Chairman
Mrs Valerie Couldridge
01449 781047 |
Vice Chairman
Mrs Jeannie Hutchinson
01449 781320 |
Councillor
Mrs Beryl Ellis
01449 780007 |
Councillor
Mrs Pauline Bridges
01449 780000 |
Councillor
Mr David Williams
01449 781645 |
Councillor
Mr James Hanlon
07740 053849 |
Councillor
Mrs Beryl Halliday
01449 781682 |
Mid Suffolk District
& Suffolk County
Councillor
Mr Andrew Stringer
01449 780339 |
Parish Clerk: Colin Hall, Highberry Fields, Mill Road, Cotton, Suffolk IP14 4QL
Tel: 01449 781400 Email Parish Clerk |
COTTON PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Clerk, Highberry Fields, Mill Road, Cotton, Suffolk, IP14 4QL
COUNCIL MEETINGS
The next meeting of Cotton Parish Council will be held on Wednesday 10th March at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall. All are welcome.
Minutes of meeting of Cotton Parish Council
Held on Wednesday 11th November 2009 in Cotton Village Hall
Present:
Chairma - Mrs Couldridge
Councillors - Bridges Ellis Halliday Hanlon Hutchinson Williams
Parish Clerk - Colin Hall
SCC &MSDC Councillor - Andrew Stringer
Parish Plan Steering Group - Mr Doherty
Chairman of the Village Hall Committee & 1 member of the public
1. Apologies for absence
There were no apologies for absence.
2. Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3. Introduction by Chairman
The Chairman welcomed members of the public to the meeting saying that the meeting would be adjourned after agenda item 5 to allow them to address the meeting on any agenda item. The Chairman of the steering group would address the meeting on agenda item 7 and Mr Doherty Chairman of the Village Hall Committee would speak on agenda item 8.Councillor Couldridge then said that she would bring agenda item 7 forward so as not to detain members of the Parish Plan Steering Group too long. Councillor Stringer would present his reports after agenda item 11.
4. To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on the 7th October 2009 were approved and signed by the Chairman.
5. Matters arising from the meeting held on 7th October 2009
a) Parish Web site.
The clerk reported that a request for a volunteer to take over the running of the web site is to be place in the Cotton Quarterly newsletter and the Parish magazine.
b) Councillor Couldridge reported that the MSDC survey on the quality of their service to Parish Councils had been completed and returned.
6. Parish Plan
Mr Bertoloni formerly handed over the Parish Plan, final report and accounts to the Council. He said that the Steering Group had followed the framework provided by Suffolk Acre. Funding had come from the Parish Council, Suffolk County Council & Awards for all, there was a small residue which had been given to the Village Hall Committee to help any new groups set up their activities in the village hall.
Councillor Couldridge then thanked the Steering Group and all their helpers for all their efforts in completing the plan.
7. Planning
Ref:- 2892/09 Demolition of brick flat roofed outbuilding & construction of garage to provide storage for collection of classic cars. Access will be alongside existing garage by existing driveway. Rainbow Cottage, Fords Green. Councillors studied the plans submitted for the proposed development and felt that they were inaccurate and too confusing to make a considered judgement. However from the information available the Parish Council felt that the provision for storing classic cars would be better further back on the site and separated from the main building.
8. Village Hall improvements
Mr. Doherty informed the Council that the village hall is still in need of improvement. The installation of the new heating system requires completion, the kitchen need modernizing, new wiring is needed and a storage area for tables and chairs is to be provided. He also said that problems are developing in the old structure which will need addressing in the near future. Councillor Couldridge said that the Parish Council should request funds from MSDC under their Cultural & Community Services grant and the Recreational Social Infrastructure Fund.
(planning policy H4 section 106). S.C.C. Councillor Stringer may have funds available from his Locality Budget, we will know by the end of December or early January. The Clerk said that funds may also be available from the National Lottery and he would make inquiries as to their availability. He requested that the Village Hall Committee provide quotations for all the work to be carried out on the village hall.
9. Quality Council
Councillor Couldridge asked if now that all Councillors had had the opportunity to read the information on becoming a Quality Council they would like to pursue the matter. She said that Councillors would be involved in more Parish Council activities. Councillors’ Hanlon and Hutchins both said that they are in favour but Councillor Williams felt that it would make no difference to the Parish. Asked for his opinion about the advantages of Quality Council Status SCC/MSDC Councillor Stringer said that Quality Council status would make accessing funding from MSDC & SCC easier.
Councillor Couldridge proposed the Parish Council should aim to meet the criteria irrespective of whether they apply for full quality status in the future.
A vote was taken with 6 Councillors in favour with one abstention.
10. Finance
a) Newsletter
A meeting has been held between the Parish Council, Carter’s Meadow Trust, Village Hall Committee and the Friends of Cotton Church, to discuss the financing of the Cotton Quarterly Newsletter. It was agreed that as the provision of a newsletter is one of the requests made in the Parish Plan that the Parish Council should fund the publication costs. This would commence in the new financial year up until then the cost will be divided between the four organizations, half from the Parish Council the remainder split between the other organisations.
b) Allotment Grant
The Parish Council agreed to grant the Cotton Town Land Charity £200.00 towards the installation of a water supply to the allotments in Cock Road. SCC Councillor Stringer has also arrange a grant from his locality budget.
c) The Clerk said that the budget allowance for training would need revising as Councillors will need to attend more training sessions.
d) A finance meeting to discuss the new requirements of the Council will be held in December.
11. Any other business
The Council request the Clerk to write to Mark Hewitt and express their thanks for his efforts in setting up the newsletter.
SCC/MSDC Councillor Stringer reported that in conjunction with Genesis Orwell Mencap unwanted bicycles from landfill sites are now being used to train people with learning difficulties to repair & refurbish these machines which will then be used for a variety of schemes. The new bridge over the railway in Stowmarket is due to be finished in June 2010, the parapets will contain images of Stowmarket’s industrial past & present. The County Council has large sums of money from the Section 106 Agreement, which some Councillors say they don’t know what to do with. He said that MSDC had adopted a “No Casino” policy. The Council are looking to lease private sector housing to MSDC tenants. This would mean leasing housing for five years. MSDC would be responsible for finding tenants and maintaining the properties.
PCSO Johnson sent a written report in which he stated that there had been no reported crimes in Cotton since the 16th September. The Community Speed Watch scheme is back up and running.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm
Chairman………V.Couldridge Date…13th January 2010
Chairman
- Valerie Couldridge, Lime tree Farm, Parkers Road
Tel: 01449 781047
Vice Chairman
- Jeannie Hutchinson, Ghyll House, Cock Road
Tel: 01449 781320
Clerk to the Council
- Colin Hall, Highberry Fields, Mill Road,
Tel: 01449 781400
Councillors
- Pauline Bridges, 14 Mill Road
Tel: 01449 780000
- Beryl Ellis, Elm Grove Bungalow, Mill Road,
Tel: 01449 780007
- David Williams, Rasecroft, Mendlesham Road,
Tel: 01449 781645
- James Hanlon, Wisteria Cottage, Mendlesham Road,
Tel: 01449 782925
- Beryl Halliday. Tanglewood, Mill Hill, Cotton.
Tel: 01449 781682