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Minutes of the Meeting of Kessingland Parish Council held on Wednesday 28th June 2006 at the Methodist Church Hall at 7.30pm.
Members present; Cllr Martin, Cllr Bailey, Cllr Brown, Cllr Capon, Cllr Howard, Cllr Lawson, Cllr Morgan Cllr Purkis, Cllr Sinfield.
Others Present; Clerk - Mrs L Beevor.
Agenda 1a) Apologies for absence Cllr Darley, Cllr Mason, Cllr Mouzer Cllr Mouzer.
b) Declarations of Interest nil
2a) To approve the minutes of the Parish Council Finance and Planning meeting held on 24 May 2006. On the proposal of Cllr Purkis, seconded by Cllr Lawson and agreed by all, the minutes of the meeting of 24th May were confirmed for signature.
b) Matters arising not covered elsewhere in the agenda, a) Housing Needs Survey - A question was asked as to what action we were going to take regarding this - was there any point doing a survey if WDC will not take notice of any findings. It was suggested that councillors consider the matter and it be discussed at a future planning meeting. Cllr Morgan advised that approx 30 houses a week go on sale in Kessingland. Cllr Bailey asked if there was any pro forma for housing needs survey. It was suggested that the clerk could write to Dawn Pointing and ask her how many Kessingland people are on the housing list.
Meeting adjourned for public participation
No public present
Meeting resumed
4) Chairman's Report a) I D Badge - The chairman showed the draft ID Badge - Cllr Morgan will laminate the badges. The Chairman advised that Paperpunch.com can supply the clips or chains to go onto the badges and councillors were asked what they would prefer. Cllr Brown would prefer a pin, all other councillors a neck chain. It was proposed and agreed by all that the clerk could order these up to a max of £30. b) Annual newsletter - The Chairman provided a draft for all to see - it is presently at the printers for a quote as to the cost of printing it. This will be notified to the clerk. On the draft the photos etc are in colour and a discussion was held as to how much the cost would be to print it in this format - Cllr Morgan advised that she could have use of a colour printer and that the cost of using this could be in the region of £200 - a printer's quote would therefore cost more than this. After full discussion it was agreed by all that should the quote be above £150 for colour printing then the newsletter would need to be in black and white and printed by Rondor - all agreed. If the quote was less than this then colour could be considered with other quotes for colour printing being obtained from Tindale Press and the printers on Kirkley Run. c) Quality Parish Status - The Chairman advised the meeting of the situation with regard to QPS and the definition of a Quality Parish Council. 18 months ago the Council had considered the matter and gradually the Council has been putting the procedures into place to ensure that it meets with the criteria should it wish to go this route. The Chairman advised the meeting of the benefits of QPS. The Council was advised that with the impending review of Local Government there is the suggestion that changes will occur at County, District and Parish level. The clerk was asked to update the meeting with regard to the specific criteria to be met for QPS - this was detailed. The clerk explained that QPS could not be applied for unless the clerk held the relevant qualification which would take time to achieve. The Chairman and Cllr Sinfield briefed the meeting on the Salc Spring Conference where both Unitary and Regional Councils had been mentioned. Cllr Lawson advised that schools are going through the same process and Kessingland school may become within a Waveney Valley Cluster. The Salc Spring conference had advised that the government white paper is due out in Sep/Oct 06 and that this will point the way foreword for the future. It was confirmed that QPS is a means of showing that parishes are working to a pre- determined standard. Cllr Lawson advised that she would wish to see the new paperwork on QPS as her information was fairly old. Concern was mentioned at the fact that the QPS scheme as originally brought out seemed to indicate that a feature of becoming a QPS Council was to take on devolved duties - did councillors want to become involved in these issues and take on the extra responsibilities? Are councillors expected to become more professional? Would this not take away from the concept of local people doing a local parish role? Cllr Sinfield and Cllr Martin advised that this did not seem to be the case from what had been said at the presentation at the Regional conference. After full discussion it was agreed by all that the clerk should go ahead with the necessary work for the accreditation and put in for the qualification and the Council would delay its decision as to whether to apply for QPS until the clerk was qualified. d) Flag Day - It was considered that flag day had gone well. The flag was raised at the picnic area but is now being flown at The Bethel. Should consideration be given to the flag being flown permanently at the beach? It was mentioned that this used to happen but that people nearby had complained about the noise of the flag flapping against the pole. It was considered that the flag should continue to be flown at The Bethel but that Cllr Brown would look at the flag pole at Southwold to see how the flag there is flown. The Waterfront had provided the ice creams and teas for the children and helpers, and had again advised that they will not be submitting an invoice for these. Thanks to be extended to the Waterfront for this kind gesture and this is to be mentioned in the next newsletter. Thanks also to be given to Cllr Goldsmith for his part in the day.
5) Reports from committees and working parties. a) Amenities - a meeting had been held but the minutes were not available - this matter to be discussed at the next meeting. b) Salc Rep - document for change - a briefing was provided by Cllr Sinfield on this document. It seems from the report that Salc sees its future undergoing great change and it was suggested that we should support them in their vision. It was suggested and agreed by all that a response will be collated by Cllr Sinfield, the Chairman and the clerk and the document replied to prior to the deadline. c) Emergency Cttee - The Chairman briefed the meeting with a verbal report of the meeting recently held - the risk assessment had been carried out and the cascade of command amended to suit the village. The village has been split into 6 sectors to handle an emergency. The Clerk had been asked to book the next Cttee date for September and to liase with all the necessary parties to attend. The Chairman confirmed that more volunteers were needed and asked councillors to consider whether they were able to help. d) Crime and Disorder meeting - the committee had met and Cllr Morgan provided a verbal report of the meeting. The minutes from the meeting are held in the minute file. 6) Reports from meetings attended by councillors SALC Spring Conference - already discussed as above.
7) Correspondence a) Letter from Mr Barber from London Rd advising that the pedestrian access is difficult from Hutsons to High Street - the clerk was asked to provide P C Finlayson with a copy of the letter. b) Letter from ‘Uncle Toby' read to the meeting. c) School organisational review - SCC has forwarded a questionnaire to the Council for consideration as to the future of local schools. Cllr Lawson briefed the meeting with the views of the governors of Kessingland School who would wish for the school to be retained as a school for the age range 4 - 8. It was agreed by all that the Parish Council would write in response to the questionnaire that it would like to support the views of Kessingland Primary in keeping the 3 tier system in this area. d) SCC Draft Rights of Way Consultation - Cllr Purkis confirmed that she was considering the document and would provide a response on behalf of the Parish Council by the deadline of 11th Sep 06. e) Letter from CPRE advising of a workshop to be held at Huntingdon on 5th October regarding the East of England Local Development Framework - Cllr Sinfield and Cllr Martin to attend. 8) Finance a) The Clerk advised the meeting that a new bank mandate had been collected from the bank and this now needed completion as per the previous minutes. Cllr Morgan advised the meeting of her disappointment at being withdrawn as a signatory from the account due to not being present at the last meeting and mentioned that she was usually present. The clerk advised that she had spoken to Barclays Bank and asked whether the Council could have a mandate allowing 2 from any 4 councillors to sign cheques. The account manager had confirmed that usually the account would need to be a business account to allow this to happen but on this occasion the Council could keep its free banking and have the facility of 2 from any 4 councillors. On the proposal of Cllr Purkis, seconded by Cllr Sinfield and agreed by all it was confirmed that Cllr Martin, Cllr Morgan., Cllr Sinfield, and Cllr Brown would be the 4 signatories on the bank mandate. b) Open day - Church Rd Play area - Cllr Mouzer had suggested that the 22nd July would be a good day for the open day. She would like to provide some entertainment for the children and asked that a max of £80 be made available for this purpose. On the proposal of Cllr Purkis, seconded by Cllr Howard and agreed by all the sum of £80 will be made available for the open day. c) Cllr Morgan advised that from the £500 grant given to the Crime and Disorder Cttee, the sum of £100 had already been used. The remaining £400 is to be kept for the youth via the Crime and Disorder Cttee.
9. Planning a) WDC Decisions - W 13187/1 - granted, W10242/1 - granted, 225/18 - granted. b) Planning applications W2194/7 - Construction of a site office at Sea View Holiday Estate, Green Lane by Sea View Developments On the proposal of Cllr Purkis, seconded by Cllr Martin and agreed by all the application was considered acceptable
W19679/1 - construction of a detached 2 storey log house with ancillary granny annex at Clyffeside, High Path, Church Rd, by Taylor and Son builders.
Cllr Sinfield briefed the meeting on the site visit that had takenplace regarding the original application. Cllr Martin had then attended the Lowestoft Development Cttee meeting where WDC voted to decline the original application on the basis that it is against the character of the area of that end of the village. Cllr Martin advised that following this second application he had contacted SCC who advise that they will object to it on the same basis as their original comments. A full discussion took place regarding the access to the site and the ownership of the land. Cllr Purkis advised that is possible that High Path may be able to be added to the definitive footpath map. On the proposal of Cllr Sinfield, seconded by Cllr Martin it was agreed by all to decline the application on the same grounds as stated in the original application.
c) Site Visit - A site visit is to take place on Monday 10th July at 5.00pm regarding W852/2 - construction of a detached bungalow and garage at land adjacent to Hillcrest, Coastguard Lane/Green Lane. Cllr Martin and Cllr Sinfield are on a course that day and Cllr Purkis and Cllr Lawson will therefore attend.
d) Letter from WDC advising that the development at land at Hutsons will be numbered 1 - 5 Hutsons Cottages, Market Place.
e) Letter received from Mr Dymond regarding noise disturbance to his holiday home at Kessingland Beach Holiday park. The clerk was asked to acknowledge the letter and to forward it to the Community police officers.
f) Meeting with WDC regarding the proposed Nordalls Development. This was attended by Cllr Sinfield, Cllr Martin, Cllr Lawson and Cllr Purkis. Cllr Sinfield provided a verbal report of that meeting which was described as constructive and that meeting Martin Plane had been beneficial. Although WDC seemed sympathetic to the Parish Council views, they were advising that the site is a ‘brownfield' site and from their point of view would be and ideal site for this type of development. Mention was made of the lack of parking at the site. Mention was also made of the ransom strip and the flooding issues. We now wait to hear further from WDC on the application.
g) Meeting with SLP regarding the wind mast. Cllr Martin, Cllr Purkis, and Cllr Sinfield had met with SLP regarding the wind mast application and the proposal for a wind turbine. Cllr Sinfield reported that SLP provided an excellent presentation and made available the full scoping report that they had carried out for the proposed turbine (we had previously only been sent half of this from WDC). Cllr Sinfield briefed the meeting on all of the work done by SLP prior to getting as far as the scoping report and advised that the Kessingland site had been chosen over many others after much research. SLP had been very open with information and very professional. The main stumbling block to them using Kessingland will be the access to the site and whether they will be able to get all of the equipment to the site. A public seminar will be held in the Church Hall for the village in September and models etc of the turbines will be brought along.
10) Questions to the Chairman The Chairman asked that more councillors volunteer for committees to enable the work load to be evened out.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 10.00pm.
Chairman ......................................
Dated...........................................
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