MINUTES OF BUXTON WITH LAMAS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
held in BUXTON VILLAGE HALL on MONDAY 27 JUNE 2005

PRESENT
COUNCILLORS: Mrs R. Roth (Chairman)
Mr D. Folland Mr G. Forster Mrs P. Goodman
Mr E. Nichols Mrs Y. Powell Mrs B. Rix
Mr N. Rudrum Mrs M. Wickham
District Councillor I. Evans
County Councillor G. Rix
CLERK: Mrs R. Rose
Two members of the public

1. APOLOGIES were accepted from Mr G. Halliwell (Vice-Chairman) and Mr C. Tomlinson.

2. THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING held on 23 May 2005 had been previously circulated; proposed by Mr Nichols, seconded by Mr Forster, these were AGREED, and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

3. MATTERS ARISING

3.1 Ongoing Matters
3.1.1 The Clerk gave a report on the current position of several items, including the youth shelter, BALAY field and playground repairs/improvements. She also reported on the judging of the EDP 'Pride in Your Village', which took place in Buxton in the previous week. Mrs Powell, Mr Claridge (Chairman of the BALAY Committee) and the Clerk had accompanied the judges around the village, and shown them the Village Hall annex, the primary school, the Bure Valley Railway station and the BALAY field.

3.1.2 The Clerk would contact Norfolk County Services Limited to investigate the possibility of importing topsoil to cover the exposed concrete supports for the slide in the playground.

3.1.3 The Clerk would pursue the installation of the last piece of fencing between the playground and the Village Hall wall.

3.1.4 District Councillor Evans reported on his investigation into the disposal of poll cards at elections. At present two electoral registers were produced; the full version for statutory authorities, and an 'edited' version that voters could choose to be exempt from that was available to commercial firms to purchase. There was a danger that discarded poll cards from the full version could be misappropriated for commercial reasons.
The Electoral Services Manager was pursuing a change in guidelines for Presiding Officers, in that voters be encouraged to retain their poll cards, or that they were disposed of in confidential waste.
4. POLICE MATTERS

4.1 Crime Statistics
The crime figures for 1 - 31 May were circulated; four crimes had been entered on the system between these dates.

4.2 Other Police Matters
4.2.1 The Parish Liaison Officer had visited the Clerk to discuss Parish Constables, in response to the Clerk's contact with the sector inspector. This system had been dropped, but P.C. Cook was pursuing using Special Constables to patrol in plain clothes in some of the areas of the village that had experienced vandalism.

4.2.2 A Lamas resident had contacted the Police traffic section directly, and some monitoring had taken place as a result. The Clerk was asked to write to thank the section for this, and to indicate the Parish Council's support for ongoing endeavours to reduce speed.
The Clerk had reported a large van persistently parked on a bend in Lamas Street.

The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow members of the public to speak.
As a result of matters raised, the Clerk would arrange for the sandbag store on Bulwer Close Green to be moved to Levishaw Close, and for the sandbags stored at a private address in Levishaw Close to be moved to the store.
Mr Tuner reported that, despite torrential rain in the previous week, no flooding had been experienced in Levishaw Close, and the new drainage arrangements were working well.
The adjournment ended.

5. PLANNING MATTERS

5.1 Applications

20050785: 15 Manor Close: Single storey extension
DECISION: Supported

20050826: Bourn House, Sandy Lane: New detached garage
DECISION: Supported
(Mrs Rix declared an interest in this application as the occupant of an adjoining property)

(NCC): Mayton Wood landfill Site: Extension of composting facilities
DECISION: Supported

5.2 Permissions and Enforcement Matters

5.2.1 The application for extensions at Bridge Cottage, Mill Street had been refused.

5.2.2 Enforcement matter - Stationing of a hot food take-away at the Black Lion PH

5.3 Broadland District Council: Design Award & Enhancement Award 2005
The Council agreed to nominate Bourn House for the Design Award.
6. FINANCE

6.1 Payments
Proposed by Mr Rudrum, seconded by Mrs Powell, payment for the following was agreed:
Buxton Primary School: June 'Round, July 'Round 211.50
Norfolk County Services: Grounds maintenance (2 of 7): 393.71
Recreation ground (half-year) 253.95
Neptune Outdoor Furniture Ltd: New bench top (Crown Road) 150.07
Norfolk County Council: Solicitor's fees, April '04 - March '05 80.72
Tiscali UK Limited: Telephone charges 5.99
1st Buxton Lamas Sea Scouts: Grant for waste paper collection Mar - Jun 60.00
Clerk's salary: June (net of pension contribution) 258.89
Norfolk Pension Fund: June return 57.28

7. CORRESPONDENCE

7.1 A list of the correspondence received had been circulated, and is attached to the signed copy of these minutes. The list was updated at the meeting; all items were available from the Clerk.

7.2 Lamas Village Hall Asbestos Survey Report
The Chairman confirmed receipt of the report carried out by East Coast Insulations. However, some areas of the Hall had not been fully investigated, and the Village Hall Committee was referring back to the contractor to include these areas in the report.
The Chairman further reported that two quotes were being obtained for redecoration of the exterior of the Hall and the repair of floorboards, and specifications were being sought for the installation of a disabled toilet.

8. VILLAGE MAINTENANCE & HIGHWAYS MATTERS

8.1 Lamas Traffic Calming
In the Vice-Chairman's absence, the Clerk reported that he and another Lamas resident had studied the proposals put forward at the last Parish Council meeting, which seemed acceptable. Councillor Rix reported that he had met with the Area Engineer and Traffic Engineer that morning, and the latter confirmed that as soon as the proposals had Parish Council agreement the work would be programmed, possibly for autumn installation as the work did not require a Traffic Regulation Order.
Proposed by Mr Nichols, seconded by Mr Forster, the proposals were supported.

8.2 Other Highways Matters
8.2.1 The Clerk would pursue the grass cutting at the junction of Sandy Lane with Coltishall Road to improve the visibility splay;
the trimming of the hedge at 23 Aylsham Road;
the rectification of leaning signs on the Frettenham Road;
removal of fly-tipped rubbish on Sandy Lane;
re-classification of Sandy Lane as a 'Quiet Lane'.

9. BT PAYPHONES

A letter had been circulated to Councillors explaining that, pending a review by OfCom, BT was pursuing its own consultation on the removal of certain uneconomic payphone units. BT proposed that, rather than remove the two units situated at Lamas Hill and The Heath, these be converted to cashless units - this was AGREED.

10. BUXTON WITH LAMAS EMERGENCY PLAN

The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow Mr Birchall to speak.

Mr Birchall reported that he had put a notice in The Round asking for street wardens, who could maintain lists of people in their locality with disabilities or special needs, who would need extra help in emergency situations. He was also looking to maintain registers of people with medical or first aid skills, and those who owned specialist vehicles that would be useful, e.g. tractors and boats.

He had written to the Vicar to ask if the church could be used as a rendezvous point, as it had numerous seats, a PA system, and was an obvious point for rallying. He would liaise with Village Hall management to use the building for sleeping, food distribution and as a liaison point for the emergency services.

He required street maps of the parish (the Clerk would supply these), and would ask the RAF if it could supply aerial photographs of the area to pinpoint danger spots.

He was also looking to put in place a 'cascade' telephone system for information dissemination / warnings. He hoped that the present Homewatch Co-ordinator system could be linked to this.

Some ideas for Lamas were discussed, and these would be incorporated into the Plan. Meanwhile, he was waiting for the response from the Round.

Mr Birchall was thanked for all the work he had done so far to formulate the Plan.

The adjournment ended.

(Mrs Goodman left the meeting at this point)

11. REPORTS FROM DISTRICT/COUNTY COUNCILLORS

11.1 District Councillor Evans reported in his attendance at the Annual District Council meeting, where the leadership of the Council remained largely the same.

New legislation was being brought in under the Antisocial Behaviour Act to allow house owners to bring action against neighbours who failed to maintain hedges at a reasonable height. It was hoped that negotiation would be the first option, but failing this the applicant could apply to the local planning authority to investigate the case. The fee within the Broadland district had been set at £400, to be reviewed after 6 months. The level was intended to deter vexatious complaints, and in the case of those on benefits the fee would be waived.
Broadland District Council would be taking over as the licensing authority as from 24th November. August 6th was the deadline for those with existing licences to transfer to the new regime. The District Council Licensing Committee would only hear applications where there were objections.

He had pursued the delay in the counting arrangements at the recent General and Local Elections. The Chief Executive Officer had produced an interim report, and a fuller report would be put before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

11.2 County Councillor Rix reported on his meeting that day with the Area Highways Engineer and Traffic Engineer. He had pursed the hedge trimming in Lion Road at the entrance to Dudwick Park.

He outlined the new arrangements regarding Highways Supervisors and emergency repairs, and information for Clerks on when a parish inspection would take place.

He had asked for the Traffic Engineer to look at the Norwich Road / Brook Street / Lion Road areas, and to put forward any ideas for traffic calming and speed reduction, particularly in the morning and evening 'rush hours'.

He had discussed the persistent accident occurrences at the Aylsham by-pass / Buxton Road junction, and pressed for safety improvements at this location. The Headteacher of Aylsham High School was writing to the Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk County Council about his matter, as there had been two accidents involving school buses.

The Clerk asked County Councillor Rix to ascertain whether the replacement of the kerbs at the weir in Lamas was still on the Forward Programme, as the work would require a road closure.

Both Councillors were thanked for their attendance and their reports.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.04pm