News – Page 33 – Mundford Parish Council

Chairman’s Report Jan’14

Mundford Parish Councillors

Did you know that your Parish Councillors are not paid for any of the duties they undertake? When we are carrying out tasks around the village, such as bulb planting, putting up the Christmas tree, litter picks or occasional clearance of areas etc., this is all our own time which we give up unpaid. If anyone wants clarification of payments made by the Council, just go on our website (address below) and follow the links to the Minutes, then Finance Section, where you can find all payments made for that month.

Parish Council Meeting – 9^th January 2014

Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all, from Mundford Parish Council.

The Council would like to welcome our new Clerk, Mrs Pauline Angus. Pauline will be working from the Parish Council office on Swaffham Road, and intends to work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.00am – 2.00pm (this is subject to change, depending on meetings and other factors). If a resident needs to speak with the Clerk in person, please telephone for an appointment on 01842 879152.

Chairman’s Report

During Public Participation, the roundabout flooding problems were discussed. We are told by Highways that the work is still incomplete and will be finished soon.

The Parish Council have had a positive response to the new LED street lights in parts of the village in which they have been replaced. At the time of writing, we have had just one resident who wasn’t happy, and one of the issues they had has been resolved. This replacement programme will continue at the rate of one per month, firstly in The Lammas area. The lights we are replacing are obsolete, and in some cases our street lighting contractor has advised us they need replacing as soon as possible.

During Matters Arising, the land down Pig Stye Lane was discussed. This land was kindly left to the Parish Council by the late Miss Mary-Ann Turner. There are three allotments on the site at the moment, and the Council is going to offer a further six allotments for residents. These will be quite small, but easier to manage than traditional quarter-acre plots.

Overall, the Christmas tree on the green received a good response from residents. However, there were a few suggestions on how to improve things in future years. We will take these comments on board. This was the first time a Christmas tree has been on the green (as far as we know), so we have learned a few things for future years.

The meeting closed at 10.00pm.

Stefan Eyres

The Chairman’s report is a brief account of some of the items discussed at the P. C. meeting. For a more in depth account, go to the meetings page where you can read the minutes and much more.

Six New Allotments

The late Miss Mary-Ann Turner left some land along Pig Stye Lane to the Parish and this is to be used for six new allotments available for a small annual rent to residents of Mundford. The Parish Council invite interested households to apply.

Terms, Conditions and Application Procedure

The rent for each allotment is £10.00 per year
All applications must be made in writing and should include your name, full address and telephone number
You can apply by email (using the contact form) or by letter dropped into the Parish Council Office, 2a Swaffham Road
No phone call applications will be accepted
The deadline for all applications is Friday 28th February 2014
These allotmens are for Mundford residents only
Only one application per household is allowed

Selection Procedure and What Happens Next

All names will be put into a hat and drawn at the Parish Council meeting of 6th March by County Councillor Ian Monson
The successful applicants will be given a contract to fill out along which should be returned with payment by cash or cheque to the Clerk at the Parish Council Office, 2a Swaffham Road

Stanta Ops 13-Jan-14

Stanta issue a regular operations training live firing and air activity notice. Read the issue for 13-19 January 2014.

Parish Clerk’s Report Dec ’13

As you may have read in this newsletter I am leaving my position as Clerk to the Parish Council. I have thoroughly enjoyed my years on the Council and have met and spoken to so many lovely people in and out of the village in this role. I originally started on the Council in 2003 and then had a break in 2007/8 while I launched my village publication that some of you may remember which was called ‘Speak Up Magazine’. The birth to my forth child meant I just no longer had the time necessary to continue to produce the magazine, and I was lucky enough to be offered the position of clerk again in 2009 and have thrown myself into the role for the last 4 years. I have been very fortunate to be involved with a very pro-active council and one that cares about their residents. I hope that if you have spoken to me about an issue you were concerned about, or had a request for the council, that I have dealt with your issue promptly and with care and attention, as I always tried to give the best advice possible.

I will continue to help out with litter picks and be a volunteer of the friends of the village, and I am a Governor at the Primary School so I will still be active round the village.

Thank you to all those that have supported me in my role over the years, and the lovely messages I have received from residents wishing me well for the future. I would like to say a big thank you to my councillors for their support and friendship and I’m sure that will continue.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year, hopefully 2014 will bring luck and prosperity to us all!!

Fran

Parish Clerk Vacancy

Mundford Parish Council

Vacancy

Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer

Mundford Parish Council is looking for an enthusiastic, organised, self motivated and personable individual to take over the role of Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer from the current post-holder as soon as possible.

The successful applicants must have basic accounting skills, and be computer literate with knowledge of Excel, Word & the Internet.

The Parish Council holds 12 public meetings a year. Main responsibilities include: preparation of Agenda in consultation with the Chair, and posting on the village notice board, attendance at meetings and production and circulation of minutes, attendance at other meetings as and when required, advising the Council on its statutory responsibilities, ensuring all councillors are informed of communications to the Council and dealing with the same as per the Council’s instructions, implementation of the policies and the instructions of the Councils, maintenance of accounts and preparations of cheques, preparations of budgets and financial reports, preparation of annual accounts for audit purposes, operating PAYE & RTI systems in accordance with HMRC requirements, submission of Council comments on planning applications, posting information onto the website. In addition the Clerk will manage allotments that are soon to be in the Council’s possession.

Previous experience as a Parish Clerk would be an advantage. Whilst they would preferably be CiLCA qualified and have a good understanding of Local Government procedures, training will be provided. The hours are 15 per week working either from the Parish Office or from home whichever suits the successful applicant. Salary will be paid in accordance to experience and in line with the National Joint Salary Scale, which will between SCP16-SCP23 (£8.63-£10.60 per hour) depending on experience. Deadline for applications is 10th December 2013, interviews will take place on an individual basis.

To register an interest please contact Mr Stefan Eyres (Chair) on 07980 367879 or the Clerk, Fran Brown on 01842 879130 or using the contact form on the left. Applicants will be asked to supply a relevant CV.

Spring Bulb Planting 2013

On a damp day on Saturday 19th October, 14 volunteers helped to plant a significant amount of daffodil and crocus bulbs around the village. This project has been a huge success over the years with many people commenting on the beautiful daffodils as they drive through our village. Hopefully in the spring of 2014 we will have an even bigger display. Thank you to all those that volunteered.

Parish Clerk’s Report Oct’13

Anti-social Behaviour and Crime in Mundford

As mentioned in the Chairman’s report, there have been a quite a few incidents of anti-social behaviour in Mundford recently. Some may think eggs being thrown at windows is kids just having fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but the Council disagree. People can feel intimidated and scared, and often think they are being targeted. I have had a meeting with our local PCSO from Thetford and she is aware of the current issues in Mundford, however she made clear that it is important for people to report incidents to the Police on the 101 number as soon as they happen. This gives them a clear picture on what is happening in the village and may mean we get more Police presence in the village.

The Council are also disappointed to report that there has been a burglary in Swaffham Road recently. We are fortunate that Mundford has a very low crime rate, and we live in a lovely area, however we cannot afford to be complacent and if anyone sees anything they feel is suspicious please report this to the 101 number. I personally had my bicycle stolen from outside my house in early October and I reported this to the Police immediately. They were very thorough, and gave me some good advice for the future.

Community Speedwatch

I am delighted to say that enough volunteers have come forward to allow the Community Speedwatch scheme to go ahead. At the time of this going to press a meeting has taken place with the volunteers and a PCSO from the Safer Neighbourhood Team at Thetford to discuss the way forward with this project. A risk assessment will take place on the sites suggested for the speedwatch team and volunteers have been asked to complete security check forms. We are hopeful that this scheme will begin monitoring traffic speeds in December. I will ensure regular updates are mentioned in the newsletter. Thank you to those that have come forward to help, but there is still time to join the group! Please contact me at the below number if you are interested.

Website

The Mundford Parish Council Website www.mundfordparishcouncil.co.uk is regularly being updated and the Council would love you to have a look! There is plenty of interesting information on there for you to read and photos to look at, as well as Parish Council news and events in the village. Mundford resident Carol Lewis was a winner of our Pride of Mundford award in October and a photo of this plus previous winners are on the website. There are new photos of the village on the site and we are currently working on updating the home page. If you have any suggestions for the website or would like to add anything then please contact me and I will forward this to the Council.

Radio Norfolk Treasure Quest

On Sunday 4th August 2013, Mundford was chosen to be a location for one of the clues on Radio Norfolk’s Treasure Quest programme. The Parish Council were very keen to help Radio Norfolk with their task, and were told to not give the presenter any direct help when they come to find the clue and they have to find it by solving the previous clue with the help from listeners. The Council were also told to avoid telling too many people about the event in advance as they wanted to keep things as secret as possible!

Their presenter Julie Reinger came to Mundford quite late on in the programme due to previous difficulty with other clues, but thankfully quickly found the clue which was placed on the Jubilee Flower Bed. Unfortunately she did not have time to speak with anyone from the Council so Radio Norfolk called back after the end of the programme to speak with Evelyn Goad a long term resident of the village who was instrumental in the Jubilee Flower Bed project.

Below are photos of the visit from Radio Norfolk, plus two radio clips from the day.

Radio clip of Julie’s progress to Mundford (3m 56s) listen

Radio clip of Evelyn talking about the Jubilee flower bed (3m 02s) listen

Carol Receives Mundford Pride Award

Congratulations to Mrs Carol Lewis. She received her Mundford Pride Award from Stefan Eyres (Parish Council Chairman) at the October meeting. She was nominated by the Over 60’s Group.

About the Mundford Pride Scheme

The Mundford Pride Scheme was created back in the summer of 2007 as the Parish Council were keen to keep the community together, and appreciate the unsung heroes of the village.

This scheme is dedicated to residents of the village, and to recognise those handful of people that do something wonderful for their village, whether it is helping the elderly, making or donating gifts to village organisations, picking up litter and other jobs that help keep the village tidy or being instrumental in projects that help shape the village or any other genuine act of kindness or generosity to others.

For anyone to receive the award, they have to be nominated by other residents of the village. Once more than three residents have nominated a particular resident the Council will then consider the resident for an award. If the resident is successful then they are invited to a Parish Council meeting and then presented with the award. The successful resident will be presented with a trophy, certificate and a cheque for £50.

Download a pdf about the scheme with names of past winners. View photos of past winners.

Aerial Views, Summer of 2013

This summer, Parish Council Chairman, Stefan Eyres, had the opportunity to use a cherry-picker to take some aerial photos of the village from the roundabout.