Old Buckenham Parish Council minutes

February 2023 minutes

These notes of the meeting were written by the editor of the village newsletter from the draft minutes and so may contain material that is changed at a later date. 

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 2 February in Old Buckenham Village Hall. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Terry Cook, Ali McWilliam and Andy Nicholls. Apologies had been received from Doug Irons. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk), County and District Councillor Steve Askew as well as seven members of the public.

Minutes of the January meeting were approved (3 in favour, 1 abstain) with the following amendments: Rachel Noyes’ payment should be £536.30 and consequently total payments were £1768.50. Also draft Precept is £790 higher than last year.

Financial matters. Community account balance is now £32,860 including £800 from NCC for community car scheme. Payments for approval amounted to £3357.78 and included Suggitt Farm Services £600, JC Frost & Co (allotments) £450, Robin Steel (clearing allotments) £1,490 and NALC (training course) £72.

Proposal to approve payments, apart from Suggitt Farm Services, agreed (4 in favour). Proposal to approve Suggitt Farm Services invoice, once approved by Green Working Party, was also agreed (4 in favour).

Councillors’ reports. Ali McWilliam had attended NALC course for ‘Becoming an Effective Councillor’ which she found was very useful and informative. Terry Cook reported that the Village Hall CCTV extension has been approved and will be installed shortly. Will have no blind spots and give coverage around the entire building, including the approach road and entrance to the Primary School.

Naomi Bailey was contacted by Norfolk County Council about a scheme to install electric car charging points at Village Halls by a pharmaceutical company whose fleet of cars were all electric. The Village Hall would be interested in pursuing that possibility and will liaise with the Parish Council as more information is provided. The ‘No through road’ sign on approach to Sunnyside Farm is upside down and this will be reported. A pot hole at Mill Road/The Green has been identified for repair but has not been completed. Steve Askew explained that during discussions with a Highways Officer, it was acknowledged and is due for repair soon. She has picked up SAM sign equipment from Jonn Hicks. Will charge up the battery and get it moved very soon.

The Clerk said potential Sites of Development for the Local Plan have been published. Two sites listed in Old Buckenham: Hargham Road and Attleborough Road. Both these sites are outside the village boundary and are identified for a possible two houses on each site. Broken manhole cover reported Hargham Road/Bakers Lane. Flowers and a card passed to Venuka who ran the village shop for 20 years to thank her and her family for all their hard work over the years. Welcome Pack delivered to new shopkeeper. Two Community Car drivers have stepped down. There are now four drivers in the village. This service is well used to drive residents to medical appointments. If anyone is interested in joining, please get in contact. Medical forms for drivers to get have just been published by Breckland.

Defibrillators have had a general maintenance check. All in good order but will need to purchase new electrode pads later in the year. A filing cabinet of old Parish Council documents needs moving from ex-Councillor’s home. Clerk and RFO have no space to store it. The Clerk sorting through and tidying up the files and Naomi Bailey to ask Village Hall if they have space. Contacted Breckland about possibility of having a dog bin in the vicinity of the Village Hall. Breckland replied that a bin could be placed there but as it is private land, there would be a charge of £268.55 a year (£22.38 a month) to empty it. The Clerk to enquire further about any sites nearby which would not incur a charge.

Resident informed Clerk that the refuse bin lorry was driving down footpath from High School and removing wooden posts to return to the road. Reported to Breckland. The Chair to enquire about missing padlocks on posts and replace if necessary. The Clerk contacted about possibility of hosting a classic car event on the Green. Will gather full details and liaise with David Tranmer to ensure no clash of events. Through a third party, there was a request about foraging on the Green. While there is no immediate issue for an individual to forage, there may be issues if then used in food that is sold. Would also have to ensure no ecological impact.

Green Working Party wants to investigate the location of the outfall drain in Ottomer Pond, which cannot be located. Request to spend up to £500 to dig a trench and see if drain can be located. Councillors felt that as this hasn’t been a significant problem in the last few years and that it could be the start of a lot of work and money being spent as this was not presently required.

Prince Harry’s Wood update. Have contacted Breckland about whether they would be open to the possibility of only transferring the woodland and not the grass areas of St Andrew’s Close. They were not keen as it was a change to the original agreement and would cost a lot more in solicitor fees to change it. Also requested that an area of brambles,which should have been maintained to be grass, be cut back. Breckland agreed to complete the work. Tree Survey will be completed this week and will include Prince Harry’s Wood to help give a rough understanding of work that will need doing in future.

Trial car park times in Attleborough have been adopted: Queen’s Square has three hours for free (30 minute extra for disabled users) and looking at a trial of extending to four hours. Edenside and Horse Pit car parks will trial nine hours for free. Batteries can now be recycled weekly from home. Need to be placed in small clear bag (eg freezer bag) and placed on top of green/black bin each week. Do not place bag in the wheelie bin as they are to be collected separately.

Steve Askew had been informed about the correspondence about possible changes to agreement of Prince Harry’s Wood transfer. He felt Old Buckenham Parish Council had agreed to take these areas on, so was not happy to see changes to the agreement. Naomi Bailey explained that as residents had raised concerns, the Parish Council had a duty to explore all possible options. Additionally, she wants to be satisfied that everything is in a good state before signing, as per the agreement, and that Breckland have been very helpful in ensuring all maintenance work is completed.

New planning applications. There were no new or amended applications to discuss.

Planning decisions by Breckland Council (for information only). The following applications have been considered and the applications have been approved. Poplar Farm, Fen Road. Variation of Conditions No. 2 and No. 3 on 3PL/2020/1009/F: Introduction of external staircase to access balcony, as well as changes to the external materials [3PL/2022/1036/VAR]

 Poplar Farm, Fen Road. Change of use of land from agricultural to residential in order to accommodate a new site access [3PL/2022/1150/F].

The following application has been considered and has been refused. Land opposite Arenal, New Buckenham Road. Use of site for storage, cutting and timber log distribution business (certificate of lawfulness - existing use) [3PL/2022/0434/EU].

King’s Coronation. Grants available of £200 from Breckland towards flagpoles, as part of the King’s Coronation celebrations. The Parish Council had considered purchasing a flagpole previously so would be worth while taking advantage of the grant available. Councillors felt the best location was by the War Memorial as it could be a part of Memorial events as well. Terry Cook highlighted the need for an internal lanyard to ensure there is no noise during windy weather for nearby residents. The Parish Council don’t believe planning permission is required for a flagpole that flies the Union Flag, but Clerk to confirm. Andy Nicholls explained that an aluminium pole would be required to minimise future maintenance work and would need to be slightly taller than the War Memorial (estimated requirement of 8 metres). A proposal of a budget of up to £1200 towards the pole and flag purchase, delivery and installation was approved (4 in favour). The Clerk to arrange flagpole and complete grant application.

Grants are available from Breckland Council for community groups, but not Parish Councils, for up to £500 towards community celebrations. David Tranmer has started organising a village celebration for Sunday 7 May as part of the King’s Coronation celebrations. Music and food are arranged and will look at organising something for the children, eg fancy dress, face painting. Councillors felt it would be good to purchase a commemorative gift to help remember the event. Out of the options available, a commemorative teaspoon was the most popular with Councillors and residents present. A proposal to purchase 300 commemorative teaspoons for the children of the village, Almshouses residents and elderly residents was approved (4 in favour).

There is a Big Help Out planned by the Palace for Monday 8 May. Need to look at activities around the village that volunteers can help with. Rachel Noyes to contact local community groups to enquire about any other planned events in order to compile a schedule of events in the village.

Allotments. The overgrowth has been cleared but still some rubbish to be removed. Ali McWilliam to check site to see what still needs doing. Clerk to arrange for tap casing to be repaired. Landscaper who completed work will propose a maintenance plan for the work already completed.

Parish Council Election arrangements. Every four years, the Parish Council requires Councillors to be nominated and elected to the Council. Notice of Election will be published on Friday 24 March and Clerk to publicise. Councillors have until 4pm on Tuesday 4 April to hand deliver their completed nomination form to Breckland offices. Nomination forms and guidance are available from the Clerk/Breckland website. Andy Nicholls and Terry Cook explained that they are not looking to stand at next election as they are struggling to commit their time. This may leave the Parish Council without a quorum of four Councillors which would result in Breckland Council managing the Parish instead. Clerk to write article for newsletter, website and social media publicising election and the urgent need for new Councillors. Clerk to enquire about full consequences for the Parish Council not having a quorum.

CiLCA Qualification. Rachel Noyes attended free informal session to learn about the Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA). This would be a Level 3 Qualification, take a year to complete and would be an investment by the Parish Council to ensure that the Clerk has strong knowledge of the various aspects of the work involved. There are various costs involved including training, the qualification, books and Clerk’s time, which would total over £1000. There are two enrolments during the year: March and September. A proposal to support the Clerk’s completion of CiLCA qualification was approved (4 in favour).

Public participation. The Attleborough Heritage Group and Archive may be able to help store any of the old PC documents, if required. During initial discussions with Breckland about Prince Harry’s Wood, the grass areas of St Andrew’s Close weren’t mentioned. They were only added to the discussion during Breckland’s meeting with Parish Council. John Frost may be able to help with the location of the Ottomer Pond drain. Pleased to see the Parish Council is supporting and collaborating with David Tranmer’s organising of the King’s Coronation celebrations.

Items for next agenda. These will include Flagpole, Coronation update, including list of jobs for volunteers during Big Help Out, allotments (Robin’s plan), Gamekeeper and Recreation Area fencing.

The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 2 March at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.