At a meeting of the Parish Council held on 28th January 2008 there were present:-
Mr J Nichols, (Chairman), Mr J Blowers, Mr. S. Perks, Mr. K Wood, Mr. S. Rees, Mr. R. Leech and Mrs. T. Townend. W.D.Councillor P. Ashdown, PCSO Kershaw and 5 Parishioners.were also present 
Apologies had been received from Mrs G. Soanes, Mrs R Herrivan, Mrs E Hume and Mr S Lewis
Approval of the minutes. The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 17th December 2007 were approved and signed subject to the following explanation regarding funding for new play equipment. The Pre School Chairman had pointed out in a letter to the Chairman that the application for that funding was not solely made by the Pre School Committee as reported in the December Parish Council minutes, but by a consortium of interested local parties connected with children.
There were No declarations of Interests
15 minutes for Parishioner input.
Mr. Edwards reported that the hedges along the road to Lound from Peto’s pond onwards have not been cut for some considerable time and the worst part is from Holly Gardens onwards with brambles being the main nuisance, making it impossible for pedestrians to get into the verge when traffic approaches. The Clerk was asked to contact the Landowners and ask for this to be remedied. Mr. Ffitch and Mr. Edwards have cleared out the Market Lane Pond, removing crisp packets and various bottles and cans, the Chairman thanked them for their efforts. 
Other Parish Business
Mr. Perks said that he had walked down to Skate Park and discovered that there was an awful lot of litter on and around the football field, in particular in the ditch, crisp bags and bottles and carrier bags, he said that he thought that the Parish Council should consider paying someone to clear the mess up. The Chairman said that he would contact the organisers of the football matches and see if they would be prepared to clear up, as he felt sure that most of the rubbish had been generated during their games. Mr. Perks asked why the Tennis court is sometimes locked sometimes not. He was also concerned that the wire fencing around the court needed rewiring and the uprights straightening. He offered to get a quote for repairing the fence and the Parish Council could consider it at the next meeting, . He also reported that the verges along Hall Road are being damaged by Lorries going to and from the Prison. Mr Perks had noted that there was still flooding along Lowestoft Road even after all the work done in this area two years ago. He felt that the road surface on the corner of Church Road needs renovating, this has been reported to the Highways Department on several occasions but the Clerk has been told that there are no funds available to undertake the repairs. Police report. During December two crimes had been reported both of criminal damage which occurred on The Street on the same evening. In another incident two unknown youths were extremely abusive to the shooting party on Boxing Day no names have yet been made known to the Police.  Parking on corner of Lakeside Rise is causing problems, it is believed that this is in connection with the building taking place at the prison. There have been two incidents of fly-tipping around the villages, WDC was congratulated on the prompt removal of the rubbish. On Friday 25th January five vehicles parked outside the School on Church Road had their windows smashed and some had valuables taken. PCSO Kershaw asked everyone to keep valuables out of sight in their parked cars. District Councillors report, Mr. Ashdown said that there was not a lot to report - changes at Town Hall have been well reported, and there will be more changes in the near future. S. Rees thanked WDC for promptly clearing the fly tipped rubish which he had reported. Skate Park update, Mrs. Dawson reported that two people from the management group do clear up rubbish on a weekly basis, and on Saturday morning when she inspected the site there was no evidence of litter, and on Sunday she was surprised to find such an amount in the ditches, and broken glass embedded in the mud. Mr. Blowers asked if any progress been made on the drainage system? This is in hand. In answer to Mr. Wood's question Mrs Dawson replied that £85, 000 will be the total spending on the skate park once phase two is completed. Mr. Perks said that he was worried about the number of youngsters who ride home from the park in the dark with no lights on their bicycles. PCSO Kershaw has spoken to boys and asked them to walk if they have no lights. Mr. Blowers reported that the Junior goalposts have been erected and have already been used. The advantage is that they are mobile and during the summer they can be used by the boys when the main posts have been  removed. The new goals can be wheeled around to positions the players are happy with. Notice boards regarding ball games on the juniors playground are being made by Mr. Alderton. Playground repairs. Mr. Wood said that the wooden equipment needs removing as it was no longer worth repairing. It was decided that, irrespective of whether or not the grant, currently being applied for, is successful Mr Rees will take responsibility for applying for funding to further upgrade the equipment. Play strategy meetings over the next couple of weeks should determine whether funding for upgrade and new equipment, in the three earmarked villages, has been approved. Mr Perks will undertake to remove the wooden equipment as soon as possible. Report on Northern Parishes Liaison meeting, Malcolm Cherry reported problems with traffic relating to bridge closures and road-works. Hopton Councillor reported that they have an annual meeting with the Members of Gt. Yarmouth Council at the Town Hall and find that very helpful. Mr. Ashdown was asked to enquire if a similar thing could be carried out in Waveney. The format of the Area Forums has changed we are now in Area Forum 1 which includes some 23,000 resident voters and is the largest group in Waveney. Forum 1 still has some money left in its locality budhet, the deadline for application is 31st March and the maximum claim is £500. Somerleyton Parish Council reported that they have discovered that the  B1074 is 28th out of 64 roads needing attention and this will not be done in the first year. The statistics report 1 million vehicles transits along B1074 in a year!
Planning.
Mr. & Mrs. Klyne, Farfield House, Flixton.Erection of Garage and garden equipment store. Approved.  
Mr. & Mrs. Larter, Pound Cottage, Hall Road,  Construction of a single storey rear extension. Approved.
Accounts 
W.DC. one quarterly safety check on Play area and equipment		37.  01
B.M. Shaw, Clerk's salary October, November, December			237. 50
				plus 1/3 telephone rental			    9. 16 
            246.  66
J. Nichols 1/4 Broadband Allowance						  25.  00
Mrs. W. Dawson in respect of planning applications for skate park	            155.  50
Mark Turner erection of goalposts		                                                120.  00

Mr. Perks asked the Clerk to put on the agenda for next month 'a revision of Clerks Salary', she should also provide a list of Clerks salaries and to establish the last time her salary was reviewed.  
Correspondence.
Community and Local Government – Consultation on orders and regulations relating to the conduct of Local Authority Members in England. 
Suffolk Preservation Society – Waste Issues Report October 2007 copy of letter to David Botwright, very good response, problems over landfill sites etc. WDC have solved the problem very well. SCC sent details of a temporary closure of part of B1375 notice. Suffolk Accident Rescue Service request for donation, it was decided that the Clerk should forward a donation of £25 which had been the usual amount in the past. 
A letter had been received from a parishioner re development of the site in The Street. In this he suggested that there should be provision of off road parking for site personnel vehicles, a compulsory vehicle tyre washing facility for all traffic leaving the site and that all major deliveries should be carried out off the public highway to ensure there is no congestion in The Street. The Chairman said that he was disgusted by the state of the highway and footpath around the site on Lound Road, the District Councillor was asked to find out what the requirements are in connection with such sites ie the parking of contractors vehicles, cleaning mud of the road etc.. The Clerk was asked to pass the comments on to the Developer involved with the building site on The Street plus the Lound Road Contractor. 
W.D.C. had another round of World of Planning Events and the Chairman will attend the meeting on March 4th.  
Mr. Wood said he was pleased that the drainage work on B1074 is now being carried out, hopefully there will be no more running water in this area. The Parish Council have been highlighting the problem and suggesting the remedy for the past eleven years. He was concerned that more traffic will be generated by the extra prisoner accommodation modules at present being built at H.M.P.  
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Monday 10 March.