Old Buckenham funeral

Police pay their respects

It was Jerry Norton's funeral today and the police were there to form a special guard of honour as the coffin arrived.

Old Buckenham Parish Council in May

 

All the latest local news

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.

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 1 May. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Doug Irons (Vice Chair), Stan Burton, Lesley Evison, Steve Gowers, David Taylor and Pete Twissell. Also attending were Megan Elvin (Clerk) and seven members of the public.

Election of Chair and Vice Chair. Naomi Bailey was re-elected as Chair and Doug Irons re-elected as Vice Chair. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 3 April were approved (3 in favour).

Declarations of interests. Pete Twissell is now a director of Rotisham Limited Company that himself and a friend in the village have started.

Financial matters. The Community account balance now stands at £32,530.45. Payments of £4,606.95 have been made including the Precept Grants given to Friends of OB Primary (£750), Fawns (£624), Monday Mardle (£150), Youth Group (£500), Village Hall (£700), Cricket Club (£200) and Almshouses Trust (£600). There was also £119 25 paid to the Community Car drivers and £159.50 on room hire. All payments were approved (6 in favour).

Councillors’ reports. Steve Askew was unable to attend but reported that he had organised for the Speed Survey to be completed down Fen Street. Not happy with the placement as they were on a bend and this would not have been an accurate reading. Asked for resetting and advised a better location. He also mentioned the pot holes outside the shop on the tarmac and felt it would be the Parish Council’s responsibility for this to be repaired. Naomi Bailey is to liaise with the shop owner to see if the job can be financed together and get some quotes for this being done.

Naomi Bailey is still in communication  regarding the schools for another meeting. This should happen soon as they have started to come back to her now. There were a couple of complaints regarding car parking for TWT. Also complaints about lack of picking up after their dogs. Please pick up after your dogs as there are plenty of bins around the Green that are multifunctional. She mentioned how lovely the Green looks and the working committee have done an amazing job with it.

Three quotes were obtained for the cutting of the Green. However the chosen contractor did not walk the Green to quote correctly and has under quoted them. They are in talks with the contractor to correct the quote and when we get further facts and figures of what the quote should be then the Parish Council can make a decision on how much it can afford to help pay.

Doug Irons was arranging a meeting with Naomi Bailey and Megan Elvin to discuss complaints about TWT. An elderly member of public had pointed out that it takes a while to walk across the Green and wondered if a bench could be added right in the middle of the Green for rest breaks.

Stan Burton will donate wild flower seeds to the village hall and will give one bag to Sunnyside driveway. Would like to pass on thanks to Richard Lindner and volunteers who came to help clear the church yard and war memorial. Also for their work in clearing Jubilee Wood, all cuttings came to his farm for a bonfire later in the year.

Steve Gowers said he now had a new volunteer for a weekend Speed Watch. He had reporting of overweight vehicle to the firm involved and the company responded to say they will inform the driver that they were in the wrong. This is a positive response. Received a nice email from a resident saying thanks to the SAM sign as, while it is in place, it makes such a difference to the noise and speed of the vehicle.

Megan Elvin said the dog waste bin should start to be emptied by Serco. There is a charge for this but the invoice has not yet been received. She has done the bi-yearly checks on the defibrillators. As we only have adult pads, should we consider getting some child pads as well especially for the Village Hall and the Ox & Plough as children are more likely to be in those areas? New pads are required for the Village Hall defibrillator that expire in July. Approval given for purchase of all necessary pads.

Steve Gowers to replace the missing bolt on the merry-go-round/roundabout which is causing one of the wood panels on the floor to lift.

She has had a few general enquires from a member of public. Last year the Parish Council apparently used a form with the agenda to write down what councillors have/are going to action and their completion/projected completion date. This was then added to the minutes and put on the website with them. The member of public felt that this was helpful to residents to know what and when the councillors are doing objectives. She is to look at updating the Task list and implementing this again.

Do we still give out a welcome pack to new residents? Could we start doing this again as newcomers felt it was helpful to make the new residents feel welcome. She is to update the welcome pack and send out to new residents that request it.

Email had been sent to Highways regarding the fallen down 7.5t lorry restriction sign on Mill Road. This sign has been inspected and repairs can take up to six weeks.

Planning applications. All planning applications are available for viewing on the Breckland District Council planning portal – www.breckland.gov.uk/article/2933/Search-Planning-Applications.  Parish Councillors have been asked by the chairman to view the new applications in advance of the meeting.

New planning applications. The Stables, Hargham Road, NR17 1SS. Proposed erection of 8 No self-build dwellings (PL/2025/0529/FMIN). The Parish Council didn’t support this before and does not believe it should support it again. Road is unsuitable to take any more traffic, Anglian Water have raised concerns as well, it is outside of the parish boundary and on a 60 mph part of the road. A member of public added that it would cause light pollution, no footpath is proposed to be built and the field where they would be going is a home for bats. The Parish Council did not support this proposal (6 in favour).

Old Buckenham Country Park, Doe Lane. Variation of conditions 2 & 3 on pp 3PL/2023/0076/F - Variation in style and type of construction for the lodges (PL/2025/0555/VAR). No issues. A proposal to support was approved (6 in favour).

Land at Fen Road. Erection of 1 no. self build dwelling (planning in principle) (PL/2025/0574/PIP). Postponed decision to next meeting as only came in on day of meeting.

Ottomer Pond. Stan Burton had someone come out with intention of jetting the pipe. Unable to jet due to the outlet being completely buried. It will need to be dug 3 to 4 metres away from the pipe. He would be trying to eject up hill. Usually you jet downwards. However you cannot get anything down the ditch end to jet downwards. Need to get a digger in to clear the land to get the jet in. Once jetted, need to get a camera down the pipe to view the inside of the pipe and the integrity of the pipe.

Owners of Sunnyside were at the meeting. They would be unable to get the digger in from Sunnyside. Doug Irons and Steve Gowers to find a quote for a digger and have them consult on the site before the quote. Three quotes for a local builder to get it done correctly and three quotes from a drainage company to inform us what needs to be done. Pete Twissell to contact drainage companies.

Insurance renewal. Parish Council insurance is up for renewal in June and The renewal price is £914.94. Agreed in principle (6 in favour) and would liaise with Donna Oakley.

Handyman cutting areas. The handyman has been given a list of over twenty places to trim the grass. These are mainly around benches on the Green, various bins and the children’s play area. An area of the Green by the Hovis house has had a goal erected. It was verbally agreed that this could remain on the Green for a month while garden was being remodelled. Month is now up and the Clerk is to write asking for this to now be removed.

Solar Farm update. The company involved obtained permission for access tracks to the sites and which have now been built (3PL/2021/0236/F). They are currently in the final design phase, with long-lead items being placed on order. On-site works are targeted to start in late July 2025, with completion targeted around mid-February 2026. They make a community benefit fund available to all their projects and for Attleborough Road Solar there is £36,000 available as a lump sum - with the alternative to take £3,600 per year for 10-years if preferred. They would like our opinion on the best way to proceed with administering the fund or any ideas on how it might be spent. Naomi Bailey proposed to take it in one lump sum. There are lots of little groups that the fund could help towards. Doug Irons suggested that we take the lump sum, ring fence it and then go to the village at £3000 a year. Megan Elvin to liaise with them about getting the money. We will keep the firm updated on how it would be spent but nothing set in stone at this moment.

Village Annual General Meeting. This will take place on Saturday 7 June at 10am in the Village Hall. Would be nice to have as many councillors there as possible. The Green Working Committee to have a table at the AGM for plan of the Green. Lord of the Manor to be invited and also Steve Askew. The Village Hall Management Committee will also be invited to come along and recruit more committee members.

Speed Watch update. Highways are not interested in updating the speed signs. Hourly sessions on Cake Street record a minimum of 10 vehicles with readings for speeding. Contacted police and asked for their advice on what to do. Sent a letter to Police Commissioner Office. In Norfolk we are not allowed the signs with the face on it but they are still considering it and will get back to Steve Gowers. Hoping that members living in Cake Street will come to the Village AGM and have their say on the matter. Speed sign by the war memorial is not working and Highways appear not bothered so will find out who is responsible.

Playground and the parking issues. An email from a parishioner regarding concerns regarding the parking of parents by the playground around school pick up and drop off time. There has been an incident where a child ran out in front of a car directly from the park. Luckily the driver was going slow enough to not cause an incident. The parishioner contacted the school but nothing has been done. Megan Elvin and Steve Gowers were having a meeting with Luke at Highways on Thursday 8 May.

Allotment update. The Parish Council have decided to close the allotments and letters to be sent to the allotment tenants. Lesley Evison to pass the information on to Megan Elvin who will compose the letter and send to the tenants as well as posting it at the allotments.

The Parish Council has had an email from the landowner of the allotments site. They are requesting that when the allotments are vacated, the land is put back to the original condition (ie all sheds, rubbish, planters and fences removed. If the landowner feels that they need to do work to the land after the allotments are finished, they will charge the parish council. Tenants will be given until Wednesday 1 October 2025 to clear their plots. Should the plots not be clear after this date, the Parish Council will go in and charge the tenants for any items left.

Lloyds Bank update. David Taylor is to get the information pack from Donna Oakley to try and get the bank account up and running.

Former Highways Surveyors Charity (FHS). Many years ago there were many charities that were merged together and put into three separate charities. FHS is one of them and the Parish Council is the sole trustees of this account. The charities income is from the rent received from 4.4 acres which is let to two different tenants. The Eleemosynary Charity collects the rent and passes this onto the other charities on their behalf. In 1980 the trust was being managed by Breckland District Council but this was then passed on to our Parish Council. Each councillor should be named as a trustee for FHS. Rules allow the Parish Council to sell the land but there are complications for this. Doug Irons and Naomi Bailey have had a meeting with Sarah Dye. Will get a file from Donna Oakley and she will update the account. We have not been making any invoices in some time regarding the rent of the land. The Parish Council originally went down this route for that piece of land for the graveyard. However the land that we wanted to use is not actually the land that the Parish Council owns and this needs to be further investigated. The Cemetery is on hold for now until we know exactly which land the Parish Council could potentially use.

Gym equipment. The Parish Council has been asked several times about the potential of getting outside gym equipment on the Recreation Ground. This subject will be put out at the AGM to see if other members of the parish would want it or not. The Clerk will also look to see if there are any grants available and rough costs.

Public participation. One parishioner asked if all the trees are still alive at the Jubilee Trees. Lesley Evison to look into this. He also asked where the Parish Council Post Box will be situated. It has now been installed on the Village Hall wall next to the to the current Village Hall one. The next Parish Council surgery had been arranged for Saturday 31 May. Proposed to cancel the surgery and invite to the AGM. One of the posts on the footpaths outside Sunnyside has rotted and broken off. Can this be repaired? Parish Council have posts left over so Stan Burton will provide a post to replace it. Request from parishioner for the Welcome Pack from the Parish Council which would be a lovely idea.

Items for next agenda. These are expected to include Lloyds Bank, allotment update, clarification of insurance, update on Charities, update on playground and parking, Graveyard and ongoing work at Ottomer Pond. 

The next Parish Council meeting on will be on Thursday 5 June at Old Buckenham Village Hall and starting at 7.30pm.

An Old Buckenham Flower Festival

Your favourite British person

The Old Buckenham Methodist Church are holding their flower show this year, carrying over the original theme of ‘Famous British People’ that they couldn't use last year. It will be held on the August Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 23 to Monday 25 August).

If you are intending to do a display this year please think about what size of  plinth, small table, large table you may need and what ‘Famous British Person’ you want to do your display on (to make sure we don’t get 10 displays on Churchill!).

More details will appear later but if you have anything about a famous British person (such as books, pictures, figures, etc) the organisers would like to include other non-flower displays as they can set up a display cabinet, book stands, etc.