The Clerk Called for Nominations for a Chair
Robert Wardley proposed Matt Lunn to continue as Chair. This was seconded by Nick Watts and carried unanimously. Cllr Lunn was pleased to continue as Chair and signed the Chair’s Declaration of Office.
John Calver Proposed Robert Wardley as Vice-Chair
This was seconded by Mary Mann and carried unanimously. Cllr Wardley signed the Vice Chair’s Declaration of Office.
There Were No Apologies for Absence
- Present
- Matthew Lunn (Chairman) Robert Wardley Nick Watts Sam Steward John Calver Rebecca Fox Tom Mountain Mary Mann Doris Dearing Lydia Kirk (clerk) 2 members of public
There Were No Declarations of Interest
The Minutes of the Council Meeting on 22nd March 2021
Approved as a true record of the meeting.
There Were No Matters Arising
Appointment of Officers and Council Representatives
| Proposer | Seconder |
|---|---|
| Responsible Financial Officer L. Kirk | RW ML |
| Examining Councillor R. Wardley | ML JC |
| Tree Warden N. Watts | TM SS |
| Highways and Footpaths J. Calver | SS TM |
| SALC Representative T. Mountain | NW SS |
| Health and Safety R. Wardley | SS RF |
| Emergency Planning & Welfare Officer R. Wardley | SS RF |
All appointments were approved unanimously.
The Chair’s Report for the Annual Parish Meeting
Will be put on the village website, other than that he had nothing to report since the last Council meeting.
Clerk’s Report
The government no longer permits online meetings for Parish and Local Councils in any form.
The clerk has completed the accounts and auditing paperwork for the year ending 31st March 2021 and wished to thank Trevor Brown for carrying out a thorough audit and producing such a comprehensive report.
She would like to thank Shirley Cunningham for all her hard work on the website, making it such an interesting and up-to-date village resource.
The following planning application updates were reported -
- Church Farm Erection of Grain Silo Permitted
- Belvedere Single Storey Extension Permitted
- Land opposite the Village Hall Mock Barn Nursery Permitted
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
- The following payments were approved
| Reference | Amount | Payee | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| P01 21-22 | £192.92 | Robins Row Ltd | Mower insurance |
| P02 21-22 | £100.00 | Suffolk Cloud | Website hosting |
| P03 21-22 | £266.21 | SALC | Annual subscription |
| P04 21-22 | £40.00 | ICO | Data Processor fee |
| P05 21-22 | £120.00 | Trevor Brown | Internal audit |
| P06 21-22 | £32.50* | Dennington Village Hall | Meeting 17.05.2021 |
* raised since the agenda was issued.
- Funds received since the last meeting were noted:
| Date | Amount | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30.04.2021 | £10,038 | East Suffolk Council | 100% precept and grant |
- The bank balances were as follows on 14th May 2021:
Current Account £12,793.22 Active Saver £848.94 Equipment Account £5,459.89 The reserved funds balance was £8,477.95.
Action: The Council authorised the clerk to transfer £7,000 from the Current Account to the Active Saver account.
Procedural
- The Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2021 were accepted
- ML read through the Annual Governance Statements and Councillors agreed with each statement. ML completed Section One and Section Two (Accounting Statements) of the Local Councils’ Annual Return for year ending 31st March 2021. The Notice of Public Rights will be advertised on village notice boards and the village website.
- The Council resolved to opt out of an External Audit as an exempt council. The Certificate of Exemption was completed and signed by the RFO and Chairman.
- The Clerk went through the Statement of Significant Variances and this was accepted
- As per her contract, the clerk is to move up a scale point, from SCP 10 to 11, from 1st April 2021 for another year’s service. There has been no information from NALC as to recommended pay increases for the 2021-2022 year as yet.
The Internal Auditors’ Report on the 2020-2021 Annual Paperwork
It was noted that donations to advisory organisations such as the C.A.B can be made under Section 142 of the LGA without having to resort to using Section 137, although it was noted that the Council is well under the S.137 spending limit. Future reports and certificates from external audits must be approved at Council meetings. The Council should try to build up the general reserves balance to be 3-12 months of the net revenue expenditure. The general reserve balance at 31st March 2021 was only £586. The Council will actively begin to build its general reserves, although the Asset Maintenance reserved funding would cover many unforeseen costs.
The VAT for the Christmas Tree
Has now been separated in the accounts and will be included in the next VAT claim.
The Following Policies Were Reviewed
- Standing Orders
- The amendment to the Assets Register to include the Speed Indicator Device was approved.
- Financial Regulations Minor amendments to footnotes in section 11 of the Financial Regulations, as per NALC’s recommendations in Legal Topic Notice F02-21, were adopted.
- The Statement of Internal Control was considered effective and fit for purpose.
- The Risk Assessments for Physical Assets were reviewed.
- Financial Risk Assessment
- The Data Protection Policy
The 2012 Suffolk Model Code of Conduct
Was re-adopted. It was noted that at NALC’s assembly in March, it was agreed to support the Local Government Association’s model code of conduct and to cease production of the NALC code. Implementation of this code is under review.
Action: RW to send his Code of Conduct training presentation to all Councillors as refresher as training for more recently co-opted Councillors and refresher training for other Councillors.
The Circulated Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Report for 2020-2021
Was approved. The Council will need to consider how this CIL money should be spent before it expires and needs returning to East Suffolk Council. Some possible ideas to spend the funds on were discussed and this will be raised again at the next meeting.
Action: Clerk to send report to East Suffolk Council and obtain information on how CIL funding can be spent.
RW Proposed Re-appointing Trevor Brown as the Council’s Internal Auditor
For the year ending 31st March 2021. This was seconded by NW and carried unanimously.
Planning Application DC/21/2006 The Willows, Owls Green
A proposed new 4 bedroom family home. There were some questions as to the accuracy of the scaling of the plans and locations of the neighbouring properties. There were concerns that there may not be sufficient space for a turning circle and parking at the plot which could result in cars parking on the road and causing difficulties for farm vehicles to pass. This area is also known to have drainage problems and there were concerns that dirty water run-off from the septic tank had not been considered.
RW proposed supporting the application subject to these issues being considered. RF seconded this and it was carried unanimously.
Highways and Footpath Issues
- SCC have now confirmed that the sign posts for the speed indicator sign should be erected by 16th July.
- The gateway sign along Badingham Road has had the 30mph speed sign ripped off so the speed limit is not currently legally enforceable. This should be fixed this week.
- The damage at Clay Hill Lane caused by a sugar beet harvester has now been repaired more substantially.
- RF asked if the advisory “20’s Plenty” speed limit outside the Primary School could be made a statutory speed limit. This has been looked into before but there is an insufficient buffer zone for decreasing speeds and it would require the 30mph zone to be extended out of the village. It was also suggested that we examine the data from the Speed Indicator Sign at this location to ascertain what drivers’ actual speeds there are.
- Recent verge cutting has damaged some footpath signs and a chevron sign, as well as some newly planted hedging.
Correspondence Received Since the Date of Last Meeting
A planning application for a single storey rear extension at Bamfeld has been received since the agenda was issued. Councillors agreed not to hold a separate planning application to discuss this but were reminded that all Councillors were welcome to respond as residents directly to the Planning Department.
A letter from the Bowls Club regarding the Sports Clubs Covid grant funding and distribution had been received. There was no contact information on the letter, but ML knows one of the people who sent it so will ask them to discuss this with the Chairman of the Sports Club as the Parish Council is not responsible for the Sports Clubs’ affairs.
A resident has asked if the Parish Council would consider purchasing a digital map of the village to be used as a resource at meetings and for residents.
Action: ML will look into mapping software and send information to Councillors to consider at the next meeting.
The clerk has responded to all other correspondence requiring action so that a revised litter-pick date can be set.
Councillor Reports
ML will contact Norse regarding loan of litter picking equipment.
Public Forum
There were no issues raised by the members of public present, other than those already raised during the Annual Parish Meeting.
Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting
- Reviewing location and repairs to noticeboards
- Discuss how to spend CIL funding
- Consider subscribing to digital mapping services
The Next Meeting
Was confirmed as 7.30pm on 12th July 2021.
There being no further business, the Chairman thanked Councillors for attending and closed the meeting at 9.20pm.
Signed M.Lunn 12th July 2021 Chairman Date