At the 2006 Blundeston and Flixton Annual Parish Meeting there were present Mr. J. Nichols (Chairman), Mr. P. Offord, Mr. J. Blowers, Mr G. Alderton, Mrs. G. Soanes, Mrs. T. Townend, Mrs. E. Hilton, Mr. S. Perks, Mrs. E. Hume and Mr. K. Wood. W.D.C B. Hunter, Pc D. Boggis, S.C.C. A. Barron and 15 Parishioners also attended.
The Chairman reported on the past year and he said that was disappointed that he had just received confirmation that there are only 5 candidates seeking re-election to serve on the Parish Council on behalf of Blundeston, and 1 candidate for Flixton, this therefore means that there will be no election for the Parish Council on May 4th and there will be a  need to co-opt people to fill these vacancies. He said that the positive aspect of the situation was that the Parish Council would no longer have to spend £500 of the precept on an election. He thanked all the Parish Councillors and especially John Blowers the Vice Chairman. He explained that the Parish Councillors had received guidance on the Declarations of Interests which is a Legal requirement of all Parish Councils. He thanked Brian Hunter, Allyson Baron and Malcolm Cherry for all the support they had given over the past year, and for their regular attendance at Parish Council meetings, in spite of very busy schedules. He gave an extra thank you to Brian Hunter who has announced his retirement as a District Councillor after thirty years and during that time he has helped with many projects in Blundeston, and although he has tried extremely hard for 12 years, he has not yet managed to have the footpath in Lound Road resurfaced! Mr. Nichols then thanked Pc Boggis who has managed to attend most of the P. C. meetings and give the Council a comprehensive report on the local crime statistics. The Chairman also thanked Mr. & Mrs. Oldman, Mr. Ffitch and Mr. Edwards who attended most meetings, he particularly thanked the latter two for their work on the bollards surrounding the village ponds. He thanked the Clerk for her work during the year and the local Journal representative for getting the minutes published in the Lowestoft Journal, he told those present that all the minutes were also published on the Village Website (www.blundeston.org.uk). Mr. Nichols then gave a brief resume of  the different kinds business dealt with during the year, but most importantly the Parish Plan and he gave particular thanks to the team who made this project possible, this is also available to view on the website. He explained that the Northern Parish Liaison Group had met four times in the past year and it has been found that these meetings are a valuable asset to the Parish Councils involved. He thanked the Party in the Park Committee for organising the Annual event, which will take place on 17th June this year. Mr. Nichols announced that the accounts for the Village Hall Management Committee, Parish Council and Charity Trustees were available for inspection at the side of the Hall, and that the Clerk only reported a small proportion of all the Village Reports and full copies of these can be seen if requested. Mr. Nichols then asked the audience for any questions, Miss Bailey said that she was not aware that there was to be an election for Parish Councillors in May, it was pointed out that there had been posters on the Village Notice boards for several weeks announcing this fact. Mr. Oldman said that he thought that all the Parish Councillors had done “a sterling job” and he would like this fact recording. Mr. Nichols asked Brian Hunter to give his report next - he said that he had enjoyed his time as a District Councillor and his involvement with Blundeston and Flixton Parish Council, Mr. Hunter said that the new Chief Executive had settled in and had many changes would take place. He said that he was disappointed that SCC had seemingly ignored the desire of local persons over the new Primary Care Trust, but now the final decision would come from the Secretary of State. Mr. Hunter said that he is continuing to make representations with regard to a Satellite Refuse Site in North Lowestoft. He said that he remembered as if it had been yesterday being invited to attend the Parish Council meeting by Mr. and Mrs. Paul, as one did not attend unless INVITED! Miss Bailey gave a brief report on her letters over the past 12 years in her attempts to have the footpath in Lound Road resurfaced. As Mr Hunter prepared to leave in order to attend Oulton Parish Council meeting the Chairman presented him with a gift from Blundeston and Flixton Parish Council in appreciation of his many years association with the two Villages. Pc Boggis gave the Police report next. In this he reported that during the past year there had been 89 crimes reported, 28 of these related to HMP  this was a disturbing increase on the 44 crimes reported in the previous year. Allyson Barron gave the SCC report next, she said that she had spent the past year dealing with speeding vehicle problems and various highways matters on behalf of Blundeston and Flixton Parish Council, she reported that she is now a member of the Policy Development for School Reorganisation review panel at SCC and she promised to follow up the matter of Lound Road Footpath resurfacing. Blundeston Bowls Club reported another good year with membership of around 40. The new clubhouse and toilets have been greatly admired by visiting teams who were used to the former archaic facilities, work is ongoing, an  automatic irrigation has been installed with a grant from SCC for which the Secretary thanked Allyson Barron and Malcolm Cherry as they had been a great help in gaining the grant, and the areas around the green have been paved with the help of a grant from WDC. The Charity Trustee report was delivered next. The average income on the investment of the monies received from the sale of the land at the rear of Meadowlands amounts to £800 per month as against the previous £40 before the sale. At Christmas time 106 households in Blundeston applied for Tesco vouchers and students living away from home received Book tokens to the value of £60 each.  The Local History Society reported that they have a 50 strong membership and they have had their usual 4 meetings during the past year and 3 visits during the summer months. The launch of the book entitled “History of Blundeston” has had to be delayed because of problems at the printers the new date will be announced later. The Pre-School (Playgroup) reported that they now have 28 children on the register, close links are kept with the Primary School. Their Nativity Play was well supported and proved to be a good fund raiser. They have planned a summer outing a sponsored walk and a road show. The Party in the Park Committee reported that the event in 2005 was a great success with only a few minor incidents mainly due to underage drinking (of alcohol brought to the event by the culprits). Mr. Lewis thanked all those who helped on the day and announced that the event this year would take place on June 17th.  Mr. Blowers gave a report on behalf of the Royal British Legion 
He said that they had held a successful event in the Village Hall during the year to raise funds and the Remembrance Service held in St. Mary’s Church was always well attended. Saint Mary’s Church report included  the new venture during the year - a holiday club for Children aged 5 to 11, this was held in July last year and was attended by 24 children, who all enjoyed 5 mornings then, and two subsequent Saturday morning Clubs, the scheme is to be run again in August of this year. Repairs to the window in the north wall have been completed, the new carpet is almost complete and the scaffolding is in place for the renewal of the stone cross on the roof. Last years Teddy Bear Parachuting and Flower Festival were very successful with over 500 Teddies taking the plunge! The dates for this years fun are 10th and 11th June. The Sunshine Club had had another enjoyable year with five outings they have 34 members and two couples celebrated their Golden Weddings Anniversaries during the year. New members are always welcome, meetings are held every Monday except Bank Holidays at 2p.m. in Blundeston Village Hall. The W.I. Have 59 members currently, Last year saw a weekend to London to a show and Buckingham Palace, with several other day outings taking place. Weekly  Art Classes and Craft classes are held with a total of around 30 ladies taking part. This year. two rambles, a musical evening and a Gardeners Question time have been arranged. Mr. Nichols invited Mrs. Dawson to give an update on the Skate Park initiative, she had contacted Wren and had been advised that the maximum she could apply for from them would be £20,000,  and estimates have been given at between £55,000 to £65,000 but there are several other sources of funding which she hopes to be successful with, and it is felt that using local builders to do most of the initial groundwork could make the project cheaper. The Chairman gave the Village Hall Management report next. The Caretaker was thanked not only for the way that he and his wife look after the Hall but generally keeping an eye on things round and about the surrounding area. Hire charges were increased by 2.5% from Septemeber. New curtains with blackout linings were going to be made and the floor would be repaired in the next few weeks, the dropped ceiling above the stage is almost complete.
There was no other Parish business.
The chairman thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed