WANGFORD WITH HENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

 

Minutes of the meeting held in Wangford Community Centre

Committee Room at 7.30pm Tuesday 14th March 2023  

 

 

Present:  Chair Cllr A Smith, Cllrs T Carter, S Farrands, S Ives, G Pepper, E. Utting & R. Waters.

 

Also in attendance: District Cllr. N Brooks.

 

Parish Clerk, Greg Radcliffe taking minutes.

 

Declarations of Interest – None.

 

 

Receipt and acceptance of apologies – Cllr S. Smith, Cllr R. Miller.  

 

 

PUBLIC FORUM –to include COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORTS

 

Cllr Brooks attended the meeting.    

 

Cllr Brooks advised that there is not much news due to the forthcoming May elections.

 

Third bridge crossing - Cllr Brooks said that construction of the new bridge is coming along well and will open this time in 2024.

 

Council tax - Cllr Brooks answered a query from Cllr Ives and confirmed that council tax has increased by 2.8%.  A larger budget has been allocated for business rates.

 

Rail lines – Cllr Brooks commented that there is a drive to improve rail lines to get items delivered to Sizewell.

 

Cllr Brooks left the meeting at 7.40pm.

 

 

 

Acceptance of Minutes of Meeting Held 14th February 2023 –

 

The draft minutes for February 2023 said that the increase in council tax is 2.9%, but the correct figure is 2.8%.

 

Proposed, Cllr G. Pepper, 2nd Cllr S Farrands.  All In Favour (AIF).

 

 

   Matters Arising from The Minutes of Previous Meetings

 

Bus stops – Cllr A Smith has emailed County Cllr Dunning, but has not yet received a reply.  Cllr Smith will email Cllr Dunning again – he will also email the Green Party and District Cllr Brooks as he has not heard from Cllr. Dunning.

 

Suffolk Constabulary – The Clerk said that he had emailed PC Simon Green about the local crime figures and received a reply.  PC Green has advised that the figures can be difficult to categorise and are sometimes not as alarming as they sound.  The councillors agreed that they would like the Clerk to invite PC Green to a forthcoming Parish Council meeting.

 

King’s Coronation – Cllr S Farrands said that she has had preliminary discussions about the coronation events and that volunteering is the theme.  A contact name to put on notice boards would be helpful for those interested in the event.  The Parish Council may pay for flowers in the church.  Monday 8th May will be volunteering day (litter picking etc.).  Cllr G Pepper will arrange the planting of the Coronation tree and a plaque will be unveiled.  Cllr Farrands will discuss other ideas with Cllrs S Smith & G Pepper.  Cllr Farrands will find the bunting (and possibly buy more) and Cllr Waters will arrange for the bunting to be put up.  The idea is for volunteers to do 2 to 3 hours of voluntary work and then attend a community tea along with villagers who may wish to come along.  The Parish Council may give some funding towards the community tea for approximately 50 people and Cllr Farrands will also ask the Community Council if they could make a contribution.  Cllr Pepper will order the tree – he advised that he has seen a suitable tree at Swan Nurseries in Bromeswell – it is 9 feet in height and priced at £60.  Cllr Pepper kindly offered to collect the tree.  It was noted that the Community Council has offered to pay for two more trees.  A plaque will be needed for the tree and Cllr A Smith will investigate this.  Costs were discussed and it was agreed that flowers would cost a maximum of £300 and the total budget for flowers, community tea, the tree and a plaque is £600.  Cllr Farrands will arrange for a note to go into The Messenger regarding volunteers.  Cllr Farrands also to investigate the possibility of arranging a quiz.

 

Proposed, Cllr A Smith, 2nd Cllr S Ives.  All In Favour (AIF).

 

 

Any Other Councillor Reports

 

        Reports on:

Cllr Utting has been approached by a resident in Church Street regarding some uneven brickwork and a tree that needs trimming.  Cllr Utting will email details to the Clerk so that he can contact Waveney Norse about the necessary work.

 

Cllr Pepper said that last Sunday there had been an unpaid gardening work party consisting of 10 people with a few new volunteers.  All the necessary work was completed.

 

Cllr A Smith told everyone present that all the Latitude tickets had been advertised and the allocation has sold out.  Clerk to remove poster from notice board and add a note to the Parish Council website.

 

Cllr A Smith queried whether Cllr Farrands is still a bank signatory for the Parish Council.  Cllr Farrands was unsure, but will look into it.

 

         

Finance

Accounts for Payment                                    COST           VAT              TOTAL                   Clerk’s salary for February 2023                             £225.00        -                   £225.00

Clerk’s travel, 28 miles at 45p per mile                £12.60          -                      £12.60

Stamps for election papers                                  £31.80                                       £31.80

Stationery                                                            £  5.76                                  £  5.76

Community Action Suffolk (web hosting)              £60.00                                 £60.00

 

Total                                                                                                         £335.16

 

Proposed for payment Cllr S Farrands, 2nd Cllr E. Utting, AIF.   

 

 

 

Accounts already paid - None             

                                                                                  

         

Receipts:

.         Bank Statement Figures -          Current Account: £5,306.89  

 

Business Account: £7,064.21

 

           Latitude Ticket Sales Account £17,738.28

          

                    

 

  Correspondence –

Mr Michael Schofield had contacted the Clerk to ask if he could have permission to maintain a small piece of land next to his property. This was discussed and it was agreed by all present that the land is not owned by the Parish and Mr Schofield will need to approach Waveney Norse instead.  Clerk to write to Mr Schofield to this effect.

  

 

   Planning                                                                                           

a. Applications received: None

 

 

b.Decisions received: None

 

 

 

 

        Any Other Business –

 

The Clerk said that he had reported the broken No Through Road sign at the beginning of Blacksmiths Close to the Highways department, but received a reply to say that it would not be repaired.  Cllr Pepper mentioned that he’d had the same response in 2022.

  

Meeting closed at 8.15pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Website: www.wangfordwithhenham.onesuffolk.net

 

 

 

Next meeting Tuesday 11th April 2023 at 7.30pm.