A letter of thanks has been received in the office from The Maids Head thanking the Parish Council for its grant of £50.00 towards the MacMillan Cancer Ring Road Walk.
The new sign for the play area at Lavaré Park has now been received and erected.
The next Sports Group Meeting, chaired by Councillor Miss P Wilkin, has been arranged for Monday 17th July at 7pm.
The bus shelter has now been installed in White Woman Lane. The perch seats on some of the existing bus shelters have also been installed but were slightly the wrong colour so are currently being painted to reflect the correct colour so you may see or have seen some them taped off to allow for the paint to dry.
An invitation from Community Action Norfolk to attend the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 12th July at the CAN offices in Dereham from 3.30pm was received. If any councillor wishes to attend please can you let the office know so we can make the necessary arrangements.
One representative from the Council has been invited to Norfolk Constabulary’s priority setting meeting on Thursday 13th July at 11am at Roxley Hall, Yarmouth Road, Norwich. If any councillor wishes to attend please can you let the office know so we can make the necessary arrangements.
Correspondence from Broadland District Council has been received stating that the following two planning applications have been given planning permission: -
20170222-Demolition of existing buildings, erection of 7 detached dwellings and associated facilities at Repton House, Parkside Drive, Old Catton.
20170739-Detached dwelling (revised proposal)-Plot 9, St. Faiths Road, Old Catton.
Correspondence regarding planning application 20170106-17 Carterford Drive, Old Catton has also been received stating that an appeal has been made to the Secretary of State against Broadland District Councils decision to refuse planning permission.
The Clerk has ensured that:
• the offices planning database is up to date,
• the wages for June along with the monthly Tax and NI contributions were processed,
• the quarterly pensions spreadsheet is up to date,
• the end of year accounts for 2016/2017 are all in order and sent off to the external auditor,
• she has arranged for the year Portable Appliance Testing (PAT),
• the Council’s Freedom of Information Publication Scheme is up to date,
• the Council’s website is up to date,
• the Council’s application for Quality Award is prepared and sent off for assessment,
• she has written the Council’s Annual Report for 2016/2017 ready for approval by the Council.
• The Council is receiving the best deal from BT with its telephone and Broadband and has managed to secure a cheaper deal whilst upgrading the internet to fast fibre.
A full staff meeting took place on Tuesday 20th June with some interesting outcomes. The Clerk will produce a full report for the Council.
Outside contractors were called in to look at the gate to the car park at Lavaré Park due to it dropping the problem has now been rectified.
The recently installed memorial bench nearest to the MUGA on the Recreation Ground has become loose and is in the process of being fixed so in the meantime we have removed it from its location as it is a health and safety hazard.
The benches at all Parish Council owned property have been re-varnished and tidied up.
The second Village Tidy Up took place on Sunday 25th June and was a great success. Much of the Parish was covered with approximately 16 volunteers.
The survey regarding traffic management of Oak Lane has now closed and the Deputy Clerk is compiling a report which will be put before the Council soon.
Following an enquiry from a Parish Councillor regarding the Parish Council insuring the Village Hall, even though the Council is the Custodian Trustee and there being a separate Management Committee, the Clerk contacted the Council’s insurance provider and the Society of Local Council Clerks for some advice. The Council is effectively donating the value of the insurance to the Village Hall Committee each year. There is no reason why we cannot do this but there is no requirement for us to contribute anything. Both the Insurance Company and SLCC suggest that the Village Hall Management Committee should be insuring itself. Our policy is up for renewal on 17th December 2017 and I therefore suggest that when it is renewed the Village Hall is taken off the policy and the VH Management Committee insures it as a separate entity.
The Clerk and Deputy Clerk has been liaising with the Council’s solicitor and the resident concerned regarding the installation of a gate into the Recreation Ground. As a result of this a site meeting between the resident concerned, the Clerk and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman has been arranged for Friday 7th July. A further update will be given at the Council meeting.
Peninsula Business Services: -
Peninsula emailed me 4 times during the month reminding me of Health and Safety tasks that need completing.
I have used the HR online system to log staff holiday requests and appointments in this period.
Peninsula have emailed me regarding how to get sacking right, fines tripled for health and safety offences, three bright ideas for managing staff holidays and three tell-tale signs of poor mental health.
Peninsula have sent me emails regarding Webinar training that is free of charge to existing clients and I am therefore booked onto the following webinars: -
• 5th July at 11.30am – Onboarding: Integrating New Recruits
• 19th July at 12.30pm – Getting a grip on Harassment
• 25th July at 12.30pm – Rights for Employees when they have a Baby
• 26th July at 11am – Health & Safety: Asbestos Awareness
• 27th July at 2.00pm – Conflict Management
• 4th August at 12.30pm – Managing Social Media Use in your Organisation
• 9th August at 12.30pm – Health & Safety: Display Screen Equipment & Office Safety
• 14th August at 2.00pm – Demystifying Statutory Sick Pay
• 14th September at 12.30pm – Understanding Annual Leave Entitlements
Produced by Melanie Eversfield, Clerk to Old Catton Parish Council
