Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting of Sustead Parish Council
Held on Tuesday 19th May 2015 at 7.30pm
Pear Tree Cottage, Sustead.

PRESENT:  	
		Mr. A. Fell (Chairman)
Mrs. C Cheyne
Mrs. J Thorne	
		Mr. A Thompson 
Mr. R Harrison	
Mrs. A Williams
		Mrs. K Cotgrove (Clerk)

1.	(i) Election of Chair for 2015/16 and Declaration of Office: Mr. A. Fell was nominated by AW, seconded by AT. All agreed. Declaration of Office was signed.
(ii) Election of Vice Chair for 2015/16 and Declaration of Office: Mr. A. Thompson was nominated by JT, seconded by RH. All agreed. Declaration of Office was signed.
2.	Apologies: Mrs. P Howell
3.	Declarations of interest: None
4.	The Minutes of the last meeting: Minutes from the last meeting held on 31st March 2015 were agreed and signed off as a true record.  
5.	Matters Arising: The Clerk read an email from Priscilla McDougall updating the Council on the footpath past Thurgarton House. She and Peter Maingay have been in contact with Mr. Sladden’s agent, who has advised that Mr. Sladden would never volunteer to dedicate the track as a footpath. Therefore, Mr. Maingay & Mrs. McDougall have applied to Norfolk County Council to register the track as a footpath. The situation was discussed and councillors agreed that although it was important that the track remain open to the public, caution and sensitivity should be used while dealing with it. 
6.	Reports from Local Members:  
       (i) Anthea Sweeney – Outgoing District Councillor - Ms. Sweeney emailed the Clerk with her apologies,         	and AF read the following report:  	I have enjoyed being your representative for the last 10 years and 	do hope I can be of use to you in the future if you have any problems etc. The last year has been 		particularly busy with the application for the Wind Farms at Bodham which would have affected 	residents in Barningham, Gresham, Bessingham, and West Beckham all of which are in Chaucer 	Ward. 	So far the applicants have dropped the tallest Wind Turbine, the shorter one has been turned 	down by NNDC planning committee. We do not know if the applicant will go to the High Court to try 	to challenge our decision.

 Signed ……………………………………………….    Date …………………………………………… 

	The roads through Bessingham were in a mess so I contacted Highways and much to my surprise the	twice came along and swept them.  A number of residents asked me to see if anything could be 	done. A lot of time has been spent on the Lodge Hill Junction which is also a turning into Sheringham 	Park plus residents from West Beckham have to take their lives in their hands when crossing the 	A148.  This problem has been going on for 5 years and as a result of the fatality last year we are trying 	hard for NNC to do something to make this a much safer crossing.  So far they have done nothing but 	Upper Sheringham and West Beckham Parish councils are continuing to press for a lower speed limit. 	Thank you for being such a pleasant and friendly group. It was agreed that the Clerk will contact Ms. 	Sweeney to thank her for all her help.
      (ii) Michael Baker – County Councillor – The Clerk has received apologies from Mr. Baker’s PA. There 	was no report.
     (iii) Guy Slade – Norfolk Police SNT – PCSO Slade sent his apologies, and AF read his report. From Apr 	2014 – May 2015 there were no crimes reported in Sustead or Bessingham, and 3 in Metton. There will 	be police surgeries in Sustead on 28th May 12 – 1pm by the noticeboard, in Metton on 25th June 9 – 	10am outside the church, and in Bessingham on 28th May 11 – 2pm and 25th June 10-11am by the village 	sign. The next SNAP meeting is 15th June at North Lodge Park in Cromer. 
     (iv) Henry McDougall - Sustead PCC -	Mr. McDougall sent the Clerk the following email report, read by 	AF: Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council for the year ended 31st December 2014. The 	following were members of the P.C.C. during the year
	The Revd. John Smith	Priest in Charge
	Mrs A. Riviere		Churchwarden and Vice Chairman
	Mrs P. McDougall		Churchwarden and Secretary and Electoral Roll Officer
	Mr H. McDougall		Treasurer
	Mrs. I. Spurrell
	At the AGM on 22nd April 2014 Mrs A. Riviere retired from acting as Churchwarden. She said she 	would remain on the electoral roll until she moved away from the village. Mrs G. Davenport was 	elected churchwarden and was voted on to the electoral roll. The other churchwarden, secretary and 	treasurer were re-elected to their posts at the same time. Subsequently Mrs. Riviere moved and 	should therefore be removed from the electoral roll. This leaves 4 on the electoral roll of whom 2 are 	churchwardens. Mrs Riviere was thanked warmly for her dedication to Sustead church over 35 years.  	She and Tim restored the finances of Sustead which had been in debt, and organised the major repair 	to the church tower. The PCC met once during the year. In addition to its statutory duties the PCC's 	prime object is to ensure that regular services continue to be held in the church. We are very grateful 	to our organists, cleaner and flower arranger. We have many complimentary remarks in the visitor’s 	book. We are very grateful to our new churchwarden Glenn Davenport for her unstinting 	support,	including reading and playing the organ. The PCC is concerned to maintain the fabric of the 	church. As reported by the Treasurer, the finances are sound. Regular maintenance is carried out on 	gutters and drains. The average church attendance was 6.
      (v) Richard Harrison – Metton PCC – RH advised he is no longer on the PCC, and the future contact is 	Jenny Lloyd. The priest for Metton retired approx. two weeks ago and it is uncertain if there will be a 	new priest. The average attendance is two, so there is doubt whether the church will remain open.  

Signed ……………………………………………….    Date …………………………………………… 

	Currently Roughton is the main church in the area. The bench outside the church was discussed and 	the suggestion of a plaque on it to remember a parishioner. It was agreed that the bench would not be 
	            appropriate, as it is already dedicated to the Centenary of the Second World War. The previous Clerk 	   had contacted Dee Lomax and directed her to the church to discuss.
7.	Planning matters:  None
8.	Highways: AT confirmed that Highways have repaired the road to the Field Study Centre, but have missed one large pothole. The junction warning sign at the Waterworks junction is missing. There is also a pothole near the Waterworks. The clerk will report to Highways. The bends through Metton were discussed. It was agreed that it would be useful to have signs at either end of the village to slow traffic. The Clerk will contact Highways to discuss the possibility.
9.	Financial Matters: (i) The following payment was approved:
£250.00 Clerk’s wages for the May meeting.
(ii) The Mazars return was approved and signed. The Clerk will appoint an internal auditor.
The Clerk reported that the first Precept installment of £976 has been received.
AW asked if the accounts could be displayed on the noticeboards as a parishioner has recently contacted her to ask what her precept is spent on. The Clerk agreed and advised that in July it becomes law to publish accounts online. It was agreed that the Clerk should book on a course to set up a free website, so minutes, agendas and accounts can be published. Councillor details will also be displayed on the noticeboard. 
10.	To Agree and sign documents: The following documents were approved, adopted and signed:
(i)		Standing Orders
(ii)	Financial Risk Assessment
(iii)	Financial Regulations
(iv)	Annual Review of the Effectiveness of Internal Control
(v)		Annual Review of the Effectiveness of Internal Audit 
11.	Correspondence: None
12.	AOB: RH reported that buses going through the village are causing problems by queuing and meeting on narrow lanes. It was noted that these buses are not supposed to reverse on roads, due to lack of visibility behind. It was agreed that the Clerk will Contact Maretts Chariots to express concern, and remind them of the previous agreement to stagger bus times. 
Henry McDougall’s retirement from the Parish Council was discussed. It was agreed that Henry had been an asset to the Parish Council for a number of years, and thanks were expressed for all his hard work.
13.	Date of next meeting: 
-	Tuesday 11th August 2015, 7:30pm, Hall Farm, Metton.

Signed ……………………………………………….    Date ……………………………………………