Northwood parish Council

MINUTES OF NORTHWOLD PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL ON

TUESDAY JULY 2nd 2013

Present: Mrs R Crisp-Chair, Mr M. Peake, Mr A Jenkinson, Mrs S Leet, Mr F. Eglington, Mr A Collins, Miss A Muir Mr M Storey Norfolk County Councillor 1 member of the public

Mrs Crisp welcomed all to the meeting.

Mrs Crisp welcomed Mr Gillett as a new Councillor.

1.  To receive and consider accepting apologies for absence: Mrs V Lynch

2. New Councillor Acceptance of Office and Register of Interest Form: Mr Gillett and the Clerk signed the acceptance of office form and Mr Gillett gave his register of interest form to the Clerk.

3.Declarations of Interest made: None

3.1 To consider dispensations: none

4. To agree the minutes of the meeting of 04/06/2013**:**

Mrs Crisp went through the minutes page by page, it included:

Collier Turf had sprayed the recreation ground on the 20th June.

Claire Law PCSO sent apologies.

The Clerk was asked to email the article on vandalism at the end of the last minutes to the Village Life, all Councillors agreed.

The minutes having been previously circulated were agreed and signed as a true record, all Councillors agreed.

5. Matters arising form the minutes (for information only):

The benches are in situ and have been used; the plaques will be fitted this coming week. Mrs Crisp thanked Mr Jenkinson for helping with the benches.

Mr Collins reported that Northwold have been awarded a grant for up to thirty streetlights and will be contacted later this month with more information. Mr Collins clarified that there are 33 lights on Mrs Crisps map but there are only thirty; the one in Hovell’s Lane is not there and the other two are Victorian lights which cannot be replaced. If Northwold is awarded the money for all 30 lights it will cost approximately £2,000. Mrs Crisp thanked Mr Collins for all his work.

Mr Eglington reported that he had visited the post 16 Unit, SheridanSchool open day. He met the Headteacher and was very impressed by the way their independence is promoted and the work that they are doing. He noted that the school are much more involved with Stoke Ferry Community and Parish events and hopes that the School can get more involved in Northwold Parish given time.

Mr Eglington reported on the meeting that was held with the Environment Agency/Elizabeth Truss on flooding:

The meeting was held in the Village Hall and then they visited the site of the flooding.

There is no money to spend, all schemes are assessed nationally and a cost benefit analysis would be undertaken. An example was given of 500 houses threatened by flooding which only attracted 50% of the cost. A number of farmers attended the meeting but were not willing to help. The Fisheries Manager thought weeds were causing a problem, he cut back the weeds and the level of water reduced. It was noted that if only one or two properties were affected by flooding the Environment Agency would not do anything.

Mrs Crisp thanked Mr Eglington.

6. Reports

6.1 Chairman’s report

Mrs Crisp thanked Mr and Mrs Leet for their report on the Claypits; land that the Parish Council own.

The land was registered in 1993 by a member of the public. Mrs Leet reported that it is not worth the Parish Council’s while to spend money claiming the land; it would cost a lot of money.  Mrs Muir commented that even if the person that registered the land did not have full title of the land, after ten years he could claim possession as he had been using the land for many years. Bearing in mind the value of the land and the cost to the Parish Council to claim the land all Councillors agreed not to take the matter any further. It was queried as to why there was nothing done about the land before, it was clarified that  the Parish Council did look at registering the Pits but couldn’t find any information.

Highway Rangers will visit Northwold the week commencing July 22nd; Mrs Crisp has asked them to enlarge the passing place and repair pot holes in Church Lane and repair pot holes in Pinfold Lane. If anyone knows of any more work that needs to be completed to let Mrs Crisp know. The railings on Common Drive have been repaired.

CGM were confused about cars being parked at the Village Hall when they wanted to cut the grass, this has been dealt with by Mrs Crisp.

Playground Equipment, the Committee are holding a special meeting next month to discuss the money that was promised to the Parish Council for maintenance of the play equipment and will advise the Parish Council of the date if they want to attend. Mr Jenkinson reported that 2 boards on the climbing frame need repairing fairly urgently, the Parish Council is responsible as responsibility was passed to them when the Committee dissolved. A new board 3ft by 6ft is needed. A discussion took place on who could be approached to repair the climbing frame; the company where the equipment had been purchased from had not been very helpful in the past. Mr Collins proposed that Mr George could look at the equipment and cost it, all Councillors agreed, Mrs Crisp to email him and liaise with Mr Jenkinson.

6.2 Clerk’s Report

The finances are completed and the annual return has been sent to the external auditor.

7.  To consider and give an update on:

Streetlighting – under item 5

Chafer bugs - under item 4

7th June meeting with Environment Agency/Elizabeth Truss an update has been given under item 5.

Recycling – bottle bank – Mrs Crisp had attended a meeting about recycling, bell shape banks are not available anymore. Stoke Ferry have bins where the lid is lockable and the bin is bolted to the wall or they can be bolted to a concrete slab. The Sports and Social Club are keen to get the matter resolved; Mrs Crisp was told that they cannot have a recycling bin as they would be classed as commercial. Mr Storey advised Councillors to write to Mr Brian Long who has the information and can give them the answers they need. Miss Muir will contact Mr Long. It was noted that the bin would help the village.

Tree safety – Mrs Leet has spoken to Mark at Landmark services, they will assess the condition of the trees, Itemise the cost and present the cost before the next Parish Council meeting.

Manor House- no update, it was noted that the Council cannot undertake a compulsory purchase whilst repair works are being carried out.

Website – Councillors have not looked at the website

Football Teams on the recreation ground – Mrs Crisp has been asked by the Chairman of the football club if two teams could play on the recreation ground and pay Northwold parish Council a cost of £20 per game. The teams have insurance and referees and would possibly play from end July to April. It was noted that they did pay the Social Club money to use their facilities. Mr Peake commented that if £20 has been offered then he proposes that we accept it, all Councillors agreed. It would need to be in writing.

7. Review of Allotment costs and the allotment agreement: Mr Jenkinson declared an interest and was asked to leave the room. A discussion took place on the allotments which included:

• The Clerk did not have an electronic copy of the allotment agreement and had contacted the previous clerk to ask if she had a copy.
• Mr Jenkinson keeps his and other allotments in a good state of repair
• The Clerk read out the email from the previous Clerk which stated that Mr Jenkinson has his allotment free at present in return for mending the fence and the other allotment is rented and thinks that she has paid £12.00 for this year.
• The clerk to scan allotment agreement and email to Councillors
• Mr Storey commented that if Councillors need any assistance on the legal agreement he is happy to help. He advised Councillors to contact Feltwell parish Clerk who may be able to provide a copy of an allotment contract.
• The Clerk clarified that the agreement says the cost is £16.00
• The Clerk to check that the tenant has paid her rent.

The Councillors agreed that the fees would stay the same.

The meeting was closed for public discussion.

OPEN FORUM

Mr Storey reported on the Community Construction Grant of 1.2 million. It will pay 75% of costs for community projects in the parish if the scheme is agreed. There have been 179 applicants, 125 were successful; 45 partial grants awarded and 4 were unsuccessful.

Mr Peake to get in touch with the County Council to see what is available.

Waste Recycling Plant- waiting for a decision from Mr Pickles, which is expected between September 2013 and the 14th January 2014. Norfolk County Council has set up an independent enquiry to look at the contract. They are looking at other ways to dispose of waste rather than landfill.

Mr Storey asked Councillors to contact him if they have any queries; he will try to attend Parish Council meetings on a regular basis, but if it is not possible it will be because he will be attending other Parish Council meetings.

The owner of the planning proposal on the agenda spoke about his change of use planning application. He proposed that Councillors look at the new proposal in liaison with the old proposal. Mrs Crisp suggested to the owner to leave it for Councillors to look at the application and view it in an unbiased way. Mrs Crisp thanked the owner for coming.

Mr Collins queried whether the chafer bug treatment will work bearing in mind that there has not been a lot of rain. The clerk explained that Collier Turf had liaised with her on dates to ensure as much as they can that rain fell before and after the treatment.

Meeting re opened

9. Accounts for June to be presented for approval of payment

Invoice available for Councillors to check, payments approved, all Councillors agreed.

The Clerk informed Councillors that she could not find the budget for 2013/14, she had contacted the previous Clerk who had advised her to use 2012/13 budget. The clerk explained the procedures to follow to set the budget and advised that they should have a budget for 2013/14. Mr Peake commented that the Parish Council had discussed and agreed the budget in meetings; the budget for 2013/14 was the same as 2012/13. The clerk will present the budget at the next meeting.

10. Planning

10.1 To receive planning decisions – no planning decisions received.

10.2 To consider the following planning application:

Conversion of barn to form holiday let at 23 Church Lane, Whittington Kings Lynn Norfolk

PE33 9TG (13/00888/F)

Mr Peake advised Councillors that he would not take any part in the decision on the planning application as he is on the planning committee.

Mr Eglington proposed that Mr Clark explain the planning application and changes to Councillors.

Mr Clark recognized that the old planning application was not sympathetic to the building, it would create additional traffic and had a large commercial element and would lose the large parking area. He explained the differences in the applications and commented that the amended application would keep the hedge for neighbors and would keep it looking like a barn and it would have 5 parking spaces. Councillors looked at the application in detail and felt that the application was an improvement on the previous application that had been approved. Councillors agreed to support the application. Mr Peake did not take part in any discussion or the decision.

10.3 To consider any planning applications after the agenda was produced- none

11 To receive Correspondence

Norfolk and Norwich events to raise funds for the Hospital

Lloyds TSB- letter and booklet on changes to terms and conditions

Email from CGM advising that operatives were unable to cut grass due to the number of vehicles; they would be returning early morning.

12. Any Further reports/items for the next agenda:

Mr Eglington – to consider appointing a different Vice Chairman, to be put on the next agenda

Mr Jenkinson queried whether there had been a response to the letter sent to CGM with regards to the damage to the gravestone- the clerk advised that the letter had only just been sent.

Mr Collins commented that he is appalled by the money spent on bollards outside the shop on the High Street; they have no place in a conservation area. They are owned by Highways and installed by developers to stop parking. One post has already been hit. The Clerk was asked to write to Highways and ask what the idea was to put them there and see what they say.

Mrs Leet asked to put the Community Construction Grant on the next agenda, she will find out more information.

Mrs Crisp thanked everyone for coming.

The meeting closed at 9pm