These notes have been written by the newsletter editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 5 March in the Village Hall. Those present were councillors Jonn Hicks (Chair), Steve Milner, Adrian Joel, Terry Cook, Ben Devlin and Andy Nicholls. Apologies for absence had been received from Mike Farrington.
Also in attendance were Rachel Noyes (Clerk), Stephen Askew, a County Broadband representative and nine members of the public.
The minutes of the meeting held in February were approved (3 in favour, 3 abstain) and there were no matters arising from these minutes
Financial matters. Community account balance was £32,005.48. Income received (from sale of wood) £60.
Payments amounting to £2,328.07 were approved (6 in favour) which included rent for the allotment site, cutting the grass of the village Green and a bat inspection needed before work could be done on a tree on the Green.
There had also been a VAT reclaim of £2,802.95.
Planning. (All planning applications are available for viewing on the Breckland District Council planning portal – www.breckland.gov.uk/article/2933/Search-Planning-Applications. Parish Councillors have been asked by the chairman to view the new applications in advance of the meeting).
New planning applications. Land to the west of 49 Hargham Road. Permission in principle for the erection of 4 dwellings (Town and Country Planning) Permission in Principle (amendment) Order 2017 (3PL/2020/0117/PIP). This application had been previously withdrawn. Now includes a footpath. Some councillors and parishioners felt that it was already a dangerous road and did not need any more traffic adding to it. Others felt that the applicants had listened to advice and a footpath for pedestrians was now part of the plan. It was highlighted that the application should go straight to the Planning Committee (because of the applicant’s position) but there was no date given online. It was also felt that despite being a PIP application, there was little information about the proposed size and approximate location of the dwellings. The Parish Council also felt that the proposed footpath should be approved and built first to ensure it is actually completed. The clerk is to contact Breckland Council with feedback on these application issues and seek confirmation regarding the Committee hearing.
Apple Tree House, Church Lane. Demolition of west side lean-to. Demolition of front wall to the front porch to create open fronted canopy. Construction of a single-storey flat roof extension to the rear and small canopy porch to the east. Installation of ground source heating (3PL/2020/0150/HOU). The council agreed to support the application (6 in favour).
Land adjacent Caldcleugh, Cake Street. Dwelling under construction at The Old Asparagus Field. Revised access location to dwelling approved under ref 3PL/2018/1014/VAR (3PL/2020/0171/F). Highways had concerns during initial application about access. Therefore access was moved to the side via an existing track and the application was approved on this basis. The Parish Council felt the need for consistency and did not support the application (5 in favour, 1 abstain).
17 Hargham Road. First floor extension and ground floor infill creating a 1½ storey dwelling with annex accommodation and erection of detached carport (3PL/2020/0189/HOU). The council agreed to support the application (6 in favour).
Planning decisions by Breckland Council. Bramble House (formerly Karmel), The Green. Two storey side extension, single storey rear extension, garage extension and change of roof direction (3PL/2020/0016/HOU). This application has been considered and the application has been approved.
Ox and Plough lease. As proposed last year, the fee for the lease of a set area of the Green to be raised in line with inflation. Therefore it will rise to £550 for next year, payable in two instalments. This was approved (5 in favour, 1 abstain). Public Liability insurance details to be sent to the Clerk.
County Broadband update. A representative from County Broadband provided an update. Currently they had 61 pre-orders, 159 are required. Currently 14 villages are at ‘approved to build’ stage. Banham and Old Buckenham are still in pre-order stage and have until review date of Monday 4 May to collect as many orders as possible. An EDP press report stating Old Buckenham had signed up was incorrect and was corrected once bought to the firm’s attention. If signed up, community hubs such as the Village Hall, churches and the Church Rooms will be provided with free internet (schools are more difficult to provide for as it is arranged by councils, etc). Some villages in Essex are now up and working and can provide reviews of the work. A village meeting had been planned for Tuesday 10 March starting at 7.30pm in the Village Hall to provide an opportunity for residents to ask any questions they have and to learn about the technology. The Clerk is to highlight this meeting on Facebook.
Committees for councillors. These have been brought up to date:
Personnel Committee: Steve Milner, Ben Devlin, Mike Farrington.
Play Area Working Party: Steve Milner, Jonn Hicks, Kerry Talbot (resident).
Recreation Area Working Party: Jonn Hicks, Andy Nicholls.
Road Safety Working Party: Steve Milner, Mike Farrington, Andy Nicholls, Mike Bartlett (resident), Trevor Crooke (resident), Lucy Womack (resident)
SNAP: Steve Milner.
Attleborough Development Partnership: Adrian Joel.
Old Buckenham Village Hall: Terry Cook.
Allotments: Adrian Joel.
Parish Council website: Steve Milner, Rachel Noyes.
Old Buckenham Green Rights: Andy Nicholls.
Almshouses Trust: Ben Devlin.
Village Green Working Party: Gemma Frost (resident), Andy Nicholls, Sarah Dye (Green Right Proprietor), Allison Frank (Green Right Proprietor), Terry Cracknell (Lord of the Manor), John Fernihough (resident), Adrian Joel.
Eleemonosynary Trust: Jonn Hicks.
Public Rights of Way (PROW): Steve Milner, Terry Cook.
Chairman’s report. He will be arranging a meeting regarding May’s Craft and Food Fair in the next few weeks. It will be advertised when a date has been fixed. He is awaiting two quotes for a secure gate through to the MUGA at Chapel Green School from the village hall car park. The parish noticeboard by the village shop will be fixed with new corkboard. The Annual Parish Meeting will be on Friday 24 April starting at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
Road Safety. The SAM sign is currently being converted to Bluetooth for easier and safer downloading of data. The mobile SAM sign is also in use at the moment.
Play Area. Apologies were given for the delay in completing this work as the weather has been too wet to proceed.
Recreation Area. It is still too wet to roll the grass for a new football pitch. Andy Nicholls is to order new goal posts.
Councillors’ reports. Steve Askew reported as Breckland and County councillor. Gravel by Rod Alley Pond has been laid. Lights by the crossing have been fixed to reduce reflections into nearby properties. Potholes on Grove Road have been repaired twice. There is an issue with the drainage and currently seeking approval for works. Church Lane has been flooding with recent heavy rain although it thankfully clears steadily once the weather improves. He has been pushing for date for works but as it is a major scheme, it is in a group which is selected by priority. As water is not entering properties, etc, there are others that will get priority. Parish councillors highlighted drains that need clearing on Cake Street and on a broken drain cover on Mill Road that needs replacing as it could cause bad accident.
Terry Cook wished to thank both Steve Askew and Steve Milner for pushing so much to get the pot holes sorted on Grove Road as they were very dangerous. He also mentioned the play ‘Canada Boys’ that will be performed at the Village Hall on Wednesday 8 April starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked by ringing 07880 660444 or emailing bookings.obvh@gmail.com.
Steve Milner had attended a seminar about Public Rights of Way (PROW) with Terry Cook. It had been very useful and informative. Old Buckenham needs to start working on maintaining and improving the public rights of way and so he has started a new Working Party to work with community groups to map, tidy up and publicise our rights of way. Ben Devlin mentioned the track from the Gamekeeper and the schools which has become very busy again with parking and being used as a cut-through resulting in lots of potholes. Highways are responsible for the track.
Items for next agenda. These will include the use of the village Green for events, a communications strategy and jobs that will need doing over the next 12 months.
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 2 April at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.
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