- Present
- Councillors Richard Morris (Chairman), Stephen Russell (Vice Chairman), Will Draper, Roy Woodfine, Nick Harvey, Bill Woodall and Mark Tomkins.
- Also present
- C Cllr Andy Mellen (part), DC Richard Winch and 1 member of the public attended.
Public Forum
- None
- None
- CC Andy Mellen’s report had been circulated prior to the meeting. Andy highlighted the cash flow situation and stated that a motion had been proposed for increased funding to cover the perceived ‘gap’ for local councils over the next few years particularly for social care. Andy also pointed out Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy and urged people to share their thoughts and complete the survey by visiting www.nsnrp.org/get-involved prior to 30 June 2024. It is hoped that the A14 major resurfacing roadworks would be completed on time in July 2024. If this happens then the planned 4 month A1088 bridge works at Stowlangtoft could take place. Cllr Mellen confirmed that both projects would not be undertaken together.
- DC Richard Winch’s report had been circulated prior to the meeting. Richard highlighted that Food Waste collections would become a reality in 2026 and the Council were beginning the sourcing process for new bins/lorries and equipment. Richard also explained that the ‘Call for Sites’, which is part of the Joint Local Plan, invited submissions for possible residential development and revisions to settlement boundaries – however no discussions or comments would be invited until January 2025.
Apologies
Cllrs Clare Taylor and John Morgan.
Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensation
- None
- None
Minutes
- The Clerk pointed out two small amendments to the Minutes of 23 May under Agenda Items 1.1 and 2.1. These amendments were approved prior to signature by the Chairman and would be corrected before publication of the Minutes.
- None.
Clerk’s Report and Correspondence
The Clerk had been asked by Mr Ben Lord (a member of the public and Chairman of Ixworth Parish Council) to confirm that all email or written correspondence received from a group of Badwell Ash residents in relation to the proposed MUGA on the Alfred le Grice Memorial Field had been acknowledged in writing. The Clerk confirmed that all correspondence from Badwell House, Normead, Cavell Cottage and Lavender Cottage had been acknowledged and hard copies filed with the appropriate PC Minutes. The PC Chairman had subsequently issued a public statement that no further comments/decisions/discussions or consultation would be made on the MUGA until (1) after the planning decision from MSDC was known and (2) a planned public consultation over two days for residents in September linked to the Neighbourhood Plan had taken place.
Mr Ben Lord then queried why his two emails had not been answered one in April and one in May. The Clerk confirmed there were no unanswered emails from April outstanding. An email in the Junk Folder had been retrieved following investigation on Saturday 25 May, presumably there as Mr Lord is not a known contact. In this second email Mr Lord was querying the Parish Council’s compliance with its own Standing Orders, its procedural adherence at meetings, its co-option procedures for new Parish Councillors and he questioned the competency of our Parish Councillors in understanding the basic fundamental principles of the Nolan Principles. A reply from the PC will be issued within our 30 day Complaints Procedure.
- The Clerk updated the Parish Councillors on the new constituency boundaries which come into effect after the Election on 4 July. Badwell Ash Parish will from then on be a part of the new Waveney Parliamentary Constituency instead of Bury St Edmunds.
- Roger Castro’s kind donation to the Parish Council was acknowledged and after discussion, it was suggested that this was put towards the increasing costs of the production of the Badwell Broadsheet. The Clerk to email Roger with thanks.
- A letter had been received from Ixworth Methodist Church offering all local parishes storage facilities for their documents going forward. After discussion it was decided not to participate with this offer.
- Following discussion by the Councillors, it was decided to wait until after September to circulate a questionnaire to residents with their thoughts on the future of the Broadsheet. Following the request from Sarah Sharps to be paid for the composition of each edition of the Broadsheet at a cost of £150 per edition, the Councillors gave approval for this expense for the next 3 editions after which the questionnaire would be circulated and any amendments made. A suggestion for crowdfunding to cover the extra costs could also be considered.
Environment
- Cllr Tomkins gave an NDP briefing update and commented that the NP Steering Group were disappointed with the documents produced by AECOM and had asked for them to be reviewed. (report attached)
- Cllr Russell updated the Councillors on the finance situation regarding the NP. He had applied for the small remainder grant of £1317 from last year to be reinstated., However he was unsure whether a possible new grant of £8000 for further work would be forthcoming as it did not exactly fit the outstanding criteria. If the grant is not forthcoming, the PC could be faced with having to finance the remainder of the NP itself. The Councillors felt that the NP external consultants had not given an accurate picture of the potential finances at the inception of the NP last Autumn.
- The Clerk stated that the Climbing Cone in the children’s playground had been completely replaced, reinstalled and all problems rectified following the Playground Inspection Report in January highlighting its faults.
- Cllr Harvey stated that the new streetlights in Wilding Road/Symonds Close were in position and awaiting connection to the network by UK Power Networks. Once this had been done, it would be possible to resurface the pavement defects.
- Cllr Woodall gave a Footpath Report. He had walked the majority of the footpaths in our Parish with Long Thurlow still to do. He had prepared a list of cutting and other faults and would be in contact with the relevant authorities at SCC to get this sorted.
- The Clerk confirmed that the VHC had given permission for two Barn Owl boxes to be erected on the far boundary of the Alfred le Grice Memorial Field. This was going to be undertaken by Simon Evans (who made all the bird boxes for us) with the help of Mark Saunders. The PC was grateful to both for this.
- The Clerk had applied to MSDC for a Capital Grant to make repairs to the Village Hall drive. Three quotes would now be sought and the Councillors agreed to ‘a repair’ to the drive rather than a full rebuild due to costs.
- Cllr Woodfine is seeking two additional quotes for the supply and erection of the Long Thurlow gates (East end). Hopefully a final decision at the July PC meeting could be made on this small project.
Planning
To consider a planning consultation request letter relating to planning application DC/24/02358 Shillings, Long Thurlow, Badwell Ash IP31 3JA. The Councillors debated this application for an additional metal faced garage in the front garden of this property and unanimously rejected this application on the grounds that this was totally out of character for the area due to the choice of materials chosen. This was a substantial structure of approximately 5 x 7 metres in the front garden of the property made of metal sheeting with a metal roller door.
Finance, Governance and Policies
To consider and agree the issue of BACS/cheques for the following payments:
- £872.45 – salaries
- £120.00 – Suffolk Cloud annual membership
- £63.78 – Annual playground Inspection
- £140.00 - Internal Auditor fees 2023
- £160.00 – Internal Auditor fees 2024
- £53.99 – Clerk’s expenses
- £5.00 – HSBC monthly bank charge
Resolved: It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Chairman and Vice Chairman signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
Next Meeting
The remaining dates are Tuesday 2 July, Tuesday 6 August (if needed), Tuesday 3 September, Tuesday 1 October, Tuesday 5 November and Tuesday 3 December.
Carole Rose – Parish Clerk
01359 259045
6 June 2024