Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 9th February 2016
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Peter Hill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Grant, Zoe Brown, Pauline Sandell (Clerk).
Also Present: Murray Gray (District Councillor), 4 members of the public.
1. Apologies
Kerry Norfolk, Kay Wiltshire.
2. Declaration of Interest
Roger Gibson declared an interest in item 13.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting.
The minutes were proposed as being correct by Roger Gibson, seconded by Terry Hanner. The minutes were signed and dated.
4. District Matters and County Council Matters
Murray Gray; SNC is considering raising the council tax by 3.3%. Still to be confirmed. This will be the first increase in 6-7years. £200 funding from SNC has allocated to Denton Village Hall. Murray will have a further £1000 from 1st April to put towards projects.
Boundary reviews are about to take place and the first will be the ward boundaries. Secondly there will be a review of parliamentary boundaries and then Parish boundaries which could affect the boundary between Earsham and Denton.
There may also be a review of the rubbish collection rounds as more houses has created extra work.
5. Questions from the Public
None.
6. Matters Arising
a) Skinners’ Meadow; No problems at the moment.
b) First Aid Course; Peter Hill reported that 12 people attended and he was disappointed at the turn out. The course was good. Further courses will be discussed at the Annual Parish Meeting.
c) Road Signs; The clerk had received a form from SNC and will complete it for Darrow Green Road, Manor Farm Road and Roundhouse Hill.
d) Any Other Matters Arising; None.
7. Playing Field Inspection
a) Monthly inspection; Roger reported that the grass needs cutting and the padlock is missing. Terry will replace the padlock. Peter Hill said that it might be worth having the grass cut now. Willow needs cutting and reweaving. Terry has retrieved the dog sign from Wayne and will put it up. Kay Wiltshire will do the next inspection.
b) Quotes for Ground Maintenance; The Clerk had received a quote from John Chapman. All four quotes were discussed. The cheapest quote was from Norse. It was proposed by Roger Gibson that DPC continues with Norse for another year
and to have a tally of cuts. The Clerk will contact the other people that quoted to thank them.
8. Allotments
£5 received for allotment rent. There are still two vacant allotment plots. The Clerk will advertise these in the Parish Magazine again.
9. Pocket Park
Peter Hill tried to contact the Community Pay Back Unit but was unsuccessful. He will try again.
10. Composting
The Clerk had received an email from Jo Wright to say that the house had been sold and that she would like the composting site to be cleared by completion of the house sale which she expects to be at the end of March. Peter Hill will respond to Jo Wright. The compost will be kept at Liz Cargill and Ann Carden’s properties temporarily. They will need help to do this.
11. Replacement of the Parish Clerk
The vacancy has been advertised on the NALC website and newsletter and the Parish Magazine.
12. Date for Annual Parish Meeting and AGM
The AGM will take place on the monthly meeting held on 10th May. It was decided to have the Parish Meeting earlier this year as it was agreed that it would be an appropriate place to discuss the future of the composting scheme. It was decided to have it on Thursday 10th March.
13. Planning Applications 2015/2552 and 2015/2943 Certificate of Lawfulness for Grove Farm
After some discussion it was proposed that DPC would make objections to the above applications.
14. Correspondence
No Action.
15. Finance
a) Changes to the Annual Audit. Due to the changes in the external audit system the councillors were asked to decide whether they would like to opt in or opt out of the new SAAA system. It was agreed to opt in.
b) Accounts Summary. No discussed as the summary was not presented.
c) Pay the Clerk £90.29 for February.
d) Received £817.61 VAT refund.
Roger Gibson proposed that DPC pay c, seconded by Terry Hanner, unanimously agreed.
16. Any Other Business
Terry Hanner said that Kay Wiltshire had organized a box to be at the bar to take the EDP vouchers and the Village Hall Committee had decided to purchase a heating package if they obtain the funding.
Zoe Brown said that parents with children that attend the Denton and Alburgh School were concerned about the danger on the road as the children arrive and leave the school. They would like to raise funds for a footpath to be built. Permission from landowners and Highways will be needed.
Peter Hill had attended the Alburgh PC meeting as they had a speaker talking about Broadband. She said that Denton was programmed to have the box by the end of 2017. Normally this is situated at the centre of the village where the largest number of people would benefit.
The meeting closed at 9.36pm.