Report Annual Parish Meeting 26th April 2006
The Chairman of the Parish Council opened the meeting by welcoming all those present in particular the guest speaker Bruce Grainger, Crime Reduction Officer Suffolk Constabulary, District Councillor Bruce Provan, and Waveney District Council?s Corporate Director, Louise Jordan-Hall.
The presentation given by Bruce Grainger centred on distraction burglaries, personal safety and road safety. It was very well received and Mr Grainger answered questions on house security and personal security from a number of those present. At the conclusion of his presentation, the Chairman thanked him for what was a very informative presentation and on behalf of those present, for attending the meeting.
Following a break the meeting resumed with the Parish Council Chairman giving his report for the last 12 months since the meeting in 2005. This covered a wide variety of subjects, it included a progress report on Beaconsfield Road, the Multi Use Games Area in Francis Road, the of the Community Office in Church Road and the setting up of a Committee to produce an Emergency Plan for the village. There was an update on the Parish plan, which included planning issues. The Chairman also touched on the probability that due to the influence that Central Government is having on local town and district council re-organisation, that in future more emphasis is going to be placed on communities having more of a say in what effects them. This means that Parish Councils will be given more responsibilities at grass roots level to deal with some community issues. There will be more to report on this and the community will be made aware through the Parish newsletter and media reports.
Following the Chairmans Report there were reports from Waveney District Councillor Bruce Provan, the local Community Police Officer, representatives who use the Community Office namely Waveney Womens Health, Meridian and Help the Aged. Reports were also received from the Help in Need Trust, the Youth Project, the Mardles Trust and the Beach Warden.
The meeting concluded with Louise Jordan Hall outlining her responsibilities at Waveney District Council with regards to working closer with Communities. In her case Kessingland was one of a number of parishes that she had responsibility for. She explained to date following a visit to Kessingland she was working closely with the Parish Council and was speaking to District Council Officers about the many issues surrounding Kessingland. To date through her liaison a number of meetings were in the planning stage between the Parish Council and District Council to work closer together for the benefit of the Community.
Before closing the meeting the Chairman thanked all those that had participated in the meeting and for those who attended