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Minutes of the meeting of the WICKHAM MARKET PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 19 March 2012 at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Mr M Argent (Chairman),Mrs J Breese, Mr R Cooke, Mrs F Etheridge, Mr M Manning, Mr B Nobbs, Miss V Pizzey, Mrs E Salmon and Mr C Tucker..
ALSO PRESENT: Mr B Hall (Suffolk Coastal District Council), Mr M Bond (Suffolk County Council)
- APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Mrs J Evans, Mr G Jones, Mr J Ridd and Mr M Roseveare..
- MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2012 were signed as a true
record.
- COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT
The Parish Council noted Mr Bonds report and thanked him for the grant from his locality budget of £286 which had paid for repairs to the bus shelter roof and skatepark seat.
- MATTERS ARISING
4.1 Mr Stone briefly went through the content of the new website which was in the final stages of being prepared. It was agreed that any information relating to local businesses should at this stage only relate to businesses within Wickham Market. Information on churches would relate to churches on different faiths and those in neighbouring villages which were used by Wickham Market residents.
4.2 It was agreed that the three arms of the proposed finger post should indicate library/community centre/medical centre : recreation ground/village hall/post office : toilets/school. The Clerk reported that he would investigate what permissions were necessary for the post and would be applying for an EDF grant from Suffolk Coastal District Council. A further report would be made in due course.
4.3 Wickham Market Library - details had been received from the Wickham Market Partnership of the details of the takeover of the Library and the grant they were seeking from the Parish Council. Opening hours would increase from 22 to 38.5 with the assistance of 20 local volunteers. A number of specialist reading groups would be run and the school would use the library on Monday afternoons when it was closed to the public. Generally it was hoped to make the library/atrium a more comfortable and welcoming place.
RESOLVED
That a grant of £1,000 per annum be awarded to the library for a period of three years starting in 2012/13, at the end of this period a review of the operation and operating costs of the library be carried out with any further grant being dependant on the results of this review.
4.4 The Chairman gave a brief rundown of the current arrangements surrounding the Jubilee and Torch celebrations.The route of the Torch and the names of the runners were now available on the County Council website. The torch procession would start at 14.59 on 5 July 2012 and end some 13 minutes later.
The Wickham Market school would very active on the Torch day but generally it appeared that more celebrations had been organised in the village for Jubilee day than Torch day. The proposed Steering Group to oversee the two days would start meeting in the near future.
4.5 An initial discussion had been held with the Wickham Market Village Hall Management Committee on the future of the village hall (should it be repaired or replaced). It was agreed that the first step should be to get a structural survey of the building carried out to get an idea of its current condition. This would be the starting point for long term plans. A chartered surveyor had agreed to take on the survey at a cost of £475 + VAT.
RESOLVED
That a structural survey of the village hall be carried out at a cost of £475 + VAT.
4.6 A local resident had complained about the condition of the area surrounding the parish pump and horse trough. Whilst the pump was painted a year or two ago, the trough and surrounding area did need tidying up. This was particularly apt as it was donated to Wickham Market in honour of Queen Victoria's jubilee and this again was a jubilee year.
It was agreed to ask the Boys Brigade if they could carry out a tidy up of the area.
- OPEN SESSION (commenced at 8.20pm)
In answer to a question the Chairman reported that informal discussions had been held with Hopkins Homes on the proposed development on the Ufford Road just past Featherbroom Gardens. Public discussion would take place when the formal planning application was considered. It was likely that Hopkins Homes would hold a public exhibition in the village in May 2012 explaining the proposal.
The Clerk gave a brief rundown of Neighbourhood Planning and how a Neighbourhood Plan might benefit the village in years to come. However the Local Development Framework was almost certainly going to be in place before a Neighbourhood Plan could be put together and adopted.
Mr Hall felt it was important to have an idea where the village was going particularly in terms of housing which was in very short supply. He had no idea what might happen to the old Co-op building when the new store opened but he asked everyone to look for potential new users. There was an open invitation to all members to look round the youthbus and see what was going on. He hoped that everybody would support the need for faster broadband and register this support on the appropriate website. Finally he stressed that he felt that the village needed a business association to pull together the interests of all the businesses in the village including those on the industrial park.
(session closed at 8.45pm)
- POLICE MATTERS
6.1 Mr Hoe went through the police report. Since the last meeting there had been 6 crimes in the village compared with 83 in Woodbridge, 9 in Rendlesham and 16 in Framlingham. At present there was no tasking for speeding in Wickham Market but speed checks were still carried out.
6.2 It was reported that the police had written concerning the spate of offences involving “missiles” being thrown off the bridges over the A12 and A14. The police were asking that if anyone sees a potential missile near a bridge to let them know immediately. However they advised not to linger too long on a bridge or the person might be seen as a potential felon.
- SPORT AND LEISURE MATTERS
7.1 It was reported that the All Saints Youth Club based at the Beehive has requested a grant for 2012/13 to help meet the annual running costs of the Club which are between £8,000 and £9,000. The Club now has 40 attending each Thursday evening with 8/10 local volunteers and two employed youth workers.
All members of the Parish Council are invited to visit the Club on a Thursday evening to see it in action.
The Parish Council agreed that before any decision was made on the request the Club should be asked what size grant they were seeking, was it a request for an annual grant and what activities the Club carried out to raise its own funds.
7.2 The Parham Pedal Pushers, a local group of cyclists, was trying to put together a bike network connecting Framlingham, Parham, Hacheston and Wickham Market with a possible extension across to Campsea Ashe. The idea was, where possible, to upgrade existing rights of way to allow cyclists to use the path so that much of the route is off road.
At this stage the Parish Council had no objection to the proposal in principle.
- PLANNING MATTERS
8.1 Applications considered since your last meeting - the Camargue Cafe at Valley farm Riding School - application to allow use of tea room by all visitors to Valley farm, not only those using the riding school (no comment made): Parma Industries site 123 High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0RD - application for erection of 14 residential dwellings (objections submitted on grounds that houses fronting High Street are too tall or should be moved back and insufficient car park spaces on site): 88 High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0QU - application for erection of conservatory (no objection); 86-88 High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0QU - creation/reinstatement of separate dwelling (building previously converted to one single dwelling) (no objection); Greystone House, 87 High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0RA - erection of link between the existing house and cart lodge (no objection): Bank House, 77 High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0RA - Change of use from A1 to A2 (professional and financial services) (no objection but sought reassurance that the office will be open to the public and that the office area will not gradually be incorporated into the residential element of the property); 1 and 2 Old Orchard Cottages, Gelham Hall, Wickham Market IP13 0NE - continued use of 1 & 2 Old Orchard Cottages as self contained residential accommodation (no objection):Ridge Cottage, Valley Road, Wickham Market IP13 0DG - change of use of garage/workshop to annexe ( no objection); Beech tree at The Old Ballroom, High Street, Wickham Market IP13 0RA - to reduce the spread of the canopy by up to 4m and lift canopy to 5m (objection submitted on grounds that work proposed is excessive and not necessary)
8.2 Decisions received since your last meeting: the Camargue cafe at Valley Farm Riding School - removal of condition 2 to allow use of tea room by all visitors to Valley Farm not only those using the riding school (application approved)
8.3 A consultation document entitled “Pre-Submission Core Strategy and Development Management Policies Development Plan Document December 2011” had been received. Unfortunately the consultation period expired on 7 March 2012 but the document was available should any member wish to read it.
- ALLOTMENT MATTERS
The Council was informed that notification had been received that from 1 April 2013 the rental for the Simons Cross allotments would be increased from £400 to £480.
10. CEMETERY MATTERS
It was reported that at the moment all of the cemetery records were kept by Linda Merriam in her house so that they were convenient for her work. The one concern was that should her house be destroyed by fire these historical and irreplaceable records would also be destroyed which would lead to some administrative nightmares. The village hall was no better. The Clerk was currently looking at obtaining a small cabinet with at least 30 minutes fire resistance to store the records in and a further report would be submitted if an appropriate cabinet was found at reasonable cost.
11. FINANCE AND LEGAL MATTERS
11.1 Bi-monthly accounts - January/February 2012 - these were noted and accepted.
11.2 Council's Insurance - the Parish Council was currently insured through Aon which was highly experienced in dealing with insurance matters for local authorities so there was no reason to consider changing insurers at this stage. Following recommendations made by the internal auditors report, a number of minor amendments had been made to the insurance policy. The fidelity guarantee cover had been increased to £50,000 in 2010/2011.
The Parish Council agreed that current insurers Aon should continue to be used.
12. ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA
War memorial
The meeting closed at 9.10pm