Chair: Steve Saunders
11 members of the public were present.
1. Apologies:
2. Previous Minutes:
3. Matters Arising:
4. Chairman’s Report:
5. Treasurer's Report:
6. Planning:
7. Boughton Fen:
8. Minutes of meetings on CD/ Minute Book:
9. Elections:
10. Church Support:
11. Road Conditions:
12. Correspondence:
12. Other Business:
14. Next Meeting:
Pam Wakeling
Present: Paul Coulten (Parish Clerk and Treasurer) Councillors Frank Reid, Steve Short, Pam Wakeling, Pam Watkinson
Received from Mark Pogmore
Minutes of the meeting on 17 January were received and accepted.
No matters arising which did not come up elsewhere on the agenda.
Chairman’s report: the chairman thanked all those who have served on the Council since the last election. He also wished to thank Councillor Trevor Manley from the Borough Council, who had attended several of our meetings over the period.
A precept of £1095 had been received, and a £70 donation from Mr and Mrs Faherty towards the mowing of the churchyard. The current account holds £1593.20 at the moment, and the reserve account holds £1677.15. There were various expenses to come, eg petrol, and insurance. Geoff Proctor and Tam Payne had agreed to pay a nominal rent for the gravel and chalk pits situated on their land, and a figure of £50 was agreed for each. The parish insurance was due on June 1st, but this would come under the newly elected council after the elections. A Jazz Picnic had been arranged by Paul Coulten as a fundraiser for the village, to be held on July 7th. The church project would be able to run a raffle at the same event in aid of their funds. The accounts would be ready for presentation at the Parish Council AGM after May 3rd.
Several applications had been refused – Park House –the development would be outside the village envelope and would set a precedent if allowed. Back of Rose Cottage – issues of access. On the Green – judged to be inappropriate for the site – Clerk to enquire about the current work on the site. Laurel House ( conservatory) and Walnut Tree Barn ( pool room) had been passed. Bell Corner – permission had been granted for the reduced design but this had not been sent back to the Council.
There had been no contact with Ian Levitt. English Nature’s funds had been reduced and a staff position had gone, so not much hope of progress. The chairman was trying to fix a date, which would come under the umbrella of Parish Council insurance if the working party went ahead. He was also asking for a scheme of work from Ian Levitt, so that planning could be more efficient on working party days. There was no further progress with the poplars at the bottom of Oxborough Road, and the chairman was trying to contact Malcolm Crook.
It was agreed to send the Minute Book to Norwich Records Office, together with a copy of the CD produced by Kevin Fisher and Peter Agate/ So far the sale of CDs had produced £160 to go towards the cost of grass cutting.
Would take place on May 3rd. Eight people were standing for seven places on the Council, so an election was required. The chairman thanked Pam Watkinson and Steve Short, two of the original councillors who have served for four years but are not standing for re-election.
The chairman wished to re-iterate the support of the Parish Council for the project to reorder the church. After some discussion it was agreed to leave support to individual councillors to decide for themselves, after a more detailed plan had been presented if lottery funds were made available for this to be done.
Water is still seeping continuously along Stoke Road. Concerns were expressed that this might be directly linked to the rapid drop in the level of the pond in the village. Frank Reid had contacted Anglian Water about this and arranged that they would come to the village to do tests to establish exactly what was happening. Andrew Faherty would also be available when the testing took place. Concern was expressed about the poor quality of the road reinstatement after the sewerage works had been completed, and the chairman reported that Martin Edmonds from the Highways Dept was actively pursuing this with Barhale. There was also a request that the signs alerting people to the sewerage project should now be taken down.
Guidance for candidates and agents; model code of conduct for councils; Police authority funding letter re funding of PCSOs.
Frank Reid reported that Barry Ovel and Dave Cooper had now joined him in keeping the public grass areas cut. Thanks were expressed.
The date of the Parish Council AGM was fixed for Monday May 14th.