Denton Parish Council
Minutes of the Meeting Held on Tuesday 13th January 2015
at 8pm at Denton Village Hall
Present: Peter Hill (Chairman), Terry Hanner (Vice Chairman), Adrian Hipwell, Kerry Norfolk, Annie Whiteman, Pauline Sandell (Clerk). Also Present: Murray Gray (District Councillor).
1. Apologies.
Roger Gibson.
2. Declaration of Interest.
None.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting.
The minutes were proposed as an accurate record by Annie Whiteman, seconded by Kerry Norfolk. The minutes were signed and dated.
4. District Matters and County Council Matters
Murray Gray reported that SNC is hoping to freeze its part of the Council Tax. Broadland and SNC have received some funding from the Government for an energy saving ‘warm up’ scheme. Money will provide grants for solid wall insulation and smaller grants for energy saving schemes such as loft insulation.
New recycling scheme is working well, but SNC has started to focus on the food waste that goes into black bins which has been calculated as 40% of the total waste. Food waste is very expensive to dispose of and costs SNC £21.45 per household.
Murray Gray said that he would be standing for election again this year.
6. Questions from the Public.
None.
6. Matters Arising:
a) Ditch at Skinners’ Meadow; The smell is still there. Peter Hill will write to Saffron.
b) Status of Back Lane; Peter Hill has written to County Highways and is awaiting a response.
c) Sewer; The Clerk said that she had had a response from Anglian Water to confirm that they are not considering a first time sewerage scheme for the unsewered part of Denton. It is possible for the public to request a public sewer, but the sewerage programme for the 2015-2020 funding is now full. It was agreed to discuss this again at the Annual Parish Meeting.
d) Any Other Matter Arising; Tree laying on telephone wire, owner has been made aware.
7. Playing Field Inspection.
a) Monthly inspection; Adrian Hipwell reported that everything was OK. Kerry Norfolk to do the next report.
b) Norse Contract; The new contract had been received, total cost £921.63, a lot higher than last year. It was agreed to get other quotes for the work and to put on the agenda for next month.
8. Defibrillator.
A member of the public was concerned about spending £1800 on a defibrillator which he felt would not be used. The defibrillator would have to be used within 5 minutes of the patient collapsing and if it is situated at the Village Hall it would be very unlikely that anybody would be able to get it in time, unless they were already at the Village Hall.
9. First Aid Course.
After some discussion it was suggested that a course on first aid at the Village Hall would be a far better way of saving lives than the defibrillator. Annie will investigate first aid courses further and will have more information at the next meeting.
It was proposed to discuss defibrillator versus first aid course at the Annual Parish Meeting. Proposed by Kerry Norfolk, seconded by Terry Hanner, unanimously agreed
10. ACE Team.
Adrian Hipwell said that they were considering making some nesting boxes and would like to rename Pocket Park.
11. Budget for 2015-2016.
The Clerk had circulated a draft budget. It was decided to remove Miscellaneous/Admin from the budget and just leave in £25 for web hosting. This gave a total budget of £3553.04.
It was decided to keep the precept the same as the last two years at £3000, giving a total income of £3571.00. Proposed by Annie Whiteman, seconded by Adrian Hipwell, unanimously agreed.
12. Welcome to Newcomers
Peter Hill already sends out a letter to newcomers but has found it difficult to know when people move into the village. Peter will let Annie have a copy of the letter. Terry Hanner will let Peter know when newcomers arrive.
13. Local Plan
Peter Hill attended the Examination of South Norfolk Plans and circulated a copy of his report to all the Councillors.
14. Planning Applications.
None.
15. Correspondence
NALC; Information on future auditing for Councils with a turnover below £25,000.
Email regarding the style on footpath FP4. The hedge has grown over the style. Terry Hanner to speak to the owner of the land.
It was agreed to register for a litter pick.
The Clerk reminded the Councillors that it was election year and that elections would take place on May 7th.
14. Finance
a) Accounts Summary was approved, proposed by Annie Whiteman, seconded by Terry Hanner, unanimously agreed.
b) National Award for Clerks; it was agreed to increase the Clerk’s salary as per the pay scale, an extra 20p per month from January 1st 2015, and to award her a non-consolidated payment of £6.23.
As it was too late to change the standing order for January it was agreed to add the 20p to the cheque for the non-consolidated payment and therefore make it £6.43.
c) Pay the Clerk £90.09 for January.
d) Pay ACE Team £101.46 for Trees.
e) Pay Rogerson Trust £270 annual rent.
d) Pay Norfolk RCC £20 for membership.
d) Received £433.61 recycling credits.
d) Received £125 Outney Common Holding.
Annie Whiteman proposed to pay b-f. Seconded by Terry Hanner, unanimously agreed.
15. Any Other Business
Adrian Hipwell; noticeboard looks tatty and what can be done with the phonebox. Put on agenda next month.
Terry Hanner; footpath top of Trunch Hill has not been reinstated across the field. Terry Hanner will speak to the farmer.
Kerry Norfolk; the roadsign for Skinners’ Meadow has been tampered with and the ‘k’ has been removed. Murray will speak to SCN.
The meeting closed at 9.50 pm.