Beckham East and West Parish Council

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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 8th January 2026
Present. Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman),D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey. G. Place, T. Toyn, J. Stibbons (clerk)
The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.
1. Apologies for absence. County Cllr. E. Vardy, Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.
2. There were no declarations of interest
3. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 13th November 2025. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and carried.
4. Matters arising from the Minutes.
The latest edition of the Bulletin has been delivered.
The two new noticeboards have been ordered.
5. There were no comments or questions on the agenda from members of the pubic.
6. Reports from Councillors
Written reports from County Cllr. Vardy and Dist. Cllr, Ringer were circulated to members, both councillors unable to attend due to illness.
7. Horsey 3 Community Fund. Cllr. Barriss (chairman of the grants committee)
Cllr. Barrass reported that further details were required by Grantscape to clarify certain details of the application. Replies have been sent. Also, a letter of support from District Councillor Ringer.
It was suggested that the necessary quotations for equipment should be prepared. If this application is not successful, then necessary details will be in place to try again.
Cllr, Dovey agreed to obtain the necessary quotes.
8. Planning . There were no Planning applications to be considered at this meeting.
9. Felbeck Trust The councillors had been sent copies of the ten-year rolling agreement with Felbeck Trust. This agreement is due for renewal. The agreement can be terminated if this becomes necessary.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that the agreement should continue. This was seconded by Cllr. Batt and unanimously approved by the members.
The Chairman will sign two copies of the agreement on behalf of the Parish Council.
The completed copy will be retained on file.
10. Playing Field. D Barrass will make the inspection for January/February
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11. Policy Statements. (Updates) The clerk reported that there will be a new requirement as an
addition to Section 3 of the Annual Governance Statement.
This is referred to as Assertion 10.. .Its aim is to strengthen trust in local government by ensuring that digital communication and data handling are secure, accessible, and legally compliant. It mitigates risks of data breaches, loss of data, non compliance penalties, reputational damage, and ensures that public information is accessible in a fair and lawful way.
It aligns smaller authorities with modern expectations around digital governance and helps them to operate responsibly in an increasingly connected world.
In view of these new regulations it was decided to review, and update if necessary, all Beckham Parish Council policy statements, These policies, which, in their present form, have been approved by the Council in the past include Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Financial Regulations,
IT Policy, Risk Management and Standing Orders.
12. Felbeck Trust Donation It was proposed by Cllr. Place that a donation of £300 should be
made as in past years. This was seconded by Cllr. Toyn and approved by the meeting.
13. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 8/1/2026.
Current a/c £2398.23 Savings a/c £534.47 Invest a/c £47607 (+£923.92 interest)
The following outstanding invoice are due for approval and payment:-
J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £803.83
HMRC PAYE £166.14
Felbeck Trust Donation £300
S. Thurtle Ground Maintenance £808
14. Correspondence
There has been no correspondence received since the last meeting.
There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 7.54 pm.
The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 8th January 2026

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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 13th November 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. County Cllr. E. Vardy

2. There were no declarations of interest

3. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 18th September 2025. having been previously circulated, it was noted that Cllr. Batt had agreed to deliver Daffodil bulbs to the new residents of the affordable housing complex. This was not recorded in the draft minutes. After this amendment was agreed it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and carried.

4. Matters arising from the Minutes.
No applications have been made to fill the vacancy for a Parish Councillor.
Two possible names were suggested, and further enquiries will be made.

5. There were no comment or questions on the agenda from members of the pubic.

6. Reports from Councillors
Cllr. Ringer. There is to be a new allocations policy for affordable homes, but this does not involve many changes.
Bodham parish council have been briefly running the village hall due to the resignation of the former committee. A new committee has now been appointed and includes two members from Beckham.
A partnership between adjoining parishes to purchase a SAM3 was being discussed. An initial contribution of £500 per parish was being considered to start. Awaiting comments from other likely councils before this can be taken further.

7. Horsey 3 Community Fund. Cllr. Barriss (chairman of the grants committee) The completed draft application had been sent to members.
It was suggested that bird, bat, and owl boxes should be included on the allotment.
A static B.B.Q. could be installed and access improved for wheel chairs. It could also be useful if Felbeck Trust were involved.
The village survey conducted before the first grant from Hall Farm Solar was still relevant and could be used if necessary.
A minimum contribution of 20% from the Parish Council was necessary.
The draft application suggested that a contribution from the Parish Council of 30% was more likely to receive a positive reception. After further discussion it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that the contribution should be 30%. This was seconded by Cllr. Wilson and unanimously approved.
Cllr. Barrass will submit the completed application before the deadline.

8. Planning. There were no Planning applications to be considered at this meeting.

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P
9. Bulletin.
The Bulletin is almost ready for publication.
Some new volunteers for distribution would be appreciated

10. Playing Field. Discussed in item 7.

11. Notice Boards Cllr Barrass had details of a double-door notice board in composite material for £1000. It was agreed that two notice boards were needed.
It was proposed by Cllr. Place that the two boards should be purchased. This was seconded by Cllr Wilson and unanimously agreed by the members present.

12. Clerks’ salary review A copy of the Local Government Services Pay Agreement 2025/26 was presented to the meeting. This shows that the LC1substansive benchmark from the annual pay agreement for employees on SCP12 has risen to £14.82 per hour.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that this rate should be approved. This was seconded by Cllr. Toyn and agreed by the councillors. It was noted that this was the clerks first salary increase since 2022.

13. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 13/11/25: –
Current a/c £4204.17 Savings a/c £1805.20 Investment a/c £47607.89 + interest £773.27
The following invoices due for approval and payment.
West Beckham Church Grant (3rd of 3) £1000
Bodham & Beckham village hall Rent £54
J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £803.83
HMRC PAYE £166.14

14. Budgets for 2026/27 The proposed budget for 2026/27 was presented to the meeting.
After discussing the budget forecasts, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that the precept for 2026/27should be £5750. This was seconded by Cllr. Batt and approved.
This was an increase of £750, but it was noted that, due to the ten new houses being built in the parish the actual amount per household would not greatly increase.

15. Correspondence The following correspondence was received:

The County Councillors report was circulated to members.

A Police request for support with Operation Radium. This is a plan to try and combat Courier Fraud. The object is to respond quickly when there is a spike in Courier Fraud within a specific area over a short period. The Parish Council agreed to participate. The clerk will be the point of contact to receive trigger alerts from the police and share these promptly with the list of contacts.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 9.24 pm.

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 8th January 2026

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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 18th September 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 7.03pm.

1. Apologies for absence. County Cllr. E. Vardy

2. There were no applications to fill the vacancy on the Parish Council. Members will make further enquiries to find a suitable candidate.

3. There were no declarations of interest

4. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 11th July 2025. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Batt and carried.

5. There were no Matters arising from the Minutes.

6. There were no comment or questions on the agenda from members of the pubic.

7. Reports from County, District and Parish Councillors
Dist. Cllr. C. Ringer Bodham and Beckham Village Hall committee has resigned. A new committee is to be formed. Members form East and West Beckham are also needed to be included on this new committee. A meeting to form a new committee has been called for 29th September and a full meeting of the new committee will be held in February or March 2026.
The full written report from Councillor Ringer, sent to members before the meeting, is attached at the end of these minutes.

8. Horsey 3 Community Fund. Cllr. Barriss (chairman of the grants committee) preposed six pieces of play equipment costing about four thousand pounds each should be included in the total figure of the application. Costings are also being prepared for the Allotment access, the water saving scheme and the provision of Family allotments and a community orchard. Full costings will be available at the next parish council meeting.
This general plan was approved by the meeting and the final proposals will be discussed and confirmed at the November meeting.

9. Planning. There were no Planning applications to be considered at this meeting.

10. Bulletin. The need for new committee members for the Village Hall to be publicised.
It would also be useful to have events at The Wheatsheaf and church services published

11. Playing Field. The Playsafety report was discussed. It was agreed that no action should be taken until the outcome of the grant application was known.

12. Notice Boards. Quotations for replacement notice boards are to be considered at the next meeting.

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13. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 18/9/25: –
Current a/c £1704.17 Savings a/c £1799.23 Investment a/c £47607.89 + interest £670.55
There were no invoices due for payment at this meeting.

14. Correspondence The following correspondence was received:
A letter of thanks for the donation to the Air Ambulance

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.42pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 13th November 2025

District Councillor Report – Cllr Callum Ringer
September 2024
Local Government Reorganisation
On 17 September, I will be voting on the council’s position regarding the Government’s proposals for local government reorganisation. The expectation is that NNDC will continue to object to the
process entirely, as many of us feel it is being imposed without sufficient local input or
consideration. However, we also have to face the reality that reorganisation will go ahead, and the
council is therefore likely to support a three-unitary council approach as the most workable model
for Norfolk should it proceed.

West Beckham Affordable Housing
It was a real pleasure to welcome so many parish councillors to the new affordable housing site in
West Beckham during early August. I hope this visit acts as a catalyst for similar future schemes
Across the district. These are known as “exception” schemes—they can only be delivered on land not normally allocated for housing, and they require a local connection for those applying. This ensures that homes go to people with genuine ties to the parish or surrounding area. I am very pleased to report that in Beckham, families have now been assigned properties and will be moving in shortly—a positive step in addressing local housing need.

Progress on the A148 Road Safety campaign
Since the tragic fatalities of Sheila and Campbell Welsh, I along with other local councillors and Steff
Aquarone have called for a comprehensive review of the A148 from Holt Roundabout through to the
Felbrigg Roundabout. Following a stakeholder meeting in February highways agreed to this. Over
the summer highways have been reviewing traffic data – not just vehicle movements but pedestrian
and cyclists too. £20k has been extracted from the developers of the old Pineheath nursing home
which will specifically contribute towards enhanced pedestrian crossing. Draft proposals should be
known later in the Autumn but the final sign off – we are told – will need to await any
recommendations from the inquest for which no date has been set.

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Graveyards at Risk of Coastal Erosion

Across England, a number of coastal graveyards are at risk of loss to erosion, including three in
Happisburgh, Trimingham and Mundesley. In response, Coastwise, working with the Diocese of
Norwich, has commissioned a study looking at policies, legislation, and practical options for
communities facing this issue.
Graveyards are of deep cultural and emotional significance, yet there are currently no plans in place
to manage them when threatened by erosion. The report sets out potential options—ranging from
doing minimum, defending, ceasing use, relocating, or long-term management—and highlights the
importance of community involvement in decision-making.
Workshops and engagement events will continue in coastal communities to help shape local
transition plans, ensuring respectful and proactive approaches for the future.

Norfolk Churches Trust Sponsored Cycle Ride
On Saturday 13 September, the annual Norfolk Churches Trust Cycle Ride took place, raising vital
Funds to support the upkeep of our churches. I cycled on behalf of Bodham Church, and if you’d still like to sponsor me, I’ve included a link below.
It was a wonderful community event — we cycled 60 miles, taking in 50 churches along the way. We are very grateful to all our sponsors for their support, and I’d also like to congratulate everyone who took part across the county.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/callum-kathryn-bodhamchurch

Email: callum.ringer@north-norfolk.gov.uk
I’m always happy to deal with any issues between meetings—please don’t hesitate