Notes on March Parish Council meeting

 Meeting on Thursday 6 March

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

Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 6 March. Those present were Councillors Naomi Bailey (Chair), Doug Irons (Vice Chair), Stan Burton, Lesley Evison, Steve Gowers, Pete Twissell and David Taylor. Also present were Megan Elvin (Clerk), Donna Oakley (RFO) and Stephen Askew (District Councillor) as well as eight members of the public. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6 February were approved (7 in favour).

Financial matters. Available funds were £29,340.95. Payments for approval totalled £3,118.11 and included Almshouses Trust Grant £500, TH Fencing & Landscaping £1,184, Clerk £304.20, community car drivers £95.80 and £18.51 for water at the allotments. Suggit Farm Services not been paid for last year as Parish Council did not have the invoices and £3,600 is outstanding. Once invoices have come through, approval was given for paying straight away (7 in favour).

Councillors’ reports. Steve Askew  said he will get an assessment done on Fen Street and 30mph limit through his own members budget. This should measure speed and types of vehicles. If assessment meets criteria needed then they can proceed further. Weight limit assessment is different all together and would cost more money. So for now just going through the speed limit assessment. Breckland Council have grant money available for VE and VJ day applications so need get applications in now. Devolution is currently up in the air’ As far as Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council are concerned it is business as usual. Both presented balanced budgets. Tough timelines given to the council to give preferred timelines. Final submissions in September 2025 and looking for 2026 elections.

Breckland’s local plan has new targets which has increased amount by half a million again. Will need to look for significant amount of housing throughout the district. Should this take place; what Breckland are envisioning to do is to put a call out for sites where people can assess. They would like to engage with parishes in a greater way and have an event at Breckland inviting a few parishes at a time where maps will be at tables and where they can take ownership with Breckland on where they can put more housing. Call for sites should go out by the end of March 2025. As a Parish Council he would suggest being pro-active about it rather than saying we don’t want anything as it could then be taken out of our hands when deciding where new houses would be.

Naomi Baily had attended meeting at Primary School regarding parking due to the posts being put in and parents not being able to park. Seems that it is starting to get sorted out. They asked what the solution would be. We do not have to provide them a car park but she has spoken to the landlord of the The Gamekeeper. They are going to allow parents to park there for pick up and drop off only, not all day parking. She is looking to arrange another meeting with the High School regarding parking. Spoken with Stuart Barker regarding the Handyman job. He is happy to do this again this year and would like to tie up with the Green Working Committee to discuss this and looking to the end of March/April time finalise this.

Stan Burton reported that he had cleared up broken silver birch by the phone box. Also cleared up some branches that were getting close to the road. There are twenty posts left over from those posts that were put into Reggies Way and are now at his house. Pump is now working.

Steve Gowers said the CPR and defibrillator training is going ahead on Monday 10 and Saturday 22 March. NARS is a charity and he proposed the Parish Council give a donation of £100 per session.  This was approved (7 in favour). Another volunteer had come forward for the Community Speed Watch and another is pending. He has been meeting with Highways regarding Cake Street and also given ok to do a weekend Speed Watch.

He had now done the Playground course. Inspections should be done weekly and records of the inspections to be forwarded to the Clerk and a hard copy kept in the office at the Village Hall. He asked if our insurance does cover the playground and Doug Irons is to check this.

The Clerk, Megan Elvin. has received a request to post the agenda in the phone box for residents who do not have access to the internet. This will be done in future. Also received a request for temborary signage to be put on the Green for the Station 144 Bistro Café at the Aerodrome. Councillors agreed that this can be done. She had her initial Clerk training in February. Was advised by the training to purchase book called ‘Arnold-Baker on Local Council Administration 13th edition’. This was referred to being a Clerk’s “bible” and has all the up to date legislation in it. It costs £178.40 direct from the manufacturer. Purchase was approved (7 in favour).

Our subscription to Office 365 on the computer has ended. If we renew on a business plan, there are two options to use. Basic which would just be access to the web apps of Outlook, Word, Excel, etc. Standard allows desktop versions of these that we have now. Both versions include Teams and identity, access and user management for 300 employees. Basic costs £55.20 per year + VAT and Standard is £115.20 per year + VAT. Agreed to go for the standard plan (6 in favour).

Planning applications. All planning applications are available for viewing on the Breckland District Council planning portal. Parish Councillors have been asked by the chairman to view the new applications in advance of the meeting)

New planning applications. Robert Cocks Armshouses. Raising of Ridge Line and Parapet Coping In Association With Proposed Re-Roofing & Removal of Modern Chimney Pots on planning permission 3PL/2021/1650/LB (PL/2025/0159/LB). No issues and proposal to support was approved (7 in favour).

3 Mill Cottages, Mill Road. Demolition of existing, fire-damaged outbuilding. Date of fire: 10th December 2024. Reinstatement of the outbuilding with the scale, form, overall height and footprint to match that of the existing building prior to the damage – light commercial level as a family-run business from home (PL/2025/0167FMIN). No issues and proposal to support was approved (7 in favour).

21 Hargham Road. Single Story Extension (PL/2025/0208/HOU). No issues and proposal to support was approved (7 in favour).

Decision on the allotments. Lesley Evison had spoken to Allison Hannah and apologised as unable to do anything. Steve Gowers had spoken to those who have allotment and who have advised to close it now or close it at the end of the year. It was proposed to give notice that the allotments will be closed by the end of 2025. This was approved (7 in favour). Invoice the holders that are there now for the year and also pay the land owner for this year. Formal notice when paying this invoice to be given by Doug Irons to land owner saying that we will no longer be carrying on with the allotments.

Green Lease Committee. Should use of the Green be required, the Lease agreement should be signed. Should any section of the lease not be carried out, then a fine can be carried out and termination of the lease agreement. The committee have taken on board the concerns from those in the village and have amended the lease accordingly. They have issued the following statement: "To whom it may concern: The Old Buckenham Parish Council is facing unwarranted criticism for a lack of support for local businesses. Remember we are always impartial. As leaseholders of the Green, we are simply seeking adherence to a signed lease agreements for use of the Green. The business in question, a lessee and not an owner, is failing to comply with the terms of that agreement. This discrepancy between their actions and contractual obligations is constant and time consuming, along with being difficult to reconcile or even understand. The Parish Council proactively revised the lease agreement through extensive behind-the-scenes work and collaborative discussions with all involved parties. These efforts have resulted in a mutually agreed-upon resolution of previous differences. Key terms and conditions, while consistent with prior agreements, are now explicitly defined, eliminating ambiguity and ensuring transparency for all. If a renewed agreement for TWT is approved, rigorous monitoring will be implemented, and any non-compliance is breach of that agreement and will result in immediate termination of said agreement."

The Solar Farm. The clerk is finding out the latest progress and will report back at the April meeting.

The Weather Radar Tower. The clerk is finding out the latest progress and will report back at the April meeting.

Update on the Church Yard. Steve Gowers is in the process of setting up the meeting regarding this and waiting for people to confirm when they are available. Naomi Bailey has spoken to a current tenant on the land. He can understand why we would want to have the land back however it would be a lot of money for the council to pay out. This is not an easy decision to make, we are trying to gather the facts before making a decision. Need to find out within the lease as the land we are proposing to use brings in money into the council or the charity. Doug Irons will be asked to confirm this. Have been asked that if we are looking to turn the parcel of land into the cemetery, would we be able to also put allotments on this area as well? Unsure if we can do this – will need to look into it. We will need additional funding from the church to cover the costs.  

Training for Councillors. The Clerk to keep an eye on new dates for suitable training.

Review of Lease Agreements. This is to be reviewed next month

Pump for the pond. The pump for the pond is now fixed and running. The sump now needs to be dug out and the water pumped out. If it empties where the drain is then we should know where the water comes from. Left for Doug Irons and Stan Burton to sort out.

Parish equipment. A list is being drawn up. Stan Burton has the trailer, pump, Christmas lights and posts. Stuart Barker has the lawn mower. The coffee shop has the strimmer. Stan Burton and Pete Twissell are to send a full list to the Clerk and Donna Oakley.

 Eleemosynary Trustee appointment. There is a need to appoint another trustee . Lesley Ivison and Naomi Baily are already trustees. No qualifications required but ideally someone that has lived in the village for at least ten years. Request to go into the village newsletter, on social media and websites to request this.

Village Hall as a Emergency Rest Centre. Breckland Council have asked if the village hall could be considered for use in a national emergency. The Clerk to pass this request on to the Village Hall Management Committee

Post box for Parish Council. Need to consider acquiring a new post box for the Parish Council at the Village Hall. The Clerk to liaise with Pete Twissell regarding this and confirm with the Village Hall if this would be allowed. It was agreed in principle to have a separate Post Box and this was approved (7 in favour).

Prince Harry’s Wood. There was a need to re-sign the Land Transfer of Prince Harry’s Wood confirming that the purple marking is also part of the land being transferred.  The document was signed by Naomi Bailey.

Pot holes near Post Office. The drain outside Wardman’s house was blocked up by leaves. The pot hole is on the bend where vehicles turn and they are pushing dirt up and into the drain and causing a blockage. Stan Burton to look at taking some rubble over to the pot hole to fill this up.

Approval of lease. The approval of lease of part of the Green to David Tranmer was agreed in principle when fees and paperwork in order.

Public participation. A member of the public asked what will the next step be once we have found where the water should drain out of Ottomer Pond. Once we have found out everything, we will need to liaise with the planners and land owners regarding the next steps to organise drainage. Putting six months maximum on this to get it sorted.

Next agenda. Items should include hedge rows at Puddledock, Churchyard update, Green Working Committee update, Solar Farm and Radar Tower updates and also VE and VJ day celebrations.

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