Beckham East and West Parish Council

  Page 256

Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council   

 Meeting Held on Thursday 8^th May 2025

Present. Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman), R. Batt, J. Dovey, G. Place. T. Toyn 

 Mr.&Mrs.P. Spurgeon, (Village Hall Committee)   Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.                J. Stibbons (clerk)

The meeting opened at 7.10pm. 

1.            Apologies for absence. Cllr.D. Barrass, P.C. Hayton

2. Election of Chairman and Vice-chairman for the coming year.

It was proposed by Cllr. Batt that Cllr. McNeil Wilson should be asked to continue. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey. There being no other nominations this proposal was approved.

It was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that Cllr. D. Barriss should continue as Vice-chairman. This was seconded by Cllr. Place and approved.

3. There were no Declarations of Interest.

4. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 13^th March 2025. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr.Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Place and carried.

5. Matters arising from the Minutes. Land registry. Enquiries were made to ascertain the cost of registering the Nature Area, the West Beckham Old Allotments, and the East Beckham common. The registration would need to be undertaken by a solicitor, could be involved, and costly.

It was decided not to progress registration at present.

The large pothole near the Village Green has been filled in.

6 There were no Comments and Questions on the agenda from members of the public and former committee members of the Solar Community Fund.

7. Reports    District Councillor C. Ringer

A date is to be confirmed and invitations sent to Parish Councillors for the official opening of the Broadland Housing development.

See full report at the end of these minutes for complete report – including          . 

The Reorganisation of Local Government.

Funding to support North Norfolk businesses and communities.

Consultation on Dog control measures.

Norfolk Marathon and Little Lift run.

     

8 Horsey 3 Community Fund. A further meeting is to be held soon.

9.    Planning. There was no planning applications received after the publication of the agenda.

10. Bulletin. There was a request from the editor of the Bodham monthly newsletter to amalgamate with Beckham in future issues. The cost would be £10 per month for seventy-five copies.

As the Beckham Bulletin was a popular publication it was decided to keep publication of the bulletin and join with Bodham for the newsletter.

Page 257

11. Playing Field      Safety Inspection by Playsafety is scheduled for June.

The shed needs to be removed and will be investigated by the Chairman.

Cllr. Place was asked to purchase three combination locks for the new gates.

12. Allotments This is to be included in the July agenda

13. Notice Boards. To be discussed at the next meeting.

14. Financial matters.

Bank Balances at 8/5/2025: — 

Current a/c £3633.17    Savings a/c £1793.27          Investment a/c £47557.93

The Certificate of Exemption from full audit, The Accounting Statement and The Annual Governance Statement were approved by the meeting and signed by the chairman and clerk.

Outstanding invoice to be approved and cheques signed.

J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £664.60

HMRC PAYE £140

15. Donations        A donation of £100 to the Air Ambulance was approved.

 

16. Correspondence The following correspondence was sent to members by email: –

NNDC – Devolution information.

17. Matters for information only or for the next agenda.

The Chairman of the Bodham and Beckham village hall asked the meeting why a bicycle rack was

being installed in the village hall car park. This will further restricted parking places and the village hall

committee was not consulted. It was understood that the rack is being provided by the Affordable

Housing project on Sheringham Road, West Beckham. The rack is thought to be in place of a waste bin

store at the Sheringham Road site. 

The councillors felt that if this was the case it was unfair on the future residents of the new

development. The clerk. was instructed to arrange a site meeting between the Parish Council, a

representative of Broadland Housing and a representative from the NNDC planning department.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.37pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 10^th July 2025

 

Dist. Cllr. C. Ringer Councillor Report May 2025

Reorganisation of Local Government

There have been some important developments recently around the way local councils in Norfolk are set to change.

District Council Response: North Norfolk District Council has now voted to object to the government’s plans for Local Government Reorganisation. If the changes are forced through, our preferred option is for three new unitary councils in Norfolk to retain some local accountability. Norfolk County Council favour a single county authority.

It was slightly ridiculous that NNDC Conservative councillors abstained from this important vote.

From Three Tiers to… Three Tiers?

The current system of Parish/Town, District, and County Councils would be replaced by:

• Parish/Town Councils (unchanged),
• New Unitary Councils combining district and county responsibilities,
• A Combined County Authority with an elected Mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk.

Although this keeps the same number of layers, in reality it centralises power, making local decision-making more distant.

Cancelled Elections

Norfolk County Council elections, which were due to take place last week, were cancelled—requested by the Conservative-run County Council and approved by the Labour government. Liberal Democrats strongly opposed this move. It undermines democratic accountability at a time when major structural changes are underway.

North Norfolk District Council’s current term runs for another two years.

Parishes and the Future

Parish and Town Councils will remain, and some are already considering sharing clerks or collaborating to save costs and manage staffing challenges. This is something for parishes to explore locally.

What’s Next?

NNDC and Norfolk County Council are expected to cease to exist later this decade, replaced by the new unitary authorities. Boundaries are still under discussion, and draft 1/2/3 tier models still under discussion. 

I remain concerned that these changes are being designed without enough understanding of rural communities. In particular there are concerns that there is no reference to tourism and coastal protection from government, both key issues here in North Norfolk. This issue won’t go away, and I’ll continue to update you.

New Funding Secured to Support North Norfolk Businesses and Communities

North Norfolk has been awarded an additional £842,354 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), to be used by March 2026. This follows the successful delivery of business and community support programmes funded through UKSPF and the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) between 2023 and 2025.

Achievements from Previous Funding Round (2023–2025):

• 1500 local businesses received direct support.
• £2.7 million in government funding was used.
• £5.5 million in total investment was generated through match funding.
• Projects supported jobs, skills training, climate resilience, and rural community development.

The delivery was led by the Council’s Economic Growth Team, who previously won awards for their pandemic-era business grant work. Their effective, partnership-led approach has been praised for more than doubling the original investment value and creating long-lasting benefits for residents.

Plans for the 2025/26 UKSPF programme will be released soon. Updates and case studies can be found on the Invest North Norfolk website, where parish councils and residents can also register for news on upcoming support initiatives.

Rural Services Network – Monthly grantfinder digest

The RSN publishes a monthly list of grants that are available to rural parishes and towns. Not all of these will be relevant but there are some that may well be to you or to village halls, playing fields and churches within your village, so do share. This link is for April, and the May list is due imminently: Rural Funding Digest – April 2025 – Rural Services Network https://rsnonline.org.uk/rural-funding-digest-April-2025

Public Space Protection Orders for dogs: 

North Norfolk District Council is currently carrying out a public consultation about our dog control orders, which are currently in place across our non-coastal public areas. The Council is legally required to review our dog orders every three years. In 2022, the orders were reintroduced to restrict dogs from being present or to be on leads within certain public areas.

The orders below expire on 11 June 2025. The Council is considering extending them for a further three years. Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014), the Council must carry out a public consultation and consider the views of the public and other associated bodies before implementing its decision.

The consultation is open from Wednesday 30 April 2025 and closes on Tuesday 13 May 2025 at 11.59pm. Any comments after this time will not be considered.

You may respond to the consultation as an individual, public body, or organisation.

The consultation webpage with the link to the consultation web form is now live on the website here: Home | PSPOs on dog restrictions for non-coastal public areas. The webpage has also been added to the consultation page: Home | Council consultations

Norfolk Marathon & Little Lifts 10k run

At the start of April, I completed my first ever marathon — the Norfolk Marathon — in a time of 4 hours, 28 minutes and 9 seconds. It was a tough course (turns out Norfolk isn’t as flat as people say!), and by the end I could barely move. But I’m proud to have got round it, and even prouder to have raised £1,185 for Bodham Playing Field Charity. With Gift Aid, that total should be closer to £1,400 — a really welcome boost for the upkeep and improvement of this valued village space.

Then, 13 days later, I took part in the Little Lifts 10K run, which started and finished at Barningham Hall. It was a fantastic event — really well organised, with a great atmosphere — and it felt brilliant to support a locally organised run taking place entirely within the Gresham Ward. Huge credit to everyone involved in putting it together.

Thank you again to everyone who supported my fundraising efforts and cheered me on — whether from the roadside or from afar. It’s been (mostly) a pleasure to do something active that also benefits the community.

Litter Picking equipment:

Don’t forget, NNDC have signs, pickers, hoops, and sacks for community litter picks.  These can be borrowed from NNDC by emailing clearing-house-norfolk.gov.uk – Please agree with them a location where you will leave any collected waste and SERCO will collect this.

  Page 253

Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council

 Meeting Held on Thursday 13^th March 2025

Present. Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman), D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey, G. Place. T. Toyn 

Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.  J. Stibbons (clerk)

The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm. 

1.  Apologies for absence. Cllr.R. Lewis. 

2. There were no declarations of interest

3. There were no Comments and Questions on the agenda from members of the public.

4. Dist. Cllr. C. Ringer  

A Report from Broadland Housing was read to the meeting.

Both sites are progressing well internally and now moving onto external works, roads, driveways and landscaping. We are working towards a completion in Mid-May, all being well and with hopefully the end of the wet and cold weather.

We will be looking to host a formal opening ceremony at some point in the summer, after    completion and when we have a better steer of a fixed completion date and residents have moved in. In advance of that we are looking at holding a pre-completion community event. This is an opportunity for us to come to the Village Hall late afternoon/early evening, with some site layouts and floor plans to show people what we have been doing but mainly to try and tease out and inform residents who would be eligible to bid for the new homes under a local connection and let them know about the advertising process etc. It is our intention to hold this event 09 April, from 4-7, however, is still tbc while we make final arrangements.

Cllr. Ringer continued: – Between practical completion and the first lettings taking place we will have an opportunity to invites local councillors to both sites to have a visit – again date tbc but I will give you good notice when we have a proposed/fixed date.

I will chase this up, I was hoping that someone from Smiths would have made contact to discuss directly but leave it with me to finalise.

In addition, please again accept my apologies for the parking over the last couple of weeks. I have informed site this is unacceptable in the strongest possible terms.

Wheatsheaf. The application for creating an Asset of Community Value has been withdrawn as the landlords have bought the freehold.

The meeting agreed that the withdrawal of the application should have been decided by the parish council. There should have been an emergency meeting called.

It was proposed by the chairman that the application should be re-submitted. This was seconded by Cllr. Barrass and agreed by the members present.

Cllr. Place reported on the meeting that was held to discuss road safety on the a148.

Present.  Stefan Aquarone MP, (Chairman).  

Sarah Taylor, the Police and Crime commissioner for Norfolk  

Senior police officers and Norfolk County council highways department. 

Representatives of most of the parish councils along the A148 were also present.

Sarah Taylor has 25 years in transport and engineering experience which led to a national role in road safety she is an advocate for the safe system approach to road safety which is good towards preventing road deaths and serious injury rather than waiting for an accident to occur and then doing something about it which is a more Pro preventative and proactive approach

Page 254

From East and West Beckham parish council attention was drawn to the speed on the road, the quieter the road the higher the speed of many vehicles. 

Some people would sooner leave the village through Badham in preference to the Lodge Hill junction because of the lack of visibility and high speeds of oncoming traffic. 

It was queried how the 40 mile limit in High Kelling was instigated at the wind farm site and yet nothing can be done elsewhere on the road. 

Village bus services have been lost because of the reluctance of the drivers to cross the Sheringham Park junction. 

It was formerly agreed a full review of road safety on a148 would take place and councillor Callum Ringer would keep all parties informed. 

 

5.   The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 9^th January 2025. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Batt that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and carried.

 

6.    There were no Matters arising from the Minutes.

 

7. Information Commissioners Office. It was proposed by Cllr. Barrass that Beckham Parish Council should register with the Information Commissioners Office. This was seconded by Cllr.Dovey and approved.

The fee  will be paid by direct debit.

 

8. Horsey 3 Community Fund. The committee met on Monday 3rd of February 2025

Present David Barris(chairman) Julia Dovey, Rosabelle Batt, John Stibbons. 

Object.  To take forward the application for funding from Horsey 3

After discussing the requirements needed for completing the application it was decided to consider two projects.

 Playing field. The renewal of existing equipment apart from the swings bracket and the rock band. The addition of further items to include half children’s and half adult fitness equipment. 

Allotments It was agreed that a community orchard and rewilding at the top of the allotments could be considered. The repair of the roadway would be necessary.

The notes from Grantscape detailing the requirements for completing the application stated:-

   The projects need community support, and they must demonstrate a benefit to the community and have an environmental benefit

Costings are to be obtained before the next meeting.

9.     Planning. 

PF/24/1570  Camp Farm Building, Osier Lane, West Beckham   Extension to commercial workshop to provide workspace and w/c on ground floor and first floor welfare space.

Full planning permission granted.

PO/23/2643 Land East of Williams Barn, Beckham Appeal against decision to refuse planning permission for erection of dwelling and car port

10. Bulletin.  

11. Playing Field.  The hedge on the roadside has been cut back to improve the vision splay from the affordable housing.

Page 255

12. Financial matters.

Bank Balances at 13/3/25: –

Current a/c £1857.08  Savings a/c £1793.27 Investment a/c £47607 + interest £175.30

There following invoices were approved and cheques signed.

Zurich Insurance£646.82

NALCSubscription£127.06

 13. Correspondence The following correspondence was received:

Letter of thanks from Community Transport for donation.

N. Norfolk local plan. Consultation

Horsey 3 newsletter

Banking Hub. Holt

 

14. Matters for information only or for the next agenda.

A discussion on registering the East Beckham allotments, the West Beckham old allotments and the Nature area with the Land Registry. The costs and necessary information required are to be investigated and reported to the next meeting.

Cllr. Place reported that a large hole had appeared on the verge next to the nature area. A car has already grounded and needed to be recovered. Highways to be informed.

 

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.57pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 8^th May 2025