Stanhoe Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held on Thursday, 12th July 2018 at 6.00pm
in the village Reading Room
Clerk to the Council – , tel 01485 518570
Present:
Mr. D. Lord (DL) Chairman
Miss. R. Brown (RB)
Mr. M. Roche (MR)
Mrs. J. Lord (JL)
Mr. D. Vincent (DV)
Apologies:
Mr D. Bridge (DB)
In Attendance:
4 Members of the Public
1. To consider apologies for absence: DB had given his apologies.
2. To consider approval of the Minutes of the last meeting held on 10th May 2018: No queries were raised and the Minutes were passed and signed by the Chairman.
3. To record declarations of interest in any item to be discussed: No declarations of interest were made.
4. To adjourn the meeting to allow for public participation: Members of the Public were Mr and Mrs Wilson of The Lodge, Docking Road, Stanhoe and two further residents.
Mr Wilson read out a prepared statement expressing personal disappointment that a member of the public had lodged an objection with Planning Enforcement (BCKLWN) with respect to works being carried out at The Lodge resulting in further delay and cost on their part. They requested the Council’s assistance in gaining approval for the necessary plans to meet the Planning Department’s requirements. (See also item 14).
They also raised concerns regarding the speed of traffic entering Stanhoe from Docking and enquired whether the restriction sign could be moved further out.
5. Speeding in the village: Speeding in the village still remained a concern for both Council and residents. Recent data collected from the SAM 2 indicated a speed of 95mph along Bircham Road on 3rd May 2018 at 3.40pm and a speed of 60mph along Docking Road on 8th June 2018 at 11.55pm. The Chairman would liaise with the Speedwatch Coordinator to see how the data gathered could be best shared with the Police.
6. Go to Town Transport: The Chairman had written to the Chief Executive of WNCT advising of the Parish Council’s intention to make a contribution of £400 for the coming year. A response was awaited.
7. Parish Partnership Bids: The Parish Partnership Scheme Initiative will again be repeated in the financial year 2019/20. The Council asked the Clerk to ascertain whether ‘Village Gates’ came under the scheme.
8. Stanhoe Village Forum Meeting: It was suggested that a Stanhoe Village Forum Meeting be held to include the Parish Council, the Church, the Chapel, the MEHM Trust, the WI and the Stanhoe Archive. The purpose would be to identify any similar themes encountered by the individual organisations with a view to be able to ‘join up’ and, where appropriate, address issues collectively. The Chairman and the Clerk would coordinate and send out invitations for the inaugural meeting,
9. Playing Field:
Dog Bin Provision and ‘No Dogs’ Signs: MR, as the Chairman of the MEHM Trust, advised Council that the application process was underway with the BCKLWN with regard to the provision of a dog bin, away from the children’s play area. In addition, MR advised that new signs for the playing field, ‘Dogs are Welcome provided Owners Clean Up’, would be purchased and put in place.
Children’s Play Equipment: The Council wished to express its thanks to Brian Gorton who had very generously cleaned the children’s play equipment. DV would now arrange for the annual inspection of the equipment.
10. Better Broadband for Norfolk (BBfN) - Update: The Programme Director for BBfN had confirmed that there would be a delay in the first phase installation and it was now anticipated to be completed by mid-August. The delay was due to ‘engineering issues’. The Clerk would obtain a further update in mid-August. Of late, a number of residents had reported a loss of telephone and/or broadband facilities. The Chairman would email the Programme Director for BBfN to highlight the issues and the impact this has on a rural community with limited mobile phone reception.
11. Polling Station Closure - Update: In view of a number of comments received by the BCKLWN regarding the closure of certain Polling Stations, the BCKLWN have now decided not to pursue the proposals at present, Usage of polling stations will be monitored at the May 2019 elections.
12. Parish Council Election Costs – Uncontested Elections: At a meeting of the BCKLWN held on 14th June 2018 it was resolved to re-charge the costs of uncontested Parish Council Elections to the Parish Councils concerned. This will apply at the four-yearly Parish Council Elections as well as any Casual Vacancies in between. The re-charges will be the actual costs incurred per uncontested election and would take effect from 1st April 2019. Councillors raised concern regarding this change and asked the Clerk to clarify with the BCKLWN particularly what any likely costs would or could be.
13. Website Contribution: The Webmaster had informed Council that he had recently paid bills for the website hosting costs for Stanhoe.org and an annual fee to retain the domain name. Hosting costs, covering a 2 year period, are £70 + VAT plus an annual domain retention fee of £10.95 + VAT. Council agreed unanimously to make a contribution of £40 towards the costs.
14. Planning applications and information: The following application had been received:
| App Number | Proposal | Council Response |
| 18/00939/F | Extension to existing dwelling. Demolition of existing detached double garage and erection of replacement. |
No objections by Parish Council. Application permitted by BCKLWN. |
The Council sympathized with the frustration experienced by Mr and Mrs Wilson and agreed to look as closely and sympathetically as possible at any revised plans necessary for the approval of the works at The Lodge. (See also item 4).
15. Financial Report and approval of payments: Up to date income & expenditure accounts, budget report and bank statements were circulated by the Clerk. No queries were raised. The Clerk advised Council that the VAT return had been submitted to HMRC and the Council had been registered, a requirement of GDPR, with the ICO.
Approval was sought and agreed for the following payments:
| Chq No | Payee | Reason | £ |
| 100733 | Came & Company | Annual Insurance Premium | 405.19 |
| 100734 | ICO | Annual Registration Fee | 40.00 |
| 100735 | C. Butcher | Website Costs | 40.00 |
| 100736 | W. Leighton | Salary May and June 2018 | 303.86 |
| 100737 | W. Leighton | Expenses May and June 2018 | 31.00 |
| 100738 | HMRC | PAYE May and June 2018 | 76.00 |
16. Any other Business (for information only): The following items were brought to the attention of the Clerk after the Agenda had been published:
Stanhoe Pond: A resident had expressed concern about the water loss in the pond following the continued hot spell and lack of rain. The weather forecast indicated that rainfall may be due in week commencing 16th July 2018 so Councillors decided to defer any decision on what action may be considered.
Tree Opposite Fern Cottage: A resident reminded Council that no action had yet been taken regarding the tree growing around the telegraph pole opposite Fern Cottage. Council asked the Clerk to make further contact with the landowner.
To cover similar eventualities in future, an agenda item entitled ‘Residents Concerns’ would be added to future agendas.
17. Items for the next Agenda: Meeting of 19th September 2018:
Upkeep of the Pond
No other items were discussed and the meeting closed at 8.05pm.