Report Parish Council Meeting 24th August 2005.
The meeting opened with the Chairman welcoming Mr. Glen Garrod, Chief Executive of Waveney District Council, who had been invited to attend the Parish Council Meeting to talk about the Strategic Direction of Waveney District Council,
After receiving apologies for absence, declaration of interests and signing of the minutes from the meeting of the 13th July, the Chairman invited Mr Garrod to address the Council.
He started by informing the Parish Council that Waveney was one of 7 Districts in Suffolk, it has the second largest population of around 115,000, it has 5 main population centres, they are Lowestoft, Beccles, Bungay, Halesworth and Southwold. Waveney is the least parished area in Suffolk. It has a gross budget of £76m but has the lowest Council tax in Suffolk, only 7%, and it was the only District Council rated ?weak? by the Audit Commission. He went onto say that in the light of the Audit Commissions report decisions needed to be taken of a strategic direction and appreciation of where the Council sees itself in the future. This requires full consultation with the Communities In Waveney and it is the intention that Waveney District Council provide a safe, clean, attractive and prosperous environment. The priority outcomes are that there is an environment that meets basic needs of the Communities, that the environment is sustainable and clean, that the environment is one of quality and culture with a strong economy and above all an environment that engages the Community. He then went onto say that it was important to the future that the youth of the Communities be involved, one way is through Youth Councils, of which he had experience when he worked on the Isle of Wight. The problem with youth councils is that not all the youth want to be sitting around at meetings or attending parish and district council meetings as some find the experience boring, that is to say that Youth Councils don?t work, in some cases they do. He stated it was his intention to speak to the schools and through their headteachers find a way to engage the youth in future plans of Waveney District Councils and local Parish Councils.
There were questions from Councillors, which include should Kessingland as one of the largest villages in Suffolk and having a greater population than Southwold/Reydon be included in the larger picture of population centres. For that reason alone the Parish Council believe that Kessingland should be recognised and perhaps in so doing receive some of the benefits given to those on the list. Other questions surrounded the issues of youth councils.
At the conclusion of his briefing the Chairman on behalf of those Councillors present thanked Mr Garrod for his time and attendance and hoped that some of the issues mentioned would be taken on board by Waveney District Council.
The Chairman then read out the Police report. There had been 29 crimes during the month of July. There were 6 burglaries, 7 assaults, 6 criminal damage, 4 thefts, 1 robbery, 1 obstruction of a police officer, 1 interference with a motor vehicle and 3 domestic incidents. With regards the Parish Team, this did not get off the ground due to lack of support, but if there are residents who are interested in getting this started and attending meetings they should contact either Pc Finlayson or Wpc Deal.
There was no report from Waveney District Councillor Jamie Starling and Suffolk County Councillor John Goldsmiths report covered environmental and flooding issues in the area of Coopers Drive and Marsh Lane and that he as getting some success with the moving of the bus stop outside the address of Mr and Mrs Birch in Field Lane.
The Chairman?s report included an update on work being carried out at the old Police House, the proposed date of occupancy for the Parish Council and it being opened for agencies to come into the village is around the end of September.
With regards to the Car Park and Play Area in Church Road, at the moment that date for completion should be around mid September, arrangements are in hand that there should be a Fun Day for the opening of the Play Area.
After taking reports from the various committees, the Chairman then dealt with the correspondence, which included letters and e-mails for some of the Community and information from other agencies. One of these letters was from Suffolk County Council Traffic Management, stating that they were proceeding with plans to implement parking restrictions in the vicinity of the pedestrian crossing outside the school in Field Lane. There will be no parking allowed on the west side of the crossing to the junction leading to the shops between stipulated times, the full details of the order will be notified will be published when known.
After dealing with Finance issues the Chairman closed the meeting, the next Parish Council Meeting will be Wednesday 14th September, 7.30pm at the Methodist Church Hall, Church Road.