Parish meeting

Minutes of Meetings

MINUTES OF AN ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2009

COMMENCING AT 7.45PMIN THE VILLAGE INSTITUTE, HIGHAM ROAD, STRATFORDST M

	Present:

	Bill Davies (Chairman); Chris Jukes; Michelle Claridge; Norman Woodard; Trevor Bellis; Jayne Baldwin (Parish Clerk); Alison Looser (Suffolk Wildlife Trust); Michael Gotelee (Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust); June Wright, Teacher and Isabella Santini (Stratford St Mary Primary School); County Councillor David Yorke-Edwards; District Councillors Gerald White and Sue Carpendale.

	Members of the Public: 14

1.	Apologies:

	Peter Woods; Roger Barrell (Vice-Chairman).

	The Chairman welcomed our County Councillor, District Councillors and members of the public to the meeting. He then went on to introduce the members of the Parish Council.

2.	Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 24 April 2008.

	The Chairman summarised the Minutes and there being no comment from either the public or Councillors, the Minutes were approved.

3.	Chairman's Report

	The Chairman gave an overview of the past year's activities as detailed below: -

	·	Graham Pearce was co-opted on to the Parish Council, replacing Brian Allison who resigned.

	·	Local Government Review – The Parish Council organised a meeting on 5 August last year to discuss the options for unitary authorities in Suffolk. The meeting was well attended by parishioners. There were two options available. One was for a unitary authority for the whole of Suffolk and the other was for 2 authorities incorporating Ipswich/Felixstowe and the surrounding rural areas and the other authority for the rest of Suffolk. Parishioners agreed that they would prefer an authority for the whole of Suffolk. Responses went to Babergh District Council who then reported to the Boundary Commission. Results were due to be announced by 13 February 2009 but following a High Court challenge elsewhere, this has been put back to 15 July 2009.

	·	Black Horse Pub – Following the lengthy problems with the tenants of the Black Horse and an article in the East Anglian Daily Times, they were finally evicted in September last year and a new landlord was appointed. The pub is currently being restored to its original paintwork and interior.

	·	Hall Farm Shop won the Best Farm Shop in Suffolk 2008 as voted for by readers of the East Anglian Daily Times.

	·	A12 Diversion – Nov/Dec 2008 and Jan 2009 – A meeting was arranged on 12 January by the Parish Council which was attended by members of the Police, the Highways Agency, WS Atkins, Suffolk Council County and over 90 members of the public. Many questions were raised and inadequate answers given. Following the meeting, the Stratford St Mary Traffic Action Group was formed to help support the Parish Council in its efforts to stop the village being used as a diversion route. Efforts are still on-going.

	·	Pavements at junction with Tally Ho and Upper Street – These pavements were widened in December 2008.

	·	Millennium Avenue Trees – The old supports and plaques have been removed to make way for new shorter stakes and replacement plaques where necessary. This should be done before the end of the summer.

	·	A new bench is to be installed by the A12 underpass and the bench that was previously outside the Post Office/shop is to be repainted and will be sited between the Church and Hall Farm.

	·	Gun Hill Garage – This is now D. Hales. Following complaints about their transporters using Upper Street and Lower Street to gain access to Gun Hill, the Parish Council have been given an assurance that these vehicles will now be diverted along the A12 instead. The Parish Council will continue to monitor the situation.

	·	Enquiries were made of Suffolk County Council with regards to the resurfacing of the road between Matthews Close and the Church. The Parish Council was informed that there was no funding available this financial year but funding may be available in 2010/11. We will keep pressing.

	·	Dog fouling continues to be a problem. Parishioners were asked to use the dog waste bins provided and not use the hedgerows and grass verges. Parishioners were also asked to remind their children to clean up after their dogs and to make sure they have bags with them and use the bins as well. This will continue to be monitored.

	·	The condition of the pavements around the village is in a poor state of repair and these are being reviewed.

	·	Enquiries have been made with Suffolk County Council to see if the grass verges in Tally Ho can be replaced with concrete permeable surfaces.

	·	The on-going problem of debris being left at the side of the Weir has been taken up with David Nagg at the Environment Agency and he is also looking into the clearance of the reeds between Lower Street and the A12.

	·	The Parish Council is still pursuing the position of the land that has been fenced off at the former Garage Site in Lower Street and as and when an outcome is decided, the Parish Council will inform parishioners.

	·	Several planning applications were received throughout the year and the Parish Council held public meetings, the main ones were: -
	·
	·	(1)	Access Accounting - This was for the erection of staff recreation, research and development centre and associated landscaping works. The Parish Council voted in the majority to refuse the application on the grounds that the car park should be sited at the back of the property; the visual impact to the surrounding houses in an AONB; the effect of additional surface water and foul water drainage; the design of the buildings should be in keeping with the AONB and the impact of further traffic.
	·
	·	(2)	Black Horse Pub – This was for the erection of a bungalow and two-bay car port with the existing barn being demolished. The Parish Council voted unanimously to refuse the application on the grounds that this was an incomplete application as a flood risk assessment had not been undertaken and the risk assessment from 2 years ago had not been addressed as well. The barn could be deemed as listed as it was within the curtilege of the pub. The Landlord had not been notified. The housing needs of the village had not been considered. There was an increased risk of injury to the public when using the pub due to additional traffic movement from the property.
	·
	·	(3)	Homelands – This was the subject of an appeal which was successful. Homelands is to be demolished and 2 new houses are to be built in its place.
	·
	·	The Parish Council has kept the Precept at the same level as last year, which was £13,800, and has not increased it by 1.7% as stated in the recent council tax letter.

	·	The street lights in Strickmere have been recently replaced with new low energy saving lights.

	·	The River Stour Trust has disbanded the Stratford Lock Restoration Committee due to funding and lack of volunteers.

	·	The Friends of Stratford St Mary Church will be holding a scaled-down version of the Constable Country Fair on Saturday 27 June at the Institute. Any offers of help would be greatly appreciated.

	·	Christine Cousins has been recognised for all her hard work and accepted an award from Babergh.

	The Chairman then went on to thank all the Parish Councillors for their support over the last year. He also thanked the Gerald White and Sue Carpendale, our District Councillors and also David Yorke-Edwards, our County Councillor for all their support and regular attendances at the Parish Council meetings. Thank yous also went to Gerald Fox for all his help in keeping the village tidy and also to Brian Allison and Sue Tricker, our litter pickers. Lastly the Clerk was thanked for all her work over the past 12 months.

4.	Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts

	Income from the last financial year has been generated by a Precept of £13,800. This is the money that Babergh District Council provides for us through the Council Tax. Other sources of income have been a VAT refund of £356.81 and interest earned on the Reserve Account of £472.94.

	Major expenditure for this last year, as for other years, has been village maintenance, which amounted to £1,444.88, energy and lighting costs of £1,236.35 and general administration of £6,713.79.

	Annual donations made by the Parish Council this year included the Youth Club, the Parochial Church, East Anglian Air Ambulance, the River Stour Trust and the Royal British Legion.

	With careful monitoring of expenses, the Parish Council have been able to keep to the same precept figure as last year, which was £13,800, but as you will see from your recent Council Tax demands, Babergh have indicated that we asked for a 1.7% increase. I am hoping that the 2010-11 precept figure will be kept at the same level.

	Lettice Dykes Charity Trust

	This Trust was established in 1911 to help assist pupils resident in the beneficial area, to attend schools, classes or educational establishments by payment of fees, travelling or other expenses or maintenance allowances. This fund currently stands at £1,143.96.

5.	Mr Bill Davies, Chairman, Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts

	I am pleased to report that 2008 was another good year for the Institute with income received from hiring the hall totalling £3,417.50, a 26% increase on the previous year. Overall, we had a surplus of income over expenditure of £2,081.16, boosted by a donation of £3,547.56 from our County Councillor’s Locality Budget.

	I said in my 2008 report that our next major project would be to have the outside walls of the Institute repainted. Before this was done some repairs and preparation work was undertaken by Alan Taylor costing £3,547.56 and the walls were painted by volunteers. My thanks go to Charlie Ablitt, Roger Barrell and Simon Blows for getting the job done and to David Yorke-Edwards for his financial contribution towards this project.

	The 100 Club raised £521 last year and we are grateful to all 100 Club members for their contribution towards Institute funds.

	I would like to thank all my Committee members for their support throughout the year, Emily Barrell (Booking Secretary), Bobbie Kite (100 Club Organiser), Archie Carmichael, Fred Harris and Jenny Symons.

	A copy of the accounts can be obtained from the Clerk.

6.	Alison Looser, Suffolk Wildlife Trust

	Alison Looser gave a very informative talk and presentation on the dormouse, which is endangered and a highly protected species which is found in Europe and the UK.

7.	Mrs June Wright, Years 4, 5 and 6 Teacher and Isabella Santini, Year 5 pupil, Stratford St Mary Primary School

	Isabella Santini, a year 5 pupil gave a very informative talk on what the children at the Primary School have been learning about over the last 12 months.

8.	Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman, Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust – Report and Accounts.

	Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust is a woollen cloth Charity that began some 200 years ago and is governed by the rules of the Charity Commission and its need to help those parishioners of the village in times of distress or times when they find themselves in hardship. The Trust is always looking to help people of the village and rely upon others to inform them. The Trust made its usual donations at Christmas to some 33 parishioners.

	Please contact any of the Trustees, Charlie Ablitt, Christine Steward, Nancy Ablitt or Michael Gotelee, all of whom live in the village, if you think that the Trust may be able to help you or someone you know. The Parish Clerk has all the details along with a copy of the audited accounts of the Trust.

9.	Mrs Emily Barrell – Report on the Youth Club

	Thank you very much for asking us to submit a report to the Annual Parish Meeting of Stratford St Mary. We have had a notable year, winning the Presidents Award from Young Suffolk for our innovative robotics project which has been ably run by John Hillyard, a parent and committee member at the club.

	We have seen a change of our youth club worker, and for the first time we have had two youth workers to support our teens. Luke does a capable job as senior Youth Worker and manages and plans for the club nights, and generally ensures everything runs well. Yvette is an up and coming Youth Worker with a great deal of enthusiasm and drive, who we very much hope will step into the Senior role when Luke goes off to University next year.

	Right now in the Youth sector there is quite a lot of funding available to support activities in a club like ours. We also have very capable and enthusiastic youth workers, and a healthy balance in club funds and resources. However, we also have a smaller teen membership list due in part purely to demographics, which has led to a smaller body of parents to call on to support the management committee. This has meant that we have been running with a skeleton management committee this year and most of these parents have children who are now outgrowing the club.

	The net result is that we will have to look very hard next year at whether we can continue to run the club, due purely to a lack of volunteers. It would be very sad to close or suspend the club due to this, and it is a challenge we are looking at very closely.

	The club has earmarked a date in July to hold a community campout on the Institute Field on the second weekend in July. As we do struggle to find volunteers from our own parents to help run the event, we will not be able to run this unless community members and another group would like to jointly run the event. If anyone is interested in helping to make this event happen, please do get in contact.

10.	Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch Report

	Bill Davies reported that again Stratford St Mary has a very low crime rate compared to other surrounding villages and that Suffolk as a whole has the second lowest crime rate in the country. He reiterated on keeping things safe by making sure doors and windows were locked and that personal property was properly secured and marked for identification purposes. Any resident can register with Police Direct who will advise them of what is happening in their area.

11.	Mr Norman Woodard, Chairman of the Friends of Stratford St Mary Church

	There is still no Rector for the Church, but interviewing is taking place this Wednesday.

	Like all charities, the Friends are struggling to attract funds in the current climate. The last thing on peoples mind is the church.

	When it’s gone they will lament its loss, but it is a facility that can be done without until a wedding, christening or funeral is required.

	The church has been part of the village for 700 years, but without attention it will not survive forever.

	The Friends is a non-religious organisation collecting funds to maintain and improve the church facilities.

	We are currently trying to get the work started to put a loo in the building, hoping this will lead to the church being used for more community based activities.

	We would like to remove the pews and fit comfortable seats that can be moved to make room for events.

	There are 96 members of the Friends on our register, but 31 of these have not paid their current subscriptions. I know times are hard but if you can’t afford a fiver then God Help You.

	Getting support for events is also proving difficult, the Summer Fair, taking place on 27 June, will be much smaller than in the past. It will consist of craft and food stalls, an entertainment tent with bands and a disco, side shows, bouncy castle, children’s rides, Punch and Judy, face painting, vintage motor cycles and a dog show.

	In the evening there will be a barn dance and hog roast.

	Admission including the barn dance will be £3 for adults, £1 for children with free parking, so a very cheap day out.

	We need more sponsors. Access, Terry Jeffery and Milsoms have come up trumps again, but most of our village businesses have ignored the request for even a fiver to support the program. You would not believe we have three pubs in the village plus the owner of a Dedham pub; they want our custom but do not want to support the village.

	The open gardens will not take place this year due to the lack of gardens offered.

	We are holding a summer ball at the Talbooth marquee on Friday September 4^th. The price will be £40 per ticket. Considering other charities are charging £55 for a similar event this is a bargain, but if we do not get enough support we will not make anything.

12.	Councillor Gerald White – District Councillor’s Report.

	This is a two member ward so Sue Carpendale and I are sharing the report.

	I serve as a member of the Development and Licensing and Appeals Committees. I also represent the Council on the South Suffolk Leisure Trust and Ipswich & District Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

	Financial: Over the past six years Babergh has kept its intention of keeping Council Tax increases at or below the rate of inflation. The 2009/10 increase in the Babergh part of the Council Tax is 2.9% - or about 7p more per week.

	We have maintained our position of having the second lowest Council Tax of any district in Suffolk (£134.96 for a Band D property) and remain the lowest 20% nationally for Borough/District Councils. It is projected that Babergh will have collected circa 99% of Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates and housing rent by 31^st March 2009.

	The economic downturn has produced a loss of £700k in both returns from investment and other incomes but in spite of this we have been able to target an extra £141k towards priority services and projects.

	We are expected to deliver cashable efficiencies of about £800k and have also invested nearly £6.7m in capital projects including £3.7m on Council housing improvements.

	Housing: 83 new affordable homes have been completed since the start of the 2008/09 financial year. 755 new homes have been added to the affordable housing delivery pipeline since 1^st April 2004. The five-year target of 700 new homes has been exceeded and a new target will be used from 1^st April 2009.

	14 private affordable rent agreements have been secured and 5 private dwellings have been returned to occupation through improved grant aid.

	A Choice Based Lettings scheme has been introduced which enables council tenants to benefit from a scheme that advertises vacant council and housing association homes for rent in a similar style to estate agents. Customers have more choice and control over which properties they apply for.

	In November 2008 there were 40 homelessness presentations, which was lower than expected but levels may continue to rise due to the instability of the economic markets. The Homelessness Team has prevented 46 households from becoming homeless through early intervention.

	Babergh’s Strategy Committee approved a reallocation of £230k of the current year’s capital programme to help with fuel poverty issues in council housing. 16 homes had been adapted to meet the needs of older or disabled people since the start of the year.

	Planning: New planning legislation was introduced from 1^st October that may impact on householders who are proposing to alter or extend their properties. The ‘permitted development’ allowances that were based upon cubic content calculations for extensions has been replaced by an impact based approach. The former class that related to hard surfaces has also been revised and now limits the surface area that may be paved to the front of a dwelling to a maximum of five square metres unless it is made of a porous material.

	A total of 1469 planning applications were received during the year. This was 25% down on the same period last year. The decline came during the last 6 months. This appeared to follow the economical downturn. There was no corresponding decline in the number of visits to planning reception and telephone calls received.

	88.2% of decisions were made by delegated powers. 49 appeals were determined, of which 19 were allowed.

	Around 1000 Building Regulation applications were processed with 755 approved within 5 weeks from deposit. Approximately 9500 site inspections were carried out across the authority on all types of building sites.

	Licensing & Appeals: The licensing team has processed over 2000 Licence applications/notices and continue to have not a single appeal or legal challenge on any licensing decision.

	The Council has concluded a complex policy change to increase the numbers of hackney carriage (taxi) licences available in the district and abolish an outdated system of ‘zoning’ to try and promote availability, choice and accessibility for the consumer.

	Council has successfully prosecuted a private hire operator for using an unlicensed vehicle and, in a separate case, used powers available to revoke the licence of an existing driver, sending out the clear message that Babergh will enforce the law and prosecute to ensure the protection of the public.

	My regular reports to the Parish Councils, during the year, have additionally included:

	§	Hadleigh Community Facility – new building linked to existing swimming pool.
	§	Social Housing – advanced information of Choice Based Lettings scheme.
	§	Parenting Courses – for parents who may be having problems with troublesome teenagers.
	§	Youth Conference – Theme ‘Uniting Cultures’.
	§	Waste ‘Planning for the future’ seminar.

13.	Councillor Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report.

	Gerald White and I have agreed to share our annual reporting and will each cover part of the overall agenda and corporate objectives from Babergh District Council again this year.

	I continue to serve on the Strategy Committee, and on the EERA Europe and International Affairs Panel.

	A safer and healthier Babergh:
	·		In terms of leisure, given the lack of funds for replacing Hadleigh’s swimming pool, £2m has been earmarked to provide the town with a new leisure facility to be built alongside the existing pool. The Council is currently bidding for funds to improve and refurbish the pool, to try to extend its useful life. The new facility should include dance and fitness areas, and space for social and community use, complete with a stage. There is a delay in progress, to conform to legal requirements relating to the site.
	·		Babergh is one of the first councils in Suffolk to be awarded the Fairplay Playbuilder grant after Government funding of more than £1m was awarded to the County to help develop innovative and challenging play areas for children and young people. £50K is being allocated to Poplar Road in Great Cornard.
	·		This year, there have been several new programmes launched under this corporate objective. They include – as part of the Babergh Community Safety Partnership (CSP) – easy-to-use graffiti removal kits; and a scheme to help more people learn about the harsh realities of domestic violence and abuse. The CSP awarded funding of £3K to the police in a bid to reduce alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour in town centres, and there has been an increased level of pro-active CCTV monitoring.
	·		The Babergh East LSP (Shotley to Hadleigh coverage) funded parenting courses – a series of drop in sessions for parents who feel anxious about troublesome teenagers.
	·		The 2008 youth conference focused on “Uniting Cultures in Babergh” – 12-16 year olds from schools and youth organisations across the district took part in workshops and a vibrant cultural marketplace at an event that aimed at understanding and respecting other cultures.
	·		Babergh officers undertook nearly 500 inspections and regulatory contacts of food premises last year. In 2008 there were two food hygiene prosecutions and one health and safety prosecution at a riding school – all three were successfully prosecuted.

	A cleaner and greener Babergh:
	·		Babergh achieved total recycling rates of 40% between April and November 2008 – a mixture of dry recyclate and composting – we aim to maintain this as a yearly target for next year.
	·		New recycling banks which can cater for waxed, plastic-coated and oil-lined drinks cartons have been installed at the Magdalen Road car park in Hadleigh, and also in Sudbury – these cannot presently be put into our blue bins.
	·		Fewer areas were affected by litter, detritus and graffiti, and Babergh is exceeding its targets in reducing fly-tipping as well – hopefully demonstrating the effectiveness of the new waste contract arrangements. Take-up of the brown bins continues to grow, necessitating a new round to be introduced this year.
	·		The percentage of abandoned vehicles removed within 24 hours reached 90% this year, but there has also been a significant reduction in the number of vehicles being abandoned, thanks to scrap metal prices.

	· A strong and sustainable Babergh economy:
	·		As part of the Haven Gateway Partnership (HGP), Babergh is evaluating the possibility of two dry ports in the area, which could have both environmental and economic benefits. The sites are at the former industrial plant in Brantham, and the ex-sugar beet plant at Sproughton.
	·		The East of England Co-operative Society has acquired the site at Wherstead, protecting this site for economic and commercial use, and adding to the number of organizations head-quartered in Babergh.
	·		More than £83K capital funding was granted to a variety of projects last year, from village hall refurbishments to cricket scoreboards and bowling mats. The grants process has been streamlined – pooling all available monies into a single “pot” to make applications and allocations simpler.
	·		A redundant barn has been converted in the District into a “carbon negative” building, with help from Babergh. A £5K Business Workplace Scheme granted was awarded.
	·		Babergh has self-assessed at achieving a Level 2 target in the Local Government’s Equality standard.

	· Throughout the year, my reports to the Parish Councils have also included:
	·		National bus travel for the 60+.
	·		Very sheltered housing development in Capel St Mary.
	·		Consultations on Local Government Review – a further development on which is expected 19^th March.
	·		Consultations on the core strategy for waste management.
	·		The SWISS centre scheme on the edge of Pinewood.
	·		Proposed changes to airspace over Babergh and East Anglia, and Babergh’s objection to the second runway at Stansted.
	·		BT’s public phone box removal plan.
	·		Proposed developments at the Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury and the Hadleigh pool and proposed leisure facility; free swimming scheme for the young and the 60+.
	·		East of England Regional Plan – and spatial strategy.
	·		Potential funding from the HGP for stimulating economic growth in Babergh.
	·		Retail assessment for Babergh, as part of the Local Development Framework.
	·		New star-rating framework for food businesses, results of which will be on Babergh’s web-site after April 2009.

14.	Councillor David Yorke-Edwards – County Councillor’s Report.

	I have nearly completed four years as your County Councillor and would like to thank you, the parishioners of Stratford St Mary for this opportunity of serving you.

	I believe that Suffolk County Council have had a most successful year.

	The Government’s watchdog, the Audit Commission gave Suffolk the top rating of four stars and said that the authority was “improving well”.

	I was very pleased when Suffolk County Council was able to announce its lowest ever council tax increase of just 2.45% for 2009-10. We felt that in the midst of a severe recession that it was essential to keep the council tax as low as possible without jeopardising essential services.

	I have had a busy year, having been appointed to a number of committees by the Leader of Suffolk County Council.

	I have served on the following: -
	(1)		Adult and Community Services Scrutiny Committee.
	(2)		Customer Service Scrutiny Committee.
	(3)		Health Scrutiny Committee, of which I am Vice Chairman.
	(4)		Audit Committee.

	I also represent the County Council on a number of bodies including: -

	-		Babergh Community Safety Partnership.
	-		Babergh East and Central Neighbourhood Team Tasking Meetings.
	-		Babergh East Local Strategic Partnership.
	-		Eastern Angles Theatre Company.
	-		Suffolk ACRE Management Committee.
	-		Suffolk Association of Local Councils.

	During the financial year I was delighted to have been able to donate to organisations in Stratford St Mary the following sums from my locality budget: -

	Stratford St Mary Village Institute			£3547.56	Improvements to hall.
	Stratford St Mary Parish Council			£315.00	Cupboards and Filing cabinet for Parish Clerk.
	Stratford St Mary Primary School PTA			£592.00	Football Goals and Net Ball Posts.

15.	Parishioners’ Questions and Answers.

	A resident asked whether it would be possible to see recycling in action and Sue Carpendale said that appointments can be made through Waste Management at Babergh District Council.

	A resident also reported that the stile at the Chase was broken and in need of repair.

Close of Meeting

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.50pm. Biscuits, coffee and a prize draw followed this.

MINUTES OF AN ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 23 APRIL 2007
COMMENCING AT 7.45PM IN THE VILLAGE INSTITUTE, HIGHAM ROAD, STRATFORD ST MARY

Present:

Bill Davies (Chairman); Bob Denton; Brian Allison; Barrie Cavendish-Tribe; Chris Jukes; Michelle Claridge; Peter Woods; Jayne Baldwin (Clerk).

John Morris (River Stour Trust); Mrs Bobbi Kite (Stratford St Mary Youth Club); District Councillors Gerald White and Sue Carpendale; County Councillor David Yorke-Edwards.

Members of the Public: 24

1.  Apologies:

Roger Barrell (Vice-Chairman); WPC Jacqui Philpot; Carol Austin; Michael Gotelee.

The Chairman welcomed our County Councillor, District Councillors and members of the public to the meeting. He then went on to introduce the members of the Parish Council.

2.  Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on Monday 24 April 2006.

The Chairman summarised the Minutes and there being no comment from either the public or Councillors, the Minutes were unanimously approved.

3.  Chairman's Report

The Chairman gave an overview of the past year's activities as detailed below: -

•  The Constable County Fair on 3 June was, yet again, a very successful event. Over the last 3 years the Friends of the Church have raised over £50,000 towards restoration of the church. There will be no Fair this year, as Bentley will be holding theirs.
•  On 30 September the Parish Council held a meeting with residents to discuss producing a Parish Plan. 41 residents attended along with representatives from Suffolk Acre. Following a vote there were insufficient volunteers to sit on a Parish Plan Steering Committee and the parish Council along with Suffolk Acre agreed that this should be put into abeyance for future consideration.
•  Stratford St Mary Primary School came top in the league tables for Suffolk for the Key Stage 2 SATS results.
•  The new Dedham surgery was opened in December 2006 in Roman Place, Manningtree Road, Dedham. This was a joint venture between Colne Housing Association and the Dedham Patients Steering Group to provide sheltered housing and a surgery.
•  During the latter part of last year Marine Course the Landlady of the Swan Public House and died and her partner, David Mills had died earlier this year. New tenants, Chris Ayling and his partner had taken over and were in the course of refurbishing the pub. They have had many years in the pub trade and had managed pubs both in Clacton and in the early 1980s ran the Shepherd & Dog at Langham.
•  The Farm Shop saw the opening of their new café/restaurant and has recently applied for an extension to their licensing hours to include evenings. This will not be on a regular basis but is to cater for occasional group bookings. The Parish Council had no objection to the extended hours.
•  Under the new Civil Contingencies Act 2004, all Parish Councils must have an emergency plan in place to deal with any local emergencies. The Parish Council started their planning in mid-2005. Chris Jukes was appointed as the Emergency Officer for the parish and a team of 5 was set up. The final draft of the Plan was approved by the Parish Council in September 2006 and a questionnaire with covering note was distributed to all residences in November 2006. 285 questionnaires were issued and only 101 returned, which was disappointing. The Plan has been published on the Parish Council website and was adopted by Suffolk County Council’s emergency planning forum as an example to be followed by other parishes.
•  The July Parish Council meeting was attended by Richard Davis, Assistant Area Manager from Suffolk County Council and his assistant Julia Cook, Traffic Management Technician to discuss, in particular, speeding through the village and heavy goods vehicles. Nothing positive or conclusive came out of that meeting but police speed checks show Stratford as having a low incidence of speeding cars compared with other parishes. The Parish Council is continuing to monitor this situation.
•  A meeting was organised by Mark and Tracy Lockett with 15 residents in Upper Street attending and agreeing to undertake a survey of HGVs passing through the village between the hours of 6.30am-9am/11am-12pm and 4.30pm-6.pm. This survey was undertaken during the week of 19th March and the results were to be sent off to Suffolk County Council. Unfortunately only ?? HGVs were recorded and a decision was taken not to send the report off.
•  A few weeks ago, Lower Street residents finally got their gutters swept and the drains cleared of debris. Hopefully this will help with the problem of flooding during wet weather.
•  There have been several planning applications during the year, the main one being at 40 Strickmere. Following the appeal hearing in February the application has been declined.
•  In October/November last year walkers had complained about the horses biting when they walked the field by the Weir. Colchester Borough Council had approached Mr Tolhurst who agreed to move the horses and put up notices saying “Do Not Feed Horses”. The inquisitive 2 year old horse was to be sold at a later date.
•  Councillor Michelle Claridge is to investigate the possibility of utilising the river to produce electricity for the village by use of a small scale hydroelectric power generator and she will report further at future Parish Council meetings.
•  6 Councillors have been voted unopposed on to the new council for the next 4 years. 3 more councillors are needed. Please speak to Bill Davies, Chairman or the Parish Clerk, Jayne Baldwin for further details.

Finally, my thanks go to all my fellow Councillors and the Parish Clerk for all their help; Brian Allison and Celia Bellis for litter picking, Dilly Fox for his help in keeping the grassed areas in the village tidy and to David Yorke-Edwards, Gerald White and Sue Carpendale for attending our meetings and helping us to resolve parish council matters.

4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts

Income from the last financial year has been generated by a Precept of £13,300. This is the money that Babergh District Council provides for us through the Council Tax. Other sources of income have been a VAT refund of £631.75 and interest earned on the Reserve Account of £428.15.

Major expenditure for this last year, as for other years, has been general administration, which amounted to £6,271.11, village maintenance, which amounted to £2,130.84 and energy and lighting costs of £1,017.64.

At the start of the financial year, the Parish Council made their annual donations to the River Stour Trust, the East Anglian Air Ambulance, the Royal British Legion and the Parochial Church, to name but a few.

On a positive note, the Clerk was able to save the parish Council some £600. Back in November 2006 the Parish computer had a major virus which practically wiped out the whole computer system. Having made enquiries of SALC, the Parish Clerk was able to obtain a free laptop computer, fully installed with 1 year’s free internet access.

The Parish Council have set this year’s Precept at £13,800.

Lettice Dykes Charity Trust
This Trust was established in 1911 to help assist pupils resident in the beneficial area, to attend schools, classes or educational establishments by payment of fees, travelling or other expenses or maintenance allowances. This fund currently stands at £1,042.03.

A resident raised the question that back in 1992/93 when the lighting system was installed in Upper and Lower Street the County Council had said that they could install this free of charge. Could enquiries be made as to why this has not been done and why does the Parish Council have to pay for lighting and energy maintenance. This will be an agenda item at the May meeting.

5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman, Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts
Our financial position remains stable with total funds at 31/12/06 standing at £9,011.52 (£9,094.43 in 2005) despite a fall in income from lettings and we are grateful to all members of the 100 Club whose subscriptions raised £556 towards our income last year.
Our main item of expenditure was the improvements made to the right hand side store cupboard which consisted of completely removing the old window and replacing it with concrete blocks and four air bricks. The old damp ceiling was removed and replaced with a new foil-backed plasterboard one. The old disused door was removed and replaced with cement blocks and the internal walls were painted.
We have advertised in the Quartet for additional volunteers to join the Committee but so far without success. We will continue to do so, particularly for someone to organise the 100 Club.
I would like to thank all my Committee members for their support throughout the year, Fred Harris, Archie Carmichael, Jenny Symons (100 Club organiser), Emily Barrell (Bookings Secretary), Olive Parker for her stewardship of the 100 Club during the second half of 2006 and to Margaret Kitson for her support for the 100 Club in Jenny’s absence. A copy of the audited Accounts is with the Parish Clerk.

6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust

Mr Gotelee was unable to attend the meeting and the Chairman read out his report, as follows:-

“Once again the Trustees, all of whom live in the village, are very anxious to hear of anyone in the village whom the Trust can benefit. Recently donations have been made in cases of serious illness, hospital travelling or other expenses and additional home requirements.

The Trust also made its usual donations at Christmas to 29 parishioners.

The Trust was set up over 200 years ago for those in need in the parish. It is strictly governed by its Charity Commission rules and it cannot supplement or take the place of Social Security or State Benefits.

Please contact any of the Trustees of whom the Parish Clerk has details if it is thought that the Trust may be able to help you or someone you know. The Trustees try hard but they cannot know all that happens in Stratford St Mary!

The audited accounts of the Trust are with the Parish Clerk”.

7.  Mr John Morris, Chairman, River Stour Trust

For about 40 years, the River Stour Trust (RST) (a charity registered as a limited company) has been working to maintain, improve, and protect the River Stour Navigation. The River Stour below Ballingdon Bridge in Sudbury officially became a navigation in 1705 but nearly lost this status in the mid 20th century.

A current important project of the RST is to restore the historic lock on the edge of the parish of Stratford St Mary. This lock was last restored in the 1930s by the water company that had just received Royal Assent to allow for impounding and extracting water at the site. By the end of the 20th Century, the lock was in a poor state and totally unusable for its primary purpose. The Trust has organised working parties at the site at least once a month (the third Saturday of each month – visitors and volunteers welcome!) since the start of 2006. Using volunteer effort our hope is to completely restore the lock to working condition by the end of 2008. We will need to raise tens of thousands of pounds to achieve this (mainly for new lock gates).

During the late Spring and Summer of 2007 we intend to build a new footbridge to the site, and to restore the 180m lock channel (below the lock) to navigable conditions. We will then seek permission and finance to restore the lock itself and obtain and fit new lock gates.

The RST is working with co-operation from Essex and Suffolk Water; we have also consulted with and sought permission from Colchester Borough Council and the Environment Agency.

For more information please see either of the websites www.riverstourtrust.org and www.riverstour.com or contact John Morris on 01473 822612 RST@the-morrises.net .

8. Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School

Mrs Austin was unable to attend the meeting and the Chairman read out her report as follows:-

“What have been our successes this year?

Our children performed well in the key stage 2 SATS, coming top of the Suffolk Schools league table. We are particularly proud, at Stratford St Mary primary School, that every child is given the opportunity to grow in their confidence and abilities and to exceed expectations.

How are we making sure we are meeting the learning needs of individual pupils?

The school’s SATS results at Key Stage 2 reflect the nature of a small school; we have relatively small groups of children (compared to many schools) in each year group, which means that the success or failure of one child to meet Governmental Targets can lead to as much as 10% change in our school’s score in a league table. This can be misleading to parents. We advise parents not to look solely at league tables but to judge their children’s progress.

We use Fischer Family Trust Data to guide us in our assessment and target setting for every child. Every child has individual learning goals which are monitored by their teacher. We have begun to use a new report system which will facilitate cross team monitoring of each child’s progress. The Head teacher and Governors set rigorous targets with the local authority based on individual and group attainment.

Time is specially allocated for the Head teacher to overview every child’s progress in the form of teaching in every classroom, getting to know each child, their abilities, and how they learn best. This gives the Head teacher an excellent basis to evaluate and target support most effectively. Pupils who are identified as potentially needing extra support in their learning receive early in-house assessment, we then work closely with educational professionals from the Local Authority to ensure they receive the best educational support targeted for their needs, and this is devised and monitored by our SENCO.

We pride ourselves on our highly skilled teachers and teaching assistants who work very closely in teams. This enables pupils to reach their highest potential.

Other successes this year centre round excellent activities linked to the curriculum like Braintree Victorian Museum, the Book Fair, and other excellent field trips to Minsmere, Mersea Island Activity Centre, Easton Farm Park and Framlingham Castle and we also continued our close links to East Bergholt School with a Science day for Year 4 and the induction day for Year 6.

Our children enjoy sport and physical activities and have been able to take part in many tournaments such as The Royal Hospital School cross country race, and pyramid events such as the football tournament, uni-hoc day, Capel Athletics day and the Stratford St Mary rounders tournament. We have joined the national Schools Sports Partnership which has given our children the opportunity to be taught by specialists in various activities and attend festivals at East Bergholt High School with other Primary schools.

We have increased our ICT provision to include a new network and laptops for the pupils, which allows much greater integration of ICT into the curriculum. Our pupils and support staff have been involved with 2 ICT projects with other primary schools.

How have we made sure our pupils are healthy, safe and well-supported?

Special events, Speakers and class curriculum activities all emphasise being healthy and staying healthy including drugs awareness, healthy eating, fitness and sex education where appropriate. Water is available at all times, and KS1 children have free fruit every day. The children enjoy healthy eating cooking experiences regularly.

Extensive health and safety checks and procedures are reviewed termly. Appropriate levels of supervision are maintained at all times to facilitate a happy school environment. We encourage our children to respect themselves and respect each other. We promote zero tolerance to bullying, discrimination, or abuse, and we encourage our children to share their feelings, and to devise ways to overcome conflicts and obstacles, either individually or as a class.

Our volunteer helpers have or are in the process of being CRB checked and protocols exist for school trips and activities. Our governing body is proactive and works hard to support and enrich school life, whilst monitoring our school and being a critical friend.

How are we working with parents and the community?

Stratford St Mary Primary School is keen to establish early positive partnerships with parents. We value their comments and suggestions both in regard to their child, and about wider school issues. Parents help within the school for special events such as school plays or on special focus days such as Art, Design and Technology, ICT, to which parents are welcome.

Our PTA, who support the school with fundraising and volunteering in the school have held events throughout the year such as the Quiz Night, Family fun Day and Fireworks Display. This provides the children with extras which enrich their experiences, from subsidising trips to providing equipment and Christmas presents.

We have a school website, a weekly newsletter, two parent teacher evenings, governor events, and termly curriculum schedules for each class. Parents are always welcome to speak to teachers. We have connections in the Community with ABC Playschool, Blossom House Kindergarten, Penrose and Partners and Access Accounting.

The children have participated in 2 services in Stratford St Mary Church, the Christingle service and the Easter service, both of which were very well attended.

What have pupils told us about the school, and what have we done as a result?

Pupils enjoy coming to our school. They appreciate being respected as individuals and they enjoy the small family ethos of the school which allows them to mix with a wide variety of ages. Pupils want to have a greater voice in making decisions. We have started a School Council. The Council has already written to grounds maintenance about winter flowers and are helping to collect information about physical activity outside school and developing a healthy eating policy in school. They have also been given a budget for each class.

This long list of work and activity by no means covers all the work being done by everyone connected with the school and we continue to strive for more. We are indebted to all our supporters and everyone who works at the school.”

9.  Mrs Diane Henty-Blows – Report on the Youth Club
Mrs Bobbi Kite read out the Youth Club report as follows: -
“The Youth Club has enjoyed a very successful year and continues to go from strength to strength. We currently have a membership of 24, aged 10 to 15.
The club meets weekly on alternate Thursdays and Fridays during school term time. Activities offered on a club night include pool, table tennis, PS2 games, table football as well as outdoor games.

We also aim to have one away event each half term and these are very popular with the members. Some of the activities we undertook over the past year were:

Magic workshop; tennis coaching at Dedham; scuba diving in Ipswich; Go Ape at Thetford Forest; tobogganing at the Dry Ski Slope in Ipswich; Quasar and Rollerblading at Rollerworld in Colchester and bowling at Ipswich.

Our planned events for the next few months are:

A coaching evening at East Bergholt Sports Centre for trampoline, table tennis and basketball; a High Wire activity at the Dry Ski Slope in Ipswich and a possible joint event with Dedham Youth Club.

We are pleased to report the Club recruited a Youth Worker in March this year to bring a little more structure to our club evenings. We feel the appointment has also given parents more confidence when they are asked to help on the Supervisors Rota. Funding for our Youth Worker is currently from our existing funds but we may need to apply for other charitable funds to continue with this valuable resource.

The current management committee members all have teenagers who may move on from the Club in the next year or two, so it is essential for us to encourage parents of younger members to help with the running of the Club to ensure a smooth succession and its continuation. There is a vacancy for a committee member now.

The Club has also aimed to be involved in the wider community; we once again ran a stall at last year’s Country Fayre. We organised a New Year’s Eve party, which we felt filled a gap in the village calendar. Although the New Year’s Eve party was successful, we were disappointed that it was not more widely supported by the village, and indeed an alternative event was arranged after ours was advertised. There is perhaps a lesson to be learnt for all of us in ensuring events held in the village are better co-ordinated. Perhaps the parish Council could lead on this.

Further to this we are proposing to run a sponsored cycle around Alton Water followed by a picnic. The suggested dated for this event is the 7th July. The event is open to parents and the wider community to come along and join in the fun. If you are not able to make it on the day please help by sponsoring one of our young people.

We would like to see the Club more involved in the Community by mutual support of events, believing the different generations can benefit from each other. We need to ensure our Young people are seen in a positive light as we are fortunate in this village to have many well-behaved and thoughtful teenagers.

I hope you will agree the Youth Club is meeting its aim of being a community resource, providing young people with something in addition to that offered by family and school.”

10.  WPC Jacqui Philpot and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch Report

WPC Jacqui Philpot was unable to attend the meeting but the Chairman reported that crime within the village had been fairly low over the last 12 months. At the beginning of December last year several cars were broken into and had SAT Navs stolen. Some residents had admitted that they had not locked their car doors and the Police were urging residents to double check. We have PCSO Ilona Turley who is working alongside Jacqui Philpot. She can normally be seen cycling around the villages and can be contacted via Capel St Mary. Earlier this month a large house in the village was broken into and a large amount of jewellery taken. Residents were asked to be extra vigilant and to report anything suspicious to the Police. The Police are introducing Safer Neighbourhood Teams. This is a new way of working for the Constabulary. In short, local officers will be grouped into teams and have responsibility for a geographic area. They will be operating one team from Hadleigh Police Station and another from Capel St Mary. Whereas in the past each beat would have a Community Police Officer (CPO), there will now be a number of officers aligned to that area. Shift patterns are being changed to increase the times when a local officer is working in your area and thus contactable. They are also developing processes where communities will participate in setting local policing priorities. This will be a dynamic process involving partner agencies to tackle issues quickly, with regular reviews.

11.  Councillor Gerald White – District Councillor's Report

Over the past year I have served on the Overview & Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee and Licensing & Appeals Committee along with the Choice Based Lettings Group.

Budget 2007/2008: Once again members of the Service and Financial Planning Group have worked with officers over several months to achieve a Council Tax increase below inflation at 2.9%. This increase is just under 7p per week on a Band D property. This amounts to £2.50 per week for ALL Babergh services. Retail price Index at September, which the Government use for pension increase, was 3.6%. Government Support is £5,836,000, increased by £325,000 on the previous year, does not recognise the increasing costs of the concessionary fares scheme that is estimated will cost Babergh an additional £57,000 this coming year. Strong representation is being made to Government. Net revenue expenditure for 2007/2008 is just under £10.4 million of which the CT payer’s share is £4.1 million. It is interesting to note that nearly 80% of CT payers pay by Direct Debit, w which costs the Council 2p per entry, whereas any other method of payment costs 75p. Babergh has achieved nearly £2 million in cashable and non-cashable savings since 2002.

Customer Access Service Transformation (CAST) aims to improve customer service and is consistent with the issues identified in the Corporate Plan propriety to “Give easy, convenient access to quality services”. We therefore need to invest in technology to provide information in electronic format (rather than paper), and on appropriate systems to allow customers to easily access information and services. Council had set aside £450k from reserves to fund the impending transformation proposals but in October agreed that only £321k was required to cover the net expenditure over the next 3 years, which is £129k less than originally earmarked. In subsequent years, it is estimated that there will be no net ongoing costs as a result of efficiency savings from the introduction of Document Image Processing (DIP) (which provide for staff to work on electronic forms instead of paper forms) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) reviews. With savings over the next 5 years estimated overall net cost to the General Fund will be £82k.

Local Authority Modernisation Programme (LAMP). This is a national scheme initiated by the Government (not financially supported), to improve the management of land and property information, particularly in providing automatic responses to Land Charge Searches. Currently this information is held in paper format, on microfiche or in other form. A property can appear in our system under several different styles. This programme will tidy things up and all information will appear under one entry. However, this will take two years and will come at a cost. Council in January, by a large majority, agreed to take a £1 million loan for this programme. It is estimated savings per annum from year 3 will be £165k. We are one of a few councils that do not have this programme. To do nothing will cost us in the long term.

Housing. There are 1799 people on the Babergh Housing List and 367 were re-housed during the year. Babergh finances Social Housing by the provision of free or discounted land when it is within their ownership. We have £100k for new affordable housing in the Council’s annual spending programme and we support Housing Association bids for Government Grant.

Across the District there is a call for Affordable Housing in virtually every village and Babergh is doing its utmost to respond to this demand. Between 2003/4 and 2006/7 nearly 220 new affordable homes were built in the district and Babergh remains on target to deliver over 500 more, during the lifetime of the next Council. Our adopted Local Plan requires that up to 35% of homes on new developments should be affordable (i.e. for rent or shared ownership).

There is concern over the East of England Plan (2001-2021) proposed changes to regional housing provision. Babergh is required to increase provision of new homes from 5,200 to 5,600, which is a minimum rather than maximum. This completely transforms the Plan-led approach towards local housing delivery and reduces effective control. The district has relatively limited acceptable opportunities for development that translate into sound development proposals that would not cause unacceptable harm. The change could cause serious risks of housing development outstripping provision of new jobs. Our adopted Local Plan aims to ensure that 35% of properties of new housing developments are affordable is under threat as the Government merely proposes that the number be merely monitored.

12.  Councillor Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report

I am a member of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee, which predominantly oversees the Council’s performance, its governance, risk management, and helps to develop the annual budget. Special working groups this year have included a review of the “call-in” procedure – i.e. – the process for investigating a decision, in circumstances where the Strategy Committee may have exceeded its authority. I have also attended a number of training courses and seminars.

The Corporate Plan

Council has reviewed its corporate plan this year, and provided a platform for the new Council – to be elected in May – with a way forward. It has identified five key priorities – in no particular order:

Maintain a safe, clean and sustainable environment
Increase the supply of housing that local people can afford to rent or buy
Promote healthy living and reduce health inequalities
Give easy, convenient access to quality public services
Raise individual and community ambitions and encourage active citizenship.

These priorities have been subjected to wide consultation and scrutiny, including by a State of the District Event and Debate, the Suffolk Speaks Citizens’ Panel, Best Value Satisfaction Surveys, a Youth Conference, the Tenants’ Forum, various area forums, a Business Consultation Evenings and Parish Council Consultation Evenings.

A safe, clean and sustainable environment

Crime: Babergh is one of the safest places to live in the UK. Actual levels of recorded crime are low, but there are high levels of fear of crime and this impacts on people’s quality of life. The Home Office compares areas across England and Wales with a similar socio-economic makeup. Of 376 areas, Babergh is ranked 343rd, making it one of the safest areas in the country. Crime rates are well below the county average at 56.2 offences per 1,000 population compared to 77.8 offences for Suffolk as a whole. However there are seven wards (Sudbury South, Sudbury North, Sudbury East, Hadleigh North, Great Cornard North, Great Cornard South and Pinewood) that have rates above the Suffolk average in three or more crime categories.

Babergh leads a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, and works with many other organisations on a number of initiatives to reduce the incidence, and fear, of crime; to address anti-social behaviour; and to improve quality of life. For example, we are currently involved in setting up Safer Neighbourhood Teams, and have agreed to fund an Anti-Social Behaviour Officer as well as recruiting a community safety manager.

Babergh is conducting a review of its approach to sustainability, and whilst a great deal is being achieved and can be demonstrated through its role as a planning authority, and as a landlord, and manager of built assets, we all seem to need a better definition of what ‘sustainability’ is, and how to tackle it.

Waste and Recycling: The management of waste is improving, but we produce more than the national average in Babergh and need to reduce the amount of our household waste. This means dealing with waste appropriately, increasing what can be recycled or composted, and finding more ways to reduce the final disposal of waste. Landfill sites are running out. Residents have reduced the amount of waste produced to 309 kilograms per head this year – better than the target of 430. By the end of third quarter 2006/07, Babergh was achieving a recycling rate of over 35% - a tremendous achievement. We are looking to implement a jointly procured (with Mid Suffolk DC) waste collection service through a single contract, benefiting from economies of scale and operational savings but still giving a quality service. The brown bin system is very successful and there is no waiting list now for anyone who wants to apply. Council deals quickly with incidents of fly-tipping –a concealed camera is set up in one location to trap offenders - and abandoned vehicles, but the litter problem remains. Until people clean up their act, a lot more money will be “wasted” cleaning up after them. Work is on-going to combat pollution and land contamination.

South Suffolk is one of the most attractive areas of England in which to live. We want to preserve that in both rural and built environments to improve people’s quality of life. Now that the Revised Local Plan is in place, we can ensure that planning developments are appropriate to our rural environment. This means resisting growth in some areas but balancing that with needs for infrastructure and investment. Babergh has objected to Stansted expansion because of its adverse impact on the District.

The effect of the local plan revision for this ward is that there should be no major developments in our villages for the foreseeable future. Whilst are a “sustainable” community with a lot of facilities and services, we lack employment opportunities, so any new housing generates more traffic through journeys to work.

Babergh works in partnership at several levels: regionally – it works with the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA), and others, developing strategy for planning and for setting frameworks for the monies that come into the region; sub-regionally we are proactive in working with partners on developing the Local Area Agreement for Suffolk and the Haven Gateway Partnership; locally we play a significant role in supporting neighbourhood programmes in Sudbury and Cornard.

“Pathfinder Bid”

All the Suffolk Councils except Ipswich – (who have submitted a bid to become a unitary/single tier authority) – have applied this year to pilot a scheme of much closer working together. The intention would be to pool government grants, integrate service delivery and share functions such as legal services to cut costs, whilst improving the range and efficiency of services available.

Promoting Healthy Living

Babergh actively encourages youngsters to take part in sporting activities – partly for the health benefits and establishing good habits but partly also to give them something constructive to do. In the last three years, 369 young people have represented Babergh in the Suffolk Youth games – 95 of them in last year alone, and our sports courses in 2006 attracted 482 children. The “Be Active” project last year had 327 new participants, 217 of whom were “at risk” of offending, and 111 were disabled. This is really positive. The “Boys in Babergh” project is still going strong – it’s a dance group for boys – 246 took part last year. And still in the healthy living zone – Babergh has met all its targets to date in delivering the Decent Homes Standard for all its housing stock.

The Hadleigh Pool continues to cause concern. Given our desire to encourage healthy life styles and activity, the present Council very much wants to build a replacement pool for the one that is struggling to stay open. The problem is finding the money. There are bits of land and property in Hadleigh that might find a market and generate some capital receipts, but at present they don’t look like being enough to fund the £4.4+m we are now told we need. The borrowing commitments the Council has recently taken on to modernize itself, seem likely to stop a future Council borrowing any further to invest in a pool, so at the moment, prospects look fairly gloomy.

Older People

Around 11,000 people in Babergh now have a concessionary bus pass, which enables free travel on any local bus service that starts or ends in Suffolk. Any resident over 60 can apply. (More than a quarter of our residents are in this age group, compared with a UK average of 21%, and the 70+ age group has increased by 19% over the last ten years.) Getting out and about helps keep older people active, and extra passengers also encourage the provision of bus services.

Young People

The Rural Cinema Project (partly funded by Babergh) has screened films in several parishes with 5429 people attending screenings in 11 venues. This is part of Babergh’s Youth Strategy, which has also encouraged young people to try being theatre critics. A Rural Hub project will help to develop leisure activities on the Shotley peninsula. Babergh also supports the Quay Theatre in Sudbury.

A new education centre for 16-18 year-olds, is being planned for the outskirts of Ipswich, on Scrivener Drive, intended to provide for our catchment of secondary schools. Achievement in Suffolk is said to be good up to GCSE level, but there is a fall-off at A-level – after which a lot of young people leave the area altogether. It’s hoped that this sixth-form type provision, together with the new University Campus on the waterfront in Ipswich – and around the county – will help to stem this drain of youth and talent.

It has been a great privilege yet again to serve this community as one of its District Councillors, and I would like to thank all those people who have welcomed – or put up with me – over the past four years. I wish the Parish Councillors and the members of the public well in the future.

13.  Councillor David Yorke-Edwards – County Councillor's Report

I have nearly completed my first two years as your County Councillor for the Samford Division which includes Stratford St Mary and eleven other parishes spreading across south Suffolk from Capel St Mary up to Polstead.

I would like to thank all of you for your support, in particular the members of Stratford St Mary Parish Council. I believe that the third tier of local government is very important, and I look forward to the powers and responsibilities of Parish and Town Councils being extend ed where those Councils feel that they can usefully and economically run services which are currently performed by a higher level of local government. The application of Pathfinder Status by Suffolk County Council and all the District and Borough Councils (excluding Ipswich) stresses the importance of Parish and Town Councils.

In June of last year I was appointed to the Suffolk Health Scrutiny Committee and subsequently elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee. This has proved to be a very time-consuming appointment with meetings not only around Suffolk but also across the Eastern Region. The Health Scrutiny Committee recently met and decided that the proposals made by the Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT) for the Sudbury Area were not good enough, and so we referred them to the Secretary of State for Health.

I am still a member of the Public Protection Scrutiny Committee which is responsible for scrutinising the Fire & Rescue Service and other services such as Trading Standards. This committee will probably be called on to look into how the County Council dealt with the “Bird Flu Epidemic”, and to see how we can improve our systems.

I also still serve on the Adult & Community Services Scrutiny Committee which looks at a huge part of the work of the County Council dealing with what was once called Social Services.

Because once again the government gave us a very poor financial settlement we had to work very hard to keep the Council Tax increase down to a realistic level of 4.5%. In order to do this we had to make savings of over £20 million.

I have been asked to serve on a Policy Development Panel to look at how the County Council can help our local post offices to survive. A difficult task which h is not helped when business like the provision of television licences is taken away from our Post Offices.

The County Council is called on to provide members to sit on the boards and management committees of organisations around the County, and I am pleased to have been asked to serve on the following bodies:

•  Suffolk Acre Board of Management.
•  Suffolk Association of Local Councils Executive Committee.
•  Babergh East Local Strategic Partnership.
•  Babergh Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership.
•  Eastern Angles Theatre Company

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for letting me represent you as your County Councillor, and look forward to serving you for another two years.

14.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers

A resident wanted to know why the brown bins are provided free in Ipswich but Babergh ask people to pay for them. Sue Carpendale replied that Babergh do not have the resources to provide free brown bins and that Ipswich charge a higher council tax in order to cover this cost.

Another resident queried why the village had been classed as “sustainable” under the new Local Plan when there was only one farm and one shop in the village. Sue Carpendale replied that Stratford was on the border line of being “sustainable” as was Capel St Mary. The reasons given for the reclassification were that we had a bus service that served the village, albeit only an hourly service, there were good road connections, we had 3 pubs and a local school.

Norman Woodard the new Chairman of the Friends of Stratford St Mary Church updated residents

Chris Jukes informed residents that the Parish Council were looking for volunteers to form a group to meet, say one Saturday per month, during the summer months to help maintain the footpaths around the village. The Parish Council is not responsible for the footpaths and Suffolk County Council does not have the resources or manpower to keep the footpaths clear. If anyone is interested, please speak to Chris Jukes or the Parish Clerk, Jayne Baldwin.

Close of Meeting

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.50pm. Biscuits, coffee and a prize draw followed this.

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THESE MINUTES ARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF INFORMATION ONLY AND HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF AN ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 24 APRIL 2006 COMMENCING AT 7.45PM IN THE VILLAGE INSTITUTE, HIGHAM ROAD, STRATFORD ST MARY

1.  Present:

Bill Davies (Chairman); Roger Barrell (Vice-Chairman); Bob Denton; Chris Jukes; Michelle Claridge; Brian Allison; Catherine Raoufi; Peter Woods; Jayne Baldwin (Clerk).

County Councillor David Yorke-Edwards; District Councillor Gerald White; WPC Jacqui Philpot; PC Pete Haddock.

Members of the Public: 21

Apologies

Apologies were received from Barrie Cavendish-Tribe and District Councillor Sue Carpendale.

The Chairman welcomed our County Councillor, District Councillor, WPC Philpot and PC Haddock and members of the public to the meeting. He then went on to introduce the members of the Parish Council.

2.  Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 18 April 2005

The Chairman summarised the Minutes and there being no comment from either the public or Councillors, the Minutes were unanimously approved.

3.  Chairman's Report

The Chairman gave an overview of the past year's activities as detailed below: -

•  The Constable Country Fair last June was a great success, more so than the previous year. It is to be held again this year on the 3rd June. Congratulations were passed to the Friends of the Church Fete Committee for a job well done and it is hoped that this year's event will be an even bigger success.
•  The Dedham Vale Hopper Service was introduced last Summer, initially to run from July through to September. The success of the service enabled further funding to be secured and this was continued throughout the Winter. Unfortunately the Parish Council had been advised that the Dedham Vale and Stour Valley Project had been unable to obtain further funding to carry on with the service and it would be discontinued on the 29th April this year.
•  In May 2005 we lost the services of our Community Police Officer Steve Bright and a replacement was not made until the appointment of WPC Jacqui Philpot in November 2005.
•  The Stratford St Mary Lock Restoration Committee of the River Stour Trust continues to meet every 2 months. Work has commenced on the clearing of the central island by the Weir but due to planning taking longer than expected the major restoration has been put back by 12 months and it is hoped that the work will be finished in 2007.
•  The Stratford Hall Farm Shop continues to flourish and their expansion plans are well under way with an opening date expected by the Summer of this year of their new Restaurant/Cafe.
•  The development of the old garage site in Lower Street has now been completed and the general opinion is that the buildings are a vast improvement on the previous site.
•  Various planning applications were received by the Parish Council for comment during the year including the land adjacent to the Shop/Post Office, which went to appeal and was subsequently granted planning permission. The development of a two-storey house at the rear of Endeavour House in Lower Street was granted planning permission and the development at the rear of 40 Strickmere where the Parish Council still awaits a decision.
•  The Parish notice board has been moved to the footpath by the Anchor pub and the bench that was outside the Shop/Post Office is to be sited by the wall between Hall Farm and the Church.
•  The Parish Council continues to press the Highways Department with regards to the resurfacing of the A12 but to date a response has not been received.
•  Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, we are required to formulate an Emergency Plan for the village and Councillor Jukes will provide further details of this later in the meeting.
•  Under the new Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act, Parish Councils are to be given the powers to fine people for dog fouling, litter dropping and graffiti. The Parish Council will keep everyone updated once further information is received.
•  The new Residents Packs continue to be given out and have been well received.
•  Mrs Tricia Fitzpatrick resigned last August having served on the Parish Council for 10 years. Councillors presented her with a gift in appreciation of her services. Mrs Fitzpatrick's replacement was Brian Allison who agreed to be co-opted on to the Council and is also one of our litter pickers. He has also agreed to be our Parish Tree Warden. Roger Barrell succeeded Mrs Fitzpatrick as Vice-Chairman.
•  The Parish Council has objected to Stratford St Mary being upgraded to a "sustainable village" under the Housing Policy HS02 in the Babergh Local Plan Alteration No2 Inquiry that has recently been heard and we wait to hear the final outcome of objections received.
•  A survey of all the footpaths has been undertaken and an updated footpaths map has been produced.
•  There was concern last Autumn over the extended licensing hours for village pubs and any "knock-on" effect that it may produce with regards to public behaviour/noise. The landlady of the Black Horse attended a parish council meeting and asked members of the public to raise any concerns with her and she would address them and to date disturbances have been few and far between.
•  The Parish Council continue to monitor reports and publications received from the South Suffolk Air Traffic Action Group with regards to flights and noise pollution from Stansted over the Dedham Vale. The Chairman attends a meeting each year and the Clerk is on the e-mail distribution list for information updates.

The Chairman then went on to thank all the Councillors for their support over the last year. He also thanked the County Councillor, District Councillors, and WPC Philpot for all their support and regular attendances at the Parish Council meetings. He also thanked the Clerk for all her help during the past 12 months and our two village litter pickers, Celia Bellis and Brian Allison.

4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts

Income for the last financial year has been generated by the Precept of £9,750 – this is the money that Babergh District Council provides for us through the Council Tax. Other sources of income have been a VAT refund of £481 and interest earned of £359.

The major expense for this last year has been general administration (which covers the Clerk's salary and associated out of pocket expenses, internal and external audit fees and insurance at a cost of £4,661.

The other major expense has been in relation to the change over of contractors for the maintenance and upkeep of the street lighting for the village. Alfred McAlpine provided this service previously, but due to a substantial increase in costs, Suffolk County Council offered to provide this service to all Parish Councils at a more competitive price, which we took up.

The Parish Council made donations under s.137 of the Local Government Act 1972 which permits us to donate up to £5.30 per elector to various good causes for the good of the people or community. These have included the Parochial Church, East Anglian Air Ambulance, River Stour Trust and the Royal British Legion.

Other areas of expenditure have included litter picking, the upkeep of the Institute playing field and playground area, the re-siting of the Parish notice board and the purchase of a further dog litter bin which is sited on the grass verge in the car park here.

The Lettice Dykes Charity Trust which was established in 1911 for the "assistance of pupils resident in the beneficial area, to attend schools, classes or educational establishments by payments of fees, travelling or other expenses or maintenance allowances currently stands at £997.46.

5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman, Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts

Mr Davies reported that the AGM was held in March and 3 people attended being Archie Carmichael, Fred Harris and himself. The Institute Committee is looking for a Treasurer and Minutes Secretary as he currently undertakes these roles along with being the Chairman of the Committee. A note is being placed in the Quartet but if anyone is interested in taking on any of these roles, could they please speak to Bill. Jenny Symons, who runs the 100 Club, is looking to stand down and a replacement is needed for that role. Again a note will be placed in the Quartet. Bill can I have your notes please.

6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust

Mr Gotelee was unable to attend the meeting and the Chairman read out his report, which is attached to the end of these Minutes along with the audited accounts.

7.  Councillor Michelle Claridge on undertaking a Parish Plan

Michelle Claridge introduced this presentation by explaining that this is a plan, which is drawn up by those who live within and have interests in the parish as a whole. It helps to inform parishioners and the parish council of the objectives and aims of the parish as a whole over the next 5 to 10 years. The Plan takes about 12 months to prepare.

What is the point of a Parish Plan and why do it?

The objectives of the Plan are to consult the parish community to address issues covering services, amenities, social, economic, land, environmental and leisure issues of the village. It is a plan to provide direction and structure for the future development of the village, including raising funds to achieve local aims and objectives. The Plan can help feed information into the Local Plan, which addresses local development, and strategy and can also help influence decisions at District level. It also helps to direct and inform the Parish Council when drawing up their agenda. A Parish Plan is also a pre-requisite for Quality Parish Status.

Who draws up the Parish Plan?

A Steering Group is formed comprised of about 8 members drawn from interested individuals and groups within the community and also including 2 parish councillors to represent the Council.

What is the process?

There are 8 stages to the production of a Parish Plan.

Stage 1 Agenda item at a Parish Council meeting.
Stage 2 Hold a public meeting to determine whether there is sufficient interest and to identify and draw together a steering group. The Parish Council finances this.
Stage 3 Steering Group responsibilities, which include producing a budget, seeking funding and a needs analysis.
Stage 4 Identify volunteers to distribute and collect questionnaires and to enter data on to a computer and analyse.
Stage 5 Compilation of data and the production of a Report.
Stage 6 Organise a presentation evening for households and businesses to discuss what action should be taken and to invite guest speakers.
Stage 7 Report presentation evenings to prioritise action points and appoint working parties for action points.
Stage 8 Draw up Parish Plan.

How is it paid for?

The costs for a parish plan averages between £100 and £400 based on parish size. DEFRA has been funding 75% of project costs. The Parish Council funds 5% of the costs from the Precept or Reserves and then there is matched funding of 20% from sponsorship by local businesses, Suffolk County Councillors' Locality Budget and fund raising events.

What next?

A decision has to be made whether this is something for Stratford St Mary. Do the parishioners of Stratford St Mary want to develop a plan and strategy for the future of the village?

Having heard Michelle's presentation, a discussion took place between Councillors and parishioners and it was agreed that a public meeting would be a good idea to discuss a parish plan. A Saturday was preferred rather than a week day evening as many parishioners worked in London. It was agreed that the Clerk would speak to Annette Gray at Suffolk Acre to obtain some dates and a note would go into the Quartet. Posters would be placed on the notice boards around the village and flyers hand delivered to households advertising the meeting.

8.  Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School

Mrs Austin was unable to attend the meeting and Mrs Barrell, Chair of Governors read out the report, which is attached to the end of these Minutes.

9.  Mrs Emily Barrell – Report on the Youth Club

The Chairman thanked everyone for his or her help in running the Youth Club.

10.  WPC Jacqui Philpot and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch Report

WPC Philpot began her report by introducing PC Pete Haddock who would be deputising for her whilst she was on maternity leave from August this year until February 2007. She went on to report that she covered 12 villages including Stratford and that the crime rate for the village was down some 25%. Most of the crimes committed were cut-through crimes from people coming from London/Colchester and Ipswich. During the period April 2005 to March 2006 there had been some 34 crimes in Stratford (compared with 46 the previous year). Of those 34, 3 had been burglaries including house burglaries; 14 had been acts of theft and there were 10 acts of criminal damage. Of the 34 crimes committed, the Police had been able to detect approximately 10 and one man had been arrested for the theft of money from the Church stall. WPC Philpot also reported that a lot of the car thefts were as a result of cars being left insecure outside houses.

A question was raised as to whether during the summer months, the Police could increase their presence around the area of the Weir in Lower Street as it was well known that youths swam in the river during the early hours of the morning and were taking drugs. PC Haddock noted this.

11. Councillor Chris Jukes on Emergency Planning for the village

Chris Jukes introduced this topic by explaining that the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 imposed a legal obligation on both County and District Councils to prepare and maintain emergency plans. In turn, parish councils were asked to appoint an Emergency Officer and prepare a parish emergency plan. He explained that a 'local' emergency would result in full an prompt support from the emergency services and the parish emergency team may only be required to provide local information and open up an emergency centre, with refreshments, for displaced persons requiring a temporary refuge and for Emergency Services personnel. A 'countywide' emergency, however, might result in limited or no support from the Emergency Services for some time and, in these circumstances, the parish will have to fall back on its own resources – the parish emergency team. It is mainly for the latter circumstance that an Emergency Plan is required. Chris Jukes, as the Emergency Officer, formed a team to produce the plan and to form the core of the ongoing team.

Despite minimal guidance and no plan template from County or District levels but with the help of two seminars, a draft plan was produced. With a mission statement 'To protect life and property', the team decided that the Plan should contain the following: -

•  Actions to be taken - invoking the plan, assessing the incident, opening the Emergency Centre, communicating with the emergency services and the District emergency team, carrying out appropriate activities, acquisition of supplies etc.
•  Procedures to be followed – incident log, dealing with evacuees and unaccompanied minors, recording the use of volunteers, equipment and vehicles.
•  Co-ordination of volunteers and the use of equipment available in the parish.
•  Caring for people – vulnerable people affected by the incident, evacuees, school children unable to get home, weary, hungry and thirsty volunteers and emergency services personnel etc.

In addition, lists of vulnerable people, volunteers, equipment etc will have to be produced and a questionnaire will be delivered to all households to elicit this information.

The draft plan had been reviewed by the Parish Council and is currently with the District Emergency Planning Officer for comment. Since drafting, a number of issues have been identified which may require a further draft. These include: -

•  Communications – no telephone at the Institute, patchy mobile reception, use of 'cascade' to spread information to residents.
•  The need to carry out a parish risk assessment.
•  Access to the Emergency Centre (the Institute primarily but also alternatives if necessary) – availability of key holders.
•  The final resolution of public liability insurance issues regarding the emergency operation by the parish team and volunteers.
•  The appointment of a 'welfare officer', whose sole job in an emergency, is caring for people.
•  The use of 'local co-ordinators'.

Finally, Chris Jukes reminded the meeting of the Government pamphlet distributed last August, titled 'Preparing for Emergencies'. Every household should be prepared to be self-sufficient in an emergency with adequate light, heat, food, drink, mediation, telephone communication and the ability to hear the radio for emergency information and guidance – even if there is no electricity.

12.  Councillor Gerald White – District Councillor's Report

Gerald White read out his report and this is attached to the end of these Minutes.

13.  Councillor Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report

Sue Carpendale was unable to attend the meeting and her report is attached to the end of these Minutes.

14.  Councillor David Yorke-Edwards – County Councillor's Report

David Yorke-Edwards read out his report and this is attached to the end of these Minutes.

15.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers

A question was raised about speeding in the village and what could be done about it. The Chairman suggested that this be an agenda item for the Parish Council meeting on 8 May where it could be discussed with the County Councillor.

A question was raised with regards to the substantial increase in the Precept of 36.5% and why was this so. The Chairman explained the large increase had been mainly due to increased costs outside the control of the Parish Council. For example, lighting and maintenance costs, insurance costs, emptying the dog and litterbins and the playground maintenance.

16. Close of Meeting

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 10.20pm. Biscuits, coffee and a prize draw followed this.

MINUTES OF AN ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON
MONDAY 18 APRIL 2005 COMMENCING AT 7.45PM IN THE VILLAGE INSTITUTE, HIGHAM ROAD, STRATFORD ST MARY

1. Present:

Bill Davies (Chairman); Patricia Fitzpatrick OBE (Vice-Chairman); Michelle Claridge; Chris Jukes; Barrie Cavendish-Tribe; Roger Barrell; Bob Denton; Jayne Baldwin (Clerk);

PC Steve Bright; District Councillor Gerald White (part); District Councillor Sue Carpendale.

Members of the Public: 29

Apologies:

Apologies were received from County Councillor Adi Lavender and Catherine Raoufi.

2. Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 26 April 2004

Following the last meeting, the previous Clerk had resigned and the Minutes had been compiled with the help of his notes. The Chairman then went on to summarise the previous Minutes and there being no comment from either the public or Councillors, the Minutes were unanimously approved.

3. Chairman's Report

The Chairman welcomed our two District Councillors, PC Bright and members of the public to the meeting. He apologised for County Councillor Adi Lavender who had now resigned and for Catherine Raoufi who was unable to attend. He then went on to introduce the members of the Council.

The Chairman read out an overview of the Minutes of last year's Annual Parish Meeting dated 26 April 2004.

The Chairman then went on to report the following: -

•  A new youth club had started up in the Autumn of 2004 following news that since the last Annual Parish Meeting the old one had disbanded owing to lack of adult supervision.
•  Stratford St Mary had entered the Village of the Year Competition for the first time in many years and came 5th out of 6 in our group. There were 15 points between the 6th place village, and us and only 15 points between 1st place and us. He thanked Catherine Raoufi and her team for organising this.
•  The Constable County Fair last June was a great success and is being held again this year on Saturday 4 June.
•  Mary Toone had resigned as Village Recorder/Archivist as she had now left the village and Catherine Raoufi had taken over.
•  The Stratford Lock Steering/Restoration Committee continue to meet and the latest target dates are September 2005 for clearing the site and other preparations and September 2006 for work on the restoration of the lock itself.

During the last year the Parish Council has seen the resignation of Roger Bradshaw as Clerk in May 2004 and Jayne Baldwin took over this role in June 2004. Helen Lawton resigned as a Councillor in December 2004 due to a family move and Peter Woods was co-opted in January 2005. The Parish Council website went live in March 2005 in accordance with Government guidelines. Please see page 5 of the March 2005 Quartet for further information. There were now 2 litter wardens appointed following the Chairman's report in 2004. The notice boards by the Vets and Christmas Cottage were shortly to be replaced with two new ones. A new updated Residents Pack had been introduced and had been well received by new residents. The cost was free for new residents and £1.50 for existing villagers. A complaint had been received last year regarding the 999 Emergency Services not knowing where Stratford St Mary was. The Clerk had taken this up and confirmation had been received that this had been resolved. The Parish Council is continuing to seek assurances from the Highways Department that they will not divert traffic through the village when road works or resurfacing is done on the A12. The Parish Council looked into the potential of introducing a "Good Neighbour Scheme" but to date no actual needs have been established. The Clerk had logged onto the website for the South Suffolk Air Traffic Action Group (SSATG) who were monitoring the control of flights over the Dedham Vale area irrespective of whether Stansted gets a second runway or not and would keep the Parish Council updated.

At last year's meeting, the outcome of the Anchor Pub appeal was not known but since then we have learned that the appeal was turned down. Other main planning applications received during the last year include 40 Strickmere where we are awaiting a decision. The two-storey development on land adjacent to the Post Office in Upper Street was refused. The development at Hall Farm was declined following objections received from the Highways Department at Suffolk County Council. The development for two houses on the site of Stratford Garage in Lower Street was given planning permission but subsequently Howard Homes had applied to build a bungalow and 2 flats, which also received planning permission.

The Parish Council had changed bank accounts from HSBC to Alliance & Leicester in order to receive a better rate of interest on their reserves at over 4%.

The Chairman then went on to thank all the Councillors for their support over the last year. He also thanked the County Councillor, District Councillors and PC Bright for all their support and regular attendances at the Parish Council meetings and also thanked the Clerk for all her help during the last year.

4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Parish Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Account

Income for the last financial year has been generated by the Precept of £9,250.00 – this is the money that Babergh District Council provides for us through the Council Tax. Other sources of income have been a VAT refund of £454.62 and interest of £235.19.

The major expense has been general administration (which covers the Clerk's salary and associated out of pocket expenses, internal and external auditors fees, insurance and an allowance to the Chairman. The cost of repairs to the playground equipment has been substantial this year with a new cargo net, ropes and swing seats all being replaced due to wear and tear at a cost of nearly £1300.00. The Parish Council have spent just under £1300.00 on village maintenance which covers grass cutting of the Institute playing field, litter picking, 2 new notice boards (which will be erected shortly), planting and cutting back and tidying up of the footpaths and verges that the Council is not responsible for.

The cost of keeping the village lights maintained and lit came to £765.00 for the year and the Parish Council made donations under s.137 of the Local Government Act 1972 which permits us to donate up to £5 per elector to various good causes for the good of the people or community – these have included the Primary School, the Youth Club, the Playschool, Suffolk Accident Rescue Service, Suffolk Preservation Society and the Stour Valley Project.

The Lettice Dykes Charity Trust which was established in 1911 for the "assistance of pupils resident in the beneficial area, to attend schools, classes or educational establishments by payments of fees, travelling or other expenses or maintenance allowances currently stands at £955.00.

The unaudited accounts for the year-ended 31.3.05 are attached at the end of these Minutes.

5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman of the Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts

Mr Davies reported that 2004 was a good year for the Institute with income received from hiring the hall up by some 19% from the previous year. The hall was used regularly throughout the year with a mixture of long-standing regular customers and occasional hirers, both from the village and the surrounding area. Mr Davies was particularly pleased to note the start up again of the youth club, which continued to thrive. He reported that the hall's electrical system is nearing completion and airbricks are to be installed in the kitchen area to help with the damp problem, which occurs during the winter months. Once this was finished a new floor covering would be installed in the kitchen and toilet/cloakroom areas. Also to be installed were outside lights for use during the warmer weather. He thanked all the 100 Club members whose subscriptions had raised £527 for Institute funds and to Stratford Hills Horse Trials who gave a generous donation of £500 last November following their successful event during the summer. Mr Davies went on to thank all the Committee members for their support throughout the year.

6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust

Mr Gotelee gave a short history on the Trust and said that they continue to administer their properties, The Old Cage House, The Old Cage House Garage and the adjoining meadow. 27 donations were made to pensioner parishioners in the village during Christmas and the Trust had been able to help five families and a child with donations. The accounts of the Trust had been given to the Clerk and these are attached at the end of these Minutes. Mr Gotelee went on to say that the Trustees are always anxious to hear from anyone in the parish who may be in need and whom they feel the Trust may be able to help. This is a village charity and the money is there and should be spent to help others.

7.  Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School

Mrs Austin was unable to attend the meeting and Mrs Barrell, a Governor at the primary school read out the report, which is attached at the end of these Minutes.

8.  Mrs Emily Barrell – Report on the Youth Club

The Youth Club has been running since September last year and is based in the Institute. They meet weekly during term time on alternating Thursdays and Fridays. Currently there are 17 members aged between 11 and 16. The Youth Club has at least two and normally three supervisors on duty during every club meeting. These supervisors are supportive parents who help on a rota basis. There is a management committee consisting of 5 adults and two elected teen representatives. The Youth Club's opening night was a very successful party and every half term they have an away event, such as tobogganing or laser quest. The next planned away event is a golf evening.

Normal club nights have music, table tennis, indoor and outdoor football and organised games. There is also a Play station 2 console and organised craft or art activities at nearly every session. The Youth Club is awaiting the results of a grant application and they hope that in the near future they will be able to purchase a pool table and other equipment. Encouragement is given to the teens to think about wider social issues and the Committee were extremely proud when the teens planning and carried through a charity car wash in January in aid of the Tsunami Relief Fund which raised £250. Fundraising efforts are continuing, some for charity and some to raise money for events and equipment for the club. The next fundraising event will be at the Constable Country Fair, where funds are being raised for outdoor nets and football equipment for the club.

Grants from the Parish Council and Adi Lavender have enable the Youth Club to put in place good child protection measures, such as police checks for the supervisors. They have also held an in-house St. Johns Ambulance first aid training session for supervisors. Two supervisors are due to attend Child Protection Training in May. The Youth Club is always looking for supervisors (whether you have a teen or not) and donations of equipment or funds. If you think you can help please contact Emily Barrell on 01206 323728.

9. PC Steve Bright and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch report

PC Bright began is report by thanking Mr Davies as Chairman of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee. He reported that his area of responsibility had changed slightly and included Bentley, East Bergholt and Brantham. It was noted that in the past year there had been 38 crimes in Stratford (compared with 32 the previous year). Of those 38, 5 had been shed/garage/outbuilding thefts, 2 car thefts, 4 acts of criminal damage, 3 assaults and 2 house burglaries. Unfortunately Stratford does suffer burglaries, as this is the first stop from Colchester. Car thefts were as a result of people leaving things on view.

Following a question from a resident regarding disturbance at the Black Horse, PC Bright reported that he would continue to liaise with the Landlord.

A question arose with regards to the speeding of high quality cars using the village as a testing circuit, and again PC Bright said he would speak to the dealership garage concerned.

The Chairman thanked PC Bright for attending the meeting.

10. Presentation by Cllr Michelle Claridge on implementations made by the Parish Council

Michelle began by thanking Colin Burrows for collating the information contained in the Best Value Questionnaire, which was completed in March 2001. 286 questionnaires had been distributed, of which 43 had been returned. Generally residents felt that the Parish Council were working well for the village and utilised the precept money well and responsibly.

Issues raised by residents are summarised below: -

Issue Action

Litter - This was one of the main issues raised, with over 30% of residents commenting. Suggestions were made for more litter and dog bins and concerns were raised regarding fly tipping and wheelie bins being left at the roadside. The Parish Council has maintained the current litterbin stock and addressed vandalism as and when it arose. Two dog bins have been installed at either end of the village and a third is to be installed in the Institute field. New powers are to be introduced to Parish Councils to impose fines for dog fouling, dropping of litter, graffiti etc. Residents were asked to be diligent and report any instances of fly-tipping, litter etc to the Parish Clerk or a Councillor where it would be dealt with. Litter Wardens had been introduced over the last 2½ years and Cllr Claridge thanked those who had undertaken the role and also reported that there was currently a vacancy for a litter warden for Strickmere and the surrounding roads.

Fly-tipping This was notified to the appropriate authorities as soon as possible.

Wheelie Bins These were the responsibility of individual residents.

Traffic/car parking – 26% of residents commented about the speed of cars through the village generally; the noise from the A12; car parking on verges and parking near the Weir.   There were suggestions of a car park for the village and a reduction in the speed limit. 30 mph roundels have been installed and the Parish Council has requested of Suffolk County Council a traffic calming consultation but currently there is a waiting list. This could also be undertaken privately but the Parish Council would need to fund this. The Parish Council continue to lobby the Highways Department and the County Council to ensure future road works include a contra flow system rather than using the village as a diversion. The A12 is due to be resurfaced with a low noise tarmac and our County Councillor has been written to regarding this. Residents were also asked to continue writing to the County Council to object to the noise on the A12. Bollards have been installed by the Weir to discourage parking.

Housing – 21% of residents commented that they would like to see smaller, lower cost housing for the young and elderly and that they do not wish to see any further large house development being undertaken. The Parish Council to be fully involved in consultation of all applications. Lobby where appropriate regarding controversial applications. Be constructive with comments, i.e. what would be considered acceptable as well as why unacceptable.

Village Maintenance – 16% of residents responded saying that they would like to see more verge cutting and the clearance of impassable footpaths. Quotes were being obtained for a more thorough cutting of the Institute field and the verges but the Parish Council were also minded to balance the cost and benefit of undertaking such work. The footpaths were being walked regularly and the Parish Council were talking to landowners where appropriate.

Street lighting – 14% of residents responded saying that they felt more lighting was needed generally.

Play facilities – 12% of residents responded saying that they would like to see more swings, benches and tables. They would also like to see a Brownies/Scout Group. The play facilities were regularly checked and maintained and had recently been the subject of an overhaul. The Parish Council had also increased the grass cutting of the Institute field so that access to the benches was improved and the area generally was tided up. A Youth Club had been introduced, which was proving to be very successful. One resident pointed out that there was once a Scout and Cub Group in the village but this had closed due to lack of funds and was now run from East Bergholt.

Parish Council – Residents wanted to see more planning applications discussed in public and to see more use made of the section 137 grants to village organisations. They also wanted the Parish Council to encourage more social events. Public discussions regarding planning applications were being held where it was felt necessary. Any donations that the Parish Council gave under section 137 were considered across the spectrum and it was reiterated that whatever is spent has to be paid for by the parish.

Generally, residents wanted to see improvement in the flood protection and a clean up of the river area. They wanted to see the renovation of the milestone and also a review of the footpaths map and a general audit of the footpaths. This had been done and copies were available from the Parish Clerk. They would like to see a list circulated of Councillors on the Parish Council. A copy of this is on the parish notice board. Residents also wanted to see a report or newsletter either before or after Parish Council meetings. An Agenda is posted on the notice board at least 5 working days before the next meeting and a report placed in the Quartet magazine following the meeting. Copies of the Agenda and Minutes are also posted on the website which is now established.

11.  Mr Gerald White – District Councillor's Report

Gerald White read out his report and this is attached to the end of these Minutes.

12.  Mrs Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report

Sue Carpendale read out her report and this is attached to the end of these Minutes.

13.  Mrs Adi Lavender – County Councillor's Report

Mrs Lavender was unable to attend the meeting and the Chairman read out her report. A copy is attached to the end of these Minutes.

14.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers

A question was put forward as to whether any money would be available to upgrade the Millennium Garden. The Chairman reported that there was money set aside for the Millennium Garden and an approach should be made to the Parish Council.

It was reported that the licensing laws would be changing dramatically with responsibility being taken away from the Courts and given to the local authority. People were being advised to keep diary notes, take photographs where possible and come forward to give evidence. There was a period of 28 days where residents can object to an extended licence being granted. Notices were placed in the local papers and also outside the premises in question.

Another question was raised about untidy properties in the village and what could be done about it. In particular concern was raised about short-term tenanted properties.

15. Close of Meeting

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.45pm. Biscuits, coffee and a prize draw followed this.

Minutes of the Stratford St Mary Annual Parish Meeting held on 26th

April 2004 at the Village

Institute Hall, Higham Road, Stratford St Mary commencing at 7:45pm

In attendance: Mr W Davies - Chairman, Mrs P Fitzpatrick, Mr C Jukes, Mr R Barrell, Mr B Denton, Mrs C Raoufi, Mrs H Lawton, Mrs M Claridge, Mrs A Lavender (Suffolk County Councillor), Mrs S Carpendale (District Councillor), Mr G White (District Councillor) and Roger Bradshaw - Clerk. 26 members of the public attended.

1. Apologies

Apologies were received from Mr B Cavendish-Tribe and PC Bright.

2. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting 14th April 2003.

The minutes were summarised by Mr W Davies and these were approved unanimously.

3. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman welcomed our two District Councillors, County Councillor and members of the public to the meeting. He apologised for P C Bright who would be unable to attend.

The Chairman introduced the members of the Council.

The Chairman read out an overview of the Minutes of last years Annual Parish Meeting dated 14 April 2003.

The Chairman explained that a new Parish Council had been formed since the last meeting of which only Mrs Fitzpatrick and himself remained from the last Council. Since then Mr Wills had resigned due to workload and Mrs Raoufi had been co-opted onto the Council in his place.

In the last year the Parish Council had replaced the bin in Kenyon Close; a Litter Warden had been introduced into the village to keep it tidy; three dropped kerbs had been completed in the village; the old Milestone outside the waterworks building had been renovated; 12 plaques on the Millennium trees had been replaced; a layer of new bark had been added to the play area; two dog waste bins had been installed; a donation of £200 had been made to ABC Playschool for their sensory garden project - this money had come from the Millennium Fete Committee Fund; flood defences have been complete - they are a great improvement but they need re-seeding in the summer; Mr Davies attended a River Stour Trust meeting at which it was announced that plans were in place to restore the Lock on the river by 2006.

Planning applications received in the last year include: -

The orange telephone mast in Billy’s Lane.
The application for houses behind the Anchor Public House has had two days of appeal hearing at Babergh Offices, which the Parish Council have attended. There has been no decision to date.
The Village post office and shop had moved from its previous premises and would now run from smaller premises at the back of the site. The previous premises to be converted for private usage.
The Stratford Garage Site is in the process of demolition to make way for housing. Outline planning permission had been granted previously for two houses. However detailed planning application had been submitted but now withdrawn. Concern was expressed over partial demolition and the unsafe state of the walls, which were leaning precariously. The Clerk is to write to Babergh District Council.

Mr Davies thanked PC Bright, the District and County Councillors for their regular attendance over the last year at the Parish Council meetings.

Questions for the Parish Council

The vicar had moved from the village and concern was expressed about the old rectory being converted into offices and the trees removed. This had been checked and there was no need for concern to date. The trees have Tree Preservation Orders on them.

Speed through the village has been discussed and further consultation will take place with Suffolk County Highways to see what can be done to help.

Concern was expressed about some evidence of drug taking in the woods adjacent to the play area (next to the Institute grounds.). This was discussed at length and would be discussed with the local Police and monitored.

Concern was expressed about the terrible disruption caused through Upper and Lower Street when the A12 was closed for resurfacing with the single lane noise reduction surface. The traffic had been diverted through Upper and Lower Street at night causing continual noise, damage to properties and lack of sleep to residents. The Clerk will write to Suffolk County Council on this matter to ensure that it will not happen again.

A member of the public questioned whether the bottle banks were in fact full, when bags and boxes of bottles were left around them. It was noted that the collection agency also collected up the bags of bottles around the bins. It was also noted that cans should be placed in the blue recycling bins now.

4. The Friends of Stratford St Mary Church

Mark Lockett and Brian Such presented the work of The Friends of Stratford St Mary Church and gave a short presentation.

Mr Lockett explained the background to their organisation, and why they had come together as a group. He explained that fund raising would be for the restoration of the Church and for other community projects. With restoration, the Church could be used for more events besides worship. Mr Lockett went on to explain the organisation's plans for the future including their current fundraising and fact-finding projects.

Mr Lockett introduced the new website for the Parish and explained the planning for the Constable Summer Fair. This would be a community based fundraising event held in the fields surrounding the Church.

Mr Such then took over the presentation and using a Power Point Presentation, went into more details.

5. Parish Council and Lettice Dyke Accounts

The Clerk read out the Parish Council accounts for the last year.

There was no representative present for the Lettice Dykes Trust presentation.

6. Institute Report

Bill Davies, in his role as Chairman of the Institute Committee, gave a short report.

He noted that the Institute was in receipt of a 50% grant that has paid for the refurbishment and provision of a disabled toilet in the hall. Other work was noted to be waiting for quotes.

Mr Davies thanked the Friends of the Institute for their donation of £516 towards Institute funds, and noted that while the Institute funds stood at nearly £8000 this was deceiving as most of this amount was earmarked for repairs such as new floor covering and wiring. Mr Davies also noted that regrettably the Institute had also suffered minor vandalism over the past year, mainly to guttering and windows, as well as to the outside tap. He reported that some damage had also been done by balls hitting the flat roof at the back of the Institute.

7. Welfare Trust Report

A report was tabled from the Welfare Trust. (See attached).

8. Stratford St Mary Primary School

Mrs Barrell, a Governor from the School, read out a short report on the school over the last year. (See attached).

9. Youth Club

No Report was received from the Youth Club as it was found to have closed in the previous autumn period, due to insufficient leaders.

10. Neighbourhood Watch Report

Unfortunately PC Bright was unable to be in attendance, but a report was tabled.

It was noted that between 22/2/03 and 22/2/04 there were only 22 crimes reported in Stratford St Mary (there had been 46 the previous year). Most of these were concerned around criminal damage though there had been an incident of assault at the burger bar on the A12. There had only been 9 burglaries in the past year, (compared to 17 in the previous year).

Within this figure it was noted that there had been five burglaries in one afternoon; two in Strickmere, one in Drumfield, one in School Lane and one in Upper Street. It was noted that Suffolk was the 3rd safest county in the UK. Mr Davies explained that the greatest deterrent for a burglar was for a house and sheds to be fitted with a burglar alarm, and for these not to continually go off accidentally, leading to a lack of interest in alarm warnings.

Mr Davies also requested volunteers as neighbourhood watch coordinators and for all residents to lookout for their elderly neighbours.

There was a question from the public concerning under age people causing disturbances on their way to and especially from the local pub at 11:30 at night. Mr Davies will request PC Bright to call into the Black Horse and look into the problem.

11. Presentation on the Village of the Year Competition

Catherine Raoufi gave a presentation on the Village of the Year Competition bid by Stratford St Mary. She explained its aims and noted that as part of the process a website with a village questionnaire had been set up.

She then revealed some of the results of that online questionnaire, though noting that it was ongoing. Mrs Raoufi reported that from this questionnaire the group would start looking at how they could improve village life. She suggested an annual parish clean up day in June, as well as looking at a renewed youth programme in the village (as it had been noted that there was no provision for the 11-16 year old range for entertainment or activities in the village).

She hoped that more people would want to get involved in the Village of the Year Competition, as it would only happen if more people became interested. Clerk to write to Suffolk County Council and Parish Magazine.

12. District Councillors Reports

Mr White wished the Parish success with the Village of the Year Competition and read out his report. A copy of that report is attached.

Mrs Carpendale also read out her report and a copy is attached.

13. County Councillor's Report

Mrs Lavender read out her report. A copy of this is attached.

Questions for the County Councillor.

Some discussion took place over the cost cutting exercises in Babergh District Council, and whether the move was essential.

A member of the public commented on the frequency of grass cutting especially in Strickmere and also the Health and Safety issues of leaving the grass cuttings on the pavements, which were a slip hazard when wet. It was agreed that the Clerk would take this up with the grass cutters to see if this can be improved.

A question was put forward about the misleading cost of the composter offered by Babergh District Council. It was felt that the entire cost including the base as well as the bin was not given clearly.

It was requested that the Welcome Pack, prepared by the Parish Council, should be advertised in the Quartet for those interested in obtaining a copy.

It was stated that a great deal of rubbish existed along the road exiting Stratford St Mary beyond the Talbooth and up Gun Hill, which gave a poor introduction to the village. Mrs Carpendale agreed to speak to Essex to request a clean up of the area.

A question was raised concerning whether the village would hire a village skip one day. This had been previously discussed at a Parish Council meeting and it was felt to be unviable, due to supervision, the cost and to the risk of encouraging fly tipping at the site of where the skip had been located (in case someone missed the skip). Mrs Carpendale advised that Babergh would collect five items of rubbish from households in any one area for a set fee of £40. She suggested that people interested should contact Babergh Council to find out more information.

A further question was raised on how the Friends of Stratford St Mary Website would locate businesses to advertise on their website. Mr Such said it was not their intention to look for business sponsorship, and that advertisers or contributors needed to come forward.

The meeting closed at 10:05pm and was followed by biscuits, coffee and a prize draw.

Agenda

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday 23 April 2007 at the Village Institute, Higham Road, Stratford St Mary, commencing at 7.45pm.

AGENDA

1.  Apologies for absence.
2.  Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 24 April 2006.
3.  Chairman's Report.
4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts.
5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman, Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts.
6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust.
7.  Mr John Morris, Chairman, River Stour Trust – Report on renovation of Stratford Lock.
8.  Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School.
9.  Mrs Diane Henty-Blows – Report on the activities of the Youth Club.
10.  PC Jacqui Philpot and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch report.
11.  Councillor Gerald White – District Councillor's Report.
12.  Councillor Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report.
13.  Councillor David Yorke-Edwards – County Councillor's Report.
14.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers.

PRIZE DRAW
&
COFFEE AND BISCUITS

*********************************************

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday 24 April 2006 at the Village Institute, Higham Road, Stratford St Mary, commencing at 7.45pm. Your presence is requested and required.

AGENDA

1.  Apologies for absence.
2.  Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 18 April 2005.
3.  Chairman's Report.
4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts.
5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman, Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts.
6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust.
7.  Councillor Michelle Claridge on undertaking a Parish Plan.
8.  Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School.
9.  Mrs Emily Barrell – Report on the Youth Club.
10.  PC Jacqui Philpot and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch report.
11.  Councillor Chris Jukes on emergency planning for the village.
12.  Councillor Gerald White – District Councillor's Report.
13.  Councillor Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report.
14.  Councillor David Yorke-Edwards – County Councillor's Report.
15.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers.

PRIZE DRAW
&
COFFEE AND BISCUITS

To Whom it may concern

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Monday 18 April 2005 at the Village Institute, Higham Road, Stratford St Mary, commencing at 7.45pm.

Jayne Baldwin

Clerk to the Parish Council

AGENDA

1.  Apologies for absence.
2.  Approval of Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 26 April 2004.
3.  Chairman's Report.
4.  Mrs Jayne Baldwin, Clerk – Report on Parish Council and Lettice Dykes Accounts.
5.  Mr Bill Davies, Chairman of the Institute Committee – Institute Report and Accounts.
6.  Mr Michael Gotelee, Chairman – Report and Accounts on Stratford St Mary Welfare Trust.
7.  Mrs Carol Austin, Headmistress – Report on Stratford St Mary Primary School.
8.  Mrs Emily Barrell – Report on the Youth Club.
9.  PC Steve Bright and Mr Bill Davies – Police report and Neighbourhood Watch report.
10.  Presentation by Cllr Michelle Claridge on implementations made by the Parish Council.
11.  Mr Gerald White – District Councillor's Report.
12.  Mrs Sue Carpendale – District Councillor's Report.
13.  Mrs Adi Lavender – County Councillor's Report.
14.  Parishioners' Questions and Answers.

PRIZE DRAW
&
COFFEE AND BISCUITS

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