GAZELEY PARISH COUNCIL

Transcription

1 1 GAZELEY PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of Gazeley Annual Parish Meeting Held in Gazeley Village Hall on Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Present: Cllr Judy Moatt, (Chair), Councillors Kevin Grimwood, Pat Spillane, Simon Gash and Paul Beard. Also present: Parish Clerk, Lynne Francis, Forest Heath District Councillor - Mrs Rona Burt, Inspector Mark Shipton and 14 members of the public. Chairman s Welcome and introduction. The Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr Judy Moatt welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked members of the public for attending. She reminded everyone that this was not a Parish Council meeting, it was an opportunity for village organisations to present their annual reports and for residents to bring matters to the notice of the Parish Council and to the public in general. During the past year residents have been concerned about the number of potholes that have still not been repaired and also about the disruption caused by the change in grass-cutting arrangements by the District Council. Land owned by the parish had still been cut by our usual contractors but land owned by the District and County Councils had not been cut at all before the middle of May. Cold and wet weather had been a contributing factor in the delay of the first cuts of the season. The Chairman noted that most houses in Sperrinks Close were now occupied and already the new residents were getting together and attending events in the village. They are a very welcome addition to our community. 18/APM.1. Reports from Local Authorities 1. Forest Heath District Council. Cllr Rona Burt gave her annual report. There is no further news about the exact closure date of Mildenhall Air Base so it is assumed that it is still scheduled for A decision is still awaited on the Hatchfield Farm application. Having been referred to the High Court it has now been referred back to the Secretary of State to make a final decision. The Council is still waiting to hear when the Local Plan can be adopted and a decision is now six months overdue. One Council Forest Heath and St. Edmundsbury District Councils are to become one Council in May At present there are 72 Councillors across both councils which will reduce to 64 next year. Each Councillor will represent an electorate of The orders to approve a new Council have been approved by Parliament and the House of Lords and should be signed off in the next couple of weeks. Once the orders are received, work will begin on the Shadow Council of which all 72 present Councillors will be members.

2 Warding options There was a period of consultation when Councillors, Parish Councils and residents were able to put forward their suggestions and options. These have now gone to the Boundary Commission for comment and there will be an 8-week consultation period from 3 July to 27 August for further comments on the warding. Final orders will be issued in October when Councillors who have decided to stand again next year will have an opportunity to decide on their preferred Ward. 2. Suffolk County Council Cllr Colin Noble was unable to attend the meeting. 3. Suffolk Police SNT Inspector Mark Shipton Inspector Shipton reported that Suffolk Police are undertaking another review, Vision policing in Suffolk. There has been a recent introduction of Community Engagement Officers who will be working with local Parish Councils to update the public with what the police are doing. There was a loss of a number of PCSOs in 2016 as a result of cost-cutting. PCSOs now cover the whole district undertaking specific roles. Further changes are expected around September and October. Inspector Shipton confirmed that policing is not about being seen in the villages although a PCSO will still come out to deal with any incident that is brought to their notice. Police Officers are mainly working in the towns now A question was asked about parking and Inspector Shipton confirmed that parking is not a priority any more and responsibility for it is going to be handed over to local authorities. This is still being held up in Parliament though. Any issues can be reported to the local team in Mildenhall. 18/APM.2 Reports from Village Organisations. 1. All Saints Church Simon Gash, Churchwarden Simon Gash gave an overview of the year at All Saints Church. The highlight of the year had been the recent concert given by the Choristers of Ely Cathedral. It had been a lovely evening and had been very well supported. This year saw the completion of the north nave roof repair. This had cost in excess of 40,000 and had involved a huge community effort, such as the monthly coffee mornings run by the Coffee Morning Team who had donated over 6,000 to the church, specifically for the roof repair. Rosemary Rycraft has now been our vicar for 15 months. We are very lucky to have her because ministers are in very short supply. Rosemary attends as many events as possible because she firmly believes that the church is not just for a select few worshippers but for the whole community. She is determined that it will remain at the heart of the village. Recent innovations have included the introduction of wildlife corridors through the churchyard. Swifts nesting boxes are going to be installed in the church tower shortly. The size of the normal congregations is relatively small but far greater numbers attend marriages, baptisms and funerals and the Easter and Christmas services are always very well attended. The PCC is aware that some residents must be wondering why the church is always fundraising. It is uncomfortable to be always asking for money and it must seem tiresome to some in the village. There is a misconception that the church is very wealthy but nothing could be further from the truth. 2

3 St Edmundsbury is one of the poorest dioceses in the country. Our own Parish Share is 9,000 a year which contributes to the cost of the clergy, pensions and administration and that is before we start fundraising for the on-going upkeep of the church itself. In addition to the PCC, other volunteers do odd jobs around the church and help with cleaning and flower arranging and the vicar and churchwardens are very grateful for their continuing support and for all who contribute to keeping the church alive in this village. 2. Gazeley Events Committee In the absence of Mark Russell (Chairman) and Charlene Vandenbroucke (Treasurer), who were both unable to attend the meeting, a new resident to the village who introduced herself as Bobbie, volunteered to give the report on their behalf. Following an appeal for help, the committee is pleased to welcome four new members bringing their number up to seven. Anyone who would like to join the Committee is welcome to do so. The Committee also welcomes any help in organising events without the requirement of being on the Committee. The Objects of the Events Committee: To foster community spirit and encourage the involvement of residents in village life by organising social events and offering support to other organisations and individuals who are holding their own events. The Committee is working towards the construction of an annual diary of village events and encouraging new societies to be formed. The Committee had held the following events during the year: Autumn Fish & Chip Quiz Night Children s Christmas Party Spring Fish & Chip Quiz Night Childrens Easter Event The Quiz Nights are always well-attended, and thanks were extended to all who devised the quizzes and supported the events and the two children s events were also very well-attended with around 40 children at both events so thanks to all for making them a great success. Forthcoming events include a Children s Halloween Party & Bar; an Autumn Fish & Chip Quiz Night; Children s Christmas Party and Christmas Open Bar. The Chairman thanked Bobbie for delivering the report. 3. Gazeley History Society Mrs Hilary Appleton Hilary thanked everyone who has attended meeings and all the helpers at the monthly meetings. The Society had engaged in a variety of activities through the year and had welcomed a variety of speakers both from inside and outside the village. This year there had been a WW1 Evening with film clips from shows such as Dad s Army; a visit to Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse; talks on the Suffolk Punch horse; archaeology from a presenter who had worked on various TV programmes; Suffolk Suffragists,the Garrett Sisters; Fran Saltmarsh on the wives of Henry V111 and a visit to Mildenhall Museum. There are plans to publish a book on the history of Gazeley. Donations of texts and photographs had been received from residents and help is still required to help with administration tasks and interviews etc. 3

4 Links are being made with History Societies from other local villages and the group has also contributed to a programme being made by Anglia on the Three Churches Walk. A very full and interesting year at Gazeley History Society. 4. Play Park Project Team Mr Mark Orriss Mark Orriss gave a presentation on the Play Park Project that he and Charlene Vandenbroucke have set up with the aim to upgrade the facilities at the recreation ground in Stubbins Lane. It has been noted that the present equipment, which was installed in 2005, is now looking very tired and there are are virtually no facilities for older children at the site. The team has consulted residents using social media and by issuing a questionnaire, which was sent to every household, to ascertain their views on the existing equipment. Approximately 14.5% of residents responded positively to the project saying that they usually take their children to playgrounds in other villages which are better equipped for their needs. Mark showed slides of the kind of improvements that are envisaged and appealed to residents to get behind the scheme and help to raise the necessary funds. He described how the project would be divided into phases, focusing on phase 1 which would add new eqipment such as an adventure trail; an access platform or ramp with a pull-up rope, alongside the existing stand-alone slide; parallel bars and chin-up bars; a climbing frame and extend loop fencing. The new equipment has been chosen to complement the existing equipment in the hope that it will engage older children to create a more dynamic environment for children of all age groups. The estimated cost for this first phase is approximately 14,000. The target for local fundraising is 4,000 and already has been raised through events supported by the Events Committee. 5. Dalham & Gazeley WI. The President of Dalham & Gazeley WI, Debbie Saldana, was unable to attend the meeting so the clerk gave the report in her place which was a very comprehensive report of the year at the WI. The main focus of the monthly meetings is the speaker for the month and this year has seen a variety of very good speakers covering a wide range of subjects such as The Rubbish Diet, one woman s attempt to cut food waste and recycle as much as possible; the View from Space, a fascinating talk with slides on what we think we can see from space both looking at the Earth and also out into the Milky Way and the universe beyond; the RNLI with Geoff Heathcock and Tax, Care and Toy Boys, some sound advice on planning our finances for the future and avoiding many pitfalls along the way. We also had craft nights where we learned new skills and enjoyed seeing other s efforts in making greetings cards and Christmas wreaths and there were some very impressive results. In January, a local radiographer from the MRI unit at West Suffolk Hospital came to ask us if we could help with the production of what they call magic string, to connect children to their parents with a tug of a string when they are having scans to stop them becoming stressed. There was a suggestion of knitting small teddy bears with a ribbon attached so the child can hold (and keep) the teddy and mum or dad can hang on to the ribbon which they can each tug to give instant reassurance to the child if necessary. The idea was enthusiastically taken up and the first batch of teddies is in production. As ever, we have taken every opportunity to socialise outside the regular meetings with the monthly Book Club meetings, the Walking Group, monthly tea parties, visits to various attractions in the local area, 4

5 courtesy of the Gredley Bus, and trips to the theatre. Quite a lot of food and drink has been consumed in the process and what better way to end 2017 than a slap-up meal at the Plough in Ashley in December which was very much enjoyed by all. We look forward to another good year at Dalham & Gazeley WI. 6. Greener Gazeley Mrs Linda Johns Linda explained how she has been very worried about various issues around conservation with the increase of pollution, in particular plastics, that we ve all been hearing about, around the world. She stressed the need to try to control our own environment by avoiding the chemicals that kill bees and other insects with the resulting knock-on effect with other creatures, noting that there are fewer bird species around, fewer insects, earthworms, beetles, hedghogs, rabbits etc. and it s time to make a difference. To this end Linda has formed the Greener Gazeley Group. There have been two meetings so far to discuss how residents can be made more aware of the threats that nature faces and how to play their part in trying to reverse the damage, even in a small way. If we change our own habits and spread the word to other villages in the area a great deal can be achieved. The group is consulting with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the next meeting will be held in July. 7. The Swift Project Mrs Sue Gould Sue briefly explained how she and her husband initiated a project to install Swift nesting boxes in the north window of the church tower. Repairs are being undertaken to the shutters at the windows and the boxes will be installed at the same time. Sue launched a fund raising project for the scheme and has now raised 600 from individual contributors. As this was her aim, she is thrilled to have reached her target. Her husband, Steve, has also been making walking sticks which have been free but open to donations which have been very generous. It is clear that there are a lot of good things going on in Gazeley and the Chairman thanked all the contributors for attending the meeting and giving such good presentations. 18/APM.3 Public Forum A resident asked whether the Parish Council felt that it was truly representative of the village since half of the present members had been co-opted to the Council rather than elected and that no younger members were of that number. It was explained that anyone over 18 was free to apply to become a Parish Councillor and a vacancy had been advertised for some months now without result. Three of the present Councillors were elected at the last election and three have been co-opted. Another vacancy has recently occurred and will be advertised shortly. Another question was asked about the format for Parish Council meetings. It was felt that some residents might feel intimidated in coming to a meeting and asking a question in public. It was explained that the format for Parish Council meetings was laid down in law. Outside of the meeting, all residents are free to the Parish Clerk or talk to a Parish Councillor of their choice who will bring their concerns to the notice of the Parish Council at the next meeting. There is an opportunity for any resident to comment in the Public Forum which is part of every meeting, unlike in the past when the Annual Parish Meeting was the only chance that residents had to speak at a meeting. 5

6 The Parish Council is concerned that few members of the public attend the meetings, which is the best way to find out what s happening, and there are also concerns about the way issues are sometimes misinterpreted by way of comments on the community Facebook page by people who aren t aware of the facts. The minutes of every meeting, including an up to date finance report, are posted on the Parish Council website each month. There was some comment about the recent problems with grass cutting in the village and it was explained that various areas are owned by different organisations who each have their own arrangements. Land owned by the Parish Council has been cut regularly since March but the District Council had experienced trouble with a change of policy, using in-house staff rather than their previous contractors and this, in addition to a very cold spring followed by a burst of hot weather had exacerbated the problem. The Parish Council understands that the problems have now been resolved and things should settle down from now on. There were no further questions so the Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 9.30pm. 6