Denton a village in South Norfolk, England

Denton Parish Council

Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 13th July 2010

at 8pm at Denton Village Hall

Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Hill, Adrian Hipwell, Annie Whiteman, Eddie Winter, Pauline Sandell (Clerk).

Also Present: Tony Tomkinson (County Councillor).

1. Apologies
Murray Gray.

2. Declaration of Interest
Terry Hanner and Eddie Winter declared an interest in item 8 as they are members of the Rogerson Trust. Peter Hill declared an interest in item 12F.

3. Minutes of the Last Meeting and Minutes of the Planning Meeting
Item 5c, final sentence should read 'if any one comes across glow worms they should contact the glow worm survey.' Item 11 delete 'this application has been approved' and replace it with 'area committee had approved it, but as it was contrary to planning policy it should go to main planning committee and subject to arbitorial and ecology reports'. The minutes of both meetings were agreed and signed.

4. Matters Arising:
a) Playing Field; Eddie had completed the report. He thanked those people that had come out to help clean up after the Travellers had left. There is still a heap of rubbish on the allotment part left by the Travellers which will be burnt after harvest. There are bad wheel marks caused by the caravans and vehicles but they will heal with time. The cricket nets were damaged beyond repair and they have now been remade and new netting bought. The cost is not known at the moment but thought to be in the order of £200-300. Adrian will approach the Bar Committee, who has raised funds to support sporting activities, to see if they would fund the new nets. Eddie reported that there were a number of rabbit holes that need filling in with top soil and the seats need cleaning. A working party was organized for the 19th July. Annie Whiteman to complete the July report and Adrian Hipwell the August report.
Future security; the only gate will be by the coal shed and will be locked. To stop any vehicles from going on to the Playing Field in future posts will be inserted with metal pipe fixed across them with a 4ft gap between them. There was some discussion as to whether the posts should be wooden or metal. It was thought wooden would not be strong enough and therefore it was agreed to use metal. Adrian said that it was important to have something in place before the warrant ran out. Terry and Adrian will take charge of this project and will look into costings. The Councillors agreed a maximum figure of £750 net, not including labour charge from Malcolm. It was agreed to ask Denton residents to help with the funding and this will be via the Parish Magazine and a bucket at the Ball. If people are not able to give money they will be asked if they could volunteer their help with constructing the barrier. All cheques to be made out to the Parish Council and sent to the Clerk or handed to Peter Hill.
b) Play Area Project; Annie reported that Denton has been told that it will receive the full £47,000 for the playbuilder scheme. The next stage is to engage some play equipment suppliers, Peter Hill has made a short list of three, to plan out how the playground should look. Then, once the designs have been received, another consultation period will be held.
c) Millennium Wood Celebration; A meeting will be set up to plan the Woodland Trust 10th Anniversary celebration. The Woodland Trust is to be asked if they can supply a new sign in the wood. The Clerk said that evidence of spending and photographs are needed to apply for the £100 grant. With regard to the free supply of trees, Liz Cargill had suggested fruit trees. Annie asked if some trees could be reserved for the play area.
d) Any Other Matters; The letter to Richard Bacon regarding travellers had not been done yet, but will be done shortly and will be circulated for agreement.

5. District and County Council Matters
Tony Tomkinson explained that NCC is looking at every way of saving money, cuts in school building will be one way. He told the Councillors that SNA will be holding a Green Village Competition. Denton speed limit – awaiting assessment.

6. Questions from the Public
None.

7. Affordable Housing – Updating and Naming
The Clerk had contacted Peter Ramsdale and read out an email from him explaining that the delay had been caused by EDF taking the opportunity, whilst providing a new supply, to make provision for the potential renewal and upgrading of supplies to other properties already connected in the immediate neighbourhood. The full cost is substantial and appears to be falling to Saffron. The Councillors asked the Clerk to contact Peter to tell him that EDF had done a great deal of work last year replacing poles and cables. Eddie Winter had taken part of a review of affordable housing procedure and had commented that the £25,000 income restriction was too low.

8. Contract Between DPC and Rogerson Trust re Playing Field
The Parish Council signed the two copies of the Lease between Denton Parish Council and the Rogerson Trust. The lease is for 50 years from 1st April 2010. There is to be a rent review every 5 years. The coal shed is included in the lease and the condition is that the Parish Council will maintain the building so that it is kept in the condition that it is now. Peter Hill is to write a schedule of condition. The rent has got to be paid in advance and will be £270 per annum
Proposal: Denton Parish Council will accept and sign the new 50 year lease for the Playing Field and the Coal Shed, at a cost of £270 per annum to be paid in advance and to be reviewed every 5 years. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, seconded by Liz Cargill, unanimously agreed with the exception of Eddie Winter and Terry Hanner who abstained as they are Trustees.

9. Allotments
After publishing in the Parish Magazine two or three people have shown an interest. Points to consider; the site will be cleared to start with, access is pedestrian only, plots must be kept tidy, small rent charged.
Put on next month's agenda.

10. Planning Applications/Decisions
None.

11. Correspondence
A correspondence summary had been circulated.
A resource pack from Woodland Trust had been received and this will be passed to Ann Carden.
No further action on correspondence.

12. Finance
a. Accounts summary: Circulated by the Clerk, no action required.
b. Pay the Clerk £89.19 for July and August 2010
c. Pay £157.58 to Sapphire for Document Handling re Travellers
d. Pay £15.95 to Mr. Fitzgerald for Expenses re Court Visit
e. Pay £3 to Liz Cargill from Petty Cash for Expenses re Court Visit
f. Pay £200 to St. Mary's Church for Churchyard Maintenance (the agenda stated £150 but it was agreed last October when the budget was discussed that the Church should receive £200).
Proposal: Pay b, c, d, e and f. Proposed by Adrian Hipwell, seconded by Annie Whiteman, unanimously agreed.

13. Any Other Business
Liz Cargill said that people should know how much has been spent on the Traveller problem and she worked out that at the moment £417 has been paid out by the Parish Councillor and the final cost may be pushing £1000, plus time given voluntarily. `

The meeting closed at 10.00pm.

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