SHOTESHAM PARISH COUNCIL.
Becmead, Shotesham St Mary, NR15 1UJ    
01508550358     shoteshampc.clerk@outlook.com

 Minutes of the meeting held at the Trinity at 7.00pm on Tuesday May 12th 2026 for the purpose of transacting the following business.

 Consideration of … Planning Application 2026/1040

• Members supported the application
• The house is situated within the Conservation Area of the village and the planning team were asked to ensure every effort is made to made to match the bricks used, the windows and doors and the roof tiles.

J K Gough, The Clerk.

Followed by – Your opportunity to get to know your Parish Council

The Parish Clerk
The parish clerk is the chief officer and “proper officer” of a local council, providing independent, objective, and professional advice while implementing council decisions. As the sole paid employee in many councils, they ensure legal compliance, manage administration, handle finances as the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).

Key Responsibilities

• Legal & Advisory: Advises the council on legal matters, standing orders, and procedural propriety to ensure decisions are lawful.
• Administration: Prepares agendas, attends meetings, drafts minutes, and manages correspondence.
• Financial (RFO Role): Manages the council’s budget, maintains accounts, processes invoices, prepares for audits, and handles VAT.
• Implementation: Executes the decisions, projects, and policies adopted by the council.
• Community & Liaison: Acts as the main point of contact for residents, liaises with higher-tier local authorities, and manages public assets..e.g. War memorial/Village sign etc

Key Aspects of the Role

• Accountability: The clerk is accountable to the council as a corporate body, not to individual councillors or the chair.
• Status: While they may be part-time or work from home, they play a vital, high-responsibility role in ensuring transparent governance.

Planning in Shotesham – Jim Webber

For a small village, we see a lot of planning applications…that is because much of the village is part of the Conservation Area where stricter planning rules apply both for new houses and for changes and extensions to existing properties. In planning terms Shotesham is not a “sustainable village” – meaning that it has few facilities (no doctors, schools or shops) and most residents rely on private cars for their everyday needs. National and local planning policy prefers development in more sustainable locations – such as towns and larger villages with decent bus services.

Over the last year there have been 10 residential applications and around 11 applications for tree works in the conservation area.

Only one of the residential applications was for a new house on Priory Lane. Members of the Parish Council spoke to affected residents and discussed the application at a formal meeting. The Council objected to the application, which was rejected by South Norfolk Council. Please note that the Parish is only a consultee on applications – decisions are made by South Norfolk.

We consider most applications at a formal Parish Council meeting, and may support, object or simply say no comment. Objections would be limited to cases where the council considered there would be a material impact on neighbours or on the character of the village and the surrounding countryside. We welcome residents sharing their views with us on planning matters – either at a PC meeting or, more informally, outside of the meeting.

Can I also note that the appeal to build a large new house at Willow View Farm on Brooke Road was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate last Autumn. It is pleasing to se that both South Norfolk Council and the Planning Inspectors continue to take a robust line against building in the countryside.

Probably the biggest planning issue at present is the East Pye Solar Farm proposal. As a Parish Council, we support the Block East Pye group. We also work closely with the Shotesham Block East Pye Group to lobbying against the unnecessary and completely inappropriate use of fields at the end of Market Lane for solar panels. To date, the campaigning has led to a reduction in the scale of the development at Market Lane. None the less, we remain fundamentally against the use of this important site for solar and will be formally responding to the Planning Inspectorate.

Finally, can I note that South Norfolk Council, with Broadland and Norwich City Councils, are starting to review the Greater Norwich Local Plan. A call for sites for 10 or more houses closed in March – this could result in sites in Shotesham being considered – and an initial draft of the new plan should be open for consultation in 2027. 

Footpaths update…Christine Burton (in absentia)

*Action needed

*Footpath 1
    This footpath crosses the common so it is difficult to see a path. A couple of simple round posts would help to indicate the direction of the path.
Stile on Skeets Hill is fine but the signpost is wobbly
Stile on The Common definitely needs replacing.
   
    *Footpath 2
    Sign on gate illegible
    Maidens Lane From butchers up to chicken farm good except path partially washed away and very stony     
    on steeper part.

*Footpath 3
    Route currently clear. Need to ensure path maintained as crop grows. One wobbly post at junction with Naidens Lane.

*Footpath 4
    Path clearly defined. No footpath sign on junction with Brooke Road.

Footpath 5
    Good.

*Footpath 6
    Junction with FP7, 2 signs missing off the post.
    Sign next to bench in Stubbs green field rotted at bottom.
    Junction with FP 5 , there is no sign as you pass through hedge.
    In fact Stubbs Green can be confusing to visitors as 4 paths converge here and not sufficient signage.

Footpath 7
    Good. Missing sign replaced.

Footpath 8
    Good. It was felt the signage was a little confusing.

Footpath 9
    Good.

Footpath 10
    Good.

 

Footpath 11
    Good.

*Footpath 12
    No sign off Roger’s Lane.

*Footpath 14
    Good. Signpost coming up from Wash Lane needs replacing.
 
*Footpath 15
    Good. Sign  needs replacing half way along.
   
*Footpath 16
    No sign to Market Lane at Little Wood junction.
    Passes through field which has been sown with wild flowers . There is no clear path. It needs to be strimmed. Maybe a job for conservation group with landowners permission?

*Footpath 17
    Boudicca Way sign needs replacing… at junction with Wash Lane.

*Footpath 18
    Path clearly defined from south end .Signpost in need of attention.
    No sign at junction with FP16.No discernible path at Northen end and no sign as you come through the hedge
   
*Footpath 19
    This path is in need of general maintenance. Wooden bridge is rotting..unsafe.
    2 signposts caught up in brambles and barbed wire.
    Sign rotten at junction with Market Lane.

Footpath 20
    Good.

Footpath 21
   Sign off road obscured by vegetation. Way through not visible. Issue not resolved yet.

Footpath 22
    Good.

Footpath being reinstated to Market Lane off Footpath 16.

 

Shotesham has two publicly accessible defibrillators – Telephone box and here at the Trinity.

These can help save a life during a sudden cardiac arrest – an electrical problem where the heart stops beating properly.

Anyone can use one — you do not need medical training.

What a Defibrillator Does – Slim Dinsdale

AED — Automated External Defibrillator

It analyses the heart rhythm, and, if needed, gives an electric shock to try to restart a normal rhythm. The machine talks you through every step. It will NOT deliver a shock unless one is needed, so you cannot accidentally shock someone.

If there is an Emergency….
Call 999 for an ambulance immediately.
Ask the operator for the code to access the defibrillator – members of the PC, and the pub also have the code.
Whilst awaiting the defibrillator, start CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)
Attach the pads to the person’s bare chest as shown in the diagrams and follow the spoken instructions
Continue CPR until paramedics arrive

In summary

In an emergency:  Call 999: Start CPR: Use the defibrillator

Do not be afraid to use it.
You cannot make the situation worse.
The machine guides you throughout.
Doing nothing is the greatest risk.
As well as yourself, encourage family members and neighbours to learn basic CPR – Shotesham PC.

• The Chairman emphasised that the cost of such replacement pads came out of the precept…….

The Common…..Notes from Sara Webber..see below

Shotesham Common Charity
Shotesham Common comprises about 53 acres, of which 4 acres are at Stubbs Green.

Much of the land in the parish had already been enclosed by the time the Common, as we know it, was created by a private Enclosure Act in 1781. The details of the enclosure were set out in the 1781 Shotesham Award. The land was held in Trust and gave the residents of 68 specified Cottages the right to apply to hire a ‘Going’. Hiring a Going meant a Cottager could graze one horse, or one cow, or four sheep or various other combinations of animal on the Common. About 6 acres of land could be used for cutting and taking firewood. Any surplus income, after all the costs of maintaining the Common, was to be used for the benefit of the poor residents of the parish.

By the 1920’s, with very little income being generated, the Parish Council applied for a new Scheme to manage the Common, although along similar lines to the original Award, and registered the Common as a Charity with the Charity Commission. The new Scheme was established in March 1929.

The main object of the charity continued to be that any surplus income should be used for the benefit of poor parishioners, not in receipt of Poor-law relief. The Trustees could make any payments “in such a way as they consider most advantageous to the recipients and most conducive to the formation of provident habits.”

The 1929 Scheme set out that there were to be 6 Trustees. As in the 1781 Award, two are “ex-officio” ie they are appointed as Trustees because of their ‘office’. Thus, one is the current Lord of the Manor and the other is the Vicar of the parish. The 4 other Trustees are appointed by Shotesham Parish Council, being the elected representatives of the community. However, the Trustees of the Common are legally a separate body and are fully responsible for the management of the Common.

 

The Trustees are appointed for a 4 year term but can be re-appointed. Sara Webber is the newest Trustee, having been appointed in April 2025 after a notice of the vacancy in the ‘Contact’ magazine. She replaced Bob Harris, who stepped down after serving as an excellent treasurer for over 20 years.

The 1960 Charities Act required the Shotesham Common Charity to be registered, with the Registration Number 247582. It continues to be governed by the 1929 Scheme.

After the Commons Registration Act 1965, Shotesham Common was registered on the national Register of Common Land. The ownership of the Common vests in the 6 Trustees, on behalf of the Common Charity. No rights were claimed or registered over any part of the Common.

The small income which the Common received from letting out the grazing could never cover the costs of maintenance of the ditches, drainage, fencing, weed control, the pond etc. Over the years, the Parish Council has had to provide grants and the Shotesham Estate and others have helped with labour and equipment.

However, in 1987 the Common was designated as an SSSI (a Site of Special Scientific Interest) and in the 1990s it also qualified for Government grants under the ESA (Environmentally Sensitive Areas) Scheme. The Common’s main source of income is now from grants of around £8,500 from DEFRA, mainly under the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme, providing the Trustees comply with the detailed criteria for managing the Common.

Unfortunately, it is not certain how long these grants will continue, and the normal annual cost of maintaining the Common is usually about the same as the income, before any extra costs such as the new cattle grid or pond dredging.

However, as there is now a reserve of funds, any parishioner in need of one-off financial assistance is invited to apply in writing to the Secretary of the Trustees, Mrs Bernie Fenn, Flora cot, The Common, Shotesham NR15 1YQ or by email floracot@btinternet.com.

Playing Field …Kim Dyke

• We continue to have the use of The Playing Field on The Street Shotesham. This field belongs to local farmer Mr D Kidner and has historically been rented from him by the Parish Council for more than 40 years.
• We are grateful to have this as a village facility. It is the responsibility of the Parish Council to maintain this area. The grass is cut by Norse 2-3 times yearly paid for through the Parish Council.
• The field is generally in good condition if somewhat marred by multiple rabbit holes.
• There is a gate which is always locked but there is a side entrance/gap. The key is available from myself (Kim Dyke) or the Parish clerk.
• The field can be used by everyone and is a great facility to have for gatherings. In particular it can be used for parking, weddings, funerals, christenings or any event you are having at your home where you might need parking space to keep cars off the road. A good example is ….the field will be in full action over the garden open weekend when it will be the village carpark’
• Many people use the field to walk their dogs and there is a dog refuse bin on the gate entrance. If we could ask you to use the dog bin to keep the area clean for other users to enjoy.

Speed-sign

The PC has always been concerned about the occasional car and its speed through the village

Some years ago a ‘speed’ recorder was bought for village use. .

It is placed at one of the many entry points to Shotesham …the site moving every so many weeks.

It was moved to a new site on Rogers Lane after a request by a resident who was concerned about excess entry speeds.  The site will now become part of the agreed sites

The machine will need replacing soon but can only be done with a substantial grant …..that will be researched to find an available source od funds