Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held in Barham Church Hall, on Monday 23rd September 2024, 7.00pm
- Present
- Chairman Casey Wooltorton, Vice Chairman Cllr Julie Gregory, Cllr Paul Fenn, Cllr Marilyn Lesley, Cllr Ian Woods & Cllr Brenda Mitchell
- Also present
- One member of the public, SCC Chris Chambers, BMSDC David Penny & John Whitehead and the Clerk.
Reports from District & County Councillors
BMSDC John Whitehead outlined the changes which will take effect in April 2026 for household waste and recycling bins. There will be more collections, more bins and more staff to deal with the extra. Central government is dictating the changes which will encourage more recycling.
BMSDC David Penny handed out a resident survey which he encouraged all to complete. His report has been forwarded to all ahead of the meeting. He reported that in the past it has been difficult to implement any cycling structure or improvements to cycle ways. The district council has now got a design and costing engineer so it is hoped to get new cycling projects moved forward. This will include connecting Henley & Claydon schools with a new cycle/walking route to enable pupils to get to school safely and to encourage exercise. He is on the BMSDC Licensing Committee and is looking to see if there are any enforcement actions regarding the height of waste at waste sites.
SCC Chris Chambers reported on the new link road from Sproughton to Bramford, work has begun on this £5 million project which should be completed in April 2026. After the recent fire at the Gt Blakenham recycling centre, solutions to expand the site to therefore spread the waste has been looked at along with scheduling the delivery of waste to help keep the waste stacks low. Lithium batteries should not be put into recycling bins, which has been in the past caused fires. Cllr Mitchell suggests that more awareness should be made as to where you can get rid of lithium batteries as currently only 2 of the supermarkets will take the old batteries. SCC is working together with Sackers Waste to resolve the situation. He encouraged residents taking up the Solar Together project which is offering competitive prices for solar panels. The Offsted reports for SCC Childrens Services have shown that improvements need to be made, however is positive for the large part of the report. New processes and training to be put in place to make things better.
1.9 Apologies
- Apologies for absence. Cllr Bonnie Head, Cllr Graham Head– on holiday.
- Consent/non consent to absence. Approved the above absence.
2.9 Councillor Declaration of Interests
- Declaration of interests with regards to any item on the agenda. None
3.9 To Approve the Minutes of the Last Parish Council Meeting Held on 22 July 2024
Approved correct, signed by the Chairman, proposed Cllr Gregory seconded Cllr Mitchell.
4.9 Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Last Meeting, Workplan & Planning List
Work plan
SCC Chris Chambers is pleased to learn that further to the meeting which took place with himself, the PC Chairman and Brett Aggregates, the Parish Council has received a donation of £15,000 to help towards highways maintenance in Barham. He is still to chase up the following, missing barrier on the Coopers Way footpath. The steps leading down from the A14 safety barrier to the lakes in need of repair and would benefit from a hand rail. (Chairman to get prices for 2 directional signs at the top and bottom). Request for 30mph speed limit along Norwich Road to continue to De Sumarez Drive.
The Chairman reported that communication from a member of the public has been received advising the ‘30’ mph roundel together with the ‘Warning’ triangle are both completely hidden in the Hawthorn hedge by Barham Hall on the verge, towards the ‘Slade’ footpath opposite the Church. Cllr Chambers to investigate.
b. Barham & Claydon Village Signs painting
Cllr Woods will get the contact details of the person who may be able to repaint the Barham village sign and pass onto the Chairman who will proceed with a quote for both Barham and Claydon village signs.
5.9 To Co-opt a New Member onto Barham Parish Council
No applicants.
6.9 Review of Parish Council Planning List and to Discuss Any New Planning Applications Received
No new planning applications have been received recently. Planning Permissions granted to DC/24/03344 Land Rear Of Hall Farm Cottages, Norwich Road, Barham, Suffolk. Also DC/24/02906, DC/24/03259, DC/24/03700 Land North West Of, Church Lane, Barham, Suffolk, discharge of various conditions.
7.9 To Adopt the New Financial Orders
The Clerk informed that SALC has rewritten the NALC Financial Orders, these will replace the older version. Chairman, Cllr Mitchell and the Clerk have adapted the orders for Barham. All Councillors have received a copy of the new orders ahead of the PC meeting. Cllr Mitchell proposed that the PC adopt the new orders, seconded Cllr Lesley, agreed by all.
8.9 Grass Cutting Contract NSK
- To agree a maintenance programme to maintain the Norwich Road, 2 cuts a year. The PC was very pleased with the cutting which NSK did along the Norwich Road earlier this year, the PC was fortunate to get a grant to enable this to be done. The Chairman asked the PC to consider budgeting for next year to have 2 cuts done by NSK. The first to take place March/April to cut back vegetation alongside the footpath, Norwich Road to houses at Pesthouse Lane, then the second cut before the winter to cut back the vegetation and the hedges. NSK has quoted £1,800 inc VAT. All in favour for this to be done and include in the next precept budget, proposed Chairman seconded Cllr Woods.
- To agree a new 3 year contract from April 2025 to March 2026. The Chairman advised that when the grass cutting contract was originally set up with NSK it was done so for one year to 31st December 2024. All agreed that the work has been of excellent standard and that a 3 year contract could be set up going forward, proposed Chairman seconded Cllr Gregory.
9.9 Finance
- Monthly Payments – to agree the payments for July & August. July payments £4847.09, receipts £0.00. August payments £41,069.88, receipts £4589.58. These were approved by all and signed by Cllr Mitchell.
- Monthly reconciliation – to approve the bank reconciliation to August. As at 31/08/24 the Current Account £41,300.91, Business Account £54,800.26. Includes earmarked reserves £89,446.30 CIL money and £3693.71 towards new play equipment, country park. Cllr Mitchell signed the bank reconciliations.
- Spend against budget to report to 31st August 2024. The Clerk had circulated the report ahead of the meeting for info. The Chairman advised that the PC has a considerable overspend due to the legal costs of the ND Services court case and the transfer of the Freehold of the Barham Picnic Site to the BPSCP Charity. Draft precept budget April 2025 to March 2026 to be considered at the November PC meeting.
- Half year grant to Claydon & Barham Recreation Ground. Treasurer of the Claydon & Barham Recreation Ground Charity has sent in communication ahead of the PC meeting requesting the usual £1000 grant for the first half of the year. The Chairman of the PC advised that over the past 20 years the parish council has given a regular donation of £2000 a year, £40,000 in total (which it budgets for). There is currently no budget left in the precept for donations this current financial year. He then read out the Recreation Grounds Charitable Objectives and Barham village is not included. He therefore proposes that Barham should stop giving the £2000 a year to the Recreation Ground committee and that the money should stay in Barham. He has recently written to the Recreation Ground committee asking for funding for the Barham Picnic Site but has had no reply. Cllr Fenn informed that Barham residents use the Claydon recreation ground and that the PC should support it with its annual donation. The Chairman asked for a vote who is in favour of giving the half year donation of £1000 to the Recreation Ground Committee, 3 voted in favour. Vote for not giving the half year donation of £1000 to the Recreation Ground Committee, 3 in favour. The Chairman had the casting vote to not give the Recreation Ground Committee a donation of £1000.
The Clerk advised that a grant application has been received for the annual donation to Claydon & Barham PCC. Grants are looked at once a year in November, however unlikely to make a donation this financial year.
10.9 To Consider Moving to .gov.uk Email Address for the Parish Council Clerk and Councillors
SALC has advised that NALC has set out new guidelines for Councils to have a .gov.uk domain and email address as an official layer of local government. It is vital that councils work securely and effectively, benefits include better controls and protection against cyber harm and the way information is handled. This will result in more efficient handling of freedom of information or subject access requests. Also it is easier when someone leaves the organisation including ensuring data is deleted which is currently not possible where an individual’s private email address is used for business.
The Chairman reported that the Parish Council Gmail address has recently been hacked into, causing great distress for the Clerk. He asked the PC to consider the move to .gov.uk, Suffolk Cloud Administration will set up the move which will cost £120 for 2 years. This will include transfer of the domain name to .gov.uk for the existing PC website. Setup of mailboxes and any future deletions and additions. Support councillors to set up their mailboxes on individual devices. Funding of £100 is available from the government to help pay for the setup. The Clerk advised that she has registered the PC for the grant and that it has been successful. The Chairman asked the PC to approve the move to .gov.uk, proposed Cllr Fenn seconded Chairman and all in favour. The Clerk will proceed with this.
11.9 Reports
Councillors to report on any meetings that they have attended since the last meeting. The Chairman informed that he has attended a recent meeting with Taylor Whimpey, they hope to have 11 new homes sold by the end of the year. He has also had a meeting with Port One, they are helping to provide solar panels for community buildings and also has a charitable fund for biodiversity schemes.
12.9 Date of Next Meeting
18th November 2024.
The meeting ended at 8.08pm.
Chairman …………………………………………………. Date ………………………...........