Minutes of the Meeting of Bridgham’s Annual Parish Meeting held at the Village Hallon Tuesday26thApril 2016at 7.00 p.m.
The meeting started at 7.00pm.
Present: Mr M Dickenson (Chairman),Mr C. Stammers,Mr B. Evans, Mrs J Lowe
Also present: 6 members of the public
1. Apologies for absence:Mrs Ellen JollyBreckland District Council
2. Approval of the Minutes of the 2015 Annual Parish Meeting: minutes approved.
3. Matters arising from the minutes: None
4. Chairman’s report:The Chairman read out his report: see appendix 1.
5.Financial Report: Payments £4003.49, receipts £6601.16;, bank statements not received so no bank reconciliation as yet. Current balance approx £5,000 plus there may be some bank interest.
6. Reports from District Councillor/Village Organisations:
District Council reports: none
No other reports received.
7. Any other matters members of the public wish to report:
The Chairman was asked to acknowledge members of thepublic, it was noted that the
meeting had already started when members of the public arrived.
A discussion took place on Mrs Lowe being a member of the Village Hall Committee (VHC) and a parish councillor,it was queried when Mrs Lowe had declared this and it being a conflict of interest. Mrs Lowe had never been asked to report back to Parish Council on behalf of the VHC. It was noted by Mrs Lowe that it was not a conflict of interest. A question was asked whether have to have a member at meeting.
Everyone was informed that the VHC committee are elected, it is open to all members of the public and members can be co-opted.
A discussion took place on the parish council website and the need for its development; the parish council are looking into this at the moment.
Residents asked about speeding in the village, the parish partnership funding and whether the parish council had submitted an application. The parish council tried to do speedwatch jointly with Rushford a few years ago; have to have high numbers to be considered as a priority. Have to have a minimum of 6 people for speedwatch; a lot of effort had been put in, had meetings with police speedtraps and it was publicised but got nowhere. The parish council’s priorities this last year and most of last year have been the solar farm application. If someone comes to the parish council with 6 members of the public, the parish council will look at it again. A comment was made about calming measures, sleeping policeman however, there is too much farm traffic and they have the right to use the road.
A resident talked about spending priorities, he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the parish council’s previous response; the chairman reiterated that the spending on the playing field is very much in line with spending historically. The contract for grass cutting is very good value compared with other quotes. The playing field committee used to raise a third of the funds for the playing field, the football club a third and the parish council a third, since the playing field dissolved the parish council have to pay two thirds. There has been very little spending apart from the grass cutting. The playing field is a very important facility. A comment was made that the football club should take more responsibility for its fundraising. The Chairman replied that the football club pay a third but they also pay for scarifying, work on trees and they only use it twelve times a year. The parish council have to spend money on the playing field and we choose how we prioritise.
A discussion took place on dogs not being allowed on the playing field, why can’t the children’s area be fenced, Australia have it in all parks. The lack of places to walk dogs was discussed. The parish council said they will look into it.
The lack of dog bins was discussed and the need for one to be put in the street. The parish council did ask several years ago but there were issues with emptying; the parish council will ask again.
The parish council were asked if they still get recycling money for the bottle bank, residents remind people to put their bottles in the recycling bank. The money has reduced and it is expected that Breckland Council will at some point take it over completely. When it is full there is a number on the bottle bank to phone for it to be emptied.
Pot holes in the lane were discussed, they are not responsibility of the parish council and Highway Rangers will not do pot holes.
Congratulations were given on the notice board being updated last week.
Concern was expressed that the parish council do not spend enough time to engage with residents; the difficulty in meeting deadlines for newsletters was discussed; the parish council are looking at their communication policy. Mr Fitch has been looking at what other parish councils are doing, he recognised that the parish council can do more, it was agreed that the names and telephone numbers of parish councillors will be put on the notice board.
Concern was raised on the timing of agenda’s being put on the notice board and the clerk saying about legal compliance and the need to comply with regulations; the clerk clarified that she did not say anything about legal compliance.
The meeting closed at 7.50pm