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.
Residents will be pleased to know that Richard Morris and Stephen Russell have been elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman. We also welcomed three new councillors: Clare Taylor, Mark Tomkins, and John Morgan. A survey is planned to gather opinions on the proposed new charges for the Badwell Broadsheet.
Present
Councillors Richard Morris (Chairman), Stephen Russell (Vice Chairman), Will Draper, Roy Woodfine, Nick Harvey and Bill Woodall. 5 members of the public attended.

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

  1. The Vice Chairman proposed Councillor Richard Morris to stand for the position of Chairman. Cllr Bill Woodall seconded the proposal. Cllr Morris accepted the nomination and this was unanimously voted on by the remaining Parish Councillors.
  2. Councillor Morris signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
  3. Councillor Morris proposed Cllr Stephen Russell for the position of Vice Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Woodall. Cllr Russell agreed to stand and this was voted unanimous by the Parish Councillors.
  4. Cllr Russell signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Public Forum

Mr David Goswell questioned why his original list of questions to the PC in April were not filed with the Minutes. The Clerk confirmed that these were filed with the Minutes but hard copies were not displayed in the noticeboards due to the volume of paperwork. The Chairman reiterated that any requests for filming, recording or reporting at our public meetings would be in line with procedures laid down in our Standing Orders and any requests had to be submitted to the Clerk prior to a meeting taking place.

Apologies

County Councillor Andy Mellen, District Councillor Richard Winch and John Morgan.

Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensation

  1. None
  2. None

Minutes

  1. The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 April 2024 were unanimously approved and signed by the Chairman.
  2. None.

Clerk’s Report and Correspondence

The Clerk had no matters to verbally report this month

  1. The Clerk announced that Roger Castro had sadly tendered his immediate resignation from the position of Councillor due to ill health. Roger had very generously made a donation to Parish Council funds and the Councillors were asked to put forward suggestions for its use at a future meeting.
  2. The Parish Council had received nominations for the role of Parish Councillor from Mrs Clare Taylor, Mr Mark Tomkins and Mr John Morgan. The Councillors accepted the three nominations and they were therefore co-opted as Parish Councillors at this meeting.
  3. Cllrs Taylor and Tomkins signed their Declaration of Office with Cllr Morgan due to sign his prior to the next PC meeting owing to his absence this evening. The three new councillors were requested to submit their Register of Interests completed form directly to Mid Suffolk District Council. The Chairman welcomed the three new members and advised them they could take an active part in the meeting going forward.
  4. The Clerk handed the new Councillors a reminder about the protocol regarding absence and holidays and asked generally if the Councillors would be kind enough to keep her abreast of their planned absences and holidays.
  5. Due to the proposed new additional charges of £150 per edition for the Badwell Broadsheet, it is proposed that a survey is compiled and sent out with the July Broadsheet asking for residents’ opinions as these new charges were not known when the Budget was compiled in December 2023.
  6. There is no definitive answer from our software host re the website archive should a major IT failure occur. The Clerk was asked to check with SALC for their advice to enquire what other parish councils do in addition to our own back up procedures.
  7. The Clerk highlighted that at the recently called General Election for 4 July, the Parish of Badwell Ash would be moving into the Waveney constituency (from the Bury St Edmunds constituency). We are fortunate that our existing County Councillor and District Councillor will be unchanged.

Environment

  1. Mark Tompkins gave a detailed update on the Neighbourhood Plan and provided a hard copy update (filed with these Minutes). Cllr Russell and Cllr Tomkins would be reapplying for a further grant now that the Govt had opened up the new bidding cycle. Cllr Tomkins stated that the two public consultation days were likely to be in September (August being a busy holiday month). It was suggested that we combine these open days to include next steps with the MUGA. We were extremely fortunate that a huge chunk of the work was being carried out (unpaid) by the Neighbourhood Planning Sub Group.
  2. The two SIDs reports had been previously circulated. These show an increase in the overall volume of traffic, due to the current A14 roadworks, but no sustained increase in the speeds going through the village. We are very grateful to Ed Walsh for continuing to provide the analysis and results for these SID reports.
  3. Cllr Draper gave a verbal report of his liaison meeting with the Village Hall Trustees. He stated that the VHC were proposing to continue their improvements with insulation and cladding to the village hall and maintenance and repair to the courtyard, canopy and surrounding fences. Cllr Draper also commented that the VHC had some concerns about the detail of the proposed sports pitches and their maintenance but were happy to wait for further details in due course. The Clerk asked when the new chairs and kitchen facilities would be put into use. Mr Hawkins confirmed that now the painting had been completed it was intended to supply a new fridge, water boiler and microwave along with all the requisite crockery, cutlery and cloths to make this a fully operational kitchenette as soon as practical.
  4. Cllr Harvey agreed to supply the names of two potential contractors to Cllr Woodfine in connection with the supply and installation of the Long Thurlow village gates (east end). We already have one quotation from the contractor who supplied the gates for the west end of the village. It was noted that these contractors should hold a licence for working on the Highways and Verges which not all contractors hold.
  5. The Clerk reported that the playground suppliers had removed the Climbing Cone and were in the process of rebuilding and replacing it to meet ROSPA guidelines. It was expected to be only out of action for a week.
  6. The Clerk is in touch with the Community Heartbeat Trust regarding the refund for the emergency phone in the Defib box as this no longer works since the 3g network was disbanded nationwide. Mobile telephone coverage should now be able to respond to 999 calls. Cllr Harvey is unable to undertake the repainting of the red telephone box so a request for an alternative volunteer has been included in this month’s Broadsheet.
  7. The Clerk asked Councillors to alert her to any street maintenance/groundwork tasks that became apparent to make use of the Street Cleaner’s allocated 6 hours per month.
  8. Cllr Harvey updated the Councillors on the MUGA which would be going before the Planning Committee in mid-July. No further discussion would take place until after the public consultation in September alongside the Neighbourhood Plan consultation. Cllr Harvey would be having a meeting with the CIL Dept from MSDC in due course.
  9. The VHC requested a sum of £35,000 from the PC towards the items listed in 7.3. The Chairman stated that there had been no request in the Budget in December for any amount and therefore no capital sum had been reserved for this. The Clerk stated that the existing CIL payments and expenditure had been finalised as at 31.3.24 and our Neighbourhood share payment from MSDC was only £4,055 so a small fraction of what the VHC are requesting. The Vice Chairman suggested that the VHC might look at Capital Grants while the window was open. This subject could be looked at again towards the end of this year before the 2025 budget was prepared. It was stated again that whilst the PC had the ability to reclaim VAT on eligible spending, the VHC did not have this facility. The Chairman concluded that due to the above, we were unable to consider the request this time.

Planning

Progress of recent planning applications:

  • DC/24/00847 Holly Cottage, Long Thurlow, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP31 3JB - REFUSED
  • DC/24/00792 Land West Of, The Street, Badwell Ash, Suffolk (Reserved Matters) - GRANTED
  • DC/24/01215 19 St Mary’s Crescent, Badwell Ash, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP31 3DN - GRANTED
  • DC/24/01492 Lavandula House, 25 Ladywood Drive, Badwell Ash, Suffolk IP31 3GN - GRANTED

Finance, Governance and Policies

  1. Renewal of General Power of Competence (GPOC) not needed this year, to be renewed again in 2027.
  2. To review, confirm and sign annual risk assessments
    • Financial Risk Assessment – renewed and signed by the Chairman
    • Asset Risk Assessment – renewed and signed by the Chairman
  3. The Annual CIL Report had been completed for 30.3.24 and submitted to MSDC.
  4. The Annual Accounting Statement in accordance with 5.6 of the Financial Regulations was reviewed and signed by the Chairman.
  5. Chairman signed the Annual Governance Statement following the completion of the Internal Audit. The Clerk will now prepare all the documents for submission to PFK Littlejohn in compliance with the External Audit.
  6. To consider and agree the issue of BACS/cheques for the following payments:
    • £889.65 - April salary
    • £2,592.00 – Locus Planning (MUGA Planning Consultancy)
    • £675.00 – Oakfield (MUGA arboreal assessment)
    • £53.99 – Clerk’s expenses
    • £5.00 – HSBC monthly bank charge
    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

Due to difficulties attending Parish Council meetings by some Councillors owing to work abroad and other impracticalities, it was suggested that the remaining PC dates for 2024 were reviewed. After discussion it was agreed to reschedule the meetings for the first Tuesday of the month. The Clerk would send out a confirmation by email, list the new dates on the website and alert the VH re our bookings.

The remaining dates are Tuesday 4 June, 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
28 May 2024

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