Minutes of the AGM of Boughton Parish Council held on Friday, May 8th 2009 in the church.
Present: Councillors Reid, Wakeling, Agate, Pogmore, Proctor and Coulten and eighteen members of the public: Sue Pogmore, Pam Watkinson, Andrew Faherty, Angela Faherty, Ann Proctor, David Cooper, Janet Savage, John Savage, Tom Roberts, Wendy Roberts, Lynne Agate, Debbie Fisher, Kevin Fisher, Tim Madgewick, Edwina Madgewick, Bill Beeson, Steve Saunders, Maryse Golds
1. Election of officers
Paul Coulten took the chair for the election of Chairman and Vice –Chairman
Chairman: Frank Reid proposed Mark Pogmore, seconded Pam Wakeling
Agreed: Frank Reid accepted
Vice Chairman: Pam Wakeling proposed Frank Reid, seconded Mark Pogmore
Agreed: Pam Wakeling accepted.
No apologies had been received. Steve Saunders had resigned from the Parish Council, and the new chairman thanked him for all his hard work over the previous years.
2.
Matters
arising
There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.
3.
Annual
accounts
These had been circulated. The Jazz Picnic had raised nearly £900 for Parish funds. There had also been contributions from British Sugar to “Money Match” the Pumpkin Challenge, and Mark Solomon for Mower service. It was noted that the cost of maintaining the Village assets was in excess of the Precept. It was agreed that it was unwise to rely on fund raising to make up the difference. The PC would need to look towards establishing a precept, which adequately covered the costs of running the Parish. There were no questions and Paul Coulten proposed the adoption of the Accounts. This was carried nem.con, and the accounts were passed to Tim Madgewick for auditing before going to the Audit Commission.
Fen Committee: bank balance is nearly £6000 due to weather related delays resulting in works continuing into the new Fiscal year. This was now in hand. The Fen accounts were adopted into the PC records.
Playground: £1021.72 had been received by the Treasurer after the end of the financial year. This will be used to maintain the playground following the decision to cease the insurance policy formerly held.
The AGM closed at 7.10 pm
Draft minutes for the meeting of Boughton Parish Council which
followed on from the AGM
Chair: Frank Reid
Present: councillors Agate, Coulten, Proctor, Pogmore and Wakeling and members of the public as listed in AGM minutes
1. There were no apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the meeting of 28th January were read and agreed. Prop. P. Agate, Seconded Paul Coulten
3. Matters arising: a) since April 1st the parish litterbin was being emptied free of charge by the Borough Council. b) Roundup has removed some reed from around the pond. There was some regrowth but this was being left to provide shelter for the nesting swans.
4. Chairman’s report: Once again I thank my Council colleagues for their support and help during my second year as Chairman. It is support like this that does make the role of Chairman that much easier.
Just one request, that is to ask David Cooper to get a more stable seat in his dingy and to fix the air leak please.
Litter: Our group of volunteers is now well established keeping our lanes into Bougton relatively clear of litter. People from Wereham have joined us and they look after Cavenham Rd.
A good relationship with the Open Spaces manager at KLWNBC and the Clean-up Team has resulted in a rapid response to fly tipping incidents. It is very disappointing that there have been a number of such incidents. We have however had some success by being able to identify the organisations that litter lout drivers work for. Very positive responses have been forthcoming from Senior Managers at these companies.
Fund Raising:
The Jazz Picnic and the Annual Boughton Challenge have become established as
yearly events to help with Parish Funding. We owe a big thank you to Paul Coulten
for opening his gardens for a really special afternoon. Geoff and I are also
very grateful to all participants in the Boughton Challenge and for all the
fantastic help and support from a number of people.
New initiatives: In
addition to the launch of the Challenge we had two other firsts during the last
council year. A village Christmas tree and a Pantomime. The tree stood
majestically on the verge in front of the old School House and provided a
spectacular backdrop over the Christmas period. Many thanks for all the
donations of decorations. We twinned with Barton Bendish to produce Cinderella,
and had a great time. Although we did utter “never again” at times. However we
probably will. (That’s Show Biz)
Road Safety: This has
been an issue for some years now. Police Speed traps and the mobile Speed
indication unit have been active in the Village and have provided useful data.
However neither has proved to be a sustainable deterrent. I suggest that we
consider in more detail the volunteer approach with hand held devices, and
establish exactly what this entails.
Boughton Fen: The Fen Committee
has now completed its second year. It has been a privilege to work on this
Committee and I feel very proud of what has been achieved.
Pride in Norfolk: For
the second time we entered the Pride in Norfolk awards. Also the Hayden Shield
for open spaces. We were awarded runners up plaques for both competitions in
our category for villages of less than 500 population. Well done Boughton.
Kevin Fisher has now submitted our entry statement for 2009. Lets hope we can
do one better than last year.
In
closing this report, once again thank you very much indeed for the support and helping hands that I have been
privileged to enjoy.
5. Boughton Fen
In February, the Fen Committee received the first payment from the Rural Payments Agency, as part of the annual HLS payment. This amounted to approximately £2200.
On Sunday 22nd February, a successful working party completed stump removal on the ride into Highland Fen, and also continued to clear a further pathway. Two new seats were installed along Stringside Drain. Small working parties have worked to clear some of the regrowth of willow that were cut back last year, getting quite wet and muddy in the process.
A one-off payment of £150 has been agreed with Environment Agency consultants for dipwell and piezometer access. The money will be paid to us when installation takes place.
During March, our scrub clearance contractor cut down an area in the North Eastern corner of Highland Fen. The results of his efforts are clearly visible from the road, and were achieved in very difficult conditions with the men accessing the site in waders for the duration of the work. However, I am pleased to report that new reed is already growing in this area. The fen committee are now working on engaging contractors for both scrub clearance and reed cutting in preparation for Autumn 2009.
Various people have been working hard on mowing the Highland Fen Ride and also beside Stringside Drain to allow people to enjoy easy access. Thanks go especially to Geoff Procter for the use of his tractor and cutter, and to Dave Cooper for his heavy-duty mower. This will make things look good for our Dawn Chorus Walk under the guidance of Allan on Sunday 10th May 09, followed by the obligatory bacon roll.
Finally, we will be meeting the Open Spaces Society to discuss the fencing of part of Highland Fen prior to submission of our Section 38 application to the Planning Inspectorate.
Once again, thanks are extended to everyone who has helped in some way with the fen over the last few months.
It was proposed by Mark Pogmore that, in order to make administration simpler for the Rural Payments Agency, the number of signatures required on the Fen account should be reduced from seven to a minimum of three and a maximum of five. These would be the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the Chairman of the Fen Committee. This was agreed.
6. Ditches and
Dykes: Geoff Proctor
All ditches and dykes seem to be in reasonable working order, and no comments have been received. There had been a slight problem with water running down the road in Crab Lane. Further investigation showed that the catch pit container which takes the water underground to the Stringside Drain is partially collapsed. This was cleared and the water run re-established, but the culvert needs to be looked at during the summer. Church dyke has been cleared out twice and the water runs freely. The smell is probably due to vegetation rotting from leaves and trees etc, and not a lot more to be done. It will be monitored and cleared out again if needed.
7. Signs and
Notice boards: Peter Agate
We now have two magnificently re-furbished village signs thanks to the efforts of Edwina Madgewick and kind donations by Tim & Edwina. Both signs have now been re-erected and are a great welcome to the village.
The phone box has been cleaned inside & out and the Village Sign on the green given a spring treatment of preservative.
8. Treasurer’s
Report:
Balances Current Account: £ 282.23
Reserve Account: £3490.49
Playground Account: £1021.72
The precept had been received.
Fund raising: The Jazz picnic was being organised, and other Parish Clerks had been requested to publicise it. (Note comment above re the need to look at fundraising and the precept.)
Parish lands: North Creake and Runcton Holme were experiencing similar difficulties to Boughton with regard to registration of Parish Land, and information was being shared. The occupiers of the Parish land in Boughton were both willing to donate £50 to parish funds as last year.
It was agreed to authorise the Treasurer to purchase a laminator for use on parish notices.
Tim Madgwick had agreed to act as auditor again.
Insurance: due 1st June. The Council agreed to cancel the playground and litter bin insurance, but to continue insurance for the enclosure railings. The money handed over by the playground committee would be used to cover costs of any required repairs to equipment.
9. Council vacancy: The official notice had been placed on the notice board. 14 working days had to be given for any member of the parish to ask for an election. If no election was called for, the Council was empowered to seek names of people willing to be co-opted.
10. Correspondence:
11. Planning:
Hall Farm House
The Development Control Board were meeting on May 11th at 10am in Chapel Street, and Frank Reid would speak on behalf of the Parish to oppose the proposed development. Councillor Sampson from the Borough Council would also speak against the development. Planning permission was not needed for a change of use, and the new Local Development Framework was not yet in place.
Stoke Ferry Timber (change of Use)
The retrospective application for this was also to be submitted to the board.
12. War Memorial
Bill Miller had offered to pay for the cleaning of the memorial. Mildenhall Monuments were to do the work. The Ely DAC had been approached, and no faculty was required. The methods to be used had been described to Frank Reid: full photos before and after work, separation of the site from the public, scaffolding round the memorial, hand cleaning pressure wash.
No way of finding what the original inscription had been. The Parish Council could formally adopt the war memorial, even though it is on church ground. Access to the church for a midweek service would be maintained.
The Parish Council accepted the offer of cleaning from Bill Miller with thanks.
13. Circular seat: the memorial seat for Helen Jenkins, Doris Clarke and Ian Lee-Evans had been selected, and most of the money had been received from the donors. The copper beech was not the most suitable site for the seat, and the flowering cherry opposite Hall Farm House was suggested as an alternative. Some concern was expressed regarding safety of this location due to the proximity of the road, it was agreed to look at alternative locations.
14. Parish Land: There was nothing new to report.
15. Questions from the floor: concern was expressed about the safety of the corner of Mill Hill Road with The Green, and it was agreed to ask the owner of the corner house to trim back his hedge.
The meeting closed at 8.30pm