West Dereham Parish Council - October meeting

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE WEST DEREHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT WEST DEREHAM VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30 pm ON THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER 2016 PRESENT (5 Councillors): - Pam Bullas (PB), Claire Cann (CC) - Chair, Lorraine Hunt (LH), Pam Walker (PW) Claire Williams (CW). Clerk: Sarah Thorpe 9 members of the public were in attendance. Papers presented to Councillors: (i) Financial Management Report (spreadsheet); (ii) Expenditure (for approval); (iii) Draft budget for 2017/18; (iv) Glazewing report. The Chairman welcomed everyone present and opened the meeting.

1. Apologies for absence. Apologies had been received from Paula Kellingray (PK) due to her being away, and Tom Foy (TF) due to work commitments.

2. Declarations of Interest. No declarations were made.

3. Use of social media, audio recording of meeting and invitation for public contributions. 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. CC advised members of the public that if they wished to comment on any item, before a decision was made, they should raise their hand and they would be invited to speak.

4. Minutes of the Parish Council meetings held on 1 September 2016. CC confirmed all Councillors had seen the minutes of the Parish Council (PC) meeting held on 1 September 2016. These were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

5. Reports. 5.1 Chairman’s Report. 5.1.1 Allotments. CC advised that the hedge had now been cut and cleared but some vegetation was still waiting to be burnt; this could be done by allotment tenants or if not Councillors would do this when time allowed. The meeting held with the allotment tenants was very useful and productive. Decisions to be made on the allotments at item 8.5.

5.2 Clerk’s Report. 5.2.1 Update on 30mph signs on Church Road. Highways had been contacted following the query raised at the last PC meeting about the lack of 30mph signs on Church Road. Highways had advised that the current signs were in line with regulations and therefore they could not consider installing additional signs. The matter was discussed and it was agreed that the Clerk would ask Highways if we could have “30” painted on the road surface. 5.2.2 Information from landowner regarding field off Basil Road. At previous PC meetings questions had been raised by parishioners regarding use of a field off Basil Road. The owner had been contacted to request information on the use of the field but no reply had been received at that time. The matter had been chased up and the following reply had been received by email on 14 September 2016: “I apologise for only now responding, but did not receive your email in February. Indeed the field in question belongs to myself and for the past 15 years it has been used predominantly as paddock closest to the road with a small area at the bottom used for storage. I can confirm that over the last 12 months we have used the same area at the bottom to store additional materials for a project we are undertaking in Cambridge. This has resulted in some increase in deliveries (on larger lorries), which I can confirm have now ceased and we will, over the next 8 weeks, be clearing those stored materials to be used in the project in Cambridge. We will do this by using our small 7½t lorry (no bigger than a tractor) which will access and egress the field via Basil Road off Hilgay Road. We have also had communications with the Borough Council Planning Department, and we have engaged a Planning Consultant to investigate change of use (if necessary as the historical use has to be considered). Nevertheless I can further confirm and assure that it is not my intention to use the site for increased storage and the activity over the past months is a one off, not to be repeated. If you wish me to attend future Parish Council meetings to discuss the matter further, please do not hesitate to let me know and I will gladly attend. ” 5.2.3 Update on proposed part-time weight restriction on B1166 via Southery. In October 2015 the PC had been consulted on the proposed weight restriction and had raised objections to the scheme due to concerns over increased traffic at the junction of the A1122/A134 and along the A134 through the parish; there had also been concerns that some of this additional traffic could end up on Lime Kiln Road or Bath Road where a weight restriction already applied. Norfolk County Council (NCC) had provided an update to say that they were to consider the report on the consultation at their meeting on 16 September and a further update would be issued in due course. The report recommended that neither of the two options suggested in the previous consultation were viable and that an alternative approach was required.

5.3 Handyman’s Report. The Handyman had stained the wooden planters on Church Road; removed the door on the Church Road telephone box and put into storage; cut back shrubs, completed preparation work and commenced painting of the telephone box on Station Road; carried out monthly inspection and noted that there was a mole problem in the churchyard and that brambles from the hedge outside No 1 Church Road were protruding from the hedge and causing an obstruction on the footpath. It was agreed that a letter should be sent to the owner asking for the brambles to be trimmed as residents were unable to use the footpath.

5.4 Police Report. PK was not present and no report had been provided.

5.5 Village Hall Report. A parishioner provided a report as PK was not present; the hall continued to do well and there were a few events planned over the next couple of weeks.

5.6 Broadband Report. PW reported on a response from Karen O’Kane (KOK) from Better Broadband for Norfolk (BBfN) which had advised that she was unable to provide an update at that time as the Open Reach lead was on leave. LH advised that she had tried to investigate whether she was now able to receive faster speeds from the new cabinet but the information was conflicting; she had been told that it would be a week before an answer could be provided.

5.7 Glazewing Report. Keith Charlton (KC) from Glazewing (GW) had provided a monthly report for the PC meeting. It stated: “Tonnages in to the site Outputs against inputs have increased over the last 3 months, GW are working to reduce the overall stock on site and have worked hard at reconfiguring the site to reduce the stock pile heights which gives a better aesthetic view of the site from the surrounding area. Issues Arising and addressed by GW during September: site security system and fire prevention action plan that was reported in the previous months report is planned to start in late October with new LED lights and cameras being installed and a upgrade to the site alarm systems after this has been completed. Three complaints received during the month of September: One raised by the Environment Agency (EA) and the other two raised by the planning officer - Complaint about the transport yard, GW have completely tidied this yard and have spoken to all drivers in regards to this area and the need to keep it clean and bring all wastes straight to the site.it will be looked at on a daily bases and any issues addressed Complaint about noise and fly’s, GW will going forward arrange an independent noise survey at the front of the site and on the road leading to the site, this will be in line with recommendation from the planning officer, if there is any noise issues these will then be addressed and appropriate action taken to reduce the cause of the noise. The fly’s complaint was an original complaint that was first raised in July/August and GW have been doing 3 times per week fly spraying treatments on all waste piles on site and will carry on with these until the end of October and then review what amount of treatments is required Complaint about containers in the wrong area, all of these containers will be moved by the end of October as agreed with the planning officer and then the gates to that area will be kept locked and the key controlled so that no drivers can go/ take containers into this area without us knowing why. Complaints that have been reported direct to the EA or Planning do not get to us immediately, if complaints/issues were also raised direct with me I could investigate and Glazewing could action the problem in a shorter time frame. If the Parish Council or residents of the surrounding area have any concerns or complaints please direct them to me: Keith Charlton, Transfer Station & Compliance Manager either in writing, by phoning direct on 01366 500162 or e-mail to keith.charlton@glazewing.co.uk. To enable for me to respond to your concerns please include the following information. • Type of complaint or incident • Date and Time of incident • Vehicle details, registration if possible were applicable (the more information I have the faster I can complete my investigation and put actions in place to prevent recurrence)” PB provided an update on the situation regarding activity at GW: Further to last month’s report of GW using the haulage yard as a ‘waste holding yard’ over the bank holiday weekend, the following reply had been received from Steven Halls (SH) at NCC. “The clean-up after the fire is on-going, being co-ordinated by the EA who are requiring GW to undertake actions in a specified order. The storage of bins and skips adjacent to the watercourse as shown in the photograph is necessary during this clean up phase to allow the free movement of waste within the site which will enable the company to comply with the EA’s requirements. The storage of waste in the bins adjacent to the watercourse is not ideal but provided the base of each bin is secure it should not be a problem; the EA as pollution control authority do not seem to have an issue with this temporary arrangement. If you have any concerns it may be best raise the issue with the EA”…. (PB advised that she had done this). He also went on to say that he did not intend to pursue action against these temporary breaches of planning control. The EA responded to receipt of the complaint by a phone call from Rachel Flanagan (RF), who had been on holiday while the fire was blazing. She had asked where the watercourse was as she and the new man at GW, Keith Charlton, didn’t know; photographs had been sent to her. PB also took the opportunity to say that the PC had not been involved in the multi-agency meeting that took place on 16 August; she knew very little of this as she was away herself but said she would pass on these views. PB advised that she had received a report from a local resident on 22 September to say that GW had moved most of the skips stored in the haulage yard and recycling yard to the land to the west of the haulage yard (i.e. further towards the bridge on College Road). Another e-mail had been sent to SH who replied that the skips were parked outside the area covered by the Certificate of Lawful Use (CLU). He and his colleague inspected the area with the site manager on 3 October and received confirmation from him that the area would be cleared by the end of the month. The site manager would send SH confirmation in writing as soon as he has made arrangements for a driver to be made available to complete the task. Meanwhile SH has agreed to send him a copy of the CLU and the agreed site plan. Whilst visiting GW they also noticed the stockpiles were above the 4.5M limit in force and they gave stern warnings with regard to the Breach of Condition Notice. The site manager gave an overview of his plans to get the site back under some form of control and this included increasing the area to be used for the storage of metal so that the stocks could be more spread out making them less intrusive. SH is currently visiting GW every 2-3 weeks. Meanwhile evidence supplied by residents suggests that the operator’s licence regarding overnight parking in the haulage yard is regularly being contravened; this information had been passed to the appropriate authority. Residents have reported that they were getting disturbed by noise from the new plant; it’s so loud that people are hearing it in Basil Road. Concerns have been expressed that this does not appear to have had a requirement for planning permission. A photograph of the new plant was shown to the PC and members of the public at the meeting. Residents near to GW had also reported an increase in flies again, some reporting this to the EA. It was reported that the smell is a continuing and obnoxious problem when the wind is blowing towards the village and residents affected should ring the EA Emergency Hotline on 0800 80 70 60. PB had been given some video footage of GW’s drivers; this video footage was shown to the PC and members of the public at the meeting. It was noted that there is no speed restriction on the stretch of road but members of the PC and the public were shocked at the apparent lack of concern for the local community. A member of the public felt that the PC should refer this video footage to the Highways Agency and maybe even the police; it was noted that permission would need to be obtained from the owner of the footage before any further action could be taken.

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 August 2016 had now been confirmed and estimated figures for September had been inserted based upon invoices received. Payee Cheque No Net VAT Gross Clerk’s salary, expenses for Sept – 44 hours 100893 568.34 568.34 Handyman’s contract, expenses plus 10 hours for Sept 100894 100.35 100.35 Post Office Ltd – PAYE July/Sept 100895 44.20 44.20 Anglian Water – cemetery supply June/Sept 100896 13.80 13.80 SLCC Enterprises Ltd – advert for new Clerk 100897 300.00 60.00 360.00 CGM Ltd – grounds maintenance Sept 100898 22.80 4.56 27.36 Peter Morley Forestry – installation of benches/bird bath 100899 350.00 70.00 420.00 Paragon Bank plc – printing of annual report 100900 37.50 37.50 Mr N Wells – refund of allotment deposit 100901 21.25 21.25 Total 1458.24 134.56 1592.80

The payments were considered and approved. Cheques to be signed at the end of the meeting.

6.2 Budget for 2017/18. Copies of the draft budget for 2017/18 had been circulated to Councillors and was on display on the overhead projector at the meeting. Members of the public were advised that this was the second month of the four month process when the PC would be considering whether any additional items should be added or removed for 2017/18 and that a decision would be made on setting the budget and precept at the PC meeting in December. The Clerk provided further information on the figures shown which included an additional column to show any surplus retained from unspent budgets from 2014/16. CC advised that she felt the Clerk’s salary budget should be increased by 2 hours per week to allow sufficient time for the Clerk to complete all of the monthly tasks; this was agreed by all. Members of the public were invited to comment on the budget for 2017/18. A brief discussion took place on some of the figures shown but no new items or suggestions for removal of existing items was identified at this stage. CC advised members of the public to contact the Clerk if they had any suggestions following the meeting.

7. Planning. Applications. None Decisions. 16/01213/F Variation of condition 2 attached to planning permission 16/00077/F to allow a change in the design/layout to allow sufficient manoeuvring space for wheelchair access and mobile hoist at Withy Farm, Station Road. Permission had been granted.

8. Parish Council Assets. 8.1 Quotations to cut hedge at the cemetery. CC advised that she and her husband had agreed to cover the cost of cutting the hedge to the western perimeter. Two quotations had been received to reduce the height of the hedge to the southern perimeter. The quotations (£840 and £600) were discussed and it was agreed to appoint the contractor who had provided the cheapest quotation at £600. Logs from the tree would be cut up and left on the verge used for parking at the cemetery and West Dereham residents were welcome to help themselves to a small quantity each.

8.2 Application for additional hedging and removal of old gates at cemetery. CC advised that at the last PC meeting a resident had requested that the old gates should remain in situ to allow easier access to the current burial plots. The PC agreed that discussions on improvements to the cemetery had taken place several years ago and the decision to remove the original gates had been made following the opportunity for full consultation with the village. The cemetery had been planned to work for everyone well into the future and any graves not adjacent to the gates would involve a short walk and the water supply had been positioned so that it was between the new gates and the current memorials. It was agreed to continue with the original plan. LH agreed to apply for additional hedging from the woodland trust and the Clerk to speak to the Handyman about removal of the old gates, installation of fencing and hedging.

8.3 Extending the Handyman’s contract for maintenance of the Garden of Remembrance. CC advised that the Garden of Remembrance improvements had been made so that minimum maintenance would be needed once the plants and yew hedging were established but in the short term weeding, pruning and edging would be needed. It was agreed that the Handyman should be asked to carry out this work and that his contract should be increased by 2 hours per week from March to the end of November in order to carry out this work and the following jobs every fortnight – strim growth from metal structure of all bridges; strim grass verge and bottom of hedge at Lime Kiln/Church Road footpath; weed and feed Church Road planters as necessary; strim around the Church Road phone and post boxes (the Station Road boxes are already covered by the main grounds maintenance contract). Handyman had already agreed that he would be willing to take on extra work and Clerk to contact him to advise. CW asked about trimming of the footpath between Knapp House and Chequers Cottage and it was agreed that this should be included in the main grounds maintenance contract for 2017.

8.4 Grounds maintenance for 2017. Three quotations had currently been received. All of these were much more expensive than the current contract so it was likely that some items would need to be removed or reduced. Clerk to chase up all other contractors who had been approached to ask if they wished to provide a quotation so that a decision could be made at the November PC meeting.

8.5 Allotments. A meeting with allotment tenants had taken place on Saturday 3 September and it was agreed by the PC and allotment tenants present that this had been very useful and productive. Allotment inspection dates had now been set for 2017 and were available on the PC website; all tenants would be informed of these dates when the tenancies were renewed. It was decided that plot 8 should be used as parking rather than being let to tenants. Discussions took place on fees and deposits and it was agreed that 1/8 plots would also be made available and that deposits needed to be increased to cover the cost of clearing abandoned plots. The following was agreed for renewal of tenancies from October 2016: Annual fee Initial deposit Whole plot £30.00 £100.00 Half plot £20.00 £75.00 Quarter plot £15.00 £50.00 Eighth plot £10.00 £25.00 Amendments to the tenancy agreement were also discussed and it was agreed to add additional information on bonfires, tenants’ responsibility for their own insurance, termination of tenancy and 1/8 plots. Clerk to contact all tenants providing details of decisions made and new tenancy agreements for signing. Water connection at the allotments to be considered again at next PC meeting, information on cost to be resent to Cllrs.

8.6 Locations for Speed Activated Messaging (SAM2) sign. The Clerk had met with the Highways Engineer to discuss the locations suggested by parishioners for the SAM2. Locations approved by the Highways Engineer were: Church Road – opposite “Pondacre” on the post for the 30 mph sign (SAM2 could be turned so that it faced either direction); Hilgay Road – approximately half way between the start of the 30 mph speed limit and the junction with Station Road/Church Road. A post would be needed (SAM2 would face traffic heading towards the junction only); Lime Kiln Road – just past the Lime Kiln Road entrance of The Old Rectory on the post for the 30 mph sign, (SAM2 could be turned so that it can face either direction); The Row – opposite “Foxdown” on the post for the 30 mph sign (SAM2 could be turned so that it can face either direction). An additional location needed to be agreed on Station Road but it was felt that one of the 30mph signs would be suitable. It was agreed to go ahead with these locations and that the Clerk should contact the supplier to arrange installation. Once the SAM2 was in place a notice should be put in the next village notice asking for residents’ comments. 9. Review of PC Policies and documents. 9.1 Cemetery Regulations. PB had produced an extensive draft document which had been sent to all members prior to the meeting; thanks were expressed to her for her work on this item. The document was discussed and a final version approved. PB to forward to all. A resident asked if the new document would be available at the cemetery and it was agreed to approach the Parochial Church Council to see if they were willing to hold a copy in the Church which was kept open.

9.2 Grant Awarding Policy. The draft document which had only been set up last year had been sent to all members prior to the meeting. It was briefly discussed and it was agreed that no amendments were necessary at this stage.

9.3 Action Plan. The Clerk had updated the document with action that had taken place since the last review. Two more amendments were agreed for work that had recently been completed. It was agreed to adopt the amended plan. 10. Correspondence. 10.1 A letter had been received from a resident on Basil Road who was also present at the meeting. The letter was read out. It asked for the following to be discussed at this meeting: anomalies within the parish including a 30 mph speed limit in parts of the parish while a good percentage of the village had the national speed limit – the resident felt that the PC should pursue a village wide speed limit of 30mph rather than installation of a traffic camera in 3 different locations; that the Handyman appeared to only carry out work in the centre of the village and could he not be used to carry out work throughout the village; damage to a road sign at the Basil/Hilgay Road junction; use of the Parish Partnership Scheme to clear village footpaths. A reply had been sent by the PC and was also read out at the meeting. It advised that NCC Highways had been approached previously to request a 30mph speed limit for the entire village but the PC had been told on several occasions that Highways would not consider any additional speed limits in the village as our roads do not meet their criteria for a reduced speed limit and in fact they are not considering any speed limit amendments in the area at the moment due to budget cuts and the expense of such schemes. The reply explained that the current Handyman had only been contracted to work for the PC for the last year and was currently working through a long list of jobs to be carried out throughout the village which did include work on Basil Road. The damaged sign would be reported again to the Borough Council. Parish Partnership Scheme money could not be used to maintain Public Rights of Way (PROW) on private land, where most of the parish footpaths were, and the funding that was available was to register permissive paths that were not currently on the definitive map of PROW whereas the footpaths in the parish were already on the definite map. The parishioner asked if the extra work now allocated to the Handyman meant that it would take him longer to get to the jobs on his list and he was advised that additional hours had been allocated to the Handyman to cover these extra jobs and his current list would not be affected. Secondly the parishioner provided information for the PC to consider which he had obtained from NCC and other sources regarding procedures for applying for a reduction in speed limits. CC asked Cllrs if they were willing to agree to continue with the rest of the meeting as the maximum time limit of 2 hours had been reached. All Cllrs agreed to continue. 10.2 Information had been received from Norfolk Association of Local Councils on a government consultation regarding proposed changes to precept setting which could see all town and parish councils who had a Band D precept of higher than the lowest charging district council being forced to hold a referendum if they wished to increase their precept by 2% or above. Initially this would affect Councils with a Precept of over half a million pounds. 10.3 Information from the BC regarding a proposal to exclude dogs, except assisted dogs, from all fenced in Play areas in the BC area. This did not affect West Dereham. 10.4 Information from the BC on a consultation on proposed changes to the Council Tax Support scheme. 10.5 Information from the BC on the extension of the Living Independently in Later Years (LILY) initiative through the addition of LILY advisors who are available to attend events and activities in the local community to provide advice and information. The information had been passed to PK as it was felt that it could be considered for future events in the Village Hall. 10.6 Information from the BC regarding a consultation on proposed changes to the grass cutting schedule. This affected grass cutting on St Andrew’s Close. It was agreed that a reply would be sent to say that the PC believed current levels of grass cutting should be maintained and that WDPC considered the cost had already been met by the village’s Council Tax contribution. 10.7 Notification from the BC of a change of property address from West Dereham Primary School to 1 and 2 Bungalow, Church Road. The PC were unaware that the property had been split into two dwellings and it was agreed that the Clerk should contact BC planning to enquire if permission needed to be obtained.

11. Other Business – Any additional reports and items for inclusion on the next Agenda. 11.1 PB asked for the Clerk to chase up Highways again on a response to the reinstatement of the village map sign. 11.2 Item to be placed on the next agenda to approve the design and cost of the new cemetery information sign. 11.3 LH raised a query regarding the new LED lighting mentioned in the GW report. It was agreed that the Clerk should ask GW for further information and then consult the BC planning department to see if planning permission was needed. The official meeting concluded at 9.57pm, and was opened to the floor for general comment.

Open Forum. • A resident expressed concern about the overhanging hedge on Lime Kiln Road at the old lime pit site. It was agreed to send a letter to NCC asking for the hedge to be sympathetically trimmed to avoid damage to the environment and wildlife but to ensure the highway was clear of the overhanging branches.

Closure. The Chairman thanked everyone for attending, and final closure of the meeting was at 10.04pm.

Next PC meeting is on Thursday 3 November 2016 at 7.30pm with Open Surgery from 7.00pm. Clerk: Sarah Thorpe Email: clerk@westderehamparishcouncil.uk Telephone: 01945 430930

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