Northwold Parish Council - February

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

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4th 2014

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

4 members of the public

Mrs Crisp welcomed all to the meeting.

1.  To receive and consider accepting apologies for absence:  none

2. Declarations of Interest made: none

2.1 To consider dispensations: none

3. To agree the minutes of the meeting of 07/01/2014**:** The minutes were signed as a true record with a minor amendment, item 9.2 should read Thornham , all Councillors agreed.

4. Matters arising from the minutes (for information only):

Manor House: in dispute, cannot pass on to third party until an oral hearing has taken place.

5. Reports:

5.1 Chairman’s report: met with a representative from Urban Foresty at the recreation ground, who was giving a quote for repairs to the playground equipment. The equipment was examined and there were several urgent repairs which needed to be undertaken immediately. After speaking to the Clerk a local contractor was contacted to undertake the repairs; the work has been completed and an invoice will be submitted which will be passed on to the Playground Committee.

A 30mph sign in the High Street, past the church has been uprooted and thrown in a garden; Clerk to report.

Fundraising information evening- Mr Collins, Mrs Crisp and Mrs Leet attended, Mr Collins reported that it was a good meeting; there is very little Government funding available but there were other funding streams discussed:

• Big Lottery Funding which seems reasonably easy to obtain amounts from £300 to £10,000 up to a maximum of £500,000. The village hall might like to apply for a blackout cinema screen.
• Norfolk Playing Fields Association; may be able to obtain funding for chafer bugs, Mr Collins to follow up.
• The Sports and Social Club might be able to apply for funding for plumbing/boiler from the Big Lottery Fund; The Parish Council would help.
• WNVCA has an expert on obtaining funding and gave out 2 pages of information of where to obtain funds from.

5.2 Clerk’s report:

• Councillor Vacancy: no requests for an election, can now co opt onto the Parish Council
• Meeting with Jane Scarrott; website handed over to Clerk
• Planning – Queried with planning that the Parish Council were not consulted, planning confirmed that the Parish Council were consulted on 10th October 2013 for application  13/01432/CU change of use of former shop and post office to form part of adjoining residential dwelling at 28 High Street, Northwold Thetford Norfolk IP26 5LA.
• The application at High Fen, Thornham Road Methwold 13/01775/F; checked with the Planning Administration team and the site of the proposed agricultural dwelling at High Fen (13/01775/F) is definitely within Northwold Parish.

6. To give an update and sign the deed for the Lightsource Community Benefit payment:

The deed has not yet been received.

7. To consider the contract for streetlights and agree any action:

Have received a variation to the contract from K & M lighting, which takes account of the new LED lights and gives a considerable reduction on the price of the current contract, the variation is for March 2014 to 2015. The clerk was asked to contact K & M and ask; if we were to replace the last 7 MBFU lights would we get an immediate reduction. It was noted that there are a vast amount of items that are not covered by the contract. Mr Collins was asked to obtain a quote from Westcotec.

8. To consider the quotes for grass cutting and play equipment and agree any action:

The clerk had requested four quotes but only two were received. The Clerk read through the two quotes, after a discussion, it was agreed to accept the quote from CGM for a period of three years for the entire contract; the clerk to notify CGM.

The Clerk had requested five quotes to repair the playground equipment, three have been received. The Clerk read through the quotes, prices and the work was discussed; one quote did not include all the items required in the annual report, one was an email, one in depth quote, fully itemised. It was noted that one company had taken the time on the quote and were keen to do the work. Councillors agreed that the Play Maintain quote of £1380.00 plus Vat would be accepted. The Clerk to email the quote to the Playground Committee to explain the work to be completed and how much it is going to cost and also inform them of the urgent repairs that have been completed, as the Playground Committee had previously agreed that any work needed would be paid for out of their funds provided an invoice was produced.

Meeting adjourned

OPEN FORUM

A Parishioner expressed concerns about the increase in the precept, she asked the Clerk for a copy of the budget and the Clerk gave a hard copy to her. The Parishioner cannot see the reasoning for increasing the precept. Councillors went through the responsibilities of the Council which included streetlights, chafer bugs; potential for other work to be passed to the Council because of Norfolk County Council budget cuts, the reasons for the increase were clear in the budget. The Parishioner asked the Council to put meeting dates and contact details of the Clerk into Village Life, Councillors agreed that it was a good idea.

Representatives from the Sports and Social Club reported that they had a fire inspection and that there were several actions that needed to be completed which they needed advice on. After a discussion the Sports and Social Club were going to seek advice from the Village Hall Committee. It was clarified that the Sports and Social Club were responsible for the building.

Meeting reconvened

9. Accounts to be presented for approval of payment February 2014

Christmas tree invoice of £32 not received as Christmas tree donated, Councillors expressed their thanks for the donation.

All payments approved all Councillors agreed.

Current balance £19,157.71

11. Any Further reports/items for the next agenda- for information only (not for discussion) and date of next meeting:

PCSO reported that the reckless driver speeding through Northwold has been identified; provided a form that needs to be completed; Clerk to email the form to Miss Muir.

Little London Sign that directs to Foulden and the A134 has fallen down, Clerk to report.

The River is now flooded.

The speed of broadband was queried; Clerk to get an update from NALC.

Church Lane being used as a shortcut by buses, it was noted that there is no weight limit.

Drivers are confused as to who has right of way where Hovells Lane and Church Lane meet, the road markings are not clear; Clerk to report.

The meeting closed 8.55pm