West Dereham Parish Council October 2017

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE WEST DEREHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT WEST DEREHAM VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30 pm ON THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017

PRESENT (six Councillors): - Pam Bullas (PB), Tom Foy (TF), Lorraine Hunt (LH) Chair of the Meeting, Paula Kellingray (PK), Pam Walker (PW) and Claire Williams (CW).

In attendance: Cllr Brian Long (Norfolk County Council) (BL), Peter King, Parish Clerk, and four members of the public.

The Chairman welcomed everyone present to the Parish Council Meeting.

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies had been received from Claire Cann (CC).

2. Declaration of Interest on agenda items

No declarations were made.

3. Use of social media, audio recording of meeting and invitation for public contributions

LH asked “Will anyone present be filming, recording, blogging, or tweeting during this meeting?” There was no response from the members of the public present. LH 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 meeting held on 7 September 2017

LH confirmed all Councillors had seen the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 7 September 2017. The councillors agreed that they were content that the minutes should be signed as a true record. LH signed the minutes.

LH noted that a couple of members of the public present at the meeting were attending to share their proposals for developing a site in the village. The couple commented that they were about to submit a planning proposal to build a property off the Ryston Road between Stoni-bruk and the Watering Cottages on a piece of land that was described as waste land, currently turned over as grass and used for storage, but unsuitable for agricultural purposes. They added that they wanted to re-assure the Parish Council that their intention was to build an average-sized family property with a design as close as possible to that of the frontage of the nearby Watering Cottages. LH appreciated their attendance at the meeting and sharing their plans and stated from a Parish point of view that it would welcome young families to the village. LH suggested that the couple should look into “The Right to Build”, a Taskforce set up in Norfolk, following the publishing of the Government’s Housing White Paper “Fixing our Broken Housing Market” to encourage small housing developments around the country.

5. Matters Arising from the Minutes

5.1 (6.4 - Police Report) The Parish Clerk reported that he had been in contact with the NCC Highways department concerning the Highways Rangers and he has a meeting with Andy Wallace (AW) on 10th October to discuss their work in connection with the village.

5.2 (9.1 - Data Protection Policy) The Parish Clerk noted that he had been in contact with previous West Dereham Parish Clerks who were able to confirm that the Parish Council had applied in the past for a subscription to the Information Commissioner’s Office and now he needed to identify what had happened regarding the latest payment.

5.3 (12 - Farm Tenancy 2017/20) The Parish Clerk reported that he had contacted all of the people who had applied for the farm tenancy advising them of the Parish Council’s decision. The Parish Clerk noted that it would not be possible for the new Tenancy documentation to be signed within the timeframe for the start of the new agreement. The Parish Clerk is to advise the Tenant of the position.

5.4 It was noted that all other Matters Arising were covered by the Agenda.

6. Reports

6.1 Chairman’s Report -

LH had nothing to report that was not covered by the Agenda.

6.2 Parish Clerk’s Report -

The Parish Clerk noted that he had been approached by training organisations concerning attending a “Budgeting Workshop” to obtain guidance in setting the annual budget. The Parish Councillors agreed that the Parish Clerk should attend.

6.3 Handyman’s Report –

The Parish Clerk provided Roy Poole, the Handyman’s Report of work carried out during September 2017, noting the following actions:- 1. Grass Strimming - Strimmed areas around all the ten bridges, the safety signs in Basil Road, both phone boxes and post boxes on two occasions and the corner of Bath Road. 2. Overhanging brambles - These had been cut back to keep various pathways clear. 3. Speeding Monitor - Moved the monitor from the The Row, Ryston Road to a new site in Lime Kiln Road, facing northwards. 4. Cemetery & Remembrance Garden - Continued the work of edging and weeding of the borders and completed the trimming of the hedging. 5. Church Road Planters - Carried out deadheading of Geraniums in planters.

6.4 Police Report -

PK reported several burglaries occurring in the last few weeks, one being in West Dereham and noted that a member of the public had now been caught and was going before the courts. PK noted that there had also been several thefts of dogs in the wider area.

6.5 Village Hall Report -

PK reported that the Village Hall is now booked up for every Saturday evening with events leading up to the Christmas holidays and had received 8 bookings already for next year. PW noted her thanks to PK for the amount of time and work she puts in to preparing and organising the Village Hall for the large number of events that are now taking place.

6.6 Broadband Report -

PW reported that she had not received any new recent contacts from Parishioners. LH questioned whether the item should remain on the Parish Council meeting agenda and advised that the Better Broadband for Norfolk Programme was coming to a close? TF suggested the subject should be added back onto the Parish Notice advising that the Programme was closing and to determine if Parishioners wanted the item to be continued on the Agenda. It was agreed to keep the report on the Agenda until the end of the year unless there was interest from Parishioners to continue further.

6.7 Glazewing Report -

The Parish Clerk reported that Jon Miles, Director of Glazewing had not provided a report for the Parish Council Meeting or a response to the question raised as why the fly problem affecting the village for a part of the summer had re-occurred following a similar problem in 2016.

PW and LH both noted that there seemed to be fly problem occurring again in the past few days, despite the fact that the weather was not considered to be as warm as the summer.

LH commented that there had been a response from the Environment Agency (EA) to the question about the assurances they were taking about their ongoing monitoring of the storage of waste for more than 48 hours in the Glazewing site and noted that their response was that it was just a best practice and they could not enforce the matter in any case. LH noted that the EA state that this is only for the mixed commercial black bag waste that they believe to be the source of the fly nuisance experienced in the village this summer and that this timeframe is only best practice guidance.

LH commented that it had been noted that Glazewing were involved with a current Court Case taking place and that the Parish Council would continue to monitor the position and await a report from the Traffic Commissioners.

6.8 British Sugar - Riverside Nursery Report -

LH noted that this was a new report item on the Agenda as a result of the monitoring of the cannabis nursery and related reported odours and that it had become a wider item under British Sugar, as a result of the news that EU sugar beet quotas are being lifted at the end of September 2017 therefore changes are expected affecting sugar production.

PW commented that from news items she had noted that the price of sugar was likely to reduce therefore also reducing the price of sugar beet grown by farmers, but with the estimate of an increase of 40% in growing more sugar beet, thereby affecting the processing of sugar.

LH read a newspaper quotation from British Sugar, the UK’s sole refiner, stating that it expects “to increase production by 50% annually to 1.4 million tons next year from 900,000 tons in 2017”. LH commented that the Parish Council needs to be pro-active and that the Parish Clerk should write to British Sugar to ascertain their intentions. The Councillors requested that the Parish Clerk also contacts the Parish Councils of Southery, Wereham and Stoke Ferry to see if they have any views on the matter.

The Parish Clerk reported that he had been in contact with the Manager of the Riverside Nursery to ascertain if there was any feedback from the independent odour scientists who were, it was understood, due to visit the site on Tuesday 29th August to carry out tests and analysis, however the Manager had reported on 23rd September that he was still waiting for the results.

The Parish Clerk noted that CC had said that she would still like to take up the invitation to visit the Riverside Nursery. Other Councillors present expressed their interest to also visit. The Parish Clerk will arrange a visit with the Manager of Riverside Nurseries.

7. Finance

7.1 Accounts for September 7.1.1 Cash Book and Cash Flow September 2017 – The Parish Clerk displayed the Cash Book on the overhead projector, followed by the Cash Flow noting there been little activity, expenditure had reduced during the month, but that there had been no income received during the month of September. 7.1.2 Cheque Payments for Approval for September 2017 – The Parish Clerk displayed the itemised pending payments on the overhead projector.

Payee Cheque No. Net VAT Gross Remarks Norfolk Association of Local Councils 100983 £50.00 £10.00 £60.00 Training for Parish Clerk Anglian Water 100984 £8.81 0.00 £8.81 Cemetery water charges R. Poole 100985 £180.01 0.00 £180.01 Handyman’s Payment and expenses P. King (Parish Clerk) 100986 £544.87 0.00 £544.87 Staff Salary and expenses Holly Landscapes 100987 £487.50 £97.50 £585.00 Ground Maintenance - Sept 17

Total £1,271.19 £107.50 £1,378.69

LH asked the Councillors present if they were content with the payments. All Councillors noted they were content. LH concluded that the cheques and control processes would be signed off at the end of the meeting.

Councillor Brian Long (NCC) joined the meeting.

7.2 Precept 2018/19 - Update - LH commented that the Parish Council sets the Precept in the month of December. LH advised that she was alerting Parishioners of notice for any ideas or suggestions that they would be interested to propose for items they would like to see in the village and that would therefore influence the setting of the Precept.

7.3 Simple Servicing Authority Form - Permission for the Parish Clerk to obtain Banking account information - LH noted that the Parish Council used the services of Barclays Bank to carry out its financial transactions but was required to complete two documents to allow the Parish Clerk to perform certain tasks. LH added that the Councillors present would have to formally approve the following statement and enter it into the minutes of the meeting to meet the Barclays Bank financial requirements. The Parish Clerk displayed the following proposal on the overhead projector:

“The Officials of the West Dereham Parish Council resolved to permit Councillor Claire Cann, Councillor Paula Kelligray, Councillor Pamela Bullas and Peter King, Parish Clerk, to be authorised to give instructions to Barclays Bank PLC (The Bank) to obtain account information and to make funds transfers between bank accounts in the Parish Council’s name. This authority excludes making third party payments and borrowing instructions.

The service offerings available to the individual/individuals include(s):

• Balance enquiry • Funds transfer between accounts in the same name • General transaction query • Statement query/copy statement • Direct Debit/Standing Order query • Order credit books/cheque books • Stop cheque or payment • Arrange for collection of encashment/drafts • Confirm authenticity of payments

The Officials acknowledged and agreed, amongst other things:

(i) Instructions may be given to the Bank by the individual(s) named above and can be given by any method such as in writing or by telephone or online, in accordance with the Customer Agreement. (ii) Formal overdraft arrangements, loans and third party payments may only be agreed by authorised persons appointed under the Appointment of Bankers mandate. (iii) The Bank is authorised to disclose the balance and all other information about each account to the individual(s) named above. (iv) This authority is to remain in force until cancelled by the Parish Council in writing.”

Proposed LH, Seconded PK and carried unanimously.

8. Green Burial - Update

LH reported that some of the Parish Councillors and the Parish Clerk met at the Cemetery to consider the Green Burial site.

LH noted that initially, the Parish Councillors were thinking of setting up an area, approximately one eighth of the area of the Cemetery, at the Bath Road end.

PB noted that from her initial enquiries, the sizes of the trees quoted proved to be very small (1 metre to 2 metres in height) against the anticipated expenditure. It was noted that the Green Burial budget for trees and any other items still needed to be confirmed. PB commented that she has a list of possibly acceptable trees that will grow to a height of up to 5 metres. It was agreed that the search for suitable trees might be appropriate at local tree nurseries.

PB noted that an expression of interest for a specific tree had been received from a local Parishioner. PB added that she had carried out some research on this specific tree and noted that it would eventually grow to a large size, far in excess to the approximate sizes being considered. The Parish Clerk was asked to write to the Parishioner explaining the situation and requesting a possible alternative tree at a full-grown size not exceeding 12-15ft in height.

LH noted that she had identified some possible grant funding for the purchase of trees and asked the Parish Clerk to investigate further.

CW noted that the Parish Councillors had also considered the application of portable willow fencing to create a demarcation area, that could be moved should the Green Burial area need to be expanded at a later date.

It was noted that the Parish Clerk has been asked to look into the application of barcoding/tagging of burial areas.

LH noted that further consideration could be given when costings were available.

9. Parish Council Internal Affairs and Policies

9.1 Grant Awarding Policy

The Parish Councillors noted that they were content with the policy as stated.

The Parish Clerk noted that there was a Grant Award Application form that would require the updating of the current Clerk’s name and details. It was noted that form could be found on the Parish Council website.

10. Local Development Plan (2016-2036) - Update

LH drew the meeting’s attention to a Village Hall noticeboard holding a Parish Council boundary map and a zoomed in map of identifiable Sites (4) offered to form part of the Parish Council’s Local Development Plan.

The Parish Clerk noted that he had received some comments from CC, prepared in response to the submissions and to be forwarded to the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Planning Department (BCKL&WN-PD).

LH questioned whether the consultation process had commenced or whether the process was at the stage of a new call for sites? BL responded that this was an extra ‘Call for Sites’, so as to keep the supply of housing for the period leading to the year 2036. BL added that the offered sites have not, as yet, been appraised, therefore, consultation would not have taken place yet. BL noted that once the sites have been appraised, then the normal local consultation process would commence and Parish Councils will be invited to comment.

LH stated that the Parish Council would start to form comments ready for the consultation.

11. Planning Decisions

11.1 Land on the West Side of Basil Road, West Dereham, Norfolk - Application Number 17/00974/LDE - Update

The Parish Clerk noted that he had been asked to contact BCKL&WN-PD to determine the scope of the Local Development Certificate issued, as to how far it extended over whole field in question. The Parish Clerk drew the meeting’s attention to a Village Hall noticeboard showing a plan of the Application site and noted that BCKL&WN-PD had responded and confirmed that it applies to the highlighted land area identified on the plan.

The meeting noted that the piece of land identified on the plan was to the rear end of a parcel of land and is accessible by a track leading from Basil Road, running adjacent to a piece of land unaffected by the application.

11.2 Basil Cottage, Basil Road - Application Number 17/01752/F

The Parish Clerk drew the meeting’s attention to a Village Hall noticeboard showing a group of Planning Application papers in support of a side extension to the property identified as Basil Cottage, Basil Road, West Dereham PE33 9RP

The Parish Clerk expressed concern that locally, the property was known as “The Bungalow”, however he had sought clarification from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Planning [Property Naming] Department (BCKL&WN-P[PN]D) who responded by noting that the property’s name would not affect the Planning Application process.

BL requested that the Parish Clerk should forward all the details to him and he would contact BCKL&WN-PD to clarify the position of the property’s registered name.

LH noted that comments were required by 10th October and that subject to the Planning Application Number (17/01752/F), a decision was required. The Parish Councillors voted unanimously to support the application.

12. Correspondence

The Parish Clerk reported that he had not received any other correspondence other than that covered by the Agenda.

13. To receive further reports/items of business for the next Agenda

Councillors had nothing to add to the Agenda. TF asked if a two-way mirror could be considered on the verge of the sharp bend at the bottom of Lime Kiln Road. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk should discuss this with AW.

14. Date of Next Meeting - Thursday 2nd November 2017 at 7.30pm

LH confirmed the date of the meeting.

15. Open Forum

15.1 A Villager complained about the potholes outside of her house in Church Road that had been attended to by the Highways Department, but had not been filled appropriately. BL suggested that she should report them again to the Highways Department. CW suggested going onto the website Fix-my-Street where she had been impressed by the follow up service.

15.2 BL reported that each County Councillor for their Division have been allocated an individual budget of £6,000 to help with highway safety improvement work. BL noted the idea was to help smaller Parish Councils where they are looking to do Parish Partnership work and therefore could try and obtain match funding with the County Council and the Councillor, all contributing. BL used the example of safety signs being erected in another village, but noted that items such as extending speed limits, would not be accepted, due to the cost involved. Councillors considered the word “SLOW” being painted on some roads in the village. In response to a question, BL noted that the budget would be allocated to each Councillor, every new financial year while the initiative continues to be successful and finances allow. BL requested that in the first instance, applications should be sent to AW at NCC Highways and then BL and AW would discuss and try and jointly resolve as many applications together if possible.

Closure: The Chairman thanked everyone for attending, and final closure of the meeting was at 8.45 pm.

There were no further items raised by members of the Public present.

Next meeting is the Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 2nd November 2017 at 7.30pm with Open Surgery from 7.00pm.

Clerk: Peter King - Email: clerk@westderehamparishcouncil.uk Telephone: 01366 502110

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