Minutes of the Meeting of Tasburgh Parish Council held on Tuesday 18th May 2010 at 8pm in Tasburgh Village Hall, Committee Room. Present:
Brian Hill Geoff Merchant Keith Read Don Proudfoot Dave Moore John Mann Deborah Sacks Julie King, Clerk
Also present: 12 members of the public. 1.
Election of Chairman Dave Moore was proposed by Keith Read and seconded by John Mann. Geoff Merchant was proposed by Deborah Sacks and seconded by Brian Hill. Dave Moore was elected having received four votes to Geoff Merchant’s three.
2.
Chairman to Sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office This was signed by Dave Moore and witnessed by the Clerk.
3.
Election of Vice Chairman It was resolved to appoint Geoff Merchant, proposed by Don Proudfoot, seconded by Deborah Sacks, all in favour.
4.
Apologies It was resolved to accept apologies from Lenny Thompson, away from home. Alison Thomas, County Councillor also sent her apologies.
5.
Declaration of interest for items on the agenda 21a) - Dave Moore and Geoff Merchant declared a personal interest as they knew one of the nominees. John Mann declared a prejudicial interest as he was one of the nominees. 19d) - Deborah Sacks, Dave Moore, Brian Hill and Don Proudfoot declared an interest as they were trustees on the Village Hall Management Committee.
6.
Bank Signatories The bank signatories were reviewed and it was resolved to continue with Brian Hill, Geoff Merchant and Keith Read.
7.
Representative on Tasburgh Village Hall Management Committee It was resolved to appoint John Mann, proposed by Don Proudfoot, seconded by Keith Read, all in favour. Concern was expressed at the number of Councillors now also on the Village Hall Management Committee, with just two Councillors not having an interest it would not be possible to make financial decisions as the Council would not be quorate.
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8.
To appoint an Internal Accounts Inspector It was resolved to appoint Don Proudfoot.
9.
Advisory Committees Traffic Solutions It was resolved to appoint Geoff Merchant, Brian Hill, Deborah Sacks, Lenny Thompson and Keith Read, with Geoff Merchant appointed Chairman, proposed by Brian Hill, seconded by Keith Read, all in favour. Procedural It was resolved to appoint Brian Hill, Geoff Merchant and Keith Read, with Brian Hill appointed Chairman, proposed by Keith Read, seconded by Geoff Merchant, all in favour. Burrfeld Park / Biodiversity It was resolved to appoint Deborah Sacks, Dave Moore, Brian Hill and Lenny Thompson, with Deborah Sacks appointed Chair, proposed by Don Proudfoot, seconded by Brian Hill, all in favour. Development It was resolved to appoint Deborah Sacks, Geoff Merchant and Dave Moore, with Dave Moore appointed Chairman, proposed by John Mann, seconded by Keith Read, all in favour. Recycling It was resolved to appoint Don Proudfoot, Keith Read and Lenny Thompson, with Keith Read appointed Chairman, proposed by Don Proudfoot, seconded by Brian Hill, all in favour. A discussion took place regarding the way Advisory Committees operated. It was agreed that they should not make decisions; their purpose was to gather information and to report to the full Parish Council meetings. It was resolved that advisory committees only issue correspondence for ‘information gathering purposes’, such correspondence should make it clear that no decision had been made by the full Council and any such correspondence should be approved by the Chairman before being sent, proposed by Geoff Merchant, seconded by Keith Read, all in favour.
10. Minutes of the meeting held on 20th April 2010 These were agreed as a true record of proceedings with no amendments, proposed by Keith Read, seconded by Geoff Merchant, all in favour. 11. Minutes of the planning meeting held on 4th May 2010 These were agreed as a true record of proceedings with no amendments, proposed by Keith Read, seconded by Brian Hill, all in favour. 12. Urgent Items to the raised through the Chair None. 13. Update on Matters Arising from Minutes Planning application 2010/0123 – Barn at Old Hall Farm It was noted that members at South Norfolk Council’s planning meeting had agreed to authorise the approval of the application subject to: - amended plans relating to the boundary fence and completed boundary wall tmpz_yVLC
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clarification from building control that the internal dividing wall between the neighbour’s outbuilding and the application s barn had been constructed in accordance with their requirements.
14. Correspondence School Defibrillator Fund A letter of thanks had been received from the school for the money granted from the recycling credits towards the defibrillator fund. Conservative Election Signs The Council had been informed of the defacing of election signs in the village. Crime Stats In April there had been one crime, recorded as criminal damage. Notices on The Green Following a visit from the Chairman, The Countryman had decided to withdraw their request for a sign on The Green, as they felt that such a request may result in the voluntary groups, clubs and charities that currently erect such signs being prohibited from doing so. They did however feel that the board advertising the Social Club was an eyesore and detrimental to the village. They also believed that as the Social Club was for members and their guests that it was unnecessary to advertise in that way. It was decided to send a copy of the letter received from The Countryman to the Chairman of the Social Club, with a covering letter asking them to take any action they deemed necessary, proposed by Geoff Merchant, seconded by Keith Read, six in favour, one abstention. Hempnall Wind Farm Following information supplied by Enertrag, prior to their intended planning application, they had written to say that they had not had a response from the Parish Council and therefore assumed that they had no issue with the proposal. It was agreed to write to Enertrag saying that their correspondence had been noted but the Parish Council did not wish to make comment at this time. Notification had been received of an exploratory meeting regarding the examination of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership’s Joint Core Strategy, the Clerk had the details. Publications The following publications had been received and would be circulated: - Norfolk Playing Field Association – The Playing Field - Norfolk Association of Parish Councils – Norfolk Link - Norfolk Disability Information Service – advisory leaflet - Water Care from Anglian Water – advisory leaflet - CPRE – Countryside Voice - Clerks and Councils Direct - Age Concern – Concerning You
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15. Reports on Meetings Attended Some Councillors had attended the celebration event at the School to commemorate the purchasing of the defibrillator; it had been a good event. Deborah Sacks said that she continued to attend meetings and take a full part in the Governors of the school, on behalf of the Council. 16. a) b) c) d) e) f) g)
Finance It was resolved to pay the following: Julie King Salary/Expenses Norfolk Pension Fund Pension Contribution Mrs SJ Berwick Salary/Expenses Norse Commercial Services Ltd Verge Cutting PD Moore Cleaning of the Bus Shelter Tasburgh PCC Cutting of the Churchyard Tasburgh PCC Use of the Church Room
£517.55 £63.50 £381.32 £288.78 £11.00 £577.33 £10.50
A discussion took place regarding the state of the bus shelter on the A140. It was agreed that the Traffic Solutions Advisory Committee would look into the possibility of replacing the shelter with something that was more attractive and would require less maintenance. 17. Public Participation and Exchange of Information The meeting was suspended to allow the public and those Councillors with a prejudicial interest to speak. A member of the public queried the fact that the Council had recently decided that it could not justify the cost associated with providing a bus shelter on Low Road, but was now considering spending money replacing the one in Upper Tasburgh. The Council were asked if they could do anything about the hedge on the boundary of Pinewood Lodge which overhung Grove Lane and made the negotiation of the bends by pedestrians more difficult than necessary. Keith Read said that he had visited the owner to speak with them about the possibility of using some of their land for allotments, and whilst there had asked if they could trim the hedge, to which the owner had agreed. A member of the public raised the problem of dog fouling and asked with authority was responsible. The Council advised that South Norfolk Council were responsible for dog fouling and offered to pass details on. It was also agreed to publish the telephone number for reporting dog fouling in the Quarterly. The meeting was reconvened. 18. Planning a) 2010/0682 – 4 Valley Road Single storey side extension It was resolved to recommend approval, proposed by Geoff Merchant, seconded by Keith Read, all in favour. b) Planning Decisions tmpz_yVLC
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2010/0259 – 1 Hastings Close c)
Approved
Next Planning Meeting It was agreed that the next planning meeting would be on Tuesday 1st June, Councillors available: Brian Hill, John Mann, Geoff Merchant, Dave Moore and Keith Read.
BH/GM/ DM/JM /KR
19. Ongoing Projects a) Traffic Solutions i) Recreational Footpaths It was agreed that contact should be made with Mr Read so that the recreational footpath could be progressed. Don Proudfoot confirmed that Mr Barnes was not interested in a path that went straight across his field.
Traffic Solutions Committee
ii)
Grove Lane Bends A letter had been received from Adrian Gunson, Cabinet Member for Travel and Transport, giving details of the footway assessment which had been carried out in 2007 and the resultant score and position in the ‘waiting list’. He thought it unlikely that a footway on Grove Lane would be prioritised for funding in the foreseeable future.
Traffic Solutions Committee
Deborah Sacks said that she had not received confirmation of her meeting with the Highways Officer as promised. She said that she was frustrated with the lack of progress and had made a personal approach to the Director of Planning and Transportation and had copied in Alison Thomas, County Councillor. As a result she and Alison Thomas were meeting with Officers from Highways on Thursday morning. Keith Read said that the condition of the edge of the highway was encouraging traffic into the middle of the road and was therefore not helping the situation. It was agreed to send a letter to the owners of Pinewood Lodge formally asking them to trim their hedge.
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iii) Grit Bin, Valley Road It was agreed that a grit bin should be purchased for Valley Road to be positioned at the bottom of the hill. b)
Allotments Keith Read had spoken with Mr Youngman regarding the possibility of purchasing or leasing the land with the blue shed at the bottom of Grove Lane. Mr Youngman was not prepared to do so, it was also noted that the land was not very fertile. It was agreed that the Development Committee should progress the possibility of land for allotments and it was suggested that they should liaise with the school regarding the land adjacent to Church Road, proposed by John Mann, seconded by Brian Hill, all in favour.
c)
Burrfeld Park
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Develop. Committee
Deborah Sacks said she had only been able to obtain one quote for spraying as all other companies she had spoken with had been too busy. Peter Frizzell had quoted £92.50 plus VAT for one application, Deborah said she thought it may need a maximum of two applications. Skylink, the company providing the grass cutting at the site, had said that they could weed by hand at a cost of £80 for the season; however Deborah Sacks felt that this was unlikely to be effective. It was resolved to ask Peter Frizzell to conduct the work, proposed by John Mann, seconded by Geoff Merchant, all in favour. d)
Village Hall Development Two drawings had been produced, one was for an extension to provide additional storage, and the other was a complete redevelopment. Dave Moore was heading up a sub-committee of the Village Hall to look at the viability.
e)
Recreation for All Deborah Sacks explained the timescale associated with the money granted by Playbuilder. Consultations were being carried out and would be completed by the end of May. From these, designs would be drawn up for further consultation, with the aim of building the play area during August or September. The Festival held on the Bank Holiday weekend had been very successful, raising in excess of £3,400. It was felt that it had been a community-building event of which those who had been responsible should be proud of. Recreation for All were in the process of drawing up their own constitution, it was thought that they would set themselves up as an independent group without Charity Status, but would remain closely embedded in both the Village Hall Committee and Parish Council. Discussions took place regarding the positioning of the ‘Playbuilder’ equipment. The favoured position was currently between the hall and the tennis courts, adjacent to the car park. Concern was expressed regarding the mains sewer and septic tanks in that area. The Village Hall Committee had suggested that the Parish Council might like to consider purchasing additional land from Mr Barnes, if the favoured site was found to be unsuitable.
20. Ongoing Items a) Bus Stops, Church Road Norfolk County Council had sent plans of alternative suggested sites for bus stops on Church Road. These matched those suggested by Mr Sendall and the residents affected would be contacted. Clerk to ensure that Norfolk County Council did contact residents. b)
Parish Council Vacancy Following the resignation of John Lowton, notices had been posted asking for requests from Parishioners for an election. In excess of the ten required signatures had been received by South Norfolk Council and therefore election procedures had been put in place. Notices requesting nominations had been posted, the date of close of nominations was 27th May. Should more than one nomination be received an election would be held on Thursday 24th June. The cost of such an election was
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likely to be in the region of £700-£800, with an additional £250 if the Parish Council requested poll cards. It was felt that the Parish Council had a responsibility to inform Parishioners of the election and poll cards were the best way to do so. It was resolved to request poll cards, proposed by Don Proudfoot, seconded by Deborah Sacks, all in favour. 21. New Items a) Norfolk Association of Local Councils’ Executive Committee John Mann left the room It was resolved to vote for John Mann as the South Norfolk representative on the executive committee, proposed by Geoff Merchant, seconded by Brian Hill, all in favour. John Mann returned. b)
Asset Register The asset register was reviewed and approved.
c)
Insurance Renewal It was resolved to renew the insurance with Came and Company at a cost of £736.25, proposed by Keith Read, seconded by Deborah Sacks, all in favour.
d)
Year-end Accounts The year-end accounts were presented and agreed.
22. Items for Next Month’s Agenda It was agreed that Brian Hill would present the Chairman’s report at the Annual Parish Meeting the following week, with Deborah Sacks presenting reports from the Parish Plan, Burrfeld Park/Biodiversity and Traffic Solutions Advisory Committees. Thanks were given to Brian Hill for the huge contribution he had made to the Parish Council during his 21 years as Chairman. It was noted that due to a change in the Standing Orders this was a record that would never be matched or beaten! 23. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting would be Tuesday 15th June 2010. The meeting closed at 9.46pm.
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