Old Buckenham parish council in June

June Parish Council meeting discussions
The following notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Those present were councillors Adrian Joel, Susan Brown, Jonnathan Hicks, Sarah Hornbrook, Steve Milner and Andy Nicholls as well as the parish clerk Hilary Clutten and five members of the public.
Apologies for absence had been received from Rona Boggia, Ben Devlin, Jonathan Kemp and Phil Little.
Appointment of Vice Chairman. The council resolved to appoint Andy Nicholls as Vice Chairman for 2017/18.
Minutes of the May council meeting. The draft minutes of the May meeting had been circulated to councillors before this meeting and they were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from minutes. There was a discussion about dog signs on the Green. It was agreed that all the multi-purpose bins on the Green should carry a notice indicating that dog owners should keep their dogs under control on the Green and put dog faeces in the bins. It was also agreed that Steve Milner would circulate some appropriate wording to all parish councillors and once agreed, the Clerk would laminate notices to be attached to the bins. Adrian Joel said that he would notify the Green Management Working Party about the notices.
Adjournment for public participation. Items mentioned during public participation were a Cake Street planning application, Chapel Green School and highways issues relating to road signage.
Planning applications. 1 Prosperous Row, Stacksford. Two-storey extension, front porch and internal alterations. It was agreed that the proposal fitted in with the existing buildings. The Parish Council agreed to support the application with one abstention.
Hay Barn, Cake Street. Conversion of barn to single-storey dwelling. There were comments about the access to the property but the owner, who was present, said that the access issue had been resolved. The Parish Council considered that the site was outside the village development boundary and although there was a planning policy to transform redundant buildings this application did not meet the relevant criteria due to the large increase in the floor area and the fact that the building had no architectural or historical significance. The increase in traffic movements if the building was converted to a dwelling was also considered relevant. Council therefore agreed that the application was contrary to current planning policy and should not be supported; motion was carried with one abstention.
Financial matters. The Clerk had distributed a Financial Report; no queries were raised. The Council resolved to allocate the £200 compensation from Barclays Bank to the Play Area Reserves. It also agreed to pay the Clerk’s monthly salary and fixed expenses by standing order. The Council resolved to approve the Annual Governance statements in the 2017 Annual Return, to approve the Accounts statements in the 2017 Annual Return, to approve the signing of the Annual Return and to adopt the accounts for 2016/17.
Working parties and committees. The following appointments were made.
Personnel Committee: Adrian Joel, Ben Devlin and Phil Little.
Neighbourhood Plan Working Party: Sarah Hornbrook, Steve Milner, Adrian Joel, Andrew Jaggard (resident), Andy Nicholls, Phil Little and Susan Brown.
Play Area: Ben Devlin, Adrian Joel, Steve Milner, Jonnathan Hicks. Kerry Talbot (resident).
Recreation Area: Jonathan Kemp, Andy Nicholls.
Road Safety/Chapel Green School: Rona Boggia, S Milner, M Bartlett (resident), Trevor Crooke (resident), L Womack (resident) and Sarah Hornbrook.
Precept Grants: Adrian Joel, Roy Dickinson (resident), Andy Nicholls and Sue Brown.
Review of Standing Orders: Adrian Joel, Clerk, Steve Milner, Phil Little.
SNAP: Steve Milner.
Attleborough NP Steering Group: Sarah Hornbrook and Sue Brown.
Attleborough Development Partnership: Rona Boggia and Adrian Joel as substitute.
Old Buckenham Village Hall: Jonnathan Hicks.
Allotments: Adrian Joel, Phil Little and Jonnathan Hicks.
Chapel Road School Stakeholders: Steve Milner.
Parish Council website: Steve Milner and one vacancy.
Old Buckenham Green Rights: Ben Devlin.
Almshouses Trust: Jonnathan Hicks.
Village Green Management Working Party: Adrian Joel, Andy Nicholls, Sarah Dye (Green Right Proprietor), Alison Frank (Green Right Proprietor), Terry Cracknell (Lord of the Manor), John Fernihough (resident), Parish Clerk (optional) and one vacancy.
Village Green Conservation Working Party: Howard Marshall (resident), John Frost (resident) and Delia O’Leary (resident).
Chairman’s report. The Chairman thanked Terry Cracknell for the work he had done whilst a parish councillor and for what he had done for the village over the years.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel reported that Breckland Council had agreed a grant of £5,000 for the fencing at the Children’s Play Area. More broadband work will be carried out in the village in two to three weeks time.
Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner reported that a group had been set up to raise funds to repair the church roof. Andy Nicholls reported that the Recreation Area would be cut and the old bin will be removed. The orchid area has been marked out so that it will not be cut.
Old Buckenham Neighbourhood Plan. The chairman and Sarah Holbrook will shortly be meeting Susan Heinrich of Breckland Council to discuss the village’s neighbourhood plan application. It was agreed that resident Tm Bornett should be invited to a Neighbourhood Plan Working Party meeting.
Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan. The current work is drawing to a close as the plan has gone in for examination.
Play Area. The Clerk had been asked to present to the Parish Council a request for two new litter bins for the Play Area. Jonnathan Hicks said that the East Coast Truckers, who had provided the current bins, were willing to replace them provided they could have the old bins for refurbishment. They will also replace the tops of the two seating benches. A resident had reported to the Clerk that children from the High School, waiting to be picked up by their parents, were congregating in the Play Area - an approach to the High School may be necessary. Once the fencing is replaced it is intended to clean the equipment. Jonnathan Hicks has carried out an inspection of the Play Area and has given a copy of his report to the Clerk.
Recreation Area. The BMX humps in the Recreation Area have now been removed by Morgan Sindall and there are plans to reseed the area shortly. The Chairman will contact Stuart Barker to ensure the Recreation Area is cut in time for the Village Fete. The work in the Village Hall car park had resulted in a step down from the car park to the Recreation Area but this has now been resolved by Neil Lawson (Village Hall caretaker) who has formed a ramp with spare soil. The Village Hall Committee is looking into the ownership of the footpath that runs alongside part of the Recreation Area. Andy Nicholls agreed to provide details of the specification for new football nets but said that the local football club might have some spare nets.
Chapel Green School. It was confirmed, following an enquiry by a resident of the village, that there had been no major changes to the school plans during the planning stage. There will be a multi-use games area (MUGA) at the school that will be available for residents to use outside of school hours but there will be not lighting and noise might become an issue.
Highways matters. No further action has been taken regarding speeding in Doe Lane. There is nothing that can be done about school bus(s) parking in Abbey Road as it is not against the law. A local resident had noticed a van belonging to Cunningham Builders speeding in the village; Steve Milner agreed to talk to the resident about this. There are potholes in St Andrew’s Close that need repairing and the drain outside the Hawthorns is blocked, resulting in flooding.
The Green. A report of the last meeting of the Green Management Working Party had been distributed to councillors and to the pubic attending the meeting. Ten acres of the Green are to be left as a conservation area. The potholes outside the Gamekeeper have now been filled and the Clerk has sent requests for payment to the tenant of the Gamekeeper and to Enterprise Inns. A member of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust is coming to visit members of the Green Management Working Party. The track outside the village shop should be repaired in about two weeks’ time. The new multi-use bins for the Green have arrived and sponsorship money has been received from Ray Bayfield and Marina Beadnell as well as the Six Villages Newsletter who will now be thanked. Sponsorship for the reclamation of another pond has now been offered. The Parish Council agreed to setting up an Environmental Working Party for the Green. There was a request that the cut grass should be removed from the Green.
Loan to Village Hall. The Council resolved to give the Village Hall Management Committee an interest free loan for a period of 5 years with a repayment of £500 every six months during the period of the loan. The contractor for the drainage work has given a five-year warranty for the work.
Telephone box update. The formal document has now been received to purchase the telephone box for £1 and the Chairman signed the document.
Next meeting. Subjects due to be discussed include the Green, the telephone box and defibrillator as well as the Neighbourhood Plan.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 6 July in the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.