Stanhoe Parish Council
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held on Thursday, 12th November 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 17th September 2020: Prior to signing the minutes of the last meeting, the Chairman requested that an amendment to be at Item 6 to reflect that the MEHM Trust had agreed to pay 50% of the cost of all fixtures and fittings, not all the cost. The Clerk would make this amendment and the minutes would then 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. Norfolk Association of Local Council Changes: Norfolk Association of Local Councils (Norfolk ALC) is changing in order to enable member councils to be more involved and improve its governance. Norfolk ALC has been an unincorporated organisation to date. This is not now best practice. So, the executive have looked at a number of different models and concluded that a co-operative model best meets their needs. Norfolk ALC has therefore now registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a Cooperative Society, which provides services to its members. As part of the change a representative from the Parish Council could be nominated with a view to attending Norfolk ALC meetings and reporting back. At this stage the Parish Council did not wish to nominate a representative so requested the Clerk notify the County Officer accordingly.
5. Review of Parish Council Policy Documents: The Chairman advised Council that this was a more detailed task than originally anticipated and consequently was still ongoing. The Chairman hoped to complete the review in time for the next Parish Council meeting.
6. Children’s Play Area Fencing - Update: The timber to construct the fencing had arrived on 12th November. BG would now prepare the timber ready for installation. It was anticipated that installation would start on or around 23rd November and would take approximately 1 week to complete. RBR wished to express her thanks to BG for the considerable amount of personal time he had spent in researching, designing, ordering and preparing the fence; this was echoed by all Councillors present.
7. SAM 2 Update: The SAM 2 had been working without issue. The fastest recorded speeds within the 30mph limit for September and October 2020 had been:
| Date | Time | Speed | Sign Position |
| 21st September | 23:35 | 75mph | Pond facing Burnham Market |
| 9th October | 17:10 | 55mph | Pond facing Docking |
During September 34,305 vehicles passed the speed sign, in October the figure was 26,707 vehicles.
DL would discuss the results downloaded from SAM 2 with the Speedwatch Coordinator.
8. Pond Borehole - Update: BG had confirmed with an independent contractor that the quotes received for the installation of a pond borehole were fair. Nevertheless, Councillors were in agreement that this still made the project prohibitive but it would remain a long term objective.
9. Illicit Mobile Homes in the Paddock, Parsons Lane: DL advised Council that yet another adjournment had been requested with the next date being set for 16th December 2020.
10. Parish Council Budget Setting 2021/2022: Councillors were in unanimous agreement that there should be no increase to the precept request for FY 2021/22; it would remain at £7K. There would be some minor adjustments to the individual line entries in the budget and these would be ratified at the January 2021 meeting.
11. Parish Council Meeting Dates 2021: Councillors agreed the following provisional dates for 2021 Parish Council meetings:
14th January
11th March
13th May (Annual Parish meeting date TBC)
15th July
9th September
11th November
12. Constructionarium: MW visited the Constructionarium site at the CITB on 22nd October 2020. Constructionarium is an integral part, albeit independent of the CITB. Students from the construction industry attend week long courses, where they are tasked with completing small, scaled down civil engineering projects, of already completed public projects. They have to design, cost, order materials and construct all within 7 days. The Site Manager was able to offer the Parish Council the following:
a) the actual completed structure or
b) the aggregate from the broken down projects
MW explained to Council that the projects, even scaled down, are too large and should the Parish Council take advantage of the offer, the Parish Council would be responsible for removing the structure/aggregate from the site. Councillors were in agreement with MW, that whilst this was a very generous offer from the Site Manager they did not feel the structures could be of benefit to the Parish Council. MW would contact the Site Manager, thank him for the offer and advise him of the Council’s decision.
13. Planning Applications and Information: The following planning application had been received or decided upon since the last meeting:
| Application Number | Proposal | Decision |
| 20/01520/F |
Variation of condition 2 of planning permission 20/00603/F to increase the length of the dwelling by 1m Station Farm Cottage |
No objection from the Parish Council |
14. Financial Report and approval of payments: 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 | £ |
| 100808 | W. Leighton | Salary September & October 2020 | 345.28 |
| 100809 | HMRC | PAYE September & October 2020 | 86.20 |
| 100810 | D. Lord | Conference Call Costs – September 2020 | 41.40 |
15. Resident’s Concerns/Issues Raised after the Agenda was Published:
Alive West Norfolk
Alive West Norfolk amalgamates the activities of the gym facilities and swimming pool in Kings Lynn, the pool in Hunstanton, and activities in Downham Market. It often advertises its activities, although they are often conducted some distance from Stanhoe. However, Alive West Norfolk, as part of a survey, had asked what activities (aimed at over 60’s) may be of interest to residents. RBR suggested bowls or seated yoga, which could be undertaken in the Reading Room, may be of interest. Councillors felt that it may be more appropriate for the MEHM Trust, as owners of the Reading Room, to take this subject forward. RBR would pass details to the Chair of the MEHM Trust.
Biomass Traffic
Over the weekend of 10/11 October 2020, a number of residents had noted an excessive number of large tractor/trailer units travelling at speed along Bircham Road, Docking Road and Burnham Road. Residents had contacted the Holkham Estate however, the Holkham Estate confirmed that it is not responsible for the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Egmere - it is run by Future Biogas. Future Biogas had received a number of complaints so met with the tractor drivers involved and reminded them of their responsibilities in terms of speed, road courtesy and the negative impact their behaviour is having on local communities and Future Biogas. It was noted that speeds reduced over the coming week.
16. Items for the Next Agenda – Meeting of 14th January 2021:
SAM 2 – Update
Review of Parish Council Policy Documents
Mobile Homes in the Paddock, Parsons Lane
Children’s Play Area
No other items were discussed and the meeting closed at 7.30pm.