The following notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 7 February 2019 in the Village Hall. Those present were councillors Jonn Hicks (Chairman), Gemma Frost, Adrian Joel, Ben Devlin, Steve Milner, and Andy Nicholls. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Parish Clerk), NCC Councillor Stephen Askew, Oliver Lee (Landscape Partnership), Sarah Dye (Village Green Working Party) and five members of the public. Apologies for absence had been received from councillors Donna Oakley and Debbie Callaghan.
Pedestrian crossing. Stephen Askew gave an update on the pedestrian crossing. It is hoped that the crossing will be in place by the start of the new school year in September 2019. However, the council have said that the crossing needs to be lit, despite this not being on the original plans. During his conversations with the County Council, they insist that any crossing placed there will have to be lit, so he has been pushing for them to install the minimum required light and to ensure that the lights are targeted on to the crossing. Adrian Joel was disappointed to hear that lights were required while Gemma Frost raised the question whether the priority was children’s safety or lights on the road. There was concern from Jonn Hicks and Steve Milner that if there was any objection to the lights or crossing, things would go back to consultation stage and may even be lost altogether. It has taken approximately two years to get this far. Sarah Dye explained that it was important for councillors to look at the overall picture rather than just focus on their personal opinion. One member of the public disagreed with the whole crossing as he felt it that a lot of time and money was being spent on putting it in the wrong location but Jonn Hicks explained that there was not a perfect location in the village as people approach the school on foot from lots of directions. Stephen Askew summarised that while it was a disappointment to have the addition of lights, the Parish Council were getting the crossing that they had requested and that it was not possible to pick and choose aspects that we want/don’t want. It was also highlighted by a member of the public that a lot of time and money had been spent on the project so far and would be a shame to waste it and that sometimes making the right choice is not always the most popular. Jonn Hicks thanked Stephen Askew on behalf of the Parish Council for the hard work and time he had put into the project so far.
The Parish Council agreed unanimously to support these changes and the crossing overall.
While in attendance, Stephen Askew explained that the potential new trod (a basic level footpath) on Hargham Road towards the junction could cost approximately £23,000. Also, the drain on Church Lane that has been causing problems is still being investigated but unable to find the cause of the problem at the moment.
Presentation from Oliver Lee from Landscape Partnership. The Village Green Working Party had contacted Oliver Lee about how best to use/manage/improve the Green. Mr Lee explained that due to its size, the Green fragments the village up into separate areas, whereas there was a need to look at ways to use the Green to bring the village together. Mr Lee showed various examples of areas his company had worked on and explained that various aspects would be incorporated: environmental, social, traffic, visual, etc. They would firstly learn about the village before presenting several options that could be discussed and fine-tuned with the Council and the village. Several members of the public commented how much better the Green looked after recent work and were keen to see how it could be improved further. Steve Milner raised the point of needing a long term plan for the Green and village, which brought up the Neighbourhood Plan. Andy Nicholls explained that the Neighbourhood Plan had only been reinstated three months ago so not much progress yet but the proposal put forward by Landscape Partnership will be part of the Neighbourhood Plan. The two aspects need to be unified and cohesive. The issue of funding was raised by the public and Andy Nicholls assured them that there were various methods of funding the project including grants, funds or borrowing money. The Green Working Party will fund Oliver Lee’s initial work initially, as a sub-committee of the Parish Council. A sum of £1000 has been donated towards costs by a member of the public so only £800 required. First report will take approximately two to three months.
Funding for Oliver Lee’s work was approved by all six councillors. A contract would need to be drawn up for this work.
January minutes. The minutes of the parish council meeting held on Thursday 3 January 2019 were approved. There were no matters arising from these minutes.
Public participation. A member of the public raised the issue of the speed of vehicles travelling down Fen Street in the section that was outside of the 30mph zone. Steve Milner had started investigating the speed restrictions of the village and found that the majority of houses lay within 30mph zones. However there were the exceptions, in particular Stacksford, Fen Street, Ragmere and Grove Road. Steve Milner asked that the parish clerk send a letter to Highways, requesting a review of the speed restrictions within the village. Jonn Hicks added that the more letters and emails about this, the better so encouraged any affected residents to write to Highways themselves. It was also requested that Harlingwood Lane be added to the list.
Financial matters. Donna Oakley was absent but had passed on a financial report. The balance in the community account was £39,809.42 and the balance in premium account £2,877.49. Income received included a VAT refund of £1,272.66 and allotment rent of £80.
New planning applications. Old Buckenham Country Park, Doe Lane. Change of use of agricultural building to a dwelling (3PN/2019/0001/UC). The applicant was Ben Devlin and he explained that there was a Government scheme to convert agricultural buildings to residential use. This is a new application because of a change of the regulations. Ben Devlin then left the room to allow discussion and voting. The council supported the application, two for and three abstaining.
Shardalows Farm, Fen Street. Two-storey and single-storey extensions to farmhouse (3PL/2019/0040/HOU). The council supported the application, five for and one abstaining.
Manor Corner, The Green. Two-storey side extension and internal alterations (3PL/2019/0083/HOU). This was not supported due to over development of site.
Planning decisions by Breckland Council. Walnut Shade, Cake Street. Conversion of part ground floor to form annex, new first floor accommodation above existing footprint (including increased ridge height), attached new garage and replacement conservatory (3PL/2018/1375/HOU). The above application has now been considered and the application has been approved.
Land south of March Field Way. Residential development of 12 dwellings and associated external works (3PL/2018/0719/F). This application has been approved.
Phone box. Ben Devlin explained his idea at a previous meeting about using the phone box as an information point for the village: maps, walks, events, heritage, suggestion box for public, etc. This was agreed by all councillors. John Hicks explained that the structure has started leaning and will need repairing due to its Grade II listing. Materials have been donated to repair and a local workman has offered to do the work for free. Would have to replace glass at the top, where it says ‘Telephone’.
The use of the Green. The yearly agreement for rent of an area of the village Green for use by the Ox and Plough public house is due to end in March. It was felt clarification was needed on the area included in this agreement and Andy Nicholls suggested drawing the specific area on a map. Jonn Hicks also suggested the rent stay the same for the next agreement but that in the future it would increase in line with inflation and be paid in two instalments. If any extension of that area was required for an event by the Ox and Plough, then they would need to apply to the Parish Council. This was approved with five for and one abstention. The Clerk is to write a new agreement and send to the Ox and Plough along with the first invoice.
Chairman’s report. The initial date for the Annual Parish Meeting falls within ‘purdah’ (the time immediately before the local elections) and therefore has been changed to Friday 31 May as this will give villagers the chance to meet the new Council members and provide any new ideas. Nomination forms for the Parish Council elections need completing and handing in by Wednesday 3 April. Adrian Joel is happy to help anyone and any members of the public who require a form should contact the Parish Clerk. A member of the public raised the issue of advertising to the public. Adrian Joel explained that New Buckenham published an article about becoming a counsellor and asked that the Clerk should write a similar article for publication in the village newsletter and also on Facebook.
District Councillor’s report. The Cabinet have met to make a recommendation of the Breckland share of the Council Tax. It was agreed to set the Council Tax at £88.83 for a Band D property in 2019-20, a £4.95 per annum increase on 2018-19. This will be the recommendation going to the Full Council for approval.
The Legal 106 has now been signed off and planning approval given for the 12 New Cotman Housing Association Houses in March Field Way. These properties are built under the Local Connection Scheme and are available to local people for rent. To qualify you must live, work or have family in Old Buckenham. There is a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom houses and building should start in March/April 2019. For those interested, they must add their name to the Breckland Council list.
Village Green Working Party. A tall tree near the War Memorial is requiring work to reduce its height although this could cause rapid new growth as it is a healthy tree. The recommendation by Breckland Tree Officer is to plant several replacement trees and then to fell the original tree in about eight to ten years time.
The track outside the Gamekeeper requires repair. A contractor has been agreed (after receiving several quotes) and the Brewery has agreed to share the £710 cost. The Green Working Party will pay the Brewery £355 (as the Brewery want the contractor to do some additional work which they will pay for). The Village Workman to cut back and clear vegetation growing into Rod Alley Pond. The Woodland Trust have advised about planting three native British tree species around Ottomer Pond. It is believed that these trees can be sourced for free from several charities and will be planted by Working Party members.
Play Area. The Play Area has passed its annual safety inspection. Some minor repairs are needed and Playdale have been contacted about parts.
Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner said it is one year since telephone mast was approved. The phone company is trying to change terms of access to 24 hours and discussions are still ongoing.
Old Buckenham High School’s 80th Anniversary is approaching and they have a project to interview past pupils. Anyone who was/knows past pupils, please contact Dana Eden at the High School.
Andy Nicholls said the football club had been informed that they can use the MUGA at Chapel Green School during the daytime and they are going to contact the Headteacher. If demand for the outside space increases, then lighting options will be investigated to allow evening use.
Items for next agenda. These will include an Action Log update.
The next Old Buckenham Parish Council meeting will be Thursday 7 March at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.
Pedestrian crossing. Stephen Askew gave an update on the pedestrian crossing. It is hoped that the crossing will be in place by the start of the new school year in September 2019. However, the council have said that the crossing needs to be lit, despite this not being on the original plans. During his conversations with the County Council, they insist that any crossing placed there will have to be lit, so he has been pushing for them to install the minimum required light and to ensure that the lights are targeted on to the crossing. Adrian Joel was disappointed to hear that lights were required while Gemma Frost raised the question whether the priority was children’s safety or lights on the road. There was concern from Jonn Hicks and Steve Milner that if there was any objection to the lights or crossing, things would go back to consultation stage and may even be lost altogether. It has taken approximately two years to get this far. Sarah Dye explained that it was important for councillors to look at the overall picture rather than just focus on their personal opinion. One member of the public disagreed with the whole crossing as he felt it that a lot of time and money was being spent on putting it in the wrong location but Jonn Hicks explained that there was not a perfect location in the village as people approach the school on foot from lots of directions. Stephen Askew summarised that while it was a disappointment to have the addition of lights, the Parish Council were getting the crossing that they had requested and that it was not possible to pick and choose aspects that we want/don’t want. It was also highlighted by a member of the public that a lot of time and money had been spent on the project so far and would be a shame to waste it and that sometimes making the right choice is not always the most popular. Jonn Hicks thanked Stephen Askew on behalf of the Parish Council for the hard work and time he had put into the project so far.
The Parish Council agreed unanimously to support these changes and the crossing overall.
While in attendance, Stephen Askew explained that the potential new trod (a basic level footpath) on Hargham Road towards the junction could cost approximately £23,000. Also, the drain on Church Lane that has been causing problems is still being investigated but unable to find the cause of the problem at the moment.
Presentation from Oliver Lee from Landscape Partnership. The Village Green Working Party had contacted Oliver Lee about how best to use/manage/improve the Green. Mr Lee explained that due to its size, the Green fragments the village up into separate areas, whereas there was a need to look at ways to use the Green to bring the village together. Mr Lee showed various examples of areas his company had worked on and explained that various aspects would be incorporated: environmental, social, traffic, visual, etc. They would firstly learn about the village before presenting several options that could be discussed and fine-tuned with the Council and the village. Several members of the public commented how much better the Green looked after recent work and were keen to see how it could be improved further. Steve Milner raised the point of needing a long term plan for the Green and village, which brought up the Neighbourhood Plan. Andy Nicholls explained that the Neighbourhood Plan had only been reinstated three months ago so not much progress yet but the proposal put forward by Landscape Partnership will be part of the Neighbourhood Plan. The two aspects need to be unified and cohesive. The issue of funding was raised by the public and Andy Nicholls assured them that there were various methods of funding the project including grants, funds or borrowing money. The Green Working Party will fund Oliver Lee’s initial work initially, as a sub-committee of the Parish Council. A sum of £1000 has been donated towards costs by a member of the public so only £800 required. First report will take approximately two to three months.
Funding for Oliver Lee’s work was approved by all six councillors. A contract would need to be drawn up for this work.
January minutes. The minutes of the parish council meeting held on Thursday 3 January 2019 were approved. There were no matters arising from these minutes.
Public participation. A member of the public raised the issue of the speed of vehicles travelling down Fen Street in the section that was outside of the 30mph zone. Steve Milner had started investigating the speed restrictions of the village and found that the majority of houses lay within 30mph zones. However there were the exceptions, in particular Stacksford, Fen Street, Ragmere and Grove Road. Steve Milner asked that the parish clerk send a letter to Highways, requesting a review of the speed restrictions within the village. Jonn Hicks added that the more letters and emails about this, the better so encouraged any affected residents to write to Highways themselves. It was also requested that Harlingwood Lane be added to the list.
Financial matters. Donna Oakley was absent but had passed on a financial report. The balance in the community account was £39,809.42 and the balance in premium account £2,877.49. Income received included a VAT refund of £1,272.66 and allotment rent of £80.
New planning applications. Old Buckenham Country Park, Doe Lane. Change of use of agricultural building to a dwelling (3PN/2019/0001/UC). The applicant was Ben Devlin and he explained that there was a Government scheme to convert agricultural buildings to residential use. This is a new application because of a change of the regulations. Ben Devlin then left the room to allow discussion and voting. The council supported the application, two for and three abstaining.
Shardalows Farm, Fen Street. Two-storey and single-storey extensions to farmhouse (3PL/2019/0040/HOU). The council supported the application, five for and one abstaining.
Manor Corner, The Green. Two-storey side extension and internal alterations (3PL/2019/0083/HOU). This was not supported due to over development of site.
Planning decisions by Breckland Council. Walnut Shade, Cake Street. Conversion of part ground floor to form annex, new first floor accommodation above existing footprint (including increased ridge height), attached new garage and replacement conservatory (3PL/2018/1375/HOU). The above application has now been considered and the application has been approved.
Land south of March Field Way. Residential development of 12 dwellings and associated external works (3PL/2018/0719/F). This application has been approved.
Phone box. Ben Devlin explained his idea at a previous meeting about using the phone box as an information point for the village: maps, walks, events, heritage, suggestion box for public, etc. This was agreed by all councillors. John Hicks explained that the structure has started leaning and will need repairing due to its Grade II listing. Materials have been donated to repair and a local workman has offered to do the work for free. Would have to replace glass at the top, where it says ‘Telephone’.
The use of the Green. The yearly agreement for rent of an area of the village Green for use by the Ox and Plough public house is due to end in March. It was felt clarification was needed on the area included in this agreement and Andy Nicholls suggested drawing the specific area on a map. Jonn Hicks also suggested the rent stay the same for the next agreement but that in the future it would increase in line with inflation and be paid in two instalments. If any extension of that area was required for an event by the Ox and Plough, then they would need to apply to the Parish Council. This was approved with five for and one abstention. The Clerk is to write a new agreement and send to the Ox and Plough along with the first invoice.
Chairman’s report. The initial date for the Annual Parish Meeting falls within ‘purdah’ (the time immediately before the local elections) and therefore has been changed to Friday 31 May as this will give villagers the chance to meet the new Council members and provide any new ideas. Nomination forms for the Parish Council elections need completing and handing in by Wednesday 3 April. Adrian Joel is happy to help anyone and any members of the public who require a form should contact the Parish Clerk. A member of the public raised the issue of advertising to the public. Adrian Joel explained that New Buckenham published an article about becoming a counsellor and asked that the Clerk should write a similar article for publication in the village newsletter and also on Facebook.
District Councillor’s report. The Cabinet have met to make a recommendation of the Breckland share of the Council Tax. It was agreed to set the Council Tax at £88.83 for a Band D property in 2019-20, a £4.95 per annum increase on 2018-19. This will be the recommendation going to the Full Council for approval.
The Legal 106 has now been signed off and planning approval given for the 12 New Cotman Housing Association Houses in March Field Way. These properties are built under the Local Connection Scheme and are available to local people for rent. To qualify you must live, work or have family in Old Buckenham. There is a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom houses and building should start in March/April 2019. For those interested, they must add their name to the Breckland Council list.
Village Green Working Party. A tall tree near the War Memorial is requiring work to reduce its height although this could cause rapid new growth as it is a healthy tree. The recommendation by Breckland Tree Officer is to plant several replacement trees and then to fell the original tree in about eight to ten years time.
The track outside the Gamekeeper requires repair. A contractor has been agreed (after receiving several quotes) and the Brewery has agreed to share the £710 cost. The Green Working Party will pay the Brewery £355 (as the Brewery want the contractor to do some additional work which they will pay for). The Village Workman to cut back and clear vegetation growing into Rod Alley Pond. The Woodland Trust have advised about planting three native British tree species around Ottomer Pond. It is believed that these trees can be sourced for free from several charities and will be planted by Working Party members.
Play Area. The Play Area has passed its annual safety inspection. Some minor repairs are needed and Playdale have been contacted about parts.
Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner said it is one year since telephone mast was approved. The phone company is trying to change terms of access to 24 hours and discussions are still ongoing.
Old Buckenham High School’s 80th Anniversary is approaching and they have a project to interview past pupils. Anyone who was/knows past pupils, please contact Dana Eden at the High School.
Andy Nicholls said the football club had been informed that they can use the MUGA at Chapel Green School during the daytime and they are going to contact the Headteacher. If demand for the outside space increases, then lighting options will be investigated to allow evening use.
Items for next agenda. These will include an Action Log update.
The next Old Buckenham Parish Council meeting will be Thursday 7 March at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.
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