Councillors In Attendance
- Present
- Robert Wardley (Acting Chair), Doris Dearing, Sam Steward, John Calver, Vashti Mouncer, Nick Watts, Geraldine Schofield
- Apologies for absence
- Cllr Lunn (working), Jo Denton
- Also present
- Lydia Kirk (clerk), Shirley Cunningham, Kevin Shelver, County Cllr. Burroughes (During item 10), plus 1 other resident
Cllr. Wardley welcomed Kevin Shelver to the meeting and he was co-opted to the Council. Cllr Shelver signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office in front of the clerk.
Action: Clerk to notify ESC and send introductory paperwork to Cllr Shelver.
Declarations of Interest
Cllrs Steward and Wardley declared a LNPI in item 7a) P40 and P41 respectively.
Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting of 14th November 2022 were approved as a true record of the meeting and signed by the Vice-Chair.
Matters Arising
Regarding item 15.i, Cllr. Calver has kindly agreed to paint the phone box in the spring.
Chair’s Report
With the Chairman absent, there was no Chair’s Report.
Clerk’s Report
The clerk recently attended an information briefing on the elections in May, which was very useful.
There is only one more scheduled meeting before the financial year-end and the clerk has started preparing the annual accounts and documents for the internal auditor.
The clerk has recently taken on the position of Deputy Clerk at Framlingham Town Council but hopes to continue clerking her four parish councils.
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
- The following payments were approved:
Reference Number Amount Payee Details P40 £20.00 Dennington Village Hall Hall Hire January 2023 P41 £150 Dennington Consolidated Charities Village green rent - Payments made and funds received since the last meeting were noted:
Reference Number Amount Payee Details P38 £1,012.45 L. Kirk Pay to 31.12.2022 plus backdated pay rise P39 £23.00 HMRC PAYE Amount Company Details £1.38 Barclays Interest £1.18 Barclays Interest - The bank balances as at 29.12.2022 were: Current Account £7,875.99, Active Saver £6,405.59, Equipment £7,462.46
- The bank statements and bank reconciliation, as at 29.12.22, were reviewed by the Examining Officer.
- The year-to-date receipts and payments account was considered alongside the budgeted figures.
Highways and Footpaths Issues
8.i. Cllr. Wardley has reported various issues in the village including flooding near Ivy House and depression of the carriageway near there. SCC will action some of these issues and monitor others.
8.ii Quotations as discussed at item 8iii. on 14.11.2022 were considered again. Cllr. Wardley proposed accepting Roger Gladwell’s quotation of £3,750 plus VAT, subject to further discussion with him about the price. This was seconded by Cllr. Calver and carried unanimously.
Website and Communication
Cllr. Wardley thanked Shirley Cunningham on behalf of the village for editing the website for the past 10 years, and noted what an excellent job she does of it.
There was a discussion on the possibility of using a .gov.uk website for the Parish Council. With the extra costs, possible complications with editing the new site, and little likely benefit in changing, Cllr. Steward proposed continuing with the present domain name and company. This was seconded by Cllr. Watts and carried unanimously. It was agreed to defer discussion on Councillors using specific Parish Council email addresses until the next meeting when the Chair was present.
Budget for 2023-2024
The budget for 2023-2024 was discussed and agreed. In addition to the draft figures circulated, it was agreed to budget £1,000 for the Coronation, bringing the total budget to £11,166. East Suffolk Council has confirmed that a precept request of £10,768.17 would result in a 0% change to the parish element of resident’s Council Tax bills. Cllr. Wardley proposed requesting a precept of £10,800. This was seconded by Cllr. Watts and carried unanimously.
Action: Clerk to request precept from ESC before deadline.
Meeting Dates
Meeting dates for 2023 were confirmed and circulated.
Ward Councillor’s Reports
Cllr. Schofield noted her disappointment that Ward Councillor’s Reports are sometimes not sent in a timely manner. The summer 2022 report was sent in September, but it included details of summer activities and funding that could have assisted local families had we known about it in time. The reports cover news from the whole district but contain very little local news and do not cover what our Ward Councillor has done over the month. Cllr Burroughes commented that Cllr. Freeman, Dennington’s Ward Councillor, would not be standing for re-election in May.
Village Fete
The village fete is now being organised by the Village Hall and Sports Club Committees. The Terms of Reference drafted for the Fete Committee can be used for other future events, including a possible event for the Coronation.
Action: RW offered to talk to Jo Denton regarding the Coronation.
Correspondence
Correspondence received since date of last meeting was considered. Cllr. Wardley signed a minor amendment to the Barclays banking mandate form for Cllr. Schofield and will pass this to the Chair for his signature and posting.
Public Session
Cllr. Burroughes wished everyone a belated Happy New Year and went over items from his latest report. He will be entering the pre-election period from 18th March and will not have access to his budgets from this date until after the election, so funding requests need to be made before then. Cllr Burroughes is in continued liaison with SCC Highways about resurfacing of the Square. He will circulate the resurfacing schedule for the year when he receives it.
Shirley Cunningham asked if the website could be featured in an article in the next newsletter to help raise its profile, and increase residents’ use of this village resource.
Action: Clerk to draft an article
Cllr. Watts asked Cllr. Burroughes how the county has funding for the Quiet Lanes project which is not enforceable, but cannot replace important damaged and missing Highways signs across the County. He noted this is a problem apparently limited to Suffolk. Cllr Burroughes confirmed that damaged and corroded Highways signs not being replaced is a common grievance amongst his parishes and he promised to pass the Parish Council’s dissatisfaction in this regard on to the Cabinet Member responsible for Highways, Cllr. Paul West. Cllr. Burroughes also reported that there is a new Community Liaison Officer for Highways, and it is hoped that this Officer will visit all local parishes for site meetings to look into their local Highways issues.
Councillor Reports
Sports Club: Cllr Steward reported that the Sports Club has held two meetings since the last Parish Council meeting, including its AGM.
SALC: Cllr. Schofield reported on SALCs latest Area Forum and the items discussed therein, including plans for a 139 acre solar farm near Halesworth, a general sense of disconnect felt between Parish Councils and East Suffolk Council and a traffic initiative that Campsea Ashe Parish Council is involved with.
Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting
- King’s Coronation event
- Parish Councillor email addresses
Next Meeting
The next meeting was confirmed as 7.30pm on Monday 13th March 2023. There being no further business, the Vice-Chair thanked Councillors for attending and closed the meeting at 8.50pm.
Signed M. Lunn 13th March 2023
Chair Date