Also Present : Mrs T Hazell (Clerk), Mr G Plant, Mrs B Lanchester

Minutes of the meeting of Ringsfield & Weston Parish Council held on Friday 25 April 2014 at 7.30 pm at Ringsfield Village Hall

Councillors Present : Cllr P Johnson (Chair), Cllr P Fearn, Cllr S Hemp, Cllr A W Wheeler, Cllr C Leggett, Cllr C Mehew, Cllr S Saunders and Cllr R Sherriff.

Also Present : Mrs T Hazell (Clerk), Mr G Plant, Mrs B Lanchester

1. Apologies : Cllr L Rees, Cllr K Springall and Cllr D Ritchie.

The Chairman welcomed councillors to the March 2014 meeting.

2. Declarations of Interest : Cllr Saunders and Cllr Mehew both declared an interest with regard to Item 7 (b) on the agenda regarding Planning Application DC/14/0906/COU by Mr C Spaans. Both councillors signed and dated the Declarations of Interest book with their reasons.

3. To confirm the minutes of the Parish Council held on 21 March 2014 at 7.30 pm

On the motion of Cllr Saunders, seconded by Cllr Hemp, it was unanimously agreed by those members present that these minutes be signed as a true and correct record.

The meeting opened for public consultation.

a. Residents’ Questions : Mr Gavin Plant stated that on 5th April his caravan and shed were set alight after a bonfire got out of hand on the field he rents space on next to the village hall. The Police and Fire Brigade were called as trees also caught fire and there was a huge amount of smoke. He reported that there was a further problem as the water pressure was extremely low from the fire hydrants, which he felt should be address urgently. He felt strongly that big bonfires near trees and buildings should be attended to and asked councillors to be mindful of the risks and also to protect the village hall if the owner of the field persists is lighting big bonfires.

Mrs Lanchester added that the smoke was visible in Barsham and the field owner often has fires and smoke problems have been caused in he past.

The Chairman stated that WDC Environmental Services are the body to contact if residents have complaints. He asked the clerk to write to Essex and Suffolk Water about the low water pressure.

b.  Report from the Police : no officers were present and no report received.

c.  Report from Suffolk County Councillor : Mr D Ritchie has sent apologies and a report stated that he was pleased Cllr Mark Bee has been re-elected as leader of the Conservative Group at SCC and thus is still the leader of the Council. A high priority at SCC is high speed broadband. In rural areas fibre optic cabling may reach the ‘box’ but houses more than half a mile from the box do not benefit from an increase in broadband speed – more money is being invested to overcome this and other problems. He was disappointed that the appeal for the Barsham wind turbine was not recovered by the Secretary of State and that the inspector allowed the appeal. In his opinion this is not a fair result and he hopes that local MPs lobbying Mr Pickles on this issue has some result.

c.  Report from Waveney District Councillor : Cllr Springall had sent apologies and had nothing to report.

The Chairman closed the meeting for public consultation.

6. Chairman’s Matters :

a. The Chairman reported that the wind turbine appeal result has met with much disappointment and views are that this is totally the wrong decision – he has spoken to Peter Aldous and Richard Bacon MPs on the matter. It is feared more applications will now be put in for wind turbines on other farms in the area. Some landowners have approached him to put in private money for a judicial review and they have commissioned a barrister to look at the judgement.

b. Litter Pick : The Chairman reported that this has been very successful and there were lots of volunteers. The rubbish had been collected and the pub donated bacon sandwiches afterwards. The clerk was asked to thank Ian at The Horseshoes.

c. Community Council : the Chairman had applied for a Wren Grant for the play area which had been refused as items were missing from the application. However they had advised that they felt this was an excellent project and if we re-apply before 8th August, we could be eligible for funding of up to £20K. We need to have a consultation with the children of the village and the Community Council will organise this in good time. Wren have also offered to help with filling in the application. The upgrade of the tennis and cricket facilities needs to be decided. Funding may also be available from WDC and EWCB.

Cllr Mehew is in the process of setting up a youth cricket team. The Chairman floated the idea of a nominal charge for use of the cricket facilities.

VAT – Cllr Hemp is looking into this with SALC.

The clerk was asked to look at the Charity Commission website with regard to updating councillors’ details. She had recently updated the clerk’s details and submitted overdue accounts for the Village Recreational Facilities charity.

d. The Chairman invited Mrs Lanchester to speak about the storage container proposal.

Mrs Lanchester stated that a quote had been received of £1250 from a firm near Stowmarket. The container could be sited at right angles to the gate and be parallel to the pavilion with an 8 ft gap from the hedge to allow the end doors to open. The existing sheds could then be demolished and the equipment could all be put in the new container. Four concrete pads would be required to sit the container on and it would have a domed ceiling to allow the water to run off it. It is 20 x 8 feet in size. Hardcore could be put underneath with weed control. The colour is red lead but could be painted the same colour as the pavilion.

Cllr Sherriff expressed concern about the doors which would mean that everything would have to come out to get something at the back of the container and centre doors would be preferable.

Discussion took place and the Chairman proposed that the Community Council be authorised to purchase the container. Cllr Hemp seconded and the motion was carried (6 for, 1 abstention by Cllr Sherriff).

e) The Chairman stated that at present the Community Council have the right to sign cheques of up to £500 without approval from the Parish Council, and it would be more sensible to increase this limit to £1000.

On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Wheeler, it was unanimously agreed to increase the level from £500 to £1000.

f) Great War Commemorations : the Chairman reported that there had been no progress with this at the moment.

6. Clerk’s Correspondence

The clerk circulated her correspondence report (attached) and action was agreed as follows :

a) Regarding the correspondence on Town and Parish Councils from SALC, the Chairman reported that at a recent meeting with Richard Amor of WDC, it had been advised to have a Neighbourhood Plan in place. Beccles Town Council are interested in producing one and joining forces with neighbouring parishes and it was agreed to pursue this idea.

b) With regard to the email from Cllr Wheeler regarding the road breaking up and water leaking outside his house, this has been attended to very quickly by Essex & Suffolk Water and the problem had been resolved.

c) Community Action Suffolk had sent their annual membership renewal in the sub of £30. After discussion it was agreed that this be passed through to the agenda item on Finances but in principle it was agreed to re-join for a further year.

d) SALC had sent details of the Village of the Year competition and it was agreed not to enter this.

e) Regarding the email from the Dept for Communities and Local Government on Protecting Community Assets, it was agreed to file this and bear it in mind for the future.

f) Mr C Spaans had sent a letter about the difficulty in paying council rates in cash. The letter was read out to councillors and the clerk was asked to reply stating that the Council appreciated his difficulties but is not within the Parish Council’s role to get involved with issues of this nature but wish him luck in gaining the support to restore the status quo.

g) A new notification had been received from SCC since the Clerk’s report stating that from 19 May to 30 May the C936 Cromwell Road, Ringsfield with be closed for carriageway repairs and the alternative route will be Church Road, Ringsfield Road, St Mary’s Road, London Road and vice versa.

7. Planning Applications

a) DC14/0865/FUL – construction of new earth sheltered, straw bale construction, sustainable 2 storey house with associated landscaping, including demolition of existing 2 storey house at Memory Cottage, Church Road, Ringsfield by Mr and Mrs M Newton.

On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Hemp, it was unanimously agreed to give no objection to this application.

b) DC14/0906/COU – Change of use from outbuilding to holiday cabin at Park Farm, Kings Lane, Weston by Mr C Spaans.

The last application got refused due to unsustainability as Park Farm, Weston was too far from the facilities of a major settlement.

On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Leggett, it was agreed uto refuse the application on the same grounds as previously in line with WDC’s planning policy. (5 for, 1 abstention by Cllr Sherriff). There were two declarations of interest with regard to this application, therefore 2 councillors did not vote.

c) DC/14/1169/FUL – installation of ground mounted photovoltaic plant, including the erection of transformers and other ancillary equipment, tracks, drainage, fencing, CCTV, landscaping and all associated building and engineering operations for use for a period of up to 25 years at Playters New Farm, Church Road, Ellough by Mr Paul Vining of EEW Eco Energy World Ltd.

The Chairman proposed this application be rejected due to the detrimental impact on the landscape and the rural tranquillity of the area. Cllr Hemp seconded the motion which was carried (6 for, 2 abstentions – Cllr Saunders and Cllr Wheeler).

8. Reports on Meetings attended by Councillors

None.

9. Finances

(a) On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Saunders, it was unanimously agreed to sign the following cheques :

Mrs P A Hazell (Clerk’s net salary) £176.80

SALC – annual membership fee £235.00

Community Action Suffolk – annual membership fee £30.00

b) The clerk reported that notification of the first payment of the annual precept had been received i.e. £3250.

c) Regarding the internal audit, the Chairman reported that he had spoken to Mr Tess Blowers who had agreed to act as the Internal Auditor for the 13/14 accounts audit.

On the motion of Cllr Mehew, seconded by the Chairman, it was unanimously agreed that Mrs Blowers be appointed as the internal auditor.

d)  The adoption of the Model Financial Regulations – the clerk had emailed copies to all councillors.

On the motion of Cllr Saunders, seconded by Cllr Leggett, it was unanimously agreed that these regulations be adopted.

e) Adoption of the 2013/14 Accounts as prepared by the clerk. Copies had been circulated to all councillors. Discussion took place on the variances to 12/13 accounts.

On the motion of Cllr Mehew, seconded by Cllr Leggett, it was unanimously agreed to sign these minutes as a true and correct record.

10. Matters Arising

a) Cllr Fearn stated that the notice board is in a dreadful state and in need of repair as soon as possible. Cllr Sherriff stated that he has this in hand.

b) It was noted that the grain silos had still not been painted as per the conditions of the planning permission.

c) Cllr Wheeler asked if the clerk could change Trustees details on the Charity Commission website.

d) Disucssion took place on applications for Community Councillors which are required in time for the May Annual Meeting. A notice has appeared in the parish newsletter but so far no applications had been received. The Chairman will write to the present Community Council and other interested people.

11. Date of Next Meeting : Friday 16 May 2014.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.40 pm.

Chairman …………………………………. Dated ………………………………..