West Dereham Parish Council August meeting

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF WEST DEREHAM PARISH COUNCIL HELD AT WEST DEREHAM VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30 pm THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2015 PRESENT (6 Councillors): - Pam Bullas (PB), Claire Cann (CC) – Chairman, Tom Foy (TF), Lorraine Hunt (LH), Claire Page (CP), Pam Walker (PW). Clerk: - Sarah Thorpe Cllr Brian Long (BL) – County Council 9 members of the public were in attendance. Papers presented to Councillors: (i) Financial Management Report (spreadsheet); (ii) Expenditure (for approval); (iii) Glazewing Report. The Chairman welcomed everyone present and opened the meeting.

1. Apologies for absence. Apologies had been received from Paula Kellingray (PK) who was unwell, and Cllr Sandra Squire (Borough Councillor) who was on holiday.

2. Declarations of interest. No declarations were made.

3. Use of social media and audio recording of meeting. CC asked “Will anyone present be filming, recording, blogging, or tweeting during this meeting?” No member of the public present at this stage advised that they would.

4. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 9 July 2015. CC confirmed all Councillors had seen the minutes of the Parish Council (PC) meeting held on 9 July 2015. These were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

5. Reports. 5.1 Chairman’s Report. 5.1.1 Water supply at cemetery. CC advised that there had been an incident at the cemetery where a camper van had been spotted filling their water tanks from the tap at the cemetery. They had been advised that this was a private supply but had not responded in a positive manner. Their registration number was taken and reported to the police who had contacted CC to see if the PC wished to pursue this as a criminal act. It was felt that this would not be appropriate as it appeared to be an isolated incident. The police had advised that the PC may wish to consider a notice advising that it was a private supply. This matter will be discussed later in the meeting. 5.1.2 Willow Lane – stopping up order. A letter had been received from Norfolk County Council (NCC) advising that the order to stop up part of the highways on Willow Lane had been heard and an order granted on 29 July 2015.

5.2 Clerk’s Report. 5.2.1 Decorative Village Gateways. The Clerk had met with Andy Wallace from Highways to inspect the areas where the gates are to be situated. On Lime Kiln Road (LKR) and Hilgay Road (HR) the maximum width available for the gates is 1 metre if both gates are to be the same size. Ryston Road could be the standard width of 1.35 metres, or if preferred these could also be 1 metre which would keep all of the gates the same size. It was agreed that the two sets should be 1 metre wide and one set should be 1.35 metres wide. 5.2.2 Road signage on A134. A letter has been received from the Department for Transport (DT) providing details of a sign that they felt would be suitable to display on the A134, to deter HGV vehicles from turning into LKR and Bath Road (BR). Andy Wallace advised that as this sign has no legal order attached to it then it could not be used instead of the

current weight restriction signs at the top LKR and BR, as they do have a legal order attached to them. He is currently designing a variation of a standard sign for the A134 which will cover both LKR and BR and will give advance warning to drivers of HGVs that there is a weight restriction on both of these roads. TF arrived at this point giving his apologies for being late. 5.2.3 Wooden posts on Station Road. Wooden posts have now been installed by Highways at The Old School on the corner of Station Road with West Dereham Road. This has been done to prevent HVG vehicles from cutting the corner and driving on the pavement. Other damaged wooden posts on Station Road had also been replaced in recent months. Highways advised that they were unable to put any more additional wooden posts on Station Road in the current financial year due to budget cuts. A report had been received from a parishioner of other damaged wooden posts on Station Road and it was agreed that the Clerk would report these to Highways. 5.2.4 Churchyard damage. A report had been made to the PC of damage to a gravestone in the churchyard. It was suggested that this had been caused during grass cutting. This matter has been referred to the contractors who cut the grass. It appeared that the damage had occurred during 2013 and 2014 and that no further damage had occurred this year. The contractors had advised that they will ensure their staff are informed of the situation and that extra care is taken in future. 5.2.5 Grange Farm. The visit to Grange Farm, to look around the farm and obtain answers to the questions raised by the PC concerning pig waste, flies, smells, and heavy vehicle movement on LKR and BR, has been arranged for Friday 21 August at 7pm.

5.3 Handyman’s Report. No report had been received from the Handyman. CC advised that he had contacted her with regard to collecting the dog waste bin which was to be installed at the entrance to the footpath from The Row to the village hall. It was reported that, at this stage, there had been no response to the advertisement for a new Handyman. Clerk to establish if the advertisement had been placed in The Pump.

5.4 Police Report. Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel (SNAP) meetings have been reduced to one per policing district. The means that Downham Market, Watlington and Terrington have been combined. The next meeting will take place at the Downham Market Town Hall, in the Assembly Room, on Monday 10 August at 7pm. Weekly crime summary reports had been received from Police Connect; these reports included a warning to secure heating oil tanks following recent incidents of theft of heating oil. There was also a report of criminal damage on Station Road, where a fence and CCTV camera had been damaged. It was not clear if this related to WD as no parish location was quoted.

5.5 Village Hall Report. PK had provided a report to be read out in her absence. It advised that the hall had several outside bookings over the next month. Electrical work needed in conjunction with fire safety had now been completed.

5.6 Broadband Report. PW advised the several residents had received a card from BT advising them that work had been done in the area and they should check with their internet provider to see if they could receive superfast broadband. It was reported that upon checking, they had been told that nothing had changed at this stage. PW had contacted Karen O’Kane (KOK) on this matter and she had advised that sometimes such cards can be misleading and apologised for the confusion. Work was still ongoing to install the superfast broadband for the village. It was confirmed that expected speeds for The Row would still remain low, until an additional cabinet was installed as part of the next contract. No date was available for this at the moment. BL advised that BT were putting in an additional £5.3 million into the project to provide better broadband for Norfolk following better than expected take up rates.

5.7 Glazewing Report. Glazewing had issued their August report by email which covered the month of July. It advised that they are in the process of submitting a variation to their planning permission to bring it in line with their environmental permit. The current planning permission refers to waste categories, first introduced in the 1980s. NCC has accepted waste categories as being outdated, and without any legal standing. Given this, Glazewing are requesting a variation of reference from waste categories to European waste codes. Glazewing advised that volumes and vehicle movements will not change. Richard Stimson, Compliance Manager, will attend the September PC meeting to explain this further. BL advised that all waste disposal operators would need to take the same action. The report stated that no complaints had been received in July 2015. Glazewing advised that over the past few weekends the site had experienced a number of incidents of intruders on site, which they suspect to be children. Looking around the perimeter they had discovered fresh motorcycle tracks. They asked for cooperation in keeping children away from the site. Councillors mentioned rumours that had been rife in the village concerning an alleged death on site at Glazewing. While the PC appreciated that if the police were involved no details could yet be given it seemed that the fact alone, if it was true, could have been expected to have appeared in the report.

6. Finance. 6.1 Accounts. Accounts for approval and the monthly financial management report were submitted by the Clerk. She advised that the income and expenditure for June 2015 has now been confirmed, and that estimated figures for July have been inserted based upon invoices received. Expenditure continued to be in line with budget. Payee Cheque No Net VAT Gross West Dereham Village Hall – annual PC support 100814 1300.00 1300.00 Clerk’s salary, expenses for July 15 – 46 hrs 100815 543.66 543.66 NALC – 7 copies of Good Cllr Guide 100816 16.50 16.50 CGM Ltd – grounds maintenance for June 15 100817 108.38 21.67 130.05 Total 1968.54 21.67 1990.21 The above payments were considered and approved. Cheques to be signed at the end of the meeting.

7. Local Council Award Scheme. The Clerk advised that she believed that all of the documentation required for the Foundation level of the award was now held by the PC. A list of the requirements was read out; it was agreed by the PC that on its website it publishes items 1-15 of the documents that are required, and that it also holds items 16-22 of the documents that are necessary for the award (many of these are also available on the website). Initial examination of the requirements for the Gold level had shown that there was only two areas where the PC needed to provide further documentation.

8. Cemetery. 8.1 Application for erection of memorial for William Penman. The application was discussed and it was agreed that it did comply with the PC regulations for headstones. It was agreed to approve the application.

8.2 Notice regarding water supply. Further to item 5.1.1, the matter was discussed and it was agreed that a notice should be made and installed to advise that the water supply was private and for cemetery users only. Clerk to provide details of appropriate wording for notice.

8.3 Improvements to the garden of remembrance. CC advised that a meeting had taken place with a landscape gardener to provide details of options for improvements to the area. Another meeting needed to be arranged with CGM to discuss the options, as they had failed to turn up at the previously arranged meeting. Item to be carried forward to the next PC meeting.

9. Parish Assets. 9.1 Purchase of goal posts/hoops for recreation ground. Quotations had been obtained and these were discussed. It was agreed to accept the quotation provided by Thomas B Bonnetts of £2,250 plus vat for two goals/hoops. The PC agreed to go ahead with the purchase, under the open spaces heading, subject to assistance with funding from the Village Trust, and confirmation from the PC insurance company regarding inclusion of these items on the policy and requirements for regular inspections.

9.2 Land registry layer for digital mapping software. Pear Technology had provided details on an additional layer that is available to add to the PC digital mapping software. This will provide details of all land that is registered and unregistered in the parish and it will then be possible to obtain the details of the owners for registered land for a nominal fee. This would assist with recent problems that the PC has been experiencing in trying to establish ownership of some land, where PC concerns had arisen. The land registry layer is available free and the cost of installing this layer is £75. It was agreed by all to go with this matter. Cost to be attributed to the admin/professional fees budget.

10. Parish Council policies and documentation. 10.1 Financial Regulations. The draft document had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. It was briefly discussed and agreed that no amendments were needed to the document that had been approved in August 2014, as substantial amendments had been made at that time.

10.2 Risk Assessment. The draft document had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. It was briefly discussed and agreed that an amendment was needed to include the War Memorial, as it had been added to the Asset Register. Item to be carried forward to the next PC meeting.

10.3 Publication Scheme. The amended document had been sent to all members prior to the meeting reflecting the additional information that was now available on the PC website. It was briefly discussed and the amendments were agreed by all.

10.4 Allotment fees. A brief discussion took place on the current fees and deposit. It was decided that this matter should be carried forward to the next PC meeting and that consideration might be given to increasing the deposit, which appeared not to cover clearing a full plot. Clerk to advise Allotment Liaison Officer that new tenancy agreements should not be signed prior to a decision being made at the next PC meeting.

11. Planning. No applications or decisions had been received since the last PC meeting. The Clerk gave feedback from the BC planning briefing session that she had attended on 5 August. This session had provided information on the suspension of the hearings by the planning inspector regarding the LDF site allocations plan, and the recently reported news that the BC had been found not to have in place an adequate provision for a 5 year supply of housing. The Clerk advised that confirmed had been given, at the briefing session, that on-going work on the LDF site allocation plan would not involve a change in BC policy for villages like WD that had been classified as “smaller villages or hamlets.” The BC policy would continue to be that these did not warrant an allocation for development.

12. Bus stop on Church Road. It had been reported that buses were still stopping near the phone box on Church Road and not using the bus stop at the village hall as had been agreed for safety reasons. Clerk to contact NCC to ask them to follow up this matter with the school bus companies and to obtain details of the contractor for the public bus service in order to advise them of the situation. Item to be carried forward to the next PC meeting.

13. Correspondence. 13.1 An email had been received from the BC asking local PCs if they wished to fill the vacancies for two representatives on the Stoke Ferry Internal Drainage Board. Further information had been obtained on the role. It was agreed that PW would be put forward as the PC representative.

13.2 A letter had been received from a parishioner enquiring if the PC was still considering the possibility of woodland burial at the cemetery. It was agreed that members should consider this item separately and then discuss ideas at the next PC meeting. This item to be placed on the agenda for the next PC meeting, and the Clerk to locate information already held by the PC on this matter.

13.3 An email had been received from a parishioner regarding design suggestions for the new village signs. It was agreed to thank the parishioner for their comments and that the Clerk should collate all suggestions for discussion and decision.

13.4 An incident report had been received from Richard French (RF), the Allotment Liaison Officer, regarding two incidents of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage that had occurred recently at the site. It was agreed that the Clerk would ask RF to report these incidents to the police if he had not already done so. Information to be given in the next village notice to advise residents to report any future issues of this nature to the police immediately. The report from RF also mentioned the recent allotment inspection, and provided an update on the situation of plots 3 and 8A-8D. It was agreed that a letter would be sent to the tenant of plot 3 to end their tenancy with immediate effect, and give then 30 days to clear the plot if they wished to have their deposit returned. A letter should also be sent to the tenants of plot 8A and 8D giving then 30 days to tidy up their plots or their tenancy will be ended.

14. Other Business – Any additional reports and items for inclusion on the next Agenda. 14.1 CP gave her apologies for the next meeting as she would be away. 14.2 Ryston Road/The Row (on the corner) – road surface breaking up again. To be reported to Highways. 14.3 Ryston Road (near the bridge) – potholes need repairing. To be reported to Highways. 14.4 Ryston Road (ditch) – the situation is now critical with it being so overgrown that it overhangs the road. Highways to be asked if they can take emergency action as the PC has been unable to establish contact details for the owner of the land. 14.5 PB advised that it had been suggested to her that the village might like to hold an open garden and yard sale event. This item to be put in the next village notice to establish interest. 14.6 Church Road – overgrown hedge again obstructing the path and road. Usual letter to be send to owner asking to trim. 14.7 Footpath from The Row to the village hall – brambles overhanding the footpath from the adjoining field. Letter to be sent to landowner asking them to trim back. 14.8 TF advised that he would now be remaining in the village until January 2016 and was therefore able to continue as a Councillor until that time. The official meeting concluded at 9.12pm, and was opened to the floor for general comment.

Open Forum. • Recreation ground – brambles overhanging a large part of the area at one end. BC to be asked to trim back as they own the site. • Hedge at the allotments – will need to be trimmed. Clerk to contact CGM to ask them to cut back as soon as possible. • A parishioner asked about installation of the new dog waste bin near the entrance to the footpath from The Row to the village hall. Advised that Handyman to install as soon as he had collected from CC. • BL gave his apologies for the next PC meeting.

Closure. The Chairman thanked everyone for attending, and final closure of the meeting was at 9.17pm.

Next PC meeting is on Thursday 3 September at 7.30pm with Open Surgery from 7.00pm. Clerk: Sarah Thorpe Email: clerk@westderehamparishcouncil.com Telephone: 01945 430930

Chairman’s signature …………………………………… Date ……………………………