Old Buckenham PC meeting in July

Latest council discussions

These notes were written by the blog editor from the draft minutes so may contain information that is amended at a later date.

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 1 July at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall. Present were councillors Steve Milner (Chair), Adrian Joel, Terry Cook, Naomi Bailey and Mike Farrington. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk), County Councillor Steve Askew and five members of the public.

Apologies for absence. Jonn Hicks has resigned from the Parish Council. There were many thanks from everyone for the all the hard work he has put into the Council over the years. Steve Milner will chair this meeting and councillors will look at re-electing a Chair at their next meeting in September. Both Ben Devlin and Andy Nicholls had sent their apologies.

Minutes. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 3 June were approved (5 in favour). There were no matters arising.

Financial matters. The Community Account balance is now £30,050.77 including a £500 loan repayment from the Village Hall Management Committee. The AGAR forms have been submitted to external auditors before the due date. Payments of £1541.99 were approved (5 in favour) that included audit fees, payments to community car drivers and various maintenance work.

Public participation relating to agenda items. A resident wanted to highlight the many issues with 3PL/2020/0578/O Appeal application. They felt strongly that the Parish Council C should not approve the document up for approval due to its major differences with the original design and that it should be treated as a new application. The resident also highlighted that this new documentation was only bought to public attention because they found it and highlighted the issue to the Planning Inspectorate. They had also personally organised a full traffic survey of the road which showed the majority of cars speeding as they travelled towards Attleborough, which contradicts the information in the original official traffic survey which was completed during lockdown.

Another resident highlighted the poor condition of the Recreation Area grass, which had grown too long to play football on and urged action to get it cut as soon as possible. A further resident explained that they had tried and failed to request a road sweeper to clean the road outside the new development on Fen Street as it had been left in a poor state. A drain was also blocked with mud, etc, outside the new bungalow. Rachel Noyes and Steve Askew to investigate. A resident also explained that they were concerned that the new development on Fen Street was slightly different to the original plan and had left a large plot of land on the end. Rachel Noyes to contact Breckland Planning to query this.

New planning applications. Albemarle House, The Green. Ground floor extension to rear/side of property and roof top extension partially within retained roof space to create an additional second floor of accommodation (3PL/2021/0823/HOU). No objections. Proposal to support was approved (5 in favour).

The Gamekeeper Public House, The Green. Proposed single storey link extension to rear of property with entrance porch canopy and insertion of dormer window to form fire escape at second floor level to rear roof elevation (3PL/2021/0759/F and 3PL/2021/0760/LB).

No objections. Proposal to support was approved (4 in favour, 1 abstain).

Old Buckenham Country Park, Doe Lane. New cabin to replace existing polytunnel for fitness and well-being centre (3PL/2021/0908/F).

No objections. Proposal to support was approved (5 in favour).

Scales Farm. Change of use from agricultural building to office use (3PL/2021/0742/F). No objections. Proposal to support was approved (4 in favour, 1 abstain).

Rear of 41 Hargham Road. Erection of single storey dwelling and two bay cart lodge (self build) (3PL/2021/0830/O). The Parish Council had previously objected to development of this site. Councillors felt there was not a sufficient entrance to the property. It is also located opposite a difficult junction with Fen St, which could cause problems. A proposal to object was approved (5 in favour).

42 Fen Street. Single storey side and rear extensions. (3PL/2021/0947/HOU). Councillors were very concerned about yet more construction traffic on Fen Street which has tested residents’ patience recently. A full Traffic Management Plan (TMP) would be required in order to keep the road clear and clean at all times. A propose to support, subject to an approved TMP, was approved (5 in favour).

Appeal. Land west of Attleborough Road, north of the property East View. Outline application for 5 residential dwellings. Application reference 3PL/2020/0578/O, Appeal reference: APP/F2605/W/20/3264207 and appeal start date: 12 February 2021. The Parish Council has been asked whether a new document, showing a new design for the development, should be accepted by the Planning Inspectorate. This document has only come to light after being highlighted by a member of the public who has also sought a new traffic survey. The Parish Council have only been given one week to provide feedback and this feedback needs to be submitted by midday on Friday 2 July. It was proposed to object on the grounds that there are such significant differences to the original that it should be a new Planning Application. The new traffic survey data shows the true dangers of the road and the public should be given the opportunity to see all this new information in a new application. This proposal to object was approved (5 in favour) and the Parish Clerk to submit report to Planning Inspectorate.

Planning decisions by Breckland Council. The following applications have now been considered and the applications have been approved.

Laurel Tree Centre, The Green. Change of use of consultation osteopath clinic with 1 bedroom flat to one residential dwelling (3PL/2021/0634/F).

West View Farm, The Green. Convert the existing barn into one dwelling to include the demolition of adjoining existing hen house and erection of side extension and the creation of a new access (3PL/2020/1500/F and 3PL/2020/1501/LB)

45 Fen Street. The removal of the existing conservatory to the rear of the dwelling with a new single-storey extension and a new two-storey extension to the front of the dwelling (3PL/2021/0681/HOU).

The following application has now been considered and the application has been refused. Westward, The Green. To convert Clay Lump Barn to residential dwelling (3PL/2021/0570/F).

Two Wheel Tuesday complaint. Breckland Council have been notified and are investigating if there have been any breaches of Covid rules. Need to see full report in order to make informed decisions and will discuss at next meeting if it is still appropriate. Also received complaints about noise and parking around the village. The clerk to look up original agreement regarding rules including marshalling and the chairman will talk to the Ox and Plough owners regarding speed and noise.

Working Parties organisation and participation. With resignation of Jonn Hicks, the Parish Council is down to seven councillors. It needs to have a big push on recruitment before the next meeting. The issue of Working Parties organisation will then be addressed once there are more councillors. All councillors were asked to encourage residents to consider being a part of the Parish Council. They will promote the subject on their website, Facebook and in village newsletter as well as organisin a leaflet that will be delivered to every resident. It aims to hold co-opting interviews at the next meeting on Thursday 2 September.

(Mike Farrington had to leave meeting early)

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. There had been a proposal from the Green Working Party to consider planting of trees to mark the event. The Parish Council will hold a village meeting to gather lots of ideas of ways to celebrate including any tree planting and will decide on an overall plan after this meeting.

Handyman/grass cutting. John Fernihough (Green Working Party) has proposed a couple for small village maintenance jobs including strimming around signs, benches etc. They have experience of similar work and will work at the same rate of £12.50/hour. There may be a larger amount of work required initially but then will be about one day’s work a month in future. John would also manage them and the work required. They also have the relevant insurance in place. A proposal to accept this was approved (4 in favour). The Recreation Ground is in urgent need of cutting. Andy Nicholls has proposed (via email) that Stuart Barker has previously cut it and could do so again. May require several cuts initially but will then be cut once a month after that. Proposal to accept this was approved (4 in favour).

Clerk’s report. Hargham Road will be closed to traffic on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 July at junction with Ley’s Lane. Bill and Cecilia Wardman memorial bench to be installed outside Almshouses on Thursday 8 July. A couple of queries had been made about the existence of a Welcome Pack. The clerk to go through and update any information and ask residents to notify the Parish Council of any new neighbours who might require it. Concerns received about the oak trees on Hargham Road by new development site and whether they need to have Tree Protection Orders. The clerk to enquire about the process with the Breckland Tree Officer. A query has been received about whether Ragg’s Lane is an official footpath and if not, how to adopt it. Enquiry was passed to Terry Cook who was being advised by the Countryside Access Officer. The Officer could not find the relevant documentation and came to the conclusion that the relevant documentation was not available online. Therefore, the advice was to contact the Legal Orders and Register Team. This has been undertaken but no response has been received. Planning application 3PL/2021/0544/PIP has gone to the Planning Committee on Monday 5 July. The Parish Council can send a representative to speak but decided it was not required.

Green Working Party (GWP).The GWP meetings have resumed. Reports of these meetings will be attached to Parish Council minutes.

Road Safety. The SAM sign has been moved to Cake Street. There are still issues with producing graphs from the data being collected.

Play Area. The old tractor has been removed by Phil Littleand and the new tractor to be installed in week beginning12 July by Playdale. Exact date of installation will be publicised beforehand.

Councillors’ reports. Steve Askew announced that work outside High School for footpath and flashing signs is still on track for completion over the summer holidays. Grass has been cut on Puddledock Corner to help drivers’ visibility. He is chasing up pothole work and any new street signs that are required.

Adrian Joel said there had been reports of rat poison around the allotments but none had been found when visited. Also there have been some break ins to sheds recently and damage which has been reported to police.

Terry Cook reported that a meeting took place between three Highways representatives, two Norfolk County Council representatives, two representatives from Sapientia Trust, our County Councillor, two Village Hall representatives, one Primary School Parent representative and one joint Parish Council and Village Hall representative to discuss the condition and responsibility of the road that leads to the Primary School and the Village Hall. After much discussion, it was concluded that the Sapientia Trust were responsible for its maintenance and would need to arrange repair work. Norfolk County Council still needs to ascertain who has responsibility for the ditch at the side of the access road. When the Sapientia Trust has made further enquiries into parking and traffic measures, they will be reporting back.

Naomi Bailey said that sixteen scarecrows signed up so far and reminded everyone that the event takes place from Saturday 24 July till Saturday 7 August. She has made good progress on posters and information for the phone box and has been getting help with information about tree and flower species found on Green.

The next Parish Council meeting to be held on Thursday 2 September 2021 at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.

Please note that there is no meeting in August.