November 2007 minutes

ALPINGTON WITH YELVERTON PARISH COUNCIL

Meeting on Monday 5 November 2007 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall, Alpington

Minutes

Present : Chris Black (Chairman), Sylvia Ford (Vice Chairman), Bob Debbage, John Lain, Jerry Davies, Kevin Gotts and Jack Taylor.Also Present: Linda Gray (Clerk), Adrian Gunson, County Councillor, Sue Thomson PCSO Rackham and 7 members of the public.

                  1    Apologies:

 There were no apologies of absence from Councillors.  The Tree Warden Mark Trundle had been invited to the meeting but on this occasion was unable to attend.

Introductions – Chris Black welcomed and introduced Police Community Officer Rackham to the meeting.

2    Declaration of Interest – There were no declarations of interest

3    Minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2007 that had been circulated previously. There was a spelling mistake on page 443 item 11b Signs,  the last line should read ,” Jack Taylor seconded and agreed unanimously”, The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman.

4    Matters Arising

Grit Bin, the grit bin has been delivered, highways has agreed the siting and the school has been contacted.

Garrick Field, report for the annual inspection from Rospa had not been received.

Support for Bergh Apton Post Office, a parishioner brought to the attention of the Parish Council that Bergh Apton Post Office, after the latest consultation process for rural post offices, could be under threat of closure and require the support of the village.  The Councillors confirmed their full support to the campaign to retain the Post Office and all Councillors confirmed they had signed the petition available in the Post Office. Councillors discussed ways in which the village could support the campaign but until more information was available the Parish Council were unable to act any further.

                 Unitary Authority Bid for Norwich and Norfolk Both Councillors

                discussed this point and confirmed that a status quo was not an option the present structure of County Council and District Councils would change.  Parish Councils need to involve the local community and voice their opinions in the latest consultation. 

Sue Thomson, District Councillor reported;

                 Neighbourhood Forums – Neighbourhood forum would take place on

                22 November 2008 at Hobart High School where grants for local

                 projects would be discussed. 

                Adrian Gunson, County Councillor reported; Railings by the

                   Village Pond in Yelverton, after this had been raised at the last

                   meeting Mr Gunson had checked with Highways Engineers who

                   confirmed, the railings had not been previously maintained by them

                   and therefore were the responsibility of the Parish Council unless

                  evidence was produced to the contrary.

                 Speed limit on A146 – the implementation of a speed limit from the

                 Norwich side of Highway Nurseries to the Loddon side of the Slad

                  junction had been delayed.

                   Hobart High SchoolAll Weather Surface – the contractors have

                   finished installing the pitch and the school now awaits EDF to connect

                   the electricity supply for the floodlighting.Swimming Pool – Various 

                  options were in discussion; the school was keen for the pool to be

                  open for public use, in which case grants will need to be sought.

                 Hellington Corner – the resurfacing programme is complete but

                 queries had arisen over the positioning of some road markings.

Travellers/squatters – recently an empty house in Loddon was occupied, the squatters had been evicted by the Police, due to criminal circumstances in this instance, but ordinarily the Police are unable to reclaim such sites.  The public were asked to be aware and keep and eye on empty houses in the community to reduce the opportunity for squatters to move in.

                 PCSO RackhamPCSO Rackham attended the meeting to give the

                 Parish Council an overview of the Police and Police CommunityOfficers 

                 work in the area.  The PCSOs are committed to the Safer

                 Neighbourhood Scheme and intend to make more of a visual presence

                 in communities, they would therefore welcome residents to report any  

                 Antisocial

                 Behaviour to the Non-Emergency Helpline 0845 456 4567. 

               6  Correspondence: Tabled Separately

                Loddon Police Station Closure – The Police Station is now closed and

               the Police have a contact point at Hobart High School.  The public are

              asked to ring the Non Emergency Helpline on 0845 456 4567 to make

              contact with the Police at Hobart High School. 

Came and Company Insurance Company – Are a new insurance company offering insurance to Parish Councils.  The Clerk will contact and request a full quote from this Company requesting their regulations relating to the Disabled access to the pond and Use of gritting bins.

                        Payments proposed by Jack Taylor, seconded John Lain and

                    agreed unanimously

                   d 2008/09 Budget and 08/09 precept

Councillors discussed the figures provided by the Clerk relating to the budget forecast and decided to increase the precept by the current inflation rate of 3%.  This will increase the precept by £180.00 to £6,180.00.  Proposed Sylvia Ford, seconded Kevin Gotts and agreed unanimously.

Mr Rich from Durham Farm came to explain to Councillors points regarding his application highlighting the history of the use of the building, the change of use application, the situation of the building outside the development area of the village and the costs now placed on redundant buildings.   Councillors sympathised with Mr Rich regarding the Council Tax charges imposed on redundant buildings and thanked him for attending the meeting to explain the application.

                  Blockworks, Bergh Apton – Norfolk County Council had rejected  

                  the application on the grounds that the road structure would not 

                   withstand 100 Lorries per day and noise levels would be

                   unacceptable. 

9     Standing Orders – This item is ongoing.

10    Village Pond

a Inspection – Jack Taylor had completed the inspections forms and highlighted the following areas.  The bin at the pond is emptied fortnightly by the environmental team from South Norfolk.  The duck population is becoming a problem; Jack Taylor will contact the Countryside Rangers and Raz Wonacott at Norfolk County Council to discuss a resolution to the problem.            

b Signs – The Clerk had contacted the suppliers of the sign, they confirm it would be available shortly.

d Disabled access – The Clerk would investigate this issue with the Countryside Rangers and groups who represent the disabled and report back at the next meeting.

11     Play Area and Village Hall Land

                  Kevin Gotts and Chris Black had attended a training session provided

                  by Rospa and identified several points that need to be addressed

                  relating to the Play Area including the fence and gates, child protection

                  policy and CRB checks for Councillors.  Kevin Gotts requested to

                  purchase a book from Rospa that details all the specifications relating to

                  Play Areas.  Councillors agreed to this purchase. 

a Inspection – Kevin Gotts had completed the inspection forms.  Other than the areas already highlighted there were no further areas identified for attention.

b Maintenance of fence – After a discussion it was agreed that Kevin Gotts could instruct Practical Parfitt to commence works when the fence required attention.

c Bark top up - quotes for bark top up was discussed and agreed.  A working party would break up the existing compacted bark and spread the newly delivered bark.

d Youth Shelter – It was felt at present there was no demand in the village for a youth shelter and could potentially attract young people from adjoining villages.  It was agreed to remove this item from future agendas until a need is identified.

e Village Hall constitution updated – this item is on going.

12    Garrick Field

a  Monthly Inspection Report- John Lain had completed the inspection forms.  Areas that required attention were identified in the Annual Inspection Report.      

b Annual Inspection Report by Councillors – Sylvia Ford, John Lain and Bob Debbage had inspected the Garrick Field and were generally impressed with the state of the field and identified the following areas for attention.  New warning signs are required for the electrical meters and switches, the old Oak tree requires pruning, Japanese knotweed requires further work, benches and litter bins are required and the overhanging hedge of a neighbour requires cutting.

c  Football on the Garrick Field

The discussion that continued discounted the option of erecting a fence behind the offending goal posts.  A letter from the Football Club confirming the fixtures of the summer had been read out and discussed fully but without the presence of the Football Club to discuss the matter in full a compromise could not be agreed.  The Clerk to invite the Football Club to the next meeting.

d  Benches and Litter bins – The benches had been delivered and the Councillors

discussed and agreed on the siting of one bench to be near the Garrick Oak / Holme Oak.  The Parish Council will consult with neighbours to the Garrick Field for siting of the other bench.   Consideration was given to the gang mowing of the field when

siting was discussed.  The clerk will contact Kevin Parfitt to carry out the work and liaise with John Lain and Chris Black. Proposed Sylvia Ford, seconded John Lain, agreed unanimously.

The Trustees of the Garrick Field agreed to litter bins chosen by the Parish Council and generously offered funds to purchase two litter bins.  Councillors discussed and agreed the siting of the bins on the field to be close to the dug-out and close to the gate at the entrance of the field.  Proposed John Lain, seconded Bob Debbage, agreed unanimously.  The Clerk to order and contact Kevin Parfitt to install when received.

e Japanese Knotweed – John Lain reported that Norfolk County Services had not treated the field recently.  The Clerk had contacted Norfolk County Services in October and would contact again.  The Councillors agreed to the Knotweed to be treated at the discretion of the team at Norfolk County Services.

13    Meeting Procedure

Chris Black informed all persons present at the meeting that item number 5 exists for District and County Councillors to give their reports and for the public to ask questions relating to the District and Councillors Reports and the agenda for the preceding meeting and not general discussion.  There is also a time limit reserved for this item for five minutes per person.  

14     Affordable Housing Report

                   The Clerk had contacted the Rural Community Council but the report 

                    would not be received until the meeting in January. 

15      Diversion Signs From A146

Bob Debbage reported the problems relating to the lack of diversion signs being placed in the village by Police when accidents block the A146.  Motorists are diverted from the A146 into the village where they become disorientated and are unable to find their way toward Norwich/Poringland/Lowestoft.

PCSO Rackham was aware of the problem in the smaller villages and would report the difficulties the village is experiencing to his Sergeant.

Adrian Gunson was also aware of problems and would raise the issue with the County Council.

After a discussion Councillors asked the Clerk to make the Chief Constable aware of the problems arising in the village by letter and to ask for better signage.

16      Other Matters for consideration for future agendas

Football on the Garrick Field

Football Club rental agreement

17      Next Meeting to be held 7 January 2008

The meeting closed at 10.20pm