Old Buckenham Parish Meeting

Our village meeting
The Old Buckenham Annual Parish Meeting was held on Friday 31 May in the Village Hall.
Those present were councillors Jonn Hicks (Chair), Steve Milner, Donna Oakley, Adrian Joel and Ben Devlin. Also in attendance were Rachel Noyes (Clerk), District and County Councillor Stephen Askew, Sue Heinrich (Breckland Council Neighbourhood Planning Co-ordinator) and Sarah Dye (Green Working Party) as well as 16 members of the public.
Jonn Hicks welcomed everyone to the meeting and apologised for Andy Nicholls’ absence.
The minutes of the Annual Parish meeting in April 2018 cannot be found, they were taken by a stand-in Clerk and no one has been able to find any copies of minutes. As a result there could be no matters arising from the minutes.
Neighbourhood Plan. Sue Heinrich, Breckland Council Neighbourhood Planning Co-ordinator gave a presentation. She manages the Neighbourhood Planning in Breckland but has previously worked in both private and public sector. Sue explained that the Planning System covers development and use of land using a large Guidance Policy, with the aim of achieving sustainable development. The assumption is in favour unless there are significant reasons why not. Breckland Council has a Local Plan and Local Authorities can produce their own. A Neighbourhood Plan can be completed by the PC if they wish to have one. A summary of her talk will be published separately on this blog  at a later date.
Chairman’s report. Jonn Hicks opened up his report to the public asking “what do you want as a village?” When asked what the Council are doing to encourage new members, he explained that it is difficult to get new members due to the time commitment around work and families but that also a lot of people are put off due to the abuse and confrontation received. The councillors, their families and the clerk have all been on the receiving end to various degrees. Gemma Frost explained that she had previously resigned due to the constant and persistent abuse and harassment she received from a few individuals. An ex-councillor in the public explained he resigned due to frustration at lack of progress. Ben Devlin highlighted the positives that the Parish Council had achieved in the last year. The Green looks great, Rod Alley Pond and Ottomer Ponds have both received a lot of needed attention. A parishioner who had only recently moved to the village said that she thought the Parish Council were doing a great job and they had a very good impression of the Parish Council and its members. The chairman explained that in the past, the Parish Council had been a bit closed off to the public. Since becoming Chairman, he has opened up meetings more to the public to allow greater participation and discussion, an Action Log is used to keep track of work and allows accountability for failure to complete work. This has resulted in greater progress in the last year. Parishioners are encouraged to get involved and join the Parish Council and help spread the load, as people need to remember that the councillors are all volunteers who have jobs and families too. It is very easy to get co-opted on to the Council. Unfortunately it is only a minority that are causing issues for the councillors. Some people felt that most of the village don’t know what is happening or about the Parish Council involvement in improvements. Jonn Hicks explained that the minutes are published in the village newsletter every month by Ron Brewer, are posted on the Old Buckenham blog and the Parish Council website. Key events are also published on the village Facebook group. In the past, there has been great village spirit at big events organised by the Parish Council: the street party for the Golden Jubilee and a cycling event with Diss Cycle Club. But when organised again, they failed to get enough interest. Several parishioners explained that the village needed something to stir interest – 10k event? A parishioner explained that Old Buckenham is loved and highly thought of by people in the village and those living outside of it too but that it's only a few people who cause issues. If the Council can keep their enthusiasm for the village strong, it will spread to all the parishioners. The chairman explained he had been tempted to walk out due to the recent stresses for him and his family. Gemma Frost explained that while she is a very enthusiastic person who is always keen to get involved and help, the problems she faced recently had driven it out of her causing her to resign. It was suggested that the Parish Council should stop responding to those individuals and simply get on with the good work they are doing ie “cease and desist” and if they continue to cause issues then maybe seek legal advice.
Adrian Joel. Adrian Joel has stepped down as District Councillor after 24 years. On behalf of Old Buckenham residents and councillors, the chairman presented Adrian with a bottle of whiskey as a thank you for his many years of hard work in the post. Adrian Joel thanked everyone for their kind words. He had many good and bad times as a District Councillor but is particularly proud of his recent achievement at getting new homes for local residents/workers/families in the village.
District and County Councillor’s report. As a resident of Old Buckenham for many years, Stephen Askew was sad to hear about the problems faced by the Parish Council, including the low numbers of parishioners that regularly attend meetings. The Green, which used to be cut for hay, is now looking great. As a District and County Councillor, he has also received some abuse emails but just have to ignore them as you can’t please everyone.
Since Adrian Joel retired, he was happy to be back as District Councillor again. One focus has been to improve broadband in the area. Very pleasing to see it improving (slowly) and that its just down to BT to complete the work. Steve Milner added that only one exchange box was planned for Old Buckenham and that now it is up to eight, including Stacksford. Stephen Askew added that the website Better Broadband is a good source for advice on internet speeds.
Village Green. The Parish Council has a lease to manage the Green. Originally it was set at five years but has been proposed to extend it to 20 years in order to encourage long term investment. It also helps with funding and grant applications. The lease has already been signed by the Green Right Proprietors and the Lord of the Manor and now just requires a Parish Council signature. A parishioner added that Manor Pond is overgrown with algae and weeds. These are going to be dealt with but the treatment requires the correct temperature and water level. The slope into the pond will also be graded to allow easier access for wildlife. Sarah Dye explained that they have been advised not to include donated plants to the ponds due to the risk of contamination, etc. Another parishioner thanked everyone in the community who contributes to the management and upkeep of the Green, including the man who cuts the grass by St Andrews Close. However he objected to the extension of the lease as he felt that it was unfair for the parishioners who might struggle financially to support Green maintenance. A proposal was passed on to the Parish Council in which he suggested the Green be purchased by the Parish Council. The chairman explained that he would not sign the Lease Extension now and would add it to the next Parish Council meeting agenda.
Other items raised. Steve Milner wanted to highlight recent road safety news. There is an active group on Cake Street who monitor the speed of vehicles entering the village. Some 15% to 20% of the cars monitored were speeding. A grant of £1600 has been awarded to help purchase an electronic sign to display drivers’ speeds and which are proven to reduce speeds. Four locations have been selected so far: Abbey Road, Cake Street, Hargham Road and the B1077 approaching from Attleborough. A parishioners highlighted an issue with a car being driven excessively fast in front of the Ox and Plough on several occasions who has been reported to police. Steve Milner explained that if this occurs regularly, then collect date/time information and then the police can attend to try and catch them. They cannot act simply on the public’s word but must witness it themselves. The police attend and monitor on Cake Street due to the Speedwatch team’s initial work in monitoring speeds. Recently 23 people were caught speeding outside the Chapel on Hargham Road, some of which were village residents. When asked if there was any way to monitor the size of vehicles using a road, Jonn Hicks explained that the police won’t do anything as it is Trading Standards which have placed the weight restriction on Hargham Road but are not enforcing it. The only thing the public can do is take a photo of the lorry/company and the registration only. “No Construction Traffic” signs are to be asked for Hargham Road and Abbey Road when the Attleborough SUE work begins.