FORNHAM ALL SAINTS PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of Fornham All Saints Parish Council held on Tuesday 17th January 2012 at 7.30 pm in Fornham All Saints Village Hall
Members Present:
Malcolm Johnson – Chairman / Mrs Enid Gathercole Vice ChairmanMr Gary Clark Ward / Mrs Gloria Davies
Mrs Elizabeth Gingell / Mr Michael Guest
Mr Keith Mills / Mr Howard Quayle
With County and Borough Councillor Mrs. Rebecca Hopfensperger, Mrs Victoria Waples (Clerk) and 10 members of the public
536. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
i. There were no apologies of absence received from the Parish Council.
The Clerk informed the meeting that PCSO Will Pardoe had given his apologies and had submitted a short written report.
537. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST - there were none received for the agenda under discussion and the Chairman reminded all to sign in the book if a declaration of interest became apparent during the course of the meeting.
538. MINUTES – approval of the minutes from the Parish Council Meeting on 15th November 2011, subject to an amendment in the list of attendees and name changes as to the proposer of acceptance of the minutes, were proposed by Mr Quayle, seconded by Mrs Davies, agreed by all present and signed by the Chairman.
539. REPORTS ON VILLAGE MATTERS
a. Post reflectors along Village Green – it was proposed and agreed that the Chairman would purchase reflective tape to be used on the posts in addition to the coloured reflectors.
b. Pound Meadow trees and shrubs – Having declared an interest, Mrs Davies signed the Declaration of Interests book. Mrs. Davies reported that she had met with the Tree Officer from St Edmundsbury who had eventually agreed to plant a flowering cherry tree as well as a maple between existing trees.
c. Vehicle Activated Signs – it was noted that Fornham St Martin, Great Livermere and Troston Parish Councils were also interested in purchasing similar units. It was also noted that as long as the police were happy with the necessity for such units then SCC were prepared to offer financial assistance in their purchase. The Chairman confirmed that site surveys as to suitability had still to be carried out by the police. Ongoing
d. Diamond Jubilee Celebrations – it was confirmed that the landowner had agreed to the site for the Beacon Bonfire on a field on Tut Hill. He was reluctant to accept donations for burning as it would be difficult to ensure that the timber was free from nails and metal. Discussions were also ongoing regarding the Big Jubilee Lunch.
e. Seat on the Community Centre – Having declared an interest, Mrs Gathercole signed the Declaration of Interests book. An offer to fund the seat on the community centre grounds had been made by a villager in memory of her husband. Prior to placing the order it as agreed that Mrs. Gathercole would enquire as to the amount that was to be funded and to ensure the Council’s preferred choice was suitable. It was proposed and agreed that the balance and a suitable plaque would be funded by the Parish Council.
f. Bury Past and Present -– it was proposed and agreed by all that the Parish Council would sponsor the digitization of the images held by the Bury St Edmunds Record Office at a cost of approximately £8 per image. Prior to ordering it was further agreed that Mr. Quayle, Mrs Davis and Mrs Gingell would visit the record office to view the negatives and ascertain suitability. Agreement was given that the cost would be no more than £64.00.
540. PUBLIC SESSION –
a. Skate Park Sub—Committee – The meeting was provided with an update on progress made since the last parish council meeting. The sub-committee had held two further meetings: 28th November and 15th December 2011 (see Appendix Item A).Following a site meeting with one of the companies who had originally quoted, changes and improvements had been made to the layout and revised quotations had been sought. A meeting had been held with the St Edmundsbury Youth Development Officer who was supportive of the new proposed layout and would assist with form submission for grants and external funding. It was further confirmed that four quotes had now been received based on the latest layout and a decision on the preferred contractor would now need to be made to take the project forward. To enable the committee to take the project to the next stage the Parish Council formally agreed that it fully supported the working committee in the provision and purchase of the skate park.
b. Accesses to Community Centre Grounds – concerns were raised over the safety aspect of youngsters approaching the community centre from the footpath opposite the centre. It was noted that the hedgerow at this section had grown thereby impeding safe passage. Mrs. Froud confirmed that she had spoken to Highways on this matter and it was noted that extra signage and a dropped kerb might be a solution.
c. Fornham All Saints Cemetery Trust - it was noted that due to a clash with existing commitments there was nobody available from the Fornham All Saints Cemetery Trust to explain policies and answer any queries was accepted and agreed by all – it was agreed to postpone the invitation until the May meeting. The Chairman made the meeting aware of a conversation that he had had with a local landowner over the possible extension of land for cemetery use. An agreement in principle had been given to discuss this further sometime in the future.
541. REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND BOROUGH COUNCIL
Councillor Rebecca Hopfensperger was invited to submit her report on County and Borough matters having already attended to a number of items elsewhere in the agenda:
a. St. Edmundsbury was due to agree its portion of the budget in February and it was anticipated that further savings would be necessary.
b. Better Broadband – once the national procurement process had been completed local procurements could then be set up. Anticipated start date was Autumn 2012 and she had requested further details on the rural infrastructure.
c. Cold calling – if the village was experiencing cold calling problems – no ‘cold calling zones’ could be set up via Trading Centres which worked on similar lines to the Neighbourhood Watch Schemes.
d. St. Edmundsbury and Forest Heath – appointment of Joint Chief Executive – a number of applications had been received and it was hoped that an appointment would b confirmed by meetings of councils on 15th February 2012.
e. Planning Matters – she confirmed that she had been assisting with the planning application for Shrublands and in particular the access via a listed wall; trees covered by TPOs and flooding issues. She had acted as liaison between the officers and applicants and a working solution had been achieved.
542. REPORT FROM THE SAFERNEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM
In his absence a report had been received from PCSO Will Pardoe Tate of the St Edmundsbury Rural North Safer Neighbourhood Team – (Appendix B)
543. FINANCE
a. Having declared interests, Mrs Gathercole and Mr. Guest signed the Declaration of Interests book. Payment of verified invoices was approved by full Council and cheques signed by those authorised so to do. The Council’s financial position was presented to full Council and bank balances noted – (Appendix C).
b. Applications for financial assistance – Section 137 payments – approval was given to support the applications suggested by the sub-committee. Cheques were signed by those authorised so to do.
c. To note and approve recommendations regarding matters arising from the audit for the year ended 31 March 2011 – the recommendations on issues raised by the External Auditor and Internal Auditor for the year ended 31 March 2011 were put to Council. It was agreed by all to implement the outlined changes with immediate effect. (Appendix D&E).
d. Charity Land Rent – following the signing of the Rent Memorandum Council agreed the rent charged to the tenant for Charity Land. It was noted that the next rent review would be in 2014.
544. BOROUGH COUNCIL MATTERS
a. Vision 2031 – Council noted that invitations to the launch of ‘Bury Vision 2031’ & ‘Rural Vision 2031’ would be issued soon and that the electronic version of Rural 2031 will be available towards the end of the month.
b. Buffer between proposed new development and Tut Hill – nothing further was forthcoming on this until the 2031 documents were available to view and the full details could be ascertained.
c. The Annual Children’s Play Area Inspection – the Borough Council had issued a report in which the Council’s attention was drawn to the state of the chains and bushes on the 2 Bay 2 Cradle Seat Swing. It was agreed that the Clerk would obtain a quotation to replace both the chains and bushes - Clerk
545. SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL MATTERS
a. Mere Lane Proposed Closure – Mrs. Hopfensperger agreed to look at the options of closing the road to through traffic and report back to the Council - Ongoing
b. 20mph speed limit signs on all cul-de-sacs – Mrs. Hopfensperger made the Council aware that Highways do not normally agree to put in 20mph restrictions within cul-de-sacs as by their very nature they are supposed to be their own safety measure. Each cul-de-sac would need to be assessed on its own merit and she agreed to request Guy Smith to visit and assess the areas and liaise with the Clerk as to his findings – County Council
c. SCC Heritage Consultation – with reference to the previously circulated document Council were concerned that the centralisation of all records would be a backward step and that its preference would be for an East-West set-up. It was felt that there was very little substance in the document with few if any details on costs, timescales and operating plans.
d. River Lark Path & Sheepwash Bridge – Mrs Hopfensperger confirmed that she had reported the Council’s comments to the ROW Officer and that agreement had been given to clear a 1.5 metre route along the bank. ROW had also sent details to Anglian Water regarding the fallen debris in the water.
e. Access & egress along River Lark pathway – Mrs Hopfensperger also confirmed that she was liaising over the access issue and would report back at the next meeting – Ongoing
f. Golf ball protection for the gardens in Pigeon Lane – it was confirmed that St Edmundsbury had, during the Summer, met with the owners of the Golf Club who confirmed that they had carried out all necessary requirements for protection from golf balls for the gardens in Pigeon Lane. It was held that it was down to individual golfers to play responsibility. She was hopeful of holding a further meeting to ascertain what further measures might be applicable.
g. Pigeon Lane – cycle path – Mrs Hopfensperger agreed to pass on the Council’s following concerns regarding the new surface that had been installed at the end of Pigeon Lane: slippery in icy conditions; posts at village end too far apart and retention of water on surface – Ongoing
The Chairman mentioned that he had had agreement from the Borough Council to provide trees to be planted along Pigeon Lane and that the landowners had given permission for said trees to be planted. He also reported that Anglian Water had been asked to cut down the Leylandii trees to allow the planted native hedgerow along that side to grow.
h. Closure of Tut Hill – Mrs. Hopfensperger agreed to provide an update at the next meeting on the status of Tut Hill under the new Local Development Plan – Ongoing
546. HIGHWAY MATTERS
a. Access across Village Green – it was agreed that the Council would install plastic covering adjacent to the footpath to protect the Green from damage when used as access to the Village Hall. Mr. Johnson agreed to provide prices for final approval - Ongoing
b. Damage to Village Green by Contractors – Mrs. Hopfensperger agreed to pass on the Parish Council’s complaints regarding the state in which the Village Green had been left following works carried out by contractors on behalf of BT. It was noted that the Parish Council disagreed as to what had been made good.
c. Mr. Guest asked that Mrs. Hopfensperger pass on a request for all refuse within the Trade & Refuse Collection Lorries be netted down to ensure debris was not dropped along the routes.
547. PLANNING MATTERS
a. The Clerk reported on the following planning decisions received from St Edmundsbury:
i. Consent to TPO application to crown lift to a height of 5 metres 1 Willow – Twichetts End, Hengrave Road
ii. Approval for the planning application to erect single storey side extension as amended – Shrublands, Tut Hill
iii. Listed Building consent for the erection of singe storey side extension as amended – Shrublands, Tut Hill
b. Council considered the following planning applications:
Mr. Clark-Ward having declared an interest signed the Declaration of Interests book and did not partake of neither the discussion nor the consideration of the application.
i. Newlands, Fornham All Saints – application to re-pollard to previous pollard points, three Lime tress to front of property as covered by TPO115 (1968)8.
Approval of this application was recommended.
The Clerk reported on the following applications discussed at the planning meeting of 20 December 2011:
ii. 1 Church Cottages, The Green (The Organic Shop Ltd) – application for internal and external alterations; erection of detached store building; erection of single storey extension; construction of raised decking to provide disabled access and improvements to car parking in association with car parking facilities for cafeteria. Approval of this application had been recommended citing DS3, RU9 & RU10 policies.