Brockley Parish Council Meeting
Thursday 23rd January 2025
Village Hall, Brockley
7.00pm
- Present
- Cllr Dr J Wymer, Cllr S Hudson, Cllr S Holmes, Cllr B Tyler, Cllr G Baber, Cllr F Driver, County Cllr Bobby Bennett and six members of the public
Apologies
District Cllr Sarah Pugh, Cllr Ray Dinsey
Declaration of Interests & Requests for Dispensations
None.
To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting Held on 21st November 2024
Proposed and seconded that the minutes of the meeting of the 21st November 2024 are approved – all in favour.
Matters Arising from the Minutes
Tree works bordering the play area have been completed; individual whips for around the pond have been purchased and planted.
County & District Councillors Reports
District Cllr Pugh’s report was previously circulated. Main topic was whether the County Council will be holding elections this May owing to an application from SCC to be part of the first wave of devolved administrations that will see the abolition of District & Councils.
County Cllr Bennett’s report: The SCC budget process is going through with the maximum precept allowed being taken; the Government Rural Services Grant previously given by SCC has been replaced with a grant based on density of deprivation, Suffolk does not fall into this category; Local Government Reform/Devolution will consist of a Norfolk and Suffolk devolved authority and under that there will be Norfolk and Suffolk separate Unitarys, presently waiting for the Minister to confirm whether County will be added to the priority list.
Brockley update: To prevent cars parking at the bus stop, a report has been raised to get the yellow lines repainted; the 40mph buffer has been signed off by the Police, a quote has been accepted and the work will now proceed; the locality budget award has been paid into the bank. Questions to Cllr Benett included the number of potholes along the entire length of Chapel Lane; additional potholes on Cookes Lane deeper than the 5cms threshold, are deemed by SCC not deep enough to repair, Cllr Benett to chase.
Public Forum
Following ‘objection’ from the parish council to a planning application submitted by a member of the public, comments made by the applicant were noted.
Finance
Balance as of 12th October 2024 stands at 20,253.74
Less approved expenditure 17,005.11
Income received since the last meeting 11,099.00
Balance as of 12th December 2024 14,347.63
Cheques to be approved at the meeting
- CAS – website 60.00
- A English – newsletter 120.00
- Reimbursement for hedging 89.48
- Village hall hire 16.00
- Joe Bevan – tree work 2,520.00
- Clerk’s salary x 2 237.02
Balance following approval of cheques 11,305.13
Income not showing on the bank statement
- Donation from WSC 5,000
- Locality budget award 750.00
Expenditure due at the end of January 10,000
Proposed and seconded that the payments schedule be approved – all in favour.
A successful bid to WSC for £5k has enabled the parish council to keep the precept down
To Consider the Precept for the Financial Year 2025-2026
A costed budget for 2025/26 was presented and considered at the meeting. Projects for consideration included fencing at the new play area, hedging/shrubs along the roadside of the playground, a new children’s picnic bench/activity table and new turf laid, grass cutting contract; possible purchase of a second SID, request for a speed survey, continue to purchase a pole to mount the SID; a small notice board to prevent notices being stuck on the bus shelter, arrange to have the bus shelter washed twice a year; hatching and ‘Bus stop’ to be reinstated; a bi-annual tree survey to be carried out in the summer; £250 to be earmarked to cover the cost of ice cream /other expenses for VE Day celebrations; village newsletter and donations. Following full and detailed discussion, it was unanimously agreed to set the precept at £9,587. This equates to a 1.21% increase over last year. A successful bid to WSC for £5k towards the children’s play area enabled the parish council to keep the precept down. Furthermore, the playground was successfully completed within the time scales and to budget. The overall cost to the parish council is £5k which is very good value for the village. If relevant, funding for any further projects will be sought.
Village Hall Management Committee Update
Previously, the parish council has given the village hall an annual donation of £1,000. However, given their current healthy financial situation, it was agreed a donation unless considered necessary, will not be given – all in favour.
Newsletter
Having administered the process of producing the village newsletter for a year, Cllr Wymer will be stepping down and Sarah Baber has agreed to take on the responsibility. A vote of thanks was given to Cllr Wymer for the work she has carried out during the last twelve months.
Risk Register
It was proposed that until the bus stop yellow markings have been repainted, the risk should be increased from low to medium – all in agreement.
Correspondence
- Parking in the bus stop.
- City Fibre will be coming to the village to improve Broadband, very likely Chapel Lane to the end of Mill Lane will be closed. Cllr Wymer will receive an email when work is due to be started.
- Complaint from a resident relating to the spraying of the fields and the potential for some of the product getting onto the footpaths. Cllr Driver stated that three other landowners own the footpath in question. Furthermore, the process of crop spraying is strictly regulated and the herbicide and fungicide used is highly diluted and not poisonous to people or animals. Councillors were sympathetic to the resident’s concerns but as the footpaths are not the responsibility of the parish council they are unable to take the matter further. Cllr Wymer to acknowledge receipt of the email.
Date of Next Meeting
Thursday March 20th 2025 at 7.00pm.
Any Other Business
None.
With no further business the meeting closed at 8.00pm.