Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on 10th July 2007 at 8 pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Adrian Hipwell, Martin Sida-Page, Eddie Winter, Pauline Sandell (Clerk).
Also Present: Dr. Murray Gray (District Councillor), Tony Tomkinson (District Councillor).
1. Apologies:
Clare Valori.
2. Declaration of Interest:
Roger Gibson and Martin Sida-Page declared a prejudicial interest in item 6.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting:
One amendment; item 5 line 4 should read 'judicial' not 'prejudicial'. The minutes were agreed and signed.
4. Minutes of the Planning Appeal Meeting 2007/1223 and 2007/1241:
Agreed and signed.
5. Matters Arising:
a. Playing Field: Terry Hanner had completed the monthly report. He reported that the swing was dirty because of the Rooks sitting on the top. Eddie suggested putting taut wire on the top. Terry and Eddie will look into this. Eddie will complete the report for July and Adrian for August.
b. Composting: Liz Cargill reported that they have a hard working team of volunteers at the site, sifting and moving bins. Liz will be looking for a party of volunteers to do some more shredding. She will be attending the NRCC AGM and will be giving a 10 minute talk.
c. Village Sign: Terry reported that the sign has been made and painting is nearly finished. He is expecting another invoice from Roger Dove because an extra piece of wood was needed.
d. Verge Outside the Chapel: The Clerk reported that she had received a letter from Highways to say that the problem of the verge had been passed to the Assistant Engineer who would arrange a mutually convenient date for a joint inspection. Eddie had spoken to Mr. Greenmore who had agreed to meet with the Highways. The Clerk was asked to report further problems; holes in the road outside Ashton Autos, in front of the Post Box on Norwich Road and Roundhouse Hill. Problems with road flooding due to blocked grips/ditches outside Kingsland Farm and a reminder that we have still have problems with the grips in general will also be reported.
e. Cycle Racks: The tubular steel has been received. Either Keith or Webb Engineering will bend the steel. The Village Hall Committee has agreed to have the cycle racks at the village hall.
f. Hedge, Middle Road: Terry Hanner reported that the hedge had been trimmed before he had a chance to speak to the owner. It is much better than it was.
g. Any Other Matters Arising:
Terry Hanner said that George Nobbs had thanked the Parish Council for the £50 for cutting the grass. The Clerk reported that she had spoken three times to the Collection Office regarding the collection plate on the post box, but although they promised to ring back they had not. She will continue to chase it up.
6. Travellers:
The Chairman reported that three new families had arrived on the site last Friday. SNC were informed and Mr.Rivers and Mr. Cook came out immediately. Although these families are said to be just visiting the site on holiday, some of the men have been touting for work. Dumping is continuing on the site and this could be an environmental health issue. After some discussion it was proposed that the Chairman should write to South Norfolk Council, with a copy to the Leader of the Council, putting forward the concerns of the Parish Council. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, unanimously agreed.
7. District and County Council Matters:
Tony Tomkinson had nothing to report. Murray Gray informed the Parish Council with the following items:
Mr. Elliott at Grove Farm had been prosecuted for occupying his site and fined £250 with £500 costs.
SNC have a new free phone number for environmental crimes – 08081682999.
The Listed Building people are looking into Vale Farm and have contacted the owner to see if something can be done.
Murray informed the Councillors that a new system called SNAP (Safer Neighbourhood Action Panels) has been formed. Denton falls into the Harleston panels and meetings will be held at Harleston four times a year.
There will also be a new series of neighbourhood forums and Denton will be in the Waveney Valley forum. There will be five forums and these will replace the three area forums. These will be run as a Committee rather than a forum, consisting of 11 people, 6 of which will be Councillors. In this first year there will be funds of around £80,000 available for the 5 panels.
The Government Planning Policy will be upgraded in the next few months and the new council is planning to have affordable housing in every village. Murray got agreement that if the policy changed, then Denton should be the first to get the benefit of that new policy.
Murray Gray has supported the application to SNC for a grant for the village hall kitchen refurbishment.
8 Questions from the Public:
None.
9. Donations to Charities:
There was some discussion as to whether Parish Council money should go to charities that do not directly affect the village. It was agreed that donations should only be given to charities that could benefit the local community.
Proposal: £200 to be donated to St. Mary’s Church, £25 to East Anglian Air Ambulance and £25 to Citizens Advice Bureau. Proposed by Liz Cargill, seconded by Martin Sida-Page, unanimously agreed.
10. Adoption of New Code of Conduct and Alteration of Standing Orders:
Proposal: Adopt the new code of conduct including paragraph 12(2) and to change the standing orders accordingly. Proposed by Eddie Winter, Terry Hanner seconded, unanimously agreed.
11. Neighbourhood Car Scheme:
The Chairman had spoken to Ann Carden who has agreed to organize a list of volunteers who would be willing to drive people to dental or doctor appointments. A list of volunteers will be published in the Parish Magazine and in the Post Office. It was suggested that a rotational list would be a good idea. Liz Cargill will pass on the Parish Council’s suggestions to Ann.
12. Joint Parish Meeting - Speaker:
The date was set for Friday 16th November at 7.30pm.
Proposal; Ask John Fuller, the new Leader of SNC, to speak at the meeting. Proposed by Eddie Winter, seconded by Roger Gibson, unanimously agreed. The Clerk was asked to organize this.
13. Telephone Box Cleaning:
The Chairman reported that both the telephone box and the notice board could do with cleaning. It was suggested to ask for a volunteer in the Parish Magazine but Terry said that Lucy might do it.
14. Planning:
Planning Application 2007/1247 – Beck Farm, Trunch Hill, Denton – Retention of replacement building
Proposal: Denton Parish Council considers the application should be approved and give the same reason for approval as for the previous application. Under ‘conditions if approval is granted’, the Parish Council suggests ‘this building should be for agricultural purposes only’. Proposed by Eddie Winter, unanimously agreed.
Some discussion took place regarding the building being erected by Ken Ashton. There was some uncertainty whether planning permission should be applied for, for a building of that size. However, it was decided that no action was necessary.
15. Correspondence:
SNC: Play Area Inspectors One Day Course. No Councillors wish to attend.
NCC: No smoking legislation. The Clerk asked if the Councillors thought it necessary to put a sign up in the Shelter. It was decided that this was not necessary.
SNC: Joint Member/Parish Council Planning training event on 19th July.
SNC: The Community Reference – Parish Councils may bring items of local wider concern to the Council where they do not have the power or the resources to deal with it themselves. The Scrutiny Committee, or relevant overview sub-committee, will investigate issues raised and will inform the Parish Council whether the topic is accepted, or, if not accepted, the reasons why with suggestions of other ways to approach the problem.
16. Finance:
a. Pay the Clerk £83.87 for July and August 2007.
b. Pay £32.90 to I.S. & G. for the tubing for the cycle racks.
Proposal: Pay a and b. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, unanimously agreed.
c. Elect a financial supervisor. Proposal: Appoint Roger Gibson as financial supervisor. Proposed by Eddie Winter, seconded by Liz Cargill, unanimously agreed.
The Clerk reported that Liz Frere-Smith had agreed to audit the books at a cost of £12 per hour.
d. The Annual Governance Statement was read through and the Chairman, with the agreement of the Councillors, all boxes with the exception of box 6 were agreed ‘yes’. Box 6 agreed ‘no’ because the Parish Council has not carried out a review of the effectiveness of the internal audit.
17. Any Other Business:
Terry Hanner reported that the footpath through Pocket Park was overgrown. The Clerk was asked to add this to the letter that will be sent to the Highways.
Eddie Winter reported that Mr. Charnick was stopping vehicles going through the gate to the meadow. The Councillors agreed to Eddie Winter speaking to him.
The meeting closed at 09.55 pm.