Rocklands Parish Council
(RPC)
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held in
Rocklands Village Hall
7.00pm on Monday 24th February
2014
Present : David Howie Chair
Nicola Southgate Vice Chair
Cath
Jones
David Witt
Roger Steel
Shirley Colenutt
Kim Austin Clerk
Bill Smith District Councillor
Also
present: 4 members of the public.
1. To consider accepting apologies for absence
RESOLVED To accept apologies from
Cllrs. Nicola Southgate and Richard Smedley who were both unwell.
2. To record declarations of interest from members in any items
on the agenda
There
were no declarations of interest as such. But there was concern that most of
the councillors were on the Community Shop/PO committee or else had agreed to
work in the shop on a voluntary basis.
The situation was considered and it was agreed that the interest was not
financial. Cllr. Bill Smith suggested that RPC apply to Breckland Council for
complete dispensation.
ACTION: Cllr. Smith to apply to
the council on behalf of RPC.
3.
To approve the minutes of the
last council meeting on Monday 6th January 2014
RESOLVED to approve the minutes
that had been circulated prior to the meeting, as a true and accurate record of
the meeting. The minutes were duly
signed by the Chair, Cllr. David Howie.
4.
To discuss any matters
arising from the minutes, not on the agenda
Defibrillators: No progress reported by Cyril
Ruffles but he would keep us informed. Cllr. Jones said that a defibrillator
had recently been delivered to a local village. Hingham also has one in a bus
shelter so maybe we would get ours soon.
Salt Bin. Still no salt in the new bin
ACTION: Clerk to contact Paul
Sellick again.
Streetlights. Streetlights in The Street now appear to be
working.
5.
To
adjourn the meeting for public participation
Meeting adjourned at 7.11pm.
There were no comments from the public.
Cllr. Bill Smith confirmed the good news that
Breckland Council had £305,000 for distribution amongst the parishes, although
ministers had originally said that the payment last year was a ‘one off’.
Breckland Council would be making a decision this week.
The meeting re-opened at 7.13pm.
6. To
report on Finance
6.1
Financial position
The bank account balances as at Monday 6th
Jan 2014
Barclays Community Account £ 1,633.07
Barclays Saver (Reserve) Account £ 701.83
TOTAL as per bank £ 2,334.90
6.2
Money in since last
meeting
6/1/14 Consolidated Stock £ 0.28
24/1/14 Cricket Club – repay 1/3 audit fee £ 80.00
24/1/14 Playing fields repay 1/3 audit fee
(£80) £ 132.00 +
£50 repay vat + Chapel Green Licence
TOTAL IN £ 212.28
6.3
Cheques out (to sign)
No cheques to sign
TOTAL OUT £ 0.00
6.5 Standing
Orders
Kim Austin Clerk’s
wages
Pearce and Kemp Street
lighting
e.On Electricity
Clerks Wages.
RESOLVED to Change amount of SO from £134.27 to £139.17
effective from 1st April 2014. Cllr. Howie had already signed the letter to
Barclays. Just needed a second signature from Cllr. Southgate.
ACTION: Clerk to contact Cllr.
Southgate for her signature
Pearce & Kemp.Change SO to DD.
ACTION: Clerk to contact Pearce
& Kemp
Barclays Bank – Mandate change – name and
signatories
Need to get signatures
on Mandate change forms (chair and councillors) in order to remove Ex-Chairman
Cllr. Peter Smith as signatory, leaving current signatories as Cllr. Roger
Steel and Cllr. Nicola Southgate. Also need to get signatures on letter to
Barclays (2 councillors) to facilitate the Clerk’s change of name. Note: Clerk
has access to the bank account services but is not a signatory.
Sport England – Deed of Dedication.
The Clerk
received two copies of the Deed of Dedication. Two signatures were needed.
Cllr. Howie had signed the Deeds. Cllr.
Roger Steel duly signed both copies as second signatory.
ACTION: Clerk to return signed Deeds to solicitor
There will
be a charge of £300 plus vat for SE Deed of Dedication being drawn up by Jackie
Raggett at Daykins Solicitors.
7 To consider planning applications.
7.1 Planning outcomes since last meeting
3PL/2013/0721/F
Hockney/Nelsons Loke/Single storey extension
(35) PERMISSION
3PL/2013/0906F DUNNETT/Bridge
House/Mount Pleasant (38) PERMISSION
3PL/2013/0951/EU LAWES/Oakglen/Stow
Bedon/Breach of Occn. (39) PERMISSION
3PL/2013/1057F PTNRSHIP
IN CARE/Anchor corner/Dwelling (41) PERMISSION
3PL/2013/1074F SOUTHGATE/Agri
Dwelling (42) OUTLINE PERMISSION
3PL/2013/1061F LEEDER/White
Hart/Replacement windows (43) PERMISSION
7.2 Planning applications pending outcome
3PL/2012/0654/CU
Breckland Storage/Swangey/Retail caravans
- (15)
7.3 New planning applications since last meeting
3PL/2014/0078 ROCKLANDS
PO/SHOP Refurb/shop front/new door (44)
RESOLVED NO
OBJECTION to this planning application .
7.4 New planning applications since agenda
issued
None since agenda was issued.
8 Brecklands policy. To build on council owned plots of land
in villages. (DH)
Cllr. Howie was looking for confirmation of any
land owned by Breckland Council in Rocklands.
Cllr. Steel said he thought the land at the end of Wayland Road behind the last
bungalow was owned by Breckland. Cllr. Howie said that if social housing were
to be built in Rocklands then that was probably one of the best places for it. Cllr.
Bill Smith said that the council were reviewing their policies with a partner and
aimed to develop houses on Council owned land. There is a new homes bonus for
the councils that will encourage them to build. If land is sold to Flagship
then there is a presumption for social housing.
ACTION: Cllr. Smith to obtain
list of council owned land in Rocklands
9 WW1 commemorative
events
Cllr. Jones confirmed that churches were having
services around the benefice. No special event was being arranged by Rocklands at
present. Breckland Council are giving
grants (opening next month) to parishes to support events they may want to
organise. Cllr. Witt confirmed there was a small amount of money left from the
Jubilee celebrations fund which may be used towards a tannoy system that would be
of benefit to all village events. There was a move afoot to ‘add a missing name’
to the war memorial in Rocklands. Cllr.
Colenutt suggested an event in the village hall with photographs. Cllr. Bill
Smith said he had 20 or so photographs of ‘days gone by’ in Rocklands that he
was willing to donate to the Parish.
Cllr. Bill Smith was thanked for his generous offer which was accepted. Cllr.
Steel suggested an exhibition. Cllr. Howie asked anyone else with ideas for WW1
commemorative events to come forward. Cllr. Bill Smith said 2015 could be a big
year for celebrations: Anniversaries such as 800th Magna Carta. 600th Battle of Agincourt. 200th Battle of Waterloo. There
also might be more money available from Breckland Council for such events next
year.
ACTION: Cllr. Jones to find out
what schools have arranged.
10 Red Telephone Kiosks
- spares
RPC had a
letter from X2Connect a company supplying spares for telephone kiosks. Cllr. Steel confirmed that Sue the librarian
can source spares cheaper elsewhere if required. RPC kiosks need a wash and a
paint, otherwise sound. Cllr. Jones
asked about community service for these jobs as they had previously done a good
job elsewhere. As an update the kiosk is doing very well as a library. The
books are dry and turnover is good.
ACTION: Cllr. Howie would
investigate access to community service.
11 To update on White
Hart and Rocklands Village Shop
White Hart. Lots of work going on.
Nothing official but rumoured that the White Hart may open on 28th/29th
March. Agreed that an opening should be welcomed by all.
Village Shop
and Post Office (RS).
The shop officially closed on Saturday 22nd Feb 2014 for
refurbishments, with photographs and much celebration. Alan and Elaine, were
given theatre tickets, a weekend break and a bouquet of flowers. There was a
‘huge’ vote of thanks to them for 23 years of service to the community
(without a break and for 6/7 days a week). The Princes Trust/Princes
Countryside Fund has looked at the accounts and has said that it should be a
viable business. They have agreed that any money left over from the
refurbishment grants can be used for the good of the community rather than
having to be returned. The builder is Ian Wilton. The building work is ongoing
and ahead of schedule. 3 staff now recruited to cover 80 hours a week. 1 doing
40 hours per week and the other 2 doing 20 hours a week.
The Big Lottery Fund has granted £5700 for a
coffee shop for ‘isolated rural communities’.
The accounts/reports to substantiate this grant are rather extreme and
will involve much time and
effort. 21st March 2014 – POST OFFICE –
GRAND OPENING !
12 To receive update
from Tree warden. (Richard Smedley)
Richard Smedley had sent apologies and a report
which was read by Cllr. Howie. There had been a small tree next to the Chapel
in St. Peters which had been uprooted and fallen into the pond. Richard had removed the tree and the debris.
A tree had also fallen in the land of Rookery House, but on inspection, it had
already been cleared by Mr. Green. Cllr. Jones reported that Richard Smedley
was very good as Tree Warden and very quickly responded to reported incidents
for inspection.
13 To update on Playing Fields. (DH)
There was no update from the playing fields as
Alan Fisher had been away in India.
Fields in Trust membership (£25) is due for
renewal and it was thought that this was paid by the Playing Fields last year.
14
To receive update on Highways
Trod and Hedge Cllr. Jones said the ‘lumps’ were too big
and she had tripped on it. Road planings
might be a better option and give a smoother finish. It looks like it’s still
waiting for a top layer to finish it off. Agreed it was not fit for purpose it
if was a trip hazard.
ACTION: Clerk would raise with Paul
Sellick (Breckland Council)
Hedges. Ask people through the Rocklander to keep all
hedges that they are responsible for, cut and tidy and any ditches cleared,
otherwise report blockages to Highways direct or through the Parish Council.
ACTION: Article in Rocklander
Streetlights (RS) RPC had been informed
that spares may now not be available for the village streetlights that were
installed 30-40 years ago with a grant. Pearce & Kemp, streetlighting
contractors had sent through ‘options’ and prices for replacement lamps. It was
agreed that this would be a big and expensive job, but RPC should maybe look
into obtaining grants to replace all lighting. Cllr. Steel reported that LED
lighting was not reliable as doesn’t last long enough – so not a good option.
A preference
was expressed for ‘down’ lighters, rather than ’up’ lighters that light up the
sky.
District
Cllr. Bill Smith confirmed that community grants for lighting were available
from Breckland Council and could be applied for at any time.
ACTION: Clerk would publish list
of street lights and Ref. Nos.
ACTION: Clerk would look into
grant available from Breckland Council
Highways jobs
Pot hole on corner of Thieves Lane going onto the B0177,
near the pond.
Street sign in Brays Lane has been demolished. Needs
replacing.
Reports of 30mph sign on the ground.
ACTION: Cllr. Steel to confirm
exact locations with the Clerk
15 To update on
flooding
Cllr. Witt commented that with the amount of rain
that had fallen recently, he was amazed at the lack of flooding in the village.
He confirmed that the work and precautions taken in the village against
flooding had paid off. It was noted that
Clare Colchester was still desperately trying to unblock a blocked/silted
ditch.
16 To discuss and
correspondence
17 AOB (Agenda items
for next meeting)
Date of next
Meeting -
Monday 7th April 2014, 7pm, Rocklands Village Hall.
Annual Assembly followed by the Annual Parish
The meeting
closed at 8.14 pm.