Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council

Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council held on Monday, 15
May 2023 at 7pm in the All Saints Parish Hall, Scratby.
In Attendance: –
Councillors P Nathan, A Grant, J Rundle, S Calnon, G Freeman, J Gingell, P Holley, J Shrimplin, K
Wendt & C Fraser (RFO).
Councillor Grant presented Councillor Shrimplin with a framed certificate celebrating the award of
Freedom of the Parish marking his long service of 50+ years to the Parish Council. Councillor
Shrimplin thanked the Parish Councillors for all their help and support over the years and that he
was proud to have served the ward of Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby as both a Councillor and
Parish Councillor for many years.
Councillor Wendt informed the meeting that all Councillors had completed the required
confirmation of Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
1. Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Councillor Grant asked for nominations for the position of Chairman.
A Resolution to hold a vote on a show of hands and to dispense with 3(f) of the Standing Orders
concerning the Chair’s discretion to hold a secret ballot was proposed and seconded and agreed by a
unanimous vote.
Councillor Nathan was proposed by Councillor Freeman & seconded by Councillor Wendt for the
position of Chair of Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council.
Following a unanimous vote, it was resolved that Councillor Nathan be elected as Chair for the
2023/24 municipal year of Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council.
Councillor Nathan hereby assumed the Chair and thanked the outgoing Chair, Councillor Grant for all
his hard work and support during his chairmanship. Councillor Nathan presented Councillor Grant
with a small token of appreciation from the Parish Council to mark the occasion.
Councillor Nathan requested nominations for the position of Vice Chair.
Councillor Wendt was proposed by Councillor Calnon and seconded by Councillor Holley for the
position of Vice Chairman of Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council.
Following a unanimous vote, it was resolved that Councillor Wendt be elected as Vice Chair for the
2023/24 municipal year for Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council.
2. Apologies for absence
There were no apologies for absence given at the meeting.
3. Declarations of Interest
Councillors Freeman & Nathan reported a personal interest as they were trustees of All Saints Village
Hall and had submitted expenses for payment. Councillor Wendt declared a personal interest as she
had submitted expenses for payment.
The Chair moved to suspend the council meeting. This was proposed by Councillor Shrimplin and
seconded by Councillor Freeman.
4. Public Participation Forum
(i) Mr Andrew Taylor addressed the Parish Council. A copy of his address is attached to the minutes.
Mr Taylor asked the Parish Council for assistance in this matter.
Councillor Freeman reported some background information to the council and that it would be
prudent to begin a fact-finding session to locate the legal documents pertaining to this matter. The
Chair agreed that the issue was bigger than one meeting and that following the fact-finding mission
a meeting be held with Mr Taylor and all other interested parties to reach the best solution for the
road.
(ii) A member of the public asked for an update regarding the grit bins for Scratby. The Chairman
reported that he would chase this up with County Councillor Bensly.
It had been noticed that County Councillor Bensly had not attended a meeting for several months.

The Chair reported that Councillor Bensly would have been in attendance this evening but
unfortunately this meeting had clashed with Hemsby PC meeting which he was required to attend.
The Chair reconvened the meeting.
5. Approve minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 17th April 2023
The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2023 were confirmed as a true record.
Proposed by Councillor Shrimplin
Seconded by Councillor Holley
It was noted that these minutes would need to be signed off by the former Chair, Councillor Grant.
6. Borough Councillor’s Reports
The Parish Council received and considered the report which was submitted by Councillor Freeman.
Councillor Freeman reported the salient issues contained in his report to the Parish Council.
The Parish Council noted the report for information only.
7. County Councillor’s Report
The Parish Council received and considered the report from County Councillor Bensly.
The Parish Council noted the report for information only.
8. Finance Report
The Parish Council received and considered the finance report from Claire Fraser RFO.
The Parish Council considered the schedule of invoices and payments and the requested bank
transfer as detailed in appendix 2 of the report.
Claire Fraser informed the Parish Council that there were 7 invoices ready to be despatched which
she would pass to the Chair. There was an issue with unspent grant funding regarding the
Neighbourhood Plan. Councillor Freeman was aware, and this would be actioned.
Claire Fraser had had an initial meeting with a prospective Internal Auditor, and she asked the Parish
Council permission to appoint them as approved in the minutes of the last meeting, whereby the
appointment of an auditor had been approved in principle but not in name. The Chair requested
their name, further information, and value of the contract. The Chair suggested that this be taken
offline, discussed and approved by the Parish Councillors.
The schedule of invoices and payments and the requested bank transfer as detailed in appendix 2 of
the report was proposed by Councillor Freeman and seconded by Councillor Wendt and following a
vote, it was agreed.
Claire Fraser informed the Parish Council that there were two potential invoices for sundry items to
be received for the amounts of £190 and £150 in connection to the upkeep of the defibrillator. The
Chair agreed to contact the person concerned and to obtain the required information in relation to
the invoices in writing.
The F & GP minutes were noted by the Parish Council.
9. To note the Planning Application and to comment to Great Yarmouth Borough Council in
the capacity of consultee.
06/23/0255/F Development: Proposed demolition of existing buildings and construction of 5 no. two
storey dwellings with associated parking and site works. Location: 4 West Road Ormesby St
Margaret Great Yarmouth NR29.
Councillor Freeman outlined the planning application to the Parish Council. The Parish Council were
unanimous that the proposed development was featureless boxes which would be completely out of
character in the Conservation Area. The application for 5 properties was also deemed
overdevelopment of the site. Councillor Freeman reported that the Parish Council was not against
the development, but it needed to be sympathetic to the Conservation Area and fit in with the
existing street scene. Councillor Freeman was concerned that there were no garages proposed and
that 11 parking spaces were planned to front directly onto West Road which would give the
appearance of a car park. Councillor Freeman reported that the Council had adopted Design Codes
to ensure quality development within the Borough and that the Millview Development in the village
was a good example of a sympathetic development.
Councillor Holley asked regarding the planning history on the site.

Councillor Freeman read out a letter to the Parish Council detailing his objections to the application.
The Chair proposed that the letter be used as a benchmark and be built upon by other Parish
Councillors and members of the public prior to be submitted to the Borough Council as the Parish
Council’s response. The letter would then be published on the website and would include necessary
links to the planning documents on the Borough Council website. This information would also be
available to view in the Village Centre and Telephone Box. It was suggested that this should be
available to view in the Garden Café which was open to the public on a Friday to ensure that the
information was dissimilated as widely as possible in the villages.
The Parish Council agreed that this was the best way forward.
10. Sea Defences, Scratby
Councillor Freeman gave an update to the Parish Council.
Councillor Wendt raised concerns regarding the large, rusted structure which was on the beach
where the Esplanade met the Promenade which was a health and safety risk and needed to be
removed prior to the summer season. Councillor Freeman had reported this issue but would chase
up as a matter of urgency.
The Parish Council noted the update.
11. Insurance Renewal
The Chair explained that the buildings insurance expired in the next 2/3 weeks and highlighted the
need for the insurance values to be re-looked at to ensure that we were not under-insured to meet
current re-build costs. The insurance would need to be sorted before the next meeting, two or three
quotes would be obtained and approval from all Parish Councillors would be sought via email and
payment approved at the next meeting.
This was agreed by the Parish Council.
12. Date & Time of next meeting
The next meeting would be held on Monday, 12 June 2023 at 7pm in the Village Centre, Ormesby St
Margaret.
13. Appoint Councillors to Committees and Advisory Groups
The Chair reported that in line with the Parish Council’s Standing Orders, he was aware that
everything was not in place last year regarding the Committees and Advisory Groups. The Chair
highlighted that there were 8 Councillors to fill 5 Committees and therefore, Councillors should
consider their skills and interests. 3 core members were needed on each. A copy of the Committee
and Advisory Groups would be circulated via email to all Councillors to consider, complete and
return. Personnel, Burial Ground & F & GP must be a committee due to financial implications and
accountability and all others are Advisory Groups.
Committees
Personnel – Calnon, Holley, Wendt
Burial Ground – Calnon, Freeman, Gingell
F & GP – Freeman, Nathan, Shrimplin.
Working Parties
Planning
Open Spaces – Holley, Nathan, Shrimplin
Neighbourhood Plan –
Allotments – Freeman, Nathan, Shrimplin
Proposed by Councillor Nathan and seconded by Councillor Shrimplin and following a vote, the
above nominations were agreed.
Councillor Wendt highlighted the possibility of co-options onto the Advisory Groups, for example,
Bob Hill had undertaken a lot of good work the last year regarding the Burial Grounds.
Councillor Wendt advised that the declaration for Chair and Vice Chair had been signed and
countersigned by Claire Fraser RFO.
The Chair asked that the Councillors consider a 3-year project plan and what needs to be included to
produce a robust long-term agenda for the Parish Council.

The Chair reported that National Coastwatch had not been considered as their plans needed more
meat on the bones.
The Parish Council needed 2 more Parish Councillors – 1 for Scratby & 1 For Ormesby St Margaret. If
members of the public are interested, they should contact [email protected] in the first
instance.
The meeting closed at 20:39.