MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF HOLLESLEY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON

THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER 2011 AT 7.00 PM IN THE VILLAGE HALL, HOLLESLEY

Discussion with James Davidson, Suffolk County Council Highways, regarding the proposed plans for the Sutton Hoo Junction.

Cllr Driver welcomed all the visitors to the meeting and introduced James Davidson and County Councillor Andrew Reid to share with the Council, the plans for the Sutton Hoo Junction.

Mr Davidson handed out plans for the junction for everyone present to view. Cllr Reid presented an overview of the plan, time-scales involved and funding. Mr Davidson explained in detail how the plan was decided and why other options were unsuitable for the junction. It was stated that the costs involved to create a roundabout would be in the region of £180,000, instead of the £70,000 of the proposed project, making it unaffordable, also the space available at the location would make this option difficult. It was also stated that the improvements to the junction were able to be planned due to the gifting of some land at the site and some funding found which needed to be utilised before the end of the present financial year. Mr Davidson was asked how the costs were calculated and whether the County Council had put this out to Tender to reduce costs. It was explained that the council works on the basis of pre-arranged contract of works and prices for minor projects under 1 Million pounds, over this amount projects would be put out to further tender. This contract runs for several years at a time and is the most cost effective way of working. It was also asked why the junction could not be made into a Right angled junction to slow traffic turning from the Woodbridge direction. Mr Davidson explained that the plan showed that the turn of the junction would be sharpened quite considerably to aid slowing of the traffic. Mr Davidson also explained that models had been used in assessing the needs of the junction and various scenarios possible. Mr Davidson explained that they had looked at the plan in relation to the largest articulated lorries in use and the path these would travel, to gain understanding of how the junction would be used and to plan the angles required for safe turning. Concern was expressed over the planting scheme and the possibility of a high crop on the field obscuring vision. It was stated that farm workers occasionally park vehicles along the roadside just past the junction also obscuring vision to users. Councillors were concerned that the position of the Oak Tree could mean be the possibility of a vehicle hitting the tree. It was stated that high speed traffic from the Sutton Direction is hidden in the dip before the junction making judgement impaired and those pulling out vulnerable to collision. Councillors noted that the plan showed the use of a central island at the junction and asked whether this would be illuminated. Mr Davidson stated that it would not be electrically illuminated but reflective or possibly solar powered illumination. Mr Davidson agreed to look into the concerns and suggestions raised by the Parish Council, and in particular the issue of the tree had not been thought of so they would look into the possibility of removing this tree. Concern was expressed that vehicles going straight on often overtake those turning off at the junction and it was suggested that double white lines would stop this and be a cheaper option. Mr Davidson explained that the plan would go through two safety audits before work would start. He agreed that making the bollards clearly visible would be a part of that plan. Mr Davidson explained that there were restrictions for when and how white lines can be used. He also explained that all work has to conform with the Road Traffic Act and guidelines the council has to adhere to. Councillors suggested that the 40mph could be continued from the hill to help slow traffic near the junction. Mr Davidson stated that this hadn't been ruled out at this stage of the project, but it would be looked at as part of the detailed plan and required criteria for this. It was explained that for a speed limit to work a driver has to see the justification for it and the police have to enforce it. Cllr Reid pointed out that people speed anyway and the police concern is that if the countryside is covered with restrictions then none of them will work and it couldn't be possible to enforce, so that was why there was strict criteria for when and how they can be used. It was suggested that a deceleration lane could be installed. Mr Davidson stated that the Road Safety Team plan was to remove these lanes, not install more. It had been found that passing vehicles were masked by those in the deceleration lane and then hit by vehicles pulling out. It was asked whether money towards the project had been requested from the M.O.D and the Prison as it had from Parish Councils. Cllr Reid stated that discussions were in progress on this and that all local councils had been requested to contribute to the scheme. The County Council's view is that the overall scheme will be an improvement. Cllr Reid reassured the Parish Council that their concerns would be considered. It was asked whether the plans could be displayed locally. Mr Davidson stated that this would be a good idea and explained that it was hoped that construction would start in February and be completed in March.

Cllr Driver thanked Mr Davidson for attending the meeting.

Attendance from Robin Buncombe, Emergency Planning Officer for Suffolk County Council, to advise on creating an Emergency Plan.

Mr Buncombe introduced himself and gave information on emergency planning to all those present. Mr Buncombe gave an overview of what an emergency plan is and why it the Parish should have one. It was explained that in 2004 the Civil Duties Act stated that authorities ( Central Government, County and District Councils) were required to have plans in place to deal with large scale emergencies, at present Parish and Town Councils are not required to have an emergency plan but it is recommended that one be created, as it is expected that this could become a requirement in the near future. In recent years there have been several major issues, showing the need for local communities to be able to support each other. The local emergency plan is important because it is written locally with local knowledge and can be used in partnership with larger authorities in the event of an emergency. Mr Buncombe used the examples of the Foot and Mouth outbreak a few years ago and recent threat of flooding. Mr Buncombe encouraged the Parish Council to create a working Emergency Plan, stating that advice and support was always available. Suffolk resilience.com was a useful website for information on emergency planning. Mr Buncombe stated that it was not meant to be another onerous task but can be a simple one page plan for a small community ranging to a comprehensive plan for a larger Town Council, depending on local need. The plan, when created, needs to be tested and work, also any plan created would need to be maintained as a working document.

Cllr Driver thanked Mr Buncombe for attending the meeting.

REPORTS

Police Report – Pc Andy Warne

There was no report to give at the meeting

County Council Report – Councillor Andrew Reid

Cllr Reid read a report to the council. Highlights of the report as follows -

Budget Latest – consultation with the people of Suffolk. Public consultation on ideas for next year’s budget started in mid September: the first stage of this is a survey, running for six weeks until 23rd October, which will help the council to understand which services are a priority and will seek ideas and suggestions about how it could save money by delivering services differently.

The second stage which will run through November will be a series of stakeholder sessions which will aim to discuss in more detail the emerging budget proposals. In total, the council is looking to reduce its budget by around £50million over the next two years – part of the projected budget gap of £125million over the four years from 2010 to 2014.

Recruiting a new chief executive. Recruitment is now under way for a new chief executive. The new chief executive will be paid a salary of up to £160,000 a year. The closing date for applications was 26th September, with interviews taking place in October and the new chief executive expected to be in place by the end of January.

Economic development - Broadband success. The government has announced that our plans to deliver comprehensive high-speed broadband across Suffolk are to be fast-tracked. Suffolk will be one of five counties in the first wave. SCC’s agreement, in June, to invest up to £10m in the project almost certainly proved crucial in securing the backing from government for this project.

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) – Solutions found. Earlier this year we reluctantly decided to close seven out of our 18 HWRCs as part of meeting this year’s budget. However, after much hard work, alternative arrangements are now in place for nearly all these areas.

Consultation on our Mobile Libraries. A six-week consultation was launched at the beginning of September asking users of Suffolk's mobile library service what they value in the service and how they think savings could be made. The consultation ends on 14th October. SCC currently spends £600,000 a year providing the service for around 7,000 customers. We are consulting on proposals such as: a) reducing the service from fortnightly to four weekly / monthly visits – as with Norfolk and Cambridgeshire; b) removing mobile library stops in parishes or towns which already have a library building. If implemented, the proposals would save £225,000 of public money annually. No decisions will be made until after the consultation responses have been thoroughly examined. The cabinet will then decide on the way forward in November 2011.

The full report would be circulated to councillors.

Cllr Driver thanked Cllr Reid for attending the meeting.

Suffolk Coastal District Council – Councillor Jane Marsen

Cllr Marsen sent her appologies to the meeting and a report which was read out by the Clerk. Cllr Marsen stated in her report that she looked forward to attending and meeting the Councillors in November.

Most of the items in the report had been covered in the report by County Councillor Reid. The Clerk highlighted that Cllr Marsen reported that the Car Parking Fees in Town car parks would be raised by around 20p and that a proposal had been put forward that Blue Badge holders will have to pay for their parking but they would get an extra hour for free. Discabled parking spaces would be maintained and in some cases the numbers available could be increased.

The main part of the meeting opened at 8.35pm

PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT

Councillor Colin Beecroft Councillor Andy Stebbens Councillor Chris Clement

Councillor Chris Walker Councillor Alan Shelcott Councillor Jenny Friend

Councillor Angela Lawrence Councillor Dennis Driver Councillor Tony Barnard

Councillor Cyril Stammers Councillor Richard Coles

IN ATTENDANCE

Mrs. Noelle Gore, Clerk 4 Residents 3 Guests

ITEM 1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

None.

ITEM 2 TO RECEIVE MEMBERS’ DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None

ITEM 3. TO RECEIVE AND SIGN THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2011

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 September 2011 were proposed by Cllr Friend as correct, seconded by Cllr Walker and agreed by all present, and signed by the Chairman.

ITEM 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2011

Item 6 – Last paragraph. It was pointed out that there was no clear information on what this item was regarding, clarity was requested in future minutes. The Clerk clarified that this was regarding the small plot of land at Mallard Way which Geoff Bell (the Developer) had agreed to gift to the Parish Council, and that the Solicitor had had correspondence from Mr Bell to say that the process of transferring the land could now begin. Further information on this would be given when available.

ITEM 5 CLERK'S REPORT

The Clerk reported that she had carried out a major filing, re-organisation and clear out of old files (including shredding and recycling). The project sheet had started to be updated to be able to inform Cllr Walker what was actually in the Oak Hill play equipment fund, this info was gathered, but as stated previously the sheet is confusing and out of date. The Clerk requested help with re-doing the sheet from scratch to reflect the actual project headings still in use and those which are no longer needed, the sheet could then be updated regularly and relevant to the needs of the council. It was agreed for Cllr Walker to help the Clerk with this job.

The Insurance renewal needed some updating and adjustments, this took a little time to sort out and is for report under finance. Contact had been finally made with both the District Councillor and County Councillor, who had both agreed to attend the meetings when available and update the Parish Council on local issues.

The Clerk had reported to the County Council that streetlight number 10 at Foxhill was not working, also that the 30pmh signs at the junction of School Lane and Rectory Road had been pulled up along with a bend sign just up School Lane. The Clerk had also reported the faded street name sign at the same junction for Rectory Road. These were due to be dealt with.

It was reported by Councillors that there was another streetlight out, opposite the pub and another broken street name sign ( Boyton Road) at the Water Tower. The Clerk agreed to report these to the County Council.