Stanhoe Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held on Thursday, 17th September 2020 at 6.00pm
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 9th July 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: No declarations of interest were made.
4. Better Broadband for Norfolk (BBfN) - Update: The issue affecting some residents on Church Lane, who were unable to upgrade to FTTP, had now been resolved.
5. Review of Parish Council Policy Documents: The Chairman had yet to complete the review of the Parish Council policy documents. The Chairman hoped to complete this, and pass to Councillors for comment, prior to the next Parish Council meeting.
6. Children’s Play Area Fencing - Update: An on-site meeting between members of the Parish Council and the MEHM Trust had taken place on 12th August. Whilst some minor adjustments were made to the initial proposal put forward by the MEHM Trust, all Councillors agreed unanimously to assist with the funding for a picket style fence around the children’s play area. Anticipated costs at this stage were expected to be £833.33 + VAT for materials and £750 for labour to install the fence. BG had kindly offered to prepare and shape the pickets at no cost, for which the Parish Council were extremely grateful. The MEHM Trust had agreed to fund 50% of all material and labour costs, up to a maximum of £1000 plus 50% of the cost of all fixtures and fittings – hasps, bolts, locks etc. The MEHM Trust would also widen the entrance to the playing field by cutting back some of the hedge adjacent to the chained entrance.
The Parish Council highlighted the positives from having a fence around the children’s play area; the gate could be locked when necessary to prevent general access (if the equipment was broken or the Government imposed closure) and dogs would be prevented from wandering in the area and depositing dog waste.
The Council felt that in the interests of costs and risk management, one gate would suffice for the playground enclosure.
7. SAM 2 Update: The SAM 2 had been working without issue. . The fastest recorded speeds within the 30mph limit for July and August 2020 had been:
| Date | Time | Speed | Sign Position |
| 21st July | 21:05 | 65mph | Leo facing Burnham Market |
| 5th August | 00:55 | 55mph | Long Wall Barn facing Bircham |
During July 37,284 vehicles passed the speed sign, in August the figure was 41,704 vehicles.
8. Pond Update: DL and BG had further investigated the feasibility of the installation of a bore hole to enable the pond water level to be replenished during periods of drought or water loss. Unfortunately, at this stage, confirmed costs of £12K to £12.5K, made the project prohibitive. Nevertheless, this would remain a long term objective of the Parish Council and would be kept under review in the future as it was felt it was in the long term interests of the village if an affordable solution could be found. The Chairman had received one written objection to the project, which had previously been shared with Councillors. The Chairman would now respond to the objection and explain the Parish Council’s position.
9. Illicit Mobile Homes in the Paddock, Parsons Lane: DL advised Council that no further progress had been made as the Court hearing scheduled for 1st September 2020 had been further deferred.
10. Planning Applications and Information: Whilst no planning applications had been received, the Council had been notified that the property to replace Station Farm Cottage on Station Road would be known as ‘Red House’.
11. Financial Report and approval of payments: The Chairman advised Council that on 24th August 2020, the National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) announced that an agreement was reached between the National Employers and the NJC Trade Union Side on the new pay scales for 2020-21 to be implemented from 1 April 2020. The Chairman proposed that Council support the recommendation which would result in a £0.25 (approx.) hourly increase in the Clerk’s salary backdated to 1st April 2020. Councillors agreed to the proposal unanimously.
Up to date income & expenditure accounts, budget report and bank statements had been emailed to Councillors by the Clerk. No queries were raised.
Approval was sought and agreed for the following payments:
| Chq No | Payee | Reason | £ |
| 100805 | W. Leighton | Salary July & August 2020 | 317.72 |
| 100806 | W. Leighton | Expenses July & August 2020 – Printer Ink | 72.95 |
| 100807 | HMRC | PAYE July & August 2020 | 79.60 |
12. Resident’s Concerns/Issues Raised after the Agenda was Published:
Constructionarium
An email had been received from Constuctionarium Limited, a not for profit organisation based within the grounds of CITB's campus at Bircham Newton. They provide experiential learning for students studying built environment courses and employees from across the construction sector to put theory into practice. In six days they build replicas of iconic projects such as The Gherkin, Millau Viaduct, Brewery Wharf to name but a few. Whilst they are scaled replicas they are still of significant size.
Each week, after the event, they usually dispose of the concrete decks and slabs but had enquired whether the Parish Council might be able to make use of some of the items.
MW agreed to contact the company to determine exactly what was available and whether it would be of any use to the Parish Council, or possibly the MEHM Trust.
13. Items for the Next Agenda – Meeting of 12th November 2020:
Pond Bore Hole
SAM 2 – Update
Review of Parish Council Policy Documents
Mobile Homes in the Paddock, Parsons Lane
Children’s Play Area
Constuctionarium
No other items were discussed and the meeting closed at 7.00pm.