Minutes of the Marlesford Parish Council meeting, held on
Wednesday 26th November 2025, 7.00pm, in the Marlesford Community Centre.
- Present
- Chair Richard Cooper, Cllr Sophie Franklin, Cllr S Barker & Cllr J Ford
- In Attendance
- 5 members of the public and the Clerk.
Open Forum
Member of the public, raised the problem of lorries parking up in the service road along side Hill House. The lorries are mainly going to and from Sizewell and should not be parking in the service road as they are blocking residents driveways. Residents have raised complaints to Sizewell C and now “No Lorries Parking” signs have now been installed. The Chairman informed that he will raise the problem at the Southern Transport Forum next week.
Member of the public would like to know what has been sorted out regarding the use of sandbags for the village? The Chairman advised that the district council is no longer issuing sandbags to prevent flooding. They recommend using flood boards at entrances to properties instead. He will send a notice around on the village email advising of the new recommendations.
Member of the public reported that there is a great deal of noise pollution every day coming from the Park & Ride site, up until 1am. Chairman will report this also at the Transport Forum.
Member of the public reported that Ford Road is being used as an early morning rat run, it is a Quiet Lane, vehicles are travelling in excess of the 20mph limit. She will continue to monitor and keep the Chair informed.
The Chair thanked the members of the public for the issues raised, the PC will do its best to address them all.
1. Apologies for Absence
Cllr Heather McConville – health reasons. Apology approved by the PC SCC Cllr Stephen Burroughes and ESC Cllr Sally Noble.
The Chairman reported that Sam Catling has resigned as a parish councillor. Therefore, there are now 2 vacancies on the parish council. He will put a notice on the village email to notify of the vacancies. The Chair took the opportunity to thank Cllr. Catling for his long and dedicated service to Marlesford Parish Council.
2. Declaration of Interests
None
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting Held on Friday 29th August 2025
Approved by all proposed Cllr Ford, seconded Cllr Franklin. The minutes were signed by the Chair.
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes
- Update on Local Government reorganisation. The Chairman reported that the consultation has now started and will run until January 2026. He and Cllr Barker are working on forming a submission to the consultation on behalf of the PC.
- Flooding in Marlesford. See Open Forum, flood boards.
- Old Minute Books. The Chair informed that so far the old minute books have not been found. Cllr Franklin will continue to search at Marlesford Hall, suggest asking Roger Waterfall, previous Chair if he has any idea where the minute books might be stored. The Clerk to contact the records office at Ipswich to see if the books are archived there.
5. To Co-opt a New Member onto Marlesford Parish Council to Fill the Vacancy of the Late Lord Marlesford
No applications. Hopeful to be able to co-opt a new councillor at the February meeting.
6. Assertion 10 – New Regulations for Website Accessibility and Council/Councillor Email Addresses
The Clerk reported that this new regulation will need to be adopted by the Parish Council in time for next year's audit. Accessibility will need to be enhanced for the village website in line with the regulations enabling accessibility to all. The website must take on a new .gov domain name and alongside this all councillors and the clerk must be issued with their own .gov parish council email address. Website host Suffolk Cloud can run an accessibility check on the current website and carry out all the improvements needed which will help create a smoother more inclusive online experience for all users, along with the benefit of new email addresses. The cost for the accessibility check and new email addresses is likely to be approx. £500. Suffolk Cloud can also carry out accessibility monitoring of the website throughout the year to ensure that the website continues to remain accessible and compliant. There will be a cost for this also. The Clerk asked the PC that they consider Suffolk Cloud manage the accessibility for the PC, as she does not have the technical expertise to carry out the accessibility requirements. Cllr Ford advised that she may be willing to manage the accessibility once Suffolk Cloud has made the site compliant, but will wait to see what is involved.
The PC agreed that the Clerk should instruct Suffolk Cloud to go ahead.
7. Finance
- Monthly Payments Schedule September and October. September no payments or receipts. October payments £842.40, no receipts. The schedule was approved and signed by the Chair.
- Statement of Accounts. Bank balances as at 31/10/25, Barclays Community Account £7103.25 inc. £319.81 CILs and £150 traffic monitoring money. Business Premium Account £870.00. The statement of accounts was approved by all and signed by the Chair. The Chair recommends to include on the next agenda, transfer of funds from the Business account into the Current account.
- SALC – Invoices to pay
- 6 months payroll service to 30 September 2025, £22.80
- Councillor training for Cllr Ford, £79.20.
- To Consider a Gesture of Good Will to the Village Resident who Kindly Carries out Voluntary Grass and Hedge Cutting and General Tidiness of the Village. The Chair asked Councillors if they are happy for the parish council to do the same as last year and to give the gentleman a £100 Amazon voucher, agreed. Chair to purchase and pay for the gift voucher, Clerk will then transfer him the money from the PC account. All agreed that the work which the gentleman carries out in the village is greatly appreciated.
- Clerks Expenses – Invoice to pay. Clerks quarterly expenses to November 2025, £12.60. All the above payments were approved, proposed Chair, seconded Cllr Franklin.
- Clerks Annual Pay Increase April 2025 to March 2026 – National Association of Local Councils. Chair reported that the Clerk should be paid in line with the other parish council she works for and that the salary is SCP29 on the NALC payscale. Therefore, her new salary will go up to £2479.20 a year. The Clerks pay was noted in the previous minutes and approved by email. Proposed the Chair seconded Cllr Franklin. Will continue to keep the salary in line with the NALC pay scale recommendations going forward. The Clerk thanked the PC for the increase.
- To Consider the Draft Precept Budget for April 2026 – March 2027. The draft precept budget has been circulated to all ahead of the meeting. The Chair explained that in previous years the Clerks salary had been underestimated due to the fact that NALC sends through the annual recommended pay increase scales after the precept budget is set. Therefore, the Clerks salary has been corrected for the forthcoming year to take into account the NALC pay increase which the PC are advised of in September. It was agreed that the Countryside Charity subscription will be removed. The Chair explained the rest of the precept budget and calculations. It was agreed to set the precept budget for the forthcoming year to £7013.00, proposed Cllr Barker, seconded the Chair. The cost per Marlesford household for the Parish Council precept is £75.41. For the purpose of the external auditors the Parish Council reserves were highlighted as follows; Earmarked reserves £1650.00, Highways and other Maintenance costs. £318.91 CILs. Unallocated reserves £3,390.00. General allocated reserves for the current financial year 2025-2026 as at 31/10/25 £2613.00. The Chair reported that the PC has been quoted £1,430.84 for the replacement finger post at Buttons Lane/New Road. The cost to be paid out of the earmarked reserves. The Clerk to instruct SCC to raise an invoice to the PC for payment.
8. Reports from Parish Representatives
Energy Projects – The Chair reported that the Southern Park & Ride will partially open in January 2026. Be aware that there will be major road works on the B1078 between Wickham Market & Coddenham. Traffic monitoring took place in Marlesford during April, August and October this year. The Chair thanked Cllr Barker for his technical help and support relating to the Sea Link communications, (the Sea Link transformer links from Saxmundham down to Kent). Lion Link to install another interconnector in 4/5 years time.
SALC – Cllr Barker attended a recent Zoom meeting which covered the local government review and electing of SALC representative.
Planning – None.
Footpaths & Access – Vacancy for a representative. The Chair informed that the Footpath from Marlesford to 5 Ways is in negotiations. East Suffolk Council are engaging in this and a representative is coming to Marlesford to walk the route of the new path. There is also good support from Sizewell C, Suffolk County Council and the local MP. The PC is unable to fund the new path but it is hoped that funding will come from Sizewell C and Sea Link.
Highways – The Chair reported that the HGV sign which directs HGVs has been cleared of vegetation. HGVs should now see that the sign clearly directing them to drive along Buttons Lane. 30mph roundels have also been installed along Buttons Lane, the majority of the cost to be paid out of Cllr Stephen Burroughes Locality Budget. Clerk to pass on the thanks on behalf of the PC to Cllr Burroughes. A12 mitigation to start work in March 2026. This will include 3 crossing points along the A12 one of which will be signalised. New footpaths through the village. Reduction from 40mph speed limits down to 30mph along the A12.
Framlingham and Wickham Market Community Partnership – Cllr Frankin informed that she hopes to attend the next meeting.
9. Marlesford Parish Council Standing Orders to Review and Approve
The standing orders have been circulated to all ahead of the meeting. Clerk to seek clarification from SALC regarding decision making at a PC meeting, can the PC specifically make a unanimous decision if the item is not on the agenda? It was agreed that a more detailed look is needed at the Standing Orders before approving them.
10. Date of Next Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 17th February 2026, 7pm and Tuesday 19th May 2026, AGM 7pm.
Meeting ended at 8.52pm.
Chair signature………………………………………………… Date……………………….