WIVETON PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman:  Mr Godfrey Sayers

+3                                Clerk’s Address:                                                                                                                                 Morning Flight

                                                                                                                        42 High Street

Blakeney

                                                                                                                        NR25 7AL

                                                                                                                        Tel:  01263 741576

E-mail: wiveton@glavenvalleycouncils.co.uk

14th February 2007

 

The next Parish Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday 20th February 2007 in the Parish Room at 7.30pm

 

A G E N D A

1          Reports for information:

            Councillor Bernard Crowe

Councillor Derek Baxter (if present)

 

            PC Ken Durrant (if present)

2          Declarations of interest relating to items on the agenda

3          Minutes of the last Meeting

 

4          Matters arising for information

5          Correspondence

 

6          Finance

 

7          Planning

 

8          A O B

 

8:1       Unauthorised Use of the Allotment’

 

9          Parishioners Question Time

 

11        The next Parish Council meeting will be TUESDAY 20th MARCH 2007 AT 7.30PM 

 

                                                          Tricia Temple-Crowe         

Clerk to the Parish Council

Minutes of Wiveton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 21st November 2006 at 7.30pm

 

Present:                      G Sayers (part), J Ratcliff, G Mears, M Wakelin, P Adcock, S Beal and J Ramm

 

In attendance:           Councillor Bernard Crowe OBE, the Clerk and 1 parishioner

 

Apologies:                  Councillor Derek Baxter

 

Declarations of Interest   No declarations of interest were declared.

 

1            Minutes  

 

The Minutes of the last meeting held on the 21st November 2006 having been distributed in advance were approved and signed as a true record by the Vice Chairman John Ramm


2          Chairman’s report.

 

Signage

The Chairman showed the Parish Council the new village entry signs, these he had collected from Wensum Engineering on Thursday. All three are now painted and ready for erection.

 

He expressed some concern over the amount of the bill which totalled £161.35 he felt this was excessive and that the bill should be queried it before paying.

 

Wiveton Stone Bridge 

He went on to inform us that as a consequence of our expression of disappointment with NCC’s work to the Stone Bridge, English Heritage had been out to look and was also dissatisfied. The result is basically that the work will be done again, probably in April.

 

NCC Spraying

The Chairman also gave a report of his and John Ramm’s meeting with Aylsham Highways dept over NCC’s  spraying of the grass verge on the path along the north side of the A 149 with weed killer. Temporary plastic posts have been put up to keep traffic off what now is in effect a muddy strip until they can come in the spring and re-instate it. However, remembering the difficulty we have had in the past with getting grass to grow back on the damaged stretches of this path he was not confident that they would succeed.

 

They have promised to include the path for major refurbishment, possibly 2008-9 we must ensure that we keep pressure on them to do this because the problems with this path can only be overcome by that kind of work.

 

Code of Conduct 

Copies of the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct were distributed among the council along with a piece the chairman wishes to include in next month’s Glaven Valley Magazine subject to their approval.

 

The Chairman concluded by saying that he hoped they would support the idea of an annual tripart meeting between the PC, PCC and Rualf Greenaeway Trust.

 

The Chairman having given his apology to the Councillors left the meeting due to not feeling well and the Vice Chairman John Ramm took over the meeting.

 

 

3          Matters Arising

 

Seat on the Green

John Ratcliff informed the Councillors that he would carry out the refurbishment of the seat on the green as soon as the weather improved in the Spring.

 

4          Correspondence

 

N N D C:

 

N.C.C.

 

5          Finance

   

No financial matters were outstanding

 

6          Planning

 

The following Notice of Decision has been received:

 

Change of use of barn to farm shop/tea room at Wiveton Hall, Marsh Lane – Permission for development.

 

7          A O B 

 

Joint Annual Meeting   The Council unanimously approved the suggestion put forward by the

Chairman to hold a joint annual meeting between the three principle village organisations i.e. the

Parish Council the Parochial Church Council, and the Raulf Greenaway Trust to examine ways in

which we can work together.

 

Village Appraisal   The Councillor agreed to report back to the Chairman once they had had the opportunity to read the documents appertaining to a Village Appraisal.

 

Village Party  -  The Councillors agreed the date for the2007 street party would be deferred until the next meeting when the Chairman would be present.

 

Land to the Rear of the Parish Room 

Following the recent site meeting John Ramm informed the Council that this had been discussed by the Parish Room Committee at their recent meeting and it had been unanimously agreed that the land would not be sold or made available for rent but that it should be retained by the Parish Room and a working party would be formed to carry out some landscaping.

 

 

 

Affordable Housing 

Mary Wakelin was very pleased to welcome Mr George Harcourt to the meeting to discuss the possibility of the provision of affordable and or social Housing.

 

Mr Harcourt felt that opportunity to provide affordable housing should be spread around the Glaven Valley and not just in one large area at Blakeney.   At the moment the green field site which originally was a brown field site would continue to be cropped.

 

Mr Harcourt felt he had three options open to him which were:

 

·      The area of land to be used for affordable housing

·      The area to be used for an Environmental Woodland Scheme

·      The area left as it is to be cropped

 

Mr Harcourt felt that if there was a move within the village to investigate affordable/social housing he would be willing to allow an area of land which could be termed as infilling to be made available and he would hope to develop the rest of the field for housing.    The area of land is not within the development framework and it would be necessary to investigate what would and would not be allowed for the area.  Mr Harcourt emphasised that any proposed new build would be designed to be within keeping of the rest of the village.

 

The Clerk gave an explanation to Mr Harcourt and the Council as what would be required regarding the provision of affordable housing which would include:

 

·      Liaison with the N. R. C.C. to produce a housing survey within the village

·      The survey must prove that there was a housing need

·      An area of land could be designated for social housing under the exemptions policy

·      A developer i.e. Hastoe Housing Society would be invited to tender for the building of the affordable houses they are approved by the NNDC

·      A bid would have to go forward for funding  from the NNDC

·      If Mr Harcourt was agreeable to the sale of some of his land for affordable housing it would not be sold as agricultural land, it is worked out by the number of properties that the land in question would provide.

·      The scheme could take up to 3 years from start to finish

 

The Clerk suggested that Mr Harcourt needed to make an appointment with the NNDC Planning Department to first of all investigate what they would or would not allow within the area and to also contact Mr Patrick Allen at Langham who may be able to give him further advice regarding the sale of this type of land as a similar scheme is now going ahead at Langham.  Mary Wakelin agreed to investigate with Mr Harcourt the possibility of progressing the scheme with the NNDC Planning Department and the N R C C.

 

Future Meeting dates for 2007

Tuesday 20th March

Tuesday 17th April

Tuesday 15th May                   Annual Report to Parishioners

Tuesday 19th June

No meeting in July

No meeting in August

Tuesday 18th September

Tuesday 16th October

Tuesday 20th November

No meeting in December

8    Reports

 

Report from Councillor Bernard Crowe OBE 

 

Before giving his report Councillor Bernard Crowe OBE introduced Lyndsay Brettlle who if successful at the Council Elections in may will be his replacement following his retirement.

 

Housing

In this edition, I am going to concentrate on housing issues. This is always the top item of concern by those who contact me.

 

Affordable Housing includes social rented and intermediate housing provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Affordable housing should meet the needs of eligible households including availability at a cost low enough for them to afford. This is determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices. The home should remain at an affordable price for future eligible households.

 

Social rented housing is rented housing owned and managed by local authorities and registered social landlords (RSL) for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime.

 

Intermediate Affordable Housing is housing at prices and rents above those of social rent but below market price or rents, and which meet the criteria set out above. These can include shared equity schemes, other low cost homes for sale, and intermediate rent.

 

Those homes that do not meet these definitions are not considered, for planning purposes, as affordable housing.

 

Government Policy in broad terms is to:

 

-Achieve wide choices of high quality homes, both affordable housing and market housing, to address the requirements of the community.

 

-Widen opportunities for home ownership and ensure high quality housing for those who cannot afford market housing, in particular those who are vulnerable or in need.

-Improve affordability across the housing market by increasing the supply of housing.

-Create sustainable, inclusive mixed communities in all areas, both urban and rural.

Local Development Framework

 

The proposed changes to the Government’s East of England plan have been published for consultation. The main points of relevance to North Norfolk include:

 

·      The Region’s allocation of dwellings is increased by 27,500 to 508,000.

·      The allocation of 8000 houses for North Norfolk is confirmed.

·      All housing figures are to be treated as floors and not ceilings. Local Authorities are asked to seek to exceed their targets if more can be delivered through the use of brownfield sites and, where appropriate, by increased densities.

·      An aspirational target of 35% for affordable homes is recommended.

·      Land banking in 5-year blocs by Local Authorities is required to achieve these targets. This is land is suitable for development, is available, and is deliverable. This 5-year supply should be maintained throughout the 15-year period.

·      On-site renewable energy to serve new developments is required. A minimum of 10% is recommended.

·      Provision of sites/pitches to meet the needs of Gypsies and Travellors living within or resorting to North Norfolk is now a government policy. (NNDC has identified two transit sites).

·      A target of 4000 new jobs to be created in the district is recommended.

 

The impact of this revised guidance may affect the Site Specific proposals that have been put out for earlier consultation.  The Working Party has now examined all responses. I have suggested that we should have further consultation on aspects of the site-specific proposals, as the new guidance is a significant change. This is likely to occur. We will await the response from government to our Core Strategy Document first.  The East of England Assembly has, I understand, rejected the new housing figure because the infrastructure will not support these numbers.

 

General comments on planning issues

 

Development in the Countryside

Some representations have been made that development should be allowed in many of the smaller villages and in the Countryside. It is claimed this may restrict development in these locations will lead to stagnation, and not address the need for housing in these locations. I suggest that with a slightly more flexible approach to housing numbers the scope for infill development in a wider selection of villages could be reconsidered. However, others argue those infill developments, probably of single and non-affordable dwellings would not meet the Council’s aims.  Readers’ views are welcome.

 

Second Homes

There is a widely held view that the numbers of second homes has an adverse impact on the local housing market with equity rich purchasers from outside the district acquiring properties which might otherwise be available for local people.  The purchase of a second home does not require planning permission. Consequently, planning policies are unable to exercise control over this type of use of existing dwellings. The Council is seeking to ensure that the type of housing that is provided on new developments is targeted towards meeting local needs. Second homeowners are required to assist the funding of affordable homes via their Council Tax. If you have views on second homes, please be in touch.

 

Drive to Recruit Women Councillors

This year marks the centenary of women gaining the right to stand for local elections. Latest figures show that just 28% of the UK’s councillors are women. This month the government is launching a new commission that will review the barriers and incentives to serving on local councils. I am pleased that the Glaven Valley Ward is moving ahead of the game. Lindsay Brettle, candidate for the Ward, welcomes the opportunity to serve our community as a front line councillor.