The following notes have been written by the newsletter editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is changed at a later date
The September Old Buckenham Parish Council meeting was held on Thursday 7 September. Those present were Adrian Joel (Chairman), Rona Boggia, Susan Brown, Jon Hicks, Sarah Hornbrook, Phil Little, Steve Milner, Andy Nicholls and Paul Phillips as well as the parish clerk Hilary Clutten and five members of the public.
Apologies for non-attendance had been received from Jonathan Kemp.
The Council approved the minutes of the July meeting subject to the change that Sarah Hornbrook and Adrian Joel had attended a meeting rather than Andy Nicholls and Adrian Joel.
Matters arising from the Minutes. Steve Milner reported that the Dash Cam Campaign meeting had been good with 19 people attending. Chris Wright from Wymondham Police had given a presentation including some examples of dash cam footage. There is a police website where dash cam footage can be uploaded. Paul Phillips had written a newspaper item about the meeting but the police had taken so long to agree the wording that the newspapers lost interest in printing it.
Public participation on agenda items. A resident reported that the traffic in Hargham Road had been getting worse recently with more large lorries, agricultural vehicles and both emergency and other vehicles travelling at high speeds. It is impossible for a car and a lorry to pass on part of the highway so vehicles are using the front lawns of some properties, including his own, to achieve this. The NCC Highways’ Engineer has been to take a look and agrees that there is a problem. It is hoped that a ‘slow down’ sign might ultimately be erected. He wondered if it would be possible to use a Sam 2 (the parish has the regular use of this machine and Hargham Road is one of the areas that is checked) to check speeding but also traffic police were needed to check the speed of drivers. The resident would like the Parish Council’s support with Norfolk County Council.
Old Buckenham land is included in the Attleborough SUE – see later in the inutes for discussion on this.
The shingle in front of the village shop is not suitable to walk on or for people using walking frames meaning that people are having to walk on the road.
A resident who is a member of the Norfolk Heritage Recovery Group (metal detecting) spoke about its recent finds on the site of Chapel Green School before building had started. There had been a significant find of Iron Age coins. They had also surveyed an adjacent field and would now like to survey the Recreation Area and an area in front of the Village Hall. All finds must be reported and if there is any reward this must be shared 50/50 with the landowner. Hopefully it might be possible to display some finds in the Village Hall.
Is light pollution from Chapel Green School likely? Steve Milner reported that the lighting would be shown on the planning application and he would endeavour to find the information.
A resident reported that there was a rumour going around the village that a resident had been banned from Parish Council meetings. The Chairman said that this was not true and that he would contact the person concerned.
Is it possible to have dogs always on leads on the Green? Some notices have been put on the bins encouraging this but the Parish Council is unable to enforce it because it is common land. Advisory notices were suggested as an alternative and this may be discussed next month.
Planning applications. Sarah Hornbrook reported that Breckland Council has been unable to demonstrate that it has a five-year housing land supply and therefore there will be a presumption in favour of sustainable development. This means that it is no longer sufficient to refuse an application just because it is located outside the village settlement boundary; consideration must be given to whether the proposal represents sustainable development.
Planning application consultations. 1 Prosperous Row, Stacksford. Resubmission of application to build a two-storey extension; the size of the extension has now been reduced. The Council supported this application with nine votes in favour and 1 abstention.
Beckwood, Stacksford. Erection of a one and a half storey extension and detached garage with new access. Sarah Hornbrook said that the location was unsustainable due to its distance from the centre of the village and that there were traffic issues and recommended that the Parish Council did not support the application. However the Council supported this application with three votes in favour and seven abstentions.
Poplar Pigs, Doe Lane. Erection of mobile phone mast and related equipment – this application has now been withdrawn.
62A Fen Street. Erection of single storey extension to both sides of the property and a single storey extension to the rear. The Council supported this application with nine votes in favour and one abstention.
Land adjoining Innishowen, Fen Road. Erection of new dwelling and cart lodge. Sarah Hornbrook reported that this was a very rural location and recommended that the Parish Council did not support the application. The Council did not to support this application with three votes not to support the application, one vote to support, and six abstentions.
College Barn, Cake Street. Conversion and extension of barn to one residential dwelling. Sarah Hornbrook said that Highways had objected to the access because of the poor visibility and therefore she recommended to the Parish Council that it follow the Highways recommendation for refusal. The Council did not to support this application with three votes for nor to support and seven absentions.
Store Barn, Poplar Farm. Conversion of barn to one residential dwelling. As this is permitted development within current planning legislation the Parish Council merely noted the application.
Sunnyside House, The Green. Erection of new dwelling with cart lodge. Sarah Hornbrook remarked that the design of the dwelling was of three storeys when there were no other three storey properties around the Green so it is out of keeping with the Green and the Conservation Area. Also, the location is detrimental to the adjacent properties and there are Highways implications that may affect the Green. She recommended that the Parish Council did not support the application. The Council did not to support the application with nine votes not to support and one abstention.
Outline planning application. Attleborough SUE (Strategic Urban Extension). Land south of Attleborough. Attleborough is identified by Breckland Council as a strategic growth location with development to the south of the railway line. This outline planning application includes a link road to the A11, two primary schools, shops and petrol station; there is no provision for a bus service. Sarah Hornbrook has identified from the planning application that a small field in Old Buckenham has been included. The Parish Council needs to request, in the strongest terms, that a very definite boundary is maintained between Attleborough and Old Buckenham. At this stage it is planned that the link road to the A11 will not be started until the 1200th house has been completed. This is likely to be about eight years away so the Parish Council needs to lobby for the link road to be built first. It was agreed that Sarah Hornbrook should draft a response to this application and then circulate it for Councillor’s comments. The Clerk was asked to obtain an extension to the consultation timescale.
Breckland Local Plan. Pre-submission publication, representations to be made during the consultation period which ends on Monday 2 October. The current document allocates 20 dwellings to Old Buckenham at St Andrew’s Close. This will leave 17 dwellings to find locations for elsewhere in the village over the next 20 years. These could be built outside the settlement boundary. Breckland had made two attempts to find other areas to build in the village but none of the land offered proved suitable. Sarah Hornbrook believes that the Parish Council should challenge these figures as the Breckland Local Plan proposal allocates an additional 10% of dwellings (based on 2011 figures) to Local Service Centres when in Old Buckenham’s case it has allocated 12½%. Sarah Hornbrook also pointed out some dubious wording in the document in relation to the St Andrew’s Close site; the development there is described as needing to be show the “appropriate use of height and scale to ensure the site’s position as a gateway to the settlement” which seems bizarre when St Andrew’s Close leads nowhere.
Old Buckenham Parish Council can have the opportunity to attend the Local Plan Inspection Meeting and Sarah Hornbrook suggested that there should be an initial request to attend as there is no obligation to attend should no-one be available at that time. Council agreed that Sarah Hornbrook should prepare the Council’s response to the document and circulate it to councillors for comments. In addition she was asked to compile a planning ‘tick sheet’ for considering planning applications so that the Council could respond to planning applications more consistently.
The Chairman reported that Breckland Council has offered to come and talk about planning but no firm decision was made about this.
Financial report. The Clerk had distributed her financial report to councillors prior to the meeting. This showed that the money allocated or donated for the Green amounted to £4,937.44 and that £3,089.44 had been spent leaving a balance for the remainder of the year of £1,850. The net reserves for the Play Area now stand at £3,285.35 after paying for the new fencing.
Chairman’s report. The Chairman reported that he had attended the ‘Topping out’ ceremony for Chapel Green School at which he had been given a “Thank You” card made by pupils from the three schools. This was placed in the correspondence folder for circulation to councillors. He also thanked Sarah Hornbrook for her comments on the Attleborough SUE and the Breckland Local Plan.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner reported that more volunteers for the Speed Watch are needed. Ben Devlin remarked on the excellent presentation given by a member of the public at tonight’s meeting in relating to his particular speeding problem. He also suggested that the Parish Council purchase a dispenser for dog bags. Jon Hicks thanked everyone who had come to help take down the old fencing around the Play Area.
Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan. This is now out for consultation.
Road Safety Working Party. Rona Boggia reported that the safety crossing situation is now looking more hopeful and has the support of the local MP. NCC now intends to carry out its own traffic survey in relation to the volume of traffic at school opening and closing times. A resident suggested that the traffic volumes at these times should be investigated at Chapel Road School.
Play Area. Jon Hicks said that the new fencing is now in place but there are a couple of jobs that need doing where the old fencing used to be. The grass has now been cut twice since the new fencing was installed. He has been invited to attend an event on Sunday 8 October so that he can be presented with the new waste bins for the Play Area. He is also going to the High School to try and address the improper use of the Play Area by the older children and to also ask them if there is anything that they would like to have on the Recreation Area. The lawn mower is now beyond economic repair. Jon Hicks has obtained two quotations for new replacements and the Council agreed to purchase the mower from Breckland Mowers at a cost of £850 including VAT.
Recreation Area. The Chairman asked the Clerk to put the purchase of a wire waste bin on the agenda for the next meeting. The grass has been cut and much rubbish removed. The Village Hall Management Committee is happy for the metal detector survey of two locations on the Village Hall site, one of which is the Recreation Area, the Parish Council as tenant of the Recreation Area also agreed to the survey.
Chapel Green School. A response had been received from Chris Hey about the sprinklers. He states that the relevant safety rules have been complied with and that the new school does not require a sprinkler system.
Highways matters. The Clerk explained the issue about planting the bulbs; it was agreed not to pursue obtaining a license to plant for the time being.
Report on the Green. A report from the last Green Management Working Party meeting had been circulated. There has been a problem with the grass cutting as there is too much soil (because of the moles) to make the grass cuttings useable by the contractor and have therefore been left lying on the Green. The Green Management Working Party would like to arrange for an alternative grass cutter for the rest of the season. The Parish Council agreed that the Working Party should obtain two quotations for this additional work.
The meeting closed at 10pm leaving business to be carried over to the October 2017 meeting.
The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 5 October starting at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
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