LANGHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 9th January, 2024 in the Village Hall at 7.00 p.m.
                                 
Present:  
Patrick Allen (Chair)
Anne-Marie Coe
Kevin Walker (resigned with this meeting being his last)
Louise Goodenough 
Sir Richard Gozney (co-opted at the start of the meeting – see item 3)	
The Clerk
Michael Dalby (County Councillor)
Six parishioners

1.	Apologies for Absence
James Priest and Sarah Butikofer (District Councillor) 

Kevin Walker had tendered his resignation with the intention that his term would end at the conclusion of the meeting.  He was thanked by the Chairman and other members for his work whilst being a member of the Parish Council.

2.	Declarations of Interest
None
3.	Co-option of new member                    
Richard Gozney was proposed by Anne-Marie Coe and seconded by Louise Goodenough. He was welcomed to the Parish Council by the Chairman.
4.   Minutes of last meeting held on 7th November, 2023   –   were approved by all members (proposed by Anne-Marie Coe and seconded by Louise Goodenough)

5.	Anna Clarke, Housing Enabler, North Norfolk District Council	
Anna Clarke, North Norfolk District Council, works primarily with Housing Associations and Parish Councils with an objective to extend the availability of affordable housing across the district. There are currently 2,500 people on the waiting list. She has provided a copy of the Local Allocations Agreement and statistics relating to the local need which covers Langham and the four adjoining parishes of Blakeney, Field Dalling, Binham and Morston. It was agreed to maintain contact.

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6.         Updated information and matters arising from the previous meeting:
a)        Following Alan Smith’s resignation, someone is needed to take over control of the speed
           monitoring camera. In addition, no-one has yet volunteered to be the new Speedwatch 
           co-ordinator. Richard Gozney is to liaise with Alan Smith to establish the best way to proceed.
b)       The Chairman has consulted Steve White (Norfolk County Council) regarding the placement of 
           planters in North Street but there is a fear that they may be subjected to vandalism. The Chairman
           suggested painted hatching on the road instead and Mr. White will consider and make a site visit 
           to discuss.
d)        We still await news from Consultiv Utilities in the continuing search to find an alternative supplier 
            of electricity for the village’s twelve street lights. Drax is no longer taking funds from the Parish 
            Council account under the direct debit agreement.

7.	Potential Parish Council members
Expressions of interest to join the Parish Council had been received from two people. It will be necessary to establish their eligibility and the Clerk will write to them to obtain the appropriate information so that a full assessment can be made.

8.      Finance
Income
4/12/23   Bank interest (4/9/23 to 3/12/23)					        £41.14
11/12/23 Fulmodeston & Barney P.C. (50% of joint Whole Council training)                £147.50
				     			
Expenditure
9/1/24     K & M Lighting Services (street lighting maintenance – December)                  £21.36
9/1/24     K & M Lighting Services (street lighting maintenance – January)	         £21.36
9/1/24     Anglian Water (playing field from 2/10/23 to 1/1/24)		                       £49.29
9/1/24     North Norfolk District Council (uncontested election in May, 2023)                 £40.50        
9/1/24     K. Webb (Clerk’s pay for Oct, Nov and Dec plus back pay)	                  £1,335.98
9/1/24     HMRC (tax on Clerk’s pay)					                     £334.00
20/11/23 K. Webb (quarterly computer allowance – standing order)	                       £20.00

Acceptance of expenditure approved by all members.

Balances of Bank accounts:- Current - £3,936.50 credit, Business Saver- £11,890.50 credit  (as at 8th January, 2024)

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The Clerk presented a draft budget which showed predicted income of £10,595 and expenditure of £17,230. After discussion, a number of additions and amendments were agreed. These included:-

a)	LVRG income of £1K. 
b)	LVRG expenditure of £1K.
c)	The cost of a trod (refer to item 14) - £4K (net cost after contribution from our County Councillor).
d)	Grounds maintenance increased from £2.1K to £2.5K to cover a possible higher than expected inflationary increase.
e)	Precept of £11,072 to be claimed. This is calculated as tax base of 207.10 x Band D contribution of £53.46. The Band D figure has been increased from £48.59 to £53.46 per annum. This represents an increase of 9p per week for each household.

The final approved budget shows income of £12,602 and expenditure of £22,630. (Acceptance proposed by Richard Gozney and seconded by Anne-Marie Coe. All in favour).

9.	Internet Banking and Bank mandate - update
A new Bank mandate has been completed with Anne-Marie Coe and Louise Goodenough joining the Chairman as authorised signatories with a requirement for instructions to be given by any two of the three on the list. Once the mandate formalities have been completed, steps will be taken to put Internet Banking in place.

10.         Langham Village Recreation Ground developments
The first fundraising function had been held, a bingo night which produced the sum of £1,066.96, an excellent achievement. Another session will be held in the not too distant future. A quotation for £680.00 has been received for the necessary tree works and clearance. Full insurance details of the contractor have been provided. New trees are to be planted on 10th February. A quotation for the annual grounds maintenance is awaited from CGM although they have given a verbal indication that it will be in the region of £2K. New equipment is required – two 7 a Side goals and swing seats.

11.     Queries from a member of the Village Hall Committee
A number of queries have been raised by a new member of the Village Hall Committee. These are detailed as follows:-
a)	No donations have been received by the Village Hall from the Parish Council since 2019.
b)	No monies have been received by the Village Hall from the Parish Council for meetings held since 2019 with the budget indicating annual allowances being allocated.
c)	It is believed by the Village Hall Committee that they gave £500 towards the cost of a new website, which they were extremely keen to have, but had seen no benefit. They think that from this sum, the Parish Council had paid Clare Butler for some work carried out on the website but were asking for the remaining monies to be divided by two, with 50% to be returned to the Village Hall.
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The Clerk has carried out a thorough, lengthy search of the Parish Council records which reveals the following:-

a)	The last five donations made to Langham Village Hall by the Parish Council were:-
(i)	£400	14/9/15
(ii)   £400     9/1/17
(iii)  £500    30/5/17
(iv)  £200     9/4/18
(v)   £500     2/9/19

It was stressed that all donations and grants are only paid on the receipt and acceptance of requests, and after full consideration by the members. No submission had been made since 2019. It was also mentioned that the Clerk had informed the Village Hall Committee, at the time of the pandemic, of the possibility of obtaining a Covid-19 grant from the Government via North Norfolk District. An application was duly submitted, with the sum of £10K being subsequently received. It is believed that the majority of these funds are still held by the Village Hall Committee. 

b)	All expenditure requires appropriate invoices, requesting payment, to be submitted. Allocated 
figures appearing on a budget do not represent a guarantee of payment but merely a possibility
that a commitment may result. It was agreed by all members that an invoice for meetings held in the current financial year ending 31st March, 2024 would be accepted. This would be for £210, represented by five meetings held to date, a training meeting and the next Parish Council meeting scheduled for March.

c)	Parish Council records, including minutes, had been examined. These revealed that no monies had been received from Lanham Village Hall Committee. The Parish Council had paid the sum of £60 to Clare Butler (Nelson Database Design) on 8th March, 2021 for “website work”. As such, there are no available funds to be returned to the Village Hall Committee who were asked to check their own records in order to validate the accuracy of their claim. The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 11th May, 2020 state the following, (item 10):-

Website update
	The existing website has been updated. Clare Butler is continuing to work on the project and progress has been made. Following initial caution with the cost of the initial set up and then subsequent ongoing sums, there has been a significant development. The Village Hall committee has submitted an application to North Norfolk District Council under the Covid-19 retail/leisure scheme. As a result, the sum of £10,000 has been received and they have agreed to cover the development costs whilst hopefully arranging for other groups and organisations to get involved in utilising the website in the future.

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12.         Purchase of defibrillator
The planned meeting with representatives from the Community Heartbeat Trust did not take place. The Chairman has obtained information from some other local Parish Councils who have recently purchased defibrillators and is to give the matter further consideration. Mrs Goodenough is to ask the Harper Hotel if they are still prepared to make a contribution to cover the cost of a new defibrillator, as previously offered.

13.  	Bridleway off Hollow Lane – overgrown hedge
The bridleway is available for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. The first 100 yards is also used by residents who have a private agreement to drive to their properties. A quotation of £50 has been received to cut the hedge. Acceptance proposed by Mrs. Goodenough and seconded by Mr. Walker. All in favour.
					
14.	       Proposal for new pavement/trod on Binham Road, 50% funded by Parish Partnership
This project involves a strip of 60 metres on the west side of the road. The total cost is £11,200 with a Parish Partnership application for 50% of the cost having been made. It is understood that the scheme is oversubscribed but there is optimism that the application will be successfully. Mr. Dalby has kindly indicated that he should be able to make a financial contribution to the scheme by utilising some of his own allocated funds. All agreed that the initiative should be supported.

15.       Planning applications and determinations.
Applications
            None
Determinations
None
a)	Acknowledgement of receipt from the Planning Inspectorate, Bristol regarding the application to change use of land at Langham Road, Langham to the storage of caravans and boats.
b)	Note from the Planning Enforcement Team Leader at North Norfolk District Council regarding the failure to discharge Condition 3 of RV/22/2356 – North Street.

Some surprise was expressed that application PF/23/1694, relating to Stable Court Barn, Langham, which had been supported by the Parish Council, had been “called in” by the leader of North Norfolk District Council.

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16.	Correspondence		
1)	Clerks and Councils Direct magazine for January, 2024.
2)	Letter (another!) from Barclays Bank re KYC (Know Your Customer) information.
3)	Updated project news from Vattenfall Norfolk Offshore Wind.
4)	Request from Hugh Morris of the Daily Telegraph for the Parish Council to make a contribution to an article on the Harper Hotel. 
5)	Advice from NCC re visit to the village from Streetscene Inspectors (from 18/12/23).

 17.       Report from County Councillor
 The report, as follows, is to be placed on the website.

    Happy New Year.
Multi-million pound investment proposed to modernise Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service buildings
A multi million pound proposal to modernise fire and rescue buildings across the county is set to be considered by Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet next week.
The work is part of the council’s ongoing infrastructure investment to improve the inclusivity of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) buildings to ensure they are fit for the future as the service recruits more women and looks to improve and standardise the layouts of its buildings for the health, safety and wellbeing of staff.
NFRS has looked at the equity of facilities at its fire stations, as well as what more it can do to minimise contamination of potentially harmful substances and recommended a range of changes to station layouts and facilities. These aim to create more purpose-built facilities for women and improve zoning to minimise the risk of contaminant spread.
Cabinet has now been asked to approve a three-stage approach to prioritising the modernisation of stations which requires an allocation of £2m from existing capital for 2024-25; with a follow-on £2m bid expected for 2025-26.
More modern fire stations, such as Carrow in Norwich will require minimum interventions, with the majority of the improvements focused at on-call stations. If agreed, the timetable will be realigned to other initiatives such as decarbonisation of the wider county council estate to ensure best value for money.
NFRS also asked for cabinet acknowledgement of an estimated further £4.5m requirement for work beyond 2026 for improvements to its remaining estate.

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The bid fits with the council’s Strategic Property Asset Management Framework 2021/22 to 2026/27 to provide the right property, fit for purpose, in the right place, to meet current service delivery needs and to plan for the future.
Devolution deal accepted by Full Council
County councillors have voted to accept a county deal devolution agreement with the Government, to transfer significant funding and powers to Norfolk.

Government funding will start transferring to Norfolk next summer, if councillors vote in July 2024 to stage the first election for a leader in May 2025. The deal will mean that decisions can be taken in Norfolk, for Norfolk.
The full council agreed the following recommendations:
Council:
•	Recognises the work carried out during 2023 to consult with the public, inform Members and prepare plans in relation to the ‘in-principle’ County Deal brought to Council in January this year
•	Commends the work undertaken by the Leader and Officers to secure additional benefits for the Norfolk County Deal and resolves that the Deal should be accepted
•	Agrees that the election for the Directly Elected Leader should be held alongside the county council elections in May 2025 to enable the widest possible engagement with the electorate
•	Agrees that the resolution adopting the new governance arrangements should be brought to the Full Council meeting on 23 July 2024 to facilitate that election date.
Households given free DIY waste for small projects.
Norfolk residents will be able to dispose of small amounts of DIY waste at Norfolk’s Recycling Centres free of charge from 31 December following changes made by Norfolk County Council.

The change applies to small-scale projects carried out by householders on their own home, allowing them to bring a maximum 100 litres (must fit into 2 x 50l bags) for free or one single item (maximum size of 200cm x 70cm x 75cm). Each household is allowed four free visits with DIY waste every four weeks. Anything beyond this will still be charged at normal rates.
The change in policy follows Government abolishing charges for the disposal of limited amounts and types of DIY waste at recycling centres across the UK.

Prior to 31 December, customers with DIY-type construction and demolition waste will continue to be directed to the ‘Pay as you throw service’ which is available at all centres.
				
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Traders must continue to pay for DIY waste.

For more information visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/DIYwaste 
Councillor Michael Dalby
07306886552
Michael.dalby.cllr@norfolk.gov.uk

18.	Public Participation

a)	One of the locks on the notice board is still requiring attention. The Chairman is to investigate.
b)	It appears that the website is not always being fully updated. Mr. Priest will liaise with Mr. Rutt, the webmaster.
c)	The sign at the Cornfield has fallen off. The County Council is to be chased.

19.	Any other matters (for information)
None

20.        Agenda items for next meeting   
             Specific duties of individual members (carried forward from the last meeting)  

 21.	Date of next meeting :   Tuesday, 5th March 2024 at 7.00 p.m. in the Village Hall 

The meeting closed at 9.05 p.m.					

						
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