- Present Virtually via Zoom:
- Councillors Clive Hawkins (CH) (Chairman), Ed Walsh (EW), Diane Donat (DD), Clive Morris (CM), Richard Morris (RM), Stephen Russell (SR), David Smith (DS) and District Councillor Richard Meyer
Public Forum
- None
- County Councillor Jane Storey – email report tabled and circulated.
- District Councillor Richard Meyer tabled his report which had been circulated. Councillor Meyer wanted to highlight that the Police Commissioner had published his report and survey for the coming year and encouraged everyone to individually respond to the survey. He also announced that the Home Alone service had been ramped up during this lockdown period. Garden waste (brown bins) had been suspended during the current crisis in order for the Council’s services to be redeployed where necessary.
Apologies
None.
Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
- Councillor Donat re 6.5.
Minutes
- The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 9 December 2020 had previously been circulated. It was resolved that these were an accurate record of the meeting and signed accordingly.
- None.
Clerk’s Report and Correspondence
- The Clerk had received a letter from Norton Pre School requesting funds to purchase a new portacabin for their use as their existing one was now not fit for purpose. After discussion it was agreed to donate £250 towards this vital project. The Clerk will communicate with the Clerk at Norton PC. Unanimously approved.
- The Clerk had received a letter from Ipswich BMX Club requesting donations towards a new track and clubhouse. After discussion the Councillors decided not to offer a donation to this project. It was felt that our funds would be better used to continue to provide improvements and facilities for our own residents and village.
- Badwell Broadsheet – a question was posed as to whether this facility was still needed in this technology driven environment. It was decided that there were still sufficient people within the village who did not have computers and still enjoyed reading a hard copy of the Broadsheet, therefore no plans to change the status quo at present.
- The Clerk and Chairman had had sight of the new draft website being constructed on behalf of the village. The project was going well although there was much work still to be done before it went live as the existing website was badly out of date and much of the content would have to be rewritten. A further update would be forthcoming when the launch date was imminent.
Environment
- The Parish Council had received a generous donation, via a Locality Grant, from Councillor Richard Meyer which would be put towards the intended purchase of three solar speed indicator devices for the village. It was hoped that these would become a reality within the next few months and help control the speeding traffic through the village.
- The trash screen cover in the Richer Road culvert has at last been replaced covering the 4-foot diameter culvert entrance which has been such a health and safety concern for many months. The water flows unimpeded through the ditches and drains as normal but there is now no danger of losing a dog or a child into the fast-flowing culvert under Richer Road.
- Suffolk County Council has attended to various potholes in Back Lane and Willow Close for which residents will be grateful not to suffer further damages to their car tyres.
- We are getting closer to having our proposition approved for solar powered SIDs erected on the three arterial roads leading into the village. Suffolk County Council are in the process of confirming the siting of the three poles for these devices and, once agreed, an order will be placed for the solar SIDs. The Councillors unanimously approved this order and course of action.
- The damaged pavement at the bottom of Austin Close had been repaired by Suffolk County Council at the request of the Parish Council. The Clerk has now written to all the residents of Austin Close asking them to honour their side of the agreement to have the surface of the private road (Austin Close) resurfaced as soon as possible in order to protect the pavement from being damaged with loose stones and debris. The Parish Council is waiting to hear back from the residents as to when this is planned.
Planning
- Progress of recent planning applications as follows: DC/20/05326 Juniper Cottage, Back Lane, Badwell Ash IP31 3DW – PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED.
Finance and Policies
- The Councillors considered the issue of the following payments:
- £271.67 – Salaries December
- £352.43 – Vertas clearing of outfield at Village Hall
- £30.00 – playground fence strimming
- £22.50 – Badwell Broadsheet for December
- £245.80 – HMRC Q3 tax
- £62.39 – Clerk’s expenses
- The Clerk had collated information from MSDC and the Police and other suppliers regarding the intended price increases from April 2021. The Police proposed an increase of 6%, MSDC proposed an increase of 1.97% and other suppliers quoted various rates around 2%-3%. There followed discussion amongst the Parish Councillors culminating with them voting for 3% rise for the precept of the Parish Council from April 2021. This would give the Parish Council adequate funds to continue with village improvements in the coming year. The Clerk would communicate its decision to MSDC by the end of January as specified. It was unanimously resolved that this course of action was correct.
Next Meeting
Dates of Parish Council Meetings for 2021 – 2nd Wednesday of the month.
10 Feb; 10 March; 14 April; 12 May; 9 June; 14 July; 8 Sept; 13 Oct; 10 Nov; 8 Dec.
Carole Rose, Parish Clerk
14 January 2021