Parish Council AGM

************Not yet agreed************

THE MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SHELFANGER PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 18TH MAY 2009 IN THE VILLAGE HALL

PRESENT: P Ross (Chair) S Churchyard D Doherty J Goodwin Mick and Marion Paines
J Rix District Councillor K Weeks County Councillor B Spratt 5 members of the public PSCO Jason Dack and the Clerk.

The Chair opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. She reminded the meeting that she was standing down from the position of Chair. She had enjoyed the position but felt that the post should be shared around and other members should have the opportunity to get more involved. She felt that members would then be more supportive of the chair once they had experienced the position. The election to take place after PSCO Dack had addressed the meeting.

PCSO Dack then addressed the meeting by introducing himself saying that he is part of the Safer Neighbourhood Team of seven. He asked if there were any issues the meeting would like to tell him about.
Mr Paines raised the issue of speeding through the village. PSCO said that this is a problem all over the area. He suggested the Community Speedwatch programme, but he did advise that any motorists caught by the Speedwatch camera cannot be penalised on that evidence alone. The police have limited powers to act on this evidence. He was asked to have a Police presence during the Peak Traffic times as just seeing the Police Car does deter motorists from speeding. Councillor Spratt said that in the Tacolneston they have Speedwatch volunteers and it seems to be working well.
J ulie Goodwin advised PSCO Dack of dogs in High London Lane which are not restrained they run freely around the road. She said that she knew several runners and cyclists who will not go that way at present because of the dogs. PCSO Dack said that the Dog Catcher at SNDC should be informed as the police are unable to do anything unless there has been a specific incident. The dog warden can round the dogs up and speak to the owner.

The chair thanked PCSO Dack for coming and for supporting the village in their attempts to keep the village a safe place to live.

CHAIRMAN ELECTION
The chair asked for nominations to fill the post. J Goodwin nominated Jackie Rix, this was seconded by Marion Paines. The vote was 6 in favour. J Rix then took the chair.

READING AND SIGNING OF THE MINUTES
As the minutes had been circulated Marion Paines proposed that they be accepted as a true record and P Ross seconded. Everyone else agreed.

MATTERS ARISING
Glass Banks
Councillor Weeks confirmed that the glass banks are emptied weekly but as the original ones have been replaced with larger bins the chances of them overflowing is much reduced.

FINANCE
Election of Responsible Financial Officer
Mr Paines proposed that Mrs Green continue in the post if she was willing to do so. She agreed Marion Paines then seconded this proposal and everyone else agreed.
The RFO then tabled copies of the accounts for the year ending March 2009. She explained that £950.00 had been transferred to the deposit account ready for the paying of the new village sign. This means that there is £1070 in the deposit account but as the interest rates are so low it will not earn much interest. With the new insurance company the amount paid is less than last year by £116. Most other expenses had stayed about the same apart from the maintenance had increased by £500 because of the deposit paid for the new sign. Also there had been maintenance work on the allotments but there had been a donation towards this work. The Flood alarm had also had an overhaul. On paper it looks as if the expenses had been over £1000 more than the year before but with the monies in the deposit account and the extra maintenance work which had been carried out it could be justified. At the end of the year there had been £1,892.07 in the current bank account.

SCHOOL GOVERNOR REPORT
Mrs Joyce Yates was unable to attend the meeting but had sent a report to be read out.
The Scholl continues to build on the School and Church Ofsted reports with the children progressing well and the Christian ethos very evident. Eco awareness is also very much encouraged.
The school has achieved several awards including Active Mark for Sport, National Healthy School status, Silver Eco-Schools Award and International School Status. Extra Curricular Clubs including Spanish and Trampolining have been running. Musicians in the school had participated in the Norwich Music Festival with African drumming, and at the Chyme Concert in Diss again with drumming and playing guitars. The school had also been involved in a Cluster School Dance festival and there had been many sporting successes as well at a variety of fixtures. At Christmas the school put on a production of “A Dancing Christmas Party” which had audience singing participation.
There had been several school outings amongst which had been a visit to the Pantomime in Norwich and other local places of interest.
Monthly assemblies are held alongside special services to celebrate Harvest, Christmas, Easter and the Summer end of term. As many groups as possible, are involved in these services which are usually led by Mr Frank Paice (Lay reader)
The Parents Association as usual had been busy raising funds for the school during the year with Quiz and Bingo nights and the Christmas and Summer Fayres.
The report ended saying that the whole school benefits from the support given to the Head, teachers, support staff from the wider communities of Shelfanger and Winfarthing.

HOMEWATCH REPORT
Mr Joe Thompson was unable to attend the meeting so he had sent a report.
An article had been prepared and published in the Cock Crow magazine, during the past year. This had detailed each street’s Homewatch co-ordinator and their contact details.
Any police reports that are sent through are published on the website and circulated to any interested parties as well as the co-ordinators.
Mr Thompson said that on the new www.Shelfanger .com website there will be a section for the homewatch which will have the co-ordinators listed on it.

RECYCLING GROUP
Mrs Lord reported that now there is only £200.00 a year put into the fund from SNDC since the change to the wheelie bins. Currently the fund stood at £883.00 but £500.00 was to be given to the Village Sign fund in memory of Kate Wells with this shown on the plaque.

MEMORIAL CLOCK FUND
Mrs Lord again reported that the fund currently stood at £347.00 with about £300.00 added to the fund each year and approximately £187.00 taken out for the yearly maintenance. She asked that more donations be made to make the fund look more healthy for the future if any major work was needed.

VILLAGE WEBSITE
Joe Thompson and Julie Goodwin host the website for free but the domain name will soon have to be renewed and they hope that the Parish Council will be able to foot the bill. They would welcome more input from the various groups in the village such as the Shelwins or the Village Hall committee. Or individuals who have some thing interesting to tell the village about.

YOUTH GROUP
Ms Goodwin reported that at the present time the Youth group was taking a break as there was not enough support. She had written a letter to hand out to parents at Winfarthing school and there had been no response to her request for more help.
The Youth Club had done some fund raising during the year and there was £260.00 in the bank account. This money was available to be spent on new Play equipment but it would not go very far. About £2,500 was needed to make a good job of the refurbishment but there did not seem to be any support for such a project. She said perhaps if the Parish Council took a stand at the fete then more interest could be drummed up then.

VILLAGE HALL ACTIVITIES
Mrs Paines reported that the Annual fete will be on 18th July 2009 and lots of help will be needed. There will be the usual stalls with the Memorial Clock fund and the Parish Council having stalls. This is the only fund raising event for the Village Hall and all stalls make a donation to the fund. It was pointed out that the Memorial clock fund was healthy so perhaps funds could be raised for the new village sign instead.
The dances continue and are well supported. The hall is well used with something on nearly every day. The windows and doors have now been double glazed with help of a grant from WREN and Keith Weeks helped secure some funding.

COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT
Councillor Spratt gave a report saying the Norfolk County council was a four star council, that Winfarthing School was doing above average for the children, with the extension being started in the summer holiday . He said that the Footpath along Church Road will be going ahead but the purchasing of some land was the main hold up. The funds are there ready to be used.
He said that he was confident that the council will be able to deliver the same services as last year despite the fact that interest rates had been low and so not as much income had been generated by the council.
He had no idea what will happen when the vote to make a Unitary Council for Norfolk takes place. The Gt Yarmouth port works are still pressing on and Lotus are doing well with their electric car. He concluded by saying that he supports the Parish Council in their work.

THE MINUTES OF THE SHELFANGER PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON
22ND MARCH 2010 IN THE VILLAGE HALL.

PRESENT
J Rix (Chair) S Churchyard J Goodwin Mick and Marion Paines P Ross Three members of the public and the Clerk. Also in attendance was District Councillor Weeks and County Councillor Spratt

APOLOGIES
D Doherty

PUBLIC SPEAKING TIME
Mr A Reed had come to take advantage of the public speaking time raising concerns about large vehicles using Rectory Road/Heywood Road as a cut through.
An abnormal load had travelled the road on a Saturday afternoon. It was a very large crane which had carried out work at BCO Paul in Burston and had then used the narrow country roads instead of using the road direct to Diss. The banks were damaged and if anything had tried to go the opposite way there would have been a problem. Mr Reed had spoken to the Crane Company concerned and asked for an explanation. He had noticed that there is no weight restriction sign on Heywood Road at the junction with The Heywood. The Clerk to contact Highways and enquire. District Councillor Weeks took the information of the incident away and will look into it.

READING AND SIGNING OF MINUTES
These had been circulated and as they had been read by everyone they were signed as a true copy on a proposal by Ms Goodwin and Seconded by Mr Paines.

MATTERS ARISING
Footpaths
Mrs Ross advised that there have been no further developments although she is aware that Zoe Woodhouse has been in the village looking at the paths.

Highways
Mr Paines asked if anything had been done about the missing reflective posts along Common Road. The clerk said she had reported it and Gary Overland was aware of the problem but as the Rangers now have a very large area to cover, it is a while before they get to Shelfanger.

DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORT
Councillor Weeks advised that it had come to his notice that there are various pots of money available for community projects. The Waveney Valley has 3.3million for Green tourism and communities. The Peoples Millions is another source of finance
for projects around £20,000- £30,000. Another place to look for assistance is Voluntary Norfolk. They can advise on where to go for funding.
Tourism - many pubs are struggling at the moment and the fact that SNCC has been charging £250 to put up brown signs to direct tourist to attractions, has not helped. The Council has now agreed to cut the costs to £150 to help promote these attractions. This has taken a time to implement because of legal problems.
Another District council matter is the reduction of Carbon Emissions from vehicles. They are running courses and encouraging drivers to reduce money and carbon emissions. They suggest it is possible to save 25% of fuel used.
Lastly Mr Weeks said that 39% of rubbish in South Norfolk is being recycled. Mrs Ross asked if Councils are speaking to Manufacturers about the kind of plastic they are using as she feels we could all recycle more if the plastic used is the best kind of recycling

COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT
On the matter of recycling Councillor Spratt advised that at Blo Norton there is a private enterprise where they take out of date food, empty it out of tins and feed it to pigs. They take oily rags (from the oil rigs) and wash them . They are very innovative in the things they are recycling.
Unititary Authority – there will be a deep effect of this on all services if this is not stopped. The City Council will take 30% of the County Council money and all services will deliver lower cost services. An appeal had been taken to the House of Lords.
Pot holes as a result of the bad weather - most of these are being filled within two weeks of being reported. Further resurfacing will follow later. Money is having to be redirected from other departments.
Church Road Footpath – this is in jeopardy unless a good case can be made for having this. He was advised that the Parish Council had been taking action. A door to door survey had been done. (See below)
.Boyland Common - Councillor Spratt was concerned that this has not yet been fenced off and there are travellers in the area. He was advised that The Friends of Boyland have a meeting on Wednesday next.

FINANCE
The Responsible Finance Officer reported that the bank account had £955.81 in it which includes the £100 Development Grant for the Planning Application for the parking area on Boyland Common. £107.40 was needed for the hosting of the Village Website and £676.36 for the half yearly Clerk Salary. She also asked if the Parish Council wished to renew their subscription for the Rural Community Council at a cost of £15.00. After discussion it was agreed to go ahead with this.
The RFO advised that £250.30 should soon be received from Customs and Excise as the VAT Reimbursement. The annual audit date is 14th July 2010

HIGHWAYS
Mr Paines reported that the culvert on Common Road had been cleared but there is still a pile of debris to be taken away.
Ms Goodwin reported that the Fire Hydrant opposite hers on Rectory Road had had work carried out on it and now it was not flush with the road, but stood out and could be dangerous for cyclists or cause damage to tyres. The clerk to find out who to approach Highways/ Anglian Water or the fire service. The clerk was also advised that the hydrant on Common Road also needed attention as that cover had disintegrated and could be a danger.

CHURCH ROAD FOOTPATH
Members of the Parish Council had surveyed the village to gauge the feelings of the villagers as to whether a footpath was needed. Ms Goodwin had then collated this information which she presented to the meeting.
98% of people surveyed said that we should have a footpath along Church Road with 93% saying that they would actually use the path . 43% said that they would only use the path occasionally probably just to go for a walk, visit friends or go to Church. 71% of people surveyed said that they do not walk along the path at the moment and 98% said it was not safe to walk along at the moment. Only 7% had properties which were actually affected by the plans for the footpath. Lastly 71% said that they were very upset that this long awaited foot path may not happen.
The clerk reported that Mr G Bygraves from the Planning and Transportation dept, had agreed to come to a Public meeting as long as the feasibility survey by the county council has been carried out. Once the date has been set villagers must be made aware of the meeting.

BOYLAND COMMON
Mrs Ross reported unfortunately Mike Bentley had been off work for a while but he is now back and he will be coming to a meeting on the following Wednesday. The money for the development grant has been received. The planning application is the next stage which hopefully Mike will have organised when he comes to the meeting.
Mr Aves has agreed to put up some temporary fencing to discourage travellers from taking up residence. The common still has to be accessible to the general public so care has to be taken with the fencing. The Friends group is still eager to save the Common.

VILLAGE SIGN
As the plaque is now in place it was decided to write to all the sponsors and invite them to come to the sign for a photo which can then be used in the Newsletter and on the website. The clerk to organise for an evening or a Saturday morning.

RECYCING GROUP
The Clerk reported that the recycling group had met and on 1st December 2009 there had been £783.68 in the account. Only £200 is received annually which is actually ground rent for the placing of the Glass Collecting bins. As the bins are placed on Village Hall property, the group had decided that this mater should be discussed at the next Village Hall Committee meeting to gauge their feelings.
The group did not wish to disband as the monies received have been used for many things in the village and they hoped that they would be able to continue.
Of the money still in the fund £250.00 has been earmarked for a notice board for the Village Hall and £50.00 needed for the replacement of the seat on Heywood Road destroyed in a car accident.
A point was made that the Village Hall belonged to the Parish Council so they should have some say in what happened to the ground rent but Mrs Hurst pointed out this was not the case. The Parish Council are Custodial Trustees of the hall and the Village Hall is actually a charity. If the recycling ground rent went to the Village Hall then it would have to remain with them as being a charity they are unable to pay out funds for village projects. If the funds went to the Parish Council they would be able to use it as they are representatives of the whole village.
It was agreed to leave the matter until it had been discussed at the next Village Hall Committee. A report to be made at the next Parish Council meeting.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Broadband and Mobile signal
A questionnaire had been circulated via email and the Chair asked that members fill this in as the mobile signal in the village is very poor.

CHAIR RESIGNATION
Ms Rix advised the meeting that she wishes to stand down from the post at the next meeting. A new chair will be voted in at the next meeting which will be the Annual General meeting.

COMMUNITY SPEED CHECK
This to be discussed at the next meeting.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30 p.m.