In attendance: Mr R.Godber (Chair), Ms M.Comley, Mrs J. Swan, Mr P.Wright, Mr R.White and Mr. B Ansell (Clerk). Also attending Mr. A. Gunson (County Councillor) & Mr D.Blake (District Councillor) & 11 Parishioners.
11.12 Declarations of Interest –None
11.13 Minutes.
The Minutes and actions of the meeting held on 19th January 2011, which had been circulated, and were now approved and signed.
11.14 Matters Arising
CLAXTON PARISH PLAN
The Chairman noted for subsequent meetings of the Parish Council, the Parish Plan will be placed on the Agenda to monitor progress on implementation of the recommendations but it was dependant on parishioners taking a leading role.
Allotments. It was noted that John Heathcote had offered the original site back to the Parish Council and whilst retaining the access from The Street, had also offered an access from Mill Lane. A new Gate had been installed and water would be made available. Three parishioners had declared their interest and 2 further allotments remain. Rents were anticipated to be £20 per annum
Web Site – A Parish Web Site accessible by parishioners would form the “Notice Board” for the Village. Two designers had contacted the Council and costs were in the region of £500 for design & £250 for maintenance. These costs were thought to be high and Councillors hoped less costly alternatives might be available to pursue.
11.15 District Councillors Report – Derek Blake in his penultimate report prior to the District Council elections, stressed that despite cut backs, funding for community projects was still available in surprising large amounts either from S.N.D.C. or WREN. Housing, particularly under the Joint Core Strategy, was progressing and SNDC had a 5 year supply of land to cover its allocation but not so Breckland nor Norwich which could have ramifications for SNDC. SNDC were examining the 1100 sites submitted under the LDF Consultation, and it was assumed that 80% would be rejected as unsuitable fairly quickly, leaving those in contention to be examined more closely. Finally he noted that despite Government intentions to raise the standard of Sustainable Homes to Level 3 and ultimately to Level 6, the adoption of Level 4 for Local Needs housing was coming under threat owing to the reduction in funding which could result in either fewer houses or of a lesser standard with tenants picking up larger bills for energy consumption
11.16 County Councillors Report
Adrian Gunson, The use of the new 002 Bus service had been sparse and would therefore be withdrawn given the need to save money by the County Council. A revised timetable for the 001 was tabled and whilst Claxton was now included major changes to timings for weekdays and Saturdays had been announced which undoubtedly would create confusion for some irregular users of the service. The Head of Hobart School had retired and the former Deputy –Simon Griffin – had been appointed to succeed him. Primary Schools were facing severe problems in recruiting Heads given the dual role of Head & Teacher and Rockland & Surlingham Primary Schools had “Federated” with a single Head & Governing Body. The Hobart swimming Pool was expected to open in May. The future of Bergh Apton Recycling Centre remained in doubt given the reluctance of NCC to apply for planning permission to extend the Licence for it to remain in existence after 2012. The Clerk would write to NCC.
11.17 Parishioner’s Questions – Topic for Discussion
The Annual Parish Meeting to be held on Wednesday 20th April 2011 commencing at 7-30pm normally has a Speaker with a topic of interest to parishioners. It was suggested that the topic should cover Alternative Technology/Sustainability / Energy Efficiency in the Home and the Energy Trust would be approached to provide a speaker.
11.18 Correspondence
The Clerk tabled a short list of correspondence which had been circulated to Councillors or received prior to the meeting. Items included:
Clerk & Councils Direct.
NALC -Norfolk Link / Community Led design 8/3 @ the Old Costessey Centre.
NPFA – Playing Field News Letter
NCC – Core Strategy & Waste Management
SNDC – Tree Warden – Alan Ives had volunteered to be Tree Warden for Claxton and was thanked by the Parish Council.
Broads Authority – Broads Plan – “A Strategy to Manage the Broads”.
HMRC – PAYE for Parish Clerks – Mr C.Dix had agreed to provide this service to the Parish Council from 1st April 2011 in order that the Council can continue employing and paying the Clerk.
Parish Council Elections – Thursday 5th May – Nomination Papers were made available for prospective and existing Councillors to apply. All nominations are to be received by SNDC by noon 4th April 2011.
The Chairman had written to all parishioners urging some to stand in order that an election could be held in Claxton – an event that had not been held for very many years.
11.19 Planning- Consultation with Parish Council
Broads Authority Approvals
BA2010/0322 Mr & Mrs Heathcote
Rear Extension to 1 Manor Farm Cottages – Approve
South Norfolk Approvals
2010/1921 Claxton House – 40 bedded Dementia Unit – Approve
(Despite the overwhelming objections from the local community re its location, the “Need” for such units to be provided by the private sector to replace those closed by the NHS, appeared to be the over riding factor for the District Council to approve the application).
South Norfolk Consultation
2011/0180 Mr J.Fiander Unit 1 Staines Barns – Change of Use from agriculture to residential.
2011/0181 Mr P.Edmonds Unit 3 Staines Barns – Change of Use from agriculture to residential.
The Parish Council welcomed these applications as it hoped it would bring closure to the Site which for sometime has posed a danger to the vulnerable members of the local community – our children – who have seen the derelict barns as an exciting Play Area.
In a sense of déjà vu, the Parish Council has had to reassess whether the Barns still retain the structural integrity of the original building despite the passage of time & the builders / developers demolitions and reconstructions, to provide in a sustainable form a structure worth converting into a residential development. The Parish Council was divided on the issue with views to approve and refuse in equal measure. The fact that only 2 units were being put forward made the decision more difficult because of the impact on the remaining unit and the need to resolve the individual site boundaries and services to be provided to them.
If approval is given by the District Council the time permitted to commence the development is normally 3 years. however given the problems above and the state of the buildings at this present time, it is hoped that this could be limited to under twelve months.
11.20 Finance
a, Balance at 14/2/11- £1855-93
b, Receipts – Parish Pit Trust re 3 The Warren -£397-87
c, Grants – None
d, Payments
100182 B.Ansell Clerks Sal/Exp(Feb-Mar) £388-03
100183 Claxton V.H. Hire of Hall £70-00
100184 Thurton V.H. Hire of Hall – Claxton house £20-00
100186 NRCC Subsription 20011/12 £15-00
100187 Glasdon Slimline Grit bin £158-01
The schedule was tabled by the Clerk for payment. On a proposal from Paul Wright, seconded by Jackie Swan, the schedule was approved for payment.
11.21 Parish Land & Property.
a, Land Registry –Village Hall deeds. Further inquiries to locate the Deeds are continuing to be made.
b, Grass Cutting – Norse had quoted £288-79 + VAT for 2011.
- Date of next meeting Wednesday 18th May 2011(Annual General Meeting)
Annual Parish Meeting –Wednesday 20th April 2011 at 7-30pm.
2011 19/01, 16/03, 18/05, 20/07, 21/09, 16/11, &APM- 20/04
Meeting closed at 22-40pm Brian Ansell – Parish Clerk
