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M I N U T E S
of meeting held on 18th June 2007 Jubilee Hall Litcham 7.30 pm
M I N U T E S
Approved by Council on 16th JULY

Present:Mike Oldfield (Chairman)
              Roy Payne
              David Holland
             Claire Lawrence
             Chris Mitchell
             Trevor Carter
             Chris Holland
             John Relph (Clerk)
             Mark Kiddle-Morris (District Councillor)
1 member of public.
 
1)    Apologies: None, all councilors present.
2)    Declarations of Interest.
i)    Cllr. Claire Lawrence declared an interest in agenda item 12 i), (Planning)
ii)    Cllr. Roy Payne declared an interest in agenda item 12 v), (Planning).
3)    Minutes of the Annual General meeting held on 14th May 2006 in the Jubilee Hall, Litcham were approved and signed.
4)    To Hear Reports:
i)    Litcham Relief in Need Charity: David Holland reported that he had determined from the minute book that all the co-opted Trustees of the Litcham Relief in Need Charity were out of term. After seeking advice from the Charity Commission, he will meet with the second Parish Council Trustee, Tony Green to start the process of selecting new Trustees.
ii)    Village Green & Notice Board: The new notice board was ready and has been delivered. It was decided to install the notice-board opposite the Bull next to the litter bin and set back approximately 1.5 meters back from the footway, surrounded by an area of hard-standing.
The Council also expressed a desire to plant a tree on the green and asked the asked the Clerk to investigate, the matter will appear on the next agenda.
Clerk will seek approval for the above items from Norfolk Property Services.
iii)    Local Development Framework: An assurance had been received from Breckland that the Parish Council would be consulted before any planning application for significant housing development in Litcham is considered. The Council went on to discuss with District Councillor, Mark Kiddle-Morris, the possible implications of the LDF for Litcham and any housing development that might result from it. Mark was of the opinion that any development would be very small, probably around a dozen houses during the lifetime of the LDF. All agreed that proposed developments will only be approved by the Council if suitable improvements are made to village infrastructure to support them.
5)    Appointments: Finance & Planning Committees: These were reorganised thus:
i)    Finance Committee; Mike Oldfield, Roy Payne, Chris Mitchell, Trevor Carter
ii)    Planning Committee; Mike Oldfield, Roy Payne, Claire Lawrence, Chris Holland.
6)    Code of Conduct: The Council resolved to adopt the Revised Code of Conduct for Parish Councils (SI 2007 No.1159) in its model form without amendment and to include paragraph 12(2) and the ten General Principles set out in the relevant Local Authorities Order, (SI 2001 No.1401).
7)    Asset Register: Council approved and signed the revised Asset Register. (Indoor Bowls equipment removed).
8)    Publication of Minutes: Council were concerned at the time it took for the minutes to appear in the Church and Village magazine, the Clerk explained that this was due in part to timing, as the approved minutes missed the deadline for publication (the 5th of the month) by two weeks. The Council therefore decided to move the usual day for Parish Council meetings to the first Monday in each month as this would reduce the time between a meeting and publication the minutes to approximately seven weeks. Dates for the remaining Parish Council Meeting during 2007/8 were rescheduled as follows:
     August : NO MEETING.
     Monday 3rd  September.
     Monday 1st  October.
     Monday 5th  November.
     Monday 3rd December.
     January : NO MEETING.
     Monday 4th February.
     Monday 4th March.
9)    Pedestrian access to graveyard extension from Druids Lane. In response to requests from villagers for a gate to allow pedestrian access to the graveyard extension from Druids Lane the PCC had written saying that it “sees no reason to depart from the view it has held for some time” and is seeking ‘further advice from various bodies’. The Council asked the clerk to inquire if this process is complete and remind the PCC that in 2003 they agreed to the installation of a pedestrian gate therefore  the phrase ‘for some time’ is not entirely accurate.
10)    Village Green. Following advice from the Open Space Society the Council decided that it would not sign the Open Space License until the green had been registered as a ‘Village Green’. The Clerk will formally apply to Norfolk County Council to have the green registered and also apply for permission to place the new notice board on the green.
11)    Dog Fouling Bins. In response to a request at the Annual Parish Meeting it was decided to install two dog bins (at a cost of £75.25+VAT each). One to be positioned near the entrance to the Litcham Common Car park and one on the green opposite the bull.
12)    Planning :
Applications:
i)    Application 3PL/2007/0585/F; Line Kiln House – demolition of existing kitchen and store and erection of two storey annex, was considered and passed without comment.
ii)    Application 3PL/2007/0802/F; Norfolk Cottage – demolition of existing garage & conservatory and construction of extension with garage, was considered and the Council raised the following objections:
a)    The Council is aware that there is a blind spot near the top of Back Lane and it is does not believe that the proposed new entrance gives sufficient sighting of oncoming vehicles. The Council does not feel that oncoming traffic will not have enough time to take the avoiding action should a vehicle pull into it’s path.
b)    The increase in size from three to five bedrooms begs the question as to where any extra vehicles will be accommodated as he footprint of the house is now taking up a large proportion of the plot.
c)    The flint on the front elevation is totally unsuitable. It has been added for decoration purposes only and does not match the rest of the building.
iii)    Application 3PL/2007/0339/F; The Priory – removal of existing building & replacement garage/implement building, was considered and passed without comment.
iv)    Application 3PL/2007/0922/F; The Old Rectory, Mileham Rd. - replace flat roof on existing garage with pitched roof with room, was considered and passed without comment..
v)    Application 3PL/2007/0926/F: Russell House, Front St. - fixing feather-boarding to gable wall, was considered and passed without comment.
vi)    Application 3PL/2007/0914/LB: Blenheim House, Church St. Demolition of rear lobby& study & fuel store, construction of garden room extension & rebuild part of boundary wall was considered and passed without comment.
vii)    Application 3PL/2007/0915/F: - Blenheim House, Church St.  Alterations & refurbishment, partial demolition and construction extension, was considered and passed without comment.
13)    Financial Business:
i)    the financial reconciliation for the year to date was checked against the latest bank statements, approved and signed.
ii)    the accounts for the year 2006-7 were approved and signed.
Receipts:
iii)    of £180.00 for the rent of Long Meadow, received from David Lucas.
iv)    of £31.38 from Lloyds bank, deposit account interest for May.
v)    of £570.56 VAT refund from HM Customs & Excise.
Payments: the following payments were approved;
vi)    £60.82 to Eon Electricity for street-lighting power during April.
vii)    £87.59 to T.T. Jones for streetlight maintenance (1st Quarter: Apr-Jun)
viii)    £205.00 to Zurich Insurance for renewal of ‘Combined Local Council’ policy.
ix)    £900.19 to the Clerk, being salary of £815.98 plus expenses of £84.21.
x)    £190.32 to NCS for graveyard grass cutting (May).
xi)    £800 to Stephen Gooch for supply of notice board for the green
xii)    A request for donation towards running costs from Church and Village Magazine was considered and a donation of £100 was approved.
14)    Correspondence: the following correspondence was noted by the Council
i)    Breckland: Parish Council Forum Mon 9th July. Standards Committee Minutes.
ii)    Norfolk County Council: New Farming and Public Rights of Way advice booklet.
iii)    NCAPTC: Invite to Area meeting 3rd July, information regarding unitary Status for Norwich.
iv)    NRCC: Invitation “Building 21st Century Villages” events & AGM
v)    Audit Commission: Audit return for 2006-7 & notice and advertisement of annual return.
vi)    Standards Board:- Guidance on Revised Code of Conduct.
vii)    Dereham Area Local Action Group: minutes of Tues 29th May, next meeting 26th June 2007.
viii)    Open Space Society: newsletter Summer ‘07
ix)    Clerk and Councils Direct newsletter May ‘07
x)    Lloyds TSB – Guide to interest rate changes.
xi)    EDP: Take Pride in Norfolk Awards 2007, nomination notice.
xii)    Norfolk Playing Field Association: Newsletter “the Playing Field”.
xiii)    Citizens Advice Bureau: – notice of Annual General Meeting.
15)    Items for the Next Agenda:
i)    Footpaths
ii)    Tree for the Village green.
iii)    Appointment of New Clerk.
iv)    Approval on Annual return for submission to Audit Commission.
v)    Access to the School Playing Field from Back Lane.
vi)    Speed Limits (proposed by Claire Lawrence).
vii)    Revision of Clerks Salary
16)    Next Meeting: The date and time of next meeting was confirmed as Monday 16th July in the Jubilee Hall, Church Street, commencing at 7.30pm..
Meeting Closed at 10.35 p.m.

To be approved on 16th July 2007.

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