Stoke Ferry Parish Council January Meeting Minutes

Page 001 (2017)

STOKE FERRY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on 11th January, 2017

Attendance: Chairman Mrs S Lintern Vice Chairman Mrs J Taylor Councillors Mrs D Clements Mrs J Lawson Mrs M Leamon Mrs T Mann BCllr C T Sampson CCllr M Storey Footpath Warden Mr C Philpott

Members of the public 5

1. Emergency Evacuation

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

2. Apologies

There were no apologies for this meeting

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 14th December, 2016

Proposed - Cllr Mrs Mann Seconded - Cllr Mrs Clements

'That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 14th December, 2016 be approved'

All in favour

5. Matters arising

Grit Bins – Some of the bins have now been filled but on the one in Bradfield Road, the Chairman would contact Andy Wallace of NCC to ask if this could be done urgently. Monthly Walk – A notice was still to be put in the Village Pump Bin on Common – This had been looked at and was found still to be in good condition and has a liner, therefore it was agreed to remove it and check with the Playing Field Committee if they would want it placed on the field. Dog Bin – The Dog Bin has been delivered so now needs to be fixed into place, which would be done in the near future. Boughton Surgery – The West Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group had been contacted and asked to attend a meeting at a time suitable for both the CCG and the Parish Council. Glazewing – Concern was raised at the last meeting that the Council could be charged if the wrong sort of waste was put in the bin at the Cemetery. Cllr Mrs Taylor had checked this with Glazewing and was informed that the bin is for general waste therefore any waste could be put in although obviously excluding prohibited items. Page 002 (2017)

6. To receive report on Public Rights of Way (Footpaths/Bridleways)

There was nothing to report to this meeting.

7. Update on the Website

Cllr Mrs Lawson had received the password for the site and was starting to download relevant Council information. She had encountered some problems and it was felt that further training would be needed for both herself and the Clerk.

8. To discuss the Car Scheme

The Clerk had forwarded a registered letter to Mr J Nicolas-Letch asking that a cheque be drawn up for the balance remaining in the Car Scheme account. There had been no response to this letter. The Chairman stated that every effort had been made to retrieve this money and there was no other recourse that could be taken. The Chairman agreed with Cllr Mrs Lawson that this was deeply frustrating and beyond acceptable, but did not think that spending additional Parish Council funds to try and obtain the money was best value to the parishioners as it had become clear that without the voluntary cooperation of former Councillor Nicholas-Letch, nothing could realistically be done to retrieve taxpayers' funds. County Councillor Storey advised that a cheque for £350 had been forwarded to the Parish Council at the beginning of the scheme and therefore they would not be involved in the current situation of re-claiming the money from the Car Scheme co-ordinator. It was agreed that the monitoring officer at the Borough Council should be contacted to see if there could be any legal option relating to this. The Chairman advised that this item would be removed from the agenda.

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

Grass cutting At a previous meeting, it had been agreed to contract Mr Sparkle to do the grass cutting around the village and in the Cemetery.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Clements Seconded – Cllr Mrs Taylor

‘That Mr Sparkle is offered the contract for grass cutting which would include the playing field and the cemetery’

All in favour

It was agreed to arrange a meeting with the new contractor before the next Parish Council meeting on the 1st February, 2017.

Handyperson There was a short discussion on the work of a Handyperson, job specifications are still being sought from West Dereham. Page 003 (2017)

10. Cemetery

Members were informed that there is a tree which needs removing and Cllr Mrs Lawson agreed to obtain quotes for this work. Cllr Mrs Taylor would provide her with the contact details of local contractor. There is a large pile of waste soil which needs to be removed, there followed a short discussion of the various ways this could be disposed of. It was noted that the field around the cemetery were extremely overgrown and it was felt that contact should be made with the owners and the seeds from the weeds etc. growing on the land were being dispersed in the cemetery which creates problems within the cemetery area. The front hedge is now very scruffy, but it was felt that if a handyperson was employed this could be something which they could keep tidy. It was agreed to have a short meeting at the cemetery on Sunday 22nd January, 2017 at 11.00am.

11. To discuss Summer Fete for 2017

It was agreed that the Fete should be held on Sunday 25th June, 2017, subject to that date not clashing with any other major event in the area. The date would be published in the Village Pump to ask if anyone knew of any other events on that day. Ideas for the day were: Band Talent Show Treasure hunt Playing field races Disco

12. To agree items to be undertaken by the Rangers during their next visit.

Suggested items are: Clean milestones Gutters and drains cleaned and tidied Oxborough Road, there is algae on the footpath which causes it to be slippery in all weather conditions Village sign need cleaning Top end of Bradfield Place needs tidying and cleaning

13. To discuss the budget for 2017/18

Councillors and the Clerk went through the figures for the budget 2017/18 in great detail.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Taylor Seconded – Cllr Mrs Lawson

‘That the budget for 2017/18 is agreed’

All in favour

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Lintern Seconded – Cllr Mrs Mann

That the precept for the financial year 2017/18 is £17249 plus the annual grant of £801 making a total request of £18050’

All in favour Page 004 (2017)

14. To approve payments of bills

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Clements Seconded - Cllr Mrs Mann

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

All in favour

15. To receive correspondence

Most correspondence is now emailed to members.

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

It was noted that the contractor doing work on a site on Oxborough Road near the bypass has opened the gated onto the bypass for works traffic to enter the site. This would be reported to NCC Highways.

Bridleway 9 – the Moorings along the river. There is a section of this path which is extremely slippery with mud, although there was a suggestion about putting gravel/hoggin down it was felt that this would be unsuitable horses do use this bridleway frequently. It was agreed to try and contact the owner of the land and see if they would be willing to do something to alleviate the problem.

Grass adjacent to the playing field owned by 2Agriculture needed to be cut. This will be brought up at the next Mill liaison meeting on 24th February, 2017.

The garages in Buckenham Drive needs to be cleaned and tidied and the land behind the bungalows needs to be cleared; Freebridge would be contacted to advise them of the condition of the land.

Development of the Village Hall – Cllr Mrs Lawson had attended the meeting at the Borough Council when some reserved matters were being discussed by the Planning Committee. There was serious concern that there was not sufficient information within the Section 106 agreement regarding the play equipment and where it would be sited.

It was stated that the Bluebell Public House has now closed. This would be an agenda item for the next meeting.

BCllr Sampson reported that the public toilets in the district would remain open.

CCllr Storey was thanked for his support at a recent Planning meeting at the BCKL&WN and it had helped to gain approval for the new car park at the Village Hall to be constructed before building works on the houses commenced.

Concern was still being raised about the various drains around the village as many appeared to be blocked. Members were advised that drains were now only cleaned and cleared every two years.

It was noted that the footpath between Furlong Drove and Oxborough Road has been ploughed and the path has not been reinstated.

17. Date and time of next meeting - Wednesday 1st February, 2017 at 7.00pm.

Meeting closed at 9.40 pm