Old Buckenham Parish Council in July

 Much discussion took place

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

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 6 July at 7.30pm at Old Buckenham Village Hall. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Ali McWilliam, Doug Irons, Paul Phillips, David Taylor and Lesley Evison. Apologies had been received from Steve Gower and Pete Twissell.

Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk) and three members of the public.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 1 June were approved

(5 in favour).

Financial matters. The Community Account balance is £26,325.90.

Payments for approval included £129.80 to community car drivers, £250 to village handyman, £600 for Green cutting, £153.82 for new dog waste bin and £35 for an internal audit. Total payments of £2,073.22 were approved (5 in favour).

The AGAR forms were submitted to the external auditors before the deadline.

Councillors’ reports. Lesley Evison said that an overgrown hedge on Hargham Road requires cutting back as it currently sticks out and forces pedestrians towards the road. The Clerk is to write to residents concerned.

Paul Phillips reported that he had recently received complaints about Two Wheel Tuesday (TWT) which he had passed on to the Clerk. They were received after an exceptionally busy week and centred around noise, safety of cars around playground, access to properties and quality of driving in neighbouring villages. Additionally, he was notified that the Green is Common Land and not a Green. (The classification of the Green was discussed later as separate item). Ali McWilliam had also received a complaint about cars and vehicles being parked all over the roads, including around the playground. Photographs were taken and the issue raised with David Tranmer of the Ox and Plough. Attended the following week and Mr Tranmer had responded by adding marshals around playground and traffic cones near the junction. Marshalls were not always being listened to. The noise is a bit of an issue, but it has always been there. They were using the original entrance on to the Green for the bikes.

Naomi Bailey, having been notified about complaints from councillors and attended the following week. Parking was a little better as marshals ensured residents could still access properties. However, Abbey Road was very congested with parking on both sides. Mr Tranmer has amended his insurance policy for higher number of attendees (copy received by Clerk). Car parking is the big issue as it is all over the village. Will investigate an idea to use Village Hall car park so will contact all parties and see if an arrangement can be made. It is very difficult to control how bikes are ridden elsewhere. Paul Phillips explained that it is our responsibility to encourage safe driving. Councillors suggested having the police contacted about speeding/quality of driving. Article for newsletter to be written advising people to contact police regarding speeding issues.

Complaints had been received about grass in playground being too long and took long to cut. Received a phone call about Ragg’s Lane footpath being overgrown. The Clerk was also contacted by a separate member of the public about the same issue. She had contacted Highways and believes it has now been cut back. A hornet’s nest reported on Barkers Lane but needed greater understanding of location and advice on how to deal with it.

Doug Irons reported on the website. Starting to get a design developed and a template has been distributed to councillors. Any feedback/comments welcome. While an email address will be provided with the website, councillors felt it would be confusing to change so will stick with current one. Paul Philips and Doug Irons to collect drone footage of the village for use on the website.

Burial site was discussed. There is not much time left before churchyard will be full. Ex-councillor Terry Cook has found a landowner with a potential site. He explained that time is getting tighter. Regulations changed in 2020 and now requires planning permission and environmental licence (this has an initial cost and ongoing charges). Need to investigate how much land is needed, solicitors’ fees and environmental licence. Entrance, parking, etc, also need to be considered. Can’t be within set distances of water (ditches, wells, etc) and can’t be exposed to flooding. (David Taylor joined the meeting) Parish Council needs a sub-committee to address these issues. Ali McWilliam enquired about the size of current churchyard and how much would be required. Current church extensions are approximately ¼ acre, but an acre would be a suitable size for a significant amount of time.

Proposal for the Parish Council to investigate these options was approved (6 in favour). Sub-committee of Ali McWilliam and Naomi Baily to investigate the feasibility of graveyard in coordination with All Saints Parochial Church Council (PCC).

Rachel Noyes reported back on several subjects. The planning application for necessary tree work around the Green approved (from completed Tree Report). The Clerk and Green Working Party to breakdown the work required and collect quotes.

She had been notified about Attleborough SUE consultation events (details to be confirmed).

Currently the design for Manor Corner road crossing is with the locality designer. Further assessments of the new dropped area are being carried out and once this is done, it will be put through to contractors for final pricing and adding to the programme. The Parish Partnership Scheme 2024/25 has opened. Ideas and suggestions welcome.

Dog waste bin location agreed with Stud Manager. Bin has been delivered and installation requested. Will publicise when completed. Transfer of Prince Harry’s Wood completed on Friday 23 June. Land Registry is taking up to a year to update. Breckland Council has made contact with all Parish Councils about signs they have available for “No Dog Fouling” and “No Littering” which would be available at discounted rates if lots of Councils order them.

She had been contacted about whether the Parish Council approved car parking on the Green for a funeral. The Parish Council had no knowledge of this. While Councillors had no objections to this happening occasionally, it would have been useful to have been notified. Main playground gate magnet repaired. Thanks to Doug Irons for completing the work.

New planning applications. Arenal, New Buckenham Road. Change of use of site for storage, cutting and timber log distribution business, including extension to existing building for tractor/log storage and additional hard-standing area. Submission of additional material to address noise concerns (3PL/2022/0433/F). This was an amended application and Breckland have completed the noise impact report that the Parish Council requested. Councillors felt that the report was conducted over a small period of time.

Old Buckenham Parish Council. Installation of an 8m aluminium flagpole, 5m to the north-west of the War Memorial (3PL/2023/0421/F).

The Old School/Church Rooms, Crown Road. Proposed use of Church Rooms to include Class E (bookshop/cafe and sale of related merchandise) (3PL/2023/0398/F). Applicant was Book Bubble. Naomi Bailey explained that she didn’t realise that there was going to be a café and that it could be open until 10pm. It is a small road which struggles with current traffic levels (pub, church, playground, food vendors, etc). There are a lot of residents nearby and the playground so need to be mindful of parking. A member of the All Saints PCC explained that the Church Rooms have been run by the church for around 40 years. It has been let out to organisations and for events but that has never covered the cost of maintaining the building. Levels have dropped significantly since Covid. It is getting older and requires future work so decision was made to rent out long term. Usual opening hours will be approximately 10am to 4pm, with option to open until 10pm occasionally. The Church does not believe there will be a significant impact on parking. Initially will be open for a six month trial of just the bookshop. If that’s a success then will expand to offer tea and cake. Proposal to support was approved (3 in favour, 2 against, 1 abstain).

The Old School/Church Rooms, Crown Road. Three non-Illuminated Fascia Signs (Shop Signage/Front Elevation) and two directional road signs (3PL/2023/0399/A). This is a Consultation for Advertisement. Councillors had no issues with the sign for the building, as long as it was in keeping with the area. As the Parish Council decided to not have any rules/guidelines for signs on the Green, they felt they were unable to vote on the application. Doug Irons suggested purchasing a brown tourism sign.

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

Land at 608360 291240, Cuffer Lane. Change of use of land from agriculture land to mixed use of agriculture and leisure & domestic use (retrospective). Erection of fencing, entrance gate, bell tent, outdoor kitchen, chicken feed store, beehives, chicken feed store, chicken coop & earth bund and alterations to existing pond (retrospective) (3PL/2021/1690/F).

32 Hargham Road. Proposed Ground & First Floor Rear Extensions & Associated Alterations (3PL/2023/0462/HOU).

Old Buckenham Parish Council. 5m to the north-west of the War Memorial. Installation of an 8m aluminium flagpole (3PL/2023/0421/F).

Grass Cutting at St Andrew’s Close. Two quotes received for cutting of grass areas of St Andrews Close which have recently been transferred to the Parish Council’s ownership. Proposal to agree to Breckland/Serco’s quote was approved (6 in favour).

Skip for Allotments. Three quotes requested, only two responded. Proposal to accept option 2 was approved (6 in favour). Ali McWilliam and the Clerk to arrange dates.

Bench at Ottomer Pond request. Recent request received to place a bench in memory of a long-term resident who recently passed away. Guidelines for the bench and its installation were provided and the family member was happy with details. The Clerk to arrange and the proposal was approved (6 in favour).

War Memorial cleaning. Four quotes received for the work. The suggested methods of cleaning varied between companies and were either washing with warm soapy water or a steam clean. All companies explained that the stain (from bronze sword) is very difficult to remove and so cannot be guaranteed. The Clerk noted that the favoured option had a condition that additional costs may be incurred if scaffolding was required. She will continue discussions to establish exact costs, with a site visit if needed.

Management of Prince Harry’s Wood. Naomi Bailey suggested that Prince Harry’s Wood be included in the area managed by the Green Working Party (GWP). The budget for the GWP to be increased by £500 to accommodate any additional extra work. A proposal that the Green Working Party manage Prince Harry’s Wood with an additional £500 towards their budget was approved (6 in favour).

Classification of the Green. After Paul Phillips was notified that the Green was common land, the Clerk had started researching to find out as much information as possible about the matter as it could impact its use. Norfolk County Council was contacted to find the definitive map of common land in Old Buckenham. Further contact has been made to investigate the full details and she is currently awaiting response. She will continue researching and liaise with the Green Working Party/Green Rights Proprietors on the matter

Public participation. No matters were raised.

Next agenda. The classification of the Green will be included.

The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 3 August starting at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.