Hoe and Worthing Villages: Norfolk
Parish Meeting
Draft minutes of meeting held on 19 October 2021
Hoe and Worthing Parish Meeting
DRAFT
1. Attendance
James Keith (Chairman), Trevor Wood, Dick Malt, Mr and Mrs Lewis, Celia Daniel, John and Jenny Tuckwell, Margaret Barrett, James Sayer, Carl Watling, Simon Brock, Harry and Jane Whitcher (Treasurer)
Apologies were received from Sally and Mike Mullins, Sue Malt, Phil Barrett, Bill Borrett .
The Chairman opened the meeting to remind everyone this is the autumn Finance meeting, primarily to set the parish precept for the coming year.
2. Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer presented her report to the meeting for the 6 months to 30 September 2021.
It was noted that the income for this period consists primarily of the precept and the hires of the hall. The income for the 6 months was £2,340.
The expenses for the period were £394.35, which is mainly the annual costs for insurance and memberships.
The format of the summary of accounts shared with the meeting shows the income and expenditure split between ‘Parish’ and ‘Hall’. The Treasurer asked people to raise for discussion any items where they did not agree with the suggested allocation. None were raised.
The estimated balances available to the 31 March 2022 are for the Parish £4,380, and for the Hall £1,990.
The Treasurer advised that the terms and conditions at the bank were changing from the 1st November, so the account would no longer be free to operate. An alternative bank was suggested by Celia Daniel and Margaret Barrett, which the treasurer will investigate.
The chairman thanked the Treasurer for her report.
Spending Proposals
– Celia Daniel requested a donation of £325 to St Margaret’s Church, Worthing to support their churchyard project work. Proposed by Celia Daniel and seconded by Mrs J Lewis. Voted: in favour, 7 and 2 against. Carried
– John Tuckwell requested a donation of £325 for St Andrew’s Church, Hoe. Proposed by John Tuckwell and seconded by Margaret Barratt. Voted: in favour: 7 and 3 against.
– It was suggested that £2,000.00 of the funds within the ‘Parish’ are reserved for a period of a year for the Village Hall, to enable them to continue with the outstanding repairs. Proposed by Dick Malt and seconded by Simon Brock. Passed by 11 in favour.
– Celia Daniel raised the possibility of purchasing a Grit Bin for Worthing, at an approximate cost of £280, subject to grants not being available from the Council for this. Proposed by Celia Daniel and seconded by Margaret Barrett. Passed unanimously.
Celia also suggested some “Flood – Road Closed” signs could be purchased for use if the river ever burst its banks again, to prevent Joy Riders making bow waves through the village and making damage to properties even worse. The Chairman said he would request from Highways signs if possible, but feared that the parish may not have the authority to close a road whatever the situation?
Parish Precept
It was proposed that the parish precept should remain at £1,800 for the 2022-2023 financial year. Proposed by Simon Brock and seconded by Margaret Barrett. Passed unanimously.
3. Chairman’s Report
– Flooding in Worthing
The Chairman gave an update on the flooding in Worthing. He expressed his frustration in dealing with The Environment Agency, and the slow speed of any action, and the requirment for endless surveys and risk assessments before any work could be done.
– Hoe Trod
Trevor Wood gave an update on the Trod which will be installed along Fakenham Road in Hoe, between Gorgate Lane and the Beetley bridge. There is ongoing discussion amongst various departments at the Council as to who is responsible for filling in the ditch which is the next step.
– Plaque
A plaque to recognise the work that villages did during the pandemic has been offered by The Council. The Chairman has requested one, which should be available shortly. It is hoped to find a time and venue for a presentation.
– Platinum Jubilee
The chairman asked if people could give some thought to anything that we might like to do for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year.
– Litter pick
The Chairman advised that he would be arranging for a litter pick to be done in early spring next year. He will ask Trevor Wood for guidance on the best way to organise it.
4. Any Other Business
– The setting up of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to separate out the financial activities of the Hall from the Parish was discussed. It was considered that this was a very good way to proceed, and it was agreed that a separate meeting should be arranged to discuss this further.
– At Trevor Wood‘s request a separate item about Complaints was added. Trevor explained that he was not happy with the process of complaints being handled – and referred to the procedure of a complaint he had about the planning process. Trevor started to explain in detail about where he felt the handling of his concern was not correct. The discussion soon became heated, as this item had been discussed at previous meetings and the assembled view was that this had been dealt with. Clearly some member of the parish felt so strongly about this that they left the hall. The Chairman did point out that this item had been raised at a previous meeting and discussed at length. The Chairman said he was happy to stand down if it was felt he had not acted correctly. It is for note that the parish did support Mr Wood’s second revised application, and that perhaps his complaint was the planning Department of Breckland? The Chairman acknowledged the request and agreed this item would appear again on the Agenda for the Spring 2022 meeting.
5. Date of next meeting
To be advised.
