Latest from Old Buckenham Parish Council

 Parish Council in October

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

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 3 October 2024 at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Methodist Church. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Ali McWilliam (Vice Chair), Stan Burton, Steve Gowers, Doug Irons and Pete Twissell. Apologies for non-attendance had been received from David Taylor and Lesley Evison. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk) and seven members of the public.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 5 September were approved (5 in favour, 1 abstain). Also the minutes of the extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday 17 September were approved (4 in favour, 2 abstain).

Financial matters. Payments of £2249.45 were approved (6 in favour). These payments included £85 on room hire, £408 to William Morfoot Limited, £1200 to Stuart Barker and £449.45 to the community car drivers.

Councillors’ reports. Doug Irons said he had obtained three quotes to purchase paper for newsletter. He is happy to purchase the paper and claim money back. A proposal to accept the cheapest quote was approved (5 in favour, 1 abstain).

The Terms of reference for the Green Working Committee have been drafted and will need approval at next meeting. There is a need to meet with the Clerk to deal with share point for central access of documents. An FOI request has been received by the Parish Council. It has been responded to and we are dealing with the request. New email addresses had recently been created and he wished to know if councillors wanted to change to these. Naomi Bailey wished to keep things the same for now but keep the emails for potential future use.

Pete Twissell could not attend the meeting with the Village Hall Management Committee but sent thanks for use of the post box. Enquiry had been sent about getting a second key cut which they are happy with.

Stan Burton had received an email enquiring about drainage on land. East Harling drainage board should clear ditches every year. He will chase up. He has also found the drain by Ottomer Pond but needs a digger to gain better access to pipe which can then be adapted to control the water level in the pond. Propose to approve the investigation stage of the project which will involve hiring of a digger (copies of public insurance liability to be sent to Naomi Bailey before work commences) with a maximum spend of £250 towards the project. This proposal was approved (5 in favour, 1 abstain).

Steve Gowers said the Speedwatch Group and the police had a Day of Action across Norfolk and Suffolk in September. The police turned up three times and was a very positive day. Have a meeting coming up with police where data from the SAM sign will be shared to better inform them of times of day and speeds involved. Cake Street has become a road of concern due to the speeds some people drive there. He has the magnets for the Play Area gates but still collecting quotes for repairing hole by roundabout. Naomi Bailey has received call from County Broadband recently who would like to make a donation of £500 towards Old Buckenham playground. Steve Gowers is to also look at topping up rubber chippings.

Naomi Bailey has received call from a Village Hall Management Committee member. They are getting fed up with emptying the red bin on the recreation ground as it frequently contains dog waste. She will publicise and send out requests not to use for dog waste. While a dog bin at this location has been rejected by Breckland before, she will contact Breckland to see if a solution can be found.

At the last Saturday surgery four members of the public attended. One member of the public requested an extension of 30mph limit to the entrance to Doe Lane due to lack of footpath and increasing numbers of people walking between the village and Country Park. Have contacted Highways but they have stated it is not possible.

Have contacted George Freeman MP for updates following meeting regarding flooding in the Spring.

Need to start looking for someone to start taking on the monthly production of the village newsletter. The Parish Council will help publicise and co-ordinate a recruitment campaign. Update request about radar tower awaiting response..

Would like to acknowledge that there is concern around village about flooding this winter after recent rainfall and not wanting a repeat of last year. Would like to reassure villagers that there are ditches being cleared, etc, around the village, to ensure better drainage.

Fence at back of Recreation Ground (alongside Chapel Green entrance road) is starting to fall into disrepair. Previously believed this to be Chapel Green School’s responsibility but it transpires that it is the Parish Council’s. Pete Twissell to arrange for more hedging to be planted and work with the school.

Have been in contact with a company to investigate the feasibility of the suggested plot of land for a graveyard. They were able to complete a preliminary desktop check. There is significant expense just to get preliminary checks and surveys completed. No grants available from Breckland. Graveyard Working Group will have a meeting due to the high volume of work and information.

Rachel Noyes has arranged for road closure requested for Remembrance Day. Will need to arrange traffic cones/signs. Stan Burton may be able to arrange a PA system. Ali McWilliam explained that after doing some reading, there is a need to ensure the service is inclusive to all faiths. Rachel Noyes to contact All Saints church about the arrangements for this year’s service.

Defibrillators have had a maintenance check. Will need to order and install two new sets of pads. Will be completed as soon as possible.

Have contacted Solar Farm to update contact details and begin enquiries about the building schedule. No reply yet, will chase up.

Initial email sent to last year’s provider of the village Christmas Tree but no response yet. Will continue to collect quotes but also need to establish desired height of tree. Doug Irons explained that the tree will be in a different location this year due to need to have a power supply. Businesses around the Green have been approached and Harrow and Fearne have agreed to provide electricity to the tree which can then be placed on corner of the Green. The Parish Council will cover cost of electricity. Switch-on date will be Sunday 8 December. Rachel Noyes to arrange PAT test of tree lights.

County and District councillor Steve Askew said the new Highways engineer is quite proactive and so lots happening in background such as drains being cleared. He has discussed the Cake Street scenario with him but it will take a while to get things done as there was a lot of inaction before. Attleborough Road corner needs dealing with and is going to be assessed properly. Wants to get the right things with the steps opposite the Stud entrance and will take a little bit of time due to volume of work. Will get to it as soon as possible, possibly with a different design. However, the Parish Council won’t be putting any more money towards it. Rachel Noyes enquired about a Highways speed limit review scheme. Fen Street was put forward but wasn’t selected.

Planning applications. There have been no new planning applications, no amended applications and no planning decisions by Breckland Council.

Review of Code of Conduct. (OBPC Code of Conduct Rev A.pdf). Steve Gowers highlighted page 5 which refers to expecting “respectful behavior from the public” and stated that this should also be highlighted on the website. A proposal for this to be done was approved (6 in favour).

Review of Data Protection Policy. (OBPC Data Protection Policy Rev A.pdf). This was approved (6 in favour).

The GDPR Record Retention Schedule (OBPC GDPR Record retention Schedule Rev A.pdf) was also approved (6 in favour).

Review of the Grants Policy (OBPC Grant Policy Sept 24 Rev A.pdf). Steve Gowers suggested the policy should be sent out with an application form and the application form should include a tick box to show they have read and understood it. This was approved (6 in favour).

Precept Grants 2025/2026. Last year a total of £3,575 was spent on Precept Grants. With the high cost of living, there was a question about whether the total Grant amount should be capped as any increase would cause an increase to residents’ Council Tax. Councillors all felt that a cap total of £3500 would be fair. Some application forms have been quite vague previously but the Parish Council do require a clear break down of what the money would be used for and calculations of the amount. Receipts will also need to be provided for the work. Application form to be updated to include bank details for payment. Applications for Precept Grants for 2025/2026 will be open soon with a deadline of Friday 29 November. Application forms can be downloaded from the website or requested from the Clerk.

Pump and pump fittings. Lesley Evison currently has the pump purchased last year, along with long section of flat pipe. If the pump is required this winter, then additional fittings and a solid section of pipe are required (they were borrowed last year). Stan Burton estimated £60 for the fittings. Proposal to spend up to £200 to purchase fittings and pipe was approved (5 for, 1 abstain). Trees on corner of the Green. A resident has contacted Naomi Bailey as large tree branches are frequently falling in to his garden. The tree has previously been identified as having ash die back and requiring work. Resident has offered to hire a contractor to make the tree safe and is happy to keep the wood, with Parish Council approval. Ali McWilliam explained that the Parish Council needs to prioritise trees that are causing risk to people and their homes. A proposal to allow Ben Devlin to deal with the identified trees to make them safe was approved (6 in favour). Village Country Fayre. A resident has contacted the Parish Council as they feel that there is a lot of demand in the village for some kind of summer country fayre. They are happy to lead the group and find a date/plan that works well within the village. Naomi Baily would like to organise a village meeting to assess interest and plans. Public participation. At the last meeting there was a statement about the Community Car drivers not going outside Norfolk. Naomi Bailey explained this was an idea that the community car drivers were going to discuss but the Parish Council has not heard anything since. New legislation around graveyards has been published which may impact on Parish Council research on a new graveyard site. One resident stated that police did not catch anyone speeding on Cake Street during their visits. Steve Gowers explained that they often act as a deterrent and that the data from the SAM sign will help police identify peak periods of speeders on the road. Road signs at Harlingwood Lane junction are covered with greenery and need cutting back. Where is the other end of the drainage pipe from Ottomer Pond? Stan Burton will find its exact location and ensure no flooding is caused by the pond overflow pipe. Would the Parish Council consider getting sand/sandbags in preparation for any flooding this winter? Naomi Bailey explained that she could access sand quickly if needed. She would look at obtaining some empty sandbags which can be stored. There has been an escalation of parking on the Green, which is causing damage and will get worse over winter. Residents are looking at funding posts themselves but need help understanding where the utilities run. Rachel Noyes to investigate a possible option.

Items for next agenda. These will include Abbey Road posts, Graveyard, Christmas tree switch-on, Remembrance Day Sunday arrangements, Ottomer Pond, dog bin on the Recreation Ground and Allotment payments.

The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 7 November in Old Buckenham Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.