Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held in Barham Church Hall

Meeting Date:

Present
Councillors Ed Walsh (EW) (Vice Chairman), Clive Morris (CM), Diane Donat (DD), Stephen Russell (SR). County Councillor Andy Mellen and District Councillor Richard Meyer and Cllr Clive Hawkins (CH) from 7.30pm.

Public Forum

Three members of the public in attendance.

  1. Two residents from Long Thurlow wished to discuss their written complaint (Agenda item 5.5) in person during the Public Forum rather than wait for the Council to address it at 5.5. Mr and Mrs Hutchin requested the name of the person reporting the three logs they had placed on the roadside outside their house in Long Thurlow (this request was made under the Freedom of Information Act). Mr & Mrs Hutchin were fed up with cars continually parked outside the Anglian Water pumping station and had taken this course of action in an attempt to stop this parking. The Vice Chairman responded that the agenda item had initially been requested by Councillor Morris who is the representative for Long Thurlow. The Vice Chairman reassured Mr and Mrs Hutchin there was no malicious intent with any item listed on the agenda and the Parish Council always seek to be as proactive and helpful to all residents as possible.
  2. A resident from Long Thurlow highlighted the difficulties of roadside parking by building contractors during building works of a house in Long Thurlow and the problems experienced by residents having to walk in the roadway as a consequence. The Vice Chairman suggested either a polite telephone call to the Police on 101 or using the ‘Reporting Tool’ on the Suffolk County Council website.

The Vice Chairman thanked the above speakers for their contributions.

Cllr Mellen had emailed his report ahead of the meeting which had been circulated. He highlighted the topic of ‘refugee housing’ which is on the SCC website and advised that donations for the refugee crisis would be appreciated in monetary terms through either the Red Cross or the DEC Appeal now as opposed to donations of clothes/equipment. He was also addressing complaints received regarding potholes on both the 1088 and Back Lane in Badwell Ash.

Cllr Meyer had emailed his report ahead of the meeting which had been circulated. He suggested reading the section on Boundary Changes which are going to affect North Suffolk.

Apologies

Richard Morris (RM), Lesley Yates (LY).

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations

  1. None.
  2. None.

Minutes

  1. The minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 8 February 2022 were approved and signed by the Vice Chairman.
  2. None.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

  1. Councillor Hawkins reported that a generous donation had been received from the Collins family who used to live in Badwell Ash in loving memory of David Collins. A plaque had been bought and placed on the second bench in the children’s playground area. A thank you letter had been sent to the Collins family along with a photograph of the bench and plaque.
  2. No further progress had been made on the ownership of the grasslands adjacent to St Mary’s Crescent. Mrs Le Grice (the wife of the donor) had been unable to shed any light on this from 50 years ago.
  3. No update re the Broadsheet due to Councillor R Morris’ absence.
  4. The Clerk reported that an in-depth form would have to be completed for each Asset of Community Value that was required to be registered which could only be completed in association with the owner/proprietor of the asset in question. It was agreed to ask the owners of the White Horse for their help on this and then possibly the village shop.
  5. As this topic had been dealt with in the Public Forum at the beginning of the meeting, the Vice Chairman concluded it had been fully covered and there was no need to revisit this.
  6. The Clerk reported that an applicant had been received for the Street Cleaner’s position in Badwell Ash. After discussion it was agreed to set the hours at 3 per week to see if this proved sufficient. Long Thurlow already has their own Street Cleaner at 4 hours per month. The Clerk would prepare all the necessary paperwork and liaise with MSDC and SALC over the appointment.

Environment

  1. No update on Stage 2 of the Playground due to Councillor R Morris’ absence.
  2. The Vicar had provided evidence of costs already incurred for the new cemetery which totalled approximately £8,000. The Councillors requested an estimate of the intended future costs before making a decision regarding the request for funding from the PCC. To be discussed further in April.
  3. Awaiting a response from Anglian Water re electricity from the sub-station for a possible external defibrillator on the wall of the sub-station in Long Thurlow.
  4. Long Thurlow noticeboard – no progress to date by Councillor R Morris.
  5. Broadband to village hall – sadly the owner of the village hall drive had withdrawn his permission for a pole to be erected to carry the cabling to the village hall. He requested that the cabling should all be underground. This had increased the cost of the works to over £10,000 which was totally beyond Parish Council funds. The Clerk was asked to write to the owner of the village hall drive to ask him to reconsider his position. The Vice Chairman agreed to look into 4G mobile connections as an alternative option.
  6. The dates for the Great British Spring Clean had been agreed as Saturday 2 April and Sunday 3 April between 10.00 and 11.00. Meet at the village hall on either day. The Clerk had taken delivery of all the equipment necessary for this project but Councillors, their families, neighbours and any helpers were asked to bring their own gloves and wear suitable clothing. Notice on both our website and the noticeboard.
  7. The Clerk shared the quotations for new ground maintenance contracts for the year commencing 1st April. After discussion a local company was chosen (recommended by Pakenham Parish Council) and the Clerk would cancel the current grounds contractors who had been less than reliable over the last year.
  8. Unfortunately the village sign had been damaged during the recent storms and had broken. Mr Richard Pratt had collected the sign and was looking after it with a view to hopefully replacing it on top of the pole fairly soon. Cllr Hawkins to make contact with Mr Pratt for an update.
  9. No SID readings available this month.
  10. The Councillors discussed the purchase of a beacon to light on Friday 2 June to mark the Platinum Jubilee alongside other towns and villages. The Councillors opted to not go ahead with this suggestion but to support an event planned by the Village Hall Committee for Sunday 4 June on the playing field – details of which will follow when known.
  11. A symbolic torch will tour the county of Suffolk from Friday 13th May until Wednesday 1st June in order to herald the start of the Festival of Suffolk and the celebrations to mark HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The torch will be carried by selected torch bearers and transported by rickshaw. Badwell Ash is down for 23 May – details will be posted on our website (badwellash.suffolk.cloud) and on our noticeboard.
  12. Councillor Donat put forward a request for consideration for electric car charging points within the village. After much discussion, it was decided that this was not going to be financially or economically viable at this stage in a rural environment but maybe worth further consideration when electric cars were more prevalent in households.
  13. The proposal for ‘village gates’ at the entrance to Long Thurlow was now complete and would be sent to Suffolk County Council for their consideration. If agreed, and a licence given, the work would be undertaken by Elite Fencing Ltd.
  14. Councillor Hawkins provided an update for this month’s works on the Village Hall Project. The broadband project has already been reported under 6.5; the tree surgery in the car park at the village hall had taken place and was regarded as a successful job. The grant application for windows/doors was still with MSDC and awaiting an answer.
  15. The Councillors agreed that the ‘cleaner’s shed’ in Long Thurlow should be reinstated as a bus shelter for the benefit of the school children waiting there as the shed was no longer needed for storing tools. Councillor C Morris offered to take on this project with help from a couple of residents in Long Thurlow which was very much appreciated.

Planning

Progress of recent planning applications are as follows:

  • DC/22/00447 Broadway Bungalow, The Broadway, Badwell Ash, Suffolk IP31 3DR – DISCHARGE OF CONDITIONS APPROVED
  • APP/W3520/D/21/3283599 Green Farm Barn, Badwell Green, Badwell Ash, Bury St. Edmunds IP31 3J – APPEAL UPHELD
  • DC/21/06941 Hawthorns, Richer Road, Badwell Ash, Suffolk IP31 3EU – APPLICATION REFUSED
  • DC/21/06934 Land At Warren Farm, The Street, Badwell Ash, Suffolk IP31 3DP – DISCHARGE OF CONDITIONS 5&9 APPROVED

Finance and Policies

  1. The Councillors considered the issue of the following payments:
    • £275.09 – February salaries
    • £45.10 – Broadsheet Feb/Mar
    • £315.63 – Glasdon dog bin in Back Lane
    • £38.99 – Clerk’s expenses Feb
    Resolved: It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Vice Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
  2. The Clerk asked for permission to pay any outstanding invoices that come through in March prior to the end of the financial year on 31.3.22. Permission was granted.

Next Meeting

Date of next Parish Council Meeting – Tuesday 12 April 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
11 March 2022

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