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Report from the Parish Council

Hargrave Parish Council Meeting held on November 10th 2022

The Parish Council were pleased to welcome councillors Mike Chester from West Suffolk Council and Bobby Bennett from Suffolk County Council. Reports were given and can be found on this website. Some outstanding items were raised with Bobby Bennett who agreed to follow them up mostly involving Highways and concerns over speed limits.

Items arising from the last meeting:

The Grit bin in Ousden Road has now been repositioned thanks to Cllr Paul Rogers and friends.

Flooding issues outside School cottages was raised with Bobby Bennett who will follow through with Highways.

Emergency Plan for Hargrave working group has met and is progressing with developing the plan.

Knowles Green Tree planting, all the trees have been inspected and around 20% have died. The % is higher than expected (around 15%) because of the very hot spell during the summer, it was agreed the Woodland trust will be approached to see if they can offer replacement trees. It is intended to plant replacement trees in the spring so long as replacements can be obtained.

Replacement of speed camera. Paul Rogers reported that the existing machine has broken and repairs are not feasible so after seeking advice from manufacturers it was agreed a new machine should be purchased. Discussions are now on going with the neighbouring villages who also use the machine to agree on a replacement machine and the sharing of costs. In addition Bobby Bennett has agreed a contribution from the locality fund she has access to.

Bus Transport. Cllr John Schofield reported that discussions with Stephenson's transport have not progressed and it is clear that Stephenson's are withdrawing routes elsewhere in the County as their costs are increasing. The likelihood of an extension of the current route to Hargrave appears to be unlikely in the foreseeable future. Ideas are welcome as to other avenues that can be explored.

New Clerk to the Parish council. Antonia reported that 2 applicants have shown an interest in the position and so it was agreed that each will be invited for an interview.

Community lunch. Arising from discussions in the emergency plan group and discussions with the Church it was agreed to jointly start a community “light” lunch in the village hall starting on Saturday 12th November. It is proposed to run from 11am to 3pm and be free to all villagers. The Parish Council agreed to contribute £50 towards the cost should that be needed. In addition the Local Hargrave charities have also been approached and they likewise would look at a donation should it be needed. (See the report within the newsletter on the first lunch)

Standing orders. The standing orders were approved as necessary.

Financial Reports submitted by the clerk together with a proposal for the precept for the year2023/2024. If approved this will see a slight increase from £5K to £5100. This will need to be finally agreed by the Parish council in the January meeting.

Neighbourhood Plan update. This item was discussed in camera and required all Councillors to respect the confidentiality of the items discussed. Colin Painter presented a report on the updates to the Neighbourhood plan and possible options for the way forward. The proposal was accepted by the Parish council and will now move forward as outlined.

Next Meeting January 12th 2023 7.30pm in the village Hall

 

David Taylor - Parish Council Chairman.