Rocklands, Norfolk The Villages of Rockland All Saints and Rockland St Peter

Present.

Councillors: P. Smith (Chairperson),
N.Southgate(Vice Chairperson)
S.Colenutt
D.Howie
C. Jones,
R.Steel
D.Witt

County Councillor C.Jordan

Clerk: L. Defew

Four members of the public were present.

1. Apologies for absence

District Councillor W.Smith

2. Declaration of interests

None

3. Minutes of Council Meeting on12th September 2011

Resolved to approve the minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting. The minutes were duly signed.

4. Matters arising from minutes

Mount Pleasant phone box - Cllr Steel explained the progress in notifying the Mount Pleasant residents of BT's offer regarding the phone box and he conveyed the feedback which had been received. Discussion ensued in relation the issue.
RESOLVED Cllr Steel to approach Glenis Hutton to discuss whether she will be willing to lead the initiative. Cllr Steel to then approach BT and report back to the Council.
Cllr Smith expressed the Council's thanks to Cyril Ruffles for replacing the broken tiles on the bus shelter roof.

5. Suspension of meeting for public participation.

None
The meeting re-opened

6.Finance

6.1 Budget and Precept 2012/2013
Cllr Steel expressed his thanks to Peter Cotes for the work undertaken on the budget figures. He outlined the comparison council tax figures between local villages and provided a description relating to the precept requirements of previous years and the situation regarding the amounts held in reserve. It was explained how the demands on the Clerk are increasing resulting in an increase in the cost of employing the Clerk. Discussion ensued regarding the HMRC's recent change of legislation, requiring Clerks to be paid through the PAYE system, and the resultant increased workload for the Clerk. Further discussion took place relating to the inadequacy of the Clerk's hours.
Cllr Steel continued by outlining the allocation of Precept amounts and the higher figures in the budget and proposed a precept increase of 10%, recommending a request for £4,400 this year. Discussion took place relating to this proposal and Cllr Steel suggested submitting an article relating to this to The Rocklander. County Cllr Cliff Jordan recommended the inclusion of the figures for the comparison between local villages in the article.
Cllr Colenutt proposed a vote in favour of setting the precept at £4,400 and the nomination was seconded by Cllr Southgate and carried unanimously.

The bank account balances as of 14th November 2011 were conveyed by the Clerk:
Community Account £1,280.78
Tracker (Reserve) Account £2,000.27

6.2 Cheques to sign
Cheques and paperwork authorised and duly signed for the following: HM Revenue & Customs £20.80 (October payment), GW Accountancy Services Ltd (book keeper) £20.00 (October's pay run), Mazars (external audit work) £60.00, Lucy Defew (Clerk's expenses & mileage for September & October 2011) £29.81, Pearce & Kemp £2.19.

7. Appointment of a Clerk

Cllr Smith explained that the Clerk had resigned from the position and conveyed his appreciation for the quality of the work undertaken by her. Discussion ensued relating to the main duties of the Clerk and the process for recruiting a replacement. Cllr Smith distributed the suggested wording for an advert to be published in The Rocklander and the wording was agreed by the Council.

8. Planning

Cllr Southgate described the recent planning applications which had been received including:
Land opposite The Willows, Sandy Lane 3PL/2011/1030/F - Dwelling for stockman /manager for The Willows pig units
Cozy Cottage, Mill Lane 3PL/2011/1037/F - Demolish conservatory, erect two storey rear extension and double cart style garage & minor alterations
Beacon Farm, Fen Street 3PL/2011/1188F - Installation of a single small wind generator (14.97m to hub, 5.5 diameter blades)
Holly Cottage, Chapel Street Appeal Ref: APP/F2605/A/11/2161758

9. Tree Wardens

Cllr Steel conveyed his apologies to Cllr Southgate for not having yet discussed the possibility of the provision of a water bowser for the tree saplings at All Saints Church.
RESOLVED Cllr Southgate to ask her stepson about the issue

10. Highways

Cllr Smith described the work of the Highways Rangers and their process in relation to notifying the Council of imminent work in the area.
RESOLVED that Cllr Howie to act as the liaison between the Council and the Rangers.

11 Flooding

Cllr Witt explained that three dams have now been installed and inspected. He explained how they're designed to slow the flow of the water, thereby reducing the burden of water on the road and the likelihood of flooding.
Cllr Steel explained how he felt Mike Field, the Ridgeons' Manager, deserved some thanks for his help with the project and described how his proposal of getting a photo into the EDP was developing and that he also intended to send it to The Rocklander and The Wayland News.
The issue of the footpath near Ridgeons being broken up by bamboo was raised and discussion followed.
RESOLVED that Highways would be notified of the problem.

12. Correspondence

Requests for copies of the full register of electors were signed and returned to the Clerk.
RESOLVED The Clerk provided Cyril Ruffles with the proposed dates for the 2012 meetings and agreed she would contact him to establish the availability of the hall on these dates.
RESOLVED that Cllr Howie will the Council's Representative on the Playing Field Association.
Cllr Smith explained that letters had been written on behalf of the Council backing the Playing Field's request for funds and in support of small schools in Rocklands.

13. Date of next meeting

To be confirmed

Meeting closed at 8.35 p.m