Annual Parish Meeting : 15th May 2015

LONGHAM ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Longham held on 15th May 2015 at 7.00 p.m. in the Village Hall

Present:      Mr R McLeod, Mrs S Douglas (Chairman of the Parish Council, Mr P Collins, Mrs  D McLeod (late arrival), Mrs C Jefferies, Mr D Barrett, Mrs R Barrett, Mr T Jickells, a village visitor, Dist. Cllr R Duffield and Mrs G Hubbard, Clerk to the Parish Council

1. Welcome and to consider accepting apologies for Absence
   Mrs Douglas welcomed everyone to the meeting.  The Clerk had received apologies from Dist. Cllr Robert Richmond.

2. To confirm minutes of the Parish meeting held on 9th May 2014
   The minutes had been circulated.  Mr Collins proposed the minutes of 9th May be accepted as a true and accurate record.  This proposal was seconded by Mrs Douglas and carried, so she signed the minutes as accepted.  

3. To discuss any matters from the minutes (not on the agenda).
   There were no matters arising.

4. To receive the report from the Parish Council Chairman
   The main points of her report were as follows:-She said her fellow Parish Councillors and herself were pleased to be re-elected to serve for a further four years and she welcomed back Mark Kiddle-Morris as the County Councillor and welcomed Richard Duffield and Robert Richmond as the newly elected District Councillors.

   WiSpire is soon to be installed at the church to give villagers a faster broadband service.  Another dog bin was purchased and it has been installed on the edge of the village sign green. The Parish Council pays for the grass to be cut at the playing field and churchyard.  The Old School House at the Village Hall is going to be turned back into a dwelling to eventually rent out, to secure a financial future for the village hall. The Birds Nest Swing on the playing field was stolen and this will be replaced and some other equipment added.

   The full report will be attached to the minutes

5. To receive a report from the District Councillor and County Councillor
   Cllr Kiddle-Morris had provided two reports, one as his position as County Councillor for Necton and Launditch from 2014 – 2015 and the other as Breckland District Councillor for Launditch Ward for the same period.  Mrs Douglas read out both reports and they will be attached to the minutes.Cllr Duffield gave a short verbal report and spoke briefly about the cuts that will probably take place.

6. To receive any other reports
   The main points of the Village Hall Committee report read out by Mr Collins were:-The Committee is actively looking for additional hirers, functions and ideas for uses of the hall.  The hall is used for the auction, keep fit, sewing for pleasure and friends and neighbours and yoga.  The first step of the Old School House conversion has taken place and plans have been drawn up, and approved by Breckland.  A builder will soon be approved.  He thanked all the members of the committee and volunteers for their support and hard work.  The full report will be attached to the minutes.

   Mrs Dye gave a short report regarding the Church, thanking everyone that has supported the Church and helped to keep it open for future generations.  The building still requires much work to be carried out and it was decided to try and go ahead with the most important jobs at this stage. A leaflet went into the News & Views listing various events organized for this year and she said she looked forward to seeing people at these events.

   The Clerk had received a report from the Norfolk Constabulary.  For the year there had been a total of 7 crimes, 2 were non crime offences that needed reporting, 2 crimes of theft and 3 crimes of violence.  The crime figures for the year had reduced by 8 from last year.

7. To discuss any intended forward plans
   The Parish Council intends to replace the stolen piece of play equipment and purchase some other pieces.  Mr McLeod thought it was a good idea to think about putting affordable houses on the Hastings Charity Land and possibly rent them out.  The other people present thought this was a good idea and Mr McLeod will check out the rules with the Charity Commission.

8. To discuss the Parish Council’s draft end of year accounts
   The Clerk explained briefly the end of year accounts and no-one had any queries.

9. To discuss any Highways issues
   Potholes are a problem but more pothole work is now being done.

10. To discuss any other business
    The residents present thanked the Parish Councillors for dealing with the problems brought to their attention.

11. To set the date of the next meeting in 2016
    The next meeting will take place on 6th May 2016 at 7.00 pm, in the Village Hall.

There being no other business to discuss, the meeting closed at 7.40 pm.