Your March news is out and about
The printed copies have arrived and have started their journey around the village. It has been 'fun' putting this issue together with the dominant right hand in a sling but with help it has been managed. See cover photograph...
Message from Richard and Donna
There will be an alternative village quiz on Saturday 22 April at 7pm in the Methodist Church.
As before it’s £5 per person of which all the money will be going to our linked charity, St Martins Housing Trust https://stmartinshousing.org.uk/ . We will be providing hot soup and a range of refreshments. The quiz will start at 7pm with the church open from 6.30pm and as ever we have lots of parking available. If you have any questions or would like to provisionally book a place for yourself or a team (as before we will be looking at teams of four but you don’t need to book as a team as we can make up teams on the night) please feel free to email us.
Will David and Alison Hannah’s team make it a hat-trick of wins or will another team take away the prize? Come along and find out! Quizmaster Richard and Scoremaster Donna hope to see you there,
February 2023 minutes
These notes of the meeting were written by the editor of the village newsletter from the draft minutes and so may contain material that is changed at a later date.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 2 February in Old Buckenham Village Hall. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Terry Cook, Ali McWilliam and Andy Nicholls. Apologies had been received from Doug Irons. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk), County and District Councillor Steve Askew as well as seven members of the public.
Minutes of the January
meeting were approved (3 in favour, 1 abstain) with the following amendments: Rachel
Noyes’ payment should be £536.30 and consequently total payments were £1768.50.
Also draft Precept is £790 higher
than last year.
Financial matters. Community account balance is now £32,860 including £800 from NCC for community car scheme. Payments for approval amounted to £3357.78 and included Suggitt Farm Services £600, JC Frost & Co (allotments) £450, Robin Steel (clearing allotments) £1,490 and NALC (training course) £72.
Proposal to approve
payments, apart from Suggitt Farm Services, agreed (4 in favour). Proposal to
approve Suggitt Farm Services invoice, once approved by Green Working Party,
was also agreed (4 in favour).
Councillors’ reports.
Ali McWilliam had attended NALC course for ‘Becoming an Effective Councillor’
which she found was very useful and informative. Terry Cook reported that the Village
Hall CCTV extension has been approved and will be installed shortly. Will have
no blind spots and give coverage around the entire building, including the
approach road and entrance to the Primary School.
Naomi Bailey was
contacted by Norfolk County Council about a scheme to install electric car
charging points at Village Halls by a pharmaceutical company whose fleet of
cars were all electric. The Village Hall would be interested in pursuing that
possibility and will liaise with the Parish Council as more information is
provided. The ‘No through road’ sign on approach to Sunnyside Farm is upside
down and this will be reported. A pot hole at Mill Road/The Green has been
identified for repair but has not been completed. Steve Askew explained that
during discussions with a Highways Officer, it was acknowledged and is due for
repair soon. She has picked up SAM sign equipment from Jonn Hicks. Will charge
up the battery and get it moved very soon.
The Clerk said potential
Sites of Development for the Local Plan have been published. Two sites listed
in Old Buckenham: Hargham Road and Attleborough Road. Both these sites are
outside the village boundary and are identified for a possible two houses on each site. Broken manhole cover reported Hargham Road/Bakers
Lane. Flowers and a card passed to Venuka who ran the village shop for 20 years
to thank her and her family for all their hard work over the years. Welcome
Pack delivered to new shopkeeper. Two Community Car drivers have stepped down.
There are now four drivers in the village. This service is well used to drive
residents to medical appointments. If anyone is interested in joining, please
get in contact. Medical forms for drivers to get have just been
published by Breckland.
Defibrillators have
had a general maintenance check. All in good order but will need to purchase
new electrode pads later in the year. A filing cabinet of old Parish Council
documents needs moving from ex-Councillor’s home. Clerk and RFO have no space
to store it. The Clerk sorting through and tidying up the files and Naomi Bailey
to ask Village Hall if they have space. Contacted Breckland about possibility
of having a dog bin in the vicinity of the Village Hall. Breckland replied that
a bin could be placed there but as it is private land, there would be a charge
of £268.55 a year (£22.38 a month) to empty it. The Clerk to enquire further
about any sites nearby which would not incur a charge.
Resident informed
Clerk that the refuse bin lorry was driving down footpath from High School and
removing wooden posts to return to the road. Reported to Breckland. The Chair
to enquire about missing padlocks on posts and replace if necessary. The Clerk
contacted about possibility of hosting a classic car event on the Green. Will
gather full details and liaise with David Tranmer to ensure no clash of events.
Through a third party, there was a request about foraging on the Green. While
there is no immediate issue for an individual to forage, there may be issues if
then used in food that is sold. Would also have to ensure no ecological impact.
Green Working Party
wants to investigate the location of the outfall drain in Ottomer Pond, which
cannot be located. Request to spend up to £500 to dig a trench and see if drain
can be located. Councillors felt that as this hasn’t been a significant problem
in the last few years and that it could be the start of a lot of work and money
being spent as this was not presently required.
Prince Harry’s Wood
update. Have contacted Breckland about whether they would be open to the
possibility of only transferring the woodland and not the grass areas of St
Andrew’s Close. They were not keen as it was a change to the original agreement
and would cost a lot more in solicitor fees to change it. Also requested that
an area of brambles,which should have been maintained to be grass, be cut back.
Breckland agreed to complete the work. Tree Survey will be completed this week
and will include Prince Harry’s Wood to help give a rough understanding of work
that will need doing in future.
Trial car park times
in Attleborough have been adopted: Queen’s Square has three hours for free (30 minute
extra for disabled users) and looking at a trial of extending to four hours.
Edenside and Horse Pit car parks will trial nine hours for free. Batteries can
now be recycled weekly from home. Need to be placed in small clear bag (eg
freezer bag) and placed on top of green/black bin each week. Do not place bag
in the wheelie bin as they are to be collected separately.
Steve Askew had been
informed about the correspondence about possible changes to agreement of Prince
Harry’s Wood transfer. He felt Old Buckenham Parish Council had agreed to take these
areas on, so was not happy to see changes to the agreement. Naomi Bailey
explained that as residents had raised concerns, the Parish Council had a duty
to explore all possible options. Additionally, she wants to be satisfied that
everything is in a good state before signing, as per the agreement, and that
Breckland have been very helpful in ensuring all maintenance work is completed.
New planning
applications. There were no new or amended applications to discuss.
Planning decisions by Breckland Council (for information only). The following applications have been considered and the applications have been approved. Poplar Farm, Fen Road. Variation of Conditions No. 2 and No. 3 on 3PL/2020/1009/F: Introduction of external staircase to access balcony, as well as changes to the external materials [3PL/2022/1036/VAR]
The following application has been considered and has been refused. Land opposite Arenal, New Buckenham Road. Use of site for storage, cutting and timber log distribution business (certificate of lawfulness - existing use) [3PL/2022/0434/EU].
King’s Coronation. Grants
available of £200 from Breckland towards flagpoles, as part of the King’s
Coronation celebrations. The Parish Council had considered purchasing a
flagpole previously so would be worth while taking advantage of the grant
available. Councillors felt the best location was by the War Memorial as it
could be a part of Memorial events as well. Terry Cook highlighted the need for
an internal lanyard to ensure there is no noise during windy weather for nearby
residents. The Parish Council don’t believe planning permission is required for
a flagpole that flies the Union Flag, but Clerk to confirm. Andy Nicholls
explained that an aluminium pole would be required to minimise future
maintenance work and would need to be slightly taller than the War Memorial
(estimated requirement of 8 metres). A proposal of a budget of up to £1200
towards the pole and flag purchase, delivery and installation was approved (4
in favour). The Clerk to arrange flagpole and complete grant application.
Grants are available
from Breckland Council for community groups, but not Parish Councils, for up to
£500 towards community celebrations. David Tranmer has started organising a
village celebration for Sunday 7 May as part of the King’s Coronation
celebrations. Music and food are arranged and will look at organising something
for the children, eg fancy dress, face painting. Councillors felt it would be
good to purchase a commemorative gift to help remember the event. Out of the
options available, a commemorative teaspoon was the most popular with
Councillors and residents present. A proposal to purchase 300 commemorative
teaspoons for the children of the village, Almshouses residents and elderly residents
was approved (4 in favour).
There is a Big Help
Out planned by the Palace for Monday 8 May. Need to look at activities around
the village that volunteers can help with. Rachel Noyes to contact local
community groups to enquire about any other planned events in order to compile
a schedule of events in the village.
Allotments. The
overgrowth has been cleared but still some rubbish to be removed. Ali McWilliam
to check site to see what still needs doing. Clerk to arrange for tap casing to be
repaired. Landscaper who completed work will propose a maintenance plan for the
work already completed.
Parish Council Election arrangements. Every four years, the Parish Council requires Councillors to be nominated and elected to the Council. Notice of Election will be published on Friday 24 March and Clerk to publicise. Councillors have until 4pm on Tuesday 4 April to hand deliver their completed nomination form to Breckland offices. Nomination forms and guidance are available from the Clerk/Breckland website. Andy Nicholls and Terry Cook explained that they are not looking to stand at next election as they are struggling to commit their time. This may leave the Parish Council without a quorum of four Councillors which would result in Breckland Council managing the Parish instead. Clerk to write article for newsletter, website and social media publicising election and the urgent need for new Councillors. Clerk to enquire about full consequences for the Parish Council not having a quorum.
CiLCA Qualification.
Rachel Noyes attended free informal session to learn about the Certificate in
Local Council Administration (CiLCA). This would be a Level 3 Qualification,
take a year to complete and would be an investment by the Parish Council to
ensure that the Clerk has strong knowledge of the various aspects of the work
involved. There are various costs involved including training, the
qualification, books and Clerk’s time, which would total over £1000. There are
two enrolments during the year: March and September. A proposal to support the
Clerk’s completion of CiLCA qualification was approved (4 in favour).
Public participation. The Attleborough Heritage Group and Archive may
be able to help store any of the old PC documents, if required. During initial
discussions with Breckland about Prince Harry’s Wood, the grass areas of St
Andrew’s Close weren’t mentioned. They were only added to the discussion during
Breckland’s meeting with Parish Council. John Frost may be able to help with the
location of the Ottomer Pond drain. Pleased to see the Parish Council is
supporting and collaborating with David Tranmer’s organising of the King’s
Coronation celebrations.
Items for next
agenda. These will include Flagpole, Coronation
update, including list of jobs for volunteers during Big Help Out, allotments
(Robin’s plan), Gamekeeper and Recreation Area fencing.
The next Parish
Council meeting will be on Thursday 2 March at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village
Hall.
Handy problem
If you have wondered why there has been no new material on the blog recently, then this picture may give a clue.
Website for Norfolk walks
Time to get walking again? With Spring on its way it's time to think about getting out to walk in the beautiful English countryside again but where to find new and interesting walks?
With walks from half a mile to twelve miles plus long, and a note of suitability for pushchairs and wheelchairs, everyone can find a walk to enjoy. So check out the websites and get walking.
Time for a good read
It's the first day of February and the latest newsletter may have already dropped through your letter box. Inside you can learn about our newest parish councillor, the possibility of having an Open Gardens this year and the changes at the village shop.
If you don't use it you lose it. Krishna was going to open his shop early but nobody came along first thing on Sunday morning so his Sunday hours are now going to be 9am to 6pm.
