Beckham East and West Parish Council

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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 14th November 2024

Present.
Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman), D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey, G. Place. Kathryn Lord (Beckham Bulletin). J.Stibbons (clerk)

The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.

1. Apologies Cllr. Bob Lewis. Tracey Toyn, County Cllr. E. Vardy Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.

2. Cllr. Barrass declared an interest on items in agenda item 9. Felbeck Trust.

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

4. Reports.
Kathryn Lord The November edition of the Beckham Bulleting has been published. There was a considerable
amount of work to prepare the layout for publishing. More feedback from councillors and residents was
required for items to be included in future copies.
This will be discussed at future meetings with members providing copy.
Kathryn was thanked for the hard work she had put in to provide the publication. (Left the meeting at 7.26pm)

Dist. Cllr. C. Ringer A written reports was received and is attached to these minutes.

County Cllr. E. Vardy. A written reports was received and is attached to these minutes.

5. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 19th September 2024. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Batt that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Barrass and carried.
The chairman then signed the minutes.

6. Matters arising from the Minutes.
Broad land Housing have agreed to renew the chain-link fence around the playing field. It is hoped they will remove the old shed at the same time.
The Wheatsheaf has re-opened and is now being run by Joint tenants who live locally. It has not yet been confirmed if this is to be an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

7. Bulletin This item is to be included as an agenda item for future meetings to enable articles and ideas can be collected for future editions.

8. Horsey 3 Community Fund.
It was suggested that an application could be made as a Community package with the emphasis on health and well-being. This could include improvements to the play area and allotments.
A publication is to be prepared and circulated to the parish summarising what the grant is about and asking for suggestions It could be children and adults equipment for the play area or other items.
The Chairman is to inspect the play area and suggest items which need providing or replacing.
A final decision can then be taken, with costings, on what is to be included in the application.

9. Felbeck Trust. It was decided to renew the ten year agreement. The chairman is to inform the trust.
Cllr. Barrass reported that their donation from the parish council has helped to purchase the equipment required.

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10. Playing Field. As noted above, Broadland Housing have agreed to replace the chain link fencing.

11. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 14/11/24:-
Current a/c £4517.05 Savings a/c £2523.33 Investment a/c £46440 + interest £942.63
Cheques signed:-
Bodham and Beckham Village Hall Grant £750
J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £664.60
HMRC PAYE £140.40
Chevertons Printing £85
Bodham and Beckham Village Hall Hire fee £54

Budget. The proposed Budget for 2025/26 was discussed. It was noted that donations were to be paid from investment interest.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that the budgeted Precept amount of five thousand pounds (£5000) should be requested. This was seconded by Cllr. Batt and approved by the meeting.

12. Correspondence The following correspondence was sent to members by email:
North Norfolk Community Transport, A request for donation towards the cost of running the Community Transport.
This service includes Beckham within its catchment area. A local time-table is to be published in the next edition of the bulletin.
It was proposed by Cllr. Batt that a donation of £100 should be made. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and approved.

13. There were no matters for information only or for the next agenda.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.51pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 9th January 2025

Page 247

Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 19th September 2024

Present.
Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman), D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey, R. Lewis, G. Place, T. Toyn,
County Cllr. E. Vardy, PC. Jack Houghton, Mr.&Mrs. P. Spurgeon (Village Hall Committee) J.Stibbons (clerk)

The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.

1. Apologies Cllr. Bob Lewis. Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.

2. Cllr. Barrass declared an interest on items in agenda item 8. Felbeck Trust.

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

4. Reports.
Dist. Cllr. C. Ringer A written reports was received and is attached to these minutes.

County Cllr. E. Vardy. Due to the election there was not much to report. Not many meetings had
been held. Due to the change of Government, devolution is unlikely to happen. Government funding
has also been withheld for the Holway Roundabout and a firm decision is awaited from the new
government.

PC. Jack Houghton. The priority issues for the Police at present are Anti-social Behaviour and Speeding. Speedwatch has become important in some areas. There was no crime reported in Beckham during the last quarter.
The next Police Priority meeting will be held at Sheringham on 17th October at 7pm.

Mr. Pat Spurgeon. The target for installing solar panels on the village hall has been reached.
The total cost is £16,500 of which Horsey 3 Project have given a grant of £13,200 and donations of £3808 have been received.

Broadland Housing. Further information regarding the renewal of the fence at the play area is awaited.

5. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 11th July 2024. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and carried.
The chairman then signed the minutes.

6. Matters arising from the Minutes.
Wheatsheaf. It was agreed that the Wheatsheaf was a good community resource. There was still some concern amongst councillors regarding the exact wording of the forms and what impact an ACV would have on the parish council.
It was proposed that a further meeting should be held, asking Cllr. Callum Ringer to be present, specifically to discuss the way forward.
The date will be the earliest which is suitable to Mr. Ringer who is abroad on holiday at the moment.
Dates suggested were 26th September or 3rd October

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7. Horsey 3 Community Fund.
David Barrass suggested that one area needing improvement was the allotments. It would be useful to have a wooden shed for storage and an improved water saving system.
Providing family plots could also be an asset as this would encourage younger children to take an interest in growing vegetables. Possibly some play equipment could be provided to encourage youngsters.

8. Felbeck Trust.
Felbeck Trust have asked for a donation of £1500 towards match funding for the purchase of a mower.
Also ask for the ten year lease, which has already been in place for five years to be extended to a ninety nine year lease.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that a donation of £750 should be made towards the purchase of equipment and the lease should remain as a ten year lease which could be reviewed in the future and carried forward when the renewal date was approached.
This proposal was seconded by Cllr. Toyn and unanimously approved by the meeting.

9. Suggested articles for the Bulletin.
Cllr. Dovey noted the several suitable topics suggested and will liaise with Kathryn Lord in the preparation of the next edition.

10. Playing Field.
The inspection report by J. Dovey noted further deterioration of the kick board.
A reply is still awaited from Broadland Housing regarding the replacement of the fence.

11. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 19/9/24:-
Current a/c £1967.05 Savings a/c £4556.29 Investment a/c £46440 + interest £771.15
Cheques signed:-
Felbeck Trust Grant towards mowing equipment £750
Beckham Church Grass maintenance grant (2ndyear) £1000

It was agreed that the above grants should be paid from the Savings account

12. Correspondence The following correspondence was sent to members by email:-
NNDC New Draft housing allocation scheme.
Bodham and Beckham Horticultural Show. A letter of thanks for sponsoring the show. Volunteers are being sought to run the show in 2025.

13. Matters for information only or for the next agenda.
It was noted that there had been a serious accident on the main road with four people taken to hospital.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.51pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 14th November 2024

Page 243

Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 11th July 2024

Present.
Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman), D. Barrass, R. Batt, J. Dovey, R. Lewis, G. Place, T. Toyn,
J.Stibbons (clerk)
The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.

1. Apologies County Cllr. E. Vardy, Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer.

2. There were no Declarations of interest on items in the agenda.

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

4. Reports.
Written reports were received from the County and District Councillors and are attached to these
minutes.
Felbeck Trust
The chairman and Cllr. Dovey had a meeting at the West Beckham Allotments with the Felbeck Trust.
The plants are looking in a very good condition.
A new information board has been installed.
The Felbeck Trust had come second at the recent annual Norfolk Biodiversity Awards for habitat creation / restoration work at W BOA – providing county-wide recognition.  They also came first in the Group awards.
Community relations with neighbouring residents at each of the sites is good.
No Turtle Doves have nested yet but they have started nesting on Kelling and Salthouse Heath. Qualified bird ringers are now working with the trust and have created net rides through the boundary hedges at WBOA which are closed off with slip rails when not in use.
Roe Deer have been visiting the site. Two ponds have been constructed on the site and a hide has been installed for use by members of the public.
East Beckham common has been opened up at the top (the South west corner of the common) and the volunteers have created a small dew pond and extra seating in this area.
The ten year programme will soon be completed. To maintain future grants they need more than a six year agreement with the Parish Council. Ideally a long-term agreement with match funding for the upkeep of the projects would be ideal.

Broadland Housing
It was noted that members of the Parish council were not invited to the opening of the Broadland Housing site. The Parish Council have been supporting the affordable housing developments.
It was noted that a bicycle rack will now be provided instead of a bin store and a second site access has now been created over the footpath.
The parish council agreed that as Mr. Ed Mumford-Smith was no longer involved in the project it would be helpful to invite his successor to the September parish council meeting.

5. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 9th May 2024. having been previously circulated, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Barrass and carried.
The chairman then signed the minutes.

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6. Matters arising from the Minutes.
Wheatsheaf. It was agreed to ask District Councillor Ringer to progress the application to establish an Asset of Community Value (ACV) If the Wheatsheaf is to stay open if needs a good tenant to make it successful.

7. Horsey 3 Community Fund.
Cllr. Barrass has investigated the requirements for application to the fund. There are several chances to bid and it would be beneficial to carefully consider what the most useful project would be to the parish.
Initial suggestions were play equipment, a sensory garden or outdoor exercise equipment. Improvement of the East Beckham allotment track was also suggested. One of the categories for consideration was special Nature and environment projects.
It was decided that councillors would each consider their own ideas and discuss at the next meeting in September. It was felt that any application should try to be unique. There would probably be many schemes for play areas and footpaths which would reduce the chance of our application being successful.

8 Gov.uk website There was no interest in having individual council emails for members.

9. Allotments
All the plots at the top of the track on the right have been cleared.
Plots near the car park need clearing but most other plots are fully let.

10. Playing Field
The bench is in poor condition.
It was agreed that any new purchases of play equipment made in the future should be metal, the wooden equipment is very prone to rot.

11. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 11/07/2024:–
Current a/c £2060.65 Savings a/c £4556.29 Investment a/c £46440 + interest £524.42

The following invoices were approved for payment:-
J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £664.60
HMRC PAYE £140.40
Bodham Village Hall Rent £54
Playsafety Inspection £93.60

12. Village Hall
Bodham Parish Council have approved a grant of £750 towards the installation of solar panels on the village hall which Beckham parish council agreed to match.

13. Correspondence The following correspondence was sent to members by email:-
NALC News update
Ørsted’s Community Benefit Funds – Spring 2024 Newsletter

14. Matters for information only or for the next agenda.
The Horticultural Show will be held on Saturday 20th July.

There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 8.27pm

The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 19th September 2024