Wiveton Parish Council. Chairman s Report Changes to the council.

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Joanna Goodman
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1 Wiveton Parish Council. Chairman s Report This has been a year of dotting i s and crossing Ts, no difficult planning issues have come up to rock our rather sleepy boat and the Green which has dominated these reports the entire time I have been in this chair has finally dropped back into a category that we might describe as dealing with moles. Changes to the council. As you can see there has been a change to the make up of the council, this is due entirely to the Localism Bill. A highly publicised government initiative purporting to hand down more power to District and Parish Councils, but as with the previous government s Quality Parish Councils, all that actually comes down is more regulation and increasingly demanding requirements for transparency. It reminds me of a terrier we had once who loved to fetch sticks, he d bring them back and hold them up for you to throw again, but couldn t bring himself to let go, so you had to wrestle him for the stick. Unfortunately we cannot wrestle the government for the powers they offer but fail to deliver. Nor can we escape the increased regulation; this time not only did they insist on the financial details of individual councillors being made public they also wanted the same for councillor s spouses or partners. This was too much for Gail and Mary, and so sadly, (because they were both excellent councillors) they stepped down. According to a representative from NALC this left the council --- despite John s ruddy outdoor complexion and my having quite a good tan ---, male pale and stale, so it is something of a relief to have been saved from further accusations of that kind in having two women come forward. It has been my pleasure to welcome Carolyn and Rachel to the council. They are already making their presence felt.

2 The Queen s Diamond Jubilee As most of you were there you ll know that we had a wonderful Diamond Jubilee celebration, the path to the Church proved to be an excellent venue which along with a full compliment of villagers and a very generous supply of beer and wine from the Bell, and despite a bloody awful cake and daylight fireworks we still had very good party. Barbara Veitch and Michelle Hewitt have made another excellent collage from photos taken on the night that you might like to look at before you leave. If you do, you may like me, be struck by the faces on one that do not appear on the other..enid Makins, David Galton, Peter Harcourt, Anna Wellbourne; Roger and Arthur Wood. This year we have lost Doris Smith and although they have not passed away, George and Janice Crawley, Peter Prior and Roy and Ann Austen Smith have left us. In a small village like ours these loses are much more significant than they would be in a larger place. We have new people coming in of course, although not all of them come here to live. Nevertheless, if our community is to stay as close knit as it has been we must embrace every one of those who join us and make them a part of it. So to that end and despite having had the Jubilee party last year we will be having our bi-annual street party as usual this year. The date of which will be decided later. Village Car Park. As part of the car parking reorganisation we have expanded the small area outside the Church gates to accommodate more vehicles, which should enable hearses, wedding cars and disabled worshipers easier access. We also installed a couple of posts with a chain to restrict access to those using the Church. This has had limited success as the chain which proved a bit too heavy for some worshipers to lift. A lighter one will eventually be fitted.

3 That the Green has at last reverted to its almost forgotten original state is entirely due to our having the luxury of an alternative site for cars and this is where most of the I s have been dotted and Ts crossed. To withstand the heavy use the Bell s customers subject it too and too keep them safe, a lot of work has had to be done. The surface of the parking area had to be levelled and surfaced with crushed concrete and drainage installed to remove surface water. The entrance had be reconfigured and surfaced to comply with Highway requirements. This was achieved by using the concrete sets that had previously been used to protect the grass on the Green. As these were originally paid for by the Bells that has saved us money. New hedging has been planted to screen the cars and a post and chain gate put between the main car park and the overspill area. The chain is the same one that the Churchgoers couldn t lift so we hope that the Bell s customers will have the same problem. We hope in time to make this space into a wildlife area and if we get more people wanting to donate seats that is where we will put them. Wiveton Downs. This brings me to the saga of the seat on Wiveton Downs, which I must preface with some background for those who might not be aware of the whole story. Back when Walsingham RDC maintained the roads they had what were called surveyors pits scattered around the county where they obtained the gravel they needed for repairs. These belonged to the parishes they were in and some years ago we regained ownership of the three that were ours from NNDC. The largest of these forms part approx. ¼ of the Downs SSSI, the remainder of which belongs to NCC. We had been at odds with their management for sometime mainly due to their inflexible and tightly focused adherence to the requirements of the geological SSSI designation; which involved the

4 continual removal of the oak trees and cutting and grazing of large areas of bluebells. A further difficulty we had was their view of the area as a country park and their willingness to allow signs, display boards and commemorative seats to be put there. Owning so much of the site plus the entrance gave us a bargaining counter to persuade NCC and Natural England to enter into a joint management agreement with us which has worked well since that time. Once we established our role we insisted that the location/ size/design of any new signs, steps etc. should be agreed unanimously by all there parties and any further permissions for seats would be confined to requests from the Parish, and even then it would depend on the type of seat and its proposed location. Last year NCC appointed a new manager, Steve and I met with him twice and on both occasions outlined our position on unnecessary infrastructure. At the second meeting we discussed and agreed NCC proposals for the removal of gorse to improve the north view. He then informed us that he wanted to place a bench so people could sit and admire the new view. We were not enthusiastic and explained how the last bench installed on the downs (for Norma Revell) had only been accepted because it was of a low key design and for a Wiveton person and that after which it was decided there would be no more seats or benches. Shortly after this NCC redirected a request for another seat to us. We negotiated an alternative site with the donor, which resulted in the very fine seat we now have by the bus stop. This was all carefully explained to the new manager, but not wanting to seem too bloody minded and because it was a very small bench and a wonderful view we agreed, but made it very clear that it would have to be the last one. This apparently went in one ear and out the other because just a short time later a new seat appeared at the end of the Downs dedicated to a person from Blakeney. I immediately ed him pointing out that it contravened our agreement with them and asked for its removal, saying that if he didn t we would. He

5 was reluctant but eventually agreed that it would be better fro him to remove it than us except he didn t. It then sadly became vandalised a number of times before after quite some time had elapsed it was eventually taken away. In the meantime we had a very snotty letter from NCC which declared in a most abrupt manner that owning the entrance did not give us a legal role in the management of the site and that as far as they were concerned we had no role whatsoever in the management. This was accompanied by a set of bylaws covering the site that clearly we were being instructed not to breach. I replied pointing out that there had been at least ten years of cooperative working between us that parishioners had a strong feeling of ownership and had long made the valuable contribution of picking up litter and cleaning up after dogs. I received a prompt and conciliatory reply but no firm acceptance of the idea of joint management. While doing a check of our web site in the meantime I found the agreement made in 2002; you have a copy of it with your papers. I sent it to NCC but have had no reply, therefore I would ask our newly re-elected County Councillor ( who I should also congratulate, to pursue this on our behalf, a decision as important as this ought to be taken by the elected members of the council not one of its employees. Owning a ¼ of the site plus the entrance it cannot be unreasonable to expect to have a genuine role in the collective management of the whole. Flood Warden Report. Our concerns regarding the large concrete filled barge sitting at the end of Blakeney New-Cut poised to cut through the sea bank the next time we get a tidalsurge have been made clear to the National Trust. They have assured me that they will convey our concerns to the Environment Agency who, if my past experience of them is any guide, will tell us there is nothing to worry about.

6 We could do with a couple more flood wardens, the only requirement other than being able-bodied is that is that they live here. I appreciate that does somewhat limit suitable candidates. Village Care Line. This continues to work well and as far as I know no buttons have yet been pressed. Thanks. All that remains is for me to thank your councillors for their time, their commitment, and their continued hard work and support for me throughout the year. Godfrey Sayers Chairman Wiveton Parish Council

Minutes of the Mundford Parish Council Meeting Held at Mundford Primary School, Mundford on Thursday 2 nd August 2012

Minutes of the Mundford Parish Council Meeting Held at Mundford Primary School, Mundford on Thursday 2 nd August 2012 Present: Cllr S Eyres, Chairman, Cllr J Goad, Vice Chairman, Cllr J Burton, Cllr L Pratt, Cllr Weight, Cllr T Fox, Cllr J Marston and Mrs F Brown (Clerk to the Council). There were 6 members of the public.