- Present
- Councillors Clive Hawkins (CH) (Chairman), Clive Morris (CM), Diane Donat (DD), Lesley Yates (LY), Ed Walsh (EW), Richard Morris (RM), Stephen Russell (SR). County Councillor Andy Mellen and District Councillor Richard Meyer.
Public Forum
One member of the public in attendance but no questions asked. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2022 and, despite having to wear masks, hoped that we would be able to conduct this evening’s business without difficulty.
The County Councillor had emailed his report ahead of the meeting which had been circulated.
The District Councillor had emailed his report ahead of the meeting which had been circulated. Councillor Meyer informed us that MSDC were likely to ask for a 3% annual rise on the Council Tax. There was a discussion about the merits of registering a building or village asset as an ACV (Asset of Community Value). The Clerk would research and bring the results of the findings to the next meeting.
Apologies
None.
Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
- Councillor Walsh re 7.2
- None.
Minutes
- The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 8 December 2021 had previously been circulated.
- Councillor R Morris was unhappy about the reporting of Items 6.1, 6.2 and 6.5 and felt that these items were inaccurate and had not been fully detailed in the Minutes. The Chairman allowed Councillor Morris to read out all his concerns but went on to advise the Parish Councillors that the Minutes were not intended to be a verbatim report of the discussions at a meeting otherwise the minutes would run to many pages which was neither desirable or viable. All of Councillor Morris’ items of concern were on the agenda again this evening and would be discussed and updated if relevant.
The Chairman also addressed Councillor Morris and Councillor Russell’s concerns that Parish Council minutes are published on noticeboards and our website before being ratified at a PC Meeting. He stated that the Clerk had never published minutes in draft form for general publication and had always followed the correct procedure.
Clerk’s Report and Correspondence
- Co-option of new Parish Councillor – The Chairman welcomed Mrs Lesley Yates to her first Parish Council Meeting. Mrs Yates would complete her co-option forms and the Clerk would return these to MSDC. The Chairman proposed the co-option which was unanimously approved.
- A letter had been received from a resident concerning a horse rider using the Green at St Mary’s Crescent to exercise her horse and was concerned for the state of the grass. Further investigation would be needed to establish the ownership of the green at St Mary’s Crescent before any remedial action could be proposed.
- Councillor R Morris had not had the opportunity to undertake further research on the publication and printing costs of the Broadsheet. He hoped that this would be completed within the next month or so. It was agreed to return this item to the Agenda again in a couple of months’ time.
- Following the Clerk’s correspondence with Cavell Cottage, the gutter and downpipe on Cavell Cottage had been renewed thereby avoiding surplus water flooding the village hall drive.
Environment
- Councillor R Morris wanted the available funds for the playground clarified. It was proposed that the surplus from Stage I (£10,000) be made available for Stage II with the possibility of up to £10,000 from the CIL monies being made available if needed. However the final spend would need to be fully ratified by the Parish Council when the exact costs were known. The Clerk had sourced alternative items of playground equipment which were already in situ at Thurston which appealed to children. Councillor Morris now wanted to put the alternative schemes to the residents of the village to choose. He would therefore prepare and deliver a flyer to all households giving them the opportunity to make a choice. No further work on this project would be undertaken until the results were known.
- The Chairman had arranged for Elite Fencing to install new posts for the defective dog litter bins in Back Lane and the Broadway which they would undertake this week at a cost of £283. Mr Richard Pratt had given permission to have an additional dog litter bin erected on the edge of his property (adjacent to the Gun Club) and Elite would install an additional post in this vicinity. The Clerk would order a new dog litter bin and arrange with MSDC for this to be added to our schedule. There are now 12 dog and litter bins within the village boundaries which is an above average number relative to the size of the village.
- The Clerk had received an offer from a resident in Long Thurlow to liaise with Anglian Water about the possibility of installing a defibrillator in Long Thurlow on the sub-station exterior wall (providing there was access to electricity). He would report back with his findings in due course.
- Councillor C Morris had liaised with Patrick Bond to undertake certain repairs to the noticeboard in Long Thurlow which he had done in November. Councillor R Morris had since visited the noticeboard and produced a long report of all the faults he had found that needed attention. After lengthy discussions regarding possible remedies, Councillor R Morris had agreed to take down the whole noticeboard and deal with all the faults at his home and then re-erect this when it had been dealt with. The Chairman thanked him for his offer.
- County Councillor Andy Mellen had very generously offered the Parish Council £1400 of his Locality Budget which the Parish Council gratefully accepted towards the cost of installing broadband in the village hall. We are currently waiting for Openreach to erect a new pole to carry the cabling to the village hall. This should be done within the next month.
- County Councillor Andy Mellen has successfully managed to persuade SCC to replace the corroded posts to the village sign on the roadside leading into the village from the Long Thurlow end. The Clerk had reported this problem to SCC many months ago with a negative result but Andy has been successful for which we are grateful. No time limit for the repair has been given.
- Gt Ashfield Parish Council had advised us of an ash tree on the corner of Westley Way and Hunston Road which appeared in need of attention from an arborist last year. The Clerk had lodged a report in June 2021 regarding this and we have just had an acknowledgement (6 months later) that an arborist will look at this at some stage – again no time scale given.
- The Chairman gave an update on the village hall projects in relation to No. 4 (internal repairs to woodwork, plastering and painting at high level). This was being attended to currently as planned for January 2022 and was a Village Hall expense not a Parish Council one. Unfortunately during the village hall closure over Christmas the wooden floor internally had ‘lifted’ possibly due to damp but was very kindly being attended to by Regal Build at no extra cost. The Chairman of the village hall is still chasing further quotes for other items on the project list and would report back further in February.
- The Clerk had prepared an Excel spreadsheet showing the readings from the first 3 months use of our two new SIDs. There was no great cause for concern as the majority of drivers had observed the speed limits with just a small percentage pretending they were in training for Formula 1. It was suggested that we might look to inviting Stefan the CEO from Suffolk Police to attending a meeting in the future to discuss our readings and see whether there were any other suggestions for traffic calming to be considered.
- The Clerk had received two quotes for addressing the very large overgrown tree in the village hall car park. One was for a medium interim prune and the second for a full prune and pollard. The Councillors voted for the full prune and hoped it would improve the facilities in the car park and reduce the amount of debris and leaves currently experienced. The Clerk would contact the tree surgeon with the approval for a go-ahead.
Planning
Progress of recent planning applications are as follows:
- DC/21/05920 Shackerland Hall Farm, Richer Road, Badwell Ash IOP31 3EU - APPROVED.
- DC/21/02142 APP/W3520/W/213278553 – 3 The Paddocks, Badwell Ash – APPEAL DISMISSED.
- DC/21/06060 Land on the East side of The Street, Badwell Ash, Suffolk – Discharge of Conditions 3, 4 and 6 – APPROVED.
An enforcement had been lodged by Badwell Ash Parish Council – EN/21/00845 Land at Warren Form, The Street, Badwell Ash – Breach of Planning conditions lodged on 3 January 2022 regarding contractors’ vehicles parked on the highway and causing traffic flow problems.
A further request to lodge an additional enforcement was requested for the same site regarding contractors working on Sundays and disturbing the peace. The Clerk would lodge another complaint for enforcement.
- To consider a planning consultation request letter relating to planning application DC/21/06564 – Cadogan House, Long Thurlow, Badwell Ash. It was resolved that the Councillors had no objection to this application.
- To consider a planning consultation letter relating to planning application DC/21/06941 – Hawthorns, Richer Road. Badwell Ash IP31 3EU. After discussion the Councillors were split on a decision regarding this application. They requested the following points were listed – the property was outside the village boundary and outside the 30 mph zone; the proposal for two properties was regarded as ‘backfilling’ which was a practice the Councillors are not in favour of and was unnecessary considering the size of the site; Design, appearance and materials -the proposed two buildings are totally out of character with the existing properties in the area; Plot A would dominate the site due to being built on a high bank at the rear and with upside-down living would overlook neighbouring properties and Plot B was too close to the neighbouring property with upstairs windows overlooking and would cause an invasion of privacy to the immediate neighbours; Loss of light/overshadowing – Plot B would cause loss of light and overshadowing to the neighbouring property; the existing site is known to be liable to flooding in winter due to its topography having been a gravel pit; the Councillors agreed with the Highways comments regarding the works needed to the exit drive onto a 60 mph road; a Sprinkler system should be made a condition of planning.
Finance and Policies
- The Councillors considered the issue of the following payments:
- £317.49 – December salaries
- £45.10 – December Broadsheet
- £2236.80 – Openreach new pole for broadband
- £56.64 – Router for broadband
- £372.80 – HMRC Q3 tax and NI
- £56.53 – Clerk’s expenses December
Resolved: That these payments could be made. The Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
- The Clerk presented the verification of the bank balance with the Income and Expenditure sheets which matched. The Chairman signed the I&E sheet as being correct.
- The Clerk presented the completed Precept Form for 2022/23 to the Chairman for his signature which he signed and this would now be sent to MSDC for action.
Next Meeting
Date of next Parish Council Meeting – Tuesday 8 February 2022.
Dates for Parish Council Meetings 2022 – 2nd Tuesday of the month
- 11 Jan, 8 Feb, 8 Mar, 12 Apr, 10 May, 14 Jun, 12 Jul, 9 Aug (if needed), 13 Sept, 11 Oct, 8 Nov, 13 Dec
Carole Rose, Parish Clerk
14 January 2022