Geldeston Parish Council

 

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting

held on Wednesday 13th September 2006

At 8.00pm in the Village Hall

COUNCILLORS PRESENT:    P Cracknell;    M Fenwick;   J Crowfoot;    D Witham;   L Loffstadt

                                                  A Norman

                                                 

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PRESENT:               Canon Bestelink   (from 9pm)                 

                                                                                          

Minutes taken by Colin Barrett

1.      Apologies for absence:      S Rolt

2.      Declarations of Interest:           None

3.   Crime Report:      The clerk had circulated a Southwatch report indicating cases of rogue callers.
It was agreed that the clerk send a reply to advise that meter readers often arrive without appointment and some reported as without obvious signs of who they are.  It was also thought worthwhile including some warnings in the parish magazine.

4.   Minutes:

Parish Council meeting minutes of 19th July 2006
Amendments:  re para 5.1 to replace “Storey” with “Ansell”
                        re para 9 Snakes Lane add “past” before “land owners” and correct e-mail spelling

Acceptance as amended proposed by;   AN Seconded by:   DW         All agreed.         

 

 

ACTION

5.         Action Plan Progress
            AN mentioned that future editions are to be colour coded for ease of reading.

 

5.1.   Land management AN mentioned and proposed a consultant able to advise on best practice at a cost of £25. After discussion KL seconded this proposal. Agreed. AN to arrange

 

AN

 

 

5.2.    Snakes Lane List completed. PC & CB to review to determine who on list still available. JC still to advise CB on adjacent land ownership.

 

PC/CB/JC

 

5.3.    Footpath Group MF still interested in leading a team but not if this required much paper work. MF to try to arrange.

 

MF

 

5.4.   Playground repairs  Bridge repairs complete, fencing yet to be done, PC has spoken with Ian Ansell who will advise regarding his contact re further refurbishments.

 

 

 

  

5.5.   Dog bin provision.  Second bin now in place near the sub station at end of Kells Way. The clerk to inform SNC and request this be added to the collection/cleaning schedule.  For reference it was decided that should any more bins be purchased the post & groundlock assemblies are not required,

 

CB

 

5.8        Road improvements. Road near stables now under repair.

 

 

5.9        Composting. ¾ Ton had been collected the first week of operation and the site is proving very successful. MF to do a short article for the Parish Magazine. Posters were also to be considered.
A vote of thanks was agreed to Snowy, Graham, Brian & Alison for their recent hard work on the site.

 

5.10    Speed limits. JC tabled a resident’s letter regarding the amount of wildlife being killed on the roads and the desire to minimise this by reduced traffic speed. AN reminded members that it possible to purchase a hand held speed camera, although such devices cannot be used in prosecutions. Residents are to be reminded that whilst speed reductions will continue to be sought by council a further police speed check request will be made.

5.11    Pedestrian warning signs. The clerk to enquire with the County Council as to when these can be installed at the top end of West End.

5.12    Station Road speed limit. It was agreed that, although there are now plans for a pavement that the request for a 30 mph extension be held on file.

5.13    Road signs. Many are now obscured by overgrown hedges. The clerk to point this out to the County Council.

5.14    Parish Plan. Distribution now almost complete.

5.15    Flood Management. Meeting arranged for 19th September. The clerk away on holiday so AN offered her home as the venue. DW; PC; AN to attend. PC will contact Jim Bagley of SNC and request attendance of the appropriate agencies.

5.16    Local Development Framework. Nothing to report although there are numerous public consultation documents to consider.

 

 

 

 

 

CB

 

 

CB

 

 

 

 

CB

 

 

DW/PC/

AN

PC

6. Correspondence

Sent:                                                                                            

 NCC – re Station Road speed/pavement progress

 

 

 

 

 

Received requiring decision/Action
South Norfolk Home Watch – request for new co-ordinator for Geldeston – It was suggested R Gibson be asked if interested, failing that the clerk to place entry into the Parish Magazine.

Loddon on Call – First Response Scheme – request for donation. It was agreed that this service is directly available to Geldeston residents and has been very beneficial in the past. MF proposed a donation of £50; seconded by DW. In a vote there were 5 for the proposal and 1 against. Vote carried. The clerk to send a cheque and supporting letter.

Parish Clerk Forum 7pm on 24th October request for attendee nominations. No key issues identified.

NRCC – Community buildings questionnaire – (Passed via AN to B Norman?)

The chairman tabled a resignation letter from the clerk, to apply following the next May 2007 elections. The clerk had offered to resign earlier if a suitable candidate applied who would not need experienced support through the election process. It was agreed that the post be advertised in January and that the position regarding starting date and pay overlap be considered once the strength of candidates is known.

 

For Information:

EnCams – Town & Parish Guide to the Environment

NCAPTC – training course information & Norfolk Link July 2006 issue

Richard Bacon – Acknowledgement & thanks for copy of Parish Plan

SNC – Gypsy & Travellor Working Group analysis of accommodation needs.

East of England Regional Assembly consultation re gypsy/traveller needs

NRCC – signpost newssheet

NCC re Station Road progress – Clerk replies sent to give thanks & to press for haste.

NPFA – The Playing Field newsletter

Environment Agency – re Community Composting supportive comments

ODPM – Local Authority Bylaws discussion paper

WDC – Waveney Development Framework – first review

Suffolk CC – Minerals Core Strategy reports

NCC – Norfolk Matters newsletter copies

SNC – South Norfolk Housing Forum on 4th October  – Housing need and stock condition survey.

NRCC – Event details & Migrant Workers panel discussion 14th September. Dereham

SNC – The Green Sheet newsletter Sept 06 & LDF newsletter

SNC – East Area Planning Committee meeting date change to 13th September

SNC – Community News newsletter N0 1

SNC – Explanation of wheelie bin micro chip strategy

 

 

 

 

PC/CB

 

 

 

 

CB

 

 7.          New Issues:

 7.1.     Code of Conduct Concerns over the possible breaches by other councillors was raised by JC in various e-mails and notes since the previous meeting. In explanation he stressed that his concerns arose regarding the way proposers; seconders and nominees were put forward for election and co-option and that some councillors could have sought representation on the council for their own rather that the community’s benefit. Most members had since taken the opportunity to re-read the existing code and it was agreed that a major review of this be undertaken to determine what improvements might be necessary. The NAPTC are to be contacted to seek their advice on this.
AN to add this to the Action Plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CB

AN

 

8.   Parish 10

8.1   Lease of sports field. Canon Bestelink mentioned that there was yet another signature required and he would discuss this with the chairman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.     Committee Reports

Development / Parish Plan –    
Parish Plan – JC agreed to send the clerk a list of recipients and some spare plan copies for him to be able to satisfy any further request.

Notice Board – JC has bought this but Sir Philip Dowson is not keen for it to be fitted on the intended wall. An alternative location to be sought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JC

 

            Finance: -  The end of year internal review is outstanding. The clerk and PC to meet to complete this work and to enable the internal audit completion..

 

 

CB/PC

 

Emergency Planning –      Flood Alleviation – AN has a photo/map of compartment 25 (a) – The SSSI issues and proposed use of wetlands are not considered suitable; there is a high level of legal protection. Michael Falcon has advised that the Barsham side work was progressing without waiting for the Geldeston side issues to be resolved. It was agreed that these concerns be raised at the planned Flood Management meeting and BESL to be copied with any concerns unresolved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Village Hall –    Nothing new this month

 

 

 

 

10.  Finance
Monthly account statement for September meeting tabled and discussed.
Proposed for acceptance by PC                           Seconded by : AN                All agreed

Payments for approval: (See Finance Sheet)

No invoices received. Donation to Loddon on-call approved (see [6] correspondence)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.       Planning

55 The Street –file returned to the clerk at the meeting. Objections to be passed to SNC

69 The Street - Approved.

 

 

 

 

 

12.      Any other business -   Sports field - JC mentioned a few cricket matches had been played but the pitch condition was poor. There is need for some investment and to off-set the costs by some reasonable charging protocol. JC had received a water bill for this field which he will pass to the clerk for a response explaining that no water had been used for many years and that the system had been capped.

Kells Acre – Apparently the owner Mr Tattle has applied for permission for an alternative access for his vehicles. This is initially a problem for Saffron so no parish council involvement required at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

JC/CB

 

 

Meetings:

Next meeting:   18th October @ 8 pm.

 

Future meeting dates: 

 

15th November

No December meeting

 

The meeting ended at    9.55   pm

 

Proposed dates for 2007

 

17th January

14th February

14th March

18th April

May date to be determined to meet the 2007 election criteria

Following dates to be determined by the newly elected council

Geldeston Parish Council Income & Expenditure Statement September 2006