Latest Old Buckenham parish council minutes

October 2018 minutes

These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is changed at a later date. The full version of the draft minutes can be seen on the noticeboard outside the village shop.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 4 October in the Village Hall. Those present were Jon Hicks (Vice-chairman who was in the chair), Debbie Callaghan, Gemma Frost, Adrian Joel, Steve Milner and Andy Nichols along with Andy Emms (Parish Clerk) and six members of the public. Apologies for absence were received from Phil Little (Chairman), Paul Philips and Ben Devlin.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6 September were approved subject to being amended to refer to offering Precept Grants in 2019/20, that the planning decision by Breckland District Council concerning the extension to The Manor House was to refuse and the reference to 15 hectares of land in the parish being amended to read 15 acres.

Matters arising from these minutes of the meeting. Adrian Joel said that a parishioner had queried whether land off Hargham Road that Norfolk County Council intended to sell was in the parish. He said it was not. He added that since the last meeting he had been informed that the earlier advice he had received from Cotman Housing that three of the properties in the March Field Way development would be available for shared ownership was incorrect. All twelve new properties would be for rent.

Public participation relating to agenda items. A parishioner said that the minutes of the last parish council meeting referred to a meeting to be arranged regarding school parking and suggested that local residents be invited as well as the parish council, schools and the village hall committee. Councillors acknowledged that this would be sensible and would liaise with the parishioner for two local residents to attend.

A parishioner said that the Memorial Room in which the meeting was being held had been refurbished. An official opening would be held on Saturday 3 November at 2pm and it was hoped representatives of the USAF and family representatives would attend.

A parishioner expressed concern at large lorries, including Banham Poultry vehicles, using Hargham Road.

A parishioner said that councillors had been contacted regarding a project for Remembrance Day involving poppies being made by the scouts to be placed in the grounds of the war memorial and she hoped this would be an impressive display which councillors would support.

A parishioner referred to email exchanges regarding work on the Green in which the chairman had queried why the parishioner had been included on the distribution list. He said that he represented the Lord of the Manor who was a member of the Village Green Management Committee. He queried whether, as per his suggestion at the last meeting, the head of the new school had been invited onto the road safety committee. He was informed that no discussions on amending the membership had been held and no changes made. He also highlighted that the Highways Officer’s report on the pelican crossing had not yet been published. The parish clerk said he would obtain a copy and pass it to Steve Milner to publish on the website. In reply to a question from the parishioner, Steve Milner said that if a new SAM2 car speed display was obtained this would be portable and could be used in many locations, including Hargham Road. This equipment could also record data which could be passed onto the police.

Record of declarations of interests. Jon Hicks said he had changed his employment and would complete a new Declarations of Interest form.

Financial matters. The external auditor had approved the Annual Governance Accountability Review forms for 2017/18.

The bank balances at the end of September 2018 were £48435.18 in the current account and £2876.06 in the premium account. Income received included the second precept instalment of £10080.28 from Breckland District Council and £123 second grant instalment, also from Breckland.

The parish clerk reported that following the last meeting Ray Bayfield had returned the cheque for £120 for clearance of Green pond and kindly donated this, together with the additional £120 approved for work he had arranged to be carried out on Manor and Rod Alley ponds. Ray Bayfield was thanks for this generous donation of £240.

Planning applications. 6 Oaklands. Convert garage into play room and add utility room (3/PL/2018/010/HOU). Gemma Frost declared a pecuniary interest in this item and took no part in the discussion or vote. It was resolved, with 4 voting in favour and 2 abstentions, to support the application.

Shrublands Farmhouse, Attleborough Road. Two-storey rear extension and erection of three-bay cart lodge with room over (3/PL/2018/1072/HOU). It was resolved, with 5 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.

Asparagus Field, Cake Street. Variation of conditions on 3PL/2018/0387/F (3/PL/2018/1014/VAR). It was resolved, with 5 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.

Planning decisions by Breckland District Council. Asparagus Field, Cake Street. Discharge of conditions 3 and 6 on 3PL/2018/0387/F (3/PL/2018//0184/DOC). Discharge complete.

14 Fen Street. Extension to side and back and erection of garage: revised plan/design 3/PL/2018/0851/HOU). Approved

Erection of two dwellings, Attleborough Road. Discharge of conditions 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 on 3PL/2016/0889/F (3/PL/2018/0119/DOC). Discharge complete.

Chairman’s report. Jon Hicks said the parish clerk vacancy had been advertised on the Norfolk Association of Local Council’s (NALC) website and he would arrange for it to be in the parish newsletter.

District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel said that he had written an article for the October parish newsletter to advise residents to put their names on the Breckland Council housing register if they wanted to be eligible for one of the new March Field Way properties. He said that the village shop was an important village asset and asked the council to consider if it wanted to be added to the “right to bid” list if the shop became up for sale in the future. The government scheme offering subsidy for those that cannot access broadband speeds of at least 2 megabits per second may end in December so Breckland Council had decided to write to 1800 properties who may be eligible to apply.

Play Area. Jon Hicks said he had painted the tractor. Playdale had sent the incorrect rope to replace the damaged rope reported at the last meeting and he was waiting for the correct one to arrive. Playdale had indicated that the equipment was still safe to use.

Councillors’ reports. Andy Nichols reported that, together with Gemma Frost, he had attended the second planning course run by the Local Council’s public Advisory Service (LCPAS). As well as useful planning advice, important information was given on availability of funding which meant that lack of funding need not be a barrier to the council considering bold schemes in the future. In reply to a question regarding the availability of the Chapel Green School’s multi use games area for public use, Jon Hicks said that he would speak to the head of the school. It was suggested that he invite her to the next meeting.

In reply to a question from Debbie Callaghan regarding speeding traffic, Steve Milner said that a proposal would be prepared to bid for funds to provide a new portable SAM2 car speed display which would enable data logging that could provide valuable information to the police. This needed to be on the agenda for the next meeting to consider making a Parish Partnership Bid and to include half of the cost in the 2019/20 budget. Adrian Joel said that Banham Parish Council had obtained similar equipment and might be able to help with information for the bid.

Gemma Frost said that she had made progress on preparing a welcome pack for new residents with the help of a very able and enthusiastic high school student volunteer. She also had some ideas on how the Green could be utilised more for the benefit of the village and would bring these to the council for consideration in due course.

Adrian Joel said that the new councillors’ names and contact details needed to be included in the next parish newsletter.

Village Green Management Committee. Sarah Dye referred to the September report of the Village Green Management Committee (VGMC) which had been published with the agenda for this meeting and said that an additional quote of £560 had been received for the work on the “high risk” trees. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust had inspected the Ottomer Pond for newts and none were present. Its formal report would be received soon but this meant that no licence was required to carry out further work. However, timing was important and the brash needed to be removed as soon as possible. Andy Nichols said he had obtained a quote to remove the brash at the same time as re-grading was carried out on the bunds opposite the shop and opposite Diary Farm. The opportunity cost of doing both tasks together whilst equipment was available would be £750.

The VGMC had circulated emails asking the parish council to accept an offer to remove the remaining stumps from around Ottomer pond, grade the edges and dig out the pond for a cost of £900. It was suggested that this was a very generous quote for using heavy equipment at a considerably discounted rate. The VCMC had been asked to obtain other quotes for comparison and one more had been obtained for £1598. The VGMC chairman had also highlighted that quotes for similar work on the much smaller Green pond undertaken earlier had been £1830, £1935 and £1955 which showed how generous the £900 quote was. Steve Milner commented on how difficult if was to ensure value for money if requests for funding did not have sufficient information. Others commented on the need to take advantage of offers of help when timescales were short. Sarah Dye said that a generous offer of £1000 had been received from a parishioner to sponsor the development of a long-term strategy for the Green. Landscape Partnership was a consultancy with a proven track record and the total cost of engaging it to create a vision for the green with a workable strategy with reasonable costed projects, would be £1800. She hoped the parish council would recognise this as worthwhile and consider funding the remaining £800.

It was agreed, unanimously, to accept the quote of £480 for the work required on the “high risk” trees, to accept the quote of £750 to remove the brash from Ottomer Pond and to regrade the bunds opposite the shop and Diary Farm, to accept the quote of £900 for the removal of stumps around Ottomer pond as well as grading of edges and digging out the pond. The Council would write to Mervyn Lambert thanking him for the generous quote. It was also agreed to invite Landscape Partnership to attend the next meeting and then to consider whether to support the commissioning of a report on a future strategy for the Green.

Attleborough Strategic Urban Development (ASUE). Adrian Joel said that he and the chairman had met with Simon Wood, the Regional Planning and Building Control Officer of Urban Vision Partnership Ltd to express the parish’s concern that 15 acres of parish land was being used for the ASUE. He said that the land would not be used for residential in the future as it was required for the recreation element and an attenuation pond for the ASUE. Adrian Joel said that although the land would be developed to support the ASUE it would still be within the boundary of Old Buckenham as the ASUE could not change that. No satisfactory answer was given to the question of who would be responsible for maintaining the area. It was pointed out to Mr Wood that the parish land was being used for the benefit of Attleborough residents but he said that it would also be available for use by village residents.

Adrian Joel said that he intended to ‘stand down’ as member of the Breckland Council Planning Committee when the ASUE application was considered so that he could speak and vote against this element of it. Andy Nichols reiterated his view expressed at the last meeting that the designation of this land in the Local Plan was crucial as if it was identified for development then opposing ASUE would be a waste of time but if not then there was a strong case against including it in the ASUE. Jon Hicks said that he would visit Breckland DC offices to clarify this. It was agreed to wait for the outcome of the chairman’s discussions with the CEO of LCPAS and clarification of the Local Plan designation before deciding what representations to make when the ASUE planning application is considered by Breckland Council.

Consideration of a Neighbourhood Plan. When considering the ASUE at the last meeting it was highlighted that if the council had produced a Neighbourhood Plan this would give it a big advantage in opposing the ASUE use of parish land. Adrian Joel said that the council had undertaken some work on the development of a neighbourhood plan in the past, including undertaking a survey. This work stopped when the councillor with planning expertise had been unable to carry on taking a lead. He said that a considerable amount of work was involved and a lead councillor and a team of other councillors and residents would be required. New Buckenham started the process 18 months ago and still had not completed it. However, if the council wanted to move forward, Breckland Council had an officer who could offer support and match funding was available. Debbie Callaghan offered to lead on this and Adrian Joel, Steve Milner and Andy Nichols offered their support and it was resolved, in principle, to support the development of a Neighbourhood Plan.

Allotment rents. It was agreed to keep allotment rents for 2018/19 at the current levels of £40 a year for a full plot for parishioners and £50 a year for a full plot for others. Half plots would be charged at £20 and £25 respectively.

Communications/social media. Paul Philips had circulated a discussion paper to councillors via email which had been well received. As Paul Philips had been unable to attend the meeting it was decided to defer consideration of this matter to the next meeting.

Defibrillator. The chairman had taken a lead on this and as he had been unable to attend the meeting it was also decided to defer consideration of this matter to the next meeting.

Agenda items for the next meeting. Items identified included the Village Shop and the “Right to bid” list, an invitation to the Head of Chapel Green School to attend, an invitation to Landscape Partnership consultancy to attend, a Parish Partnership Bid for SAM2 car speed display, ASUE, communications/use of social media and the defibrillator.

The next meeting of the parish council will be held on Thursday 1 November and the Precept 2019/20 meeting would be held on Thursday 8 November, both commencing at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.