Changes to the PC
Sadly this will be my last report to you as Chair of the Parish Council; I am stepping down from the Council at the beginning of April after the Annual Parish Meeting. After nearly 8 years of working on both the Neighbourhood Plan and the Parish Council, it is time to take step back. I consider it a privilege to have served the village in this way and I will certainly be continuing with village projects going forward, but just fewer of them – my alpacas have missed me!
John Evans has kindly agreed to take over as Chair so I know I am leaving the Council in very capable hands. He will be supported by a truly proactive team which I have been proud to lead over the last two years.
New vacancy on the Council
As I am leaving, there is now a vacancy on the Parish Council. If you feel you could offer some time to take on this very worthwhile role, please email Mark, our Parish Clerk (see below). We are always happy to discuss with anyone who might be interested.
Annual Parish Meeting and Meet and Greet
As last year we are holding our Annual Parish Meeting on a Saturday – 5th April starting at 6 pm. We will also be hosting a Meet and Greet session beginning at 3 pm when you can come along and find out about all the different groups that run in the village. Refreshments will be available and then you are warmly invited to stay on to hear my report on what the PC has got up to throughout the year. We aim to finish by 7 pm.
The following matters were discussed at the March meeting:
Devolution
Our County Councillor reported the following at our meeting:
Suffolk and Norfolk will elect a Mayor of a new Combined Authority in May 2026, initially comprising of Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils. New unitary councils for Norfolk and Suffolk will be created once the Secretary of State for Local Government has granted approval.
There will be a public consultation on all of this so watch out for that and in the meantime
we are keeping a careful eye on all of this as we are unsure at this stage what the likely effect will be on us as a Parish.
Traffic Figures
We continue to be concerned by the numbers of vehicles that are speeding through the village in all directions. Recent figures from the ANPR camera in Ten Tree Road supported our concerns, but nobody seems to be taking any notice. The Traffic Group will be reinstated to concentrate on finding ways to make something happen.
Bus Shelters
The bus shelters on Tentree Road have long been in need of some TLC; we are pleased to say that a lot of work has been done on them and they are now looking much smarter. Unfortunately it hasn’t take long for graffiti to appear on one of them, but we hope that this will not be repeated.
Parking Round the School
As there is still some dangerous parking going on, the village police community volunteer has agreed to make a weekly visit to the school to see if this will help the situation.
Litter Pick
We have been asked to organise a village litter pick so watch out for more details.
Dog Poo bags
Currently the Parish Council pays for dog poo bags at the dog bins around the village at a cost of £500 a year. Unfortunately, due to recent price rises, this will be doubling next year. We will be looking for a cheaper option if we can, but please ask that you only take the bags that you need on your walks around the village.
Sharing Resources.
Our Clerk is now covering Little Waldingfield as well as our village and we are considering sharing the cost of some resources such as training, software that we use, membership of various bodies etc. There will of course need to be a formal arrangement for any of this.
Repairs to QDJG
We are aware that the bench and the arbour are still waiting to be repaired. Ray Baxter and Mike Francis have kindly offered to do this for us just for the cost of the materials. We are very grateful.
Pavilion
Now that we have legal confirmation of our ownership of the Pavilion and therefore access to it, we are pressing ahead with ideas for how it can be used. We want to work closely with the school on all of this to look at ways that refurbishment of the building can benefit both the school and the village.
Footpath 11
You may remember that we met with James Pickerin (from SCC Public Rights of Way Officer)) on Footpath 11 to discuss making it more accessible especially on the corner where Footpath 12 joins and goes right up to the Church. He put in a bid for CIL money to Babergh and we have just heard that it has been accepted. We are delighted and will keep you updated about the project going forward.
Cross Parish Footpaths
Parish Councillors from Great Waldingfield, Edwardstone and Newton together with our footpath warden, David Taylor, met together to discuss trying to reinstate footpaths between these three parishes. We know this is very difficult to do as landowners are not keen on having footpaths across their land, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Village Hall
We are really pleased to report the following from the Village Hall Management Committee:
As part of its planned programme of maintenance, the Management Committee has been working closely with the Suffolk Community Payback Scheme (which is managed by the Suffolk Probation Service) to undertake an internal redecoration project. This initiative not only delivers cost savings, as the labour provided is free, but is an opportunity for the Village Hall, as a registered charity, to positively engage with supervised offenders in providing payback to the community.
VE Day
On Thursday 8th May it will be 80 years since Victory In Europe after the Second World War. Last year we invited the village to join in a celebration on that day when we lit up the Jubilee Garden on the Playing Field in gratitude for the peace we have experienced in this country since then. We will be doing something similar this year so please look out for more details in the next magazine about this event.
Support for saving ‘Reredos’ in the Church
We were asked by Reverend Faith to write a letter in support of restoring the rare mosaic panels in the village Church. As part of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant application, she wants to show that the village is in support of the restoration and keen to find out more about the history of the village and the people who’ve lived here. The Parish Council is proud of having such a beautiful and historic building sitting at the centre of the Conservation Area and is happy to support this in any way we can.
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 9th April 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 7th April – NB Change of Date), please email Mark Freeman on parishclerk.gwpc@greatwaldingfield.uk or phone on 07922 336386. Alternatively, the Clerk is at the village hall every morning between 9-11.30 apart from Thursday.
Many thanks Clare Kiely, Chair of the Parish Council
