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MINUTES

The Parish Council Meeting was held on Wednesday 14 October2009, in the Village Hall, Leziate at 7.30pm.

PRESENT

Cllr. J. EayresChair

Cllr. T. CraneVice Chair

Cllr. R. Crane

Cllr. J. Oakes

Cllr. J. Prentice

Cllr. R. Peck

Cllr. M. Simpson

Cllr. G. Solly

Mrs. Elaine OliverClerk

Mrs Sue CollisonHead Teacher of AshwickenSchool

Mrs Sharon BarrettChair Of Govrs.

Mr. Ray BarnettGovernor

1Member of the public present

APOLOGIESCllr. A. BealesBorough Council

Cllr. J. MurphyCountyCouncillor

WELCOME

Cllr Eayresopened the meeting by welcoming everybody, in particular the 3 representatives of AshwickenSchool.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

None to declare.

PRESENTATION BY ASHWICKEN SCHOOLON SCHOOL REORGANISATION OPTIONS

Sue Collinson asked for the support of the Parish Council in the Grimston cluster reorganization. Two of the options are a serious threat to AshwickenSchool. NCC wants to streamline the schools and the options put forward are as follows

Option 1Three 5 – 11 Primary schools

Option 2Two 5-11 primary schools

Option 3One 5-11 Primary School

The only option that totally ensures that AshwickenSchool is retained is option 1. Sue Collinson made the following points in support of option 1.

  • The recent extensions to the school would be money wasted
  • The school has a record of excellent standards and it would be a shame for this to disappear.
  • There has been a school on this site since 1911 and a school in Ashwicken since the 1800s
  • In the 1970s this was a primary school and before the war the school had children up to 14, the school just wants to revert back to what they were.
  • Option 1 would keep the 3 remaining schools relatively small
  • Accommodating 100 children would only mean one more classroom that would, hopefully, be built at the back replacing the existing mobile classroom.
  • It was felt that this would still be a small school and parking would not be too much of a problem as a lot of children would be siblings.

After much discussion Tony Crane proposed that the P C support option 1 this was seconded by John Oakes and unanimously agreed.

It was felt that the village school retained a community spirit and that option 1 was the most cost effective option to implement, also the speed of implementation would be quicker with this option rather than waiting for funding and perhaps only having a new school ready in 2015. Logistically option 1 is the best choice.

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Also Option 1 allows parents to retain freedom of choice and have diversity of choice by having a church school.

Cllr. T. Crane reported that any member of the public can submit their opinion about the options.

Cllr. Peck was concerned at would happen to the site if not a school, it was generally felt that the consultation period had to be completed before looking at this as a consideration

10 MINUTE OPEN FORUM

No points raised

MINUTES

The circulated Minutes were, approved and signed as a true record of the Parish Council meeting

on 9th September 2009. Proposed by Cllr. Solly and seconded by Cllr. Oakes.

MATTERS ARISING

(i) Bus Shelter at Bawsey

It was reported that the bus shelter is being dismantled by vandals daily so we have gone

ahead with the quotes asking them to revise it for any further work that may be needed. The two quotes for the original job were within £2.00 of each other so we went with the contractor who hopes to start work within two weeks, with a chance of it being sooner, the other quote stated 6 weeks. This was proposed by Cllr. Solly and agreed unanimously.

(ii)Trees at back of Village Hall

Last summer we agreed to put this on the agenda as a comment was made by a member

of the village hall committee. Cllr. R Crane reported that the youth offending team is

going to do some clearance work so it was agreed to wait until after this work was

completed. Cllr Simpson reported that a neighbour believes that land at the back of his

house in the woods shows in his deeds.

(iii)LocalSchool reorganization

This was discussed at the beginning of the meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

All Councillors had a list of correspondence.

Additional correspondence as follows:-

  • BCKLWNTraining event hosted by the planning service at BCKLWN. The dates are 14.1.10 at Hunstanton, 21.1.10 at Downham Market and 27.01.10 at Kings Lynn 9.00-2.00
  • NALCNorfolk link magazine
  • Various Courses
  • Gypsy and traveller conference 4.11.09
  • CPREAnnual lunch 17.11.09

Cllr. Eayres and Cllr. T. Crane agreed to attend the planning training on 27.01.10.

FINANCE

(i)Proposeand second approval of Payment of invoices

Payment of invoices, as attached, was proposed by Cllr. Prentice seconded by Cllr. Solly.

Agreed unanimously.

The cheques were duly signed.

It was agreed by the Council to think about long term projects that would require

financing. This will be on the agenda for next month.

(ii)Propose and second approval of monthly statement

Approval of monthly statement, as attached, was proposed by Cllr. Oakesand seconded by Cllr. Solly. Agreed unanimously

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(iii)Donation to Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue

It was proposed by Cllr. Oakes and seconded by Cllr. Solly to donate £25.00 to this charity. Unanimously agreed.

(iv)Audit report

It was reported the audit has been received back from the auditor with no comments. Notices have been posted on the noticeboards.

PLANNING

(i)Notification of decisions by Borough Council:-

None received

(ii) Planning to Consider

09/01691/F 52 Brow of the Hill, construction of 3 houses after demolition After much debate it was decided to support this application as concerns from the previous application had been addressed.

(ii)Planning Decisions made during the month:-

None made

REPORTS FROM WARDENS

Borough Council:- Cllr. Bealeswas not present but sent a short report regarding the local Govt reorganization. The Boundary Committee appealed against the Suffolk decision week ending 9/10/09 and until a judgment is handed down we are up in the air again! Judgment expected within a fortnight and he has not real steer on which way it will go. If the Boundary Committee win they are likely to restart with a further 8 week consultation on their unitary proposals. It is likely in that circumstance that Norfolk in alliance with Devon will lodge a further appeal!

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County Council:Cllr. Murphy not present

Trees: Cllr. Simpson reported that the angle iron post on entering the bluebell wood is broken at ground level. It was agreed to ask Sibelco about this at the liaison meeting. Cllr.. Simpson reported that the rabbits are eating the bark of small trees in the back field.

Footpaths:. Cllr. Crane and Cllr. Eayres reported that the FPs they had walked were OK and a lot of the vegetation is now dying back.

Cllr. Oakes reported that FP16 Is being used by horses and he has received some complaints about it.

Bus Shelters:. All bus shelters are OK with the exception of the Bawsey stop which had already been discussed. The Clerk reported she had asked P B Jones about the possibility of cleaning the bus shelters etc. She is still awaiting an answer and will report to the next meeting.

Cllr. Oakes is concerned that the bus shelter at the end of Church Lane is not near the newly installed bus stop sign.

Highways: -Cllrs. Solly and Crane had met with the Highways Inspector recently and are disappointed that not a lot of progress has been made on promised works. Work still outstanding includes:-

  • Cutting back shrubs from E W Road junction on B1145
  • Foliage at Chilver House Lane (this has now been cut by Cllr. Solly)
  • Grippes in Holt House Lane.

Cllr. Solly will also mention the installation of a new sign on the B1145 and also the pavement along Gayton Road which is in a good state until the last bit before Fen Lane which turns to dust. It was suggested that this may need resurfacing to stop any trip hazards.

Cllr. Peck reported that the kerbs at both ends of the slip road can not be seen and should be renewed or painted white.

Play Area: - Cllr. Crane reported the equipment is fine but that the bark needs raking. The moles appear to be under control but the rabbits have taken their place. It was agreed to ask P Jones to rake the bark over the Winter.

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Village Hall:- Cllr. R Crane reported that the recent quiz night was a success raising £235.00. The balance in the account is £3300 but insurance is due in January which is about £2000 and the estimated electricity bill is £300. She reported the youth offending team will wash the exterior of the village hall and tidy up the back and hopefully paint the main toilets.

A race night and a carol concert are planned. The next Village Hall Committee meeting will be on 15.11.09

It was agreed that new toilets are needed but fund raising is required in order to match fund grant applications.

Meeting closed at 8.50

Date of Next Meeting: -11 Nov ember 2009

Signed______

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