Gazeley Parish Council

Minutes of the Virtual Meeting of Gazeley Parish Council held via Zoom on Tuesday 12th January 2021 at 7.30pm

Present: Cllr Kevin Grimwood (Chair) (KG), Cllr Ray Francis (RF), Cllr Paul Beard (PB), Cllr Pat Spillane (PS) and Cllr Wesley Heaton (WH).

In attendance Lynne Francis, Parish Clerk, District Councillor Roger Dicker (RD), Cllr Colin Noble (CN), Will Wright (WW), Families and Communities Department, West Council and 8 members of the public.

21.1.1 Welcome and Public Forum. Chairman, Cllr Kevin Grimwood opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

Public Forum. No issues were raised in the public forum.

21.1.2 To receive apologies for absence. Apologies were received from Cllr Judy Moatt and Cllr Charlene Vandenbroucke.

21.1.3 To receive Declarations of Interest, pecuniary and non-pecuniary, on matters on the agenda. None declared.

21.1.4 Reports from External Bodies 1. Council. Cllr Roger Dicker reported that the Consultation on the Local Plan was now closed. Gazeley is still listed as a Secondary Village for the purposes of future development.

2. Suffolk County Council. Cllr Noble reported that the Council was very involved in all matters surrounding Covid-19 including social care, PPE and other on-going issues. The Council is constantly issuing advice and information about the various issues as they arise. The Home But Not Alone emergency phone line is 0800 876 6926 or email www.suffolk.gov.uk/homebutnotalone. He warned about various scams going around in respect of the vaccination programme and advised residents to be very careful and aware of them. Cllr Heaton asked whether the recent Royal Mail delivery problems would in turn cause further problems with delivery of vaccination appointments but Cllr Noble noted that contact would be made in accordance with individual doctors’ arrangements. He advised everyone to make sure that their surgery had the most up to date information about their personal contact details.

21.1.5 To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 8th December 2020. The minutes were adopted as a true record of the meeting.

21.1.6 Clerk’s Report. 1. The Clerk has written to the Lighting Manager again to ask why the lighting unit outside no. 2 Highwood Road has been out of action for over a year without explanation. 2. The Clerk has received a quote of £1,500 to repair the wall at the north end of the village green which was damaged by a bus before Christmas. She had notified the company concerned but so far had not received a response. She will write again asking for the details of their insurance company with a view to submitting a claim for the repair. 21.1.7 Correspondence Two residents had written to the Clerk complaining about the state of the forge and asking why there had

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been no action on behalf of the authorities to deal with the situation.

Churchwarden Simon Gash had written to the Parish Council to request a contribution towards maintenance of the churchyard for 2021. It had been agreed that a donation of £800 should be awarded to All Saints’ Church for the purpose.

21.1.8 Blacksmiths Forge Will Wright, Families and Communities Officer at West Suffolk Council, introduced himself to members of the public in attendance. He explained that he has oversight of the various problems connected with the forge and was able to convene a meeting with the owner and officers from various departments of West Suffolk Council and Parish Council on 8th December. At that meeting it had been agreed that the owner would seek advice regarding the re-building of the roof and would make arrangements to erect a fence around his land to contain building materials, preventing them from spreading on to the road. The parish councillors had agreed to liaise with the owner and try to elicit help from local residents if required. It had also been suggested that West Suffolk Council could issue a ‘Tidy Up Notice’ to remove unwanted rubbish from around the site. A further meeting was planned for January to report on progress.

The parish councillors reported that they had tried to arrange a meeting two or three times in the intervening weeks but that the owner was unwilling to attend any further meetings to discuss the situation. He had also indicated that he did not want any help from the community and that he was unwilling to erect a fence because in his opinion it would prove to be more dangerous to the public with the high winds that we have had recently.

On Friday 8th January, residents alerted the fire service to a fire at the forge. A wood burner had been left on and three dogs were trapped inside the building. Local residents were able to release the dogs and the fire was quickly brought under control. This gave rise to two questions. Firstly the safety to the public because it had been reported that the sound of small explosions had come from the building before the fire service had arrived and secondly, the safety of the structure itself.

The Chairman suspended the meeting to allow a member of the public, who had been an eye-witness to the fire, to speak. He had released one of the dogs. It was reported that conditions inside the forge were absolutely dreadful and it was obvious that it was being used as a dwelling. He noted that the PC had been informed that the District Council had no power to evict an owner from his own premises but that different laws applied depending on whether the premises were residential or commercial. He asked what was going to be done about it, noting that the obvious solution, as far as safety was concerned was for the owner not to be living in the premises.

The second report concerned the cause of the fire. The owner had told several residents that the firemen had informed him that the fire had been started deliberately. It was suggested that the Clerk should contact the fire service to ask whether this had indeed been their conclusion and if so, if the police had set up an enquiry into the matter.

Clerk’s Note: Following subsequent enquiries, the fire service confirmed that the incident had been recorded as an accident due to the presence of a wood burner that had been left on and there had been no suggestion that it had been started by a deliberate act. The Safer Neighbourhoom Team at Mildenhall confirmed that they had not been informed of a possible arson attack, or any other incident on that day in the village.

The general conclusion of those present was that the forge represented an ongoing danger to the public, the wood-burner was again alight on the day after the fire and the wooden trestles that had been erected on the road represented a danger to traffic.

At this point, Cllr Roger Dicker intervened. He noted that this situation had now continued for a period of eight years with no end in sight. His predecessor on the district council had held many meetings about it 2

but no progress had been made at all. He was disappointed to hear of the latest reports because he had felt that some progress had been made at the December meeting but it was now obvious that West Suffolk Council must intervene in a meaningful way to help the council tax payers of Gazeley who had put up with this dreadful situation for far too long.

The Chairman then continued with the meeting.

21.1.9 Finance 1. Authorisation of outstanding payments. The monthly report had been circulated to councillors before the meeting and a copy is attached to these minutes. The accounts were approved for payment.

2. To consider a request to assist with funding for the Gazeley Events Newsletter. Cllr Vandenbroucke had asked for this item to be included in the agenda. She had been able to source funding from the district council and several individuals to produce the newsletter during 2020 and is now in the process of securing the future of the newsletter for 2021. She has already received pledges to cover 7 months of the year and has asked that the Parish Council agree to fund a further three months. The Parish Council agreed to the proposal.

3. To consider a quotation for groundworks at the playing field. Mr Jaye had informed Cllr Vandenbroucke and the Clerk that various shrubs and bushes were overgrown and were beginning to encroach on the grass. He estimated that it would take a week to cut it all back and was prepared to carry out the work at a cost of £10 per hour. Cllr Grimwood and Cllr Francis agreed to meet Mr Jaye at the field, if an appointment could be arranged, to discuss the matter further. Mr Jaye's quotation for grass-cutting at the playing field, recreation ground and playground has been approved by the Parish Council.

4. To confirm the budget for the year 2021-2022 and to set the precept. The Clerk had prepared a draft budget for councillors to consider together with estimated further costs to the end of March. Resolved. That the precept be set at the same amount as last year at £15,800.

21.1.10 Planning Matters To consider Planning Application DC/20/2215/FUL a. Conversion of stable to two dwellings, b, internal alterations to Grooms House, c, cart lodge and d, amendments to courtyard area. Land at Gazeley Stud Farm, Moulton Road, Gazeley.

A local resident was concerned that she had not been informed about the proposed changes to the original application that had been approved for the development of the site. The Clerk confirmed that the original application had been approved and the further works were judged to be in sympathy with the previous application. To quote from the Heritage Statement:

‘The public benefits which accrue include the provision of an additional dwelling, complementing the three already approved. It ensures the long-term use of the entire stable range, providing a viable use. No harm is caused to the setting of this former farmstead group and the balance is in favour of the proposed development. It satisfies both national planning guidance and local planning policies.’

The Parish Council raised no objection to the proposals.

21.1.11 Councillors’ Reports

Cllr Spillane reminded the Clerk that a new set of defibrillator pads was required.

Cllr Beard asked when the new bench would be installed on Tithe Close. The Clerk confirmed that Cllr 3

Dicker had agreed to fund the purchase from his Locality Budget and that the cost of installation would be met by the Parish Council. It was envisaged that the bench would be installed in March. He also noted that the path crossing Tithe Close was very slippery at the moment.

Cllr Grimwood again raised the question of the recent flooding of Higham Road and Road during a recent period of heavy rainfall and suggested that Highways should be informed.

An incidence of the fly-tipping of kitchen units near Desninghall Road had been reported on the Community Facebook page. It was noted that any resident can report problems of this kind to the relevant authority. Fly tipping should be reported to Waste Management at West Suffolk Council, with the location described as closely as possible. Potholes and lighting outages can be reported on the Suffolk County Council website.

21.1.12 To confirm the date of the next meeting of the Parish Council. It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 9th February at 7.30pm via Zoom. Details to be circulated.

The meeting closed at 8.55pm.

Signed...... Date...... Chairman

FINANCIAL REPORT – JANUARY 2021 4

PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS JANUARY 2021

Payments Amount Cheque No. Receipts Balance

Mrs L Francis, Monthly Zoom £ subs. 14.99 1193

Receipts

£ Interest 0.08

£ £ Totals 14.99 0.08

Balance @ 30.12.20

£ Treasurer's Account 1 7,548.59 £ Treasurer's Account 2 80.43 £ Instant Access Account 9,689.74

£ Total Balance of Accounts 17,318.76

12.1.21

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