Stanhoe Parish Council
Draft Minutes of Parish Council Meeting
Held on Thursday, 9th September 2021 at 6.00pm
in the village Reading Room
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:
Nil
In attendance:
6 members of the public
1. To consider apologies for absence: All Councillors were present.
2. To consider approval of the minutes of the last meeting held on 15th July 2021: 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 meeting to allow public participation: The members of public present did not wish to raise any issues.
5. Parish Council Vacancy – Prospective Candidates: Council had spoken with 2 prospective candidates prior to the start of tonight’s meeting. Deliberations would continue at the close of the meeting.
6. Go to Town Bus Service: The Clerk had asked WNCT whether they could provide a further ‘drop request’ in Stanhoe on the 14.30 bus from Kings Lynn. WNCT had advised that with low patronage from the village, and without financial support from the Parish Council, they would be unable to offer any further services. Subsequently RBR has emailed WNCT on 2 occasions, once as a resident and once as a Parish Councillor, pointing out that there is no return service from Kings Lynn to Stanhoe on a Saturday or Sunday. RBR had received a reply to her initial email from the WNCT Manager advising that the new route and timetable would be reviewed in a few weeks and they would take another look at the possibility of including more services via Stanhoe at that point. An update is still awaited.
7. NALC Share Certificate: As a result of the NALC registering as a co-operative organisation, Stanhoe Parish Council became a founder member of NALC and was subsequently issued with a share certificate. The PC accepts no liability or obligation as a result of this change in corporate structure.
8. Egmere Energy Traffic: MW is the lead Parish Councillor for issues relating to Egmere Energy traffic. With the maize harvest, weather dependent, due to start in the coming weeks MW reminded Council that any agricultural vehicles transiting the village on route to Egmere were restricted to 15mph. In addition, each tractor/trailer unit would display a unique identifier that could be used to report any transgressions. Any issues identified should be passed, in the first instance, to the Parish Clerk.
9. SAM 2 Update: The SAM 2 had been working without issue. The fastest recorded speeds within the 30mph limit from 4th July 2021 to 1st September 2021 had been:
| Date | Time | Speed | Sign Position |
| 24th July | 08:05 | 50mph | Longwall Barn facing the pond |
| 2nd August | 12:45 | 60mph | Pond facing Burnham Market |
During July 18,233 vehicles passed the speed sign, in August the figure was 43,407 vehicles. On the theory that most vehicles return at some point during the day, this would indicate that the monthly traffic through Stanhoe during August was is in the order of 87,000 or 2,800 vehicles per day.
10. Gambling Act – Statement of Principles: The Chairman advised Council that local authorities are obliged, in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005, to publish a Statement of Principles each 3-year period. Whilst invited to comment on the draft statement of principles, due to come into force on 31st January 2022, Council did not feel it was necessary to do so.
11. Overgrown Trees and Hedges: Further to a conversation with the homeowner, the Chairman was pleased to report that the overgrown trees/bushes at the Old Rectory had been dealt with in a timely manner. MW did report however that the issue was still apparent on some lanes and outside some properties. The Chairman agreed to discuss this with the relevant land and homeowners.
12. Children’s Play Area - Equipment Repairs/Cleaning/Litter Bin: Further minor repairs identified in the annual inspection, the replacement of shackles and caps, could be rectified at a cost of £475.00, a price negotiated by the Chairman as the original quote had been £600. Arrangements would be made for this work to be undertaken. BG, assisted by the Chairman, had recently undertaken the annual jet washing of all equipment. Unfortunately, the aerial walkway had broken recently, the quote for repair being £900. BG agreed to replace the aerial walkway with a ‘fixed’ walkway, at no cost, other than materials, to the Council. The Council thanked BG for his very generous offer. Whilst the MEHM Trust had kindly agreed to fund the playground litter bin housing, subject to the Parish Council paying the annual emptying charge, clarification was still needed on the funding for a concrete base.
13. Pre-Submission Consultation Period for the Local Plan Review: Notification had been received from the BCKLWN advising that the Local Plan Review will be open for representations until 5.00pm on 27th September 2021. Council did not feel it necessary to make any representation as the allocation of land to deliver the development requirements of the borough, such as housing, employment, recreation, green spaces, community and leisure was unlikely to impact upon Stanhoe.
14. MEHM Trust Matters: The Clerk had received an email from the Chair of the MEHM Trust, relating to matters discussed with the Parish Council Chairman over several months back, requesting that the feedback from MEHM Trustees be presented to Council. Whilst not exhaustive, matters included, hedge trimming work for the MEHM Trust, mole traps, funding for the playground waste bin housing, the area behind the playground, granting approval to house a Parish Council filing cabinet in the Village Hall and approaching the BCKLWN regarding the siting/erection of ‘finger posts’ for the Village Hall. Other matters relating only to the MEHM Trust were also included. The Chairman circulated a proposed response to Councillors, which after discussion was approved to be sent to the MEHM Trust Chair.
15. Planning Applications and Information: The following planning applications had been received or decided upon since the last meeting:
| Application Number | Proposal | Decision |
| 21/00971/F |
Rear extension and front porch. Provide access to side of property.
|
Application permitted 5th August 2021 |
| 21/00088/TPO |
Fell lime tree as too close to house and root plate lifting. Grange Cottage |
TPO work approved 18th August 2021 |
| 21/01702/F |
Replacement dwelling and garage. Grange Cottage |
Parish Council comments to be submitted to BCKLWN by 21st September |
16. Financial Report and approval of payments: Up to date income & expenditure accounts, budget report and bank statements were circulated to Councillors by the Clerk. No queries were raised.
Approval was sought and agreed for the following payments:
| Chq No | Payee | Reason | £ |
| 100838 | J. Faulks | Village maintenance | 330.00 |
| 100839 | M. Wilson | Bird spikes for children’s play equipment | 29.99 |
| 100840 | W. Leighton | Salary July & August 2021 | 325.68 |
| 100841 | HMRC | PAYE July & August 2021 | 81.40 |
17. Resident’s Concerns/Issues Raised after the Agenda was Published:
None received/raised.
18. Items for the Next Agenda – Meeting of 11th November 2021:
Parish Council Vacancy
Go to Town Bus - Update
SAM 2 – Update
Overgrown Trees and Hedges
Children’s Play Area
No other items were discussed and the meeting closed at 7.15pm.