Northwold Parish Council - December

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

TUESDAY DECEMBER 3rd 2013

Present: Mrs R Crisp-Chair, Mr F. Eglington, Mr A Collins, Mr A. Jenkinson, Mr G Gillett, Miss A Muir

1 member of the public

Mr Martin Storey Norfolk County Council

Mrs Crisp welcomed all to the meeting.

1.  To receive and consider accepting apologies for absence: Mrs S Leet, Mr M. Peake,

2. Declarations of Interest made: none

2.1 To consider dispensations: none

3. To agree the minutes of the meeting of 05/11/2013**:** The minutes were signed as a true record, all Councillors agreed.

4. Matters arising from the minutes (for information only): The car at Methwold Road has stopped parking on the pavement.

5. Reports:

5.1 Chairman’s report:

• Mrs Lynch has sadly passed away; documents were passed to the Clerk for sorting.
• The Church tree was discussed; the Parish Council will buy the tree under section 137 and decorate it. The Clerk reminded Councillors that it was not on the agenda so a decision should not be made, however due to the timing the Council decided to buy the tree, Mr Jenkinson to collect it, pay for it and the Council to reimburse and Mr Collins to decorate it.
• The riverbank has been repaired at Inghams Lane, a good job has been completed. Mrs Crisp to thank the owner.
• A letter has been received from the Manufacturers of the playground equipment; they have gone into liquidation so the warranty is no longer valid, they have started another business. If the inspection report is sent to them they will repair the equipment at a reduced cost as a gesture of goodwill. The Clerk will try to get other quotes so we have a minimum of 3 quotes.

5.2 Clerk’s report:

• Claire law PCSO sends her apologies
• The article for dog waste and parking sent to the editor of the newsletter, will be in the February edition.
• Query sent to insurance company and reply received.
• Obtained 2 quotes for removal/control of moles
• Email to Lightsource sent
• VAT claim sent for £1,861.11

6. To discuss, update and agree any action:

Streetlighting: it has been difficult to contact the installers of the streetlights as they have been out putting in streetlights. The code for the electric to obtain reduced costs will be received tomorrow. 29 LED lights installed for northwold , 1 LED for Whittington; have another  mercury light in Northwold and  5 mercury lights in Whittington plus a Victorian lamppost. When the code is received it needs to be passed to the provider with the number of lights and they will reduce the costs accordingly. One person has complained that it is dark outside the Church. The Clerk to arrange a meeting with K&M lighting to review the maintenance contract and ask K&M to remove the school light outside the old shop in the High Street and repair the Victorian light opposite the Church, it may just need a new bulb..

Manor House: no new information

Play Equipment: dealt with in item 5.1 Chairman’s report.

Lightsource Community Benefit Payment: The Clerk received an answer phone message from the Sports and Social Club asking who would be responsible for the maintenance of the solar panels after two years. Maintenance was discussed, panels are generally cleaned twice a year to get most efficiency, should not be expensive as it is the Parish Council’s building they would pay for maintenance. The Village Hall does not belong to the Parish Council so would pay for the cleaning and maintenance. Mr Collins proposed to split the benefit between the Sports and Social Club building and the Village Hal, all Councillors agreed; the Clerk to inform Lightsource.

Litter Picking and Employing a Litter Picker: Mrs Muir has spoken with the head of unpaid work, they would welcome the work, Parish Council to provide them with a list and when they want the work completed; they will inspect for health and safety reasons. Work that could be done, railings around the Cemetery need painting, litter bin to be installed near the near the memorial, but not too close. The contractor that lives near where the bin would be installed could look to see if the bin can be re attached to the wall. The play area could be cleared of rubbish; Mr Jenkinson’s wife has been doing the job. Mrs Crisp thanked Mrs Jenkinson.a smaller bin could be sited with a bag inside. The Parish Council would need to provide the materials for the work.

Grass cutting: The Clerk has checked with the insurance company whether the Parish Council would be covered if a Councillor cut the grass; the Clerk read out the email, which included: the councillor would be covered under Employers Liability, Public Liability and Personal Accident. The Parish Council has a duty of care to the councillor so they would recommend a risk assessment is completed. The Parish Council need to ensure that the person is competent to carry out the tasks and that he has access to suitable clothing and equipment.

The grass cutting was discussed; Mr Jenkinson would charge about £650 for the season to cut the recreation ground and would need to supply a written quote. The Clerk had a list of the areas to cut, which included:

• Normandy Close, Glebe housing estate is cut on a 2 weekly cycle.
• Normandy Close and in front of the Village Hall
• Fiendick Field alleyway from lane to playing field
• Mr Jenkinson could cut the playing field
• Whittington

Concern was expressed that if the grass cutting is fragmented it may push the costs up. Also the contractor needs to understand the work as the previous year someone had quoted but then withdrew because they were unable to fulfil the contract at the price quoted.

The clerk was asked to obtain quotes from Roots and Roots, Norse, CGM and Holly Landscapes. To get individual costs for the recreation ground, cemetery and for all of the grass cutting.

Contribution to mole removal/control and quotes: The Clerk has received 2 quotes which were discussed in relation to the recreation ground; one on a basis of removal/control over the year and one on a basis of 10 hours. The letter from the Cricket Club was discussed and it was agreed to give a one off contribution to the Cricket Club of £75.00, all Councillors agreed. The Parish Council would review if needed.

Meeting adjourned

OPEN FORUM

A parishioner commented that the recreation ground belongs to the Parish Council so they should be responsible for the moles. It was noted that the Parish Council are trying their best to keep the field in good condition; it is in better condition now than it was before. There is only a small patch of bugs and the moles are nowhere near the cricket field.

Mr Storey reported:

Pleasure to be at the meeting, he has 16 parishes so he tries to attend meetings whenever possible. Eric Pickles will make a decision on the incinerator by 14th January 2014.Norfolk County Council is having a ten week consultation period on savings to be made of £189 million over the next 3 years; difficult decisions are to be made. If there any questions or problems let Mr Storey know, he is happy to help.

Meeting reconvened

7. Accounts to be presented for approval of payment December 2013

The Anglian Water bill of £9.71 needs to be paid, if not paid within 2 weeks Anglian Water may issue letters from a debt agency.

Payments approved, all Councillors agreed.

Current balance £19,975.69

7.1 To receive and consider the revised budget for 2014/15:

The Clerk went through a comparison of the precept and Band D costs per household:

2013/14 £15,647 plus grant of £1353.00 = £17,000 = band D £44.60

2014/15 Precept £17,975.61minus grant of £927.00, (£426 less than last year) = £17048.61 =Band D £47.29, increase of £2.69

Precept of £17,975.61 = Band D £49.86 increase of £5.26

7.2 To discuss and update the Asset Register: The Clerk went through the Asset Register; to update: add 1 notice board at Village Hall, add 1 litter bin at the War Memorial and add total number of lights.

8.1 To receive any planning decisions after the agenda was produced: none received

8.2 To consider any planning applications after the agenda was produced:

13/01581/F Proposed single storey flat roofed extension at 71 High Street Northwold-support

13/01398/F Variation of condition 15 of planning consent 13/00735/FM installation and operation of solar farm and associated structure at Field at OS 573940 298864 Thetford Road Northwold-no objections

9 To receive and Consider Correspondence:

Letter from Hawkins Ryan Solicitors; Council signed a form to permit Miss Muir to collect the paperwork from the Solicitors.

VAT briefing

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

The trees need cutting back at West End; Clerk to check whether a letter was sent.

Mr Eglington to become a signatory in place of Mrs Lynch; the Clerk to complete the form. The Election of Vice Chairman to be put on the next agenda.

The meeting closed 8.58pm