As the Chair of the Parish Council was running late, the Vice Chair, Robert Wardley welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming. Apologies for absence were received from Jo Denton, Geraldine Schofield, Jo Cartwright and Peter Lamb.
- Present
- Matthew Lunn (during item 3), Robert Wardley, Calver, Doris Dearing, Sam Steward, Vashti Mouncer, Kevin Shelver, Nick Hopewell-Smith, Kate Viscardi, Mark Kendall, Robert Rous, Teresa Rous, Shirley Cunningham, County Councillor Stephen Burroughes, District Councillors Owen Grey & Vince Langdon-Morris, Lydia Kirk (minute taker)
All written reports will be filed with the Minutes and published on the village website.
The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 9th May 2022 were noted.
Parish Council
The Vice Chair of the Parish Council read the Chair’s detailed written report. He thanked various volunteers who carry out various roles in the village. Changes to Parish Councillors after the recent elections were reported and the clerk was thanked for her efficiency. The Chair was pleased to report that the precept requested for 2023-2024 would result in a zero percent increase on Council Tax bills. Highways issues in the village were noted. The Chair thanked Shirley for her work editing the village website, and the Village Hall Trustees for producing the high-quality newsletter. Both these resources help broadcast news and events to residents. The report concluded by thanking everyone for helping with events over the Coronation weekend and for their support offered to the Chair over the last year.
The Chair arrived during this item and was available to answer any questions.
Reports from Local Government Representatives:
Suffolk County Council
Stephen Burroughes provided a comprehensive Annual Report before the meeting, and then gave an additional short verbal report. It has been a unique year, with the loss of HM Queen Elizabeth and the Coronation of King Charles. SCC has a new highways contractor starting in October. Suffolk County Council has planted 200,000 trees across the county in the past year to help Suffolk in its aim to become the greenest county. There are a rising number of children in care in Suffolk, and it is currently Fostering Fortnight in Suffolk. Cllr Burroughes urged anyone interested in fostering to attend one of the talks or make contact with SCC’s fostering team.
Matt Lunn asked Cllr. Burroughes if the Parish Council can replace signage and then be reimbursed for the costs of the signs to utilise volunteers, minimise costs and ensure that signs are replaced. Cllr. Burroughes confirmed that parishes can carry out some tasks themselves under the Community Self-Help Scheme, but the legal oversight of SCC was needed. He urged the Parish Council to contact him to discuss what can be done and establish what blocks are stopping action.
Robert Rous thanked Cllr. Burroughes for his help with the Little Oaks Playschool that is currently being built. He also encouraged SCC to use community good-will and local help more effectively to ensure the village remains looking well kept.
Kate Viscardi asked if there has been any progress regarding extending the 30mph limit beyond the village hall towards Framlingham to cover the whole nursery field. Matt Lunn confirmed that there is data from recent traffic surveys here but that this might not support reducing the speed limit as cars are mostly travelling reasonably slowly here. Cllr. Burroughes suggested that if the reduced speed limit is not achievable, some written warnings on the road might help.
District Councillors
Cllr. Grey introduced himself and reported that it has been a busy two weeks since he was elected and he is trying to visit as many parishes as possible for their annual meetings. Moving forwards, he and Cllr. Langdon-Morris hope that one of them will be able to attend most Parish Council meetings. Cllr. Grey then provided some information about himself and his working background. Cllr. Langon-Morris also introduced himself and stressed that they are here to help and questions and requests from residents are welcomed.
Reports from Village Clubs and Organisations
Dennington CEVAP School
The Headteacher provided a written report. The school is continuing to thrive in terms of its education, community and ethos. The children have been on many different trips over the year which help them to widen their horizons and opportunities. There are currently 74 children on the roll. The school had a visit from Ofsted in January and was considered ‘good’, with inspectors commenting that “pupils are safe, happy and well cared for at this school”.
Dennington Village Hall
Kate Viscardi, the Vice Chair of the Village Hall Committee, read through the written report provided by the Chair. She thanked everyone who had helped to put on the recent event for the Coronation and reported on the recent introduction of ‘Friday Social’ events aimed to provide a reasonably priced meal as well as a social gathering to meet the village. The VHC had to review its hire charges due to rising costs but still has many regular hirers. She reported on maintenance issues and roof repairs that would soon be required. The Chair thanked the efforts of the Trustees who give up their time and energy to support the management of the Hall for the community.
Matt Lunn suggested that perhaps the playschool could be used whilst the roof is being repaired. Kate responded that this had safeguarding issues and would likely breach the planning terms of the nursery. She did not envisage that the roof repairs would take very long.
Dennington Sports Club
Matt Lunn reported on the Sports Club’s financial situation and also read a report from the new Chair. The Club has a long-term project to modernise the playground, but this will take a lot of fundraising and planning. There will be a village get-together on 1st July from 12-4pm with BBQ, activities and the Village Hall bar open. There will also be a jumble sale and Mike Pearce who is organising this would appreciate some help.
Mark Kendall asked how many members the tennis club has and Matt Lunn responded that he thought this was about 17 families. Mark wondered what could be done to increase these numbers and encourage more people to use these facilities.
Dennington Consolidated Charities
Robert Wardley read through the report provided by the charity which explained its function and its achievements over the year. He stressed that financial assistance is available to residents who have savings below the statutory limit.
Robert Rous, as Chair of the charity, detailed the assets that it holds in the village. Matt Lunn asked how many children from Dennington at the primary school and Thomas Mills High School are aware of the grants that the charity can give. Robert Rous responded that both headteachers have been written to in this regard.
Dennington Allotment & Gardener’s Association
The Association has three new members and now has full occupancy. The plots are looking good and everyone is actively planting. Dog fouling around the perimeter is minimal. The bank balance after expenses is £890.
Dennington Women’s Institute
The group has a strong membership and now meets in the main hall for extra space. Thanks to Chris Thomas, there is a good programme of events. One of its members will go to Cardiff later this week to represent the group at the AGM. The WI supported the village litter pick and 6 members joined in. They also continue to plant and maintain the planters at the Village Hall. Collections have been made for the Lighthouse Project in Ipswich, and a garden visit in being planned for July.
Little Oaks Playschool
The playschool is due to open in August and will be the new home of Badingham Playschool. It will continue to be registered with Ofsted and the Charity Commission as Badingham Playschool but will be known as Little Oaks Playschool. There are currently 11 members of staff and 38 children, with 19 additional children on the waiting list to start later this term or in autumn. The new playschool will provide challenging and exciting outdoor opportunities for children to develop their physical skills and learn about the natural work. From 2pm on 1st July, people will be welcomed to look around the new building. There will also be documents and photographs on display from the playschool’s archive, and further memories to add to this would be welcomed. A resident asked if there is an upper limit of children who can go to the playschool. Matt Lunn responded that he thinks the maximum is about 50.
Dennington Horticultural Group
This was founded in 2019, although operations ceased during the pandemic. There are 6 formal meetings a year and there will be a summer drinks party. Recent meetings have included a visit to Dennington Hall Farms, a talk from a master thatcher and a speaker from Bressingham Gardens. The committee comprises 4 residents with Jo Denton as the secretary. Penny Evers, the original instigator and chair, stood down recently but remains a member.
Dennington Parochial Council
Robert Rous provided a short verbal report on the Parochial Council. Martin Percival is still the Priest in charge. Robert was pleased that residents continue to attend special services at the church such as the harvest festival and Coronation service. The church is a fantastic village building, although he reported that its roof is currently leaking and will need repairing.
Open Forum
Robert Rous asked if more could be made of the Parish Meeting to attract more residents, and suggested that the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council could be held on a different evening to help with this.
The meeting was closed at 8.10pm