Draft MInutes West Dereham PC July

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE WEST DEREHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT WEST DEREHAM VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30 pm ON THURSDAY 7 JULY 2016 PRESENT (5 Councillors): - Pam Bullas (PB), Lorraine Hunt (LH) – Vice-Chairman, Paula Kellingray (PK), Pam Walker (PW), Claire Williams (CW). Clerk: - Sarah Thorpe Borough Councillor Sandra Squire (SS) 9 members of the public were in attendance. Papers presented to Councillors: (i) Financial Management Report (spreadsheet); (ii) Expenditure (for approval); (iii) Glazewing report; (iv) Information on Parish Partnership Scheme; (v) Comparison of prices for telephone box paint. The Vice-Chairman welcomed everyone present and opened the meeting.

1. Apologies for absence. Apologies had been received from Claire Cann (CC) who was on holiday, Tom Foy (TF) who was away with work; and County Councillor Brian Long (BL) who was away at a conference.

2. Declarations of Interest. No declarations were made.

3. Use of social media, audio recording of meeting and invitation for public contributions. LH asked “Will anyone present be filming, recording, blogging, or tweeting during this meeting?” No member of the public present at this stage advised that they would. LH advised members of the public that if they wished to comment on any item, before a decision was made, they should raise their hand and they would be invited to speak.

4. Minutes of the Parish Council meetings held on 2 June and 5 July 2016. LH confirmed all Councillors had seen the minutes of the Parish Council (PC) meetings held on 2 June and 5 July 2016. These were agreed as a true record and signed by the Vice-Chairman.

5. Reports. 5.1 Chairman’s Report. 5.1.1 Allotment Inspection. LH reported that this took place on Saturday 4 June by three Councillors (LH, CC, PB) and the Allotment Liaison Officer (ALO). The Clerk had written to three plot holders (5B, 8A, 8C) as these were neglected and overgrown with weeds. Councillors asked the ALO to keep vacant plots together as the PC would like to monitor the number and length of time plots had remained vacant. The income and expenditure of maintaining empty plots should also be considered with a view to making a recommendation of how many plots the PC makes available for the future. The next inspection is 3 September. The PC thanked the ALO for his continued support. 5.1.2 Flies. LH reported that many parishioners would have been caused discomfort by the influx of flies over at least the last six weeks. Some residents had passed on messages to the PC and had also taken action by contacting the Environment Agency (EA). The PC had learned from the Glazewing (GW) report that they had noticed an increase in flies and had carried out a number of treatments to address the situation. Whilst it has been acknowledged there had been a problem, there had been no apology and it was proposed that a letter be sent to GW to inform them of the impact this has had. This was to come up for further discussion on the agenda under item 5.7. PB reported that she had spoken to the EA on 5 July who had advised her that they had contacted GW about the problem and been informed that they had taken pest control measures the previous Saturday (2 July). The EA would be visiting the site and would provide feedback to all residents who had contacted them about this issue. The PC and residents felt that the situation had now improved. It was also reported that the Community Safety & Neighbourhood Nuisance (CSNN) team at the Borough Council (BC) had been contacted but they had advised that an increase in flies was normal for this time of year. 5.2 Clerk’s Report. 5.2.1 Neighbourhood Plan. The BC had now completed the consultation on the Neighbourhood area. The PC was awaiting a reply from them regarding any comments they had received. Contact had been received from two parishioners who have expressed an interest in joining a working group to help produce the Neighbourhood Plan. 5.2.2 Local Council Award Scheme. The PC was very pleased to report that they had been awarded the “Quality” status of the award and a presentation for this would hopefully take place by Norfolk Association of Local Councils at the next PC meeting. Thanks were expressed by the PC to the Clerk for her work on helping the PC to achieve this award. 5.2.3 Devolution Meeting. The BC had advised of a briefing meeting for PCs to provide further information on Tuesday 12 July at the Town Hall in King’s Lynn. LH agreed to attend the briefing. 5.2.4 A134 additional signage regarding HGV weight restriction. This had now been installed on the approach to Lime Kiln Road from the Stradsett direction. 5.2.5 Village Gateways. Highways had advised that these should be installed by the end of July 2016.

5.3 Handyman’s Report. The Handyman had strimmed around the footpath at the junction of Church Road/Lime Kiln Road; cut brambles back from the bridge leading to The Row, wire brushed and started painting these railings; strimmed the verge to The Row and carried out his monthly inspections. It was reported by PW that the bridge leading to The Row was looking good. A parishioner raised a query regarding the overgrown verges. It was explained that cutting of the verges was carried out by Highways and that due to budget cuts they had decided to reduce the number of cuts this year but a cut should be taking place shortly. The parishioner advised that verges were cut on a fortnightly basis in a nearby village; it was felt that this was most likely being carried out by the PC rather than Highways and it was agreed that the Clerk would contact this parish to make enquiries on this matter. The following issues were reported by members of the public at the meeting which needed attention around the village: Footpath needed cutting from Chequers Cottage to Brooks Lane. Clerk to ask Handyman to contact CW for details. Nettles around telephone box on Church Road need to be strimmed. Clerk to ask Handyman to action.

5.4 Police Report. PK advised that there had been no information from the police on any reported crimes in the parish since the last PC meeting.

5.5 Village Hall Report. PK advised that the village hall continued to go from strength to strength and was about to start a seven week period of activities.

5.6 Broadband Report. PW advised that she had received a further update from Karen O’Kane (KOK) from Better Broadband for Norfolk (BBfN) which had advised that most of the work was now complete for the cabinet on Church Road and the rest of the work should be completed by the end of July. It was hoped that the new cabinet would be live by September. PW advised that she would chase up issues that had been reported to her from some residents who were currently receiving an extremely limited service.

5.7 Glazewing Report. Richard Stimson (RS), Compliance Manager, at Glazewing (GW) had provided a monthly report for the PC meeting. The report stated: “Flies & Odours: We have seen an increase in number of flies on site, we have tried a numbers of treatments and pest control companies to address the situation. We are currently using a pest control company to spray the site twice a week with insecticide, this appears to be working. In addition to the spray we are adding an odour neutraliser to suppress any odours. We will continue this treatment through the summer months. Litter Picking & Road Sweeper: We have a person litter picking once or twice a week. The road sweeper has been out of service for a couple of weeks, we are awaiting parts. Vehicles in and out of site, we continue to remind all drivers regarding access routes and speed limits.” It was agreed that a letter should be sent to GW advising them of the discomfort and expense that the flies had caused residents over a number of weeks and that GW should offer compensation to residents that had been affected. PB had provided a first draft of comments to be included in the letter. A parishioner advised that parts should be easily available for the road sweeper and could not see why it should be out of service for a couple of weeks. It was noted that the GW report showed the volume of material entering the site, since the beginning of the year, was significantly higher than the volume leaving the site. A discussion took place on whether GW were complying with their license for waste disposal and SS agreed to speak to BL about this as this was a county matter. It was also noted that GW had not responded to the lack of inclusion in the June report of an incident on Hilgay Road, which had been reported to them on 9 May. A parishioner had contacted the PC on 14 June to advise of an incident involving a van that looked seriously overloaded on Hilgay Road which had been reported to GW but had not been included in their report.

6. Finance. 6.1 Accounts. Accounts for approval and the monthly financial management report were submitted by the Clerk. She advised that the income and expenditure for May 2016 had now been confirmed and estimated figures for June had been inserted based upon invoices received. Payee Cheque No Net VAT Gross Peter Morley Forestry – Garden of Remembrance improvements 100873 2915.00 583.00 3498.00 Clerk’s salary, expenses for June – 47 hours 100874 629.43 629.43 Post Office Ltd – PAYE for April-June 100875 5.40 5.40 Handyman’s contract, expenses plus 10 hours for June 100876 101.70 101.70 CGM Ltd – ground maintenance May 100877 323.72 64.74 388.46 Anglian Water – cemetery supply March-June 100878 12.90 12.90 BCKLWN – annual rent for recreation ground 100879 5.00 5.00 Total 3993.15 647.74 4640.89

The payments were considered and approved. Cheques to be signed at the end of the meeting.

6.2 Automatic enrolment – The Pensions Regulator. The Clerk advised that the accountants who handle the PC payroll had suggested the PC use NEST as their pension provider in order to meet the legal requirement for automatic enrolment. NEST was free to join and the PC was not required to make any contributions, as the Clerk’s salary was below the threshold for employer contributions; however a direct debit mandate needed to be signed as part of the application process to join the scheme. It was agreed by all that the direct debit mandate should be signed by two authorised signatories for the bank account at the end of the meeting.

7. Planning. Applications. None Decisions. None

8. Village Assets. 8.1 Purchase of paint for telephone boxes. Information had been provided on quotations for prices of the specialist paint which was required to repaint the telephone boxes. These quotations were on display at the meeting and the matter was discussed. It was decided that 5 litres should be purchased and the cheapest quotation was £57.91 from Paints4trade.com. It was agreed that the Clerk should contact a company in King’s Lynn to ask if their price was cheaper and LH could collect if this was the case; however if not then an order should be placed with Paints4trade.com.

8.2 Maintenance contract for Cemetery. To be carried forward to the next meeting as still awaiting the quotation.

8.3 Cemetery gates. The gates and pillars were now in place however the gates would shortly be temporarily removed by the manufacturer to fit another latch and the pier caps would be installed by the builder as soon as they were received from the supplier.

9. Internal Affairs and Policies. 9.1 Standing Orders. The current Standing Orders, which had been sent to all members prior to the meeting, were reviewed. It was agreed that no amendments were needed at this stage and that the item could appear on the agenda again next month if the Chairman wished to make any amendments. 9.2 Action Plan for 2016/17. The draft document had been sent to all members prior to the meeting and was on display at the meeting. The Clerk advised that she had updated the plan with actions that had taken place since it was last reviewed in April 2016. It was briefly discussed and agreed that the footpath mentioned on page 2 was located on Church Road not Station Road and that this should be amended. It was agreed by all to adopt this document.

10. Norfolk County Council (NCC) Parish Partnership Scheme (PPS) for 2017/18 An explanation of the scheme was provided for the benefit of parishioners present. The Clerk explained that the scheme was to support parishes and towns to deliver local highways improvements in partnership with NCC with the PC being able to bid for 50/50 funding for a variety of schemes which were displayed at the meeting and had been provided to members prior to the meeting. Bids needed to be made by 16 December. A cycle rack, to be located at the village hall, and a footpath for part of Station Road were suggested. Options were discussed and a parishioner raised a query regarding the funding that the PC had available for any projects; information was provided on the PC budget and reserves. It was agreed that an item should appear in the next village notice asking for comments from parishioners.

11. Correspondence. 11.1 Information from the BC on changes to the provision of information and advice services in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk from 1 July 2016. The news release provided to be displayed at the village hall and on the PC website. 11.2 Notice of a price increase in electricity for the PC street light. 11.3 An email had been received from a member of the public regarding public consultation on the improvements to the Garden of Remembrance, the use of safety fencing during the improvements and the budget to maintain the cemetery. A reply had already been issued from the PC which provided a full explanation of the timeline of events and consultations leading up to the improvements works and the future maintenance of the site. 11.4 An email had been received from a parishioner asking for information on the regulations regarding overnight parking of HGVs in a layby on Church Road following an incident where a vehicle had parked overnight. The PC had investigated this matter with Highways and advised the resident that there were currently no restrictions on overnight parking in this area and suggested that the resident keep details of any further incidents to see if this became a regular occurrence and if it did the PC could contact Highways again and ask for them to reconsider the situation.

12. Other Business – Any additional reports and items for inclusion on the next Agenda. 12.1 PW advised that she had recently attended an Internal Drainage Board meeting but there had been nothing of relevance to WD at the meeting. 12.2 PW advised that she had recently spoken to some members of the public that were causing a noise nuisance and acting in an anti-social manner by driving cars and bikes along The Row at an inappropriate speed. She had advised them to leave or she would call the police. It was agreed that any such incidents should be reported to the police.

The official meeting concluded at 8.40pm, and was opened to the floor for general comment. Open Forum. • Incidents of speeding vehicles on Church Road were raised and a query regarding when the Speed Activated Messaging (SAM2) sign would be installed and the locations it would be sited at. Information was provided on the request for parishioners to put forward possible sites in the last two village notices; the Clerk had kept a list of all suggested sites which would need to be discussed and approved by Highways before the PC could arrange for posts and the sign to be installed. It was agreed that any incidents of speeding should be reported to the police. • It was suggested that in light of some of the very large agricultural machinery used in the village, and the narrow roads in some places. consideration should be given when deciding on the locations for the SAM2 to ensure that it was not damaged by these large vehicles. • A query was raised regarding the item which appeared in the village notice a few months ago for volunteers to set up a Community Speed Watch scheme in the village. It was explained that a scheme was not set up as no volunteers had come forward. PK advised that schemes that had been set up in neighbouring parishes had been forced to stop due to the level of abusive that volunteers had received from motorists.

Closure. The Vice-Chairman thanked everyone for attending, and final closure of the meeting was at 8.53pm. Next PC meeting is on Thursday 4 August 2016 at 7.30pm with Open Surgery from 7.00pm. Clerk: Sarah Thorpe Email: clerk@westderehamparishcouncil.uk Telephone: 01945 430930

Chairman’s signature …………………………………… Date ……………………………