Draft Minutes of the Marlesford Parish Council meeting, held on
Monday 29th November 2021, 7.00pm, in the Marlesford Community Centre.
- Present
- Chairman Lord Marlesford, Vice Chairman Roger Waterfall, Cllr Diana Howard, Cllr Lesley Bensley & Cllr Richard Cooper
- In Attendance
- The Clerk.
Apologies for Absence
Cllr Sam Catling, Cllr Heather McConville SCC Stephen Burroughes, ESC Carol Poulter.
Declaration of Interests
None
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting Held on Friday 27th August 2021 - To Consider the Approval
The minutes were approved correct by the council and signed by the Chairman, proposed Cllr Bensley, seconded Cllr Waterfall.
Matters Arising from the Minutes
- SEND. Clerk to chase a response from SCC Burroughes.
- Planning. Cllr Waterfall advised that oak hard wood windows were installed in Meadow Cottage and not plastic. Happy that the windows have been replaced sympathetically.
B-17 Solar Farm, Old Airfield, Parham - Community Benefit for the Communities
Cllr Waterfall reported that a cash offer from Low Carbon/developers to Gt Glemham, Parham and Marlesford Parishes is as good as is likely to get. However no consideration has been given to inflation. The planning application has been approved by ESC for solar panels up to 3 mtrs high, however the panels may in fact only be 2 mtrs high. High screening will not be technically practical if it shaded the southside of the panels. Cllr Waterfall suggests that the application is unsatisfactory as far as Marlesford is concerned as it intrudes into the sensitive landscape to the east of the Great Glemham road. He will draft a response to ESC.
Finance
- Statement of Accounts & CILs – Current Situation. Bank balances as at 29th November 2021, Barclays Community Account £10,945.60 inc. £5319.81 CIL money, Business Premium Account £839.61. The statement of accounts was approved by all and was signed by Cllr Howard. Cllr Bensley suggests that a public meeting could be called to invite ideas on the CIL spend. Cllr Waterfall suggests that the money might be used to fund repairs to the flint wall round the churchyard which has seriously deteriorated with gaps in places. The Clerk to clarify on how CILs can be spent. The Clerk gave the councilors copies of the Spend Against Budget to date. Cllr McConville has carried out a recent internal audit of the accounts and all is satisfactory.
- Clerks Pay & Expenses – Invoices to pay. Clerks pay £383.90 and expenses £25.20, approved for payment, proposed the Chairman seconded Cllr Waterfall.
- Clerks Annual Pay Increase & Working from Home Payment. NALC has advised of a 1.75% increase to Clerks pay as from April 2021. Therefore the Clerks salary to go up to £1678.87. It was agreed by all to raise the Clerks working from home pay to £250 a year, proposed Cllr Bensley seconded Cllr Waterfall. The Clerk thanked the Parish Council. Cllr Waterfall recommends that a hard drive should be purchased to back up the Clerks computer. It was agreed that Cllr Bensley will look into the alternatives available.
- To Consider a Gesture of Good Will to the Village Resident who Kindly Carries out Voluntary Grass & Hedge Cutting and General Tidiness of the Village. It was agreed by all that the village resident should be acknowledged for his hard work, as he does a great job. It was agreed by all £100 to be spent, Cllr Waterfall to make the purchase of the gift.
- Suffolk.Cloud website hosting - Invoice to pay. Website hosting for the year £110.00.
- SALC Payroll Service – Invoice to Pay. 6 month payroll service, £22.80. The above 3 payments were approved by all, proposed Cllr Waterfall seconded Cllr Howard.
- To consider the Precept Budget for April 2022 to March 2023. The Clerk had forward a draft to all prior to the meeting for consideration. Cllr Waterfall advised that the Quiet Lanes budget could be reduced from £600 to £200. The PC has adequate general reserves and also £3559.00 earmarked reserves which will be saved for improvement works at the Community Centre. Some money to be contributed to the Marlesford Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Chairman suggests that the precept should be kept the same as last year £4500.00, but Cllr Waterfall recommends that the precept is put up by 3% to take in consideration inflation, £4700.00. It was agreed by all to set the precept at £4700.00 for the forthcoming year, proposed Cllr Waterfall seconded Cllr Cooper.
To Receive Reports from East Suffolk District Councillor Carol Poulter & Suffolk County Councillor Stephen Burroughes
The District Councillors report had been forward to all prior to the meeting. This included the Cycling Strategy report which is proposing a safe route into Wickham Market from Campsea Ashe, Hacheston & Parham. The County Council report had only been emailed to the Clerk this evening, therefore Councillors did not have time to consider the report.
To Commemorate the Queens Platinum Jubilee June 2022
Cllr Waterfall informed that the Community Centre will be organising a street party. A community orchard might be considered as a lasting legacy. The Chairman suggests that every resident could be given a commemorative mug. Suffolk County Council is getting the price of a County mug which would have the Royal Arms and village name printed onto it.
Sizewell C - To Include Four Village Bypass (SEGway) & Proposals for Park and Ride at Wickham Market
Cllr Cooper has forward the briefing notes to all in advance of his meeting with Declan Burke (Director, BEIS – Nuclear Projects and Development) which should have taken place but had to be postponed until January 2022 due to Covid. Cllr Cooper reported as follows;
DCO Update - The examination of the EDF application for Sizewell C has now concluded and PINS are preparing their report for the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng). He will receive the report in January and he has until mid-April to announce his decision on whether SZC will be granted Development Consent.
A12 Mitigation - On 18th November. I had a further meeting with EDF and SCC on the proposals for A12 mitigation in Marlesford and Little Glemham. In summary, the following proposals have been included in the Deed of Obligation (similar to a s106 agreement for a normal planning application). Their inclusion in the DoO gives some certainty to their delivery, but the proposals are still subject to satisfactory site investigations and approval of the final plans by SCC. EDF has confirmed that they will be able to monitor HGV and bus speeds via their Delivery Management System and in addition, community concerns can be raised through the Transport Review Group.
- The existing 40 mph speed limit through Marlesford will be reduced to 30 mph. The existing 40 mph limit will now start further to the south, so that northbound traffic is slowed as it approaches the point where the two carriageways merge into one to allow the north-bound traffic from the Southern Park and Ride to join the A12. The existing Lt Glemham 30 mph limit will be extended slightly further north from the village to accommodate deceleration of southbound traffic entering the village. Marlesford should get two pedestrian crossings. One will be signalised and will be located roughly in the area of the bus stops. The second will be a “refuge” type crossing and will be located between the Marlesford Road and Ashe Road junctions. Little Glemham should get a signalised crossing in the vicinity of the Old Post Office. New footways will be provided along the A12 through Marlesford.
- There is now a commitment to provide “quiet road surfacing” through both Marlesford and Lt Glemham. EDF have not agreed (as I had requested) that they provide a commuted sum to SCC to maintain the surface for a further 15 years beyond the completion of construction.
- There is a commitment to provide limited improvements to the Bell Lane junction, but these are likely to be minor as EDF and SCC argue that technically, visibility is not an issue and safety will improve as a result of the 30 mph limit.
- Still under discussion is the need for baseline studies of noise, air quality and vibration.
EDF has not agreed to:
- Align the Two Village Bypass to ensure that it can be connected with a future bypass of Marlesford and Lt Glemham.
- Provision of a new pedestrian and cycle path from Marlesford to the Fiveways roundabout.
Southern Park and Ride - On 7th December Wickham, Hacheston, Campsea and Marlesford will meet with EDF to discuss concerns over landscaping and lighting. EDF and ESC have confirmed that the local communities will have no formal input into the detailed application to be made for the SP&R (matters of detail will be determined by ESC rather than through the DCO process). We are fighting this and Dan Poulter has asked questions of ESC on our behalf, but has got essentially the same answers as we got.
Four Village Bypass - I continue to argue for the FVB, or at least a satisfactory alignment of the Two Village Bypass to allow for future connection. We need political intervention to get the Government and SCC to accept the need and take the opportunity to partner with EDF to deliver the full bypass solution.
The Chairman thanked Cllr Cooper for all his work and high level of expertise.
Scottish Power North Sea Wind Farms
Cllr Cooper informed that as far as the Scottish Power Renewables Friston applications are concerned, they are now with Kwasi Kwarteng to make a decision. Since the Examination closed National Grid Ventures has started consultation on a further substation (Nautilus) for an interconnector from Belgium. Although not yet confirmed, it is likely that this will also be sited at Friston.
Reports from Parish Representatives
- SALC – Cllr Bensley was unable to attend the meeting on 30th September.
- Firs Bowling Green – Cllr Waterfall advised that he has nothing to report since submitting to the Land Registry.
- Footpaths & Access – Cllr Catling has not submitted a report.
- Highways - Cllr Howard has nothing to report. Cllr Waterfall suggested, further to the letter received from the gentleman who had the cycling accident at the Ford, that he draft a letter to Highways so ask them if they are going to put up a sign at the Ford to say “Cyclists Dismount”. Cllr Cooper suggested that if the faded signs are replaced this should provide adequate warning to road users and there should be no need for the “Cyclists Dismount” sign. Cllr Waterfall agreed to write to Highways to advise that the signs are faded and should be replaced with new, clearer signs for driver and cyclist safety reasons.
- Website – Cllr Howard has nothing to report.
- Environmental Dimension of all other Policies – Cllr Sam Catling has not submitted a report.
Correspondence
- Framlingham/Wickham Market Community Partnership Cllr Cooper advised that the district councillor would very much like Marlesford to be part of the partnership. He is happy to be the parish representative. The Clerk to inform Cllr Poulter. Funding would be available to the village. Cllr Bensley suggests that a village meeting is held to welcome ideas/views on how residents would like to see any money spent. An article could be put into the village newsletter to welcome ideas.
- East Suffolk Consultations on Supplementary Planning Documents and the Draft Cycling and Walking Strategy. Already dealt with earlier.
- SCC Highways Report 335486 Ford Road, Marlesford – The Ford. Already dealt with earlier.
Any Other Business
- Treebilee. ESC has informed that they have trees available to mark the Queens Platinum Jubilee.
Date of Next Parish Council Meeting
Friday 25th February 2022. Meeting ended at 8.45pm
Signed ……………………………………………… (Chairman) Date ………………………………