Minutes of Gt Blakenham Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 9th May 2024 in the Parish Room, Stowmarket Road, Great Blakenham at 7.30pm.
- Present
- Cllr Steve Plume (Chairman), Cllr Debbie Kemp, Cllr Nick Leonard, Karen Grimwood (Parish Clerk), District Cllr Addrienne Marriott, SCC Cllr Chris Chambers.
1. To Receive and Approve Any Apologies for Absence
None
2. Councillor / Parishioner Engagement
- To receive the County Councillor's report — See attached
- To receive the District Councillor's report — See attached
- To receive questions from members of the public (allow 15 minutes). None
3. To Approve the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Held on 11th May 2023
Approved
4. To Receive the Chairman's Annual Report
See attached
5. To Receive Any Other Reports
- Claydon High School
- Claydon Primary School
- Suffolk Constabulary
- Claydon Pre-school
- Suez
Karen Grimwood
Clerk to Great Blakenham Parish Council
Email: pc@greatblakenham.suffolk.gov.uk
Phone: 07463329570
Parish Council website: www.greatblakenham.suffolk.cloud
Date: 09/05/2024
Great Blakenham Chairman's Report
Annual Parish Meeting
Thursday 9th May 2024
Welcome to the 2024 Annual Parish Meeting and thank you for attending. It's fair to say that the impact of Covid, Brexit and the war in the Ukraine is creating difficulties in the UK. The cost of living is too high for most of the population, so it was a difficult decision to raise our precept for the years 2024 to 2025. It's the first time we've increased it for 6 years. For a Band D home this meant an increase of £61.09 or 3.29%.
Our strict financial control and ensuring we get the best value for any projects we undertake. In summary we started the year with £215,610, we finished the year with £202,557 and total outgoings were £73,847, the additional funds came via the precept and CIL monies, more detailed information will be reviewed in the meeting following this one). Whilst this might seem a large amount, it ensures your parish council can remain viable for 6 months with no additional income. Included in that figure are the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies that are assigned to projects (a tentative figure is around £80,000, TBC at the following meeting), the 3 major ones are for 24/25 are, improvements to our Village Hall, the Crown Bowls Club and the playground and picnic site in Barham and hopefully in the near future a new Pre-School serving Great Blakenham, Claydon and Barham.
It may not have hit the news yet but there is a strong commitment from central government to fund and build a new Medical Practice somewhere in between Great Blakenham and Needham Market, at last alleviating the volume that's being carried by the current practice in Needham Market.
I'd like to give my fellow councilors a well-deserved thank you. We couldn't do what we do without willing candidates to stand and help support the parish.
Our County Councillor Chris Chambers has been a stalwart with all matters relating to Suffolk Highways, he continues to get support for the flooding that occurs around the parish, and I'll buy him a pint or two when the area around the rail crossing remains dry after heavy rain. Regarding flooding, I'm aware of planned works to resurface all of Chapel Lane and improve the drainage, just awaiting a date for the works to begin. District Councilor Adrienne Marriott had settled well into the role in her first year and is very supportive with all district matters.
As of March 2024, there were 1926 names listed on the electoral roll for our parish (obviously we have around 50% more living here). We are now aware of a possible development on the land opposite JT Few. No application has been submitted yet, again there is a cloud over any possible impact on the allotments.
The allotments are doing well, only a couple of vacancies which were awaiting commitment on. If you want an allotment reach out to Karen our clerk and register.
We're still awaiting final confirmation on the "Water Meadows" over the small bridge at the end of Mill Lane. It seems this land has been part of planning chess and the delays have been passed down the line. The main cause was a major delay to Phase 3 of Port 1 planning application by BMSDC.
We still struggle to get traction on open space projects, the north side of Hackneys Corner is looking better with daffodils and tulips and 4 replacement trees planted. Later this year we have a meeting with the bio-diversity officer for BMSDC to discuss further improvements. We are also looking at the land west of Bugden's on Hackneys Corner to see if we can improve the area to benefit wildlife. Of course, you can all do your bit by leaving an area of your garden for wildlife, let the grass grow, sow wildflower seeds, put in a small pond or bird bath. We've ordered and received hedgehog tunnels to promote movement through gardens and green areas, if you fancy helping this declining species, again ask our clerk for information, they fix on the bottom of a fence panel and form a solid arch.
Suez has hit a new record producing power from waste, in 2023, they processed 294,607 tonnes of waste, this generated 185,144 MWatt hours of electricity which powered 52,243 homes. Which saved 22,142 tonnes of fossil fuel, they also spent £681,135 with Suffolk suppliers. They should be commended for their engagement with the parish and local authorities, they do set the benchmark for local support and engagement. Unfortunately, last year our resident peregrines had a bit of a problem with one of the fledglings didn't survive, hoping this year is a happier one, it demonstrates how nature adapts and wildlife can be supported in modern industrial areas. As well as the falcons, they have a nice wildflower area, beehives, and a large pool of water (for firefighting) which has its own inhabitants, ducks, dragonflies and damselflies. Thanks to Suez for designing its plant with environmental benefits in mind.
We've exhausted sites for Dog Waste bins, but it does sadden me when I see dog waste only feet away from a waste bin. Please can owners of dogs, clear it up and bin it. Our litter pickers can fill 6 large black bins with waste and rubbish from around the village, again please dispose of your rubbish correctly. We've had the new hi-visibility lighting installed at the zebra crossing on Stowmarket Road. The two poles have been installed for the Speed Indication Devices; installation should be imminent.
We saw a change in the village last year with a whole new committee taking over the Village Hall and Playing Field charity. I have to say the drive and commitment shown by the new committee is fabulous, they all have the village at the heart of their plans, pop along to one of the social events for the parishioners and have a chat. Your parish council is very engaged with the improvements and the committee. It was nice to see the bar at the hall have a revamp and being officially named as "Lockwoods" after the decades of service by Doris & Derek.
There is a new test waste incinerator being installed next to the landfill site, new technology burning waste with no flame, sounds very interesting and has little or no impact to the village or its traffic.
We have continued to maintain a good presence on social media which helps us to get messages out where possible as well as our own website. What we are looking for is how to raise our engagement with the parishioners, any ideas are always welcome.
As always, we are looking for more councilors, we have three vacancies (at time of writing) if you wish to join a friendly team, with a desire to improve the parish think about asking our clerk for details.
Kindest Regards
Steve Plume
Chair for Great Blakenham Parish Council.
District Councillor's Annual Report May 2024
Since winning the Blakenham Ward for the Liberal Democrats in May 2023 I have been on a steep learning curve. All new recruits are required to attend a great deal of training from MSDC, which was very time-consuming. However, the bulk of the training is now finished with the exception of updates with regard to Planning.
I am on the Council's Audit and Standards Committee and a sub-committee related to Councillor conduct; a Clinical Governance Review Working Group (looking at boundary issues) and a Biodiversity Working Group. I took the Overview and Scrutiny training and the Planning Committee training and have on occasion, stood in for my fellow Lib Dem councillors who are on those committees.
I have enjoyed being a member of the Biodiversity Working Group. We have been looking at endangered animals, birds and insects as well as their habitats, discussing ways of preserving them and their habitats. I was interested to learn that the Blakenham/Somersham area has quite a strip of calcareous grassland which could host many scarce wildflowers. The group discussed adopting "mascot" species and we are focussing on hedgehogs, toads, swifts and bumblebees.
I have also enjoyed attending Parish Council meetings and Parish Meetings and hearing about their plans and their obligations and issues. I feel more connected to the parishes through them.
Unfortunately not every issue brought to me by parishioners is instantly solvable. I was pleased early in the year to be able to help a resident of a flat in Great Blakenham. She was disabled and found it difficult to access the bins on the ground floor but when she did so, she found them overflowing and crawling with maggots. I emailed the head of Public Realm and the bins were emptied the next day.
Last summer I went on a ward walk around Blueleighs (mobile home) Park with Sarah-Jane Hatt, community funding officer, Mark Emms, Operations Manager, Kelly Taylor, Food and Safety Technical Officer and two local residents of Blueleighs. The Council had previously been in touch with Wyldecrest homes, owners of the park, regarding breaches of the Caravan sites and control of development act 1960. After the visit a letter detailing the residents' issues was sent to Wyldecrest Homes. Soon after a site map appeared on the notice board and bags of rubbish and rubble had disappeared from the entrance. Kelly noted that this was "a marathon and not a sprint" and I am reminded that I should chase up current progress.
Another longstanding issue is that of enforcement at "The Pit" in Flowton. The enforcement order dates from 2012. The owner of the clay pit is continually burning unpleasant substances and dumping rubbish onto his and his neighbour's land. He and his sons have threatened villagers and, on one occasion, dropped tacks across the road. It is only noted that the enforcement officer has made one visit; however, he now tells me that he is working with the county council and the environment agency towards issuing an injunction.
I have had a couple of "neighbour issues" to deal with. One resident of Somersham at Cherrytree Cottages felt very intimidated by her opposite neighbour who shone a CCTV camera right into her bedroom. He was also quite threatening if she or her son tried to park in the layby outside his house. The man's partner was actually the council tenant and the complainant told me that he was known locally as a fraudster.
The complainant had installed a CCTV camera herself as she was worried about the actions of her neighbour. However, this was turned against her when I raised the case with a local policewoman recommended to me by Cllr James Caston. Apparently the neighbour said that he was intimidated by her camera.
Another "neighbour" problem relates to owners and tenants of Park Cottages, Somersham. These were originally all council houses but some residents have bought their house. There is a shortage of parking and two residents (one owner, one tenant) were driving along a track designated a "path" to access their homes. However, another owner objected to them driving across a very small corner of her land. I have been working to get the Council to fulfil a covenant created in 1946 allowing them to surface this track. However, the tenancy services manager says that the Asset Management Team whom he reports to, are unwilling to spend money on this. I have copied all correspondence to the Leader of the Council, Andrew Mellen as the objecting owner had contacted him and in the hope that he might raise this issue with his fellow Green councillors.
A third "neighbour" issue related to a resident of Little Blakenham whose garden backed onto a footpath and another garden across the footpath. The owner of the garden had dumped an enormous pile of manure right by the fence, providing an ideal environment for flies and wasps as well as an unpleasant smell. I have emailed two environmental protection officers about this but have received no reply. Now that (hopefully) the weather is changing for the better, I will raise the topic again.
To turn to more pleasant topics I have given out all of my Locality Grant money for 2024:
- Outdoor play equipment for Somersham Youth Club — Sarah Freeman — replacing existing, damaged equipment and replacing with new. Over thirty children attend the club.
- New L.E.D. lights for Somersham & District Community Shop — Jennie Hutchinson. Groundwork East had carried out an energy review and recommended that the shop lighting should be upgraded from filament light bulbs and fluorescent tubes to reduce energy consumption.
- New external signage for Somersham & District Community Shop - Jennie Hutchinson. Current signs were either broken or their lettering had faded. New signs are:
- 2 x free-standing metal signs at either end of the village
- Board to be displayed on the roadside adjacent to the shop
- 1 new sign outside the shop showing shop opening hours.
- Gipping Valley Bowls Club, Great Blakenham — Michael Roberts Ditch rubbers around the bowling green to catch wayward bowls.
Adrienne Marriott
Blakenham District Councillor
May 2024