Approved Dennington PC Minutes

Present

Councillors: Matthew Lunn (Chair) Robert Wardley Doris Dearing Sam Steward Vashti Mouncer Nick Watts Ward Councillor Freeman (until item 6) Lydia Kirk (clerk)
Apologies: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr. Calver (work commitment).
Residents: Shirley Cunningham Jo Denton Kate Viscardi John Jarvie Pamela Turner Kevin Shelver

Declarations of Interest

Cllrs Lunn and Steward declared a LNPI in item 7a) P33 and P34.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of 5th September 2022 were approved as a true record of the meeting and signed by the Chair.

Matters Arising

The clerk advised that P22 22-23 was actually for £25, not £20 as it was for the double meeting in May. Cllr. Wardley commented that he and Cllr. Lunn are still working on extracting the data from the speed signs.

Chair’s Report

The chair is continuing discussions with SCC regarding a school crossing patrol. The school has scored low on the criteria threshold for a crossing as there are not enough children crossing unaccompanied, although this is a knock-on effect of the road here being so dangerous. SCC also note that one of the planning conditions in the East Suffolk Local Plan for developing the Laxfield Road housing site would be to install a crossing patrol, so they are reluctant to fund it from their budget.

The chair has responded to the Rural Transport Services consultation.

Public Session

Ward Cllr. Freeman expressed her dismay at SCC’s response regarding the school crossing patrol and urged the council to fight this. The Chair responded that ESC should re-consider adding very specific planning conditions to any future policy statements as it can be detrimental in such situations where it is not known when or if an area will be developed.

The Ward Cllr. asked if Dennington PC has tried to increase its 30mph zone after Saxtead PC has successfully done so. The Chair responded that the Council has agreed to try and increase the 30mph beyond the Village Hall once the playschool has been built. Cllr. Wardley asked Cllr. Freeman if East Suffolk Council will try not to increase its council tax element next year. She responded that they are meeting to discuss this next week. Cllr. Lunn asked if there are any plans for East Suffolk to house any immigrants, like at the Novotel in Ipswich. Cllr. Freeman was not aware of any plans but noted that this could change at short notice.

Clerk’s Report

The local government pay claim for 2022-2023 has now been agreed. This is the equivalent to a £1 per hour increase for Dennington, plus 1 day’s permanent additional annual leave entitlement. This is to be backdated to 1st April and SALC will add it to the next quarterly payslip.

Responsible Financial Officer’s Report

The following payments were discussed:

Reference Number	Amount	Payee	Details
P29 22-23	£18.58	L. Kirk	Stationery
P32 22-23	£25.00	Dennington Village Hall	Hall hire 14.11.22
P33 22-23	£200.00	Dennington Village Hall	Donation
P34 22-23	£700.00	Dennington Sports Club	Donation including insurance costs reimbursement
P35 22-23	£55.00	East Suffolk C.A.B	Donation
P36 22-23	£450.00	Dennington Church	Donation for village lighting
P37 22-23	£55.00	East Anglian Air Ambulance	Donation

Cllr. Dearing proposed approving payments P29, P32, P35, P36 and P37. This was seconded by Cllr. Watts and carried unanimously. Cllr. Watts proposed approving payments P33 and P34. This was seconded by Cllr. Wardley and carried, with two abstentions due to their interests.

A CIL payment of £3,095.02 was received on 21st October 2022. It was noted that this must be spent on community infrastructure within five years.

The following invoices paid since the last meeting were noted:

Reference Number	Amount	Payee	Details
P26 22-23	£22.80	SALC	6 months payroll
P27 22-23	£8.00	HMRC	PAYE
P28 22-23	£832.45	L. Kirk	Pay to 30/09/22
P30 22-23	£20.00	Dennington Village Hall	Hall hire 13/09/21
P31 22-23	£20.00	Dennington Village Hall	Hall hire 12/07/21

The bank balances as at 31.10.2022 were:
- Current Account £10,560.02
- Active Saver £6,403.86
- Equipment £7,460.44
Action: RW will ask Barclays why interest is no longer being paid on the two deposit accounts.
The bank statements and bank reconciliation, as at 31.10.22, were reviewed by the Examining Officer.
The year-to-date receipts and payments account was considered alongside the budgeted figures. It was noted that the clerk’s salary will go over budget with the nationally agreed pay increase.
It was agreed that adding an additional mandate with access to online banking would be useful. Cllrs. Lunn and Wardley signed the mandate form provided by Barclays. Action: Clerk to ask Cllr. Schofield to complete the rest of the form and take her identification documents into a branch.

Highways and Footpaths Issues

Cllr. Wardley reminded councillors that The Square up to the bus shelter is the responsibility of Suffolk County Council, but it has not been maintained for years. He is in discussions with Cllr. Burroughes in this regard and he and the clerk will continue to chase progress on this.
Some residents have asked if a dropped kerb could be added to the edge of the footpath between the church and the green. Action: Parish Council to contact SCC Highways in this regard to see if this is achievable and seek a quotation.
Two quotations for the footbridge have been received so far but neither company could commence work until the new year. Action: ML will chase other quotations for councillors’ consideration.

Playschool Project

The playschool project manager now sends weekly updates on the building progress. These are put on the village website for residents to see.

Communication

The chair will collate and circulate more information on using .gov.uk email and web addresses and this will be discussed at the next meeting.

Ward Councillors’ Role

Discussing the Ward Councillors’ role and reports will be carried over until the next meeting when Cllr. Schofield is here.

Christmas Tree

Cllr. Steward kindly offered that Steward & Son Farms will purchase a Christmas tree for the green. He will liaise with Cllr. Mouncer in this regard.

Commemorative Seating

Cllr. Wardley advised that the Consolidated Charities Trust has agreed to purchase bespoke seating for the green to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee at a cost of £4,000. Cllr. Watts proposed donating the £1,000 underspend from the council’s Jubilee budget towards the village bench. This was seconded by Cllr. Steward and carried unanimously. Action: Clerk to write to the secretary of the Trust confirming this, and to ring-fence the funds until required.

Village Fete

Historically the village fete has been organised jointly between village organisations. For the past two years, a resident has organised the fete. Cllr. Mouncer proposed the parish council form a committee to organise the fete this year. Cllr. Watts seconded this and it was carried with four votes in favour and two against. The committee will need terms of reference and Cllr. Mouncer volunteered to be the chair.

Maintenance Issues

The telephone kiosk at Owl’s Green needs re-painting. Action: RW will ask JC if he would be able to do this again.
One of the Jubilee posts around the tree has been damaged by a car. Action: ML will ask the local company who provided the posts to replace this, and he will affix reflectors to the posts to help prevent further damage.
The village sign posts are rusted at the bottom and dangerous. Action: ML will discuss this with Highways and see if the parish council can replace the posts under the Community Self-Help Scheme.

Reports

The chair shared correspondence from Robert Rous who is the chair of Dennington Consolidated Charities. The playschool has taken out a 25 year lease on the field, and the charity is considering expanding the car park of The Neathouse using some of the village green.
The Village Hall will hold its AGM next Monday.
The Sports & Social club has still not met. Cllr. Lunn stressed the urgency that a meeting is called.

Planning

Planning application DC/22/4354/TCA Fir Tree Cottage, The Street, Dennington was considered. Councillors agreed to support these tree works.

Correspondence

Correspondence received since the date of last meeting was considered. The chair will respond to the fire station consultation.

Public Session Continued

The chair raised some emailed issues from Robert Rous.

JJ asked if the church gates could be fixed if the church is again receiving funds from the parish council. The chair explained that these funds are to pay for lighting the footpath near the church. Cllr Wardley advised JJ to raise this issue with Dennington Parochial Council.

JD urged the Council not to wait for the school safety infrastructure until the Laxfield Road housing development is completed as this might never happen.

KV raised concerns about the volume of large lorries travelling on the A1120 and wondered if a weight limit could be imposed on this road.

Councillor Reports

Cllr Watts, the council’s Tree Officer, reported that he had applied for some tree packs last year but was unsuccessful. He is not informed directly of tree planting schemes, and as the parish council does not own any land, it might be advantageous for other community groups to let him know if they would like the parish council to apply for any trees on their behalf.

Matters for Next Meeting

Budget and precept 2023-2024
Meeting dates 2023
Discuss Ward Councillors’ reports and role
Discuss parish council email address and .gov.uk website

Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as 7.30pm on Monday 16th January 2023. There being no further business, the Chair thanked Councillors for attending and closed the meeting at 9.10pm.

Signed R. Wardley 23rd January 2023 pp. Chairman Date