Cley Parish Council
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CLEY PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Clerk and RFO :Louise Stevens
The Red House, 1 Holt Road, Letheringsett, Holt, NR25 7AR
Tel 01263 713857. email:
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Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of Cley Parish Council on Tuesday 21st July 2015 in the Main Hall at Cley Village Hall at 7.30pm.
Attending: The Chairman, Cllr.Richard Allen, Cllr.T.Baker, Cllr.Elaine Warren,Cllr. Richard High, and Cllr. Simon Read.
Louise Stevens,Parish Clerk.
County Councillor Mr. M.Baker and District Councillor Mr. David Young.
There was17 members of the public in attendance.
1.Welcome and to consider apologies and reasons for absence.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were apologies from
Cllr. Stanley Moore who was unwell.
2.Declarations of Interest and requests for dispensations by Councillors.
Cllr. Elaine Warren declared her Pecuniary Interest in item 5.2 on the Agenda.
3. Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 2nd June 2015 to be approved and signed as a true record ( enclosed ).
Cllr. Simon Read stated that District Councillor David Young did not reveal the site for the social housing as Holt Road until later in the meeting.
Cllr. Tim Baker proposed, and Cllr. Richard High seconded that they were an exact copy and the Chairman signed them.
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 7th July also to be approved.
The minutes were circulated to all members.
Cllr. Tim Baker proposed, Cllr. Richard High seconded that they were an exact copy of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
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4. Matters Arising :
The Chairman told Cllr. Warren that she had been wrongly sent out of the meeting on 7th July, and that she would be able to stay in meetings when the Holt Road Site is discussed.
Cllr. Warren also stated that she disagreed with the Clerks wording in the minutes, of her comments in the meeting on the 7th July.
Cllr. Read stated that the proceeds from the proposed market houses on the Victory Housing Holt Road site, will not fund the building of the Social/Affordable properties.
5. Receive Reports :
5.1 Police :
There was no police report for this meeting.
5.2. Victory Housing scheme, Cley :
The Clerk had received a pack of information from Elaine Ferguson, Housing Development at North Norfolk District Council. This included a map of Cley, with the unsuitable sites marked with nine red crosses. This was circulated and inspected. These sites were not considered further for an exception housing scheme, as they were unable to meet planning policy requirements , landscaping, impact on conservation area, remoteness from village or highways concerns, and where there are unadopted roads, or lacked a willing landowner.
Concerns were raised about the suitability of the Holt Road site which is now being pursued by Victory Housing. The lack of correspondence from Victory Housing is also seen to be unacceptable.
Cllr. Read stated that The Highways Department do have concerns about this site in Holt Road, and Cllr. High mentioned that during the winter months Holt Road is not gritted and the extra traffic could lead to more accidents.
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A statement to Victory Housing expressing these many concerns and comments will be collaborated and forwarded to Mark Burghall.
The Parish Council wishes to be consulted on all matters affecting this proposed site, including North Norfolk District Council's Local Letting Policy. The information received so far suggests that there are 12 households, who have a local connection to Cley, Category A, and 35 households, who have a Category C connection. Household applicants apply via the Your Choice Your Home application process to add their details to the Housing List. The main concern here is that these proposed properties will be allocated to non-local households.
Cllr. High gave the clerk a hand written letter describing his thoughts on this matter. The clerk read this out to the meeting, and the content will be used to reply to Victory Housing.
Meanwhile it was agreed to pursue alternative sites for social housing, and to also find out why previous sites were eliminated.
Cllr. Warren asked for a sub-committee to be formed, with Parish Councillors and residents. The Chairman said that this can be organised in the near future.
Cllr. Simon Read reported on the meeting that he attended in Blakeney, on Friday 17th July.
The meeting was arranged by Blakeney Parish Council, with neighbouring Parish Councils invited to attend. Also attending was Norman Lamb MP, Dr. Marie Strong, District Councillors David Young and Andrew Wells. Nicola Turner, Planning Strategy and Community Liaison , NNDC was there as was representatives from Blakeney, Brancaster and Wells Housing Associations.
The meeting was an informal discussion on the concerns of the Parish Councils at the sale of housing stock and provision of affordable homes.
Tony Faulkner read out a letter from a Cley Resident voicing their concern of the sale of yet another Victory House. It was pointed out that Housing Associations can sell empty stock with no restrictions , but as Blakeney Housing Association pointed out this would lead to the eventual loss of all housing stock in villages.
The proposed site at Holt Road, Cley was discussed, and with the irregularities on the way the proposed site is to be split and market houses sold, it was made clear to Nicola Turner that at no time has NNDC consulted Cley Parish Council
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on this project and that they have managed to put the whole village on alarm at this proposal, through its lack of information.
Fears were expressed about the governments proposal to include Housing Associations in their plans for The Right To Buy scheme. Norman Lamb suggested that if we had concerns about the government proposals then we could write to him and he would make representations to the appropriate minister. He was keen to note that the Parishes were in favour of Exemption Sites.
The Chairman thanked Simon for his report.
5.3.
County Councillor Michael Baker gave his report to the meeting :
He confirmed that extending The Right to Buy Scheme to Housing Associations was a pre-election pledge and that the details were yet to be released.
He also stated that the developer at Holt Road, will need to submit plans for the Holt Road site and that eventually they will need to be passed by the planning committee. He didn't think that a sub-committee for the Parish Council would be necessary.
A new Parish Partnership scheme for highway related projects, including 20mph flashing signs. £300,000 has been set aside for this.
In Norfolk there are 1058 children in care, and there is an appeal for emergency carers for the fostering sector, where numbers fall short. The annual bill for this care is £50m.
It has been announced that the Norwich International Aviation Academy has been given the go ahead. This will be partly funded by KLM, and will offer apprenticeships for young people.
Central government have cut £245m from NCC budget.
The Chairman thanked County Councillor Baker for his report.
District Councillor David Young gave his report :
The meeting of Full Council on 24th June received the report from Cabinet on the outturn for 2014/15. After allowing for the slippage of many projects due to the storm surge, there was a surplus of £431,525 which was transferred to the " restructuring/invest to save " reserve. ( This covers redundancy payments and
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projects that are intended to save money in the long run. ) The General Reserve is nearly £2.3m compared to its recommended amount of £1.75m.
A working party, of which I am a member, met recently to discuss the level of Council Tax Support. This provides discounts for households on low incomes. It was decided to recommend leaving the scheme unchanged for 2016/17, which will be the third year of no change. Cabinet has accepted this recommendation.
The Council will be embarking on a three-year project to compile a new Local Plan to cover development policies and land allocations for the period to 2036. A Local Development Scheme is required which sets out the timetable and the periods of consultation. The first requirement is to formally announce the intention to compile a new Local Plan and to seek representations regarding its scope.
I met Steve Hayman of the Environment Agency at the opening of the NWT education centre and we spoke about the interface between Marsh Lane and the embankment. He told me that the case for repair/ upgrade had been accepted and that the money would was to be made available. At the time we met, he did not know the amount of funding nor the envisaged timescale. He has since advised that the contractor has seen the site and has been asked to prepare an estimate with a view to completing the work by end of October.
I attended a meeting on 17th. July called by Blakeney Parish Council to discuss affordable housing and the potential development in Cley was mentioned. During the meeting I suggested a slight change to the allocation criteria that would give priority to those with connections to the village in which development takes place.This was well received and I shall pursue this with the relevant council officers.
6. Planning :
Planning Application Number. PF / 15 / 0838
Demolition of single -storey dwelling and garage and erection of replacement single-storey dwelling at Pheasant Cottage, Church Lane, Cley-next-the-Sea. NR25 7UD.
MEMBERS AGREED NO OBJECTIONS
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Planning Application Number PF/ 15 / 0802
Erection of single-storey side extension, demolition of existing conservatory and erection of replacement conservatory to rear. External alterations include some replacement windows. Hopes Yard, Cley-next-the-Sea.
MEMBERS AGREED NO OBJECTIONS.
The Clerk reported to the meeting about the proposed 30m phone mast, which is to be erected at Friary Farm, Blakeney. There is to be a blown up mast as an example during August, and members agreed to comment after viewing the pump mast.
7. Old Harbour Project :
Cllr. Simon Read is arranging another working party for August 9th, to clear the slipway, Simon Strong has offered his mini digger to help with this.
Cllr. Read has also had a meeting with the National Trust, and it appears that we would not need a license from the MMO, as our dredging amounts are under their limits.
The owners of The Mill have been approached about the possibility of erecting a Christmas Tree on the Quay in December. Cllr. High agreed to contact Bayfield Estate about possibly donating a suitable tree.
8. To discuss correspondence received ( attached )
After requests from residents there will be a portaloo in the Village Hall car park again this summer. It was also suggested that the times be extended for the general summer period not just the school holidays.
The clerk reported that the bottle bank needs emptying again and it was suggested that either a larger bank was installed or either an extra bank could be added. Cllr. Warren mentioned that her trade glass waste was not permitted in the bottle bank.
9. Financial Matters :
9.1. Monthly Financial Statement.
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The Clerk circulated revised copies of the Financial Statement for July, and informed members that the internal audit had been carried out that day.
The Audit Form had been signed and the clerk returns this to Mazars for external checking.
Public Participation
Residents expressed their concerns that Victory have moved forward with this plan for a proposed Social Housing Site without consulting the Parish Council.
The Parish Council confirmed again that it has not had any correspondence from Victory Housing, since the last meeting on the 7th July, which Mark Burghall attended.
Residents were also angry that North Norfolk District Council would not inform the Council about the sites, which were not successful. An explanation from NNDC was needed, under the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr. Livsey said it was necessary to explore the possibility of building on part of the allotments, the village Hall Car Park or the Play Area.
John Ebdon told the meeting that there were covenants on the Car Park and the Play Area, restricting building, but the Miss Notts Trust would consider selling part of the allotments.
In was agreed that the Council would contact Broadland Housing to pursue funding, should an alternative site be found.
10. Items for the next agenda :
To prepare statement for Victory Housing.
11. Date of the next meeting :
Next Parish Council meeting Tuesday 1st September at 7.30pm
Chairman...... Date......