October 2018 minutes
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. The full version of the draft minutes can be seen on the noticeboard outside the village shop.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met
on Thursday 4 October in the Village Hall. Those present were Jon Hicks
(Vice-chairman who was in the chair), Debbie Callaghan, Gemma Frost, Adrian
Joel, Steve Milner and Andy Nichols along with Andy Emms (Parish Clerk) and six
members of the public. Apologies for absence were received from Phil Little
(Chairman), Paul Philips and Ben Devlin.
The minutes of the meeting held
on Thursday 6 September were approved subject to being amended to refer to
offering Precept Grants in 2019/20, that the planning decision by Breckland
District Council concerning the extension to The Manor House was to refuse and
the reference to 15 hectares of land in the parish being amended to read 15
acres.
Matters arising from these
minutes of the meeting. Adrian Joel said that a parishioner had queried whether
land off Hargham Road that Norfolk County Council intended to sell was in the
parish. He said it was not. He added that since the last
meeting he had been informed that the earlier advice he had received from
Cotman Housing that three of the properties in the March Field Way development
would be available for shared ownership was incorrect. All twelve new properties
would be for rent.
Public participation relating to
agenda items. A parishioner said that the minutes of the last parish council
meeting referred to a meeting to be arranged regarding school parking and
suggested that local residents be invited as well as the parish council,
schools and the village hall committee. Councillors acknowledged that this
would be sensible and would liaise with the parishioner for two local residents
to attend.
A parishioner said that the
Memorial Room in which the meeting was being held had been refurbished. An
official opening would be held on Saturday 3 November at 2pm and it was hoped
representatives of the USAF and family representatives would attend.
A parishioner expressed concern
at large lorries, including Banham Poultry vehicles, using Hargham Road.
A parishioner said that
councillors had been contacted regarding a project for Remembrance Day
involving poppies being made by the scouts to be placed in the grounds of the
war memorial and she hoped this would be an impressive display which
councillors would support.
A parishioner referred to email
exchanges regarding work on the Green in which the chairman had queried why the
parishioner had been included on the distribution list. He said that he
represented the Lord of the Manor who was a member of the Village Green
Management Committee. He queried whether, as per his suggestion at the last
meeting, the head of the new school had been invited onto the road safety
committee. He was informed that no discussions on amending the membership had
been held and no changes made. He also highlighted that the Highways Officer’s
report on the pelican crossing had not yet been published. The parish clerk
said he would obtain a copy and pass it to Steve Milner to publish on the website.
In reply to a question from the parishioner, Steve Milner said that if a new
SAM2 car speed display was obtained this would be portable and could be used in
many locations, including Hargham Road. This equipment could also record data
which could be passed onto the police.
Record of declarations of
interests. Jon Hicks said he had changed his employment and would complete a
new Declarations of Interest form.
Financial matters. The external
auditor had approved the Annual Governance Accountability Review forms for
2017/18.
The bank balances at the end of
September 2018 were £48435.18 in the current account and £2876.06 in the premium
account. Income received included the second precept instalment of £10080.28
from Breckland District Council and £123 second grant instalment, also from
Breckland.
The parish clerk reported that
following the last meeting Ray Bayfield had returned the cheque for £120 for
clearance of Green pond and kindly donated this, together with the additional
£120 approved for work he had arranged to be carried out on Manor and Rod Alley
ponds. Ray Bayfield was thanks for this generous donation of £240.
Planning applications. 6
Oaklands. Convert garage into play room and add utility room (3/PL/2018/010/HOU).
Gemma Frost declared a pecuniary interest in this item and took no part in the
discussion or vote. It was resolved, with 4 voting in favour and 2 abstentions,
to support the application.
Shrublands Farmhouse,
Attleborough Road. Two-storey rear extension and erection of three-bay cart
lodge with room over (3/PL/2018/1072/HOU). It was resolved, with 5 voting in
favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.
Asparagus Field, Cake Street.
Variation of conditions on 3PL/2018/0387/F (3/PL/2018/1014/VAR). It was resolved,
with 5 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.
Planning decisions by Breckland
District Council. Asparagus Field, Cake Street. Discharge of conditions 3 and 6
on 3PL/2018/0387/F (3/PL/2018//0184/DOC). Discharge complete.
14 Fen Street. Extension to side
and back and erection of garage: revised plan/design 3/PL/2018/0851/HOU).
Approved
Erection of two dwellings,
Attleborough Road. Discharge of conditions 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 on 3PL/2016/0889/F
(3/PL/2018/0119/DOC). Discharge complete.
Chairman’s report. Jon Hicks said
the parish clerk vacancy had been advertised on the Norfolk Association of
Local Council’s (NALC) website and he would arrange for it to be in the parish
newsletter.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian
Joel said that he had written an article for the October parish newsletter to
advise residents to put their names on the Breckland Council housing register
if they wanted to be eligible for one of the new March Field Way properties. He
said that the village shop was an important village asset and asked the council
to consider if it wanted to be added to the “right to bid” list if the shop became
up for sale in the future. The government scheme offering subsidy for those
that cannot access broadband speeds of at least 2 megabits per second may end
in December so Breckland Council had decided to write to 1800 properties who
may be eligible to apply.
Play Area. Jon Hicks said he had
painted the tractor. Playdale had sent the incorrect rope to replace the
damaged rope reported at the last meeting and he was waiting for the correct
one to arrive. Playdale had indicated that the equipment was still safe to use.
Councillors’ reports. Andy
Nichols reported that, together with Gemma Frost, he had attended the second
planning course run by the Local Council’s public Advisory Service (LCPAS). As
well as useful planning advice, important information was given on availability
of funding which meant that lack of funding need not be a barrier to the
council considering bold schemes in the future. In reply to a question
regarding the availability of the Chapel Green School’s multi use games area
for public use, Jon Hicks said that he would speak to the head of the school.
It was suggested that he invite her to the next meeting.
In reply to a question from Debbie
Callaghan regarding speeding traffic, Steve Milner said that a proposal would
be prepared to bid for funds to provide a new portable SAM2 car speed display
which would enable data logging that could provide valuable information to the
police. This needed to be on the agenda for the next meeting to consider making
a Parish Partnership Bid and to include half of the cost in the 2019/20 budget.
Adrian Joel said that Banham Parish Council had obtained similar equipment and
might be able to help with information for the bid.
Gemma Frost said that she had
made progress on preparing a welcome pack for new residents with the help of a
very able and enthusiastic high school student volunteer. She also had some
ideas on how the Green could be utilised more for the benefit of the village
and would bring these to the council for consideration in due course.
Adrian Joel said that the new
councillors’ names and contact details needed to be included in the next parish
newsletter.
Village Green Management
Committee. Sarah Dye referred to the September report of the Village Green Management
Committee (VGMC) which had been published with the agenda for this meeting and
said that an additional quote of £560 had been received for the work on the
“high risk” trees. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust had inspected the Ottomer Pond
for newts and none were present. Its formal report would be received soon but
this meant that no licence was required to carry out further work. However,
timing was important and the brash needed to be removed as soon as possible. Andy
Nichols said he had obtained a quote to remove the brash at the same time as re-grading
was carried out on the bunds opposite the shop and opposite Diary Farm. The
opportunity cost of doing both tasks together whilst equipment was available
would be £750.
The VGMC had circulated emails
asking the parish council to accept an offer to remove the remaining stumps
from around Ottomer pond, grade the edges and dig out the pond for a cost of
£900. It was suggested that this was a very generous quote for using heavy
equipment at a considerably discounted rate. The VCMC had been asked to obtain
other quotes for comparison and one more had been obtained for £1598. The VGMC
chairman had also highlighted that quotes for similar work on the much smaller
Green pond undertaken earlier had been £1830, £1935 and £1955 which showed how
generous the £900 quote was. Steve Milner commented on how difficult if was to
ensure value for money if requests for funding did not have sufficient
information. Others commented on the need to take advantage of offers of help
when timescales were short. Sarah Dye said that a generous offer of £1000 had
been received from a parishioner to sponsor the development of a long-term
strategy for the Green. Landscape Partnership was a consultancy with a proven
track record and the total cost of engaging it to create a vision for the green
with a workable strategy with reasonable costed projects, would be £1800. She
hoped the parish council would recognise this as worthwhile and consider
funding the remaining £800.
It was agreed, unanimously, to
accept the quote of £480 for the work required on the “high risk” trees, to
accept the quote of £750 to remove the brash from Ottomer Pond and to regrade
the bunds opposite the shop and Diary Farm, to accept the quote of £900 for the
removal of stumps around Ottomer pond as well as grading of edges and digging
out the pond. The Council would write to Mervyn Lambert thanking him for the
generous quote. It was also agreed to invite Landscape Partnership to attend
the next meeting and then to consider whether to support the commissioning of a
report on a future strategy for the Green.
Attleborough Strategic Urban
Development (ASUE). Adrian Joel said that he and the chairman had met with
Simon Wood, the Regional Planning and Building Control Officer of Urban Vision
Partnership Ltd to express the parish’s concern that 15 acres of parish land
was being used for the ASUE. He said that the land would not be used for
residential in the future as it was required for the recreation element and an
attenuation pond for the ASUE. Adrian Joel said that although the land would be
developed to support the ASUE it would still be within the boundary of Old
Buckenham as the ASUE could not change that. No satisfactory answer was given
to the question of who would be responsible for maintaining the area. It was
pointed out to Mr Wood that the parish land was being used for the benefit of
Attleborough residents but he said that it would also be available for use by
village residents.
Adrian Joel said that he
intended to ‘stand down’ as member of the Breckland Council Planning Committee
when the ASUE application was considered so that he could speak and vote
against this element of it. Andy Nichols reiterated his view
expressed at the last meeting that the designation of this land in the Local
Plan was crucial as if it was identified for development then opposing ASUE
would be a waste of time but if not then there was a strong case against
including it in the ASUE. Jon Hicks said that he would visit Breckland DC
offices to clarify this. It was agreed to wait for the outcome of the
chairman’s discussions with the CEO of LCPAS and clarification of the Local
Plan designation before deciding what representations to make when the ASUE
planning application is considered by Breckland Council.
Consideration of a Neighbourhood
Plan. When considering the ASUE at the last meeting it was highlighted that if
the council had produced a Neighbourhood Plan this would give it a big
advantage in opposing the ASUE use of parish land. Adrian Joel said that the
council had undertaken some work on the development of a neighbourhood plan in
the past, including undertaking a survey. This work stopped when the councillor
with planning expertise had been unable to carry on taking a lead. He said that
a considerable amount of work was involved and a lead councillor and a team of
other councillors and residents would be required. New Buckenham started the
process 18 months ago and still had not completed it. However, if the council
wanted to move forward, Breckland Council had an officer who could offer
support and match funding was available. Debbie Callaghan offered to lead on
this and Adrian Joel, Steve Milner and Andy Nichols offered their support and
it was resolved, in principle, to support the development of a Neighbourhood
Plan.
Allotment rents. It was agreed to
keep allotment rents for 2018/19 at the current levels of £40 a year for a full
plot for parishioners and £50 a year for a full plot for others. Half plots
would be charged at £20 and £25 respectively.
Communications/social media. Paul
Philips had circulated a discussion paper to councillors via email which had
been well received. As Paul Philips had been unable to attend the meeting it
was decided to defer consideration of this matter to the next meeting.
Defibrillator. The chairman had
taken a lead on this and as he had been unable to attend the meeting it was also
decided to defer consideration of this matter to the next meeting.
Agenda items for the next meeting.
Items identified included the Village Shop and the “Right to bid” list, an invitation
to the Head of Chapel Green School to attend, an invitation to Landscape
Partnership consultancy to attend, a Parish Partnership Bid for SAM2 car speed
display, ASUE, communications/use of social media and the defibrillator.
The next meeting of the parish council will be held on
Thursday 1 November and the Precept 2019/20 meeting would be held on Thursday 8
November, both commencing at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
