There were two important anniversaries that were celebrated in the village at the beginning of June: one was the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the second was the 40th anniversary of the village Horticultural Show. We would like to thank the teams from GW Events, the Bowls Club and the Horticultural Show for putting on such a varied and inclusive weekend of events including a fete, barn dance and village picnic. I would also like to thank the Parish Councillors who helped organise a moving commemoration of the D-Day Landings.
These were the main matters discussed at the Annual Parish Council meeting in June:
Parking around the Shop
We are one step closer to having double yellow lines put around the junction and down towards the zebra crossing as this has been agreed with Highways. Having spoken to local residents, we are aware that this may have a negative knock-on effect for them. We will also talk to the shop and takeaway owners as this may well affect their business, however we feel this is the only solution to try at the moment.
We would also like to make clear that the Parish Council, at the time of the planning application, strongly objected to it due to parking issues in particular. However, this was not accepted as a valid reason for refusal and, despite a number of letters since to both Babergh and Highways, neither is willing to take responsibility for our current problems.
20 mph speed limit along Folly Road
We have very disappointing news regarding our attempts to get this in place For nearly a year there has been a lot of correspondence between ourselves and various bodies in order to try and get an official speed reduction along Folly Road around the school. Although the speed test that was undertaken revealed that speeds along the road did make a 20mph a possibility, we would need to put in some kind of speed calming measure and this was not possible due to the number of driveways along the road there. In addition the area did not meet the required minimum length for a speed limit.
We gather that these criteria are up for review in the future and, once this has been done, we may be able to look at it again.
Term time Parking for Pre-School on the Playing Field
We are still pursuing this.
No Through Road signs at the entrance to Heathway
After a very odd response from Babergh regarding Heathway not counting as a No Through Road, we have decided to create our own new signs to be affixed to the road signs.
State of the road near the Bowls Club
Still not done, sadly. We may have to explore more options to get this done before serious damage is done to either a vehicle or person using the road.
New and Replacement Playground Equipment
We will be following up on this to see if we can get a definitive date soon.
Playing Field and Pavilion
We have met with the solicitor to agree his letter which will ask Suffolk County Council for their position on our rights over use and access to both the playing field and our Pavilion.
End of Year Finances
As a Parish Council we take very seriously the responsibility of spending Parish money wisely and we have worked hard this year to make our finances as transparent as possible. Mark Freeman, our Parish Clerk, prepared a very detailed and thorough end of year report for the Council to view.
Action Plan
Over the next couple of months, we will be preparing our Action Plan for the next year. This will be based on issues that have been brought to our attention throughout the past year. Our experience so far has given us a better idea of exactly how long it can take to get things done as a number of items on our last year’s plan will need to be taken forward into the next year.
Biodiversity Action Plan
Unfortunately it is too easy to ignore the recent extreme losses of biodiversity because the consequences are not yet affecting us personally. I am very grateful to the members of the village who are working to protect our biodiversity and who ensure that this stays on our radar as a Parish Council. We know, as with everything that we do, it is always a matter of compromise, but we need to be doing everything we can to protect what we have left. To this end we now have a detailed Biodiversity Action Plan.
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 8th July), please email Mark Freeman on parishclerk.gwpc@waldingfield.uk or phone on 07922 336386. Or come to chat to members of the Parish Council at the Community Larder on Friday mornings at the Village Hall.
Many thanks, Clare Kiely, Chair of the Parish Council