MINUTES OF THE BROCKLEY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 13TH JULY 2023 IN THE VILLAGE HALL MEETING ROOM, BROCKLEY AT 7.30PM
- Present
- Cllr Dr J Wymer, Cllr R Dinsey, Cllr F Driver, Cllr Baber
- In attendance
- District Cllr Sarah Pugh, three members of the public
Apologies
County Cllr Bobby Bennett due to holiday.
Declaration of Interests & Requests for Dispensations
None received.
To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting Held on Thursday 18th May 2023
Proposed by Cllr Dinsey, seconded by Cllr Baber that the minutes of the Annual General meeting of the 18th of May 2023 are approved – unanimous.
Matters Arising from the Minutes
Matters raised included potholes, notice board, and play area issues.
Plug in Suffolk: The decision to take the scheme to a full expression of interest has been retracted and will not be progressed further.
County & District Councillor Reports
Cllr Pugh’s report was previously circulated. All committee and outside body appointments have been finalised with training to be completed to keep everyone up to date with changes in legislation. The Locality Budget has been set for the 2023/2024 financial year and amounts to £2800 for the ward. One planning application for Brockley, a TPO for Brockley Chapel. Questions were invited.
Public Forum
All matters raised to be addressed later in the meeting.
To Receive Finance Reports and Approve Cheques Raised Since the Last Meeting
| Bank statement as of 12th June 2023 | 27644.37 |
| Cheques drawn since the last meeting | |
| Elan City | -2747.99 |
| Oliver Cornish | -225.00 |
| Clerk’s salary | -99.47 |
| Village Hall | -14.00 |
| Balance | 24557.91 |
To Agree a New Location for the Dog Waste Bin
With the site recommended for a further dog waste bin as the edge of Andrew Pawsey’s boundary, Cllr Driver to make contact for his permission.
Potholes / Village Hall Drive Report
With suggestions from Highways that ‘reinstating the grass verge will only be a temporary solution, consideration should be given to widening the verge and installing planters’. The contractor secured to undertake the original specification has revisited the site and a quotation of £4000 plus vat has been provided, timeline for the works September 2023. Planters could be sponsored by the parish council. Cllr Wymer to contact SCC for the applicable street furniture permissions. Cllr Baber to source suitable troughs.
Ecology / Biodiversity Plan Report
Following a decision to progress an Ecology/Biodiversity Plan in order to plan and budget for a managed approach for the village green spaces, two residents are being funded to attend courses run by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Agreed, September to be the ideal time to begin the work with the view to hold a public meeting in October. The draft strategy and plan will be considered for decision at the November Parish Council meeting. Identifying priorities for funding for 2024/5 to be part of the precept meeting in November.
West Suffolk Town & Parish Forum Verbal Report
West Suffolk Council have just launched the Community Chest Fund. Applications need to be submitted by the end of September, therefore proposals for a project will need to be identified asap. To be further discussed by the Village Hall at their AGM.
Risk Register to Include Playground Reports
Audited accounts: No issues have been identified.
Communications: With the Community Council highly likely to fold in November, the problem will be the village newsletter. The current editor is happy to continue but not as Treasurer. Proposed the parish council take on the ownership of the newsletter which will then sit with overall responsibility with the PC as opposed to the Community Council. As a contingency plan, setting up a joint website venture between the PC and CC was briefly discussed but will not be pursued at this present time. If in the future the website needs to be outsourced, then it will need to be included in the budget – all in agreement.
Defibrillator: The pads require replacing and the battery is low. The British Heart Foundation has been contacted concerning what needs to be done. In this respect, Cllr Wymer is in conversation with Geoffrey Keithly. Ian Robertson to advise the Chair of the telephone number for Community Heartbeat.
Playground Reports: Presently all low risk but some of the equipment needs to be tided up, Cllr Dinsey to liaise with Kevin Fisk. Cost of football nets to be sought by Cllr Dinsey and circulated for discussion at the next meeting.
Correspondence
Correspondence has been received from Whepstead and Horringer Parish Council relating to speeding problems through the villages. It has been suggested the three local villages could group together to put pressure on the police for an ANPR camera. Data figures downloaded by Cllr Dinsey from the Brockley VAS between 2nd May and 7th July are as follows – inward bound 81% of drivers travel at 30mph and under compared to 53% outward bound. For future discussion a second site in the village could be considered. The ‘20 is enough for us’ campaign to be pursued by Cllr Wymer. Owing to cost and overall effectiveness, white gates were considered unfeasible. Pertaining to a notification from Anglian Water that part of Mill Road will be closed for repairs for three days, Cllr Driver to inform AW the road needs to remain open to allow trucks to enter and leave the farm.
Parish Matters for the Next Meeting
New aluminium notice board: Basic cost with posts in the region of £2000, preferred examples were passed around for approval. Cost and measurements to be circulated prior to the next meeting.
Litter picking: To be a community event in early October. An agenda item for the next meeting.
Kick board at the pond: Robb Mott to be reminded to cut out several diverts at the base of the fence to allow wildlife to access the pond.
Date of Next Meeting
Date of the next Parish Meeting to be confirmed.
With no further discussion the meeting closed at 8.40pm.