Parish Council Meeting of 19th November 2015

Written by Anne Rayner.

The Parish Council meeting on 19th November 2015 was attended by Councillors Brian Frith, Beverley Humphreys, Gilly Barnes, Jackie Bowers, Dawn Welsby and Andrew Coleman. Also present were Clerk Anne RAyner and four members of the public.                   

Some of the main items discussed at the meeting are mentioned here. Full minutes of the meeting are available here - in draft form until agreed by the Council at the next meeting (17th December 2015).

The following planning applications were discussed:

2015 / 2462 – 19 Bentley Rd – Councillors raised concerns over the size of the proposed extension in relation to the plot and the bearing on near neighbours.

2015 / 0505 – Laynes Farm planning appeal – The parish council submitted comments directly to the planning inspector relating to the planning appeal at Laynes Farm. The comments re-iterated all previous reasons for recommendation for refusal. 

A new application has been submitted in relation to the planning application at Hope Valley (land previously known as the Tas Valley Vineyard). The application number is 2015 / 2550 and all documents are available to be viewed online via the South Norfolk Council website. The plans will probably be discussed at the next parish council meeting (17 December) but anyone can submit comments directly to South Norfolk Council, in the meantime.

Norfolk County Council have a period of consultation available between 30 October 2015 and 14 January 2016 for their strategic and financial planning for the period 2016 – 19, titled re-imagining Norfolk. Comments can be submitted via their website: www.norfolk.gov.uk/reimagining by direct email to or by telephoning 0344 800 8020.

All of the noticeboards in the village are well used and advertise a wide variety of events. In order to keep as much space available as possible there are some guidelines for using the noticeboards and they are: please ensure posters are A5 size only, please remove your advert when your event is finished, larger posters will be removed if space is needed and so will posters advertising events outside of the village.

The Highways Rangers have visited the village within the last month and have undertaken several tasks, including: clearing the gullies and mud on Cheney’s Lane and Spicer Lane, clearing the offlet on Mill Lane / Aslacton Rd, trimming hedges around signs and cleaning signs and also clearing the ditch which runs next to the footpath behind the Methodist Church.

Also, the parish council will shortly be taking delivery of the new speed awareness machine. Regulations determine that the machine must be moved around various locations within the village and these sites have been approved by the highways department. 

The next meeting will be on Thursday 17th December 2015. The agenda will be published about a week before the meeting, but if you have any matters to bring to the attention of the Parish Council in the meantime, please contact the clerk, Anne Rayner, on 01508 570700 or by email