Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting

Meeting Date:

Summary
This summary is generated by AI and may contain errors. It does not form part of the official minutes.
Exciting news for residents: a £1.5 million fund has been allocated for flood defence improvements, and Suffolk residents can still apply for a 50% discount on loft insulation. Additionally, the No. 73 bus extension is looking promising for the New Year, potentially lasting 18 months.
Present
Councillors Stephen Russell (Vice Chairman), Will Draper, Roy Woodfine, Bill Woodall, Nick Harvey, Mark Tomkins and John Morgan. DC Richard Winch and 3 members of the public attended.

Public Forum

  1. No items raised.
  2. None.
  3. CC Andy Mellen’s report (attached for the files). Andy Mellen sent apologies and his report was pre-circulated. £1.5m has been allocated for flood defence recommendations although these would be to highways and drainage and unlikely to be for individual homes. The loft insulation offer for Suffolk residents is ongoing with a 50% discount and free delivery to eligible applicants. Applications are invited from residents wishing to apply for an Energy Efficient loan to upgrade their home energy requirements. No further information had been received on the data project for Richer Road and the possible 30mph adjustment and new SID.
  4. DC Richard Winch highlighted the Govt wished to increase the number of houses built (currently 753 for Mid Suffolk) which would be an increase over the JLP – the outcome is unknown at the moment. The Govt is proposing joining Norfolk and Suffolk into a Unitary Authority with a Mayor and dissolving District Councils – more information in due course. The proposals for the No. 73 bus extension look promising for the New Year and Richard hoped this would last for the next 18 months and will be approved. Suffolk Highways have now agreed to a joint meeting with Anglia Water in our Parish and Richard would make all the arrangements in the New Year for this to take place.

Apologies

County Councillor Andy Mellen. Cllr Richard Morris (Chairman) and Clare Taylor. (Apologies accepted and reasons noted which will be recorded in the Attendance Register)

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensation

  1. None
  2. None

Minutes

  1. The minutes of 5 November 2024 having been circulated and approved were signed by the Vice Chairman.
  2. David Girling’s name to be added to Item 7.2 November minutes.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

The Clerk gave a verbal report on various matters dealt with this month:

  • The dilapidated Austin bench adjacent to the war memorial to be disposed of and a new one ordered, hopefully to be re-sited on St Mary’s Green with the Cllr Austin plaque re-fixed to it.
  • The two replacement solar light pole casings, meeting British Standards, are now in place in the village hall car park. It was noted that one of the solar lights is not working. The Clerk to follow up.
  • The toad ladders are now in situ and an invoice received from Mulberry Homes for £4490.00. This to be paid for by the gift of £3000 from Mulberry and £1470 from District Councillor Winch’s Locality Budget for which the PC were grateful. Hopefully this completes this Toad Project.
  • The ‘free trees’ offer paperwork passed to Mark Tomkins in case of future need.
  • The Clerk had reviewed, reread, formatted and spellchecked all 16 of the Governance policies and all are now up to date and in order. Two policies dated 2022 are still current and awaiting further updates in due course.
  1. Until the H&S report for the VH has been completed and implemented, the Councillors were not comfortable making any further hall hire bookings. It was agreed that the Chairman would liaise with the Village Hall Trustees once the situation had been clarified.
  2. Following the survey results for the proposed ECP project, it has been decided not to proceed with the proposed plan for the Village Hall car park due to a number of factors. The Chairman of the Village Hall made the final decision and this was accepted by the Parish Council.
  3. Councillor Woodhall will lead the village litter pick in Badwell Ash and Councillor Woodfine would lead the pick in Long Thurlow. This will take place on Saturday 14 December between 10-12 noon.
  4. The Clerk to arrange new Councillor training for Cllrs Tomkins, Taylor and Morgan. Approval given to spend £230 on their online training to be undertaken in the New Year via SALC.
  5. Cllr Tomkins and the Clerk had devised a ‘Playground Accident form’ which would be added to the Governance documents on the BA website.
  6. A further safety and instruction sign was proposed for the exercise area on the playing field. The Clerk was given authority to have this made and attached to the wire fencing adjacent to the basketball hoop.
  7. The Clerk brought to the attention of the Councillors the Media and Communications policy and asked that they re-read this to ensure they were fully aware of all procedures within it.

Environment

  1. The draft NP was complete. It now included a number of recommendations and included the feedback on the village hall, carbon neutral and all other comments. It would now be sent to Mid Suffolk for 6 weeks consultation. It was hoped to have the report back in time for discussion at the February PC meeting. Cllr Russell suggested that a joint meeting of the VHC and the PC was planned as the two sets of feedback were currently not aligned and it was important that residents’ opinions of what the VH would look like in years to come was clearly outlined prior to any capital expenditure. The Chairman would be asked to write to the VH Chairman re the future of the village hall.
  2. MUGA consultation – the acoustic survey would be undertaken by month end and the planners were currently going through the consultation process. Any further updates or progress was unlikely to be available before the end of January 2025.
  3. Cllr Draper gave an itemised update of the VH’s actions following the H&S inspection carried out on 13 November. The report had 3 separate criteria – P1(immediate actions), P2 (actions within 1 week) and P3 (the rest). Whilst the Councillors appreciated that some actions had been drafted and others were in progress, they were not content with the speed of progress made and requested the VHC were given a deadline of 13 December for all P1 and P2 elements to have been completed. It was agreed that the Chairman would contact the VHC with this decision. Should the H&S actions not be completed by 13 December, the PC would reserve the right to inform all users and hirers regarding no further bookings on H&S grounds until a satisfactory conclusion had been reached. A local resident queried the emergency lighting at the village hall and the doorway access for disabled people in the light of an emergency. The muster point for Evacuation and Emergencies was discussed and the children’s playground area was suggested although Councillor Woodhall commented that this was not far enough away from the VH.
  4. Only one acceptance had been received for the potential PCC meeting on 6 January. It was therefore decided to cancel this meeting with a possibility of reviewing it again in the Spring. The Clerk to inform the original local parish councils who had been invited.
  5. Cllr Woodhall had completed the playground inspection for December and the file was passed to Cllr Morgan to complete for January and then to pass on.
  6. Keep the Heat Project – the Clerk had made a booking for the PC to have the thermal imaging cameras for use in the Parish in 26 February 2025 for a period of 13 days. Training online to be on 9 January 2025. The file on Thermal Imaging to be passed to Cllr Tomkins for implementation.
  7. The future of the Broadsheet would now be planned as a result of the recent survey. More paid advertising was proposed but there would still be 6 printed copies per year and online as at present. The articles would be in plain English with a word limit. It is hoped that the whole process from submission through editorial and distribution could be streamlined therefore avoiding unnecessary delays in the system.
  8. Cllr Tomkins outlined a book borrowing facility that had been requested by LT residents for the bus shelter in LT. There was no cost to the PC involved as an enclosed bookcase would be provided and erected FOC. The PC gave permission for this to go ahead but cautioned about ‘damp’ books as the bus shelter was not enclosed. This facility would be reviewed after a trial period.
  9. Cllr Tomkins requested the LT battery powered SID be upgraded to a solar powered one in the future. The PC were in agreement that this could be considered but cautioned that the appropriate paperwork had to be completed before any expense of a SID could be contemplated and this was likely to take a number of months. Liaison with the relevant department at SCC would be needed. If successful, this would be financed via CIL not the PC’s Precept Budget.
  10. Cllr Tomkins also raised the subject of a Traffic Sub-Group. Cllr Russell said this was already in hand and he had requested an SDR be undertaken in both BA and LT in the first instance before any further action could be taken.
  11. In the light of the expensive quotation received for repairs to the stonework of the war memorial, Cllr Harvey offered to get this repair undertaken by his own workmen as opposed to an independent firm. This was accepted with thanks and would be actioned in the Spring.
  12. Cllr Morgan stated that he was mapping the street furniture assets. No action or approval required.
  13. Flood/winter/evacuation procedures – the question was posed of the Parish Council – were there any plans or policies in place in the case of a problem this winter? There are currently no defined PC guidelines but perhaps this subject should be thought through? In the meanwhile the Clerk would list the Useful Contact Numbers list on the BA website.
  14. The Clerk raised the problem with the corrosion of the BA village sign. SCC had been approached for a repair/replacement but it had been declined as no budget was available. Cllr Harvey stated that C&L Construction could purchase and erect new poles for this sign as they/we have a licence to operate on the verges. The Clerk to progress with C&L for costs.

Planning

Progress on recent planning applications: None

  1. Formation of a Planning Sub-Group – in hand as per last month’s minutes but the addition of David Girling as a participant to be noted.

Finance, Governance and Policies

  1. To consider and agree the issue of BACS for the following payments:
    • £1118.45 – Wages and back pay
    • £1536.00 – Top Garden Services annual grounds maintenance
    • £4429.94 – Mulberry Homes (toad ladders)
    • £360.00 – Andrew Pack for H&S Report on the Village Hall
    • £125.68 – Clerk’s expenses incl annual Microsoft licence
    • £5.00 – November bank charges
    • £2034.03 – Rachel Leggett NP
    • £20.00 – hall hire NP

Resolved: It was resolved that these payments could be made. Cllrs Russell and Woodfine signed an approval for these to be paid by BACS.

  1. The current bank reconciliation was presented to the PC and signed as correct by Cllr Russell.
  2. The second draft Budget was presented to the Councillors. After questions and explanations, this was unanimously approved by the Councillors present. The Clerk would prepare the Final copy of the Budget and this would be added to the relevant section on our website.
  3. After discussion on current financial and economic conditions, the Councillors settled on proposing a 3% Precept increase for the 2025/26 year. The Precept monies are solely for the running of the Parish Council and its ongoing costs and liabilities. Other expenditure and significant costs are allocated out of CIL funds as appropriate.
  4. Tracking CIL monies – deferred until January.

Next Meeting

The next meeting to be on 7 January 2025 at a venue to be chosen in due course. Cllr Woodhall apologies received in advance.

Carole Rose – Parish Clerk
01359 259045
6 December 2024

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