• Minutes of Parish Council meeting 11th January 2018

    Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council

    Meeting Held on Thursday 11th January 2018

    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 Thursday 9th November 2017 having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Batt 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.    The Nectar mix has now been planted on the West Beckham allotment. It was suggested that the weeds should be topped when necessary. It was agreed to ask Mr Wilson to carry this out when required.

    5 Report :- Dist Cllr M. Knowles Written report was read to the meeting. A copy is attached at the end of these minutes.

    6. Solar Community Fund Committee. It was reported that the Daffodil bulbs donated by Mr. Wilson had been planted at the village gates and at the cemetery.

    The bench has been put in place at the allotments and the pic-nic table is to be going on the common in the near future. TCV is cutting back on the common.

    Another volunteer group is to be approached to consider doing some of the work as they are local, which should reduce costs.

    The Christmas bus service was successful.

    7. Defibrillators  These should be installed within the next week.

    8. Village Sign.  Quotations are to be obtained for a replacement sign keeping the design mainly the same.

    9. General Data Protection Regulations. (GDPA) It was decided to discuss this subject further when more information was available.

    10. Review of Risk Management and standing orders. These were to be finally updated over the next few months in line with the GDPA.

    11. Finances. Bank balances at 11/1/2018  Current a/c £1219.07  Savings a/c £7993.74

    The completed cash book, which was made up to 11 November 2018, was examined by the councillors

    The following cheques were approved and signed:-

    No. 100503 J. Stibbons Clerks salary and expenses £547.98

    No. 100504 HMRC PAYE £115.24

    12. Correspondence.  Information update on the Horsey project 3

    There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.53pm

    Page 163

    Report from Dist Cllr. M. Knowles, read to the meeting

    Police Budget

    A motion was passed at the December meeting of NNDC that the Council considers setting aside a sum of £200,000 to go to bolster the Police budget and that this money is used to provide a number of PCSO’s specifically for the North Norfolk District. No doubt the Police and Crime Commissioner would welcome the contribution – the Government has increased the precept limit, but it may not be enough to give the Police Authority sufficient funds to meet their needs. The consultation goes on and when the Police Crime Panel meet again on 22nd January, the Commissioner will give his thoughts and members of the Panel can discuss.

    Coast

    During this past Holiday period, the Coastal and Assets teams at NNDC have worked very hard to repair storm damage along the coast and the Duty Officers were busy on call to a variety of matters, including the fire at the Fakenham Connect building.  They must be congratulated for an excellent job.

    Splash, Sheringham

    On 19th December, NNDC voted in favour of proceeding with the re-provisioning the Splash with a modern state of the art facility. This approval was made subject to external funding being in place. The provisional funding is made up of part land disposal, a Sport England grant; capital receipts/reserves of NNDC, and borrowing. The success of this project will depend upon achieving these different elements. It is very good that we have got so far but getting to completion will require even more very hard work and close cooperation among everyone involved.

    The Council will also be working to procure a new leisure leisure contract for the management of Splash and the other facilities covered by this contract.

    Council Tax Discounts

    NNDC members voted in December to end the discount previously given to second home owners. Councillors remain very conscious of concerns over the high number of second homes in North Norfolk and the change enables a council tax charge for a second home to be aligned to that of a main or sole residence.

    At present the County Council returns some of the council tax income it receives from second homes to NNDC and the discount enabled those second homes to be identified.  That second homes tax ‘return’ goes into the Big Society fund, which in turn gives out grants across the District. The use of this ‘second homes money’ (which is, in fact, just another part of the tax take) has been the subject of much discussion and focus, including the Forum asking for a senior level meeting at NCC last year. However, given the current economic issues facing councils, it is felt unlikely that NCC will continue to give NNDC this “refund” for much longer.

    Pedestrianisation – Sheringham

    There has been a further meeting of the Working Group to finalise the project plan to help progress the trials, scheduled for 5 weekends over April, August and December 2018. Updates and FAQs will be published in the Sheringham Independent between now and the April trial.

    Economic Development

    (1) There will be a ‘Coffee means Business’ monthly networking event hosted by NNDC’s contractor Genix on 16th January from 9 30 am at Northrepps Cottage. Details at:  www. genix.org.uk

    (2) NWES, in conjunction with NNDC, are running a free training event to support local businesses with their customer service training needs. This workshop is aimed at businesses that interact with customers either face to face or via the telephone. There will also be information on how to apply for a range of business grants within the region

    The training will be at NNDC offices on 31st January 2.30-5.30. To book a free place, businesses should email:  [email protected]

    Planning 

    A flurry of Planning Applications has appeared after the holiday period. Happily, there will be some new planning officers coming along to NNDC after months of advertising, which should ease the lot of the present, overworked, team.

    And finally, Politics….

    Your members will be aware of the number of defections from the Conservative Group at NNDC, and we now have a sizeable “Independent” group within the Council’s make-up. Whilst I can only assume there will be further developments on this particular front, I would like to assure your members that in terms of the day-to-day workings of NNDC, all is well – we have a dedicated team of senior officers and NNDC is regarded very highly amongst its peers as an efficient, well-run body.

    Mike Knowles District Councillor – Chaucer Ward.

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