Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 12th July 2011
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Hill, Adrian Hipwell, Annie Whiteman, Pauline Sandell (Clerk).
Also Present: Murray Gray (District Councillor).
1. Apologies
Terry Hanner, Wayne Mayhew, Tony Tomkinson.
2. Declaration of Interest
The Chairman declared an interest in item 6d.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes were agreed and signed.
4. District and County Council Matters
Meetings with Gt. Yarmouth to discuss sharing services continue. The key issue at the moment is that SNC's IT system is different to that of Gt Yarmouth and it is difficult to share services unless the IT systems are the same. The aim is to approve the sharing of services at the September Council meeting and then it would start in October. It will be done in three phases, one phase each year. The savings should be in the region of a couple of million pounds.
The new consultation on the LDF has been delayed and will now run from August until November. Three new sites have been put forward; between Fairheads and Middle Road; between the playing field and The Patch; north of Uplands Terrace. DPC will be invited to a meeting on August 22nd at South Norfolk House regarding the new consultation. Murray said that it is unlikely that SNC will consider sites of less than 5 houses.
At the last LDF consultation new sites were proposed and, mainly because of those new sites, another consultation will be run from July to October. Denton Parish Council will have another opportunity to put its views.
5. Questions from the Public
None.
6. Matters Arising:
a) Playing Field;
Annie Whiteman reported that she had pulled up nettles and weeds around the bark area. Apart from that nothing further to report. She said that she did not like removing the dog poo from the bottom bin to the top bin and asked if this was necessary. One suggestion was to ask SNC to empty both bins, but this would incur extra cost and was discounted. After some discussion the following proposal was put forward;
Proposal; remove the bottom bin all together, but to keep it just in case it is needed at a later date. Proposed by Annie Whiteman, seconded by Peter Hill, all agreed apart from Liz Cargill who abstained. Adrian to action. The Clerk said that she had been asked to purchase more dog bags at a cost of around £8. This was agreed. Roger reported that the glass bin had been very full with broken glass lying around. The bin was emptied the day after phoning them.
Annie is waiting for a draft of the sign to come back from SNC and it was agreed that she could give it the OK without waiting until the next meeting in September. Annie had found a selection of 'springys' from Venture Playground and asked Liz to have a look at them and to get her grandson to pick one. The standard springy was £450. It was suggested that the existing chicken springy could be taken away and repaired, but it was thought to be too far gone for repair. Liz Cargill said that there was enough money in the compost fund to pay for two new springys.
Proposal; purchase two springys using money from the compost fund and with a budget of no more than £1000. Liz Cargill proposed, seconded by Annie, unanimously agreed.
Adrian will do the next report and Wayne will complete the August report.
b) Speedwatch; Peter Hill reported that Alburgh PC would not allow their speedwatch equipment to be used in other villages as the batteries are hard to come by. Peter spoke to Harleston Police and they confirmed that no further money was available for training. However, if Peter can come up with six volunteers they will try and find a camera. Liz Cargill asked the Councillors if they thought it was a good idea to have a speedwatch. It was generally thought this was a good idea and if Peter can find six volunteers he would then go back to Harleston Police to see if they could provide the equipment.
c) Allotment; Liz Cargill reported that Terry Townsend will get the fencing from Countryside Supplies, but will not be putting up the fencing until the Autumn.
d) Affordable Housing; Liz Cargill reported that the substation was in place, it was buff colour, and that the top of it could be barely seen. She thought that keys would be given out for the housing on 5th August. Some concern has been shown about the depth of the ditch between Thanksgiving Cottage and the entrance.
e) Resolutions for Debate at NALC AGM; None.
f) Any Other Matters; None.
7. Planning Applications
The Clerk reported that planning applications from Denton Village Hall and Trunch House had been approved by SNC. Although she had not received any new planning applications yet, she said that three more were due to arrive shortly. It was decided that a further meeting in July would be needed to discuss those.
The planning application for Pockthorpe Cottage had been withdrawn.
8. EfW Incinerator near Kings Lynn
It was agreed that DPC did not wish to make any comment.
9. Correspondence
Saffron Community Foundation – Information on grants was passed to Adrian for Denton Village Hall.
10. Finance
a) Accounts Summary
The accounts for June were circulated and agreed.
b) Pay the Clerk £89.19 for July and August.
Proposal; to pay b. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, seconded by Peter Hill, unanimously agreed.
11. Any Other Business
Roger Gibson said that three matters of concern had been brought to his notice by a resident. A) Should the bottle bank be full anybody has the authority to ring the number on the bank to tell them it is full. It was agreed to insert a piece in the Parish Magazine about this. B) It was noted that the grass around the play equipment was being cut at a different time to that in the main playing field and therefore did the Parish Council have to pay extra for the grass to be cut around the play area. The Clerk said that DPC was not being charged extra. C) There were a lot of weeds around the play area, especially tall weeds. These weeds have now been pulled. However, it was agreed that Annie would speak to the members of the sub-committee in September to ask them what they would like to take responsibility for and she will then report back to the DPC. This could also include checking the play equipment.
Liz Cargill said she would ask Wayne Mayhew if he would re-erect the millennium wood sign.
There is some concern about persistent loud noise and bonfires at a house in Globe Close. This will be put on the next meeting's agenda.
The meeting closed at 9.35 pm.