Present
- Councillors
- Matthew Lunn (Chair) Robert Wardley Doris Dearing Sam Steward John Calver Geraldine Schofield Vashti Mouncer Lydia Kirk (clerk)
Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr. Watts (work).
Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
Minutes Approval
The minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council on 9th May 2022 were approved as a true record of the meeting and signed by the Chair.
Matters Arising
Payment 02 22-23 for £190.00 from Suffolk County Council queried at item 10b. was for the original speed indicator device (SID) that was installed in 2021; the invoice was just raised very late.
RW reminded ML that they still need to sort the software issues to get the data from the SID.
Chair’s Report
Since the last meeting the Chair has responded to SALC’s survey on rural facilities and amenities in the village. He attended the Community Partnership meeting at Bruisyard on 30th June. It was attended by parish councillors from the Framlingham and Wickham Market area as well as representatives from Suffolk Police, the NHS and other community groups. The meeting gave an age breakdown of the 17,000 residents in this area, with the most represented group being aged 70-74, and the least represented group being the 25-29s. One local parish council has a young person’s forum to help canvas the views of under 18s in the village and this might be something that would be of use in Dennington, possibly at the annual meeting. The Chair suggested that regular meetings with MP Dan Poulter and Chairs of other local parish councils might help address the needs, and associated problems, of the aging population.
Clerk’s Report
The clerk will attend SALC’s AGM in July and Councillors are also welcome to attend. The external auditor has confirmed safe receipt of our Certificate of Exemption for the year ending 31st March 2022, which concludes this year’s auditing requirements. The clerk attended SALC’s information session about the CILCA qualification but does not wish to proceed with this presently.
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
- The following payments were proposed by Cllr. Wardley, seconded by Cllr. Calver and approved by all.
Reference Number Amount Payee Details P15 22-23 £8.00 HMRC PAYE P16 22-23 £832.45 L. Kirk Pay to 30.06.22 - Funds received since the last meeting were noted: £552.20 from 2021 fete. Payments made since the last meeting were noted and invoices were available to view:
- SCC Post for speed sign £190.00
- Jubilee expenses
- Jo Denton (Total Merchandise) £434.88
- Shirley Cunningham £84.84
- Katie Rust £83.42
- Tuddenham Press £54.60
- Tuddenham Press £54.00
- Jo Denton £101.42
- Penny Evers £50.94
- The bank balances as at 30.06.2022 were:
- Current Account £9,943.28
- Active Saver £6,403.86
- Equipment Account £7,460.44
- The bank statements and bank reconciliation, as at 30.06.22, were reviewed by the Examining Officer.
- The year-to-date receipts and payments account was considered alongside the budgeted figures.
Highways and Footpaths Issues
- The repairs to Frostley Bridge are due to be carried out from 18th July and are likely to take 10 days to complete.
- The Chair is still in discussions with the primary school and SCC regarding the possibility of a school crossing patrol, an engineered crossing or yellow lines near the school. SCC needs to carry out two traffic surveys; one has been completed and the other one needs to be carried out before the end of the summer term. Action: ML will speak with the school to ensure that teachers and parents know that they are allowed to park at the Village Hall. If problems continue with parents parking on the zigzag lines outside the school, the parish council can request the police enforcement team attend.
- The Chair has completed the risk assessment papers for the Discovering Suffolk project and will soon take delivery of the signs to be affixed to footpath posts in the village, extra assistance with some of the footpaths would be appreciated.
- The contractor who was appointed to replace the village green footbridge is having supply difficulties for the oak and still has no delivery date. He has suggested that the council might like to appoint an alternative contractor. Action: ML will re-open the tender and contact other suppliers asking them to quote for a like-for-like replacement and provide a timeframe for the work.
- Other
- Cllr. Wardley has reported several highways issues in the village including the faded and corroded 30mph repeater sign on Saxead Road. SCC Highways has stated that as Dennington has street lighting in the village and as the law has changed about repeater signs, the repeater sign on the A1120 junction with Laxfield road will be removed and not replaced. Action: RW will liaise with the police camera officer when he next sees them in the village to see if the law is different with footway lighting.
- RW has rubbed down and re-painted the two village signs. He has reported the potholes at Clay Hill but there is a 12 week wait for this work to be completed. The potholes on the edge of the carriageway near Pepper’s Wash are due to be repaired within five working days. The barrier broken at Dunnett’s Bridge will also be repaired.
- ML has been discussing a possible new footbridge on Saxtead Road near Sparrow’s Nest, to allow pedestrians access to footpath 41 without walking on the A road. There has been no progress on extending the 30mph near the Village Hall but it was agreed that this is likely to be easier to achieve when the playschool has been built.
- VM was concerned that the permissive footpath on Laxfield Road adjacent to the old police house was too narrow for wheelchairs and pushchairs to use as it is only two railway sleepers wide. Action: RW will raise this with Dennington Consolidated Charities, and ask that all future footpaths are a minimum of four sleepers wide.
Planning
Application DC/22/2490/FUL was discussed. Wash Farm, Pollys Yard, Badingham Road, Dennington, Suffolk, IP13 8JJ, Demolition of the existing glazed extension to the rear elevation of a two storey residential dwelling and construction of a replacement single storey rear extension. Cllr. Steward proposed supporting the application. This was seconded Cllr. Mouncer and carried unanimously.
A prior notification had been received since the agenda was issued but this could not be discussed at this meeting. It was agreed that it was not necessary to hold an additional planning meeting in order for the council to respond to this.
Jubilee Events
Cllr Lunn thanked all involved in the recent village Platinum Jubilee events on behalf of the village. It was an excellent weekend for the village and many people worked hard to ensure it was a success. Cllr. Dearing asked why the bunting was still up at the village hall and Cllr. Mouncer responded that it is probably being kept up until the village fete later this month. Action: Clerk to thank the Jubilee Committee on behalf of the parish council.
Correspondence
Correspondence received since the date of the last meeting was considered. Cllr. Fox’s vacancy can now be filled by co-option. Cllr. Lunn praised East Suffolk Council’s Housing in Clusters Document for its clarity on what would and wouldn’t get permission under the scheme. The visuals provided an excellent way of showing the policy and it is hoped ESC will continue with this approach with future policies. This was echoed by other councillors. Action: Clerk to respond to ESC’s consultation to this effect.
Public Session
There were no members of public present.
Other Business
Cllr. Wardley reported that Cllr. Watts had cleared a fallen tree from the public footpath.
There were no matters to be raised at the next meeting.
Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 7.30pm on Monday 5th September 2022. There being no further business, the Chair thanked Councillors for attending and closed the meeting at 8.45pm.
Signed M. Lunn 5th September 2022
M. Lunn Chair Date