Present.
Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson (chairman) G. Place, K. Lord, J. Dovey, R. Batt, D. Barrass.
J.Stibbons (clerk)
The chairman opened the meeting at 7.34pm,
1. Apologies None
2. There were no declarations of interest.
3. The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday14th September 2017 having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr.Place that they be accepted as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and approved by the members present.
The chairman then signed the minutes.
4. There were no matters arising from the Minutes.
5. Report :- Dist Cllr M. Knowles
NNDC Finances. Budget forecasts: 2017/18 There will be a small surplus in 2017/18 and 2018/19, but the pending national pay award could introduce an additional £450k in staff salaries which has not been accounted for.
2019/20 The potential deficit for 2019/20 is £1.2million and £2.3 million in 2020/21
If council tax were to increased by £5 per household, the effect would be to reduce those deficits by c. £600k.
The return of second homes Council Tax is in question and the total removal of central Government Rate Support Grant still seems to be planned.
The position is not as dire as the figures might suggest. The average balance invested during 2017 was £40million with an interest yielded of about £1million.
Police. All 150 PCSO’s under threat of redundancy by March 2018, Plans are to replace them with 96 warranted officers. Cromer Division currently has 40 officers.
Sheringham Splash Complex/Cromer Tennis Club. Initial proposal are to rebuild Splash with a more modern pool, part funded by a small hotel development on the same site. Ongoing Initial proposal are to construct indoor court complex.
6. Solar Community Fund Committee.
The proposed costings for the woodland management were circulated to the meeting.
There has been a successful distribution of the bird and bat boxes.
Quotes are being obtained to repair the track on the allotments, present quotations are
between £7500 and £9000. It was pointed out that there is only £7900 left in the account
until the next grant from Hall Solar which was not due until October 2018.
The meeting agreed that a cash reserve should be maintained.
It was noted that the cost of the Mini-bus for Christmas shopping was £90.
7. Amalgamation of SCFC and Parish Council.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that the Solar Committee (SCFC) should continue to meet
but on alternate months when there was no parish council meetings. This was seconded
by Cllr. Lord and approved.
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8. Defibrillators. Two semi-automatic Defibrillators in stainless steel cases have been
ordered at a cost of £790 plus the Lottery Grant of £3900 bringing the total to £4690+VAT
This price includes the following:- Cardiac Arrest Response Seminar. Webnos governance
system, Post event counselling, AED signage pack (X4), and Personal safety kit,
9. Allotment Rents. The allotment rents have been the same for many years and it was proposed by Cllr. Wilson that they should be increased to £20 per plot for residents and £40 for tenants living outside the parish. This was seconded by Cllr. Barrass and approved. The new rents to take effect from October 2018.
10. Village Sign The West Beckham village sign is in very poor condition and an
estimated cost of repair/replacement is £5000. This item is to be discussed further at a
later meeting.
11. Playing Field
The gate post has rotted and instructions were given for it to be replaced.
12. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 9/11/2017 Current a/c £9097.58 Savings a/c £18592.74
To approve the following payments and sign cheques:-
TCV Management plan £360
Community Heartbeat Defibrillators £5628
J. Stibbons Salary/expenses £497.87
HMRC PAYE £102.72
13. Clerks salary review. As the clerks salary had not been reviewed for several years.It
was proposed by the chairman that it should be raised to £10.50 per hour. This was
seconded by Cllr. Dovey and approved.
14. Budgets 2018-19 After discussion, it was proposed by the Chairman that the
budget for 2018-19, as presented to the meeting, should be adopted. This was seconded
by Cllr. Lord and approved.
This included approval to set the precept at £3300 for the coming year.
15. Planning Ref. PF/17/1773 At Last, Sheringham Road, West Beckham.
The parish council have no objection to this application.
16. Correspondence None
17. There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 9.55pm
