Pakenham Parish Council Minutes - 9th September 2002

Meeting of

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2002

HELD IN THE PAVILION AT 7.30 PM

PRESENT: Cllr D Dorling, Cllr J Mangnall, Cllr H Painter, Cllr L Couper, Cllr B Chester, Cllr P Smith, Mrs V White (part) and Mrs J Brookman (Clerk).

APOLOGIES: Apologies were received from Cllr A Cox.

1 - MINUTES:
The minutes of the meeting held on the 24 June 2002 were approved and signed as a true record.

The minutes of the additional meeting held on the 19 August 2002 were signed as a true record.

2 - MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES:

2.1-THE DELL: Cllr Dorling reported that Mr D Thrower had ordered the materials regarding the fencing and would be attending to it shortly.

2.2-CHURCH DRIVE: The matter of the condition of the surface of the church car park during the winter months was thoroughly discussed and it was decided that at the present time the cost could not be justified and that a final decision should be deferred for the time being.

2.3-VISABILITY SPLAY UPPER TOWN: It was reported that the area created for a visibility splay by the Suffolk County Council was overgrown and not fulfilling its purpose. Clerk to request works.

2.4-TIPPING ON FLOOD PLAIN BESIDE A143 (near Mulley’s roundabout): It was noted that a substantial amount of tipping had been carried out at this location, Clerk to notify Highways Department and try to establish who is responsible for this.

3 - PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

3.1-A NEW APPLICATIONS:

SE/02/2971/LB 8 The Street, Pakenham. Listed building application to remove the internal wall on the ground floor.
There were no objections to this application.

SE/02/2987/P 2 Micklemere, Mill Road, Grimstone End, Pakenham. Application for the erection of two storey side extension. Following discussion the parish council were in agreement that the following comments be made regarding the proposed extension. (i) The size of the proposed extension is totally out of scale with the original building; (ii) The proposed design of the extension is not in-keeping with the character of the original building, which obviously is imperative when considering it is a semi-detached flint property; (iii) There is a garage shown on the plan but no elevations are shown to clarify whether the garage is part of this application. Council to be asked to confirm this; (iv) The council would like to draw attention to the “Observations on Planning Application” re “Extensions to Dwellings” and would refer to point (a) respects the character, scale and design of the existing dwelling and (c) will not affect seriously the amenities of neighbours. It was unanimously agreed that the proposed application did not comply with these two points outlined in the Borough Council guidelines.

3.2-OUTCOME OF PLANNING APPLICATIONS

SE/02/2221/P Wentworth, Fen Road, Pakenham
Erection of single storey side extension. GRANTED

SE/02/2241/P The Old Cottage, The Street, Pakenham
Conversion of attached barn to form living accommodation associated with existing cottage including construction of chimney. GRANTED.

4 - FINANCE REPORT:

INTERNAL AUDIT

The Clerk reported that the Annual Return for the year ended 31 March, 2002 had been completed and the Statement of Assurance was read to the meeting. The statement was approved by the Council, duly signed and dated by the Chairman and Clerk and to be recorded in the minutes.

Cheques signed since the last meeting:
727	Mr D Thrower- tree felling	£150.00
728	Mr A J Hosken – July wages	£97.50
729	Clerk’s wages – July	£89.66
730	PVH & PFA hall hire	£24.00
731	Mr A J Hosken – Aug wages	£97.50
732	Clerk’s wages – August	£89.66
733	Clerk’s tax	£100.32
734	Pyramids donation	£50.00
Cheques signed at the meeting
735	PVH & PFA hall hire	£10.00
736	SALC – training courses x 3	£105.00
737	Newstalk donation	£50.00
738	LCR subscription 6 copies	£10.99

5 - CORRESPONDENCE:
A letter had been received from The Samaritans, Ipswich Branch requesting a donation but this was declined.

Details of SALC courses to be run for (I) Chairman and (2) Councillors and Clerks had been received. Cllr Dorling was willing to attend the day course on the 19 September and the Parish Council agreed to reimburse Cllr Dorling with his loss of pay and expenses. Cllr Mangnall asked to attend a course to be held in November and the Clerk asked to attend the same course being run in October and November. The Parish Council agreed to pay for the courses and expenses incurred. Clerk to arrange payment and book places.

A letter from St Edmundsbury Borough Council concerning playground safety with a routine checklist was passed to Cllr Mangnall for use by the Pakenham Community Council in connection with the play area.

Correspondence had been received regarding Affordable Housing on 25 September; no councillors were available to attend.

An invitation to Suffolk ACRE’s 2002 AGM had been received, no representative able to attend.

Correspondence had been received from David Ruffley and Suffolk Acre regarding community buses. It was agreed the clerk should reply to Mr Ruffley outlining concerns regarding evening transport to and from Pakenham given the current transport available in Thurston. Clerk also to reply to Suffolk Acre confirming that we would be interested in their scheme and would welcome more details.

It was agreed that a questionnaire circulated by Suffolk Police regarding Parish Satisfaction be completed by the Clerk.

Newstalk, a local charity which provides cassette tapes of local news to the blind and visually impaired requested a donation, it was agreed that £50 be sent.

The clerk requested a subscription for Local Council Review, a bi-monthly publication of the National Association of Local Councils. The payment of £10.99 for 6 issues was approved, clerk to subscribe.

An application had been received from Hanchets requesting permission to place a further inscription for Freda Feveryear to a headstone. There were no objections. Clerk to confirm the decision.

6 - MATTERS FOR REPORT:

6.1-Cllr Chester reported that the lease in connection with the Buggy Club was to be completed shortly.

6.2-Cllr Chester had met with Mr D Thrower to discuss layering the hedge by the church yard, it was agreed that the trees along the gravel path to the church could also be layered and that the border near to Mr Spicer’s land also be cut back. Cllr Chester to obtain quotes for the work to be carried out.

6.3-It was reported that debris had again been dumped on the path leading to the conservation area. This situation not only makes it difficult to maintain the entrance to the area but continues to aggravate villagers. Clerk to write to the Borough Council and ask them to clearly define the property belonging to the conservation area.

6.4-Cllr Mangnall requested that attention be given to the signs that are overhung by trees around the village.

6.5-Cllr Mangnall had amended the two copies of the clerk’s Contract of Employment and these were now ready for signature.

7 - BOROUGH AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT:
Mrs White informed the Parish Council that Debra Cadman, Chief Executive, had postponed her visit to the village to the 17th October, Cllr Mangnall agreed to meet Mrs White and Debra Cadman at 1.15 pm.

Mrs White reported that Havebury did not have a record of the land behind 17 The Owell, but will continue to pursue the matter.

It was requested that the land behind The Fox be designated as a piece of open land, as this is an important asset to the village and should be kept as “open land”. Cllr White agreed to make enquiries regarding this.

Mrs White was able to confirm that the new light poles had been erected around The Owell and that contractors would be connecting the lights shortly.

8 - DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
It was confirmed that the next meeting would be held on Monday 21 October 2002 in The Pavilion at 7.30 pm when the precept would be discussed.