Claxton Village, Norfolk

Meeting held on Wednesday 12 July 2017 in Claxton Village Hall at 7.31pm

In attendance:  Councillor Pat Clare (Chair, presiding), Councillor David Hamblin, Councillor Mary Button, Councillor Jason Cantrill and Councillor Sarah Kennedy, and Mr Mike Balmer (Clerk).  Also attending:  5 Parishioners.  No District or County Councillor present.

17.50 Approved absences – there were none.

17.51 Declarations of Interest – there were none.

17.52 Minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2017
The minutes of the above meeting, which had been circulated beforehand and placed on the notice board and website, were approved and signed.

17.53 District and County Councillors
Barry Stone had been unable to attend but had sent in his usual monthly report, which had also been put on the website.  Jaan Larner had e-mailed the Clerk shortly before the meeting to apologise for not being able to attend, as he was stuck in traffic on the way back from London.

17.54 Parishioners’ Questions
A parishioner drew attention to the hole which remained unfilled since electrical connection work some two years previously alongside the footpath behind the cottages from Home Piece to the Church.  It was potentially very dangerous as it had grown over and was almost invisible.  The Clerk offered to approach the people responsible in a private capacity.

There was discussion prompted by Barry Stone’s July report about the proposed roundabout where George Lane in Loddon meets the A146.  It was the generally held view that the conditions attached to the original planning application which had required the roundabout to be built before construction started had been gradually watered down, resulting in further delays and the potential for the County Council to now meet a significant part of the overall cost.

17.55   Windfall Litter Pick prize
The village had been selected to receive an additional £200 following the spring Litter Pick and the Chair asked for ideas on how to spend it.  One suggestion was a refurbishment and tidying up of the village sign which had been erected in 2012.  It was difficult to read the village name as the letters had not been painted in a different colour, and it was also suggested that the area around the base of the sign might be dug and planted with seasonal flowers to brighten it up and draw attention to it.  The Council approved this suggestion which will be taken forward in due course.

17.56   Planning
There was one current application – 2017/1373 at East View, Church Lane, with the owners requesting that the north wall be clad in black feather board.  The deadline for comments is 25 July 2017.  Councillors had no objection.  There was a question over whether such a project actually needed planning permission.  Nonetheless the Clerk was instructed to register the Council’s support on the SNC website.

17.57 Finance
A detailed financial statement had been made available to Councillors (in advance) and parishioners, and Councillors had seen the complete list of proposed payments well in advance, so there were no surprises.

a) The bank balance at 12 July was £3,518.11.
b) Receipts – A credit of £220 had been received that morning from South Norfolk Council (see item 17.55 above).
c) Grants – none.
d) Payments

*   The first payment above had been made on 31 May under the terms of the Council’s Standing Orders and retrospective approval was sought (and given).  The schedule was approved for payment, and cheques signed by Pat Clare and David Hamblin.

17.58   Clerk’s Report
The Clerk reported that he had contacted CPRE to tell them the Council would not support their planning campaign, circulated a draft response to the Community Governance Review survey, had it agreed and completed it online (21 June), and had been in contact with SNC over the Litter Pick additional £200 payment (see 17.55 above).  He had also over the past few days been discussing with Norfolk ALC whether it was possible to bid for funds for a computer and other equipment for any successor, given that he used his own equipment at home and there was no guarantee the Clerk would want to do the same.

17.59   Correspondence
The Clerk tabled a list of correspondence which had been e-mailed or circulated to Councillors or received prior to the meeting.  Items included:

• Norfolk ALC Newsletters
• Community Action Norfolk’s June/July newsletters
• NDR updates
• Clerks and Councils direct July 2017

17.60   Items for next Agenda
Community defibrillator.

Date of next meeting – Wednesday 13 September 2017.
The last meeting in 2017 would be on Wednesday 15 November.

The meeting closed at 7.50pm.