Stoke Ferry Parish Council - February Meeting MInutes

Page 1 of 5 STOKE FERRY PARISH COUNCIL Draft (until approved at the next meeting) Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Wednesday 5 February 2020 at 7.00 pm in Stoke Ferry Village Hall Present: Cllr Jim McNeill (Vice Chair) Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey Cllr Trudy Mann Cllr Gail Reeve Cllr Donna Stocking Cllr Janet Taylor Helen Richardson (Parish Clerk and Financial Responsible Person) Also, in attendance: Cllr Colin Sampson, BCKLWN Chris Philpott, Footpath Warden Public: 1 35/20 Emergency Evacuation Procedures was read by the Chair. 36/20 Openness and Transparency Notice - The Parish Council record the meeting. The Chair notified the public of this. The Chair also advised that any aggressive or abusive behaviour towards members of the Parish Council, staff or members of the public will not be tolerated. If this happens you will be asked to leave and if necessary, the meeting will be suspended. 37/20 To receive and accept apologies for absence – Cllr Sue Lintern (Chair) (Personal Reasons) and Cllr Mandy Leamon (Personal Reasons). Cllr Martin Storey, NCC had also sent his apologies. 38/20 To receive Declarations of Interest from Members on any item to be discussed - Cllr Jim McNeill declared an interest on the payments for approval item and it was agreed that he would not vote. 39/20 To approve the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting 15 January 2020 – The minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 15 January 2020 were proposed for approval as a correct record by Cllr Gail Reeve, seconded by Cllr Janet Taylor, four were in favour and two abstained due to be absent from the meeting. Buckenham Drive Land Transfer – The Clerk responded to the Borough Council as per minutes in November. The Clerk wrote to all residents in this area to inform them that any garden waste can be taken to the local waste site or via a brown bin that can be purchased from the Borough Council, but not to be deposited on the land behind. The Clerk chased the Borough Council for a response on 20 January and is yet to receive a reply. Post Box at Bradfield Place – Royal Mail advised they will not place a large post box in this location following their investigation. They have a calculation for measuring the distances of a population to each post box, there were five in Stoke Ferry and they confirmed with the local office that this was sufficient. Post Office at Whittington Garage – Was due to be progressed in March in terms of logistics of the Post Office being installed at the garage as the application had been approved. It was agreed to monitor the safety of the roads in the area for the residents of Stoke Ferry once it was open. Pothole Outside Mill Entrance – This had been reported to Highways after the January meeting, they take 6 weeks to inspect and then repair after. Lynn Road and Bridge Road – Road Surface – Path work had been completed by Highways at the end of January. They had concreted the drain grates on Bridge Road. Drain Covers outside Village Hall – Highways had resolved. Page 2 of 5 Mill Liaison Committee – The Clerk emailed the Mill Manager, with the Terms of Reference for the Committee, about restartin meetings and awaites a response. The Clerk also advised him of the unpleasant smells from the factory that had been experienced. The Clerk agreed to copy the BCKLWN into the communications to the Mill in chasing for a reply. It was felt it was important to have the connection with the Mill. Indigo Streetlights – There was no update currently, but it is progressing via Norfolk County Council who was the proper authority to do so. There was also issues regarding the sewers and the road they needed to progress with the Borough Council. It was agreed that residents should also contact Orbit Housing to advise them of the issue. Precept Request 2020/21 – The BCKLNWN had confirmed receipt of the request. 40/20 To Receive: Update from the Neighbourhood Working Group Neighbourhood Plan Working Group Report to SF Parish Council Meeting Wednesday, Feb 5, 2020 Our work over the last month 1. Meetings: The Working Group met on 18th January (All-Day Planning Workshop) and 21st January (to set DRAFT Vision, Aims and Objectives) 2. Declaration of Interest Forms: All members have completed and shared their Declaration of Interest Forms. These have been handed to the Parish Clerk to be kept on file. 3. Parish Online www.parish-online.co.uk: The Parish Clerk has obtained this useful tool on a 30-day trial period. The Working Group has explored its potential and recommends that the PC agrees to the annual cost of £30/year at its February Meeting. 4. NP website presence: The PC Website has a Neighbourhood Plan page and contains details of the Working Group. The page content needs to be ratified by the PC. Jim McNeill, along with members of the Working Group has created a NP WIX website. Upon PC agreement this will go ‘live’ after this evening’s meeting and be linked to via the SFPC website and vice-versa. Access to the NP website is limited and controlled by Jim McNeill. 5. Expenditure update - An invoice from Rachel Leggett & Associates has been received and passed to the Parish Clark for pay-ment: Payment: for Hours worked: £960.00 Expenses: £109.41. TOTAL: £1069.41 - An Invoice for hire of the Village Hall for the WG Workshop Day has been passed to the Parish Clerk for payment: £60.00 - An Invoice for cost of a Banner for Consultation Days is due to be passed to the Parish Clerk. Expenditure claimed by Jim McNeill for Jan 2020 Display Boards (1) for consultation events £80.99 (inc VAT) Display Boards (2) for consultation events £173.80 (inc VAT) Upgrade of NP WIX website (with 50% discount) £115.20 (inc VAT) Domain Name (www.stokeferryplan.co.uk) for 2 years (1st year free): £11.64 (inc VAT) Printing cost of flyers for first Consultation Day: £33.00 (no VAT) 6. The cost of the two sets of display boards needs to be added to the PC Assets Register. Jim McNeill Chair, SFNP Working Group 41/20 To Approve: Costs Relating to the Set Up of a New Website for Neighbourhood Plan Cllr Jim McNeill proposed approval of costs to set up the new website for the Neighbourhood Plan of £126.84, seconded by Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey, all were in favour. 42/20 To Approve: Solicitor Costs Relating Investigations into the Ownership of Footpath 17 Page 3 of 5 The solicitor had suggested gather further information by; researching the Norfolk Archives, carrying out a Highways Search and sending a SIM search to the land registry for investigations into the ownership of Footpath 17. The quoted total cost for a Highways search and SIM search plus solicitors costs was £314.Cllr Jim McNeill proposed that the Council conduct its own search with the record office and send the SIM themselves at a cost of £8.50 plus the cost of a plan which would be around £20 and then see if a Highways search was needed, this proposal was seconded by Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey, all were in favour. It was agreed to discuss further in March. 43/20 To Approve: Dog Bin on Bridge Road and Waste Collection Costs pending electric placement maps It was agreed to defer until plans for the area had been received. 44/20 To Approve: Adjustment to Village Gates Project Plan It was agreed to remove the Wretton Road Village Gates from the project plan due to lack of space for them and closest location would be in Wretton. There were gates on the 40mph at the start of Wretton that was not far from Stoke Ferry and the continued speed limit was 40mph with no increase such as occurs in the other locations on Lynn Road and Bridge Road. Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey proposed removal of the Wretton Road gates from the project plan, seconded by Cllr Donna Stocking, all were in favour. Cllr Donna Stocking agreed to attend Furlong Drove with the Clerk to reassess the viability for the gates in this area before purchase. 45/20 To Approve: Spring Litter Pick It was agreed to hold a litter pick on 26th April, Cllr Donna Stocking proposed, seconded by Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey, all were in favour. Cllr Jim McNeill agreed to do the poster. The same risk assessment and safety measures would be untaken as last year which had worked well. 46/20 To Approve: Cutting of Weeds on Graves and Owners Permission Cllr Janet Taylor agreed to do a notice to display on the notice boards and village pump to advise people that the Council would be removing weeds from graves and for people to get in touch. The Clerk agreed to tell the Handyman to action when it was felt time had exceeded for the public to respond. The Clerk agreed to ask the Handyman to cut the ivy from the base of a tree in the cemetery. 47/20 To Approve: Grounds Maintenance Contract Document and Approval to Sign The days of Monday and Tuesday were included in the contract. Cllr Janet Taylor agreed to cover the checklist if Cllr Mandy Leamon was unable. It was proposed for approval by Cllr Trudy Mann, seconded by Cllr Donna Stocking, all were in favour. 48/20 To Approve: Review of Co-option Policy There were no proposed amendments, all were in favour of approving the review Co-option Policy. 49/20 To Approve: Change in Insurance Broker for 2020/21 Insurance (3 Years) to BHIB Ltd It was proposed by Cllr Gail Reeve to change insurance broker to be BHIB Ltd from 2020/21 for the next three years as Came and Company had come to the end of providing this service, seconded by Cllr Janet Taylor, all were in favour. 50/20 To Approve: Free Subscription for Parish Online following 30 Day Trial as BHIB Ltd Client Cllr Trudy Mann proposed the free subscription option of Parish Online following approval of being a BHIB Ltd client from 2020/21, seconded by Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey, all were in favour 51/20 To Approve: SLCC Clerk Webinars Cllr Donna Stocking proposed approval of two webinars in the year for the Clerk to have totalling £30 split with two other Councils, seconded by Cllr Gail Reeve, all were in favour. 52/20 To Approve: Change of Ordinary PC Meeting Date from 4th November to 11th November 2020 A change of meeting date from 4th November to 11th November was proposed for approval by Cllr Janet Taylor, seconded by Cllr Jim McNeill, all were in favour. 53/20 To Approve: Third Authorised Signatory for Banking Cllr Gail Reeve proposed that Cllr Jim McNeill be confirmed as a third authorised signatory for signing cheques, seconded by Cllr Janet Taylor, five were in favour and Cllr Jim McNeill abstained. Page 4 of 5 54/20 To Approve: Internal Auditor Appointment It was proposed by Cllr Jim McNeill to commission the work of the Internal Auditor for the 2019/20 accounts as per email for the sum of £20, seconded by Cllr Trudy Mann, all were in favour. 55/20 To Approve: Payments and Accounts Reconciliation to Date 08.02.20 Payments for Approval Payee Cheque Payment for Net VAT Total Clerk 101859 Clerks Wages and Expenses -Jan 20 358.00 0.00 358.00 HMRC 101860 Jan-20 82.20 0.00 82.20 Rachel Leggett and Associates 101861 Neighbourhood Plan Fees and Costs 1069.41 0.00 1069.41 NALC 101862 Clerk Course Manual 8.32 0.00 8.32 Handyman 101863 Jan-20 50.00 0.00 50.00 SF Village Hall 101864 Village Hall Hire and NP Event 85.00 0.00 85.00 NALC 101865 NP Awareness Session 29.10.19 50.00 10.00 60.00 EON DD Streetlighting 80.60 4.03 84.63 Cllr J McNeill 101866 NP Refund of Items 351.02 63.61 414.63 TOTAL 2134.55 77.64 2212.19 Bank Reconcilla-tion Cashbook Carried Forward As at 1 April 2019 £32,782.60 Receipts £22,447.23 Payments £16,628.90 Total As at 2 Feb 2020 £38,600.93 Bank Statements As at 03.01.20 Community Account - Current £3,327.98 As at 03.01.20 Business Account £35,973.10 Plus Unpresented cheques £700.15 Total As at 2 Feb 2020 £38,600.93 There is a running account of the Neighbourhood Plan spend from the Parish Council budget and the grant on file. The payments were proposed for approval by Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey, seconded Cllr Janet Taylor, all were in favour, with Cllr Jim McNeill abstaining. 56/20 Urgent Matters - Chairman Cllr Jim McNeill advised that following a letter from the BCKLWN regarding an application for Asset of Community Value for the Bluebell, a decision would be reached by 7th March. Following January’s Public Meeting on the future of the pub, a group of local residents have now come together in an effort to ensure the village’s last pub is not lost. This group is call-ing a second community meeting at the Village Hall in the next few weeks. Cllr Colin Sampson shared that an appeal of the decision to refuse permission to change its status from a public house had just been submitted f to BCKLWN Planning. Cllr Jim McNeill advised that he had kept planninginformed of the group that had formed in the village. Page 5 of 5 (i) The Duke’s Head premises was back on the market.There were loose pantiles on the roof. It was agreed that the Parish Council contact the Borough Council to request that the owners replace loose pantiles and repair the ridge tiles and make it safe as a matter of urgency. (ii) Elizabeth Truss MP had raised with the Communities and Housing Minister to explore what options may be available for taking the village hall car park forward. (iii) Bridge Road. The building plot on the road is progressing. The Bridge Road path had not yet been repaired with a long cracks t of up to 2-3cms in width. The Clerk agreed to update with Norfolk County Highways on the report that its condition was a high risk to the public. (iv) Pegasus who are agents for Amber REI/2Agriculture had agreed a to a second access road to the proposed Lynn Road development with a new access road from Lynn Road. They were still in discussing the S106 which was currently costed at up to£150k. It was agreed to add this item on the next agenda to discuss further. 57/20 To Receive items of concern & matters to be included on the next agenda from the Parish Council and note forward items Cllr Kit Hesketh-Harvey left the meeting as well as the member of public. The Clerk agreed to check the plans in the cemetery regarding the roadway continuation. It was agreed that the Council needed to review the access in the future and the Clerk would note for future items. Recovery Plan – The document was awaiting a GDPR check before it could be circulated as detailed in the document. It was noted that the document would be sent to the Emergency Planning Team at BCKLWN who the document was primarily a tool for them to use as the correct local authority responsible for over-see Emergency’s. 58/20 Cllr Colin Sampson (BCKLWN) and Cllr Martin Storey (NCC), if in attendance Cllr Colin Sampson advised that the work on lowering carbon omissions will change continuously in the next few years. The Borough Council were working on their own carbon footprint and any work they would share where needed. The Footpath Warden had walked Footpath 5 with the Chair and wished to provide the following update. They had walked through Oxborough Road where Highways had done a brilliant job in clearing the path and repairing the steps installed by them and it was now possible to get up to the bank and across the other side of the bypass to the farmers gate. Using various maps ,he and the Chair investigated in which direction footpaths went alongside the charity land which, according to County Hall, was Common Land. They struggled through undergrowth and tried various directions to find out where the path come from in the field. They found that there was a ‘Stoke Ferry Fen Dyke’ in place to take water away to Denver, but its flow was travelling in the opposite direction. They went around to the bridge over the bypass and walked to Bridleway 8 to the other side, and noted again that Highways had carried out a marvellous job in cutting the bushes back and once it had dried out it was felt that it would be a lovely walk. On the 21st January he and the Chair had visited County Hall to seek information on local footpaths and spent over 2 hours looking at the Parish Council minutes from 1950-1964 to see if there was anything generated in them regarding the footpaths at that time, however they drew a blank. He had the Chair will continue to await replies from various people on leads they had. He added that the cut off channel had certain documents which showed paths which had been removed when it was built, but the village seemed to have gained more than lost but efforts would be made to restore some of the access routes connected paths that had been lost. Nothing was definite and there was information to be created and it would be a long ongoing project. 61/20 To Adjourn the meeting to allow for public comments 62/20 Confirm the Date of the Next Meeting – Wednesday 4 March 2020 at 7 pm, Ordinary Meeting of the Stoke Ferry Parish Council Meeting Closed at 9.15 pm