- Present
- Councillors Stephen Russell (Vice Chairman), Maciej Siarkowski, Roy Woodfine and Bill Woodhall. District Councillor Richard Winch also attended plus 1 member of the public.
Public Forum
- None.
- None.
- Cllr Mellen submitted a report by email which was distributed to the Parish Councillors in his absence at another event.
- Cllr Winch’s report had been previously circulated to the Parish Councillors but he highlighted the various grants available from MSDC and urged the Parish Council to apply for any that were appropriate. He also discussed the ongoing planning application for Stanton with Equation & Jaynic which could potentially see a huge increase in the number of cars using the village roads. Cllr Winch agreed to contact Cllr Draper regarding improving/replacing some of the trees and hedgerows at the Hunston end of the village under the BMSDC scheme from Richard Parmee.
Apologies
County Councillor Andy Mellen, PC Chairman Richard Morris (first half), Cllrs Nick Harvey and Will Draper.
Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
- None.
- None.
Minutes
- The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2023 were approved and signed by the Vice-Chairman. (There was no meeting in August).
- Cllr Woodfine reported that the ‘bonfire on the public footpath’ problem in LT had been dealt with and it had now all been flattened and cleared away.
Clerk’s Report and Correspondence
The Clerk reported a busy month having been contacted regarding speeding traffic through the village; request for 20mph reduction throughout; barking dogs; school buses picking up outside the village shop; overgrown vegetation on pavements.
The mph on The Broadway is still to be officially confirmed – either new 30mph or existing 60mph with relevant signs installed.
Overgrown vegetation on the corner of Orchard Way/Richer Road – photos taken and reported to MSDC – still to be actioned.
The Clerk had received a request for a small grant from the 4Cs group for their Macmillan Coffee morning – the Councillors agreed to donate £50 for this enterprise.
- The Clerk reported that the Parish Council annual insurance is due on 1 October. The existing company – Zurich – have quoted £559.74 for the new year which is a £28 increase on the present year. The Councillors voted unanimously to approve this renewal.
- The Deeds and Conveyance for the Village Hall and Playing Field have now been found by the Village Hall Trustees having been mislaid for a number of years. A copy is held in the Suffolk Records Office in Bury St Edmunds. The Clerk will now attempt to obtain a hard copy to be kept with the Parish Council paperwork as the ownership of the hall and land would revert to the Parish Council should the Trustees of the Village Hall be disbanded or wound up at any stage in the future. Hopefully the question of ownership/responsibility of this land would not now be in dispute ever again.
- The Clerk had written to Barclays Bank plc (the Parish Council bankers in the 1990s and 2000s) to offer to return the £300 compensation they afforded us as they were unable to prove whether they had lost the Deeds to the Village Hall or not. Very generously Barclays have stated they do not wish the money to be returned and so the Parish Council has purchased a new metal shed for extra storage in the car park of the village hall.
- The Parish Council have been asked to arrange the Service of Remembrance at the War Memorial on 12 November as usual. A retired vicar will take the service as the Rev Merry has now retired and left the village. The Clerk will arrange to purchase a wreath from RBL and liaise with those individuals taking part in the service.
- MSDC has launched a ‘Pride in your Place’ funding grant and the Clerk has been asked to apply for the maximum of £250 which will be used to buy paint and varnish and associated materials for renovating the defib telephone box, the noticeboards and the bus stops in both villages as well as cleaning of road and street signs.
- The final paperwork associated with the Parish Council’s purchase of the Village Hall drive had been received. This had been read and approved by all the Parish Councillors who then signed and witnessed the TR1. The Clerk was instructed to conclude this purchase with the solicitors and was given permission to release the money associated with the purchase. It should then be possible for the Village Hall Trustees to resume their installation of broadband to the village hall.
- The Clerk had received a notification to say that our Police CEO, Stefan Henriksen, was being moved to another post within the County and the position of Community Engagement Officer was not going to be renewed. Cllr Siarkowski offered to try and obtain information about who we should contact should we ever need the help of the Police in the future.
- The draft for the Freedom of Information policy was held over until October.
Environment
- Cllr Winch explained the current 20mph discussions within the local villages and suggested we obtained residents’ comments and support to follow suit. The Clerk was asked to contact the Clerk of Walsham le Willows and ask for a copy of their survey monkey form which they had recently distributed to their residents. Cllr Winch emphasised that we would have a better chance of achieving this speed reduction if we joined with a larger group.
- The Clerk was asked to liaise with Walsham le Willows following their request for a volunteer to join the group handling the Equation/Staton/Jaynic planning application as this would affect many villages in our area. The Councillors needed to know the time commitment before a volunteer would step forward.
- Cllr Draper (in his absence) had submitted a written request to discuss the BMSDC project for replacing trees, hedgerows etc and thought the Hunston end of the village would benefit from such a scheme. Cllr Winch to contact Cllr Draper after the meeting to progress.
- Cllr Woodhall provided a large-scale plan of the sub-group’s ideas for the regeneration of the playground. This draft showed 40 new car parking spaces and 3 multi use pitches. No specific details were provided for materials or quotes. Therefore it is likely that we will not be in a position to apply for CIL funding on this project this year. Further discussions on the provided draft would be tabled again in October. Cllr Woodhall asked for permission for the quoted tree works to take place around the perimeter of the playing field. After discussion this was approved (cost £1750) although it was noted that as progress on the regeneration of the facilities was now unlikely to take place this year the cost would have to be borne by the Parish Council rather than through CIL funding.
Meanwhile the Clerk and the Chairman would look into providing a separate area alongside the existing children’s playground with a suitable all-weather surface to include adult exercise equipment and basketball/table tennis equipment. The Clerk to contact the appropriate trades with the intention of using some of the existing CIL monies held over in this financial year as per our Budget and approval at previous PC meetings. This small project aims to be completed in this current financial year. The Parish Councillors gave their approval for the above two projects to continue.
- Cllr Winch is liaising with the Planning Dept at MSDC following complaints from residents in Wilding Road that the pavements and lighting have not been finished off despite having moved in over a year ago. Cllr Winch will establish whether this is a new case for Planning Enforcement and activate if necessary.
- Cllr Russell was pleased to report that we had received the £10,000 funding he had applied for to launch the Neighbourhood Plan for Badwell Ash and Long Thurlow and so now the first meeting with the employed consultants could take place which was hoped for at the end of September. Cllr Russell confirmed that he had 3 volunteers to join the Working Group but would like to encourage a few more to take part. An advert to this effect would be put in the next edition of the Broadsheet.
- The Clerk reported that the two benches, kindly funded by County Cllr Mellen, had been received and these would be installed by C&L Construction later this month. The Vice Chairman thanked the Clerk for her work on both these bus shelters over the summer months as they were vastly improved.
- The Clerk reported that she had applied for MSDC to carry out an annual inspection of the playground equipment and facilities which was a requirement on behalf of the Parish Council. This will be done sometime this Autumn, hopefully with a clean bill of health.
- Cllr Russell confirmed that he and a few others had nearly completed walking all the footpaths in Badwell Ash and Long Thurlow, photographing them and making a note of ones that needed attention. At the next meeting in October the Councillors would review the existing cutting schedule of these footpaths by SCC and it would be decided whether any amendments needed to be made or landowners needed to be contacted with a request to maintain ones that crossed their land. FP11 had now been closed until February 24 due to the Mulberry Homes development site.
- Cllr Woodfine gave a brief update on the plan for a festival and told the Councillors that it was doubtful that the village hall and playing field would be suitable for this type of event. It is understood that Cllr Harvey had offered for the festival to take place somewhere on his land at the top end of Badwell Ash/Badwell Green. Cllrs Draper and Woodfine would continue with their research on this project.
- It was decided not to make a cover for the sandpit in the children’s playground on the grounds of cost and maintenance but leave it open and analyse next Spring whether the sand needed replacing.
- Cllr Winch is continuing to liaise with the Environmental Health Dept at MSDC about the Village Shop being required to provide a waste bin for their customers’ rubbish particularly in the light of the shop’s expansion to provide takeaway food which generated even more rubbish.
Planning
Progress of recent planning applications are as follows:
- Land at Dovedale Close, Badwell Ash IP31 3EY - APP/W3520/W/22/3310678 - DC/22/03207 - APPEAL ALLOWED.
- DC/23/03112 - Olive House, Langham Road, Badwell Ash, IP31 3DS – DEMOLITION ALLOWED.
- DC/23/02609 - 27 Orchard Way, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP31 3JL – APPROVED.
- To consider a planning consultation request letter relating to planning application - DC/23/04021 - Croft Cottage, The Street, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP31 3DH (resubmission) (15/9). The Parish Councillors discussed this at length and were unanimous in their rejection of this planning application for exactly the same reasons as they declined it in 2022. The applicant had made no significant alterations to the application nor had he addressed the previous Conditions for Refusal.
Finance and Policies
- To consider and confirm the issue of payment of the following:
- £603.48 – August salary
- £504.00 – PKF Littlejohn external auditor
- £3069.47 – Village Hall remainder of £10k grant for 2023/24
- £186.00 – Gipping Press Aug/Sept Broadsheet
- £96.00 – M&TJs extra July grass cutting
- £96.00 – M&TJs August grass cutting
- £559.74 – Zurich Insurance annual premium
- £864.00 – NBB two recycled benches for bus shelters
- £148.75 – MSDC Parish Election recharges
- £51.99 – Clerk’s expenses
- £5.00 – Bank charges
Resolved: It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Vice Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
- The Clerk shared the Bank Account reconciliation with the Councillors – Cllrs Russell and Morris signed this as being an accurate document.
The next Parish Council meeting would be held on Tuesday 10 October at 19.00 in the Village Hall.
Carole Rose – Parish Clerk
01359 259045
19 September 2023