Cowlinge Annual Village Meeting 24 April 2017
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1 Cowlinge Annual Village Meeting 24th April 2017 Joel Giblenn welcomed 37 people to the annual village meeting. Minutes of last year's meeting: Copies of last year's minutes were available at the meeting and approved. Suffolk County Council: County Councillor Mary Evans said that speeding on the roads was still a problem. There is a new speed enforcement team now in place. Inspector Denny Cooper is happy to have the Vehicular Activated Sign data. A member of the public suggested that the problem was mainly the prison officers at shift change and also mums late on the Barnadiston run. Borough Councillor Jane Midwood said some things never change as she was reporting this 20 years ago when she was County Councillor! Education was poor in the County in the past but there have been significant improvements in the last 2 years. Funding from central government is still difficult despite the new formula moving some monies from the cities. With Highways there has been some progress. The lighting team is now better and there are now drainage specialists in place. After the elections local government may well be back on the agenda with the possibility that we may return to West and East Suffolk. St Edmundsbury Borough Council: Borough Councillor Jane Midwood said good evening to everyone in Cowlinge and thank you for inviting me to your Annual Parish Meeting. I have been looking back at my Annual Reports from last year and I see that few things have changed. The £40 brown bin system is now into its second year and I am told that take up is as expected – that is a small increase on the first year. I hope residents will report any problems they may have to me with any of the waste bins or collections. Unfortunately I can see no change at all in the awful state of our roadside verges with litter strewn everywhere and fly tipping too. Village litter picks, supported by the loan of equipment by St Edmundsbury do a fine job in their annual or twice yearly collections but it is not really the answer to the culture that seems to think it is OK to eat and drink in the car and then throw the remains out of the window. Last year I spoke to you about the proposed West Suffolk Waste Hub. Planning permission was granted and the project is now going ahead. The Community Governance Review last year recommended that Great and Little Thurlow became one Parish and that a large area of Withersfield was moved to Haverhill. I am pleased to say that I was able to defend the wishes of the majority of Withersfield residents and the parish boundaries have remained the same - until the next time the Boundary Commission decides to interfere with historic local village areas. I look forward to hearing about your Locality Budget spending and applications for next year’s budget too. When I became your Borough Councillor in 2015 I had no idea how contentious Planning (or Development Control) could be. I still have a lot to learn, especially on the consultation process. Please be assured that I will listen to residents’ concerns and take up issues with planning officers. 2 If there are any problems regarding vehicles using Elms Road for the new Wedding venue then please let Jane know. With regard to problems at Parklands (aka The Cottage) Jane has taken this up with the Conservation officer but there appears little can be done. On April 25th, before the St Edmundsbury Full Council meeting, Tim Passmore, Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, will give a presentation. I will inform your Parish Council if there are matters relating to our rural area that he addresses. Please email me or telephone if there are Borough matters you wish to discuss and I send all good wishes to everyone in the local community. Suffolk Police: P. C. Darren Marshall had apologised but no-one was available to come to the meeting tonight. He sent a report: This report covers the period from 01/04/2016 through to and inclusive of 22/4/2017. During this period there have been 6 reported crimes within the village.As shared this time last year, all Safer Neighbourhood Teams have now moved over to producing a generic “Area” Newsletter which are provided monthly and are published on our “all new” external website. Suffolk Constabulary has recently carried a review of its local Policing. Following both a reduction in funding and a change in the nature of crime, we have had to reassess what our priorities will be. It was decided that our focus should be on protecting vulnerable people from crimes against them including on-line offences, drugs, offences against children, domestic violence and serious sexual offences. This has meant less time to focus on some of the traditional complaints which is often led by parking matters. Final figures in these fields for the parish of Cowlinge are as follows….. BURGLARY DWELLING – 1 Between 18/11/16 and 21/11/16 a long time unattended property was forcibly entered and a quantity of fitted copper piping and the households water tank was also taken. This inevitably led to water damage therein as well. ROBBERY – 0 VIOLENCE WITH INJURY – 0 SERIOUS SEXUAL ASSAULT – 0 DRUG TRAFFICKING - 0 ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR – 0 A summary of the other reported matters are as follows…. Between Feb’16 and Apr’16 but not reported until 16/12/16, an alleged Domestic Assault occurred between known parties within a private address in the village. The matter was formally reported however owing to the prosecution time limit having expired, the matter wasn’t pursued. Between 01/08/16 and 03/08/16 a trailer was stolen from a premises in the village On 11/09/16 a parishioner was bitten by anothers dog causing injury despite said dog being on a lead. The handler was identified and approached the victim of their own choice which appeased the reporting person. On the victims request the matter was left at that. Between 18/09/16 and 20/09/16 a car was unlawfully taken from a premises in the village and was subsequently found burnt out in the Farley Green area. And …In the week leading up to 07/12/16 a Lawn Mower was stolen from another dwelling in the village. 3 Whilst present, it’s suspected that the offender(s) also tried unsuccessfully to enter an unattended vehicle thereat too. CURRENT CRIME TRENDS West Suffolk has recently suffered an increase in Dwelling Burglaries. The trademark M.O. tends to be framework forced via jemmy use at the rear of properties. Thorough “tidy” searches area made lulling returning homeowners to not initially realising that they’ve been targeted. Gloves are always worn and a pillow case is typically taken to transport jewellery and cash. Some burglaries have involved high value vehicles stolen from driveways too. The group suspected of being involved are certainly cross border criminals thought to be active in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambs. In recent weeks we’ve had properties targetted in Cavendish, Hundon, Hargrave and Hawstead and more further afield. Should any parishioner see what they believe to be furtive activity on their or neighbouring addresses, this is a definite 999 call and we will promptly attend. We make no apologies for recommending again that all home owners remain vigilant and regularly review their home security. Great advice can always be sought from our newly revised Suffolk Constabulary Web Site. Secondly Since early March’17, the Sudbury and Haverhill areas have suffered x 17 Theft From Motor Vehicles. In the main, Ford Transits and Connect style vans are tending to be targeted, invariably via an entry method that leaves no damage. As usual, the proceeds of these crimes are almost always high value branded power tools but cash and some hand tools have also been removed at some scenes. We always advise that valuables are removed from work vans when unattended and certainly overnight. Please consider installing additional alarms even a classic shed style alarm or sensor padlock. As ever, should you see anything of a suspicious nature close to home or whilst on your travels please call it in as matter of urgency and I can assure you that we’ll check it out quick-time. Thanks for your continued support…… Pc 270 Marshall and all on your Safer Neighbourhood Team Neighbourhood Watch: Andrew Crocker said that it was pleasing to be able to continue to report low crime figures for the village. However, crimes continue in the surrounding villages. We should all continue look out for dodgy vehicles reconnoitring in the village and report any to 101. Theft from outbuildings continue to be prevalent and nuisance callers. We are the eyes for the Police so we must alert them when necessary. A reminder when going on holiday to not make it easy for villains to spot you are away. Parish Council: Parish Council Chairman Joel Giblenn introduced himself and said that the Parish Council year had been busy with: 1. Achieving 2 grants to assist towards the transfer of land at Tillbrooks from Havebury to the Parish Council 2. Maintenance on the village trees that the Parish Council has responsibility or duty of care for 3. Achieving a wi-fi 'hot-spot' at the Village Hall 4. Organising the litter pick 5. New seat at the village sign 4 6. Village Hall shed refurbishment 7. Grasscutting of the Greens and verges to a high standard and greater frequency A member of the public thanked the landowner who was present for the improvements to the footpath near Mots End.