BUXTON WITH LAMAS PARISH COUNCIL

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT - APRIL 2005

The Parish Council year began with my election as Chairman, after Chris Tomlinson had filled the post for five years. I am gratified that the Councillors have placed their trust in me again. Graham Halliwell was elected as Vice-Chairman, and has already proved active in researching traffic issues in a bid to achieve some improvement in safety in the parish. We said goodbye to Garry Goodman, whose other commitments were placing much pressure on him, and welcomed his wife Penny, who was co-opted in June.

The Council met on 11 occasions in the last year, and commented on 24 planning applications. One which will have a significant effect on the street scene is the planned housing on the Bure Valley Garage site; to date, it is not known how many dwellings are proposed for the site, but the Parish Council will be fully consulted. The Council also responded to consultation in the East of England Plan, which will eventually replace the District Council Local Plan and County Council Structure Plan. The Council felt it important to contribute its opinions at an early stage in the planning strategy for the region.

The Council has been active in highways matters this year. As I have already mentioned, Graham Halliwell undertook some very useful research into pedestrian safety measures in other areas, and the Area Manager was very impressed with this when he attended the Council meeting in August. Along with County Councillor Turnbull, he attended a site meeting in Lamas with myself, the Clerk and Highways and village representation, and proposals for improved safety in Lamas are being formulated.

Arising from this meeting, safety barriers have been installed at the Mill bridge and the weir, and a road closure is planned for repairs to the road surface itself near the weir, hopefully in this financial year. Further good news on the Highways front is that the flooding problem in Levishaw Close at long last seems to have been solved. The final glitch was solved by the replacement of a small length of pipe!

The Council was consulted about the proposed Northern Distributor Route, and voted in favour of the western orange route, and the eastern blue route. Of most concern was removing traffic from residential/city streets, and landscape and nature conservation.

The Broadshopper Bus made its first appearance in July, and makes a connection three times per day through the village to Blickling via Aylsham, and Acle via Wroxham, thus taking in a useful route through Broadland. It is a year-round service, and in summer trails a carrier for bicycles. The Parish Council has been involved in promoting the service, and with more support from local residents and tourists alike, it should be retained for a few more years.

The Parish Council has campaigned for the retention of one 'landmark', and arranged for the removal of another. The last remaining red public call box in the village, at The Heath, was scheduled for removal; the Parish Council objected, along with the Councils of several other parishes similarly targeted, and the whole issue has now been put 'on hold'. The last remaining street lighting column in Mill Street was succumbing to rust, and the Parish Council took advice and had it removed on safety grounds.
The Parish Council has financially supported the refurbishment of Buxton Village Hall, either directly or as a third party funder for outside organisations. The village now has a Hall offering a number of different meeting rooms with several amenities, and the Council congratulates the Village Hall team on achieving the much-needed facilities, and on the hard work it has taken to secure the necessary funding.

One of the most publicised social problems currently is the lack of affordable housing, particularly for first-time buyers and young families wishing to stay in the community where they were brought up. The Council recently arranged for a Housing Needs survey, under the auspices of Norfolk Rural Community Council and Broadland District Council, to establish local need. The results will be shared with the Parish Council when analysed, and these should help to inform housing need and planning policy in the area in general, and could result in a small number of dwellings being constructed locally on Exceptions Policy land.

The Council has also recently been liaising with Youth Workers to establish the needs of young people in the village, of the age range between low to mid-teens. The latter can sometimes be seen as a 'difficult' group, and opinion varies as to what level of funding should be aimed in this direction. A group of young people, along with their Youth Workers, attended a Parish Council meeting in February, and asked for somewhere to meet - a shelter. Research has shown that, when given 'ownership' of a place, youngsters do treat it with respect and look after it. The Parish Council, as facilitator, is currently in negotiation with the Trustees of the Village Hall for a suitable place to site a shelter, and is trying to establish the design of something that is not unpleasing to the eye, and is not unreasonably expensive. The Council acknowledges that there will be dissenters to this proposal, but feels that it should represent all sections of the community, and try to provide something, not least a comfortable social environment, for everyone.

The area in general is in somewhat of a state of flux, due to the uncertainty as to the future of the site of RAF Coltishall. The Council has no preferential information on the situation, but has asked to be a member of a Working Party at County Council level to look at the issues and repercussions that closure of the site might have on the local area.

During the year, the Council has responded to consultations, and complied with national guidelines and legislation. To date, no one has requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act, and the Council seeks to act in a way that is open to scrutiny and fair to all. I would remind parishioners that all Parish Council meetings are open to the public, and we welcome their attendance and participation. The Clerk is contactable by telephone, fax, email or via the Council's website - all details are shown in the noticeboards.

Finally my thanks as always go to District Councillor Ian Evans and County Councillor Derek Turnbull for their attendance at meetings and support of the Parish Council, my fellow Councillors, and to the Clerk, Roz Rose.

Rosemary Roth
April 2005