Meeting 20 July 2009

Minutes of the meeting of the WICKHAM MARKET PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 20 July 2009 at 7.30pm

PRESENT: Mr M Argent (Chairman), Mr G Plater (Vice Chairman), Mrs J Breese, Mrs J Evans, Miss P Johnson, Mr M Manning, Miss V Pizzey, Mr P Revett, Mr J Ridd, Mr M Roseveare, Mr C Tucker

Also present: Mr B Hall (District Councillor)

Mr M Bond (County Councillor)

In attendance: P.C. Rebecca O'Neil

(Prior to the start of the meeting the Chairman awarded the Best Kept Allotment prizes for 2009. Mr G Garnham won the prize for the Glebe site and the Holland Challenge Cup for the best overall allotment and Mr J McLoughlin won the prize for the Simons Cross site.)

1. APOLOGIES were received from Mrs P Bell and Mrs S Lewis

1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Mrs J Evans declared a personal interest in Item 7 Car Parks.

1. MINUTES

The minutes of the annual general meeting held on 18 May 2009 were signed as a true record.

1. COUNTY COUNCILLOR

The Chairman welcomed Mr Michael Bond as the newly elected county councillor for Wickham Market. Mr Bond reported on a meeting of the County Health Scrutiny Committee that he had attended concerning Ipswich Hospital and the provision of emergency heart treatment. The NHS were to conduct detailed time for distance measurements in East Suffolk to validate the assumptions made about getting to Norwich or Papworth hospitals. He felt that any final decision would be based on financial considerations.

He also welcomed any input about the out of hours doctors surgery in Wickham Market.

There were no questions on Mr Bond's report.

1. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

5.1 Mr E Walker was to supply a price for the painting of the railings around the war memorial.

5.2 Suffolk County Council had cleared the public footpath around the White Bridges area.

5.3 Barn Owls had nested in the cemetery and there were five eggs.

1. POLICE MATTERS

P.C. Rebecca O'Neil reported that in the last calendar year 74 crimes had been reported, 2 more than in the previous calendar year.

The Day of Action on 19 June 2009 had been very successful and given rise to two main issues. Firstly many people wanted a 30mph speed limit on Border Cot Lane. The County Council were reluctant to do this at the moment. Secondly was the antisocial behaviour of some youngsters. She was hoping to enter into some anti social behaviour contracts with some young people in the next few days.

She was meeting the Ipswich street drinking officer to discuss mutual problems and illegal parking outside the Co-op was an ongoing problem.

She stressed the importance of reporting any crime to the police at the time of the offence. This would give her a more accurate picture of the situation in the village. Finally she was hoping to start “street meets” on the Hill in the near future.

1. CAR PARKS

The Council received figures showing the cost of maintenance and enforcement on the Wickham Market car parks over the last three years. It accepted that the fall in occupancy of the Percy Mason car park was probably due to the fact that local workers were no longer parking there.

1. OPEN SESSION - COMMENCED AT 7.59PM

A member of the public reported that the horse trough and pump near Spring Lane was in poor state of repair and asked if they could be renovated. The Clerk was asked to try and find out who owned, and was responsible for, the two items before any decision to renovate was taken.

The public session closed at 8.04pm

1. WICKHAM MARKET PARTNERSHIP (WMP)

The Partnership was very concerned at the lack of progress on the improvement of the out of hours doctors service. Hopefully the Patient Panel could get local doctors to take a more active role. The Panel would welcome any report from a patient who had been disadvantaged because the service was no available. Patients should also contact the Panel if they had difficulty in getting an emergency appointment. The Council noted that when the Resource Centre was built specific provision was made for out of hours service and it was a pity that the rooms were not being used to their full potential.

All the ruts around the basketball court were now filled in and ways were being looked at to improve the WMP website and encourage more local businesses to have their own page.

The WMP was pursuing brown tourist signs and a tourist brochure and ways of extending the use of the resource centre by other organisations.

10. SPORT AND LEISURE

10.1 The official opening of the basketball court had taken place on 10 July 2009.

10.2 Wickham Woods was still searching for approximately 2 acres of land that could be turned into a local woodland nature reserve and amenity.

11. PLANNING MATTERS

Since the last meeting permission had been given for the erection of extensions at 6 Featherbroom Gardens, Wickham Market IP13 0JH. No new planning applications had been received.

12. ALLOTMENT MATTERS

12.1 Notices were being put up that only hand held hoses could be used.

12.2 Increases in water rate payments might make an increase in allotment rents necessary in the near future. The Clerk would investigate.

13. CEMETERY MATTERS

13.1 Following a meeting of the Cemetery Group a decision had been made that a surfaced path to the Garden of Rest was not appropriate as it was a lawned cemetery. The Council asked that the possibility of plastic pathing integrated into the grass be investigated.

13.2 It was estimated that the cost of planting a box hedge around the Garden of Rest to mark the area more clearly was £250.

RESOLVED

That expenditure of £250 be approved for the provision of a box hedge.

14. HIGHWAY MATTERS

14.1 All street nameplates previously removed had been replaced.

14.2 There was still flooding of the highway outside the primary school in Dallinghoo Road in heavy rain.

15. FINANCE AND LEGAL MATTERS

15.1 Bi-monthly accounts - May/June 2009 - these were received and noted.

15.2 Internal Audit Report - the accounts for 2008/2009 had been internally audited and sent on to the external auditor. Any issues arising from the internal auditors report would be dealt with.

15.3 Mr Hall reported that Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) were seeking to reduce expenditure by 20% over the next three years. It had gone through all its services and put them into priority order. Parish councils would soon be consulted on the services they felt were of highest and lowest priority. This would be discussed at this Council's September 09 meeting.

Two Council members would also be invited to attend a parish liaison meeting to discuss this issue.

16. CORRESPONDENCE

16.1 Information had been received from Suffolk Coastal District Council on the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 that encouraged councils to work with the communities to identify what was needed to improve the economic, social or environmental well being of the area.

Proposals needed to require Government action and had to be in by 5 June 2009 but further submission dates would be issued at regular intervals. The Parish Council noted this for the future

16.2 The Campaign to Save Our Rural Roads (SORR), of which Wickham Market Parish Council is a member, had submitted a request under the above Act, to change the procedures for the granting of Goods Vehicle Operators Licences. The request recommended that appropriate local parish councils and individuals be consulted before reaching a decision.

A letter supporting this proposal had been approved by the Chairman and sent to Suffolk Coastal District Council.

16.3 East Suffolk Travellers Association (ESTA) has indicated that National Express East Anglia was asking the Department of Transport to change its franchise agreement so that it could withdraw its Lowestoft to Liverpool Street through service. This would be replaced eventually by an hourly shuttle between Lowestoft and Ipswich.

Comments have to be submitted by 11 September 2009. Mr Hall accepted there would be change but felt that many travellers did not want to change trains either because of age or being late at night. He supported the view of ESTA

16.4 Mrs Evans reported that Simon Farr who was behind the Italian Market had visited the village and asked that the market be allowed on Saturday 14 November 2009. The Clerk was asked to approach SCDC.

The lack of a power supply on the Hill might mean that a generator had to be used and the promotion of the event needed to be thought out.

Mrs Evans was putting a working group of four people together to see the event through. She was asked to report back in detail to the September 09 meeting.

16.5 Mrs Bell had submitted a brief report on the latest developments at Lehmann House. Progress with the County Council was good and it had agreed to provide a fund of £2,500 per annum for three years as a social amenity fund to provide opportunities to make contact with older people in Wickham Market and adjoining villages.

The Parish Council supported the idea but asked for more details before making a decision on whether it should administer the fund.

16.6 Anne Westover reported various ideas for planting next winter. She was going to approach some local landowners about new planting and was looking to go out towards Pettistree/Hacheston. The cemetery also had some dead trees in it which would need looking at. She was always looking for younger people to help with planting and would welcome any ideas for new planting in the village.

17. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

RESOLVED

That the public be excluded for the item below in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

HANGING BASKETS

The Council was advised that a local businessman had offered to sponsor the hanging baskets for 2010 and organise the watering by his own staff. The Council welcomed the assistance with the watering and the baskets but agreed that sponsorship should still be sought from local shopkeepers in the normal way towards the cost of the baskets.

The Clerk was asked to accept the offer and continue negotiations