Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting -

Present: Councillors Stephen Russell (Vice Chairman), Will Draper, Nick Harvey, Bill Woodall, Mark Tomkins, Clare Taylor and John Morgan.
Also present: C Cllr Andy Mellen (part), DC Richard Winch and 6 members of the public attended.

Public Forum

Julia Evans attended in case there were any questions regarding the Planning Application at 7.1. Mr Foreman queried his boundary fence/gate with the Village Hall car park which is not a Parish Council matter so he was referred to the Village Hall Committee for their clarification.
NP draft plan (August), Broadsheet survey (Sept). Cllr Draper requested a monthly item on the Agenda for ‘Village Hall Liaison’ which will commence in September due to Cllr Draper’s absence from the August meeting.
CC Andy Mellen’s report had been circulated prior to the meeting. Andy highlighted the urgent need for new Foster Carers and briefly explained the role and stated that more information could be obtained on www.fostereast.org.uk. Cllr Mellen confirmed that the A14 roadworks had finished on time after 16 months and confirmed that the A1088 bridge works would be able to start on 22 July for 5 months. Andy apologised for the brief report which was due to the imminent General Election.
DC Richard Winch did not provide a report due to the General Election but gave a verbal update on several outstanding matters:
- Anglian Water had provided answers to the list of questions and Richard was communicating these back to the individual householders.
- The enforcement notice issued on the Mulberry Homes site (clearing of excess land off site) was rejected by Mid Suffolk following a visit to the site. The planning conditions would continue to be closely observed and monitored on this site.

Apologies

Cllrs Richard Morris (Chairman) and Roy Woodfine.

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensation

None
None

Minutes

The minutes having been circulated and unanimously approved by the Parish Councillors were then signed by the Vice Chairman.
Cllr Woodall had made contact with the Footpaths Officer re their cutting schedule for July of the named footpaths in our Parish and would follow up with them again this month.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

The Clerk gave a verbal report on various matters:

A second letter had been received from Mr Ben Lord (chairman of Ixworth PC) to which a reply had been sent which had been approved by all Councillors. A letter had been received from a resident in Long Thurlow regarding his planning application which the Clerk explained to him was now in the hands of Mid Suffolk Planning Dept and no longer a responsibility of our Parish Council.
The Clerk had been approached for a verbal comment on the proposed A1088 bridge works by the Bury Free Press which she had responded to. Clarke’s of Walsham had announced their Summer Fayre on 8 August and the Clerk had offered to display their invite on our website and noticeboards as a thank you for their sponsorship of our Broadsheet.
Cllr Mark Tomkins reported (historic) damage to the surface of the war memorial which the Clerk would try and get a stone mason to investigate and hopefully remedy.
Sadly vandals had decided to throw clay, stones and mud all over the new table tennis table and basketball court on the village playground one evening – mindless and unnecessary behaviour which the Clerk spent two hours cleaning up during the evening. CCTV cameras were suggested as a deterrent if this behaviour by a minority continues which Cllr Draper offered to discuss with the VHC.
Complaints had been received by many residents about the schedule (or lack of) in relation to Simmonds bus services. DC Richard Winch is already aware of this and is in touch with the company and County Councillor Mellen on this subject.
Our street cleaner (Stephen) had done a sterling job by strimming all around the village signs in both Badwell and Long Thurlow and had weed killed around the defib box, under the benches and the walkway down from Orchard Way.

NALC have still to agree the annual pay agreement which should have been completed in April and therefore cannot be implemented yet.
Despite the request in the Broadsheet, no volunteers had come forward to give the Defib Box a new coat of red paint. The Clerk will now have to find time to attend to this in addition to the usual monthly admin and financial tasks.

Environment

Cllr Tomkins gave an NP briefing update and stated that the draft agreement should be ready for Councillors attention in August. (Briefing update filed with these minutes)
Cllr Russell updated the Councillors on the finance situation regarding the NP. He was still hopeful that the response to our second grant application would be favourable in due course. It was possible that everything was held up due to the General Election taking precedence.
The Vice Chairman, DC Richard Winch and the Clerk had been invited to a meeting with senior members of the Planning Dept at Endeavour House due to our ongoing concerns regarding the (lack of) a footpath and the moving of the 30mph sign from the ditch following Mid Suffolk’s approval of the Planning Application Conditions for 14 houses outside the village boundary on Richer Road. Following in-depth discussions the Planning Dept have agreed to rectify their original approval and a pavement would be provided for residents and the ditch covered in to avoid any accidents. County Councillor Andrew Stringer offered to come to Badwell Ash at a future date and give us an in-depth explanation and summary of all planning conditions and help and advice with the Neighbourhood Plan which the PC will very much look forward to.
Cllr Woodall reported that the abandoned Mini Cooper car on The Broadway had finally been removed by Mid Suffolk District Council. Apparently ‘abandoned vehicles’ are not a Police matter. The Mini had been causing an obstruction and nuisance for well over a month despite being reported and highlighted on social media locally.
Cllr Harvey reported that the five-a-side plan requested by Mid Suffolk Planning Dept had been submitted and a date for the Planning Meeting was now awaited.
The Clerk had submitted a Grant Application form to Mid Suffolk for funds to repair the Village Hall Drive. The grant had been accepted and it was hoped to hear, after 17 July, what we had been awarded. Three quotes had been sought for these works and were subsequently discussed by the Councillors who chose C&L Construction for this work.
In Cllr Woodfine’s absence, Cllr Harvey provided two further quotes for the production and installation of new village gates at the EAST END OF Long Thurlow. After discussion it was agreed to ask C&L Construction to undertake this project as they had made and installed the gates at the West End of the village and held a licence to operate on the highway. Cllr Woodall cautioned using the same contractor too many times as it could be considered as ‘favouritism’. Cllr Tomkins disagreed and said the quotes were all considered on their merit and chosen according to price, reliability and consistency of the firms involved.
As mentioned earlier in the meeting, the A1088 bridge works at Stowlangtoft/Pakenham would commence on 22 July for approximately 5 months. Full details of road closures, diversions and speed limits had been circulated to all Parish Councils and had been published on social media. The details would be added to our own website too for reference.

Planning

To consider a planning consultation request letter relating to a Change of Use application – DC/24/02325 Land South East of Hunston Road (Dog Park). Julia Evans kindly answered questions from the Councillors on various aspects of the application. The Councillors were unanimous in their approval of this new amenity for the village which had also gained huge support from residents in the village.
To consider a planning consultation Permission without Compliance of Conditions DC/24/02822 Lad off Dovedale, Badwell Ash IP31 3EY. This application was for the removal of the first floor of these two chalet-type bungalows making them ground floor only. The Parish Councillors had no objection to this application and it was approved accordingly.

Finance, Governance and Policies

To consider and agree the issue of BACS for the following payments:
- £872.45 – salaries
- £186.00 – Gipping Press Broadsheet printing
- £180.00 – Sarah Sharps – Broadsheet editing
- £60.00 – Village Hall hire 3 months
- £78.48 – Clerk’s expenses
- £5.00 – HSBC monthly bank charge
It was resolved that these payments could be made. The Vice Chairman and Cllr Taylor signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.
The Clerk had attended a meeting regarding NALC’s production of new Model Financial Regulations that it proposed should be adopted by all Parish Councils. The Clerk/RFO would not be permitted to edit/amend these alone. Cllr Morgan offered to undertake a review of these new regulations at a future meeting. It was therefore minuted that the Parish Council had accepted the receipt of the proposed regulations and would action them in due course.
The Clerk provided a copy of the most recent bank statement and bank reconciliation for the Councillors which was approved by the Vice Chairman.

Next Meeting

The remaining dates are Tuesday 6 August, Tuesday 3 September, Tuesday 1 October, Tuesday 5 November and Tuesday 3 December.

Carole Rose – Parish Clerk
01359 259045
8 July 2024

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting