Stonham Aspal Parish Council Approved Minutes of the Council Meeting held on Tuesday 20 June 2017 at 7.30pm at the Church, The Street, Stonham Aspal Present: Cllr Malcolm Leith (Chair), Cllr Ian Wright (Vice-Chair), Cllr Peter Emberson, Cllr Josephine Mitson, Cllr Rob Stevenson and Cllr Jean Timms Attendance: Cllr Suzie Morley (District Councillor), Cllr Matthew Hicks (County Councillor), Simon Ashton (Parish Clerk) and one Member of the Public 1. Apologies and Approval of Absences Apologies were received from Cllr Tydeman and his absence was approved. 2. Declarations of Pecuniary or Non-Pecuniary Interests by Members There were no interests declared by any of the Members. 3. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Meeting on 16 May 2017 Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council on 16 May 2017 were received and approved as a true record and signed by the Chair. 4. Matters Arising There were no matters arising which had not been included elsewhere on the agenda. 5. Reports by the District Councillor & County Councillor Cllr Morley delivered her district council report at the meeting. Cllr Hicks delivered his county council report at the meeting. Copies of these reports have been made available at the end of these minutes for information. 6. Contributions by Members of the Public There were no issues raised by members of the public. 7. Consideration of Planning Applications & Decision Notices (a) MSDC 1448/17: Application Received (13 June 2017) Fir Tree Lodge, The Street, Stonham Aspal, IP14 6AL Erection of a treehouse. There were no objections to this planning application. However, there was a concern raised over a potential application for a change of use in the future. (b) MSDC 1222/17: Application Received (6 June 2017) Grove Farm, Debenham Road, Stonham Aspal IP14 6BX Conversion of barn to dwelling (revision to approval under 1709/06). There were no objections to this planning application. (c) MSDC 1224/17: Certificate Granted (19 May 2017) The Lodge, Grove Farm, Debenham Road, Stonham Aspal IP14 6BX Certificate of lawfulness of an existing use and development. The outcome of this decision notice was noted. (d) MSDC 1455/17: Application Granted (1 June 2017) 3 Wingfield Meadows, Stonham Aspal, IP14 6DG Erection of a two-storey side extension. The outcome of this decision notice was noted. (e) MSDC 1203/17: Application Granted (12 June 2017) Goldings, East End Road, Stonham Aspal IP14 6AS Change of use of land and erection of single storey side extension. The outcome of this decision notice was noted. (f) The Parish Clerk agreed to seek an update on the Stonham Barns planning application for consideration at the next meeting. 8. Finance (a) A response and action plan prepared by the Parish Clerk following the receipt of the Internal Audit Report 2016/17 from SALC was presented to Members for their information. (b) The Parish Clerk confirmed that the completed Annual Return 2016/17 and supporting documentation had been submitted to the External Auditor. (c) The Parish Clerk confirmed that the Exercise of Public Rights of Access to Final Accounts 2016/17 had commenced which was to conclude on 14 July 2017. (d) The Parish Clerk confirmed that a claim for a VAT refund for the period from October 2016 to March 2017 amounting to £152.47 had been submitted to HMRC on 13 June 2017. (e) The Parish Clerk presented a draft application for additional Transparency Code funding amounting to £233.95. Approval to proceed was proposed by Cllr Stevenson, seconded by Cllr Emberson and approved by Members. (f) Payments were authorised in favour of the Parish Clerk’s wages (£306.70), office and personal expenses (£48.10) and income tax (£121.40). Payments to Mid Suffolk District Council (£78.00) for emptying bins, Stonham Aspal Village Hall (£132.00) for the hire of the Village Hall, Roger Stannard (£30.00) for Recreation Ground maintenance and The Information Commissioner (£35.00) for annual registration were also authorised. Approval of these payments was proposed by Cllr Mitson, seconded by Cllr Wright and agreed by Members. 9. Governance The Parish Clerk presented the updated NALC’s Good Councillor’s Guide 2017 for the attention of Members for their information with the introduction of the Good Councillor’s Guide to Finance and Transparency 2017 to be presented at the next meeting. 10. Highways (a) The Parish Clerk confirmed that a response had been received from SCC Highways following the complaint previously made of a lack of a response following a report of flooding on The Street. The Parish Clerk therefore agreed to submit any future reports separately. (b) The Parish Clerk agreed to contact SCC Highways to identify whether there were plans to introduce a 20-mph speed limit in Mill Green and to make arrangements to repair the broken footpath sign outside Old Rectory Cottage on Debenham Road. 11. Recreation Ground (a) The Parish Clerk presented two draft A4 signs for display at the Recreation Ground. Presentation of the details included in the original quotation for £42.00 had been enabled following a visit to see the supplier. It was agreed to increase their size to A3 with the inclusion of smaller prohibition signs at the foot of the first sign. Advice would also need to be sought from the Recreation Ground Committee Lead on a change in wording relating to the maximum age of users. Approval to commit to an appropriate increase in cost was proposed by Cllr Emberson, seconded by Cllr Stephenson and agreed by Members. Following discussion, the Parish Clerk also agreed to seek advice from SALC on the Council’s position when dealing with potential situations in the future involving visitor behaviour of an unwelcome nature. (b) The Parish Clerk confirmed that the Recreation Ground’s litter bin was being emptied by Mid Suffolk District Council on a weekly basis. 12. Updates to the Register of Interests A completed Register of Interests form had been received from Cllr Tydeman. The Parish Clerk agreed to submit the information to Mid Suffolk District Council for inclusion on its web site. 13. Neighbourhood Plan Cllr Emberson presented his findings following an initial investigation into the basics of the development of a Neighbourhood Plan. Members agreed to discuss this further at the next meeting before summarising key points and conclusions for parishioners in the September 2017 edition of the Stonham Aspal magazine. It was agreed to invite any interested parishioners to the meeting in October 2017 at which time any final decisions could be made. 14. Consideration of the Review of Electoral Wards of Mid Suffolk District Council Members noted that the Local Government Boundary Commission had commenced a public consultation inviting proposals for new warding arrangements before publishing draft recommendations in October 2017 and making final recommendations in February 2018 before a reduction from 40 to 34 district councillors is introduced at the elections in 2019. 15. Correspondence Received There were no items of correspondence received for discussion that had not been covered elsewhere on the agenda. 16. Matters for Future Consideration There were no other matters raised for consideration at the next meeting. The meeting finished at 9.10pm. 17. Dates of the Next Meetings (a) 18 July 2017 (The Church) (b) 19 September 2017 (Village Hall) (c) 17 October 2017 Simon Ashton, Parish Clerk [email protected] 18 July 2017 Mid Suffolk District Council Report for The Stonhams Ward – June 2017 Have your say on new council ward boundaries The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England is asking local people for their help to draw up a new pattern of council wards for Mid Suffolk District Council and Babergh District Council. The consultation is the first stage of an electoral review which will re-draw ward boundaries across both districts. The Commission has also announced that it is minded to recommend that each council should have fewer councillors in future. For Mid Suffolk, that means 34 councillors should be elected to the council in future: a reduction of six. And for Babergh, 31 councillors should be elected to represent the area in future: a reduction of twelve from the current arrangements. The Commission now needs information from local people and groups to help it to produce a new pattern of wards to accommodate councillors across both districts. In drawing up new boundaries, the Commission aims to deliver electoral equality for voters in district council elections so that each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters. The review also aims to ensure that the new council wards reflect, as far as possible, the interests and identities of communities across the districts. Professor Colin Mellors, Chair of the Commission, said: “We are asking local people and organisations to help us draw up new wards for Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils. As we develop the recommendations for each council, we will take into account local community identities as well as ensuring electoral equality for voters. “If you have a view about which communities or neighbourhoods should be part of the same council ward, then we want to hear from you. And if you think a road, river or railway makes for a strong boundary between communities in your part of your district, then this consultation is for you. Alternatively, if you’re simply interested in the way your council is run, just log on to our website to explore our interactive maps and have your say. “Your views will make a difference. “We will carefully consider all evidence that is provided during this phase of the review whoever it is from and whether it applies to the whole of your district or just a small part of it.