3. There Were No Apologies for Absence As All Current Councillors Were Present

CHEDISTON AND LINSTEAD GROUPED PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held Monday 20 May 2013 at the Linstead Village Hall at 8.00 pm.

1.  The councillors present were Mrs S Clifford, Mr G Downing, Mrs J Heath, Mr J Ibbott. Mr M Titchiner Mr T Tooze, Mrs J Wareham and Mr R Wilkinson. The parish clerk Mrs Roberts asked for nominations for the Election for the forthcoming year for a chairman for the parish council. There were no outright names and Mr Downing had advised that he would be pleased if someone else would like to take up the position as he found it time consuming. Mr Ibbott proposed Mr Downing to stand again. This was seconded by Mrs Heath. There were no other nominations and Mr Downing agreed to fulfil the role for a further year. The council voted in favour. The relevant documentation was completed.

2.  Mr Downing proposed Mrs J Heath to be his vice - chairman. This was seconded by Mrs J Wareham. There were no other nominations. The council voted in favour. Mrs Heath confirmed she would act as vice chairman for the coming year.

3.  There were no apologies for absence as all current councillors were present.

4.  Mrs J Wareham declared an interest in items 7a and 7c on the agenda.

5.  The council voted in favour of agreement to the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 28 May 2012 at the Chediston Church Rooms.

6.  The chairman thanked the members of the public for coming and for their contributions to the parish meetings.

7.  Planning Meeting. A Planning Application has been received No: C13/0847 Corner Farm Linstead Parva Road, Chediston. Renewal of temporary consent for siting of temporary agricultural dwelling. The plans were viewed and discussed. It was proposed and seconded that the council would support the application. The clerk will advise the planning office.

The clerk reported that correspondence has been received from the planning office to advise Listed Building consent has been given to the following:

a)  C13/0394 Herne Hill Farm Chediston, Halesworth, for the erection of single storey glazed extension to the rear of the building.

b)  C13/0430 Vicarage Cottage Church Road Chediston Replacement of ground floor windows. The proviso given were that they were to be of timber with a painted finish.

c)  Application C13/0553 Herne Hill Farm Chediston, does not need planning permission for the extension to the existing Livestock and storage barn but the owners must advise the planning authority once complete.

8.  The minutes of the meetings held 18 March 2013, Planning Meeting of 9 April 2013 were proposed, seconded and voted in favour of. There were no outstanding matters.

9.  The clerk reported that there were £2691.17 in the current account and £1233.60 in the deposit account.

10.  The Annual Accounts were proposed, seconded and approved by the council.

11.  The following cheques were proposed, seconded and approved for authorisation.

1/Internal Auditors £35.00.

2/Suffolk Association of Local Councils £154.00.

3/Chediston Church Council donation to churchyards £60.00

4/Linstead Parochial Church Council donation to churchyards £60.00

5/Clerks expenses to 1 June 2013 £34.96

6/HMRC PAYE deductions from clerk £57.03

7/Bill from Micropress for advertising clerks post £22.80

The council proposed, seconded and voted in favour of :

Donation to East Anglian Air Ambulance £50.00

Donation to Halesworth Volunteer Social Car Service £50.00

These were signed by the chairman and vice chairman as was the standing order request form for payment of salary to the new clerk Mrs K Gregory. Mrs Gregory had attended the meeting and was introduced to the council and public.

12.  The heading of new councillors had been placed on the agenda as the council is short of two councillors for Chediston. It had been hoped that an interested party might have been able to attend the meeting. However his circumstances have now changed and he is likely to be leaving the village. Notices remain on the council noticeboards to advise of the vacancies.

13.  Correspondence.

a)  Emails have been received from the Highways Department regarding Godfreys Hill and the problems last year. It was agreed after discussion that the clerk will contact him to arrange a site meeting for the 31 May 2013 or soon after to discuss the matter with him. He wanted to know what alternative route could be suggested for the large vehicles to go down instead.

b)  Suffolk Acre Funding update. This was put into the circulation folder together with the correspondence below.

c)  The Boundary Commission Review.

d)  Suffolk Association of Local Councils Training Days Calender.

e)  Suffolk Flood Risk Strategy

f)  Clerk and Council Direct magazine.

g)  Invitation to Home Start Annual General Meeting 8 July 2013.

14.  There was no other urgent business. The meeting was closed at 9.30 pm

15.  The date for the next meeting is to be Monday 17 July 2013 in the Chediston Church Rooms at 7.30 PM.

Signed Graham Downing Dated 19 May 2014

MONDAY 20 MAY 2013 7.30 pm – Linstead Village Hall

CHEDISTON ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

1/ The parish council chairman Mr G Downing thanked the councillors and public for attending. He then asked the councillors to appoint a chairman for the parish meetings. It was proposed, seconded and voted in favour of Mr Downing overseeing the parish meetings. There were no other proposals.

2/ Mr Downing asked for reports from local groups and societies.

A.  Mr David Mantell spoke on behalf of the neighbourhood watch. He advised that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get help and advise from the police as their resources are often stretched to the limit. (The neighbourhood policeman had been invited to the meeting via email back in January and again by email at the beginning of May) Mr Mantell continues to monitor the correspondence he receives and advises of any new information and suggestions that come along.

B.  Mr Mantell advised that the ChedLin website has thousands of hits a year, with people who live all round the world still being able to access news from where they used to live. The website and consequential emails had proved invaluable in the last year when organising for relatives of the second world war pilots to come to celebrate the anniversary of the loss of their loved ones. The chairman, councillors and clerk thanked Mr Mantell for all the work that he has done on this on behalf of the village. Mr Mantell said that if any one would like to take it over or help him with it he would much appreciate it. Mr Mantel was thanked for his reports.

C.  Mrs Mantell reported on behalf of the Chediston United Charities Trust. The trust now has a holding of £47,323.91. The interest from this is used to donate Christmas gifts in the form of cash to all eligible youngsters and older residents in the village who qualify to benefit from it. Financial support is also given to University and Further Education students who have to travel. Hardship payments are also provided to needy villagers. Mrs Mantell was thanked for her report.

D.  Mr G Downing provided further reports as follows.

a)  St Marys church. The Annual Church Meeting took place 17 April 2013. Nineteen people attended. Sally Aldous and Mrs V Downing were elected as Church wardens. The church services have alternated with those of Linstead Church. There has been a problem recently in finding enough bell ringers, often services in the area work around bell ringer availability. Bell ringing practice is on the first Thursday in the month. The church yard responsibility is shared by Viv Burton, David Orme and Ralph Warren. Mr D Mantell gives support and professional advice on church fabric and state of repair. The parish council gave their thanks.

b)  The school room has groups including Carpet Bowls, Knit and Natter, Crafts table Tennis and Art classes. The PCC thanks Yvonne Watts and Joan Williamson for running the bookings and ensuring its maintenance. The clerk Mrs Roberts gave her thanks for their invaluable help. Thanks was given to all who help there with cleaning locking up etc.

c)  Queens Jubilee celebrations were a great success and show what a village can do when pulling together for a special occasion.

3/ There was no further business to discuss.

Followed by

LINSTEAD MAGNA ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
and LINSTEAD MAGNA PARISH MEETING Monday 20 May 2013

1/ The councillors appointed Mr G Downing as the chairman for the parish meetings which were agreed to be held together.

2/ The parish meetings received the following reports from local groups and societies.

A.  Mr S Burroughes a Suffolk Coastal Council District (SCD) Councillor had attended the meeting to give a report. He has recently been voted as a County Councillor for the Framlingham area. He advised there will be changes in future to number of SCD councillors and their distribution. Funds are tight but they will continue to provide most services. They have managed to hold the council tax to the same levels.

B.  Mr Burroughes reported that the Suffolk County Council (SCC) was an interesting challenge that he was looking forwards to. He will have a locality budget much as his predecessor. The SCC has again had to trim its budget for the year but is hoping to provide similar services.

C.  Mrs Heath reported on behalf of the Linstead Village Hall. Monday 4 July 2012 Linstead celebrated the Queens Jubilee with a Big Barbecue lunch, games for the children, and memorabilia some of which is now in a ‘parish chest’. A jubilee tree was also planted. Four fund raising events were also run which were successful as was an application to the Adnams charitable fund for to buy two marquees. The hall is in regular use for many different events.

D.  Mrs Heath reported on the Linstead Parochial Council. The Team Rector is the Reverend Edward Rennard. The income of the P.C.C. comes from collections at services , donations, and fund raising events. The council has a current account, deposit account, Sunday School account (to be used for initiatives with young people) There is also a Fabric Fund to provide for a reserve of funds for maintenance of the church. Thanks was given to the parish council for its support and funding towards churchyard maintenance.

3/ There was no other business to conduct. The parish meetings were closed.

Signed Graham Downing Dated 19 May 2014