Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes 16th September 2020

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a virtual Meeting of the Council
held on Wednesday, 16th September 2020 at 7.30pm

Present: Cllr Dorling, Cllr Bagnell, Cllr Davey, Cllr Palfrey, Cllr Sargent and Cllr Sidebotham
One Member of the public was in attendance. Mrs S Brown (clerk) took the minutes.

1 - Record Councillors' apologies for absence: Apologies received and accepted from Cllr Painter.

2 - Declarations of interest: No Declarations of Interest received

3:-
County Councillors Report:-
Cllr Hopfensperger was in attendance and gave a report to circulate which included: Schools admissions window open, preparations are finalised for SCC funded school travel for the new school term, working together to ensure a safe start to the new school year, Suffolk winners announced for Food Savvy's Delicious Drawings competition, Suffolk celebrates 1,000 miles of newly surfaced roads, free cycling sessions for the people of Suffolk, Suffolk & Norfolk businesses set for extra boost for apprentices, new resources will help young people understand the link between movement and mental health, electoral review of Suffolk: draft recommendations. Cllr Hopfensperger understood that the work has been carried out to rectify the dangerous kerbing and therefore the cones and signage will be removed as soon as possible. Bury Road Kebab Van I reported at a previous meeting that one way to solve the issue of the kebab van positioned in Bury Road was that street licensing was looking to be introduced by West Suffolk Council which would mean that a licence would have to be applied for which covered that road, conversely the road could be marked as a road to not have licenced trading. The council are looking into this but it is not likely to become policy until next year. Cllr Dorling highlighted the van appeared to be static, Cllr Hopfensperger to advise the enforcement department. Water pollution in Pakenham stream Cllr Hopfensperger happy to arrange a meeting with interested parties (the Parish Council, Environment Agency, Anglian Water) to see what solutions can be put in place. To also take the laboratory report to the environment team at SCC to see if they can offer advice on how to take this forward. Council were happy for Cllr Hopfensperger to take this forward and thanked her for her help. Cllr Dorling advised an accident had apparently happened at the Upper Town crossroads this week and it was becoming quite a dangerous junction. Cllr Hopfensperger will ensure this is recorded with highways. Cllr Sidebotham reported a car had been parked on the pavement, it was advised if a number plate had been taken to report to the police. Speeding in the Street was briefly discussed. Cllr Sidebotham reported a drain/manhole cover was loose, it was advised to report on the SCC website and if it is not rectified within the specified timeframe to report to the Clerk with the reference number and Cllr Hopfensperger will escalate it.
Borough Councillors Report:-
Cllr Brown was in attendance and gave a report: Nothing specific relevant to Pakenham had taken place over the summer. Cllr Dorling advised he had spoken to the Water Mill about using possible funding from West Suffolk for clearing fallen Willow trees from Mill pond.
Public Forum:-
A resident spoke on the recent problems of the stream and the environment report which had been sent through. He felt there were two main issues: fish on the specific day had died from de-oxygenation through lack of water flow and the river is overgrown from the mill ponds back up into Pakenham village. These issues were discussed including where had the water gone, were irrigators lowering the water, would it be worthwhile to talk to the local farmers for their insight, was the pump at the back of Fen Road an issue, is there a maximum amount of water that can be taken, it was advised all farmers had to have a licence to extract water, also the water table is very low at the moment. It was felt these were issues the Environment Agency should be looking into on the village's behalf. It was proposed a letter was sent to the Environment Agency at Ely, who undertook the report, asking for the figures on the test sample that the took and what it showed to also send them the report received from the independent laboratory to ask for their interpretation of the figures it contained. To also state the Parish Council were not happy with the response of the Environment Agency as no-one had come back to or responded to communications from the Parish Council in the first instance. Cllr Brown to take the report to the Public Health department at West Suffolk for any help or advice. All in agreement for the Clerk to send the letter as well as sending a letter to the Water Mill advising there was funding available from West Suffolk that could possibly be used to help clear the pond at the Water Mill of fallen Willow trees and duck weed as the Council had received a number of comments from residents on the poor condition of the pond. It was also suggested contacting the River Authority to ask them to inspect the length of the river for their advice on its condition and what works needed to be done and by whom to get it back to a good condition.

4 - To consider the approval of the minutes of the last meetings:-
The minutes of the meeting held on 3rd August 2020 were approved to be signed as a true record.

5 - Reports:-
i. Infrastructure meeting/Cycle Routes: The Clerk advised a letter had been sent to the Highways Officer in regards the road network around Pakenham as well as cycle and pedestrian routes. No response has yet been received, the Clerk to chase.
ii. Pakenham Stream: Following concern at the end of August in regards the state of the stream the Environment Agency had been contacted and a brief report had been received. Cllr Dorling had also collected a water sample on the day which was taken to an independent laboratory for testing. These reports had been circulated to Councillors and interested parties. Council discussed the matter in item 3 above.
iii. Clerks Report & Outstanding Highway Issues: The tree works have now been completed and the fence posts have been installed at the allotment. The Suffolk Archive office still remains shut, as soon as it opens the Clerk will deposit the archived Parish Council paperwork. Cllr Palfrey advised the lawn cemetery grass has been cut and is looking very tidy but it appeared the fence had not yet been erected by M&TJs. Also, the kerbing issue at Grimstone End had been dealt with. The Clerk had reported street light 0067 within The Owell which had intermittent flashing at night Ref: WEB048974.

6 - To consider Locality Grant Monies available for Good Health & Community Spirit:-
The Clerk advised further funding from West Suffolk Council Community Chest Funding 2021/22 was also available and a copy of this had been sent to PVH & PFA as well as the Water Mill as they may wish to make use of funding.

7 - Review bi-annual Risk Assessment:-
All Councillors had received a copy and all in agreement no further items to add and all in order.
i. To consider purchase of new defib pads for village hall defibrillator: The Clerk advised the defib pads expired at the end of September, Council discussed and all in agreement for the Clerk to purchase replacement pads.

8 – Correspondence - Circulated to Councillors:-
• Email from resident in regards the kebab van – the Clerk had sent the resident a copy of the July Minutes which gave an update.
• Emails from resident in regards Pakenham stream pollution – dealt with in item 3 & 5ii. Clerk to update resident and thank him for all the information provided.
• Update from Ixworth surgery – noted
• SCC how to report flooding – noted
• Updates on Covid-19 – noted
• SCC Suffolk Minerals & Waste Local Plan – noted
• Community Action Suffolk local housing needs – noted

9 - Planning Applications to comment:-
Two applications had been received but were too late to add to the agenda an extra ordinary meeting to be called, Council agreed a further meeting to be called for Wednesday 30 September to comment on the planning applications.
i. Applications determined by Planning Authority: No applications determined by the Planning Authority had been received.
ii. Clatter Cottage: an update had been received from the planning officer stating a site visit had been carried out and found the outbuilding would be considered permitted development and did not require planning permission. However, due to the front porch being within 2m of the curtilage of the dwelling with a highway, householder planning permission is required for this structure. The owner has been advised. If an application is not forthcoming a decision will be made to the expediency of pursuing the porch with an update in due course. The case will be reviewed on 30 September 2020.

10 - Finance Report:-
The second quarter against budget had been circulated to Councillors.
Bank balances:-
deposit account £10,129.50 at 30 April 2020
current account £23,919.25 at 31 July 2020 after those invoices on the agenda have been paid an uncleared amount of £20,109.31.
To confirm acceptance of NJC pay scales for 20/21: All in agreement to accept the updated pay scales.
To consider any payments to be made: All in agreement for the payment of invoices to be made.

No further invoices had been received.

11 - Councillors' reports and items for future agenda:-
Cllr Dorling advised the resident next to Church Green Wood had done a fantastic job within the wood and it was now a pleasure to walk around the area, seating had been constructed as well as new hedging, he had suggested the resident place an article in the next village Newsletter on all he had achieved and it was hoped to rekindle a wildlife group. Cllr Sidebotham proposed sending a letter of thanks all in agreement. A resident had rung to thank the Parish Council for the tree works undertaken at the Lawn cemetery. It was advised two trees had recently fallen down by the road which raised concern, Cllr Dorling as tree warden would speak to the landowner.

12 - Date of next meeting:-
The date of the next scheduled meeting was confirmed as Wednesday, 21 October 2020, this will be a virtual meeting.

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.30pm

(Ref: 322-325)