Annual Report – Page 1

ANNUAL REPORT

2012

Stowupland Parish Council

Report From The Chairman Nic Perks

Once again I have pleasure in submitting the annual report of Stowupland Parish Council to

you. There is much to be proud of over the last 12 months and the usual sprinkling of regrets for plans that did not succeed or turn out as well as we had hoped. I hope

this report gives you a flavour of some of the work, projects and issues tackled in the last year and our expectations of the future.

On reviewing the past twelve months it has once again brought home to me how essential it is and fortunate we are to have such committed, enthusiastic and knowledgeable councillors to serve on the Parish Council. My thanks to them all for their support not only for myself and Jerry but for giving so generously of their time and experience for the benefit of all in the village. My thanks also to Rachel, our Parish Clerk, whose professionalism, hard work and unstinting support for councillors and residents alike makes our lives so much easier.

A word of thanks also to those employed by the council who help maintain our village environment. Alan Parris, our maintenance man, who looks after our Churchyard and carries out a wide range of jobs around the village. Richard Ball who, with the assistance of his wife Sharron, looks after our cemetery so well. Last but not least, Mike Hawkins, our litter picker, who works so hard, often against the odds, to keep our Green and surrounding areas clear of litter.

Annual Report – Page 2 Annual Report – Page 3

The Parish Council is of course only part of the story. It is your support and the support of our many volunteers who give so generously of their time to help others through Good Neighbours, organise community events, litter pick, carry out footpath surveys, keep our Play Park tidy, attend our Village Litter Picks and Village Walks and much more besides, which has enabled us to achieve so much this year. Particular thanks also are due to Julia Gladwell and her editorial board who produce our award winning village magazine. A magazine that does so much to keep us all informed about village life and events and contributes so much to creating that feeling of belonging to a community.

The last 12 months seem to have been dominated by ‘business as usual’ for the parish council whilst significant changes have been taking place around us in local government. Much time has been spent on gauging the likely impacts of those changes on our village and making representations where appropriate.

Some of the major issues of twelve months ago are still there but they have been marking time because of the changes and financial pressures being experienced at County and District Council level. The provision of more affordable housing is still a major issue for us. Although there have been no significant developments in the last 12 months we will be vigorously pursuing this policy in the coming months. The provision of safer routes through the village for residents and school pupils is once again included in Suffolk County Council spending plans and we will be working with them, our schools and the village hall to ensure we get the best possible outcome from the proposals for all our residents.

Some initiatives have necessarily fallen by the wayside. Despite a promising start the councillor surgeries piloted in the first 6 months of last year were discontinued last July through lack of support and the plans for a skate park in the village did not come to fruition although the monies from the sale of the equipment has now been set aside for future projects involving young people.

The meetings between the Parish Council and the High School lapsed for a while but have recently been relaunched with the Chairman of the School Governors, the School’s Business Manager and the caretaker. We aim to tackle jointly a range of matters including the perennial litter problem, informing residents of school events and facilities that are available to the public as well as

Annual Report – Page 2 Annual Report – Page 3

encouraging the school and its students to support village events and generally take a much more active part in village life.

The Transport, Traffic and Safety Working Group as part of the emphasis on tackling speeding around the village is in the final stages of setting up a joint Speedwatch group with Onehouse Parish Council and is supporting other initiatives such as the extension of the 30mph limit along Gipping Road. The group also sends representatives to the Stowmarket and District Road Safety Group and the quarterly Police Safer Neighbourhood Team Priority Setting meetings.

The next month or so should see the completion of plans for much needed improvements to our Cemetery such as an extension of the front parking apron and fencing to screen the spoil and compost heap. We will continue to explore the possibility of providing a turning point for hearses at the top of the driveway.

We have continued our work to improve the village environment with a programme of tree surgery, ditch clearance and grass cutting. We have also recently agreed with Suffolk County Council Rights of Way department that we will take over the twice-yearly (June and September) cutting of footpaths for 2012 (including the SCC budget to pay for the work).

The biggest item, in terms of expenditure, is our commitment to have all our streetlights converted to enable them to be switched off between the hours of Midnight and 5.30am and ensuring they are all fitted with low energy bulbs. The cost will be met from our reserves specifically set aside for the replacement of our streetlight columns. The good news this year was a County Council survey showed that all the concrete columns were in excellent condition giving us plenty of time to rebuild our reserves for when they do eventually need replacement.

What does the future hold for us? The Localism Act was passed last year and we have continued to monitor the possible impacts on our village, particularly with regard to planning issues. The saga of The Stowmarket Area Action Plan rumbles on and if the government’s planning inspector approves changes to Mid Suffolk’s Core Strategy then we expect the public examination of the SAAP (postponed from September 2011) to take place at the end of June/beginning of July. We shall be making our

Annual Report – Page 4 Annual Report – Page 5

representations on behalf of the village at that examination. The continued expansion of Stowmarket and its effect on the village continue to cause concern to many. The Mid Suffolk/Babergh merger is still in progress. It is taking much longer than expected and service levels have suffered as a result.

Whatever awaits us as a community the Parish Council will continue to monitor events, take whatever actions and make what-ever representations are appropriate on behalf of all the residents of Stowupland. I look forward to the next twelve months, confident in the support of my fellow Councillors and in the belief that we all want Stowupland to continue to be such a great place to live.

Report from the Clerk – Rachel Godbold

Firstly I’d like to thank all the councillors for their help and support throughout the year. Parish Councillors spend a lot of time working on behalf of the community and make

decisions on behalf of everyone in the village. Some of their decisions are not popular with everyone (unfortunately, you can’t please all the people all of the time). However, if Councillors aren’t aware of individual’s views they can’t represent them, so please make sure that, if you’re interested in a particular subject, you attend the meetings or make your views known to the council.

I’d also like to thank Mike, Alan and Richard for their roles in keeping the village looking good.

Finally I’d like to thank all the volunteers that help in various ways to make Stowupland a great place to live.

ACCOUNTSBelow you will see a summary of the Council’s income and

expenditure for the year ending 31st March 2012. At the time of writing these accounts have not been audited. I am very grateful to Mr John Grand, the Internal Auditor for the Parish Council, who regularly checks the accounts and gives invaluable advice.

Annual Report – Page 4 Annual Report – Page 5

The Council needs to appoint a new internal auditor for the future. If you have the necessary expertise and feel able to help please contact the clerk.

As you can see, the majority of the Council’s income comes from the Precept. This is money raised from your council tax, you may have noticed this shown separately on your council tax bill.

INCOmE ANd ExPENdITURE FOR ThE

PERIOd ENdING 31ST mARCh 2012

Speedwatch is a joint project between Stowupland Parish Council and Onehouse Parish Council. A donation of £600 was received from Suffolk County Councillor Gary Green’s Locality Budget towards this.

The grants or donations made were as follows: £2,100 towards the costs of Telstar, £150 to the Mid Suffolk Citizens Advice Bureau, £75 to Optua, £75 to Age Concern, £58 to Stowupland Local History Group and £5 to the Suffolk Nature Trust.

The balance held in Parish Council accounts at 31st March 2012 was £60,598 which includes reserves of £8,349 for

INCOmE ExPENdITURE

Precept

32,500 Administration 16,922

Administration 3,831 Cemetery 2,065

Cemetery 2,928 Street cleaning 2,513

Allotments 1,276 Allotments 1,117

Community Events 11,630 Community Events 10,141

Sale of skate ramps 4,500 Street Lighting 3,132

Speedwatch donations and payments

1,321 Grass cutting, tree surgery,

ponds, ditches and footpaths

2,622

Donations 2,463

Speedwatch 1,041

£ 57.986 £ 42,016

Annual Report – Page 6 Annual Report – Page 7

Community Events and £6,000 towards Community Projects. A reserve of £27,970 is also held to replace council assets when necessary. Part of this will be spent in 2012-13 to upgrade the street lights in the village to low energy bulbs fitted with intelligent sensors so that lights can be switched off between midnight and 5.30am.

BUdGETThe budget for the year 2012-13 has been set and the main

items of expenditure are shown below:

Administration £ 17,448 Litter collection £ 2,772 Grass cutting, footpaths, tree surgery, ponds and ditches £ 3,520 Street Lighting (including upgrades) £ 21,620 Grants to local organisations £ 2,259 Provision to replacement assets £ 6,000

If you would like to see any of the financial records or minutes please contact me. It is every elector’s right to make a complaint to the external auditor regarding the way that the council conducts its business. If you are concerned about any of the items in the accounts, the council would be grateful if you could approach me in the first instance, as external auditor’s time is very expensive and is charged to the council.

WEBSITEThe Parish Council is currently creating a new website. If you

would like anything included please let me know.

REPORTING PROBLEmSProblems with footpaths, street lights, pot holes, broken signs,

fly tipping etc can be reported by email pc@stowupland.suffolk.gov.uk or by phone (01449) 770 660. These can also be reported directly to Customer Services on 08456 066 067 or by email customerservice@csduk.com

Annual Report – Page 6 Annual Report – Page 7

mEETINGSThe full Parish Council meets on the second Thursday of each

month in the Meeting Room at the Village Hall and there are also various committees and working groups which meet as and when necessary. All meetings are advertised on the notice board outside the Village Hall at least three days before the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend any meeting and there is a public forum at each meeting to enable residents to give their comments or views. If you would like something discussed by the Council please forward a letter or e-mail to me a week before the meeting so that it can be included on the agenda.

ALLOTmENTSPlease contact me if you wish to be put on the waiting list for an

allotment in Stowupland. Priority is given to Stowupland residents.

COUNCILLORSThe current Parish Councillors are:

Councillor Phone No.Mary Bloom 01449 676 549Morris Brand 01449 770 678Roger Carter 01449 612 856Roy Cooper 01449 674 211Rick Hamilton 01449 775 403Ben Miller 07765 408 001Nic Perks 01449 774 200Sally Reeves 01449 612 870Alan Rosten 07738 801 974Jerry Voden 01449 770 334Keith Welham 01449 673 185

Rachel Godbold 01449 770 660 (Tuesday to Thursday 10.00am – 12.00noon)

pc@stowupland.suffolk.gov.uk