Parish Council Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date:

Summary
This summary is generated by AI and may contain errors. It does not form part of the official minutes.
Exciting developments include a push to improve bus services, though some legal challenges remain. Local rivers and waterways are a top priority, with efforts to address water quality concerns. Additionally, there's a call to support local businesses this Christmas. A heartfelt farewell to Councillor Clive Hawkins was also noted.
Present
Councillors Richard Morris (RM), Stephen Russell, Vice Chairman (SR), Will Draper (WD), Maciej Siarkowski (MS), Roy Woodfine (RW), Lesley Yates (LY), County Councillor Andy Mellen (AM) and District Councillor Rick Meyer (RMe).

Public Forum

  1. Four members of the public attended. No questions posed.
  2. No requests for additional agenda items for the next Agenda.
  3. Cllr Mellen’s monthly report was circulated to Councillors. Cllr Mellen reinforced the need for new housing for Ukrainian refugees, particularly as the initial 6 months had now expired. He also mentioned the plan by a group of parishes to improve the bus services within our community but there would be legal hurdles to be overcome.
  4. Cllr Meyer’s report was circulated. Cllr Meyer urged people to shop local in the run up to Christmas to boost small local businesses. He also mentioned the Councillors unanimous desire to protect local rivers and waterways over serious concerns regarding water quality, including untreated sewage. One resident (Ian Hawkins) has been doing some very valuable work with The Lark (flagship river). No positive result had been forthcoming from either the County or District Councils regarding the long-running problem at Dovedale regarding the ditch and water flow. It was suggested that the Parish Council again write to SCC regarding this topic.

Apologies

None

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations

  1. Cllr Morris re 7.1
  2. Cllr Morris re 7.1

Minutes

  1. The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 8 November were approved and signed by the Vice Chairman in the absence of the Chairman at November’s meeting.
  2. As yet there had been no further action regarding the movement of one dog bin to a preferable site by Cllr Yates.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

The Clerk announced the resignation of Councillor Clive Hawkins who has been a member and Chairman of the Parish Council for many years. His work was very much appreciated especially the new kitchen in the large hall which he undertook during the Covid closure. Clive would still retain his position as Chairman of the Village Hall Committee. The Clerk would report the vacancy to Mid Suffolk District Council.

It was brought to our attention that the fishing lake in Back Lane adjacent to the Gun Club was not displaying safety notices close to water. The Chairman asked the Clerk if she would bring this to the attention of the owner, Tony Turp, although he did caveat that by saying that this was private land and there was a possibility that dog walkers and others might be trespassing near the lake.

  1. After further discussions it was agreed that the Broadsheet would continue as an 8pp newsletter on a bi-monthly basis. The Chairman confirmed that he had a list of people/businesses wishing to sponsor each edition and it was agreed that the sponsorship would be set at £100 per edition with the Parish Council paying the difference. In order to address the length of time between copy date and delivery of the finished magazine, it was agreed to try a different printer to see if there was any time saving without losing quality or efficiency.
  2. The Winter Warm Fridays had begun and had been successful so far with 15 visitors the first Friday and 17 the second. We had been lucky enough to receive a grant from MSDC for these sessions. We would continue in the same vein until 31 March 2023 with the Parish Councillors and their partners hosting most of the sessions. Thanks were expressed to Janet de Vries for willingly opening and closing the village hall each week to accommodate this project.
  3. No further update re the diversions planned for the A14 roadworks project next year.
  4. The District Councillor very kindly undertook discussions with both the residents and the Planning Dept at MSDC regarding various queries at Platinum Drive. We understand that these are now following their natural path with the hope of a successful conclusion.
  5. Councillor Mellen is continuing to investigate and keep an eye on the sewage problems and the illegal emptying of water into rivers. He will update us as and when there is anything further to report. As mentioned above, Ian Hawkins, a resident, is also doing some valuable work on this topic.
  6. A letter had been received from the Village Hall Committee asking if the Parish Council would like to nominate a representative from the PC to attend VH meetings once a path in order to aid communication. Cllr Siarkowski offered to undertake this role as he was already Treasurer of the Village Hall Committee so had an up-to-date understanding of both bodies.

Environment

  1. Cllr Russell reiterated the date of the open Neighbourhood Plan meeting for Saturday 28 January in the Village Hall. Further announcements and reminders would be issued after Christmas.
  2. The Clerk confirmed that we now had no street cleaners in either Badwell Ash or Long Thurlow. It was suggested that we pick this up again in January and maybe approach other local parish councils in case they had a street cleaner who wished for more hours that they could share with us.
  3. No further update on the bird boxes except that intended supplier was swamped with his own work and would struggle to produce our 30 various boxes. The Chairman would investigate further.
  4. Cllr Hawkins is still willing to finish the Memorial Tree project but this will now be reliant on weather and may have to be delayed until the Spring.
  5. The Clerk confirmed that she had placed an order for three solar lights for the village hall – one tall at the rear of the car park and two bollard size either side of the front door. These are expected around the beginning of March.
  6. At the request of the Village Hall, the Clerk had written to the tree surgeon to deal with the large tree branch which is overhanging the garden of Badwell House.
  7. The four flower troughs had been roughly placed in their new positions but would need finally adjusting and filling in the Spring due to the current icy conditions we are experiencing.

Planning

Progress of recent planning applications are as follows:

DC/22/05480 The Old Vicarage, The Street, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds IP31 3DH (TPO) – APPLICATION GRANTED

  1. To consider a planning APPEAL LETTER RELATING TO PLANNING APPEAL ap/22/00069 – Highbanks, Back Lane, Badwell Ash, Suffolk IP31 3DW. The Parish Councillors were unanimous that they did not wish to change their mind on the Rejection they submitted last April and requested the Clerk to submit the same list of objections as before.
  2. To consider a planning consultation request letter relation to Reserved Matters for planning application – DC/22/0571 Land East of Hunston Road, Badwell Ash, Suffolk. The Parish Councillors confirmed that they had no objections to the plan itself regarding 52 houses, however they had been invited to a meeting with the Planners, Developers and official representatives on Monday 19 December and would formulate their official reply after that.
  3. To consider a planning consultation letter relating to planning application – DC/22/05651 - Lodge Cottage, Badwell Green, Badwell Ash, IP31 3JG. The Parish Councillors had no objection to this application.

Finance, Governance and Policies

  1. The Councillors considered the issue of the following payments:
    • £589.28 – November salaries
    • £104.00 – Hire of Village Hall May-Nov 2022
    • £90.00 – M&TJs grass cutting (last one for 2022)
    • £112.96 – Clerk’s expenses November
    • £5.00 – monthly bank charges
    Resolved: It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
  2. The Clerk presented the Draft Budget to the Parish Councillors reminding them that the Precept and CIL funds should be addressed separately despite the monies for both being in our current account. The Clerk proposed a 1% increase for 2023/24 however the Parish Councillors wish to review this again in January before the deadline to submit the Precept requirements on 31 January 2023.

Next Meeting

Date of next Parish Council Meeting –10 January 2023

Carole Rose, Parish Clerk
20 December 2022

Dates of Meetings in 2023 - 10 January, Tuesday 14 February, Tuesday 14 March, Tuesday 11 April, Tuesday 9 May, Tuesday 13 June, Tuesday 11 July, Tuesday 8 August (if needed), Tuesday 12 September, Tuesday 10 October, Tuesday 14 November, Tuesday 12 December.

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