Minutes of Oulton Parish Council Meeting – 3 January 2017

The meeting commenced at 7.15pm.

Cllr Hunter, Chair, advised the attendees of the emergency/exit instructions and opened the meeting.

The Chair welcomed Councillors and residents to the meeting.

1Attendance

Present:

Parish Cllrs Peter Collecott, John Grist, George Hawes, Brian Hunter – Chair,Bill Robertson, Charles Swan

County Cllr Len Jacklin

District Cllrs Malcolm Cherry, Jane Murray

Lynne Ward – Parish Clerk

Ann O’Callaghan

2 members of the public

Apologies received:

Parish Cllrs Lindsey Hook, David Jefferson

District Cllr Ed Back

County Cllr Bert Poole

Absent:

Parish CllrPaul McDonough

2Declarations of Interest

Cllrs Collecott, Grist, Hunter and Murray declared an interest as members of Oulton Community Association.

3Minutes of Last Ordinary Meeting

Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2016 was moved by Cllr Collecott and seconded by Cllr Swan.

4Casual Vacancy

The Clerk circulated a draft notice which could be agreed for display on the parish noticeboards to invite statements of interest from members of the local community. Mrs Small, an Oulton parishioner who was in attendance at the meeting, expressed an interest in joining the Council. Mrs Small will consider it further and advise Cllr Hunter.

5Progress Updates – Suffolk County Councillors and Waveney District Councillors

Matters arising:

  • The Lowestoft Journal wish to do a feature and photograph on the village sign when it is ready
  • Cllr Swan will arrange a site meeting with the gardener he is in contact with for 11 January at 10.00am. The Clerk is waiting to hear from Waveney Norse about what arrangement we have with them for the gardening work and she hopes to advise Cllrs Hunter and Swan before their meeting on Wednesday.
  • Cllr Murray has contacted Richard Alexander to arrange a meeting in early January. Richard Alexander feels that the queries are for the developers, rather than the Council.
  • The Clerk was asked to send a letter to Persimmon to check progress on the naming of a road in honour of Eve Dungate

Cllr Len Jacklin

  • Locality budgets have now been transferred to Phoenix House in Ipswich
  • The pressure for a Church Road pedestrian crossing continues and notification should be received by March. The cost has been high, including £14,000 for the survey.
  • Cllr Jacklin hopes that the 20mph speed zone will go through on 16 February 2017
  • Discussions are continuing regarding The Street and Oulton Road North. Cllr Jacklin is working to resolve such issues before the forthcoming elections in May.
  • There is some dissatisfaction amongst residents about parking around schools. White lines were suggested. However, these are very expensive and not enforced. It was noted that it was an offence to obstruct a vehicle facing outwards from a private driveway. A resolution is needed.
  • Cllr Jacklin will discuss a solution to the Grasmere situation with Cllr Patience
  • There was concern about the transfer of some facilities from Waveney to the Oulton Broad Parish, which may not be matched by appropriate funding.

Cllr Jane Murray

  • Cllr Murray reported that parents dropping children at school were parking on the yellow lines in Christmas Lane. Cllr Murray has discussed this with Keith Sampson, who confirms it is out of the Council’s hands and current levels of policing are such that little can be done
  • Cllr Murray reported that a large pothole in Wood Lane has now been repaired

Cllr Malcolm Cherry

  • Cllr Cherry reported that, due to accidents in Montgomery Avenue, the road will be closed and the footpaths re-laid. In addition, some lamps that have been damaged will be repaired.
  • Cllr Cherry will be resuming his surgeries

6Police Report

The Clerk made available the December Suffolk Constabulary newsletter. Once again, disappointment was expressed at the lack of detailed information now available about the parish.

A decision was made to support Tim Passmore’s call for fairer funding for Suffolk policing and to express the disappointment of Oulton Parish Councillors at the lack of local police information and regular visits from the Constabulary. The Clerk will send the email on behalf of the Councillors.

7Planning Matters

Cllr Grist had nothing to report on current planning matters

8Open Forum

a)Neighbourhood Plan Report

  • Ann O’Callaghan thanked Councillors for completing thetesting of the questionnaires. Notification would be posted in the Lowestoft Journal prior to distribution of the questionnaires. There was nothing further to report

b)For Parishioners

  • Parishioner, Mr Small, requested that consideration be given to the layout of the room as his impaired hearing made it difficult to contribute effectively to the meeting. Cllr Hunter thanked Mr Small for raising this and invited him to change seats which resolved the issue for the meeting.
  • Mrs Small reported some littering in Park Meadows where she lives due to removal of the green bin
  • Mrs Small also reported unacceptable delays and inconvenience to residents during the recent resurfacing of the road. Cllr Jacklin noted this difficulty and confirmed that easy access should be provided as standard procedure. Cllr Cherry supported this and confirmed he would speak with Mrs Small after the meeting had closed.
  • Mrs Small reported that she had been registered recently with Bridge Road Surgery and that the community transport had been invaluable for her. She was concerned, however, that there was a general lack of awareness about this.

9Clerk’s Report & Financial Matters

The Clerk’s report is attached. The Clerk circulated copies of the 2017 schedule of meetings and will also circulate electronic copies.

10AOB

  • Cllr Hunter reminded attendees about the Broads Authority consultation event at Oulton Community Centre at 10.00am on Saturday 7 January
  • Cllr Hunter will send the electronic template for the parish booklets to the Clerk for updating so that further supplies can be printed
  • Cllrs Hunter, Grist and Swan will be meeting at Riverside on Thursday 5 January at 2.00pm to discuss the Waveney Local Plan
  • Cllr Collecott reported an accident on Somerleyton Road and enquired about who records road traffic accidents. Cllr Jacklin thought that the police keep accurate records and would follow this up
  • There was a short discussion about the 106 money that is available until February 2017. The Clerk was asked to find out the procedure for using the money for one of the following options:
  1. Repairs to the seat
  2. A sign welcoming careful drivers to Oulton
  3. Flowers

The meeting closed at 9.02.

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