Minutes to peruse before Thursday 7 January

Parish Council in December
These notes of the parish council meetings are prepared by the editor of the newsletter from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended later at the next month's meeting.
If you wish to read the full, unedited minutes, then they are posted on the notice board outside the village shop prior to the next parish council meeting.
There were two members of the public present and apologies were received from Trevor Crook.
Matters arising from the minutes. Stephen Thorley raised the matter of Parish Council funds and the balances which appeared high. The Parish Clerk explained that not all reserves had been extracted from the general fund balances and that at the year end it would become clearer as to the extent of what the actual general fund balance would be. Further allocations of reserves that had not yet been included were the £1,000 for future maintenance of footpath and the extraction of the Highways Surveyors Land Revenue for the past four years which had to be excluded totally from Parish Council accounts. This amount would be approximately £1,480 as this was charity monies and not Parish Council funds. If general reserve balances were still too high when the 2011/12 budget was set then some of the budget would be taken from the reserves and not added to the precept.
Norfolk Constabulary. Police Community Support Officers Gary Szabo and Laura Key attended the meeting to answer questions from the Parish Council. Norman Cawston asked what the crime figures for the village were. PCSO Gary Szabo said that since the beginning of April, 23 crimes had been committed in the village and covered a range of minor offences. These indicated that Old Buckenham has one of the lowest crime rates in the county. Norfolk Constabulary are looking for volunteers to attend a monthly meeting at Attleborough Police Station with other village representatives to discuss what problems are being experienced. Gerald Norton said he received details of crime figures through the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Carol Marshall asked if Attleborough Police Station was now opened and the meeting was informed that it is open Wednesday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. Stephen Thorley raised the matter of HGVs using the Hargham Road in breach of weight restrictions. Norfolk Constabulary said it was difficult to monitor the situation but if people took the registration numbers and/or the company details of the vehicle, then they would follow it up with the companies involved.
The Green. Tim Ing said there had been no meeting recently but that the Green had been tidied up. The probation service had organised for work to be carried out over several weekends. This had been arranged by Mike Read. The Parish Clerk is to write to him to thank him for the excellent work done. Carol Marshall asked what the situation was now between the Ox & Plough and the Green Rights Proprietors and Tim Ing informed meeting that legal proceedings had commenced. Adrian Joel asked would the Parish Council be responsible for any costs if the action failed and was told that the Parish Council would not be responsible as the Green Rights Proprietors have funds to cover any action.
Planning applications. Cherry Tree House, Stacksford, proposed extension. No objections from the Parish Council.
The Gamekeeper, The Green, Old Buckenham. Internal alterations and repair work. No objections from the Parish Council.
Planning decisions received. The Homestead, The Green, Old Buckenham. Conversion of outbuilding to a utility room. Approved by Breckland.
Old Buckenham Cricket Club. Development of double cricket net bays. Approved by Breckland.
Village Emergency Plan. Trevor Crook, who is dealing with this, was not available so the matter is to be put on the January agenda.
Telephone box. The Parish Clerk is to try to get a preservation order put on the box. He will contact Breckland Council on the matter and report back to the Parish Council at the next meeting.
Trell & Co. The matter was discussed and it was agreed that no further action be taken on the matter at this present time.
Parish Council website. Mike Craven-Romain said he knew someone who would set up and update a website for the Parish Council. Stephen Thorley suggested contacting Ron Brewer first and seeing if he would arrange to do the job. The Parish Clerk to contact Ron Brewer on the matter.
Appointment of Trustees to United Eleemosynary Charities. It was proposed by Kerry Talbot and seconded by Liz Taylor that Colin Arksey, Bridget Burton, John Frost, Jean Norton and John Smith be re- appointed as the Parish Council’s nominees to the charity. This was agreed unanimously and the Parish Clerk will write to Joan Jenkins on the matter.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel reported that progress is being made on the Local Development Framework proposed settlement boundary changes. A Breckland Task & Finish Group meeting will be held in East Harling on Thursday 28 January 2010 when the Committee will look at villages in south west Breckland including Old Buckenham. A member of the Parish Council will be able to put forward the views of the Parish Council to the meeting.
Following requests from Attleborough Town Council regarding parking charges in the town, the UEA will be reporting back at a meeting in December on their findings from the surveys that they have conducted. There will be a further meeting in January when the public will be able to speak. The Attleborough Task Force met in December to look at the LDF Inspectors’? report and it was recommended that most of the new housing be put south of Attleborough.
Parish Councillors' reports. Adrian Joel said a new headmaster had been appointed for the High School and he would start his new appointment in January. His name is Peter Whear and it was suggested that the Parish Council should invite him to a Parish Council meeting. Gerald Norton attended a meeting of the Village Hall Management Committee and work on the refurbishment of the new kitchen will commence in February and the total cost had been set at £32,500. He also raised the matter of the condition of the car park surface which needs to be attended to.
Kerry Talbot gave details of the new play area layout and then, with Mike Craven-Romain, gave a detailed overview of all the different pieces of equipment which were going to be installed. The whole project was now funded and they are ready to place an order for the equipment so that the whole thing can be completed by the end of March 2010. The total cost of the project was £73,885. The Parish Council gave approval for the equipment to be ordered and it was agreed that the Parish Council will be responsible for all future maintenance of the play area. She finished by thanking all the supporters of Bucks Just Play for their commitment and fantastic support throughout all of the process.
Tim Ing asked if the Parish Council wished the village to be entered into the Pride of Norfolk Awards again next year. The Council had been runners-up in their section this year. The Parish Council agreed that Old Buckenham should enter again and Tim Ing is to arrange for the nomination to be organised by Ron Brewer. Tim Ing also said that he would raise the matter of the siting of the benches at the Green Rights Proprietors’ AGM and report back to Parish Council. Carol Marshall said that the Recreation Area project had a meeting recently and have a quote for £606 plus vat from Carriageman to erect the fourth side of the fencing, the Parish Council approved the quote. Also they have two quotes for multisport equipment and will get another one before coming back to Parish Council on the matter for approval. They are getting quotes for the grass cutting as the Parish Council will be responsible for this in the future. Cost for the multisport equipment likely to be between £40,000 and £50,000.
Parish Clerk’s report. He reported that he had had discussions with the Government auditors concerning the Highways Allotment Fund Money that should be excluded from Parish Council funds completely and kept separately. The monies belong to the charity and not the Parish Council. The Parish Clerk said he has arranged a transfer of the monies out of Parish Council funds and that a separate set of accounts would have to be kept for the charity. Also he had discussions with auditors on the high level of Parish Council Fund balances and explained they would be greatly reduced at the end of the current financial year once monies had been allocated to specific reserves. The auditors had accepted that the Parish Council had experienced serious problems over the role of Parish Clerk during the current year and the delay in submitting the annual returns for the year ending at the end of March 2009.
Highways. Adrian Joel said the layby at the shop is in very poor condition with lots of pot holes. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways and see if they can repair the damage. Kerry Talbot also reported the fact that there are pot holes to the east of The Green between Church Farm House and Hendra House, the Parish Clerk is to contact the County Council Highways on the matter.
Correspondence received. Liz Taylor expressed concern over the possibility of 76 waste sites and 45 mineral sites being developed in Norfolk by the County Council. Although none were due to be built in or near Old Buckenham, she expressed concerns at their impact on the environment. Adrian Joel said he would inform the Parish Council if the situation eventually impinges on Old Buckenham.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 7 January 2010 in the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.