Parish Council in July
All members of the parish council were present along with six members of the public.The formal meeting was suspended to allow members of the public to ask questions. The meeting was then resumed.
Minutes of the June meeting. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting and there were no matters arising.
Allotments. Adrian Joel said there had not been liaison meeting since the last Parish Council meeting. He had received an email from Tim Bornett (chairman and secretary of the Old Buckenham Allotment Society) which he had replied to. He had also received another email from an allotment holder asking a list of questions to which he read out and the answers will be provided for the allotment holder. At next meeting of the liaison group a new tenancy agreement will be drawn up with clauses inserted relating to concerns that have been expressed. Adrian Joel expressed thanks to Keith Hodgson for his work on the taps for the allotments and the Parish Clerk is to send a letter of thanks.
Funding of Community Car Scheme. The meeting was suspended to allow the scheme co-ordinator to give details of new mileage funding rates and alternative ways that they have to be implemented. When the meeting resumed, Derek Smalley proposed that Breckland Council pay 2.5p of the new mileage rate and the other 2.5p increase to be paid by the users of the scheme. This was seconded by Tom Johnson and agreed unanimously.
Recreation Area. Carol Marshall thanked the Parish Council Chairman who had marked out the football pitch. She raised the matter of children possibly swinging on the crossbars of the goalposts and what action needed to be taken to prevent it. It was agreed that there was nothing the Parish Council could do as they could not have 24-hour supervision of the area. Jonathan Kemp said the business plan had been sent to Breckland Council who thought it was a good plan and they gave some suggestions for some small amendments. The time scale for funding had to be extended and it was hoped that the final business plan could be submitted to Breckland in September for a possible decision in December. The working party will also be exploring other avenues for funding. Tom Johnson raised some concerns expressed by the Village Hall that there was no provision for toilets on the Recreation Area. Carol Marshall said that, on the advice of the police, these would not be provided.
Planning applications. Whitehouse, 57 Fen Street. Single storey garage to replace existing garage. There were no objections from the parish council.
‘Doe Lane’ meeting notes. Adrian Joel raised the matter of parking at the play area and the subsequent problems. John Frost raised the matter of children using the Church Rooms’ toilets at selective times but the Parish Council may have to pay to clean the toilets. The use of the toilets would be on a trial basis. Tim Ing sought the views of other councillors on the matter and John Frost said he would speak to the present cleaner to obtain her views on the subject if the Parish Council was prepared to make a donation to the Church Rooms. Adrian Joel also raised the matter of holding regular meetings with residents and a meeting would be arranged for Saturday 24 September in the Village Hall (the Parish Clerk to check if the hall is available).
Declaration of satisfactory completion of play area. It was proposed by Adrian Joel that the play area had been successfully completed within the original terms of reference. This was seconded by the chairman and agreed with 10 for and 1 abstention. Adrian Joel said the play area is looking in excellent condition and thanked the volunteers who maintained it.
Road sign for village shop. Adrian Joel said he had spoken to Norfolk County Council (NCC) about obtaining a sign pointing to the village shop on the white sign post at the junction of Abbey Road and the B1077. He was advised that this was not possible and the matter is now with MP George Freeman who has taken the matter up with NCC. If unsuccessful the shop owner will apply to Breckland Council for a finger post on the Green. Tom Johnson raised the matter of speed signs at the play area and suggested the Parish Council have it owns signs on the play area following the refusal of Norfolk County Council to introduce a 20 mph speed limit and provide signs.
Attleborough expansion plan. Derek Smalley said he had attended a steering committee meeting of the Attleborough Community Team (ACT) as a private individual and not as a parish councillor. He raised some serious concerns regarding the whole Attleborough plan and asked if he could attend future meetings as a representative of the Parish Council. Adrian Joel replied on the matter of infrastructure and possible section 106 payments to be paid by the developers. Also Breckland Council had not received details of the prioritising of the infrastructure of the scheme. There was going to be a meeting at Breckland on Thursday 28 July and Tom Johnson would be attending the meeting. Tim Ing proposed that Derek Smalley should be able to speak on behalf of the Parish Council at ACT meetings and this was agreed unanimously. Various councillors expressed their views on the development.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said that the Parish Council need to appoint a Council Health and Safety Officer under the new proposed Health and Safety policy being drafted by the Parish Clerk. Tom Johnson agreed to undertake the role. The Parish Clerk would present the new policy for adoption at the September meeting. He then raised the matter of village archive storage as the Attleborough Heritage Museum had agreed to take the documents or alternatively they could be stored at the Village Hall. Various views were expressed on the matter and Paul Boggia agreed to look further into the matter. Tim Ing said he had received an email from a resident regarding a hedge removal in Banham Road. The Parish Clerk said that he had spoken to Breckland Council on the matter and they had informed him the removal of the hedge did not contravene the Hedges Act as it was on private property. Tim Ing then raised the matter of the £500 won from the Pride in Norfolk award and that no decision had yet been received for how the money should be spent. The Parish Clerk is to write to the Women’s Institute to seek their views on how the money could be spent. Tim Ing will be attending the planning meeting of Breckland Council planning committee regarding the Shrublands development on Monday 8 August to speak on behalf of the Parish Council.
District Councillor’s report. An examination in public of the Site Specifics Proposals of the Development Plan Document (DPD) will commence at the beginning of July and last about a week. The Inspector’s report will follow and the adoption of the DPD will take place towards the end of this year. With effect from the end of 2012, the Government will allow Councils to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on all new houses built to cover the cost of infrastructure. Breckland are currently working on a district-wide CIL. To ensure that major developments given planning permission prior to the introduction of the CIL contribute to the District’s infrastructure, Breckland will be looking at ways of enduring that these developments contribute ie a S106 legal agreement. The next meeting of the Attleborough Task Force is Thursday 28 July which will be attended by Adrian Joel and Tom Johnson.
Parish councillors’ reports. Tom Johnson said he attended the recent Village Hall meeting where views were expressed that the Parish Council seemed to be concentrating on things for younger residents and that the majority of the older residents were being ignored. He also said that the Village Hall will be making a grant application at the next precept meeting. Sarah Windle said she was working on the Community Emergency Plan and was having a meeting with Breckland Council on the subject. She will be getting out in the community to meet residents and see what equipment is available in an emergency. Derek Smalley said the first new welcome pack had been delivered. Also he had people coming to him regarding bulk oil purchase. He said that he needs at least 15 to 20 people and at the present time there were only five who had expressed an interest in the scheme so he will put an item in the next newsletter. Akis Chrisovelides will circulate a recently prepared document for a Youth Council in the circulation folder. Adrian Joel said he had attended a meeting of Norfolk Association of Local Councils (NALC) locally and he found the meeting useful. He had given them details of the Old Buckenham allotments and they were impressed with the project. They said they would like to see more people from Old Buckenham attend their meetings. Sarah Dye said she attended the new councillors training course and found it very useful and enjoyed it greatly. She then expressed her thanks to John Hicks for his excellent work on maintaining the play area. Carol Marshall said the opening event of the Recreation Area would take place on Saturday 23 July and asked if Tim Ing would do the official opening and he agreed to do this. She then asked for volunteers of the Parish Council in providing Old English teas on the opening day and also said that she needed more volunteers to assist with the garage sale on Sunday 21 August.
Highways. A tree branch on the B1077 towards Attleborough between the Pink Cottage and Puddledock corner was broken and is dangerous. Parish Clerk is to contact highways on the matter.
The Green. Tim Ing had attended the Old Buckenham Green Right Proprietors (OBGRP) meeting in June and will circulate notes from the meeting to all councillors. Steps up to the bench on the Green have been inserted and a new grass cutting agreement had been agreed up to 2012. OBGRP is looking at possible parking charges on the Green again. There is still no full list of owners of green rights. OBGRP was holding an open meeting on Saturday 23 July at Village Hall at 10am. The next meeting of the OBGRP would be held on Tuesday 12 July. They will be looking at an amenity area around the trees near the village shop and will not allow one on the main Green. He then said he and Sarah Dye had met with the owner of the Ox & Plough. Concerns have been raised about parking on various areas of the Green and that suggested solutions were being discussed to address these problems. Tim Ing said the Parish Council may be asked to make a financial contribution to the solutions. He asked for councillors’ views on the matter and some suggestions were put forward for discussion with the OBGRP. Akis Chrisovelides raised the matter of the fish and chips sign and was informed the OBGRP had given permission for the sign to be put on the Green on a temporary basis.
There is no parish council meeting in August.
The next meeting will be on Thursday 1 September 2011 at the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.
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