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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 12th March 2026
Present. Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman),D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey. G. Place, T. Toyn,
County Cllr. E. Vardy, Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer. Stibbons (clerk)
The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.
1. There were no apologies for absence.
2. There were no declarations of interest
3. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 8th January 2026. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Barrass and carried.
4. Matters arising from the Minutes.
Two notice boards have been delivered and will be installed during the next week.
The Felbeck Trust agreement has been signed by both parties and will be deposited with the clerk.
5. There were no comment or questions on the agenda from members of the pubic.
6. Reports from Councillors
County Cllr. E. Vardy from May 7th budgets will be in place for small grant applications from parish councils. These will cover Highways or other community benefits. Grants payable are up to £2500, any amount over this to be raised by Croud Funding. Submissions for grants should be made to the County Councillor for the district. Cllr. Vardy left the meeting at 7.16pm
District Cllr. Callum Ringer An update meeting to discuss the A148 is planned for 19th March. Funding is now in place for a 50mph speed limit from Holt to Felbrigg. A final decision awaits consultation with Norfolk County Council.
Planning permission for a round-about at the top of Holway Road has been approved but funds are not available for construction.
North Norfolk District Council have no power over an independent school trust. With the planned closure of the sixth form at Sheringham it will be difficult for pupils from Beckham to travel to North Walsham.
From February 2027 there will be a weekly collection of food waste in North Norfolk.
7. Horsey 3 Community Fund. Cllr. Barriss (chairman of the grants committee)
The grant application has been refused with no reason given. It was agreed to maximise input from other grants and fund raising before re-submitting the application. This would allow for a smaller amount of grant to be requested.
8. Planning. There were no Planning applications to be considered at this meeting.
9. Playing Field. Safety inspection completed. The Hut will be removed.
An email was received from Finding Fitness with the offer of obtaining a grant for the installation of a Monkey Challenge wall. Further enquiries are to be made.
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10. Policy Statements.
Copies of the following updated policies had been sent to members. These included:-
Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Financial Regulations, IT Policy, Risk Management, and Standing Orders.
It was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that these updated policies be approved and adopted. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and approved by the meeting.
11. Insurance review.
Insurance cover from April 2026 to March 2027 is due for renewal. Included in the list of additional items covered was a sum of £24156.09 for Playground equipment but there was no cover for the new fence and gate.
It was agreed that Zurich be asked to reduce the cover on equipment by half to include cover for the fence.
12. GDPR review
The meeting was informed that the necessary, signed, agreements needed to comply with GDPR would be reviewed to ensure they were current.
The only details held were those of allotment tenants.
13. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 12/3/2026.
Current a/c £4815.23 Savings a/c £534.47 Invest a/c £45036 (+£130.78 interest)
The following outstanding invoice are due for approval and payment:-
Greenbarnes Ltd. Noticeboards £2342.76
Zurich Insurance Renewal £666.64
Village Hall Hire (Jan26) £36
Repairs are needed to the water collection tanks on the allotment.
The meeting approved a sum of £100 for repairs.
14 Investment returns.
Cambridge Building Society, who hold the council reserves are not paying a satisfactory return.
The chairman suggested that the council considers placing funds with Insignis.
Insignis gives access to a range of savings products from a panel of UK Banks and Building Societies, all through a single platform. Deposits would be placed on the Parish Council instructions thus managing cash across multiple institutions efficiently.
The chairman will investigate further.
It was agreed to set up internet banking if possible. Any transactions to be approved and posted.
15. Matters for information only or the next agenda.
Agenda items:- Bulletin contributions. Insurance update
Felbeck Trust. Select an area for a tree nursery.
There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 7.54 pm.
The Annual General Meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 14th May 2026
