Stoke Ferry Parish Council - September meeting

STOKE FERRY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on 14th September, 2016

Attendance: Chairman S Lintern Vice Chairman Mrs J Taylor Councillors Mrs D Clements Mrs J Lawson Footpath Warden Mr C Philpott County Councillor M Storey Members of the public 15

1. Emergency Evacuation

Members and members of the public were advised of the emergency evacuation procedures for the Village Hall.

2. Apologies

Apologies had been received from Cllr M Leamon, Cllr T Mann and Cllr J Nicholas-Letch and B Cllr C T Sampson

3. To receive Declarations of Interest from Members on any item to be discussed

Cllr Clements declared an interest in the item referring to the Car Scheme

4. To agree Minutes of the meeting held on 10th August, 2016

Proposed - Cllr Mrs Taylor Seconded - Cllr Mrs Clements

'That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 10th August, 2016 be approved'

In favour – 3 Abstention - 1

5. Matters arising

Cllr Mrs Lintern gave an update on the recent concerns about the noise from the mill. No. 2 boiler was off line and boiler 1 was in use currently. This was being monitored and was found to be noisier than boiler no. 2. Glazwing had also been contacted and reminded that they should not be using the back road to West Dereham. Members were also informed that a pollution monitor was to be placed on the lamppost on the hill.

The Council strimmer is now in the possession of the Chairman, Cllr Lintern

The problems with various smells around the mill are being investigated. 2Agriculture have moved a tank (which was leaking) into a pump house to alleviate any further smells. Norfolk County Council has agreed to clear the drains around the entrance to the mill off Buckenham Drive so it hoped that the problems will be solved.

Dog bin – approval is still being sought from the BCKL&WN 6. To receive report on Public Rights of Way (Footpaths/Bridleways)

Bridleway no 8 has been inspected and vegetation has been cut back, it is hoped that bridleway no 5 should be inspected in September/October and then there would only be 2 paths left to check. The Chairman is to meet with Andy Wallace, NCC Highways to find out ownership of land adjacent to some of the PROW. There is a Society which inspects all footpaths in the UK and they are currently walking the coastal paths (6000 miles) before they begin walking inland paths. It was noted that most of the footpath signs are illegible, but these will be replaced as and when possible.

7. Update on the Website

There was nothing to report to this meeting

8. To discuss the Car Scheme

At the previous meeting Cllr Nicholas-Letch had given the Chairman and the Clerk a detailed breakdown of the receipts and payments of the car scheme since its inception. Cllrs had now inspected this document and found it to be in a very ‘long-winded’ format. The Chairman produced a summary but there were still questions to be answered and it was essential that the cheque books and paying in books are given to the Clerk. It was agreed that Cllr Mrs Taylor and the Clerk visit Cllr Nicholas-Letch to obtain these documents. There followed a discussion on the information presented and it was agreed that until all documents had been received the issues around the Car Scheme could not be concluded.

9. To discuss future grass cutting/maintenance within the village

Members were advised that there should be 17 cuts of the playing field between March and October and to date there had only been 5 full cuts. There had been a meeting with Mr & Mrs Glover of CGM to rectify the current situation with the grass cutting. It was also noted that they were still charging for bin emptying even though this had been cancelled in 2015.

One option to make up for the lack of grass cutting would be to trim the hedges around the field and with regard to charging for bin emptying CGM may be able to supply waste bins to put around the playing field/village. Further information should be available for the next meeting.

In good faith CGM had forwarded a cheque as a refund for the bin emptying but asked that it not be cashed till the end of October in order to give them time to source litter bins.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Lintern Seconded – Cllr Mrs Taylor

‘That the cheque from CGM be held until the end of October in order to give them time to locate litter bins’

All in favour

It was also agreed at the meeting that the saplings which were damaged previously would be replaced in the autumn. CGM is on six months’ notice so the Council would need to find someone to cut the grass and do general maintenance in the village. 10. To discuss the arrangements for Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is on Sunday 13th November, 2016. Cllrs Lintern and Taylor would work together to produce a service programme and ensure that information is put in the Village Pump. The Clerk would arrange for the wreath and would get additional poppies so that Cllr Mrs Taylor could make a small arrangement to be placed on the soldier’s grave in the cemetery.

11. To begin discussions on Christmas Event including the Christmas Tree

The Christmas event will be held on Sunday 4th December, 2016. Cllr Mrs Taylor would source the Christmas tree and decorations, although it would be checked that Cllr Nicholas-Letch had not already arranged a tree. Mr Hesketh-Harvey would be asked for permission to use the Church and contact would be made with the group who played carols last year. Light refreshments would be available during the event.

12. To discuss the painting of the railings surrounding the garden area adjacent to the notice Board Items 12/13 would be discussed together.

It was agreed that there would be litter pick/village clean up on Saturday 8th October. Cllr Mrs Lintern would do posters for the event asking for volunteers to help, also a notice would be put in the Village Pump. The Clerk would arrange for equipment from the Borough Council and also collection of the rubbish after the event.

13. To arrange a litter pick for the village See above

14. To discuss the current situation regarding GP Services in the area

GP Services are monitored by Care Quality Commission, England. There are serious concerns that the local surgery in Boughton has been put under special measures, with very little information being released as to how this will affect patients. Over recent years Stoke Ferry has asked for its own surgery in the village, but Boughton Surgery are reluctant to offer an outreach service in the village. Previous large planning applications have included a small medical centre but there has been no enthusiasm from any local GP Practices to take this forward. West Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is a clinically-led organisation responsible for commissioning integrated health and social care in West Norfolk. "Commissioning" is the planning, designing and paying for NHS services to meet the needs of our local population. Their aim is to ensure that the right integrated services are provided in order to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of West Norfolk.

15. Section 106 – Members need to consider if they wish to investigate S106 payments which should have been given to village for education and other village amenities

Section 106 money is administered by the Borough Council and should be used to compensate the local area for the additional pressures on local services from new developments. Although it is common for some of this money to be used for Library Services, this is a duty of Norfolk County Council. Past Section 106 agreements for the village should be inspected to ensure that any funding from large new developments is allocated to Stoke Ferry. Also the Parish should be involved in the drawing up of these agreements. 16. To approve payments of bills

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Taylor Seconded - Cllr Mrs Lintern

‘That the bills be paid as per the attached schedule’

All in favour

17. To receive correspondence

Correspondence is emailed to Cllrs

18. To receive information or suggested items to be considered at the next meeting (Councillors/ Public)

Future agenda items: Standing Orders

It was noted that the Council strimmer is at Cllr Mrs Clements house: this would be collected.

County Cllr Storey gave a short report on devolution advising members that over 11,000 had responded to the consultation and over 400,000 leaflets had been distributed. The decision would be made at the November meeting of Norfolk County Council. Cllr Storey was asked if he knew the Crouch family as it is believed that they own part of the riverbank which the Environment Agency says does not belong to them.

Common - Concern was raised that the bins are not emptied on the Common. It was noted that this is private land and, in fact, the dog waste bin is emptied.

Village Pump - It was noted that there are some misquotes and spelling mistakes in the Village Pump. It was felt that the individuals who provide the copy should be responsible for ensuring their articles are factually correct.

CGM – There was agreement from the floor that the hedge cutting and bin replacements was a good idea.

Annual Carnival – It was suggested that the village should have an annual carnival.

Grass Cutting – It would be to the village’s advantage to employ its own grass cutter/handyman.

Bins – Additional bins were needed on the playing field.

Neighbourhood Plan – it was noted that funding is available to help towards the cost of producing a Plan.

2Agriculture – the last meeting was on the 24th August and it was noted that the mill had had a full permit audit and there were no breaches.

SNAP meeting – the date of the next meeting is Wednesday 5th October, 2016

19. Date and time of next meeting - Wednesday 12th October, 2016 at 7.00pm

Meeting closed at 9.00 pm