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Minutes of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the WICKHAM MARKET PARISH COUNCIL held on
Monday 17 May 2010 at 7.30PM in the Wickham Market Village hall
PRESENT
Mr Argent, Mrs Bell, Mrs Breese, Mr Manning, Miss Pizzey, Mr Plater, Mr Revett, Mr Ridd, Mr Roseveare and Mr Tucker
Mr Hall (District Councillor)
1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN
. It was proposed by Mrs Bell and seconded by Mrs Breese and
RESOLVED
That Mr M Argent be appointed as Chairman of the Council for 2010/2011
2. APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIRMAN
It was proposed by Mr Manning and seconded by Miss Pizzey and
RESOLVED
That Mr G Plater be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Council for 2010/2011
3. MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 15 March 2010 were signed as a true record.
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES
There were no matters arising.
5. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
6. ELECTION OF COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES
RESOLVED
That the following committees and representatives be appointed for 2010/2011
Planning Committee S Lewis, J Evans, J Breese, M Roseveare, P Revett
Cemetery Group G Plater, M Argent, M Roseveare, M Manning
Finance Group S Lewis, C Tucker, P Revett
Allotments Group P Johnson & P Bell (Glebe), B Catchpole (liaison Simons Cross),
Village Hall rep S Lewis
SALC rep G Plater
Tree Warden T Peake
Footpaths T Peake
Campaign to Save
Our Rural Roads J Breese & V Pizzey to share role
7. OPEN SESSION (commenced at 7.36pm)
It was reported that the owner of Bank House and the shop had been contacted and made it clear that currently he was happy with the property being used as it was. The Council noted that there were no breaches of planning permission and that the owner was entitled to do as he wished.
The Outreach Project now had 21 clubs registered and leaflets/posters had been distributed around the village. 6 clubs had successfully applied for grant aid. The project was going well and Suffolk County Council were going to use it as an example of good practice.
Mr Hall gave his report on various issues including the Equal Treatment Policy for all parish and town councils, a scrutiny working party at Suffolk Coastal District Council to pursue planning and enforcement concerns of the public. He reported that there were 13 Specific Sites within the village under the Site Specific Strategy within the Local Development Framework. The out of hours GP service was working reasonably well and Harmoni were operating from Heath Road instead of the Riverside Centre in Ipswich. It anyone had a problem they should let him know.
(closed at 7.55pm)
8. POLICE MATTERS
Mr Hoe reported that between 15 March and 17 May 2010 there had been 16 crimes in Wickham Market compared to 141 in Woodbridge. The majority of these crimes were thefts from motor vehicles. There was still a problem with alcohol being drunk on the Hill but the police were taking action and the Co-op was co-operating to ensure, as far as possible, that alcohol was not bought or distributed illegally. Finally the police were holding the Teddy Bears picnic in Elmhurst Park, Woodbridge on 10 June 2010.
9. SPORT AND LEISURE
9.1 The Parish Council considered a map which indicated an area of land between Mill Lane and Deben Court, that Richard Hayward had made available to the general public under the Higher Level Stewardship scheme with Natural England. Access was off Mill Lane and some of the area would be cut for ball games, etc whilst other parts would be left in a more natural state. Dogs would be allowed but only on leads and must be well controlled. No motorised vehicles were permitted and any use deemed inappropriate would be stopped. Access was at the persons own risk and would end on 31 October 2019 when the agreement came to an official end.
The Parish Council welcomed the area as an addition to the leisure facilities of the village although it felt that there were a large number of controls on such an informal site. It noted that a large number of residents from Deben Court used the area as an attractive walk/shortcut to the village and agreed that a letter be sent to Mr Hayward asking him to keep the access from Deben Court open for local residents. It also invited Mr Hayward to a future meeting of the Parish Council to discuss his intentions for the future management of the site.
9.2 A report was received from Wickham Woods on the Gospel Hall site which had recently come up for sale at a guide price of £350,000. The site contained various old buildings and land with the only current access to it being a narrow lane. Unconditional offers had been invited. For the site to be developed for residential purposes then vehicular access would be difficult even with the demolition of the Gospel Hall.
The Parish Council noted the interest of Wickham Woods in the site as a future public facility and felt that at the moment it could offer support in principle although any development was in its very early stages. It agreed to write to the trustees and planning department of Suffolk Coastal DC to indicate its awareness of the interest of Wickham Woods and ask to be kept informed of any developments.
10. PLANNING MATTERS
10.1 As part of the preparation of the Local Development Framework a copy of the “Core Strategy and Development Management Policies” had been received. It was available should any member wish to read it.
10.2 Applications dealt with since the last meeting were: 22 Barhams Way, Wickham Market IP13 0SR (erection of porch and car port - no objections submitted), 16 Broadway, Wickham Market IP13 0RN (erection of air sourced heat pump - no objections submitted), Land north of Valley Farm Cottage, Valley Road, Wickham Market (change of use of land to expand 5 certificated licence site to 60 space camp/caravan site - no objection submitted), 15 California, Wickham Market IP13 0JL (erection of detached garage - no objection submitted)
10.3 Decisions received since last meeting - 87 High Street, Wickham Market (Conservation Area Consent granted),
10.4 Notification had been received from Suffolk Coastal DC of a training session for members to be held on the planning processes at the Council on 8 June 2010 from 7pm until 9pm at the Riverside Centre, Stratford St Andrew.
11. ALLOTMENT MATTERS
11.1 A letter has been received from Abbotts on behalf of Mr Nigel Holland, advising that the rent for the Simons Cross allotment site would increase from £300 to £400 per annum from 1 April 2011. The letter also indicated that Mr Holland intended to review the rent every two years. The Parish Council agreed that in these circumstances increases in allotment rent for tenants needed to reflect any increase from Mr Holland when it was practicable.
11.2 Some thefts had taken place on the allotment sites and rat poison had been found in one of the chicken runs. Discussions were being held with the police to see if an “allotment watch” scheme should be introduced.
11.3 The Best Kept Allotment judging would take place on 23 June 2010
12 CEMETERY MATTERS
12.1 A meeting of the Cemetery Group would take place during the summer to discuss the matter of cemetery charges and any other matters arising. A report from the meeting would be brought to the next appropriate meeting of the Parish Council.
13. HIGHWAY MATTERS
13.1 At its meeting in January 2010 the Council had been advised that Suffolk County Council (SCC) was considering introducing traffic calming measures on Snowden Hill similar to those outside the Post Office. Members felt that SCC should be asked to trial a speed limit of 20mph through the village and a priority scheme on Snowden Hill.
SCC has commented that it was unlikely that a 20mph would be considered as the existing traffic speed would need to be 24mph or less. Similarly SCC was unwilling to provide a temporary narrowing of the road. However SCC was considering the issue further. It had asked what were the Parish Council's main concerns along this stretch of road.
The Parish Council indicated that SCC be advised that pedestrian safety was its prime concern coupled with a concern over the size of lorries currently going through the village thereby making this narrow stretch of road much more hazardous.
13.2 Two complaints had been received from residents of Orchard Place concerning cars being parked in Orchard Place by people using the tennis courts. The complainants stated that residents are getting fed up because they either could not use the parking places at the end of the road or get out of their own driveway.
The Parish Council requested that the two complainants be advised that officers of the tennis club would be asking members and visitors not to park in Orchard Place, but apart from that there was little the Parish Council could do as Orchard Place was not a private road or subject to highway legislation which might help the issue be resolved.
14. FINANCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
14.1 Bi-monthly accounts - March /April 2010 - these were received and noted.
14.2 Annual Accounts 2009/2010 - it was proposed by Mrs Bell and seconded by Miss Pizzey and:
RESOLVED
That the Annual Accounts for 2009/2010 be adopted and submitted to the Internal Auditor.
14.3 Wickham Market Youth Football Club - It was agreed that the Annual Licence should be renewed.
14.4 Councillor Hall had been quoted a cost of £960 to have an electric metered 240volt supply installed on the Hill primarily to power the youthbus but available for other uses. Suffolk Coastal District Council had given a grant of £300 towards this cost from the Youth Initiatives Budget and Councillor Hall was seeking additional funding from the Parish Council, Wickham Market Partnership and SCC Locality budget.
RESOLVED
a) That a grant of £320 be awarded towards the cost of the power point and the Parish Council met the cost of electricity used by the youthbus.
b) That any other private user of the supply be recharged the cost of electricity used.
14.5 The Chairman had agreed that the Parish Council should be named on foul drainage easements with Flagship Housing and Mr Holland, on behalf of Wickham Market Youth Football Club, where the pipe to the pavilion passed under land owned by these two landowners. Where the pipe ran under the playingfield the Club was satisfied that any issues were dealt with within the terms of the Licence for Alterations already granted to them.
The Club has been instructed that no financial responsibility must devolve upon the Parish Council as a result of these easements.
The Parish Council noted the action of the Chairman.
15. CORRESPONDENCE
15.1 Notifications had been received from Suffolk Coastal District Council of some changes in the waste collection service. As a result of reduced income and increased costs related to waste recycling then recycling payments made to parish councils were to be reduced from April 2010 onwards.
From April 2010 there would be a charge for additional litter collections in addition to the normal weekly collection. From 2011 the verge cutting regime would be reduced from 17 cuts per year to 14 cuts per year.
The Parish Council assumed that these cuts were signs of the economic situation facing local authorities.
16. UPDATE ON EAST OF ENGLAND CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT
The Clerk reported that he had found it difficult to get definitive information but the agent acting for the Co-op had indicated that a completion date of mid 2011 was now the target. The planning officer dealing with the application had stated that discussions were still going on about the playspace payment due from the Co-op. However at this stage there was no reason to believe that the development would not go ahead.
17. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC
RESOLVED
That in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded for the following item of business.)
The Parish Council received an update on the situation at Deben Court.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm