Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 9th February 2010
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Hill, Adrian Hipwell, Eddie Winter, Annie Whiteman, Pauline Sandell (Clerk)
Also Present: Mr. Tony Tomkinson (County Councillor), Dr. Murray Gray (District Councillor)
1. Apologies
None.
2. Declaration of Interest
None
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting
Item 4b, line 6 should read 'rescheduled for 22nd January'. The minutes were agreed and signed.
4. Matters Arising:
a) Playing Field; Adrian Hipwell reported that the tunnel was exposed enough to get a small child through, the bark is still low, the lid had come off the dog bin by the roadside, the clothing bank was overflowing and the cricket nets have been chewed probably by rabbits. It was decided that the nets should be repaired and rolled up to prevent further damage. The Clerk was asked to arrange for the clothing bin to be emptied. Terry had spoken to Malcolm about the tunnel. The bark is with Malcolm at the moment and it was agreed that Roger, Terry and Adrian will meet on 27th February 10am to spread the bark and do other necessary maintenance. Peter had spoken to the contractors about emptying the recycling bin and was told that the driver waits for a call to say it is full. Peter agreed to keep an eye on the bins and will make the necessary call, although it might take up to a week after the call before it is emptied. Terry Hanner will complete the February report.
b) Play Area Project; Annie circulated to the Councillors summaries of the Playbuilder Year application and explained the reasoning. The bid was increased from £25,000 to £50,000 as bids below £50,000 would not be considered. The grant is for equipment for 8-13 year olds but information on specific equipment was not asked for just the principles. Annie and Peter were thanked for all their hard work
c) Grit Box; the grit box has been purchased and is in place on Roundhouse Hill and has been filled with grit.
d) Any Other Matters; The Clerk has written to BT to ask them to remove the telephone box. The Chairman asked the Councillors if they thought it would be a good idea to put a pay phone in the Village Hall. It was thought that it would very rarely be used. However if and when the Village Hall decide to install internet connection, then it could be decided whether to have a pay phone as well. Roger asked Murray if he had heard any more about the enforcement notice at Grove Farm. Murray had heard no more.
5. District and County Council Matters
Tony Tomkinson: Speed Limit: Proposals regarding the 30mph speed limit and its positioning will come out to Denton Parish Council and possibly by the next meeting in March. He said that it would be reasonable to expect the speed limit to continue along Norwich Road, all the way down Trunch Hill and just round the corner. After that there are very few houses and it would be unlikely that the speed limit would extend any further. It would also be unlikely along Middle Road, Chapel Hill or the top end of Norwich Road. According to the plans for the affordable housing the start of the speed limit would be 59 metres north of the proposed junction. The time needed to slow down before the start of the speed limit will be taken into consideration. The repeater signs would be every 200 metres. Adrian made it clear that he would not be agreeable to having repeater signs when you get into open fields, the Chairman agreed. It might take 4-5 months before the speed limit is up and running. The Councillors wondered whether Saffron would be happy to pay for a speed limit extending further than the affordable housing area. Tony said that the cost of extending it would not be much more.
Budget: Recommending a Council Tax increase of 1.9%, the lowest increase that has ever been. Although the potential losses incurred by NCC from the monies placed in the Icelandic Bank amounts, with interest, of close to £10 million, they will not let that affect the recommendation of 1.9% increase. A long term loan from the Government has been refused, so they will take it from their reserves of approximately £44 million.
Local Government Review: It has been leaked that Norwich will be given a unitary status under its existing boundaries. This will not take affect until May 2012. However, in the event of the conservatives winning the election with a majority, things may change.
Murray Gray:
Budget: Council tax will be frozen at last year's level. The Police are talking about just over 3% increase. The Council are still talking to Breckland about shared services and have been given a grant to arrange feasibility consultations.
The Councillors thanked Murray for his support on the affordable housing.
6. Questions from the Public
None.
7. Affordable Housing
Eddie and Liz have been sitting on a panel at SNC which has been set up to speed up the process of applying to build affordable housing. Murray said that at the moment the average time from initial approach to occupation of the housing is 2.5 years.
8. Village Survey
Due to the recent bad weather the survey has not yet been completed.
9. Contract Between DPC and Rogerson Trust re Playing Field
Eddie reported that a meeting with David Sprake will be taking place on 16th February.
Eddie thought that the lease would be for 50 years, but Peter suggested 68 years.
However, after some discussion it was agreed that 99 years should be requested. Eddie will ask David Sprake if he is able to act for both parties.
10. Annual Parish Meeting
It was agreed that this would be an ideal opportunity to discuss the Community Ambition Award with the residents. However, the application for the award has to be in by 19th April and it was therefore agreed to hold the Annual Parish Meeting earlier than usual on the 17th March** at 7.30pm. It was agreed to change the format of the meeting this year and not to send out leaflets with summaries of all the various groups and organizations. It was also agreed to hold the AGM as usual at the first meeting of May at 7.30am. The Clerk was asked to find out if it was our turn to hold the Joint Parish Meeting and if it is then a subject and speaker will be needed. Put on next month�s agenda.
11. Planning Applications
With regard to the comment made by Murray Gray at the last meeting, the Clerk looked on the SNC planning website for a planning application for The New Dwelling, Norwich Road. However, she discovered that the changes on the plans were for the balustrade to be solid and not vertical slats and therefore a planning application was not necessary and the parish council was not consulted.
12. Correspondence
NCC: A map showing the top priority salting routes that will still be salted if weather deteriorates before the Government allows an increase in salt supplies to Norfolk.
13. Finance
a. Accounts summary; the Clerk circulated the accounts summary showing separate accounts for composting, grants/donations and regular annual income. The Councillors asked if the reserve could also be shown. The Clerk will do this for the next meeting.
b. Pay the Clerk £89.19 for February 2010
c. Pay Builders Equipment £146.88 for grit box
d. Pay Philip J Warren £314.31 for bark
Proposal: Pay b, c and d. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, seconded by Eddie Winter, unanimously agreed.
e. Received £496.63 for compost recycling credits. Noted.
16. Any Other Business
Adrian gave his apologies for the next meeting.
Terry produced a list of pot holes that have appeared in Denton and the Clerk was asked to inform Highways. The Clerk was also asked to inform Highways that there is water flooding across the road from the ditch in the Alburgh Road which could be dangerous if frozen.
The meeting closed at 9.35pm.
**Since the meeting the date has changed to Tuesday 16th March.