Parish Council Meeting of 21st January 2016

The Parish Council meeting on 21st January 2016 was attended by Councillors Brian Frith, Beverley Humphreys, Gilly Barnes, Andrew Coleman, Graham Gale, Dawn Welsby and Clerk Anne Rayner.  Also present were County Councillor Bev Spratt and twenty-three members of the public.

After a long period of service on the Council, Jackie Bowers has regretfully decided to resign. Members agreed to send a letter of appreciation.  Anyone interested in filling the vacancy should please contact the Clerk in the first instance. 

Some of the main items discussed at the meeting are mentioned here. Full minutes of the meeting will be available here when published - in draft form until agreed by the Council at the next meeting (18th February 2016).

The following planning applications were discussed:

• 2016 / 0016 & 0017 – Corner Farm, Low Rd – No objections
• 2016 / 0074 & 0074 – The Barn at the Croft, Cheney’s Lane – These plans included a minor revision to plans already approved. Councillors had no objections.
• Laynes Farm – an appeal has been submitted both in relation to the refusal of planning permission and the enforcement action. The date for the appeal hearing has been agreed for 25th May.
• Hope Valley – The latest planning application has also been refused by South Norfolk Council and an appeal has been submitted to the planning inspector asking for the timescale for enforcement action to be increased from one year to five years. The parish council do not consider a five-year period to be appropriate, given the access and highways issues. The recent poor weather has also demonstrated the flooding issues on the site. The Parish Council will be submitting comments to this effect. Anyone else wishing to comment in relation to the appeal to extend enforcement to five years should submit comments directly to the planning inspector - deadline 2nd February. The appeal number is APP/L2630/C/15/3140507 and this must be quoted.  Comments can be made by email to   or by going to the Planning Inspectorate web-site  https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk and searching for the application using the last 7 digits of the appeal number (i.e. 3140507).  Advice from from the Inspectorate is that you should begin your comments with 'I support (or do not support, as the case may be) the Local Planning Authority in issuing the enforcement notice for one year and reject (or support, as the case may be) the appellant's case to extend the period to five years.  This should then be followed by your reasons. Comments can also be sent by post; deatils of how to do this can be obtained by contacting the Clerk (Anne Rayner) or Chair (Brian Frith) but the 2nd February deadline for receipt of comments by the INspectorate is absolutely final. 

The recent heavy rain has caused flooding issues in the village, particularly on Tabernacle Lane, Station Road, Long Stratton Road and Mill Road. The Parish Council will submit a summary of their concerns and the problem areas and it is hoped that between Highways and landowners the appropriate action can be taken to alleviate future problems. Particular note was made that the flooding on Station Road has occurred twice recently, since the re-alignment of the road.

The date for the litter pick has been agreed as Saturday 2 April 2016. Further information will follow in next month’s report.

The Parish Council website will be used for information relating to parish council meetings and finances but also to pass on information from other bodies such as South Norfolk Council, so please do take a look: forncettparishcouncil.norfolkparishes.gov.uk

There is information under the “news” section on the site relating to grants from South Norfolk Council to enable people with dementia to pay for adaptations enabling them to stay in their own home. 

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Thursday 18th February 2016 at 7.30pm. 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