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.
Roadworks on the A14 are set to begin soon after a brief delay. Residents are reminded to bring photo ID for the upcoming May elections. A new fund has been launched to support local groups facing economic challenges. Plus, Winter Warm Fridays are a hit, with hopes to continue beyond March.
Present
Councillors Richard Morris, Chair (RM), Stephen Russell, Vice Chair (SR), Will Draper (WD), Maciej Siarkowski (MS), Roy Woodfine (RW), County Councillor Andy Mellen (AM) and District Councillor Rick Meyer (RMe).

Public Forum

  1. No 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 stated that the roadworks on the A14 were due to start after a 2 week delay. Cllr Mellen confirmed he would pay a small amount for Neighbourhood Watch signs for Platinum Drive directly to the resident as requested.
  4. Cllr Meyer’s report was circulated. Cllr Meyer asked the Parish Council to promote the need for photo id at the elections in May which the Clerk would do. RMe also highlighted a new fund launched called VCFSE Resilience Fund via MSDC to help group/organisations struggling in these difficult economic times.

Apologies

None.

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations

  1. Cllr Woodfine re 7.2
  2. Cllr Woodfine re 7.2

Minutes

  1. The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 10 January were approved and signed by the Chairman.
  2. None.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

The Clerk had received a letter of resignation from Mrs Yates who had been a Parish Councillor for a few months. A new vacancy was reported to MSDC. The Clerk had also received an email from the Charity Commission saying that they could not discuss the listing of the Village Hall and Playing Field charity even though the Parish Council was listed as their Trustees. It was still hoped that Barclays Bank might be able to find the original Deeds to the playing field which appeared to have been ‘lost’ over the years.

  1. To date there has been no applications for the Parish Councillor vacancies however the Chairman had received a couple of enquiries which hopefully would convert into applications. MSDC have increased the number of Councillors from 7 to 9 in the village due to the increase in the number of houses.
  2. No direct applications for the Street Cleaner role but one enquiry from an applicant wanting to add to their part time roles which will be followed up.
  3. Winter Warm Fridays going well with an average of 15 attending each week. Many have expressed their hope that the village (not the Parish Council) might consider continuing these after the end of March. This request has been communicated to the Village Hall Committee.
  4. Cllr Siarkowski has stepped down from his voluntary role as Village Hall Liaison Rep and VH Treasurer and would only be a Parish Councillor. It was decided not to renew the role of Village Hall Rep. The Clerk will communicate with the VHC directly in future on matters relating to both groups.
  5. A proposed Social Media policy was postponed and would be revisited after the elections in May due to time pressures.
  6. The Chairman had received copies of the Deeds relating to the grass areas in front of St Michael’s Close from an existing resident in St Marys Close. It appears that all the residents of St Michaels Close had a clause in their Deeds giving them all joint responsibility for these two grass areas (in front of the bungalows and around the war memorial) when the houses were constructed back in the 1960s. Therefore any decisions (re benches, troughs etc) in the future should be addressed to all these residents before any decisions are made by the Parish Council.
  7. The election date of 4 May 2023 has been advertised for Parish and District Councillors. District Councillor Rick Meyer will not be renewing his application in May after 4 years which the PC were very sad to learn. Parish Councillors forms are to be completed and submitted by 4 April.
  8. The Clerk asked the Councillors to note that the AGM of the new Parish Council and the Annual Parish Meeting would take place on Tuesday 9 May and they would all be required to attend that night for voting purposes.

Environment

  1. Cllr Russell gave a brief review of the Neighbourhood Plan and the meeting which was held on 28 February. It was very well supported with over 80 villagers attending. To proceed with the NP Plan, Cllr Russell said that two major steps would now have to be undertaken if this is to proceed. Firstly to appoint a Planning Consultant to help with the admin and secondly that the majority of residents would need to be on board before we started the next 18 month/two year process. Cllr Russell would prepare a briefing for the website.
  2. The SIDS report for the two sites in Badwell Ash for September 2022 – February 2023 was discussed and whilst it was acknowledged that the majority of vehicles were observing the speed limits, there was concern that the number (and speed) of vehicles could well increase with the proposed roadworks to the A14 over the next year plus the new housing developments being built would likely have a detrimental effect on the SIDs reports going forward. This should be closely monitored.
  3. CIL projects for 2023 was postponed for discussion at June’s meeting.
  4. Cllr Draper had kindly ordered the new life ring and accessories for the Gun Club for which he was thanked. This would be delivered to the Gun Club as a donation from the Parish Council as agreed previously.
  5. It is hoped that the bird box project might be concluded by the end of May 2023 with all bird boxes delivered to the residents who had requested them.
  6. The Councillors requested further details of the plans for the Coronation party planned by the VHC for 6 May 2023. It is hoped that all residents and children would be catered for. The PC had offered the VHC a sum of £2000 to be put towards this event.
  7. The Chairman of the VH had shared a draft list of the projects they hoped to undertake in the renovation of the village hall this year. Further details would be available in due course. The PC had reserved a sum of £10,000 to assist with this but further funding would be required to meet their target. The Clerk was continuing the exercise to purchase the village hall drive from the developer of the houses on the old school site. In the absence of a VH Treasurer the Clerk would pay all fees up to 31 March 2023 for hall hire to ensure a correct year end in our accounts.

Planning

Progress of recent planning applications are as follows:

  • DC/22/05651 Lodge Cottage, Badwell Green, Badwell Ash IP31 3JG – PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED
  • Enforcement - Platinum Drive – two holes in fence – allowed, no further action.
  • Enforcement – Richer Road - contractors parking on verges and road - ??
  • Enforcement - Land West Of Brook Farm Brook Farm Road Langham – drain into stream (allowed)
  1. To consider a planning re-consultation letter relating to planning application DC/22/05701 – Land East of Hunston Road, Badwell Ash. The Councillors considered the changes to the reserved matters and wished to have the installation of hydrants made a Condition of Planning. The PC were in favour of the proposal to construct a wildlife and nature play area within the site as opposed to further metal swings and equipment. The Councillors also wished to record their concern regarding the public footpath entrance position which clashed with the entrance to the development.
  2. To consider a planning re-consultation request letter relating to planning application DC/21/06564 Cadogan House, Long Thurlow, Badwell Ash, IP31 3JA. The Councillors considered this request and were unanimous that they recorded no objections to this and noted that their views had not altered despite this being the third time of asking.
  3. To consider a planning application DC/23/00625 - The Old Vicarage, The Street, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP31 3DH TPOs. The Councillors discussed this TPO at length and rejected this request by a majority stating that the reasoning of ‘overshadowing the garden’ was not an acceptable reason for the work to be undertaken to these well established trees.

Finance, Governance and Policies

  1. The Councillors considered the issue of the following payments:
    • £630.00 – January salaries
    • £162.00 – Last year of defib management support (Year 4)
    • £72.00 – Last year of emergency phone support (Year 4)
    • £1170.24 – C&L Construction – Two village gates at Long Thurlow
    • £67.00 – Kallkwik printers leaflets for NP meeting
    • £186.00 – Gipping Press January Broadsheet
    • £75.99 – Clerk’s expenses (white paint for new village gates)
    • £5.00 – HSBC monthly charge
    It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
  2. The Clerk shared copies of the Final Budget and Precept confirmation with the Councillors for 2023/24.
  3. The Clerk shared copies of the bank reconciliation with each Councillor.
  4. The Clerk requested permission to send a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in memory of the late Diane Donat, a previous Parish Councillor. This was unanimously agreed in the sum of £50.00.

Next Meeting

Date of next Parish Council Meeting – 14 March 2023

Carole Rose, Parish Clerk
20 February 2023

Dates of Meetings in 2023 - 10 January, Tuesday 14 February, Tuesday 14 March, Tuesday 11 April, Tuesday 9 May (AGM and Annual Parish Meeting), 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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