Approved Dennington PC Minutes

Councillors Present

Present: Robert Wardley (Vice Chair), Doris Dearing, Sam Steward, John Calver, Vashti Mouncer, Kevin Shelver
Apologies for Absence: Cllr Schofield (illness), Cllr. Watts (family commitment)
In Attendance: Lydia Kirk (clerk), County Cllr. Burroughes, Ward Cllr Freeman (until item 9), Robert Rous
Additional Apologies: Jo Denton, Shirley Cunningham

Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting of 23^rd January 2023 were approved as a true record of the meeting and signed by the Vice Chair.

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising.

Chair’s Report

In the absence of the Chair, there was no Chair’s report.

Clerk’s Report

The clerk has booked an appointment with East Suffolk Council on 31^st March to take nomination papers for the election. She is happy to take any completed forms received by then or candidates are welcome to book their own appointment but it was noted that all forms must be hand-delivered.

The planning application for solar panels at Little Oaks Playschool has been permitted.

A VAT reclaim up until 31^st January 2023 has been submitted.

The mandate change adding Cllr. Schofield has now been confirmed.

The tractor mower has been re-taxed.

Responsible Financial Officer’s Report

The following payments were approved:

Reference Number	Amount	Payee	Details
P42	£20.00	Dennington Village Hall	Venue hire March meeting
P43	£944.45	L. Kirk	Pay to 31.03.23*
P44	£22.80	SALC	6 months payroll
P45	£23.60	SLCC	Annual subscription (split)

* Paid early to assist the end-of-year account preparation

Funds received since the last meeting were noted:

Amount	Company	Details
£172.33	HMRC	VAT Reclaim

The bank balances as at 28.02.2023 were:
- Current Account £7,690.99
- Active Saver £6,577.92
- Equipment £7,462.46
The bank statements and bank reconciliation, as at 28.02.23, were reviewed by the Examining Officer.
The year-to-date receipts and payments account was considered alongside the budgeted figures and was in order.

Highways and Footpaths Issues

Cllr Burroughes will raise the damaged village gateway sign on Badingham Road with his colleagues at SCC Highways’ team.
Post replacement for village sign, Framlingham Road Cllr. Wardley has reported this issue and it should be repaired within 10 days.
Village square surface dressing Cllr Burroughes advised that the summer 2023 resurfacing schedule should be published soon and he hopes that this will be included in it.
Report of pothole on Laxfield Road This has been reported but SCC does not warrant that it needs remedial works currently.
Report of carriageway sinking to south side of Frostley Bridge This has been reported but SCC does not warrant that it needs remedial works currently.

Action: Cllr. Wardley will report potholes at Owl’s Green and Maypole Green. Cllr. Burroughes and the Clerk will organise a site visit with the Highways Community Liaison Officer to discuss various issues in the village. Steward proposed authorising Cllr. Wardley to spend up to £100 on the replacement post. This was seconded by Cllr. Calver and carried unanimously. Cllr. Shelver will help Cllr. Wardley to replace the broken post around the village square in April.

Correspondence

Correspondence from Suffolk Cloud regarding a gov.uk domain name and parish councillor email addresses was considered. It was agreed to keep the domain name the same but for the Council to provide specific email addresses for Councillors and the web master after the election in May.

Action: Clerk to try to set up free email addresses in May.

Annual Village Litter Pick

It was agreed to hold the annual village litter pick at 6pm on Monday 24^th April.

Actions: Clerk to order litter-picking equipment and to ask the village W.I group if they would be willing to join the litter pick. Also to arrange collection of litter after the event from the Village Hall.

Coronation Mugs

There was discussion about purchasing mugs to give to each of the children in the village to mark the Coronation. Cllr. Mouncer asked if these mugs could be porcelain as these would make better keepsakes than chunkier mugs. She offered to look into prices. Cllr. Lunn arrived during this discussion. Cll. Steward proposed purchasing spending a maximum of £850 on commemorative mugs. This was seconded by Cllr. Mouncer and carried unanimously. It is hoped that there might be a Big Lunch on Sunday 7^th May to bring the village together and Cllrs. Lunn and Steward will liaise with the Sports Club and Village Hall about a village event for the Coronation. The Big Help Out Day on Monday 8^th May is also a good chance for people to try volunteering opportunities within the village, such as joining the Village Hall or Sports Club Committees.

Actions: All Councillors to ask residents what village legacy they would like from the Coronation. This is also to be asked in the next edition of the newsletter. Councillors suggested a time capsule, commemorative tree or piece of play equipment. With this being the last Council meeting before the Coronation, it was agreed that this does not necessarily have to be done at that time.

Correspondence Received

Correspondence received since date of last meeting was considered. Councillors were invited to respond individually to the ESC Initial consultation on the Rural Development Supplementary Planning Document before the deadline of 16^th March. It was agreed to pay the Information Commissioner’s Office via Direct Debit in future and a form, signed by the Chair and Vice Chair, was completed in this regard. Nomination papers for the election on 4^th May have been received.

Public Session

Cllr. Burroughes advised that the pre-election period will make it difficult for him to contribute financially to any Coronation events that the village may hold, but that he may be able to contribute to a project from his County budget after the elections. Cllr. Burroughes sent best wishes to anyone standing for May’s election and congratulated the Parish Council on all it achieves. It is one of the biggest parishes in his area and he always enjoys coming to these meetings.

Cllr. Lunn asked Cllr. Burroughes how integrated the Community Partnerships are with the District and County Councils as all three have raised the same local issues. Cllr. Burroughes confirmed that Officers from East Suffolk Council go to the CP meetings, but that SCC officers do not normally attend.

Robert Rous supported Councillors having parish council email addresses and stressed how important it is that residents can contact their Councillors. It was agreed to move the public session nearer to the beginning of future meetings so that Councillors can contribute to the meeting and then leave to attend other meetings.

Councillor Reports

There were no Councillor Reports.

Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting

Feedback on Coronation event

Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as being the Annual Parish Meeting at 7pm, to be followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Council, on Monday 22^nd May. There being no further business, the Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 8.40pm.

Signed M. Lunn 22^nd May 2023

Chair Date