Parish Council Meeting of 16th February 2017

The Parish Council meeting on 16th February 2017 was attended by Councillors Brian Frith, Beverley Humphreys, Andrew Coleman, Graham Gale, Dawn Welsby and Sarah Allen. Also present were the Clerk and ten 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 (16th March 2017).

The following planning applications were discussed:

• 2017 / 0244 – Kingsmuir, Low Road – New vehicular access – The parish council had no objections to this application.
• 2017 / 0194 – Telecommunications Tower, Northfield Road – 18m high tower. This application was discussed at some length and the parish council resolved to object to this application.

Residents may have seen in the EDP recently that the parish council made a successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund. The bid will cover the cost of providing a defibrillator in the phone box on Low Road, Forncett St Mary. The parish council is in the process of formally adopting ownership of this box from BT. A training session will be arranged in due course, probably at the village hall but this will be well advertised in advance of the event. The last training provided, when the defibrillator was installed in the phone box on Long Stratton Rd, was extremely well attended and received very positive feedback.

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held at the village hall on Thursday 20 April 2017, commencing at 7pm. This is a chance for clubs and groups in the village to get together and report on everything they have been doing during the last year. Everyone is welcome to attend.

UK Power Networks are highlighting a service they provide to vulnerable people in the event of power failure. UKPN hold a priority services register. You are eligible to join this if you are of retirement age, have a disability or health condition, have a medical dependency requiring electricity (e.g. nebuliser, ventilator or Careline), or have a child under the age of five. If you are on the register it will not necessarily mean your power is restored quicker than others but you would be able to access extra help and services, including access to a 24hr priority phone number, a team who will contact you to keep you updated during a power cut and tailored support giving advice and keeping your friends and relatives updated. If you are interested, please contact UKPN directly on 0800 169 9970 (it is free to call this number), by e-mail or for more information please visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/ParishCouncils

The next meeting will be on Thursday 16th March 2017, commencing 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  .