Councillors Present
- Present
- Robert Wardley (Chair), John Calver, Nick Hopewell-Smith, Matt Lunn (until item 9), Kevin Shelver, Sam Steward
- Apologies
- Cllr. Mouncer, County Cllr. Burroughes
- In Attendance
- Lydia Kindred (clerk), 2 members of public, District Cllr. Langdon Morris
Declarations of Interest
None
Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th November 2025 were approved as a true record.
Matters Arising
The Chair advised that finalising the sports club title registration is unlikely to be completed by HM Land Registry until September.
The tractor service has now been completed and he reported on the various repair jobs that were necessary.
Public Forum
This included a presentation by a representative from the Suffolk Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. He also explained more about the new Suffolk Connected scheme which is replacing Police Connect. Councillors had the opportunity to ask questions about the schemes.
District Cllr. Langdon Morris gave a report, detailing water testing that will be carried out imminently in local rivers and actions by the Framlingham Flood Recovery and Resilience group. He advised on upcoming changes to recycling and waste collections. He will ask if the Katch bus can be extended to Dennington and Saxtead.
Chair’s Report
The Christmas lights switch-on event was successful, and he thanked Vashti Mouncer for organising this event. A resident has donated £160 to purchase a communal tree, but this was not needed this year so will be ring-fenced to purchase a tree next year.
He will attend East Suffolk Council’s next Town and Parish Council planning forum on 2nd February with the clerk.
Clerk’s Report
The clerk has written articles for the next village newsletter and has created a Mailchimp account and sign-up list for the Parish Council’s digital mailing list.
She is collating a list of volunteer mowers who have provided their driving licence and confirmation of no convictions and will chase those who haven’t responded.
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
- The following payments were approved:
Amount Payee Details £239.20 HMRC PAYE to 05.01.2026 £1,034.83 L. Kindred Pay to 31.12.2025 £20.00 Dennington Village Hall Hall hire January £150.00 Dennington Consolidated Charities Village green rent 2026 £70.00 Suffolk Cloud Website accessibility reviews £875.94 Thurlow Nunn Standen Tractor mower service and repairs - Receipts since the last meeting were noted: £160.00 (Ear marked for a community Christmas tree), £43.20 Barclays interest, £11.38 Barclays interest
- The bank balances, statements and bank reconciliation as at 31.12.2025 were reviewed and signed by the Examining Councillor.
- The year-to-date financial statement was considered, including the level of earmarked and general reserves. The budget will be considered further at item 14.
Highways and Footpaths Issues in the Village
- Car parking issues near the church
Cllr. Wardley shared a photo of cars parking on the village green here. It was agreed to purchase 3 signs to try to deter this before it damages the grass.
- Report on the Chair’s site meeting with the Liaison Engineer on 8th December
Illegible road markings and potholes were reported. The repeated flooding at Frostley Bridge and Wash Farm was discussed and Cllr. Wardley has since written to Cllr. Burroughes in this regard to try and get these longstanding issues resolved sufficiently. A representative from SCC Highways should be attending the next Parish Council meeting.
Residents’ Welcome Pack
This will be deferred until Cllr. Mouncer is present.
Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
Councillors considered resurrecting the scheme and agreed that it would be useful for the village and that they would like to rejoin the scheme. It was noted that a named coordinator is needed and the clerk will do this temporarily to get the scheme up and running and then a volunteer within the village will be sought. When the scheme is active, leaflets will be distributed around the village showing residents how they can sign up.
Assertion 10
- The clerk provided an update on responsibilities that the Council will need to consider. She now has access to her gov.uk email address and has started the switchover process.
- The revised Data & IT policy was considered and adopted.
- The Website Accessibility Review was noted. The quotation for a new website solely for Parish Council business including the domain, hosting and support, setting up the template and transferring data and assets to the new website was accepted. The community website will contain extra information, news and events and it was noted that this will not be subject to the WCAG2.1 accessibility standards that the Council website is bound by.
Community Jobs List
No suggestions had been received before the meeting. It was agreed that jobs need to be considered individually when they arise to see if it would be appropriate for volunteers from within the Council membership to carry it out, or to extend it to other residents or pay a professional to do it, noting the insurance and risk assessment implications of all three options.
Budget 2026-2027
This was considered and figures were agreed, noting that most of the Council’s costs are fixed. It was agreed that extra funds need to be allowed for insurance, business rates and administration.
Precept 2026-2027
This was considered alongside the budget and the level of general and reserved funds after tonight’s expenditure. It was agreed to ask for a precept of £13,000 which will be £51.78 per band D property. Due to the fluctuation of number of chargeable Band D properties in the village, this will show as an increase of 6.57%. It was noted that this is less than £3 extra a year for a Band D property which Councillors considered reasonable.
Correspondence
- ESC Casual Vacancy re Cllr Dearing’s resignation – this can now be filled via co-option.
- Request for funding from St Elizabeth Hospice – agreed not to donate at this time.
- ESC Consultation on how to engage the public with local planning processes
- Suffolk Bus Service Improvement Plan call for proposals
- Local government review consultation- Circulated and Councillors were encouraged to respond as individuals due to consultation ending 11.01.2026
- Emails of thanks from the Air Ambulance, CAB, Village Hall and Sports Club re donations made in November
Councillor Reports on Actions and Updates
There were no additional reports.
Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting
- Update on the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
- Residents welcome pack
The next meeting was confirmed as being on Monday 16th March 2026. There being no further business, the Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.15pm.
Signed …………………….. …………………………
Chair Date