Clenchwarton Parish Council

Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on Thursday 1st November 2012

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The Chair welcomed everyone present and declared the meeting open.

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Councillors present: Sue Cross-Chair, Cate Swietonowski-Vice Chair, Trevor Collison, Richard Smith, Kevin Pell,

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In attendance: Joan Hodkinson - Clerk, Borough Councillor David Whitby, County Councillor Alex Kemp and 4 Members of the Public.

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The Chair introduced and welcomed Colin Tegerdine as a co-opted member to the Parish Council.

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Apologies: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr James and Cllr Brown.

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Declarations of Interest: Cllr Collison declared a personal interest in items 12.1 pay increases and 12.3 payment of wages.

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Minutes: It was resolved that the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held on the 1st October and the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on the 4th October be signed as a true record of those proceedings. All agreed

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Clerk's Report/Matters Arising: Frank Baker of Hastoe was passing a report to the Planning Office at Borough Council on week commencing 21st October and will arrange a closed meeting with the Parish Council as soon as he has any news. Cllr Brown attended the Elm Park Holdings appeal hearing on the 16th October but to date no results of the hearing have been received.

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Public Forum: No-one requested to speak.

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Report from Borough & County Councillors:

7.1 Borough Councillor - David Whitby. Cllr Whitby reported that the Borough Council are looking at a couple of projects for the town, one being to provide Council owned land to build houses at the rate of 200 per year over a 4 year period. The second project is to make alterations to the Bus Station. Reported that Henry Bellingham has been in talks with RAF Marham personnel with regard to the proposed wind farm at Ongar Hill.
7.2 County Councillor - Alex Kemp. Cllr Kemp reported that the application for two wind turbines at Gull Hole Farm, Smallholdings Road is to be considered by the planning Committee. She has written to Planning with her comments on the visual impact of the turbines. The Environmental Health is looking into the noise levels at the site of the proposed wind turbine at Ferry Road. Cllr Kemp had been contacted by a resident of Linford Estate who had fallen into a ditch next to her house. Anglian Water confirmed that they are not responsible for the ditch and Cllr Kemp is to contact the Internal Drainage Board in an attempt to determine responsibility. Cllr Smith thanked Cllr Kemp for her comprehensive report.

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Police Report: The Crime Statistics for Clenchwarton between 01/09/12 to 25/10/12 are; 1 x Criminal damage to a motor vehicle and 1 x Theft. The next SNAP meeting will be held on November 14th at St Mary Magdalene Church, Magdalen.

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Benedict Close: Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association are currently canvassing opinions of Parish Councils in villages where they currently have homes with suitable land available adjacent to their site, as in Benedict Close, that could be used in future for small-scale development of affordable homes. It was resolved to support the project if the land is available and advise the Association that there is a need for larger homes in the village. All agreed

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10 / Christmas Tree: Cllr Collison reported that Mr Jordan of Margaretta House had indicated that he would be willing to provide a Christmas tree for the Jubilee Park Garden. It was resolved to agree the sum of £50 if a Christmas tree had to be purchased. All agreed
11 / Better Broadband: Norfolk County Council has been successful in its bid to secure Government funding to help provide improved broadband speeds and access across Norfolk. BT have also enabled better services in Clenchwarton and is now offering better broadband speeds through their fibre optic infinity programme.
12 / Finance:
12.1 - Agricultural Wages Board pay increase. The pay rates are reviewed in September and applied to wages for hours worked from 1st October. The increase for Grade 3 this year is 2.88% to £7.66 per hour. It was resolved that the increase is applied on the November pay and back dated to 1st October. All agreed
12.2- Finance & Resources Committee recommendation.
Churchyard - Recommended obtaining three quotations to fill in the potholes on the drive and lay 10mm Pea Gravel shingle over the path area from the Church Road entrance up to the Church entrance. All agreed
Village Hedges - Recommended to contact D G Carter to do the annual hedge cutting. Rev. Davey has spoken of the Police recommendation that the Churchyard hedge on Church Road is reduced to help security. It was resolved that this year the hedge should be cut as usual and review reducing the height next year. All agreed
Small Society Lottery Registration - Recommended to renew the lottery registration at a cost of £20 and to submit to Borough Council a statement to confirm that Sue Cross, as a promoter of the small society lottery has CRB registration. All agreed
Part Time Grounds Man - Recommended to arrange an appraisal meeting for a review of his work during the probationary period and subject to a successful outcome of the review, the hourly rate will be increased to £6.96 in line with the Agricultural Wages Board Grade 2. All agreed
Donations: Recommended to donate £25 to St. Clement's High School for the Clenchwarton Parish Council Award for Citizenship and £25 to Magpas, The Emergency Medical Charity. All agreed
12.4 Budget review date - the Finance & Resources Committee meeting to review the Budget was set for Monday 12th November.
13 / Planning:
Ref: 12/01202/CU - Permission granted for the conversion of existing greengrocer's shop area to residential dwelling at 252B Lynn Road, Terrington St Clement.
Ref: 12/01404/F - Permission granted for the installation of two micro scale wind turbines at Hoe Farm, Smallholdings Road, Clenchwarton.

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14 / Correspondence: The items of correspondence received included;
A resident of Robin Kerkham Way wrote to express concerns with regard to the water levels and quantity of reeds in the dykes a Clapper Lane and behind properties at Robin Kerkham Way. It was resolved that the Clerk should speak to Cllr Brown about this problem as it is thought that these dykes are his responsibility.
Borough Council - Notice that the public inquiry into the incinerator application is to be held on 26th February 2013 at the Professional Development Centre, King's Lynn. Clerk to contact the Inspectorate to register the Parish Council's request to speak at the inquiry.
Environment Agency - Fact sheet detailing improvements to the flood warning service - a copy of the fact sheet is in the Parish Office.
NALC - Jane Scarrott, the newly appointed Parish Liaison Officer, advising her intention to visit Parish Council meetings in the New Year.
15 / Agendas: Items received for future agendas were;
Allotment 1 - To Finance Committee agenda
Carol Service.
The meeting was closed at 20.20

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