Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes - 26th June 2000

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on MONDAY 26th JUNE 2000
AT THE PAVILION AT 7.30p.m.

Present: Cllr. D. Dorling Chairman; Cllr. J. Mangnall; Cllr. B. Chester; Cllr. A. Cox; Cllr. P. Smith; Cllr. L. Couper; Mr. S. Pott, County Councillor; Mrs V. White, Borough Councillor; Mrs. P. Griffiths, Clerk.

APOLOGIES: Mrs. White sent apologies to say that she would be arriving late.

MINUTES:-
The minutes of the meeting held on 15th May 2000 were signed as a true record.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES:-

i) The potholes in Queach Road and Mill Road were in the process of being repaired. Mr. T. Welch of the Suffolk County Council Highways Department had telephoned to arrange a meeting with the parish council to discuss all the highway problems in the village and Councillor Joan Mangnall would be meeting with him on 28th June.

ii) Councillor Smith said that a resident had set up a village web site which published the minutes of council meetings. Councillor Dorling said he had no objection to that as the minutes were available to the public. Councillor Smith said that the only proviso was if the web site was seen as the official voice of the council and something was displayed on it which the council were not in agreement. It was agreed that Councillor Smith send an e-mail to the web site provider, inviting her to come to the next parish council meeting.

POLICE MATTERS:-
Some useful Neighbourhood Watch information leaflets had been received through the post and for distribution to elderly residents.

OPEN SESSION: There were no items raised.

COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT:-
Mr. Pott said that traffic, lorries, speeding and highway maintenance seemed to be the major concern of all the villages in his area. There needed to be a balance between money spent in towns and that spent in country areas, which was not the case at the moment. Councillor Chester said that the A1088, which had had substantial money spent on it, had been used for diverted traffic when there had been an accident on the A14, but was otherwise not being used. Discussion ensued on the routing and restriction of lorries through Pakenham and the surrounding villages. Councillor Mangnall mentioned the condition of the road surface at the Bunbury Arms and Councillor Pott said that Mr. Nunn, Highways Manager of Suffolk County Council, had told him that it would be done next year. The problem of parking in The Street was raised and suggestions made on how to improve the situation; also, fresh problems had arisen at the Windmill crossroads over visibility and signing. Councillor Mangnall said that she would discuss these matters at her meeting with Mr. Welch on Wednesday.

VILLAGE CLEANER:-
On behalf of the council, the Chairman thanked Mr. Hosken for the good job that he was doing in keeping the village streets clean. Mr. Hosken asked if three litter bins could be provided for the playing field car park, the playing equipment area and the entrance to the Dell. The parish council pledged to obtain these. On the subject of employment status, Mr. Hosken stated that he worked on a self-employed basis and that this was not his main job. The Clerk similarly explained her employment status and confirmed that this was not her main job. Unfortunately Councillor Painter, who had undertaken to find out possible tax and national insurance liabilities for the parish council, was not present.

TREES ON PLAYING FIELD:-
An oak tree on the play area and another near the telephone exchange had dead branches which needed attention. Two estimates had been received for the work: one for £600 and another for £250. It was agreed that the work be paid for by the parish council and that the estimate for £250 be accepted when it had been confirmed in writing.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:-
One new application had been received and passed to Councillor Painter.

FINANCE:-
The accounts for the year ended 31st March 2000 were approved by the council and signed by the Chairman and Clerk.

CORRESPONDENCE:-

i) A letter had been received from the Hon. Secretary of Pakenham Bowls Club outlining their concerns at the minutes of the parish council meeting held on 17th April 2000 which stated that “a long debate ensued on the restrictive practices and membership of the bowls club and the fact that they had not paid any rent whatsoever since the previous year”. Councillor Chester said that the delay in reaching a lease agreement was caused by Mrs. Cannon, who was dealing with the matter, leaving the employ of St. Edmundsbury Council. There had been a further hold-up in negotiations when the Buggy Club had initially said they would have to withdraw from any agreement because of the high business rates. However, he had now written to the Council on 18th May asking them to pursue negotiations with both the Bowls and Buggy Clubs. Concerning the offer of an interim rent payment, which the Bowls Club had made to the parish council at the Annual Parish Meeting in 1999, Councillor Chester said that he had declined this because he wanted to avoid any legal consequences while negotiations were in progress. Mr. Burrows said that he had asked Mrs. Cannon to provide evidence of comparable rents but she had been unable to find any. They had eventually agreed to pay the rent proposed by St. Edmundsbury borough council when the parish council said that they would subsidise it. Councillor Chester undertook to chase St. Edmundsbury legal department to get the leases finalised as soon as possible. On the subject of membership of the bowls club, Mr. Burrows said that there were no restrictive practices and anybody could join, but the club could not accommodate more than about 25-28 members because of the limited facilities. In answer to a question from Councillor Cox, he said that about one third of the members lived in the village and another third had associations with the village. Mr. Burrows asked that it be minuted that the minutes of the April meeting were not correct in their implications and it was agreed that this be done.

ii) A letter had been received from St. Edmundsbury Borough Council concerning the forthcoming periodic electoral review. A presentation on the subject was being given on 20th July and parish council members were invited to attend.

iii) An application had been received from Messrs. Hanchets, stonemasons, to provide a memorial stone in the form of a granite slab to cover the whole grave for Mr. Shanawady. The parish council did not feel able to grant permission for this as it was contrary to the regulations laid down at their meeting in September 1998.

BOROUGH COUNCILLOR’S REPORT:-
Mrs. White said that the increasing discharge from Anglian Water was of concern to people in the Fen and she was trying to arrange a site visit. The river had not been dredged for 15 years. Other items of interest were that the Pakenham sign was back on the Thurston Road and secondly the brown bins should be arriving in September/October. The government targets for recycling waste has to be met and the borough council had considered a scheme whereby different categories of rubbish were put in different coloured sacks and collected on alternate weeks. Later in the year a mobile CCTV camera would be available for use by Neighbourhood Watch or community police. Councillor Mangnall mentioned that the Fen Road sign at Bell Corner had been damaged and the 30 mph signs along Fen Road were obscured by overhanging branches. Mrs, White said that Suffolk County Council were in the middle of a programme of cutting back hedges.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- 

i) Councillor Smith asked whether Pakenham had any registered village greens. Councillor Dorling confirmed that there were none.

ii) Complaints had been received about the state of footpath No. 1, near the Agri-Centre where it is muddy and overgrown. Mr. Woodward who owns the land normally cuts a path and it was suggested he be approached by Councillor Cox. The council decided to take a “wait and see” approach to the mud, as improvements to the walking surface would be expensive and very difficult to carry out.

iii) Councillor Dorling said that he would prepare details for additional insurance cover for the new Pakenham Village signs.

DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS: It was agreed that the next meetings be held on Monday 14th August and Monday 18th September 2000.