A Special General Meeting of  Acle Social Club
was held on Monday 30th January 2012
AGENDA

1) To propose a vote of no confidence in the current Social Club Committee.

2) The appointment of an interim Social Club Committee to run affairs until the next Annual General Meeting of the  Club.

From the meeting.

The Recreation Hall was packed for the meeting. When the meeting opened, members were told that the existing committee had resigned en-bloc ahead of the vote of no confidence. The meeting decided to go ahead with the vote however, and this was carried.

A new committee was appointed as follows:

Patrick Beales - Chairman
Andy Mann - Vice - Chairman
Norman Thurtle - Treasurer
Steve Humphries - Secretary
Tony Stacey
Denis Goodley
Andy Ellson
Brian Jones
Ron Taylor
John Godsafe
William Moore
Robert Monument

The meeting closed around 8.15pm

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Notes  from Parish Council Meeting on Monday 30th January     

Please note Acle Parish Council is frequently abbreviated to APC

Resignation of two Parish Councillors.
Resignation letters had been received from the Chairman Diane Fisher, and Barry Brooks. In her letter of resignation, Mrs Fisher claimed that over the past nine months she had been victimised over issues at the social club, and had received an anonymous letter saying she was unfit to be a parish councillor. Mr Brooks said he was experiencing “on-going stress from unsubstantiated allegations made against him,” concerning the social club. Accepting their resignations with regret, the council agreed that both had been the victims of disgraceful actions.

The resignation was also received by email from a third parish councillor, but this was quickly withdrawn and accepted. Once a parish Councillor’s resignation has been submitted it cannot normally be withdrawn. However, the PC had taken advice and checked local government regulations. It established that in this instance the resignation was invalid because it had not been submitted in writing, signed, and sent to the Chairman. The Council agreed that this should be policy for APC in the future. The Councillor said he had resigned without proper thought and apologised to the Council.

Local election or co-opt
The resignations could prompt a by-election in respect of the vacancies. Requests for a by-election must be sent to Broadland District Council within 14 days. APC would have to bear the full cost of a by-election if that were held, and turnout is normally very low, perhaps only 20%. The alternative is to co-opt parishioners on to the council until the next full election. 

Norfolk Scams Awareness Month
A Norfolk County Council caravan will be on the Rec Centre car park from 9.30 – 11.30am on Thursday 23^rd February, to advise people about Norfolk Scams Awareness Month.  There is a NCC scams website and you can elect to receive email alerts of any current scams. (I intend to include any current scams on this web-site). 

Children’s Play Area
Lana Hempsall gave a report on the progress of the children’s play area improvements. She said that a list of equipment had been prepared and a budget formed.  APC will have to fund 40% or £20,000 of the total cost. A list has also been prepared of who should be approached for the remainder of the funding.

Anglian Water Repairs
It had been noted that the road outside the Carpet Shop in the village centre has already started to subside following repairs to a water main. The Clerk will report it to Anglian Water.

Theft of Motor home
Parish Beat Officer Paul McAllister reported that on 26^th January a motor home had been stolen from a property on South Walsham Road. 

Youth Club
Malika Steed reported on the first weekly Acle Youth Club which was held last Tuesday. It was attended by 6 young people aged 11 – 17 years. There is a one-off £2.00 membership fee plus a £1.00 drop in charge.

Springfield Land
The Council discussed the possible types of housing that could be included on the Springfield land. The Council felt that different types of housing should be considered, however it felt that it should  have some affordable housing that the Parish could allocate to its own residents, as well as the regulated volume of affordable housing that would need to be made available to people within Broadland DC area.

Queens Jubilee
APC have received a £500 grant towards the Queens Golden Jubilee. Together with the APC grant there is now £1000 in the pot. More details of the events should hopefully be available soon. Acle Bridge Pub and Restaurant is planning to have a beacon installed for the Jubilee celebrations.

Young People Recreational Facilities
APC had tried to lease the land adjoining Horner’s Sale Yard, but the owners refused. They then approached Acle Parochial Church Council regarding the Clerk’s Piece in Damgate Lane. This land is opposite the industrial area at the far end of the lane. The Parochial Church Council was very happy to grant a long term lease to the Parish Council for this purpose.  The land covers .92 of an acre, and it is thought that it would be large enough to have a bike / skate board ramp, seats and a car parking area.  It was felt that noise should not be a problem due to the already present background noise from the A47. There is obviously a lot to be considered but APC made an initial £500 grant to cover clearing the land if things proceeded.

APC had received notification that the dualling of the A47 between Blofield and Burlingham has been cancelled.

The Parish Council is to produce a single sheet newsletter, to be included with the Acle Society Newsletter each quarter.

The Clubs and Associations, and the 2012  Acle Events pages have been mostly up-dated so please check that your club or event is included.

Herondale Employment Vacancies

Age UK Norfolk are looking for Care Staff to join their growing team at Herondale. There are permanent and bank (flexible working) care positions available. An open day is being held on Tuesday 7th February 2012, 10am - 3pm at  Herondale, Bridewell Lane, Acle, where you can find out more information. If you are unable to attend the open day, call 01603 785241 to request an application pack or visit www.ageuknorfolk.org.uk.

Queens Jubilee Celebrations 3rd June 2012.Up-date
The main event will be "the Big Lunch" to be held in the area surrounding the library from 1.00pm - 4.00pm with a bring your own lunch. Entertainment in a marquee has been arranged with the Acle Youth Orchestra, singers, line dancing and Mr Jugglefun.

Social Club Committee Special General Meeting
The Yare Room at the Recreation Centre had standing room only for a  Special General Meeting of the Social Club Committee on Tuesday 10th January. There was often very heated discussion about the running of the Social Club, and although the agenda suggested that the meeting would discuss a proposed takeover of the Social Club by the Recreation Centre Committee, this proved not to be the case.  The Bowls Club confirmed that it had no interest in taking over the Social Club for it's own purposes. I have requested a copy of the minutes for publication on this site, but I understand from the Chairman that they will not be  immediately available (13/1/12).

Superfast broadband
Are you fed up with the so so slow broadband in your area? Well, it does not matter if you are a silver surfer, teenage gamer, or social networker, demonstrate your annoyance by expressing an interest in superfast broadband, which could be coming to this area soon. You will be committing yourself to absolutely nothing, but if you "Say Yes" to the campaign, you can play your part in helping Norfolk to finally get better broadband. The campaign is being run by Norfolk County Council and the EDP. Full details on the linked information sheet from Norfolk County Council.                                                        

The Olympic Flame is coming to Acle on Thursday 5th July 2012. Angela Bishop is co-ordinating on behalf of the Parish Council.

Anti- social behaviour
In the five weeks since the recent Restorative Circle meetings in Acle, there has been a 63% reduction in phone calls reporting anti-social behaviour to the Police. See back-ground to this, lower down this page.