Stanhoe Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held on Thursday, 21st May 2020 at 6.00pm
held via BT Conference Call
Clerk to the Council – , tel 01485 518570
Present:
Mr D. Lord (DL) Chairman
Miss R. Brown (RBR)
Mrs J. Lord (JL)
Mrs R. Birkin (RB)
Mr M. Wilson (MW)
Mr B. Gorton (BG)
Apologies: None
In attendance: None
1. To consider apologies for absence: All Councillors were present on the call.
2. To consider approval of the minutes of the last meeting held on 12th March 2020: No queries were raised and it was agreed the minutes would be signed by the Chairman when possible.
3. To record declarations of interest in any item to be discussed: RB made a declaration of interest in one element of Item 13 and would not take part in the discussion surrounding Station Farm Cottage.
4. Vulnerable Adults Policy: A discussion took place, brought about by COVID 19, as to whether it was necessary to have a Vulnerable Adults Policy. It was agreed by Council that this was not necessary as Stanhoe was a small village with limited numbers of permanent residents. In addition, a volunteer group had been assembled by the Council which had been able to assist those deemed to be vulnerable during COVID 19 with their general shopping and collection of prescriptions etc.
5. Better Broadband for Norfolk Update: The programme for Solution 2 was likely to be slightly delayed due to the current COVID 19 restrictions.
6. Review of Parish Council Policy Documents: Whilst this item would be carried forward to the next meeting, the Chairman agreed in the interim to look at all the Parish Council policy documents currently in place.
7. Request for Financial Support – All Saints Church: A request had been received from the All Saints Church requesting financial support from the Parish Council. Councillors were sympathetic to the financial difficulties the Church face, compounded by COVID 19 with churches closed and no collections. Whilst Parish Councils are unable to make direct transfer of funds to the Church, Councillors agreed unanimously to cover Contractor costs of £300 for the upkeep of the graveyards and their surrounds. This would be paid direct to the Contractor on receipt of an invoice or invoices up to a total value of £300.
8. SAM 2 Update: Unfortunately the SAM 2 was not working. The SAM 2 would be returned to Westcotec for repair once they were back in operation.
9. Public Rights of Way: This was still work in progress.
10. Children’s Play Equipment – Update: The buffalo board for the Explorer Playscape was still awaited. In preparation for the play equipment to be able to reopen, BG and DL had jet washed all the equipment.
11. Pond Update: BG and DL had undertaken 3 sessions clearing and tidying around the pond. RBR wished to record her thanks to BG and DL in making the area around the pond much more accessible and welcoming to village residents and visitors.
12. Arrangements for Annual Parish Meeting: The Annual Parish meeting would be placed on hold pending further government advice.
13. Planning Applications and Information: The following planning applications had been received or decided upon since the last meeting:
| Application Number | Proposal | Decision |
| 20/00022/TPO | Fell 3 dead trees. Reduce 1 tree by 3m All Saints Church |
TPO work approved by BCKLWN – 25th March 2020 |
| 20/00603/F | Construction of a dwelling house with associated landscaping and a detached garage and retention of a garden shed. Station Farm Cottage Station Road |
A response from the Parish Council had been sent to the BCKLWN on 14 May 2020. The Parish Council neither supported or objected to the application but asked for a number of points to be taken into account prior to a final decision being made |
14. End of Year Accounts, Financial Report and approval of payments: Year End accounts as at 31st March 2020 had previously been emailed to Councillors by the Clerk. The accounts had yet to be inspected by the Internal Auditor. Council agreed unanimously with the End of Year Accounts. However, the Chairman would not be able to sign the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2019/20 until the accounts had been inspected.
Up to date income & expenditure accounts, budget report and bank statements had also been emailed to Councillors by the Clerk. No queries were raised.
Approval was sought and agreed for the following payments:
| Chq No | Payee | Reason | £ |
| 100791 | NALC | Subs 2020/21 | 93.15 |
| 100792 | J. Faulks | Cemetery Maintenance | 150.00 |
| 100793 | Came & Co | Annual Insurance Premium | 426.83 |
| 100794 | D. Lord | Laptop Repair | 65.00 |
| 100795 | W. Leighton | Salary Mar & Apr 20 | 317.92 |
| 100796 | HMRC | PAYE Mar & Apr 20 | 79.40 |
15. Resident’s Concerns/Issues Raised after the Agenda was Published:
MEHM Donation
The Chairman felt that a donation should be made to the MEHM trust to cover hire of the Reading Room for Parish Council meetings. The Chairman requested that the Clerk confirm when the last donation to the MEHM Trust was made. Following that confirmation, the Chairman would email Councillors, for discussion, a suggested donation.
Fly Tipping
There had been a reported incident of fly tipping of garden waste on private land in Cross Lane. The Chairman had discussed this with those involved and the garden waste had now been removed.
16. Items for the Next Agenda – Meeting of 9th July 2020:
Public Rights of Way
Review of Parish Council Policy Documents
Review of the proposal to install a picnic area near the playing equipment, to be delineated by a low spaced picket fence.
No other items were discussed and the meeting closed at 7.00pm.