Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes - 29th October 2001

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on 29th OCTOBER 2001
IN THE PAVILION AT 7.30p.m.

Present: Cllr. D. Dorling, Chairman; Cllr. J. Mangnall; Cllr B. Chester; Cllr. A. Cox; Cllr. L. Couper; Cllr. P. Smith; Mrs. V. White, Borough & County Councillor; Mrs. P. Griffiths, Clerk; Mrs. J. Brookman; Inspector J. Mayhew.

1. APOLOGIES: Apologies were received from Cllr. H. Painter

2. MINUTES: The minutes of the meeting held on 17th September 2001 were approved and signed as a true record.

3. MATTERS ARISING:-

(i) CHURCH GREEN CONSERVATION AREA: Councillor Chester had spoken to Mr. Lawford of St. Edmundsbury Borough Council Estate department and discussed the problem of cars, etc. obstructing the entrance to the area. A letter had been received from the council stating that they would obtain legal advice on the issue and write to us again. Discussion took place on what further action might be taken to deal with the matter. Mrs. White said that she would await the reply from St. Edmundsbury and follow up on it if necessary.

(ii) QUEEN’S GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS: Councillor Mangnall said that she had spoken to the Chairman and they felt that, as the band for the barn dance on 6th July 2002 had already been booked, it would be more practical to combine it with the jubilee celebrations, rather than hold two separate events. She had therefore not looked into the cost of hiring a marquee and extra toilets, as the facilities they already had would probably prove adequate.

4. POLICE MATTERS:-
Inspector Joy Mayhew introduced herself and confirmed that P.C. Kidd had been seconded to the Princes Trust Millennium Volunteers Programme for six months to work with young people. P.C. Bob Meredith would be temporarily replacing him as community beat officer for Pakenham. She said that she had asked for a report on crime in Pakenham and only six incidents had been reported since the beginning of the year, which seemed to indicate that the Neighbourhood Watch scheme was working. Crime rates within Suffolk county and Bury rural area had both gone down. Councillor Chester said he was surprised that the Neighbourhood Watch scheme received praise, as he was a co-ordinator and received little communication. Inspector Mayhew said this may have been due to a change in the way information was passed on, but she would try and find out what had happened. She asked whether the parish council had any questions and the subject of cars going too fast along village roads was mentioned. Inspector Mayhew said certain areas were monitored from time to time, but Pakenham was not a high priority site for speeding problems. Councillor Dorling thanked her for coming to the meeting.

5. BOROUGH/COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT:-
Mrs. White said that a planning committee meeting would be taking place on Thursday and there were applications that affected Pakenham. The application to use the building at the rear of West View, Brand road, Gt. Barton, for storage and distribution had had restrictions on delivery times and noise levels placed upon it. The application for conversion of buildings at Pakenham Water Mill to create a visitors’ center with associated facilities and parking area had also had specific conditions placed upon it in order to minimize the inconvenience to neighbouring residents. The conversion of a former stable block at Newe House (to which parish council had no objection) was not looked upon favourably by the borough council, but a site visit had not yet been made. Mrs. White was also pressing for improvements to be made at River Close. Paving and landscaping had been done, but a dropped kerb was still needed for wheelchair and ambulance access and she asked if the parish council would write to St. Edmundsbury to support the need for this..

6. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:-

Past Applications:-

(i) Pakenham Water Mill: The application for change of use of dwelling/watermill and associated buildings, etc. to create a dwelling and visitors’ center had been granted subject to certain conditions.

New Applications:-

(i) Newe House, Fen Road: There were no objections to the application to convert a former stable block to form a dwelling.

(ii) St. Mary’s Church: There were no objections to the application for provision of new doorway into west elevation of south transept and to fell two trees fronting Church Hill.

(iii) Land adjacent to Belvedere, Fen Road: There were no objections to the application to build a detached dwelling with garage.

(iv) 3, The Greenwoods, Pakenham: The parish council objected to the application to fell a Lime/Tilia tree protected .by a preservation order.

7. PRECEPT:-
The precept for the year 2002/2003 was discussed and the figures agreed upon. A copy of the final precept is enclosed with these minutes.

8. FINANCE:-

The parish council agreed that the wage of Mr. Hosken, the village cleaner, be increased to £4.50 an hour with effect from 1st October 2001.

9. CORRESPONDENCE:-
(i) Letters had been received from SALC and NALC concerning the forthcoming training strategy. For parish and town councils. A copy was given to all councilors.
(ii) Pakenham Parochial Church Council had written to complain about the poor upkeep of the car park behind the church. The clerk was asked to write and apologise and inform them that we were endeavouring to find a new contractor who would take better care of the area.

10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS:-
(i) A village resident had complained that a fuel lorry was unable to reach her house because of the overgrown trees on the approach to The Dell. Councillor Dorling said that the steps in The Dell also needed attention and an inspection of the whole area would be carried out in the winter when the trees were bare.
(ii) Councillor Tony Cox asked if a notice could be put in the parish magazine asking for posters that had been placed on village lamp posts, etc. to be removed after the event had taken place.
(iii) Councillor Dorling said that the noticeboard which had fallen down at Grimestone End was being repaired by Mr. Tipple.

11. RETIREMENT OF THE CLERK:-
The Chairman expressed appreciation for the work done by Mrs. Griffiths, who was moving away from the area, and presented her with a bouquet. Mrs. Griffiths in turn expressed her thanks for the beautiful flowers and for the help and support given to her by the members of the parish council. The Chairman then welcomed Mrs. Jane Brookman who was taking over as parish clerk with effect from 1st November.

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETINGS:-
Councillor Joan Mangnall offered her apologies as she would be unable to attend the meeting on 10th December. It was agreed that the subsequent meeting be held at The Pavilion on 21st January 2002.

---

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL – PRECEPT ESTIMATES 2002/03

1. EXPENDITURE – NOT GRANT AIDED	£	£
Administration expenses	750
Clerk’s salary	1500
Audit fees	350
Insurance	250
Hire of Hall	110
Course fees	200
SALC subscription	140
Suffolk ACRE subscription	20
Bank charges	40
	3360
LESS estimated income from Deposit Account	-800
		2560
2. EXPENDITURE UNDER S137 LOCAL GOVT.ACT 1972
Suffolk Accident Rescue Services	50
Citizens Advice Bureau	50
Suffolk Preservation CPRE	50
Royal British Legion	50
Pyramids Playbus	50
Newstalk	50
Pakenham Bowls Club	75
		375
3. EXPENDITURE WHICH IS GRANT AIDED
Churchyard grasscutting and maintenance	1100
LESS estimated funeral income	-400
		700
4. EXPENDITURE ON OTHER SERVICES (GRANT AIDED)
Cutting and maintenance of playing field, etc.	2000
Village improvements	1000
Village Hall fund	1000
Playing Fields Association	200
Contingencies	300
	4500
LESS estimated income from:Wayleave 10 Recycling 20 Bowls/Buggy club and allotments rent 300	-330
		4170
5. STREET CLEANING EXPENDITURE (GRANT AIDED)		1650
TOTAL TO BE PRECEPTED FOR 2002/2003		£9455