last meeting, council have received

Applications Received:-

1. Two storey extension to dwelling The Bungalow Mill Hill Road Boughton King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 9AE – No observations status - Approved
2. Proposed single storey extension to form day room Jays Cottage Mill Hill Road Boughton King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 9AE– No observations status - Approved
3. Proposed Low Carbon Dwelling the Firs Wretton Road Boughton King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 9AJ – BPC originally objected due to building fabric design, met with architect compromised agreed and committee invitation declined to allow approval. Status – Approved.
4. Removal of payphone service and adoption of payphone kiosk BT Payphone Chapel Road Boughton King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 9AG – BPC responded in favour due to adoption proposals Status – Approved in draft to Secretary of State.

Numerous others on planning portal relating to tree clearance and non material amendments not received by Council but of little concern to residents and local removals.

6.     Comments from a Parishioners

• Chapel Road verges

Whilst this item has not been raised in a letter received by FRE, it was in the original email and therefore tabled for discussion. It is evident that the parking around the surgery on the road and verges is becoming a major issue, MPO inquired of CSA of the Road safety committees but this route is no longer available and only recourse is through highways, it was also mentioned that Stoke Ferry council have raised this issue.

MPO and FRE will meet highways, A.Wallace and possibly the police to progress action following research regard the frequency and dates of problem. In addition, CSA suggested contact could be made with Martin Storey which will be utilised as fallback position.

Wishing Well

Question was raised regarding the benefit of the wishing well. It was championed that this was donated to the village by Dave & Lois Howard, and is tended and maintained voluntarily by them also. In light of the statement, FRE had conducted a small straw poll around the village and found all to be in favour, in addition, Sue Pogmore has recently received a very complimentary comment on same from a visitor to the village.

Also to date, the well attracts donations, which are passed to a chosen charity generating approximately £75 per annum, it was agreed therefore that the well is a benefit to the community and would remain unless parishioners requested removal or possible relocation.

Village sign

FRE asked GPR and DCO their feelings regard this matter due to their long standing within the community, DCO confirmed he actually witnessed the sign being made/carved. GPR suggested we examine possibility of some remedial work.

It was worthy of note, that the plaques attached evidenced efforts of the village population past and present and should remain to support this and also one of the plaques was actually presented by the village in gratitude.

A member of the public also confirmed that this discussion had taken place previously  following which it was agreed that the PIN plaques would be positioned on the Village notice board .

Unanimous decision agreed that sign and plaques would remain.

*Post meeting note, DHO confirmed that he had previously received a flyer from a Norfolk based artist offering service to refurbish village signs to original condition, he will research further if requested by Council.

DHO      10/5/13

7.     Correspondence                                                                                       DHO

Majority of correspondence received where flyers for sales, advertising or merchandise.

Summary of documents not financially related:-

1. New bin service – documents relating to collection and material segregation received and placed on notice board, also sent out electronically to residents with facility to receive
2. Electoral poster and candidates details for council elections received and posted on notice board.
3. Possibility to procure and store 50 number rolls of 50 item caddy liners for sale £1.15 a roll or £57.50 for a box. Agreed to consider later in year due to biodegradable nature and little chance of requirement at this moment as all had received 50 liners initially.

Various training courses, clerk, chairman and effective communications.

Meeting closed

Matters arising

DHO raised issue of the insurance documents changes which request a weekly inspection of the playground by a competent person. DHO to research and report back findings/agreement at next meeting if able to revert to annual, but if not, immediately report to council to agree action.

DHO                                                                                                          3/8/2013

Date and Venue of Next Meetings: 2nd August 2013- 19:00  All saints Church Boughton