Stoke Ferry parish Council July meeting

STOKE FERRY PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on 5th July, 2017

Attendance: Vice Chairman Mrs J Taylor Councillors Mrs D Clements Ms S Cordner Mrs M Leamon Mrs T Mann Borough Cllr C T Sampson County Cllr M Storey Parish Clerk Mrs J M Markwell

Footpath Warden Mr C Philpott

Members of the public 6

1. Emergency Evacuation

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

2. Apologies

The Chairman Cllr S Lintern had given her apologies for this meeting as she was away on business. The apology was accepted.

3. To discuss and agree co-option of new Councillor

All members had a copy of a letter from Ms S Cordner asking to be considered for the vacancy on the Parish Council.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Taylor Seconded – Cllr Mrs Clements

All in favour

Cllr Cordner was welcomed to the Parish Council

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

Cllr Mrs Taylor declared an interest in item 15 – Payment of Bills

5. To agree Minutes of the meeting held on 7th June, 2017

Proposed - Cllr Mrs Clements Seconded - Cllr Mrs Mann

'That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 7th June, 2017 be approved'

All in favour

6. Matters arising

Phone Box – Cllr Mrs Mann had reported to BT that the phone was not working The walk in June had covered BR 9 – 10 and 15

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Comments had been made at the last meeting that the base of the bus shelter is beginning to show corrosion marks. This had been checked and although there were some rust marks there was no cause for concern.

7. To consider Public Rights of Way (Footpaths/Bridleways)

The walk in June had been led by the Footpath Warden, Mr C Philpott FP5 is now so overgrown it is not negotiable. It was noted that NCC Highways had not yet done any work on the steps on FP 5, the Clerk was asked to contact Highways and get an estimated start date. Concern was raised on the condition of many of the paths and it was suggested that as the Parish Council do have a strimmer and therefore could do some minor clearance. It was agreed that before doing any work NCC Highways should be asked again to maintain the paths to an acceptable level for walkers.

8. Update on the Website

Cllr Mrs Taylor advised that the new website should be ready for Council approval within the next few days.

9. Cemetery Maintenance

The fencing around the ‘spoils’ area is damaged and needs to be replaced. It was agreed that Mr Stannard should be asked to get replacement panels and concrete posts and tidy the area.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Taylor Seconded – Cllr Mrs Leamon

‘That fencing panels and posts are purchased for the Cemetery’

All in favour

10. To discuss job list for the handyman

Some painting around the village needs to be completed. The War Memorial needs to be cleaned and tidied. Weed spraying and then clearing of dead weeds.

11. Update on the vacancy for Parish Clerk

Applications had been received and interviews were being arranged.

12. To receive report on the Summer Fete 2017

This had been a very successful event. £225 had been raised and this was to be given to the Playing Field Committee (£125.00) and Youth Club (£100.00). It was agreed that planning needed to start now for the fete next year. It was felt that a larger marquee was needed for the band.

13. To discuss formulating an assets list of Parish owned street furniture, street lights and bins

This is ongoing and a completed spreadsheet should be finished soon.

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14. To agree a list of items to be undertaken by the Rangers during their next visit

There was a discussion on the land behind the bungalows on Buckenham Drive. After initial investigations ownership cannot be traced. Borough Cllr Sampson will contact Freebridge to find out if they are responsible for maintenance for the piece of land. It was suggested that contact could be made with Land Registry to see if there is a registered owner.

15. To approve payment of bills

Cllr Mrs Taylor had declared an interest in this item

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Mann Seconded – Cllr Mrs Clements

‘That the bills are paid’

For - 4 Abstention – 1

Payment of Bills Nett VAT Total

Eon DD May - Street Lights 50.26 10.05 60.31 Glazewing DD Bin Emptying 15.58 3.12 18.70 HMRC PAYE June 2017 72.80 0.00 72.80 Jean Markwell Salary May 2017 291.20 0.00 291.20 Jean Markwell Annual fee for Microsoft Office 49.99 10.00 59.99 Mr Sparkle Village Maintenance 321.00 0.00 321.00 Mr A Stannard Handyman 64.00 0.00 64.00 Cllr Mrs J Taylor Expenses Village Fete Music 200.00 0.00 200.00 Bound to Bounce Expenses Village Fete 494.00 0.00 494.00 Thomas B Bonnett Paint and Brushes 4.55 0.92 5.47 Westcotec Ltd Street Lights 15.44 3.09 18.53 Village Hall Hire of Village Hall 25.00 0.00 25.00

Total £1,603.82 £27.18 £1,631.00

16. To agree and approve governance statement for 2016/17

The Clerk had given all members copies of the Governance Statement.

Proposed – Cllr Mrs Leamon Seconded – Cllr Mrs Taylor

‘That the governance statement for 2016/17 is approved’

All in favour

17. To discuss plans received:

No plans had been received

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18. To receive correspondence

All correspondence is emailed to members

Correspondence had been received from 2Agriculture regarding movement of their vehicles. There is no restriction on the size or number of lorries and all pass the EU emission test. 2 Agriculture agreed to send a memo to all drivers asking that more care is taken when travelling between the weighbridge and the main site. It should be noted that not all the vehicles belong to 2Agriculture and unlike British Sugar they cannot make the drivers adhere to their restrictions. There is still concern over noise particularly the conveyer belt. It was suggested that there could be system put into place whereby lorries could not leave a weighbridge until the previous one had arrived at the main site.

Comments were made about using the scrubland adjacent to Indigo Road as a temporary car park. It is believed that the land is owned Stoke Ferry Regeneration. Enquiries would be made to see if they would be amenable to this suggestion.

19. Urgent items as agreed by the Chairman

There were no urgent items

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

• It was mentioned that the footpath on Bridge Street is becoming difficult to walk due to overgrown hedging. This would be reported to NCC Highways. • The current cutting of wheat fields is creating a mess in gardens in the area. Everyone was reminded that the harvest season of wheat/barley is short. • Could a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme be started in the village? Cllr Cordner advised she would be happy to be the local contact. This would be investigated. • Studs have been removed from some of the roads; it was advised that this is because they are due to re-surface the roads. It would be checked to see when this is to be done. • There had been two issues of burst water mains in the village.

County Cllr Storey reported that NCC needs to make further saving up to 2020. It was hoped that any cuts in the budget would not hit the frontline services. Detailed information would be available on the NCC website. Central Government is reducing funds to local Councils and therefore the electorate would be paying more for services.

Borough Cllr Sampson advised that he was only able to advise how many cuts local green areas would have a year and was not able to state when these would be.

British Sugar

Cllr Taylor had attended a meeting at British Sugar to discuss the current problem with a smell which seems to be originating from their site. Other attendees were Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss, Cllr Yvonne Thompson, Downham Market Town Council and representatives from British Sugar. The crop being grown on site is medicinal cannabis which is being harvested and sold onto a large pharmaceutical company. To date there had only been one harvest and currently there are only small plants which are being grown on to harvest at the end of August. The visitors were shown around the site and no one could relate the smell outside to anything within the growing and packing area. British Sugar representatives were extremely concerned and would continue to investigate where this smell could be emanating from. Page 031 (2017)

There had been an offer from British Sugar for someone to attend the next meeting to explain the investigations in more detail. It was agreed that Cllr Mrs Taylor would arrange a representative to come to the next Parish Council meeting along with someone from Environmental Health.

Borough Cllr Sampson advised that there was to be a Tree Strategy which would mean that any tree which is felled would have to be replaced. This would not necessarily have to be in the same place. Very soon it would be possible to use any plastic bag in the food waste bins and therefore there would be no need to purchase the special bags.

• The tree stump had now been sorted out in School Lane • Some of the gullies around the village are blocked eg top of Thompsons Lane and near All Saints House • Pothole at the top of Buckenham Drive • Damaged road at the slip road end of Furlong Road on both sides.

21. Date and time of next meeting - Wednesday 2nd August, 2017 at 7.00pm.

Meeting closed at 9.15 pm