Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 10th February 2009
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Hill, Adrian Hipwell, Clare Valori, Eddie Winter, H Pauline Sandell (Clerk)
Also Present: Mr. Tony Tomkinson (County Councillor)
1. Apologies
Apology received from Dr. Murray Gray.
2. Declaration of Interest None
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.
4. Matters Arising:
a. Playing Field Report; Adrian Hipwell reported that the mole hills appear only to be old ones. Need more bark around the swings. Malcom has found a bag of bark and this can be used. Terry has got the post for the wobble board. SCOPE bin has been emptied. Terry Hanner to do the next report.
b. Play Area Project; the Chairman reported that she and Peter had been to a playing field information day at Bracken Ash which had proved to be very interesting and helpful. Bracken Ash PC had set up a playing field association in order to progress the project more speedily, which has enabled the parish council to keep in close contact but without being actually involved. The Councillors raised questions about VAT and who would own the equipment. As Bracken Ash had drawn up a formal constitution for their association, it was suggested that Denton PC should ask if they could look at it. Liz Cargill had a copy of Wortwell�s constitution. It was suggested that the working party would only need to come back to the PC if a large amount of money was to be spent. If the new equipment is to be included in the insurance this would mean an increase in the premium. Meanwhile, it was agreed that the play area working party should continue with quotes and looking into funding.
c. Highways; the Clerk read out an e-mail from Bob Edwards. It was agreed by the Councillors that the Middle Road junction could not be improved further and it was up to drivers to take extra care when pulling out of the junction.
Terry Hanner reported that the road from the bottom of Trunch Hill to the School is very muddy, particularly on the right hand side, and if vehicles have to pull over into the mud to avoid traffic coming the other way, then the vehicles could end up sliding in the mud. This road is used by the school bus and anglian buses. Highways had said a while ago that they would look into a scheme for that road, but nothing has been done yet. The bottom of Marshalls Hill has a build up of leaves and gravel which needs to be cleared before it clogs the drains. Roger Gibson reported subsidence on part of Middle Road. The Clerk was asked to report all these matters to Highways and to ask them to keep the problems outside Grove Farm on their agenda.
Peter Hill reported that the road between the Village Hall and the Chapel is full of water and people are forced to walk in the middle of the road and as there is no speed limit this could be very dangerous. Building work has worsened the situation. Pot holes have appeared. Peter also counted over 100 rocks along the bank. The main problem is that there is no drainage at all on the right hand side. Peter had carried out a census and counted 30 vehicles an hour during the day time. A speed limit is needed and some provision for drainage. Peter will do a report. It was agreed to ask Gary Overland to come and look at the problem. Tony Tomkinson wished to be kept informed and any communication will be copied to Tony.
d. Any other matters; Millennium wood has a rabbit problem. Ann and Richard Carden contacted the Officer from the Woodland Trust who has said that although there is a lot of damage to the Ash trees, they should recover and those that don�t will be replaced. Clare said it is probably monjak deers and not rabbits that are doing the damage.
The Clerk read out an email from Murray Gray which said that SNC no longer requisition sewerage schemes and that the best plan would be to get Saffron to agree to include the affordable housing into a sewerage scheme which could then be partly financed by Saffron. To this end he had emailed Abi Dennington-Price at SNC to ask her to discuss the option with Saffron.
The Clerk read out a letter from SNC regarding the Outdoor Theatre coming to Denton on Friday 14th August. The event will begin at 11am and finish at 3pm. The village hall will be needed from 9am to 5pm and this will be financed by the Parish Council. SNC have asked DPC to distribute posters around the parish.
5. District and County Council Matters Tony Tomkinson; Council tax, the recommendation is a 2.95% increase. The council have incurred extra costs, e.g. an increase in population because of people moving into the area, in particular the elderly, that need extra services. Local Government review; more time is needed for consultation. Northern distributer road has now got approval from the region and a contractor will be appointed next week. Email from Murray Gray; SNC Council Tax expected to rise by 2.9%. Major cost savings expected, freezing vacancies, cutting grants. New Gypsy and Traveller site consultation will happen in March and April. Earsham is expected to still figure in the list of proposed sites.
6. Questions from the Public None.
7. Affordable Housing Liz Cargill said that some residents were concerned about the site of the affordable housing and that it may overlook their gardens. Liz had considered the possibility of establishing a strip of land between the existing row of houses and the new affordable houses. This could be woodland, orchard or an allotment. In mentioning this to Malcolm Skinner, he had also thought that a track could be useful for him to access paddocks at the back. Liz had also drawn up an alternative sketch to that submitted by Saffron, showing the housing in a semi-circle. The Councillors agreed that this looked much more attractive although it would probably use more land and would therefore be more costly. Liz and Terry will speak to Malcolm first to find out more about his idea of having a track before putting the idea to Saffron.
8. Calor Village of the Year Competition The judges will visit the village on Thursday 2nd April between 9.30am and 11.30am. A small committee had been formed consisting of Peter Hill, Liz Cargill, Richard and Ann Carden and Roger Gibson. The plan is to do a quick tour of the central part of the village and then back to the village hall for a visual presentation and a detailed display showing those things that they have not had time to see. Richard Carden has approached SNC for assistance with display boards and audio visual equipment. It was suggested by the Councillors, however, that more time should be spent on touring the village and using the time as part of the presentation. Peter was thanked by the Councillors.
9. Denton Directory Liz had obtained a quote from SNC of £70 for 200 copies. As this is such a small amount it was agreed not to ask for a grant for this amount.
10. Risk Assessment The 2009 risk assessment had been circulated to all Councillors. It was discussed and agreed that all risks had been identified and that appropriate steps had been taken to lower and control the risks. Proposal: The risk assessment is agreed. Proposed by Eddie Winter, seconded by Roger Gibson, unanimously agreed.
11. Public Information Act The schedule providing information to the public as to how to access information from Denton Parish Council had been circulated. Changes: Responses to consultation papers and planning applications should be hardcopy not website. The cost of hard copies is to be 20p per one side of A4 plus postage with a minimum charge of £3.50. It was agreed that minutes should be available on the website immediately and not to wait until they have been approved, although it is important that they are marked 'draft'.
12. Annual Parish Meeting To be held on Friday 3rd April, same format. Display from Calor Gas Competition will still be in the hall.
13. Planning Planning Application received from the Old Rectory for erection of extension, conservatory and garage block. A site meeting to be arranged for Saturday 14th after 11am. Grove Farm Planning Application 2008/2114 refused.
14. Correspondence Correspondence summaries had been circulated. NALC � Green Summit on Saturday 14th March at UEA Sportspark. Liz will be attending to speak about composting.
15. Finance a. Financial Monthly Summary: a running budget summary and financial summary was produced by the Clerk for the month of January. b. Pay the Clerk £88.05 for February c. Pay Steve Tricker £45 for three visits to catch moles on playing field; d. Pay Mazars £138 for annual audit Proposal: Pay b, c and d. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, seconded by Liz Cargill. All agreed. £170 was paid to Thos. Rogerson Trust.
16. Any Other Business The Chairman had been handed a letter of resignation from Clare Valori. Clare said that she was resigning from the Parish Council as she was unable to play a full part in its activities at the moment. Clare was thanked for her work as Parish Councillor. The Clerk was asked to advertise for a new Councillor.
The meeting closed at 10.18pm.