Baylham Parish Meeting Minutes

Date: 21st January 2020 Chair: Keven Thomas

In Attendance

Four of the Baylham Parish Steering Group plus nineteen Attendees. Also kindly attending was Councillor Mike Norris representing Mid District Council.

Approval of Previous Minutes

Minutes from the previous Meeting were available for discussion and approved. ______

Minutes

1. Welcome & Apologies

The Chairman welcomed those present, and the Meeting was opened at 19:30. An explanation of the Agenda and due process was given.

Apologies from five Steering Group members who were unable to attend.

2. Matters Arising From Previous Meeting (Held 22nd October 2019)

Matters arising and ongoing from the previous Meeting are covered as per the Agenda.

3. Open Forum

Opportunity for open forum questions or points to the Chairman, Steering Group members and Cllr Norris was given. The following points were raised:

3.1 Several ditches have been cleared of debris buildup recently by a member of the Community. This effort is appreciated, and the question was asked whether other areas within the Village could be cleared. This was discussed and the way forward was agreed to identify those areas and clear on a self-help basis.

3.2 There has been damage to the edge of the road in the vicinity of the equestrian arena caused by low loaders bringing heavy plant for its construction. It was agreed to contact the landowner and bring the matter to their attention.

1 3.3 Several trees have been blown down during the recent high winds. Although they have been cleared from the roads, there are a number still standing that still pose a risk in future winds. It was suggested that these trees could be identified and action taken on a self-help basis by members of the Community, who are equipped and suitably trained to do so.

4. District/County Council Q&A and Updates

4.1 Cllr Norris gave his report. A copy of which can be found at Annex A.

4.1.1 The problem of litter along the B1113 was raised, in particular plastic waste and Cllr Norris was asked whether local recycling businesses could be contacted. The Chairman responded that Sackers and Boltons have been contacted with no replies as yet. Further contact will be attempted, as well as with SITA and the incinerator operators.

Addendum: Sackers are in full support and will provide people and equipment to facilitate the litter pick. Keven Thomas.

4.1.2 It was asked whether Cllr Norris can confirm the plans to increase MSDC councillor salaries by up to fifty three per cent. He replied that increases are planned to bring MSDC in line with other Councils, however figures have not been confirmed.

Addendum: It has subsequently been confirmed that this issue affects East Suffolk and pay rises for MSDC will mirror inflation. Keven Thomas

4.2 The Chairman read out a report from Cllr Oakes on behalf on Suffolk County Council. A copy of which can be found at Annex B.

5. Reports from Officers

The following reports were delivered by the relevant Officers of the Parish:

5.1 Village/Neighbourhood Plan – Keven Thomas, on behalf of Jim White; The current status of the Village Plan was summarised. A copy of the report can be found at Annex C.

5.2 Planning Updates – Keven Thomas;

5.2.1 The affordable housing application is under appeal.

5.2.2 Back Lane bungalow applications; one has been refused, the second is under appeal.

5.2.3 The Church Lane caravan/mobile home/bungalow application has been refused.

5.2.4 The Lower Street house application has been approved.

5.3. Snoasis Update – Kay Field, on behalf of John; The Snoasis site has a new owner. Discussions between the owner and various third parties are ongoing. Further updates will follow in due course.

5.4 Ecology – Keven Thomas;

2 5.4.1 An ecology map will be included in the Village Plan.

5.4.2 The area around Church Lane is home to a population of great crested newts. It is planned to apply protection to this area in order to safeguard the newts.

5.4.3 The Government wants to increase the amount of hedgerows in the UK by 40%. Grants are available to enable hedgerows to be planted and it was asked if people would be willing find space and to volunteer for planting within the Parish in the future.

5.4.4 The current legislation and guidance for equestrian land use, in particular field shelters was highlighted. Documents for consultation will be added to Baylham Village website.

6. News Items & Future Events

6.1 Newsletter; No items were suggested for inclusion in the next newsletter. Ideas from Residents can be submitted to the Chairman.

6.2 Petition Update; Due to a Community Governance Review consideration of the Petition to form a Village Council has been delayed.

6.3 Litter Picking; Volunteers were requested to clear litter on a date to be confirmed. Those Attendees interested added their email addresses onto a list and will be contacted in due course.

Addendum: The date has been set for Sunday 9th Feb, 9.30 at the Village Hall. Those wiling to take part should please, either respond to the Facebook invitation or let Ron Philpott or Keven Thomas know so we have an idea of numbers.

6.4 Level Crossing Closure; The Baylham level crossing will be closed some time between February and November 2020 in order for maintenance to be carried out. Information has been posted on the Baylham News and Forum Facebook Group.

6.5 Baylham News and Forum Facebook Group; This is steadily increasing in membership and is proving to be a useful means of communication.

6.6 Speed Limit Review; In order for this to proceed a traffic survey needs to be conducted. Cllr Oakes has kindly agreed to fund this using the available locality budget. Those present were asked whether they wished to proceed; this was agreed by majority vote. Next steps will now be considered by the Parish Steering Group.

3 6.7 The Meeting was reminded of the following upcoming events;

• 31st January @ 19:30 – Wheels of talk by Brian Dyes, in the Village Hall • 1st February @ 10:30 – Coffee Morning.

7. Next Meeting

The next Meeting is to be held is our AGM on Tuesday 21st April 2020, 7.30pm Village Hall.

8. Any Other Business & Closure

The following points were raised:

8.1 Security Reminder; Attendees were politely reminded of the importance of staying vigilant and maintaining awareness of the security of homes/garages/outbuildings, and to please report any concerns to myself (Nick Berry) via any of the means at the bottom of these Minutes.

8.2 The Chairman received a question from the floor in regard to the development on Back Lane. It was explained that activity at the site is currently within permitted development.

With there being no further business for the good and benefit of the Parish the Chairman thanked those present and closed the Meeting at 21:20. ______

Minutes by:

Nick Berry Secretary of Baylham Parish Meeting

1 Tutton Hill, IP6 8JX 01473 833769 [email protected]

4 Annex A – MSDC Councillor’s Report

MID SUFFOLK DISTRICT COUNCILLORS MIKE NORRIS & STEVE PHILLIPS REPORT 21ST JANUARY 2020

Council Tax – 2020/21 Budget: The first draft of Mid Suffolk District Council’s budget for 2020/21 was considered by Mid Suffolk cabinet members on Monday 13th January and by Overview and Scrutiny on Thursday 16th January, and included a 1.66% increase in its share of Council Tax, adding £2.76 a year to the bill of a Band D Property, equivalent to just over 5p per week. It will go to Full Council in February and, if approved, will come into effect on 1st April 2020. Headlines include: • A proposed increase of 1.66% to Council Tax, equivalent to just £2.76 over the course of a year for a Band D property (increases range from £1.84 per annum for the smallest Band A property to £5.54 for the largest Band H property). • No change in the Council Tax Reduction Scheme that sees poorest residents pay just 5% of their bill. • A change to empty property discount, reducing the period that unoccupied and unfurnished properties pay discounted Council Tax from three months to 28 days, in order to bring empty properties in the district back into use. • After four years of government-enforced reductions, the council is also proposing putting up council house rents by 2.7% - meaning a £2.19 per week increase for tenants. Sheltered housing tenants also face an increase of £2 a week on their bills plus a 62p a week increase to their utility bills. • A reserve of £500,000 set aside for 2020/21 to tackle climate change. Mid Suffolk and Councils consider moves to clamp down on Council Tax fraud – whilst helping those in need: At a Mid Suffolk Cabinet Meeting on Monday 6th January it was resolved that penalties be introduced to tackle Council Tax fraud, alongside a new protocol to help those in genuine need, and the adoption of the Citizens Advice Council Tax Protocol. Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils have a statutory duty to collect Council Tax across their districts, which is then divided between Suffolk County Council, the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, the districts themselves, and the local parish or town councils. The new penalties policy will give the councils the option to issue an initial penalty of £70 to anyone refusing to meet requests to supply legally required information, or failing to let the council know about changes in their circumstances which would affect their entitlement to a discount, exemption or Council Tax reduction.

Next phase in development of Needham Lake visitor centre and café agreed: Plans for a £600,000 visitor centre/cafe at Needham Lake have been approved and a local operator selected to run it. Plans for the new centre which will function as a community event space, café/restaurant, and feature a Changing Places facility (fully accessible toilet), were granted planning permission at a 11th December 2019 Mid Suffolk Development Control meeting. The centre with its proposed facilities will improve the offer to visitor and residents at the East of ’s most visited free attraction. Additionally the local economy will benefit with the provision of a new community venue and more outdoor leisure activities. 127 Trading Limited, a trading entity of The Mix, , has been selected as preferred tenants of the centre. They will manage the day to day running of the centre and café/restaurant on a ten-year lease. Working in partnership with the community they will offer a variety of refreshments, a seasonal menu and a range of events and activities including evening events. The next phase of the development will be the appointment and selection of a contractor. Following the tender process works are proposed to start in spring 2020.

Improved access to railway station: Meetings are continuing to be held involving Network Rail, MSDC and SCC officers, with the aim of improving the access to and from the Ipswich bound platform. Mid Suffolk and Network Rail are jointly funding a feasibility study.

Mid Suffolk District Councillors Mike Norris mike.norris@midsuffolk.gov.uk Tel. 01449 720871 and Steve Phillips stephen.phillips@midsuffolk.gov.uk Tel. 01449 721710.Representing Needham Market, Badley, Baylham, Creeting St Mary, Creeting St Peter, Darmsden Annex B – Suffolk County Councillor’s Report

January 2020 Monthly Parish Newsletter

New SEND provision identified – ready to offer 168 additional spaces from September 2020

Suffolk County Council is now in a position to provide further information regarding the development of new Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) units attached to mainstream schools in the county. The authority is very pleased to announce that, following a thorough evaluation process, a number of suitable schools have been identified to develop: • Two Generic Key Stage 1 Units – Pipers Vale Primary Academy and Burton End Primary Academy • Three Communication and Interaction Key Stage 2 Units – Murrayfield Primary Academy, Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy, and Causton Junior School • One Cognition and Learning Key Stage 2 Unit – Clements Primary Academy • Three Communication and Interaction Key Stage 3/4 Units – Copleston High School, Ixworth School, and Newmarket Academy • One Cognition and Learning Key Stage 3/4 Unit – Castle Manor Primary Academy. In total, this means an additional 168 new specialist placements will be available for children and their families in Suffolk from September 2020, on top of existing specialist provision. Successful schools are currently working with the council to ensure the appropriate infrastructure and support is in place to enable these new units to be open in September 2020. A further commissioning round will begin in Spring 2020 and will consider further expressions of interest from mainstream schools who hope to open units in September 2021. This will include targeted work from our provider development team in areas of the county where gaps have been identified to ensure we are able to offer local provision for our children and their families. Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, Cllr Mary Evans said: “We are delighted with the interest shown by our mainstream schools and would like to thank all those who came forward wanting to work in partnership to deliver this provision. If you are a mainstream school that would like to become involved, or would like further information, there is still time. “Regular updates will follow as we continue to work hard in the delivery of our capital programme across the next five years, resulting in an additional 870 specialist places.” Please contact Jamie Mills [email protected] for further information if your school is interested in developing a SEND unit. Annex B – Suffolk County Councillor’s Report

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service rated “Good” in Government inspection Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has been rated "Good" for its effectiveness, efficiency and how well it leads and manages its staff. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has undergone its most comprehensive, independent inspection in many years and has been rated as “Good” for its effectiveness, efficiency and how well it leads and manages its staff. The findings come from a report published on 17 December by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), who inspected Suffolk’s service earlier this year. Inspectors reviewed every aspect of the service, from how we respond to 999 emergencies, to looking at policies and interviewing a wide range firefighters and staff. The report praised many aspects of the service, particularly how well it collaborates with other emergency services and agencies, how it responds to fires and other emergencies, how it ensures fairness and promotes diversity, and the financially sound way the service is run.

New £3million pot announced for Suffolk projects

A £3million pot has been formed to fund projects such as new speed cameras, electric charging points or new cycle lanes. On 16 December, Suffolk County Council's Finance Cabinet Member, Gordon Jones, unveiled the Suffolk 2020 fund - a one-year fund which organisations can bid for a share of. Bids between £50,000 and £500,000 will be accepted within 100 days of the new financial year and will be for Suffolk-wide projects. Councillor Jones said nothing is ruled out, so the fund could be used for schemes such as new cycle lanes, electric charging points, road safety schemes, automatic number plate recognition cameras, tree planting or other projects. Councillor Jones said: "I think it's quite exciting to take the opportunity to continue to engage with the communities and respond to some of our priorities. "These are really significant and if there is an opportunity for match-funding the projects can be even better. It's not essential, but it can provide an opportunity to kick start some really exciting and sizeable projects." The one-year financial settlement from central government, which effectively dictates how much the council will get, has enabled the creation of the fund because that money would normally be absorbed in other departments across a financial settlement of several years. Councillor Jones confirmed that bids can only be for one-off project costs, rather than being used to prop up the running costs of any project or organisation. The council currently has cross-party policy development panels investigating measures to help with climate issues and provision for cycling. Councillor Jones said the fund could well be used to help fund recommendations from those groups. Annex C – Neighbourhood Plan Report by Jim White

Baylham Parish Meeting – 21st January 2020

I am sorry not to be here this evening and be able speak to you personally.

For any of you who have arrived in the village in the last 7 years or those longer resident but have forgotten, I had my arm twisted in 2010 to chair a group to produce a Village Plan. After 2 years of endeavour and the support of most of the village we were able to put together a Plan reflecting the views and priorities of residents. The Plan was adopted by the village in 2012. A copy can be found on the village website.

It has been asked whether the production of the Plan had been beneficial and produced results and, by implication, whether it was worth the effort - a good question to ask before we launch forth with its replacement or revision.

Looking through the existing Plan there are a number of things that featured in it that have happened:

1) Village Hall – the Village Plan survey helped gauge the preference of the community as to whether the Hall should be renovated or rebuilt and where – the hall has subsequently been modernised and improved.

2) Church improvements – again the exercise provided the PCC with an indication of the level of support for their proposals. A kitchen area and toilet have since been installed.

3) Internet speeds – the village now benefits from access to high speed fibre broadband.

4) Speeding issues – this is now being actively pursued with the County Council.

5) Passing places – several areas of eroded verge were properly surface as passing places.

6) Litter picking happens.

7) Tree planting has recently been undertaken

8) Churchyard maintenance continues.

9) Village Fete - although not an annual event, the Baylham Bash was organised the other year.

It is open to debate whether any or all of these things might or might not have happened without having a Village Plan. I suggest that having the Plan certainly played a part.

Many other things that featured in the Plan have not happened. To be realistic though nothing very much is going to happen unless there is the interest and motivation on the part of residents to make it happen. It was hoped that the Plan might prompt people to join together to pursue these other ideas which they particularly wished to see become a reality. In this respect the Plan was not successful.

The purpose of the Village Plan, though, was not just to promote and implement what you might call concrete projects. It was also about identifying accurately the ‘community view’ on a range of issues and making that view known. It also provided evidence of the strength of feeling on matters when they were in question – for example to the planning authorities in relation to planning applications.

It is very difficult to quantify the value of this. It is impossible to identify the number of people or organisations who have looked at the Plan – nobody knows. It is also impossible to measure how much influence it may have had over the decisions those people made about the village. Annex C – Neighbourhood Plan Report by Jim White

On balance, the Parish Meeting Steering Group feels that it would be worthwhile to revise the Plan for the following reasons:

1) As we are seeking to form a Parish Council, it will provide the new Council with an accurate and up to date view as to what residents feel are the important issues and guide it in what it should do. It would be equally useful to the Steering Group in the event that the Parish Council is not established.

2) Experience gained since the Village Plan was written has shown that the Plan is weak in its influence and impact concerning planning and development matters. It is very important to address this weakness as we are seeing a greater level of planning applications which potentially may put at risk the rural nature of the village and its surroundings which the majority of villagers are particularly keen to preserve.

With this second point being so important, our initial work to date has been to look in detail at the two main options which are (a) producing another village plan or (b) producing a Neighbourhood Plan and considering the relative benefits each as well as the implications in terms of workload. Developing a Neighbourhood Plan is a significantly more involved and time consuming process – taking about 18 months to 2 years to complete - but should deliver greater control and influence to the village in the type, nature and location of development and in protecting areas important to the community. So, this is the preferred option.

The problem is though that Parish Meetings are not legally empowered to develop Neighbourhood Plans although Parish Councils can. So a formal start on a Neighbourhood Plan will have to wait. Those seeking to build will certainly not wait and we can expect no pause in planning applications. So to minimise any delay, our plan of action is to work towards revising the Village Plan and to undertake it in such a way as to be valid for the Neighbourhood Plan process as well. We certainly wish to avoid lumbering you all with two lots of very similar questionnaires, surveys and ballots to complete!

To this end, we are arranging a meeting with the District Council Planning Policy Officials after which we will be able to let you know exactly how we will go about it.

It is likely though that the process will broadly follow the format adopted when producing the original Village Plan namely a survey to capture all the issues, opportunities for public information and discussion, the formulation of proposals and some form of vote to gauge the level of support or concern.

A start has been made on collecting information to improve section 1 of the existing plan which is a little thin on detail in certain areas. As Keven mentioned in the last issue of Baylham News this involves identifying and mapping what we have in the village – particularly things we value including buildings, landscapes, wildlife, habitats, amenities etc.

One of the key requirements of the Neighbourhood Planning process is that it has to be open, democratic and conducted with the support and involvement of the whole community - so, if you have any questions now or later please ask.

We are always happy to discuss or explain any matters with you at these parish meetings, coffee mornings or other suitable occasions.

Thank you

Jim White