Denton Parish Council
DRAFT Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 12th April 2011
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
NB These are draft minutes and are subject to correction before approval at the next meeting of the Council.
Present: Liz Cargill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Roger Gibson, Peter Hill, Adrian Hipwell, Annie Whiteman, Pauline Sandell (Clerk).
Also Present: Murray Gray (District Councillor), 3 members of the public.
1. Apologies
Eddie Winter.
2. Declaration of Interest
The Chairman declared an interest in item 4f and will hand over the chair to Terry Hanner when that item is discussed.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes were agreed and signed.
4. Matters Arising:
a) Playing Field; Peter Hill reported the following; dog signs have been removed from the far gate; the seats are getting into poor state and need treatment; unable to open the lock on the waste bin but OK after applying WD40; nettles are growing up on the mound; the old A frame still on basketball court; some of the swing chains have become rusty and worn, but spoken to Jeff who may have some replacement chains; the tyre has water in it but Jeff will insert drainage holes. The Clerk said she will replace the dog signs. Peter made enquires about the 'springy', waiting for a reply from Jeff. 'Springy' looks isolated, Annie will look at it and will be discussed at next month's meeting.
Terry reported that the playing field had not been cut. The Clerk will ring the contractor to see why. The grass around the new equipment will need mowing and strimming. It was suggested that Annie waits until the contractor cuts the playing field grass to see what grass is left to be cut. Then, with Terry's help, to write a list of what needs to be done so that a rota system of volunteers can be drawn up.
Terry reported that Malcolm had not done the car park yet, but it is in hand. Adrian suggested that the old A frame could be used for corner posts for the allotment fencing. Roger Gibson will do the next report.
b) Play Area Project; Annie has not had time yet to sort out the signage. Peter and Liz had attended the RoSPA meeting. Hedges seem to have taken, nothing done on willow structure yet.
Annie agreed to do a report for Gary on how the play area scheme went. More and more children using the play area and also children from other villages using it. Zip wire needs tensioning and bamboo stakes need looking at to see if they are hazardous. It was decided that accidents should be reported to the Clerk and her telephone number needs to be at the site. The Clerk will do this. It was decided that it was too late to organize an official opening.
Liz Cargill said that she thought picnic tables and seating would be useful in the area.
c) Play Area Project Grant Agreement; Peter had received a revised grant agreement from NCC. Peter said that it had changed completely from the one before and in general seemed more sensible, but still with a few alterations needed.
Once the agreement is to Peter's satisfaction it will need to be signed by the Chairman of the Parish Council and Peter. DPC are required, under the agreement, to acknowledge the Dept of Education on the signage and to insure and keep a register of the equipment.
d) Allotment Update; Liz had received a couple of quotes for fencing around the whole area of the allotment. One was £250 and the other £300. A water container is also needed and this will cost around £61. Liz has not looked into grants yet. Adrian said that he thought DPC was not going to get involved in costs, but after some discussion and an agreement that DPC would pay to set it up and then leave it up to the allotment holders for any additional costs and maintenance, it was proposed by Liz to use £300 of the compost money to pay for the fencing and water container. The proposal was seconded by Annie and unanimously agreed.
Liz will confer with Peter regarding the tenancy agreement and the plots will be termed as 'garden plots', not allotments.
e) Parish Election; The Clerk informed the Councillors that only six people had been nominated and therefore an election would not be held. At the next meeting it will be necessary to co-opt another person onto the Council.
As the standing orders state that the Chairman and Vice Chairman cannot be reinstated after serving four years, the Clerk said that the Councillors would need to consider who they would like to take on these offices. It was suggested that the standing orders could be changed to remove this rule.
f) Affordable Housing; Terry Hanner explained that he had had a site meeting with Saffron Housing Trust to discuss the position of a mini-substation on the affordable housing site. It was suggested that the bottom part of the garden of plot one should be used for the site of the substation. After consulting with Adrian, Eddie and Peter, it was agreed that DPC considered this to be a suitable site. However, since then an email had been received from Saffron to say that having consulted the neighbours at Thanksgiving Cottage the position of the substation was not well received and the neighbours had suggested positioning it at the rear corner of the parking area behind plot 6. Having considered both sites Saffron Housing Trust decided that positioning it at plot 1 represents the best location as it is the furthest away from any dwelling, protected on three sides by fencing, without loss of car parking and without additional cost to provide. They had therefore gone ahead and submitted a planning application with the position on plot one.
Two of the members of the public were the residents of Thanksgiving Cottage and they made the following comments:
The substation was not on the original plan and it was the fault of Saffron Housing to have omitted informing the Parish Council and residents of the need for the substation at an early point in the planning stage.
Having a substation so close to a family house (plot 1) was not suitable as children could climb onto it.
Noise nuisance and health hazard. The Councillors agreed that they would visit the site and make a decision when they received the planning application.
g) Any Other Matters Arising; None.
5. District Council Matters
Murray Gray reported that SNC are still talking to Gt. Yarmouth Council about sharing services. SNC produced a business costing which suggests that the Council could save around £1.9million.
The Grove Farm prosecution; the judge has adjourned the hearing and given Mr. Elliott until 18th April to clear the site of residential materials and if this is not done the judge will deal with him seriously when he returns to court on the 18th. SNC has been invited to inspect the property to make sure that it is carried out. The other building at Grove Farm; an appeal has been lodged and will go to a public enquiry.
6. Questions from the Public
None.
7. Feedback from Annual Parish Meeting
The Councillors were a little disappointed about the lack of enthusiasm for a Royal Wedding celebration
8. Composting
First collection made on Saturday. Cash sales for the year are £136.50 and a cheque for £200 has been received from CCN for using the site for training. Suffolk Council has also asked to visit the compost site.
Liz said that although they borrow a trailer for compost collection at the moment it would be useful to have a trailer of their own which could be pulled by a car. Liz will get some costings and bring them to the next meeting.
9. Planning Applications
None.
10. Correspondence
The Clerk was asked to find out more information on the new agreement that came into force on 1st April that covers mapping in the public sector.
Peter Hill took the information on E funding.
The Clerk was asked to find out about the Armed Forces Day flag as DPC would like to fly a flag in the village to support the Armed Forces.
The Clerk was asked to scan and email to Councillors the information on The Localism Bill.
11. Finance
a) Accounts Summary; accepted.
b) Pay the Clerk £89.19 for April.
c) Approve and pay Clerk's expenses of £195.60
d) Approve the Clerk taking £20 from Petty Cash for PAYE training
e) Pay NALC £101.20 annual subscription
f) Pay SNC £67.28 for dog bin service
Proposal: Proposal: Pay b,c,d,e, and f. Proposed by Liz Cargill, seconded by Adrian Hipwell, unanimously agreed.
12. Any Other Business
None.
The meeting closed at 10.20 pm.