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COWLINGE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a Meeting of the Parish Council held on 18th November 2019 in the Village Hall
Open Forum for items not on the agenda:
A member of the public asked about Green Man bridge repairs. Clerk said it was on Highway’s list and that the railings further up towards New England Lane had at last been done so they will take their turn on that list. A further question was asked regarding flooding which they felt was caused by the neighbouring field ditch not being cleared regularly. He had contacted the owners who had sent their farm manager round who had said it was on their schedule but could not be done immediately.
Present: Councillors: J Giblenn Chairman), L Aston (Vice-Chairman), S Smith and R Jones. Also Borough Councillor P Stevens (part), Clerk J Barnett and 4 members of the public.
Item Action 1 Apologies for absence: Parish Councillor L Evans and County Councillor M Evans.
2 Receive Councillors Declarations of Interest in any agenda item: None declared.
3 Open Forum for items on the agenda: There are two areas of land at Tillbrooks Hill that had been put in by landowners after a request for sites from West Suffolk for their new Local Plan. These were discussed and the consensus was that the land to the East of Tillbrooks Hill was not suitable as it completely spoiled the lovely view across the fields to the church beyond. The land to the South was felt to be suitable.
4 Minutes: The Council approved the minutes from the meeting on 9th September 2019 and also the payments made at that meeting.
5 Matters Arising: 1. Possible new Outdoor Gym equipment and children’s play equipment at Tillbrooks Hill. Clerk said he now had estimates from 5 different suppliers and all were suggesting that the 2 different sets of equipment need to be on opposite sides of the road. One suggestion from a recent onsite meeting with one of the suppliers had been to place a ‘barrier’ (possibly some form of fence or shrubbery) to ensure youngsters didn’t run straight across the road from one set of equipment to the other. Clerk said that he had made a grant application to Awards for All for equipment costing £15,000 and asking for their maximum grant of £10,000. There is an 18 week ‘wait to hear’ Clerk time so this is put back to the next agenda. 2. New combined litter bin at Trotting Horse Lane. Clerk said that he disputes the suggestion from West Suffolk that there was insufficient room on the verge near the junction with Mill Lane for the new bin and he will take photos with measurements Clerk and compare the available width with the width with existing bins. 3. Some Highways signs require cleaning. It appears difficult to find volunteers to do this so it was proposed to ask a local window cleaner to do it. Clerk
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4. Leaning signposts and hedges needing cutting. Clerk said that he had reported the leaning posts at the junction with the Belt to Highways. Some hedges still need cutting back.
6 Neighbourhood Watch; Andrew Crocker apologised as it had been a while since his last report but he had been extremely busy. The crime rate is still relatively low with 264 crimes in the Police area of which 206 were in Haverhill and 21 at HM Prison. The nearest crime to Cowlinge was at Wickhambrook. Recent crimes have concerned hare coursing. Andrew said he would put an article in the new newsletter in December. He advised everyone to take care over the Christmas period which often provides thieves with easy pickings. The telephone box is looking a bit scruffy and over the Winter period he will put some new shelving in.
7 West Suffolk Council 1. Councillor Stevens said that he would be pleased to support from his Locality Budget the new plans for the children’s Play Equipment and the Outdoor Gym equipment. He said that the change to the new refuse freighter routes had been a massive exercise but it appeared that some letters giving the new dates had gone astray. The Parish Council should give their comments on the ‘call for sites’ SHELAA documents. 2. Strategic Housing and Economic Housing Land Availability and Assessment (SHELAA) consultation. There are 2 areas of land shown on this consultation one to the East and one to the South of Tillbrooks Hill. After discussion it was agreed the response should be that the Parish Council is not adverse to new builds in the Parish and that there were no objections to the proposed land to the South. However, the land to the East was not acceptable on the grounds that there was an established and excellent view from Tillbrooks across the fields and right through to the church and beyond. Clerk to forward these comments to West Suffolk in good time. Clerk 3. West Suffolk Local Plan 2019 Sustainable Settlements review. The new Local Plan needs to review the settlement categories and criteria which each village has in order to rank its needs and abilities. Clerk said that the dwelling stock shown of 64 is completely wrong as the electoral register shows 115 properties and as some properties are not included there are actually around 125 properties. The population is shown as 597 which is also nonsense unless the prison population is included. One further error is that no commutable bus service is shown whereas there is an hourly service to Bury along the A143 within the Parish. Clerk also commented that some of the criteria were considerably out of date as a permanent post office and library building were still included despite the fact that these are now unnecessary facilities in many cases. Another glaring error is the fact that a Village Hall is not included as a sustainable criterion. Clerk will send the comments in by the due date of November 26th. Clerk
8 Suffolk County Council: Clare community hub starts operations at the library today Monday 18 November from 10am 1. I am sorry we had to cancel the rural crime meeting but Sgt Calver was called away at very short notice. We are looking to re-arrange it. I have also been asked by other parishes whether we should have a meeting about drug activity locally and what parents and communities can do to protect and educate our young people. I would be interested to know if this something the parish would like such a meeting. 2. A new and improved recycling centre will open in Bury St Edmunds at the end of November. The flagship site in Fornham Road will replace the current recycling centre at Rougham Hill, Bury St Edmunds, which will close its doors permanently.
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The new centre will be the first open air site in Suffolk where all containers can be accessed by the public from ground level, removing the need for struggling up steps. Visitors will be able to recycle the same wide range of materials currently available at the Rougham Hill Recycling Centre. A charity Reuse shop, which will take materials suitable for reuse from our recycling centres, will also be opening on site towards the end of the year. 3. Suffolk's care homes have improved markedly in recent years so that the Care Quality Commission now rates more than 87% of our care homes as good or outstanding. The top 10 authorities are listed below with Suffolk coming in at fifth but with significantly more registered locations than the other LA's in the top 10 - for example the isles of Scilly tops the table with 100% of its homes outstanding. It has the one care home; Suffolk has more than 300: Top Ten Local Authorities Nationally: Outstanding and Good % Total registered locations: Isles of Scilly, 100.00%, 1Darlington, 90.38%, 52, Wokingham, 89.29%, 84, Cumbria, 89.08%, 229, Suffolk, 87.82%, 353, Windsor and Maidenhead, 87.50%, 56, Sefton, 87.29%, 181, Bristol, City of, 86.90%, 168, South Gloucestershire, 86.61%, 127 Blackpool, 86.32%, 95 4. In the run up to Christmas we can all get carried away looking for bargains. Please be very wary of special offers especially via the internet. Suffolk Trading Standards are warning people "don't be tempted to participate" in sharing an Argos giveaway post as it "is fraudulent." A post on the Suffolk Trading Standards Facebook page said: "A post claiming that everyone who shares and takes part in an Argos giveaway post will be in a chance of winning £1000 in vouchers, is currently circulating on Facebook. This post is fraudulent and has no connection to Argos. Nobody who participates will receive the vouchers. If you see one of these giveaway posts, don't be tempted to participate. "You have no chance of winning the promised prize, and you may risk your privacy and security by sharing your personal information with online scammers." It comes after Suffolk Trading Standards issued a similar warning about a £50 Morrisons voucher giveaway
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9 Highways: A complaint has ben received from a member of the public regarding the very poor state of Clerk Red Dock Lane near the junction with the C666. Clerk to report.
10 Village Hall: 1. Request for the purchase of 2 more round tables for functions. Clerk produced Clerk options and the lighter ones were chosen and approved. 2. Request for some sound mitigation in the hall which becomes very noisy/reverberative particularly during busy coffee mornings. Clerk showed some ideas he had found from research on the internet with soft wall coloured hexagons and floor mats which were both recommended to assist in reduction of sound. The Council did not want to consider any mats as they felt they could be a trip hazard. A curtain or similar on the end walls were suggested. Andrew Crocker said drapes hung vertically from the ceiling were often used and said he could put the Council in touch with a sound engineer who may be able to assist. Clerk to follow up. To go on the budget items for Clerk next year. 3. Councillor Aston requested an outside Christmas Tree and lights for the Village Hall. This was approved and Councillor P Stevens offered to provide some funds from his Locality Budget for this project. Clerk to provide Councillor Stevens with details of Clerk costing etc. A member of the public offered to donate a tree from their stock which was gratefully accepted. Clerk to organise the necessary outside electrical socket and Clerk/LA liaise with Councillor Aston to organise the remainder of the items. 4. The village hall heating had been turned full on and left on at some point recently. Councillor Aston said that she had found evidence of somebody having been in the hall on more than one occasion. It was thought sensible to change the locks and LA restrict the number of keys given out in future. This was agreed and Councillor Aston said her husband had locksmith experience and would organise it. 5. Clerk said that the Village Hall had been granted continued Discretionary Rate Relief for the next 18 months. 6. The Village Hall is booked for the forthcoming national election on 12th December which is valuable income for the Hall. Councillor Giblenn said he would open up for them as usual.
11 Planning applications: 1. DC/19/1479/FUL former piggery at Marks Farm corner. One dwelling, relocation and conversion of existing outbuildings to two ancillary workshops. Siting of sewage treatment tank and creation of wildlife pond. This had been approved by Planners. 2. DC/18/1712/FUL Bridgelands. Conversion of 2 existing barns into holiday accommodation, new-build timber framed treehouse venue space, vehicle access and landscaping. This has also been approved by Planners. 3. DC/19/2242/HEDGE July Lodge. Removal of 44m of hedgerow to be replaced with native species. There were no objections by the Council. 4. The fence at Cowlinge House was reported as being reduced appropriately in height. The outside landscaping has not yet been done.
12 Correspondence received to date: Clerk said that the noticeboard at Pound Green had been removed to repair a broken pane of glass and loose hinges. Councillor Aston said her husband had completed the repair and it was now back up again. The Council’s thanks are given for this service. 1. Clerk said he had been contacted by a member of the public who reported the Knotweed visible again on verges opposite Green Man. Clerk said the company that had been controlling it for a number of years FOC was no longer assisting. Signed Chair Date 459 460
Therefore he had reported it to Highways in October. This is to go on the next Clerk agenda. 2. Clerk said that the trees on Pound Green that had been causing problems on telephone lines had been cut back by the tree surgeon.
13 Network Attached Storage Device for archives: Clerk reported that half the archives had now been digitised and that professional assistance was now required to provide the public link to the village website on the NASD. Clerk said he had received a quote from a Haverhill computer company of £45 for a home visit and to Clerk complete the task. This was approved. It was suggested that the member of the public that had offered to do the other half of the digitising should be offered some help in order to conclude the project. Clerk Councillor Aston offered to assist with the village website. Clerk to liaise on this. Clerk/LA
14 Pre-budget planning: Councillors had been requested to bring their ideas for next year’s budget to this meeting for discussion and possible inclusion in next year’s budget. Ideas put forward were: 1. Play equipment/Outdoor Gym equipment 2. Sound mitigation for Village Hall 3. Heater required in Ladies Cloakroom and redecoration of the extension rooms (except the kitchen which has recently been done) 4. Clean the War Memorial in preparation for VE Day 8th May and VJ Day 14th August 5. Outdoor event to commemorate VE Day 6. Community event in the Village Hall to mark VJ Day 7. Possible inclusion of the metal commemorative seat for either VE or VJ Day.
Clerk will produce 3-4 draft budgets and circulate them well in advance of the next meeting in Clerk January in order that Councillors can have enough time to study them.
15 Finance: 1. Accounts for payment. The Council approved 14 payments totalling £2,841.82. Clerk
16 Village Events: Coffee mornings at the Village Hall continue to do well.
17 Matters for consideration at the next Meeting: 1. Budget and Precept for 2020/21. 2. Children’s Play equipment and Outdoor Gym equipment 3. NASD on village archives update 4. Japanese Knotweed at Green Man Clerk
18 Next meetings dates: The Council approved the draft meetings schedule circulated by the Clerk with the following dates: 13th January (Set Budget and Precept), 16th March, 20th April Annual Village Meeting (not a Parish Council meeting but an important village meeting and it is hoped Councillors can attend), 18th May Annual Parish Council meeting, 29th June (approve 2019/20 accounts), 7th September, 16th November (pre-Budget).
There being no further business the Chairman thanked the Councillors for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9.15pm
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