PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held at Church Rooms, Hapton On 23rd September 2015 at 7.30pm.

In Attendance: Mr N Potter (Chairman) Mr Alan Arber (clerk) Mrs Jenna Goodall Browne (Vice Chairman) Mr Norman Clowes Mr Graham Bleach Mr Victor Blake

5 members of the public including County Councillor Alison Thomas and District Councillor Des Fulcher

Public Participation

The meeting was suspended to allow the public to speak.

A parishioner brought up the matter of the blocked drains on Cow Lane and that when we had the heavy rain there was nowhere for rain to go meaning the bank was becoming damaged and was unstable. The main blocked drain was at the corner of Holly Lane/Cow Lane and Road by Redwings. It was asked if we could get the rangers to do this but Chairman Nick Potter said they were not due for a while so we needed to contact highways, which he instructed the clerk to do. The parish council were also informed of another blocked drain on the street by Parkes Lane opposite Park Lodge which causes the road to flood. There was also a large pot hole by Dairy Farm that needed reporting to Highways also. Finally the NO LORRIES sign at the corner of Parkes Lane and Norwich Road had broken off and needs fixing. The Clerk to report all to highways on his return.

Alison Thomas then gave a short report to Parish Council regarding the reduction in opening times to the local recycling centres. She reported that despite her recommendations, unfortunately the times have not been changed. The Parish Council expressed their worries that this may lead to fly tipping in the future.

Councillor Des Fulcher then gave his report that he was a member of the Leisure committee in South where all matters are discussed for the entire area not just . The councillor reported that a wide range of leisure visions and aspirations are being given consideration and he suggested that Tharston and Hapton Parish Council could make contact with the relevant people at SNDC to see if they could participate in any way with regard to the building of our new village hall. The councillor also reported that Long Stratton High School manages the swimming pool and Steve Goddard and Mark Heazle are having exploratory discussions with them about participating in their vision and aspiration. The meeting was reconvened.

1. Apologies District Councillor Kevin Worsley sent his apologies and they were duly accepted.

2. Minutes of the meeting on 22nd July 2015 These were agreed with 2 amendments to items 10b and these were changed and the minutes duly signed as a true record of proceedings.

3. Declarations of interests None.

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4. To consider vacancies on the Parish Council Councillor Charles Heal had tendered his resignation from the Parish Council and this had been accepted by Chairman Nick Potter. The clerk had spoken to Charles and he wished to thank the Parish Council for their help in this matter and he indicated to the clerk that he may want to re-stand in the future. Will Howman then addressed the council and introduced himself to the council and gave a short resume of himself and indicated he would be willing to stand as a Parish Councillor and get involved in the local community. A vote was then taken to co-opt Mr Howman onto the Parish Council Proposed Jenna Goodall Browne, Seconded Graham Bleach. Chairman Nick Potter welcomed Mr Howman onto the Parish Council. The Chairman remarked that we still had a vacancy and this would continue to be advertised via the notice boards and Social Media outlet Streetlife

5. Planning Planning application 2015/2004 for Poplar Barn Chequers Road Tharston was discussed and approved

6. Newsletter The clerk reported to the council that as yet had been unable to work out a way to write the newsletter as the software on the Parish Laptop did not support and allow us to update the old newsletter. The Parish Council discussed this and felt we needed the newsletter as this is a valuable resource for getting information to our Parishioners. The clerk was tasked with speaking to Catherine Moore at Parish Council as they produced an excellent Parish Magazine and to have one along these lines would be excellent.

7. To consider payment for use of Church Rooms for the holding of meetings. The Clerk reported that he had contacted the school with the decision to wait until the lease documents are finalised and reported to the Parish Council. This item will stay on the agenda pending the documents being finalised as agreed at the last meeting.

8. Village Hall Representatives of the Parish Council had met with the PCC regarding the fence that had been installed incorrectly. This has still not been done and the clerk reported he had contacted Garden Landscape Services regarding this and as yet he had received no reply. It was agreed we contact them again and arrange a site meeting between GLS and Chairman Nick Potter ASAP to get the work done as agreed.

The clerk reported that a Working Party meeting was held at Chairman Nick Potter’s house to discuss a plan of action moving forward to get the village hall project moving forwards ASAP. Chairman Nick Potter then addressed the meeting regarding what was discussed and put some suggestions to the Parishioners’ to take away. The Chairman had spoken to Building control and Planning at District Council regarding his findings and they were in agreement that there were no problems with what was being proposed.

Chairman Nick Potter had spoken to a company that specialises in Custom Made Wooden Buildings as the Parish Council had discussed this and felt it was the best way forward as it was the most cost effective. Chairman Nick Potter produced a plan he had worked on showing the outline of the building and how it may look. There was some discussion regarding this especially regarding access and the windows. It was agreed this was the way forward with the Village Hall Project. It was also agreed that we would forward Chairman Nick Potters proposal and Councillor Jenna Goodall Browne’s proposal to Custom Made Wooden Buildings for them to cost for the Parish Council. It was also remarked that the Parish Council and the Parish needs a family facility for all to use. A Parishioner then asked the Chairman if South Norfolk Planners had been made aware that the proposed wooden

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cabin building would be next to a grade 1 listed building-the Church, Chairman Nick Potter replied he had reported this to planning and there were no problems. There was then some discussion regarding the windows but Chairman Nick Potter remarked that they are okay. Finally after much discussion it was agreed this was the way forward and that the Parish Council would be submitting both plans to Custom Made Wooden Buildings for costing and would hopefully be in a position to report at the next meeting.

9. Finance a. Monthly financial report was received and agreed b. Payment received from the Solar Farm for £5000 c. Following payments were agreed  Alan Arber – payment/expenses of Salary to Clerk £271.65  Payment to HMRC for PAYE £176.40 10. Highways a. Highways Issues Councillor Norman Clowes reported that there was standing water on the Bungay Road by Tasburgh Hall. b. Footpaths Footpath warden Sue Wardale reported the following problems with footpaths. Bridle path No. 10 at Horsenford was overgrown and needed action and the finger post was missing, the clerk was tasked with contacting Highways regarding this. Sue Wardale also reported that Lynn Cuttress at Redwings was looking to move a footpath for health and safety reasons. After much discussion on this matter it was thought that it would take a lot of work and cost to do this and they could apply for a temporary diversion in the first instance. The Parish Council discussed this and was in agreement that it had no objections to this at all. Footpath 28 is in a bad state due to Taylor Wimpey using it to store some materials and for limited access to their site. The Parish Council asked the clerk to contact them as they must maintain the footpath at all times. The Parish Council had received a letter of Evidence of Usage Form from Norfolk County Council regarding the application to register the footpath between Church Road and Hall lane. This was completed by the Chairman and the clerk and returned to Norfolk County Council. It was also agreed that Chairman Nick Potter would provide the clerk with contact details for all the landowners so he could contact them with regards their responsibilities regarding cross field footpaths/Rights of Way on their land.

11. Current Issues a. Tree Warden’s Report There was no report from the tree warden and Chairman Nick Potter was to contact Jerry Ashford to ask him if he wished to be tree warden.

b. Tap – Village Hall Site The Clerk reported that he was still waiting for Anglian Water to come back to him with dates for the installation of the Stop Cock but as yet they had not and he agreed to chase them up as a matter of urgency.

c. Defibrillator Graham Bleach declared an interest as the telephone kiosk was on his land.

The clerk informed the council that the grant application had been sent in and we are awaiting a decision from the British Heart Foundation but as yet British Heart Foundation had not received the grant form back from the Ambulance service regarding response times and the clerk was tasked with contacting them and moving

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the application forward ASAP.

d. Hall Farm Solar Farm Development – creation of a footpath The clerk reported we had received the £5000 payment but as we were unsure of the usage of the money and the closing of the land due to be used for the Cycle path by the landowner he was asked to contact Tasburgh Parish Council regarding the use of the money in the future.

12. To discuss Bylaws for Hapton Meadow

Antony Bate had forwarded the work he had done on this to the clerk and the clerk was asked to contact NALC to see if they had a sample model for use with bylaws and also to contact Tasburgh Parish Council for their help.

13 Anti-Social behaviour in Tharston It was agreed this no longer needed to be on the agenda.

15. To Discuss Faster Broadband for Rural areas The clerk had received a reply from Councillor Worsley by email who stated that SNDC was endeavouring to help all 119 Parishes in South Norfolk and that they are looking for a digital champion from each Parish to volunteer to help work move forwards. It was felt the Parish Council needed to be more proactive in this matter and. The Chairman felt we could set up a subcommittee to work on this but no one came forward to take this on. It was agreed to contact Gerald Barnes and Peter Kursher to see if they would help on this project and to try and put a proposal together for assistance on this pressing matter.

16 Items for the next agenda - Phone Box in Picton Farm - Website - Clerk’s contract and training. - NALC

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30pm.

Date of next meeting – 21st October 2015

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