Parish Council

Update on what was discussed at our December meeting.

Reporting an Issue – what can a Parish Council do?

A Parish Council tends to be the first port of call for any issues or problems that occur for you within the village. Unfortunately, as has probably become clear from these updates over the last months, a lot of issues are beyond the power of the PC to solve and have to be reported to outside bodies. To help you with this, I have produced a page on the Parish Council section of the website entitled ‘Report an Issue’. Here  you will find a list of issues that we most commonly come across, together with a link to the relevant authority where you can report your issue. If you have any problems with using this, please do contact the Parish Clerk (see email below and on back of the magazine) for further help and advice. 

The following matters were discussed at the Parish Council meeting in November:

Dropped Kerbs

After much discussion, we voted to have two new dropped kerbs installed to allow direct access from the corner near the playing field to the path opposite the entrance to the school. We feel it is so important to allow easy access to the School and Pre-school for everyone. 

Parking at the junction of Bantocks/Valley Road

Having considered a number of options of solving the parking issue here,  we are now exploring the possibility of creating a lay-by on the land behind the pathway where the cars are currently parking. This is at the very early stages and may well fall at the many hurdles that sit in the way of this, not least being the cost.

Green Acre Junction

We also want to make sure that you know we have not given up on finding a way to to improve the situation at this junction due to the extra parking around the takeaway. We are always willing to consider any practical options that you come up with so do let us know. At this point however, we are not considering concreting over Green Acre to create a car park!

Additional AED Defibrillator

After careful consideration, we have decided to place the new AED defib on the green area where Bantocks Road joins Folly Road. We are just waiting for Babergh, who own this piece of a land, to agree. 

Pavilion.

We have asked our solicitor to follow up with Suffolk County Council regarding access to our Pavilion. We feel we need a definitive answer on this before we can proceed any further with ideas for renovation and usage of this building. 

Queens Diamond Jubilee Garden

We are aware of the recent damage to the bench and arbour and will be arranging for these to be mended as soon as possible.

Playground Equipment

We will be starting the minor repairs to the playground equipment that were flagged up by the ROSPA report; this will include the shelter. 

Litter Bins by the shop

Unfortunately both the shop and takeaway are unwilling to replace the bins that were outside  here. The reasons for this are unclear and unfortunately there is no legal requirement for them to provide bins. We are going to approach them once more to see if we can come to some agreement with them so that a bin will be available again. 

Monthly Meet a Councillor

This month a Councillor will be available between 10.30 and 11.30 am in the Village Hall at the Coffee Morning on Wednesday 12th February and in the Committee Room at the side of the Village Hall between 6.30 and 7.30 pm on the same day. Do come along if you have something you’d like to discuss with the Parish Council.

If you have anything you wish either to bring to the Council’s attention or for the Council to consider at the next meeting (Monday 10th March), please email Mark Freeman on parishclerk.gwpc@waldingfield.uk or phone on 07922 336386. Alternatively the Clerk is at the village hall every morning between 9-11.30 apart from Wednesday.

Many thanks                                                      Clare Kiely,  Chair of the Parish Council