Northwold Parish Council Meeting Minutes February

Northwold and Whittington Parish Council – Ordinary Meeting Tuesday 6th February 2018, 7.30pm Northwold Village Hall

PRESENT: Cllr R. Crisp (Chairperson), Cllr C. Anderson, Cllr M. Peake, Cllr C Sharp, Cllr I Quinn, Cllr G Gillett, Cllr Nigel Nickles, Cllr H Hogan, Cllr David Human, Cllr Susan Smith, Cllr C Pointeer and Mrs N. Cooper, Clerk.

There were 2 members of the public.

1. PUBLIC FORUM A member of the public handed out copies of proposed plans for a small development of 6 houses within an area of land in Whittington. The 3 acre area of land in question is of little agricultural value and it is proposed that 2acres would be used for the development with the remaining land proposed as community amenity land. There would be a footpath into the site which would create a walkway for all residents to use to access the amenity land. In principle the Councillors gave positive feedback to the scheme which is yet to go to planning application stage, with particular support to the proposal for amenity land for community use. Thanks were given for bringing it to the attention of the Parish Council at this early stage and it was noted that long term grounds maintenance responsibilities should be considered by any developer.

2. LOCAL AUTHORITY REPORTS Cllr Storey was not present and sent his apologies. Cllr Peake had no updates to give.

3. ACCEPTANCE OF APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE All Councillors were present.

4. MEMBERS’ DECLARATION OF INTERESTS (for items on the Agenda) Cllr Sharp declared an interest in any discussions pertaining to the Northwold Sports and Social Club.

5. TO APPROVE AND SIGN THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING The minutes were approved by all Councillors present and the minutes were signed by the Chairman as a true record of the meetings held on 2nd January 2018. The final version will be available on the website.

6. REPORTS AND MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS (for information only) Cllr Anderson advised that he was awaiting discussion on play area repairs (item 13) before discussing in house play area repairs and also sought clarification of where the dog waste bin for Inghams Lane should be sited; it was agreed that this should be alongside the existing bin.

7. FORMAL WELCOME The two new Councillors Holly Hogan and Irene Quinn were welcomed to the Council by the Chair.

8. CORRESPONDENCE i. Newsletters CPRE, Norfolk Constabulary, Norfolk Association of Local Councils ii. Enquiry about Barn Owl boxes – no Barn Owl boxes are known of in the Parish iii. Letter ref Norwich Western Link – it was agreed that this does not impact the Parish. iv. Open invitation to attend a meeting with Elizabeth Truss: Cllr Anderson to attend.

9. SAFETY ISSUES AT THE METHWOLD RD/A134 JUNCTION Cllr Nickles and Cllr Smith met with Andy Wallace on site. Some concerned residents from a house on the Methwold Road / A134 junction also joined the meeting for a while. These residents gained some agreement from Andy to reinstate damaged bollards, missing reflector posts and in the longer term raise the height of the kerb to help protect neighbouring houses. It was advised that the installation of crash barriers to protect private property is not a Highways responsibility.

Detailed discussions were had about signage and speed limits. During the 1 hour meeting there were no obvious examples of speeding cars or HGVs but several people were seen using mobile phones while driving. Andy agreed that the junction was known as a high risk accident site and work had been done in the past to try and improve safety at the junction. It was advised that there is low chance of getting a 40mph speed limit in place as the junction does not meet the policy requirements but a 50mph speed limit might be considered.

'Stop' signs were discussed. Although the junction does have adequate lines of sight Andy conceded that the local knowledge of the number of non-injury collisions suggested that further consideration was needed. Cllr Nickles is awaiting a call back on this but works are likely to be limited by budgets. To get 'Stop' signs there has to be a legal order made and that has an associated cost to the county above the signage and road markings. It was discussed that if a 'Stop' sign was installed on the Methwold side of the junction it would probably be mirrored on the Northwold side.

Andy was also asked about the Hedge at Methwold Road Bus Stop and about the request for a permanent bus stop, these requests are in the system but action is still awaited.

No further response from Andy has been received. The Clerk was asked to chase an update on actions from the meeting.

10. TREE MANAGEMENT PLAN Only one quote has been received so far so this will be deferred until the March meeting.

11. SCHOOL PARKING i. The Planning Application for the Car Park has been submitted by Cllr Anderson. A response is expected at the end of March 2018. ii. A letter from a resident concerned about surface water drainage, litter and oil spills at the proposed car park was read out. The Clerk was asked to respond to explain that there would be no change to the ground drainage as the ground will stay green in accordance with the conditions on the change of use from allotments; the proposed mesh will not change the natural ground drainage. Litter and oil spillage will be monitored and action will be taken if it becomes necessary. iii. The possibility of applying for Lottery Awards for All Funding for the project was discussed. All were in agreement that an application should be progressed by Cllr Anderson and the Clerk. The Grant process will take 12 weeks from submission of application. To update at the March meeting.

12. PROPOSED HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS AT WHITTINGTON This item was covered within the public forum.

13. PLAY AREA REPAIRS Cllr Anderson advised that he had received two quotes for play area repairs from Fenland Leisure and Play Maintain. There was much discussion about the extent of works that should be ordered. It was agreed that all of the repairs quoted for should be ordered. The quotes for the full works were: Fenland Leisure: £2433.27 plus vat Play Maintain: £2079 plus vat It was agreed that Play Maintain should be instructed to undertake the works. Prop Cllr Sharp, 2nd Cllr Human, all agreed. Clerk to instruct.

Whittington swing has been ordered.

14. BUS STOP / NOTICEBOARD OPPOSITE TILE CENTRE NORTHWOLD The Clerk has reported the damaged bus stop to Coach Services and Norfolk County Council and all damaged road signage, as highlighted at the January meeting, to the Borough Council. The noticeboard is confirmed as belonging to the Parish Council. Cllr Anderson will have a look at this to see how it could be repaired and report back at the March meeting. Decisions regarding spending on this will be deferred until after a decision on funding for the car park.

15. UPDATE ON LITTLE LONDON LANE DAMAGE / POT HOLES The Clerk advised that the Planning Authority have confirmed that there are no planning conditions regarding the upkeep of the Lane within the two planning approvals and that the Lane is unadopted. The Clerk sent a letter regarding the state of the Lane to the two developers. A representative of the developer of 17 Little London Lane has replied to advise that the pot holes do not appear to be any worse than previous winters and that his builder filled all the pot holes last year from number 17 to the road and has recently gravelled a section of the Lane. Cllr Nickles advised that he has seen some repairs to the Lane be undertaken in the last couple of weeks. It was agreed that the Parish Council has pursued this item as far as they can and that no further action will be taken.

16. BUS STOP METHWOLD ROAD The Clerk will chase this for a March update.

17. DEFIBRILLATOR TRAINING Cllr Human has arranged two dates for defibrillator training drop in sessions – the first will be at Whittington Church on 26th March 7-9pm and the second will be at Northwold Village Hall on 24th April 7-9pm. All residents will be welcome to each session. Details will be published within the village newsletters and on the Parish Council website.

Cllr Human advised that the Northwold defibrillator is maintained by the Ambulance Service as it was installed as part of a historic NHS grant but that the Parish Council has the responsibility for the cost of the maintenance of the Whittington defibrillator.

18. CEMETERIES: i. Further advice on headstones from the Parish Council’s insurers and the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management was read out by the Clerk. It has been advised that the staking of headstones should be used as a temporary solution only, with more permanent repairs to be undertaken in the longer term including possibly laying the headstones down, resetting them or burying the headstones so that one third is below ground level. This was discussed by the Councillors and it was agreed that the headstones would be monitored monthly, by Cllr Gillett for Northwold and Cllr Smith for Whittington, and that they will report back to each meeting. If the headstones become unstable then the Council will review further action necessary to progress towards more permanent repairs. ii. An urgent decision was made by the Chair between meetings to authorise a burial for the mother of a Northwold resident. The out of Parish fee was waivered and instead four times the standard rate was agreed. This decision was retrospectively approved; Prop Cllr Anderson, 2nd Cllr Sharp, all agreed. This has raised the need to review the fees for burials and the definitions of how to determine charges for residents within or outside the Parish. Cllr Crisp and Cllr Gillett have papers detailing previous discussions on fees and will look to circulated these. The Clerk will circulate the current fees schedule before the next meeting for review. This will be included on the March agenda. iii. It was noted that the contact details for the Grave Digger have been removed from the Cemetery Policy for data protection reasons.

19. GROUNDS MAINTENANCE / RANGERS/ HIGHWAYS It was reported that the Rangers have been able to carry out: West End – Cut back hedge and brambles, side out back of footway and sweep. Riverside - Cut back hedge and brambles. They were unable to carry out: The Pavement outside 33 School Lane, Northwold requires re-laying as the tarmac is starting to crumble and become unsafe – this is being inspected.

20. GRIT BIN for Whittington A cost has been requested from Andy Wallace for this a number of times. The location for the bin requested is on the Old Methwold Road / Methwold Road junction which is not on a gritting route. Clerk to chase again.

21. THE CROWN INN NORTHWOLD The agent acting on behalf of the Crown Inn Community group has made an offer for the Crown Inn but this had been rejected. The group is continuing their fundraising efforts and are hosting a Pop Up Pub mid February. It was noted that the Crown Inn is currently open again on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

22. PLANNING i. Planning applications: 18/00018/TREECA Tree in a conservation area: To fell large Ash tree completely, inside property boundary which abutts Methwold Road. Tree is in danger of damaging nearby property Willow Cottage 1 Pinfold Lane Northwold Thetford Norfolk IP26 5LH. No objections raised. ii. Planning Decisions noted: 17/02260/F Northwold Big K Charcoal Merchants Whittington Hill Whittington King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 9TE - Erection of single and two-storey office extension and overbuild to existing single-storey office block. Application Permitted. iii. 17/02310/F Northwold The Barns Methwold Road Whittington Norfolk PE33 9TH - Construction of general purpose agricultural building (re-submission of 17/00061/F). Application Permitted. iv. Notification of a New Property Address: Walnut Lodge, 29 Church Lane, Whittington. v. Planning Update at King’s Lynn Town Hall evening of Mon 5th March: Cllr Human to attend, Clerk to confirm.

23. FINANCE & POLICIES: i. The accounts to February 6th 2018 were accepted and cheques to be signed and payments approved in accordance with the table below.

CASHBOOK BANK RECONCILIATION 6th February 2018

Recepits for approval 06.02.18 Paying In slip Description Amount 0.00 £0.00 Payments/cheques for approval 06.02.18 Direct Debit Payee Description Amount DD EON Electricity Dec 18 86.18 Cleared statement 3 DD Wave ( Anglian Water) Water Jan Payment 5.50 Cleared statement 3 Subtotal Direct Debits 91.68

Cheque Payee Description Amount 2163 BCKLWN Planning App Fees Sch Rd Car Park 117.00 2164 BCKLWN Play Area Inspections 2017 168.00 2165 Westcotec Streetlight maintenance Jan 18 19.10 2166 CGM Grounds Maintenance Jan 18 388.06 2168 Northwold Village Hall 50% of LED lights 631.05 2169 Team Knowhow Laptop Repair & Support Plan 132.00 2170 Glasdon Dog Waste Bin Post and fixings 48.20 2171 Northwold Care Group Northwold Car Scheme Dec Quarter 250.88 2172 NCooper Clerk Salary Jan 18 327.97 NCooper Clerk Mileage Jan 18 4.95 NCooper Clerk Expenses Jan 18 90.46 2173 C Anderson Planning App Expenses Jan 18 53.68

Subtotal Cheques 2231.35 £2,323.03 Cash sheet Balance and Bank Reconciliation 6th February 2018 31st March 2017 YE Balance Brought Forward: £29,508.34 Add Total Receipts to date £24,145.16 £53,653.50 Less Total Payments to date £24,460.19 CASHBOOK BALANCE 6th February 2018 £29,193.31

Bank Balance @20.12.17 Statement no.2 £33,423.04 Add uncleared receipts £0.00 £33,423.04 Minus uncleared approved payments £1,906.70 Minus new payments for approval cheques 2163-2173 plus Direct Debits £2,323.03 £4,229.73 Reconciled Balance 18.1.18 £29,193.31

Bank Balance @19.01.18 Statement no.3 £31,424.66 Add uncleared receipts £0.00 £31,424.66 Minus uncleared approved payments £0.00 Minus new payments for approval chqs 2156-2160 excluding DDs already cleared £2,231.35 £2,231.35 Reconciled Balance 6.2.18 £29,193.31

ii. The bank statement balance for Constables Charity as of 31st December 2017 was noted at £288.48

24. TRAINING: Further General Data Protection Regulation training was approved for the Clerk. Cllr Quinn and Cllr Hogan agreed that they would like to attend New Councillor training. Clerk to organise.

25. TO DISCUSS AND AGREE DATES FOR MEETING AT CHRIST CHURCH WHITTINGTON It was agreed that the meetings on 5th June and 4th September 2018 will be held at ChristChurch Whittington with car parking being made available at Roger Warners yard. All were in agreement. Cllr Smith to provide a map to show parking before the meeting.

26. ITEMS FOR AGENDA OF NEXT MEETING - To be held on Tuesday 6th March 2018. i. Grant request for Northwold Sports and Social Club. ii. Fly tipping Whittington iii. Parish Partnership bid update

With nothing more to discuss the meeting closed at 9.05pm

Chairman: __________________________________ Date: __________________