WIVETON PARISH COUNCIL
Chairman: Mr Godfrey Sayers
ClerkÕs
Address: Morning
Flight
42
High Street
Blakeney
NR25
7AL
Tel: 01263 741576
E-mail: tricia@glavenvalleycouncils.co.uk
18th November 2008
The next Parish Council
Meeting will be held on Monday 24th November 2008 in the
Parish Room at 7.30pm
REMINDER : - Please note the change of date
1 Reports for information:
Councillor Brettle (if present)
Councillor Derek Baxter (if present)
PC Ken Durrant (if present)
2 Apologies
4 Minutes of the last Meeting
5 Matters arising for information
6 Correspondence
7 Finance
8 Planning
8:1 Erection of replacement side extension, porch and dormer window – Heem Schuur,
Hall Lane
9 Bus Stop
10 Village Green
11 A O B
12 Parishioners
Question Time
DATE OF NEXT
MEETING TUESDAY 20th JANUARY 2009
Tricia Temple-Crowe
Minutes of Wiveton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 14th
October 2008.
Present: G Sayers (Chairman), J Ramm (Vice Chairman), G Woodhouse,
P Adcock, Councillor Brettle and Councillor Baxter
In attendance: The Clerk
Apologies: J
Ramm and S Beal
Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest.
2 Matters
Arising
Bus Stop Improvements The Chairman wished to record a vote of thanks to Councillor Derek Baxter
for his support of the Parish CouncilÕs stance on the provision of bus stops
for the disabled and also the new signage reminding drivers to slow down.
In response to correspondence received from Mr Cudby of the Highways
Department the Chairman read out the following response sent on behalf of the
Parish Council:
Thank you for your letter of
the 3rd July, Wiveton Parish Council are now aware that they were
perhaps the only village to have slipped out of the consultation process and
understand that these things can easily happen, so apologies accepted. However we would like to take a further
opportunity to make our position clear with regard to these stops. We fully understand NCCÕs
responsibilities in respect of the Disability Discrimination Act but we do
think a more common sense approach to its implementation is required.
In a city a blind person is
fully able to make their way around town unaccompanied and have every right to
expect the infrastructure to enable them to do so to be in place, they can
cross a road, catch a bus, go into shops, in fact go anywhere on their
own. In a rural area like ours
with narrow lanes and winding roads without pavements or footways this is not
possible, a blind person cannot safely make their way around in this
environment unless they are accompanied, a fact that surely makes tactile
paving superfluous.
Wheelchair users are presented
with exactly the same difficulties, they are just not safe on our roads. One of our new concerns here is for
elderly people who venture out of town in small electric mobility carriages, it
is only a matter of time before there is a fatality. To install any infrastructure that might encourage
wheelchair use in the countryside is inviting disabled people to put their
lives at risk.
We are not an uncaring Council
and if we thought for one moment that the need for these stops was real we
would give you our whole hearted support, but they are not, they represent an
unnecessary intrusion into our rural village-scape that we find quite
unacceptable. Particularly as it
would appear that they do not become a legal requirement for another nine
years, a period during which NCC could in partnership with the Parish Council
and NNDCÕs Conservation Department develop policies and designs that would
fully respect the importance of Conservation Areas.
In their last correspondence to
the Parish Council the NCC stated that if we wished to object to these bus
stops we should make those objections clear to them in writing so they could
demonstrate why they are unable to comply with the Disabilities Act in this
instance. If that letter was not
clear enough for that purpose we hope that this one will be.
3 Correspondence
N C C – Norfolk
Matters
NNDC:
Norfolk Police Authority – Policing Plan 2008 - 2011
Norfolk Association of Local Councils - Association Area Meeting – 4th November at Banningham and Colby Jubilee Hall, Colby.
Communities and Local Government – The making and enforcement of byelaws
4 Finance
S Beal Landscapes - £203.28
Norfolk County Services - £149.86
The Parish Council agreed to make a Ôone-offÕ contribution towards the cost of the strimming of the hedge and clearance of the drive leading to the Church. The amount of the contribution to be decided once the cost of the work has been ascertained.
5 Planning
Notice of Decision:
5:1 Marsh Lane – Erection of two-storey rear extension and front porch – Permission for development.
Shipping Container - Peter Adcock raised concerns regarding the appearance of a large storage container in the field adjacent to his property which has now been there for several weeks and appears to be used for storage of fencing panels and being used as a base for work. The Chairman suggested that Peter Adcock contacts Mrs P Curtis for clarification regarding the container and its use before any further enquiries are made with the NNDC Planning Department.
B N H S Mary Wakelin expressed her concern regarding the possible submission by the B N H S of a planning application for two houses to be built on land adjacent to Ginny HarrisonÕs B.N.H.S. house. The Chairman expressed his disappointment if this was correct, that the B N H S had not approached the Parish Council to discuss their ideas before it was progressed. It was felt that the provision of two houses would only be possible under the N N D C exceptions policy.
6 A
O B – Continued
Flood Warning Procedures The Chairman gave a report on information received from Ace Dann, Civil Contingencies Manager. Ace Dann had informed the Chairman that flood wardens will now require photographic I.D. and also undertake training to be a flood warden. In response to the information pack the Chairman had made the following response on behalf of the Parish Council:
I have just received
an envelope full of bumph from you.
Basically telling me that unless I come along to be trained by NNDC (who
last year clearly demonstrated that when it comes to a north sea tidal surge
flooding emergency they have absolutely no understanding of what is going to
happen), I will not be issued with an ID card and subsequently will not be
recognised by the emergency services.
I have lived here all
my life, many of them as a fisherman, I have a very good understanding of tidal
surge flooding having lived through both 1953 and 1978, on several occasions
the emergency services get their first hand information from me and my
team. I have no intention of
coming along to waste my time as I did last year, to be told what to do by
people who clearly know far less then I do about what happens in these
situations. I accept the incomers
new to the area would need training, but those people should not be selected to
be flood wardens in the first place, local knowledge ought to be an absolute
prerequisite for all flood wardens.
Wiveton has a tried
and tested flood plan specifically tailored to its particular situation, all
the male members of the Parish Council are flood wardens and all those in the
village at risk from flooding know what the plan is and what they have to do
should it have to be put into operation.
Not to be recognised
by the emergency services would be a shame although it should not affect us too
adversely, however should someone suffer injury or worse because they refuse to
assist us, a public enquiry would no doubt ascertain where blame for that
should lie.
The Chairman felt that in response to the information received from Ace Dann and his reply it would be appropriate to review the current Wiveton Flood Warning Plan. The Chairman also felt that each area needed someone to help co-ordinate the action plan which would include a representative from Wiveton Hall and also general representatives from the Village Hall as these were the designated evacuation centres for the village. The Chairman agreed to produce a draft copy of the revised flood warning plan for consideration and distribute a copy for everyoneÕs comments.
Report from
Councillor Derek Baxter
Mobile Library
Service
People in some of Norfolk's rural communities are taking advantage of a trial
scheme that has seen mobile libraries making evening visits to a number of
villages. Fortnightly evening
stops have been operating in Mattishall, Mulbarton, Lingwood, Little Plumstead
and Rackheath as part of a three month trial run by Norfolk County Council. The
visits have been introduced to encourage more people to use the service,
especially those who work full-time or have other commitments during the
day. The initial reaction to the
trial has been excellent and everyone who has gone along to the evening stops
has really appreciated the opportunity. The Council hope that if the level of
support carries on,
they will be able to continue on a permanent basis.
Extra care places to meet older people's
needs
Norfolk County Council are set to unveil plans to create an extra 2480 care
places across Norfolk as part of a long-term strategy to transform residential
care to meet the needs and aspirations of older people in 2020. The number of people aged 85 and over
in Norfolk is projected by 54% by 2020 which is why the County has created a
long-term strategy to provide enough care places for the future growing
population.
Extra care places to meet older people's
needs - Continued
Research has shown a need to create more places in Housing with Care, as well
as short-term care and specialist care homes; but fewer places in long-stay
care homes. As a result, the strategy will see a move towards more Housing with
care provision in the county with specialist care for people with dementia and
for people requiring short-term care.
People too reliant on
councils to recycle
Thousands of tonnes of items that could be recycled are being thrown away
in landfill sites every week because British householders rely too much on
local authority schemes instead of seizing the initiative themselves, according
to new research today. The study from the insurance group Zurich says on
average people are recycling only half of their rubbish.
The study looked at attitudes to green issues and found mountains of re-usable
waste were being buried in landfills or burned in incinerators. It says that
each week Britons throw away enough cans to
stretch from London to Sydney, as well as piles of boxes more than three times
the length of the Great Wall of China, and enough plates of food to give every
man, woman and child in Canada three square meals.
Researchers also found almost a quarter of people are aware they are throwing
away items that could be reused but believe travelling to a recycling centre is
too much trouble. (I personally think that a lot of people, particularly the
elderly, cannot get to recycling centres or find it too costly to do so). Most
people are pleased with council initiatives but many people do not take up the
opportunities to recycle
that are available to them. Four out of ten people only recycle if items are
collected from the doorstep. Of those who throw away recyclable items, one in
eight say it is too much trouble to wash out containers and one in ten believe
having to sort their waste is inconvenient.
The survey also found that although many people say they support supermarkets
plans to charge for plastic bags, there is significant hostility to the move
with a fifth of people disagreeing with the idea.
The research shows the green double standards of the average Briton. While
people are in favour of recycling, they still throw away half of everything
they use - largely because they think it is too much trouble to change their
habits.
PROPOSED DATES FOR
2009
Tuesday 20th
January
Tuesday 17th
February
Tuesday 17th
March
Tuesday 21st
April
Tuesday 19th
May
Tuesday 16th
June
No meetings in July
or August
Tuesday 15th
September
Tuesday 20th
October
Tuesday 17th
November
No meeting in
December