Rockland St Mary with Hellington
Parish Council
Meeting of Rockland St Mary with Hellington Parish Council held on Monday 10 September 2012
Public Participation: Parishioners present raised the issues of the public draw in the village and the need to publish the results on the parish noticeboards, the security light outside the Parish Room and the replacement of small play equipment at the playing fields.
Cllr Sue Thompson (South Norfolk Council) confirmed the Council’s new housing allocations policy, and reported on the transfer of the payment of Council tax benefits to South Norfolk Council. The Site Specific plans from the LDF showing preferred sites had now been published for consultation and Parish Councils and others were encourage to respond on the appropriate form. South Norfolk Council had £100,000 available this year to support capital projects in the community, and the deadline for applications was 31 October.
Cllr Adrian Gunson (Norfolk County Council) reported that surface dressing had been undertaken at New Inn Hill and The Street, the need for a slow sign at Hellington Hill, the resurfacing of Green Lane Hellington, that Bergh Apton recycling plant now had permanent planning permission due in no small part to support from local Parish Councils, that the Highway Rangers should clear the brambles near street signs and clean drainage ditches on their next visit, on a County Council construction fund for public buildings and some issues regarding footpaths.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Present: Cllrs Martin Stedman (Chair), Malcolm Robinson, Stephanie Ross-Wagenknecht, Lydia Kemp, Zing Eagling and Tony Palframan
In attendance: Michael Presland (Clerk to the Council), Footpath Officer and 4 Parishioners.
12.63 Co-option of new Councillors
Two eligible members of the public had expressed an interest in filling the vacant Parish Councillor position, and after discussion Richard Ewles was elected by members. He signed the acceptance of office form and took his place immediately on the Council
12.64 Apologies for absence
NONE
12.65 Declarations of interest
Richard Ewles declared a pecuniary interest in the item on footpaths (minute 12.69 below) by virtue of owning land affected by a potential new footpath
AGREED
12.66 Minutes of the meeting of 9 July 2012, which had been previously circulated, were APPROVED as correct and signed by the Chair.
12.67Matters arising from the minutes
Lydia Kemp agreed to be the point of contact for the recycling and bottle bank at the New Inn
NOTED
12.68 Planning matters.
12.68.1 Planning decisions – none received
12.68.2 Greater Norwich Development Partnership DPD
Members accepted that there were no implications arising for Rockland and South Norfolk from the proposed advertised changes
RESOLVED to respond to the GNDP with no objections
12.68.3 Community Infrastructure Levy for Broadland, South Norfolk and Norwich City
Members considered that the minor changes proposed as the result of initial consultation had no implications for the parish
RESOLVED to respond to GNDP with no objections
12.68.4 South Norfolk Local Plan Site Specific Allocations and Policies DPD
Members debated the proposed allocation for about 20 homes off Bee Orchid Way and other issues raised in the consultation
RESOLVED to support the allocation and delegate to the Clerk a fuller response to the consultation questionnaire
12.69 Footpath Matters
The Footpath Officer reported on recent activities affecting footpaths and rights of way in the parish. A public meeting attended by 80 residents had considered the issues surrounding a path now in the ownership of Claxton Estates, the options for which included making a formal claim for it to be an established right of way or seeking permissive status. The meeting also addressed issues such as maintenance and the establishment of a footpath forum. A further meeting would be held on 24 September.
NOTED and AGREED that a leaflet would be circulated setting out the issues, and a footpath forum would be supported.
12.70Skatepark proposal
Linda Brand from the Playing Field Committee was present at the meeting to update members on progress on the proposed skatepark. She reported that funding was now in place for the implementation of the scheme and that there was a prerogative to make some quick progress to satisfy the terms of the grants.
RESOLVED to consider the Council’s final position on the skatepark project at the next meeting
12.71Speed limit – The Oaks
Members considered public concern about the speed of traffic near the Oaks, and a letter from a parishioner about speeding traffic in Rockland in general
RESOLVED to write to Norfolk County Council seeking some solution to the Oaks situation and write to Norfolk Police about the issues raised in the resident’s letter
12.72 NALC AGM
Members considered the forthcoming NALC AGM
RESOLVED that members would contact the clerk with nominations, items for the agenda and request for attendance before 25 September for submission to NALC
12.73 Waste facilities at Rockland Staithe
Members considered correspondence from South Norfolk Council about the relocation of waste facilities for boat users from the New Inn car park to the staithe
RESOLVED to support the provision of a facility at the staithe, and pass the request to the Poors Trust who manage the staithe.
12.74Correspondence
Correspondence of a non-urgent nature was circulated to members
NOTED
12.75 Financial Matters
12.75.1 Payments for approval.
HMRC PAYE£144.80
NORSE grounds maintenance£480.58
NORSE grounds maintenance£925.84
RSM Parish Room Committee £346.59
Parish clerk salary and expenses£228.15
Total £2125.96
APPROVED
12.75.2 Financial statement
The clerk reported that the current balance (as at 1 September) was £7883.36 (excluding cheques approved at the meeting). This included significant grants for the skatepark which were ring-fenced for that purpose
NOTED
12.76 Appointment of new Clerk
The chair reported that Michael Presland had resigned for domestic reasons and would be replaced as the clerk by Monica Armstrong from 1 October.
NOTED – members thanked the existing clerk for his service and welcomed the new clerk to her post.
Other business and public final say.
None
The meeting closed at 9.45 pm.
Next meeting: 8 October 2012
Michael Presland
Parish Clerk