At a meeting of the Parish council held on Monday 8th March 2010 there were present, Mr.S. Perks ( Vice Chairman), Mr. J. Blowers, Mrs J Browne, Mr. S. Lewis, Mr. S. Rees, Mr R Leech, Mrs. G Soanes, Mr. G Wade, Mrs T Townend & Mr. K Wood. W.D.C. Mr. P. Ashdown, SCC Mr M Barnard, PSCO Sue Kershaw , PC David Stranks and 7 Parishioners were also present.
Apologies were received from Mr J Nichols & SCC Mr C Law  
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 8th February were approved and signed.
Declaration of Interests. No Interests were declared
15 minutes for Parishioner input. A parishioner reported the 30mph road sign on Lound Road opposite Raglan cottage (near the postbox) had been knocked over. The clerk will report this to the Highways dept. The white railings around Peto’s pond (on the corner of Church Road & Flixton Road) have still not been repaired. The clerk had originally reported this problem on 11th Feb & will chase up. A parishioner reported the problem of flood water on Lowestoft road & asked what action could be done. The Vice Chairman advised that the excess water on the road was caused by the pipes that had been laid in previously open ditches becoming blocked with debris causing the water to flow over the top & directly onto the road. The recent frosts had caused the water to freeze makeing this whole stretch of road extremely dangerous. Mr S Rees had witnessed two accidents on the morning of 2nd March & immediately reported the problem to SCC, Cllr Law & Cllr Barnard. With the assistance of Cllr Barnard, SCC Highways were on site on the 4th of March to fix & clear the problem. Highways were also contacting SCC farms to request clearing of the ditches further back to complete the clearing & hopefully prevent as well to help alleviate the problem. A parishioner voiced concerns over security at the old Walton garage site. He was concerned that the barriers were not sufficient & were not secured at night. Some of the traffic cones which were used as part of the fencing were put on the roofs of nearby parked cars. Mr Lewis advised the cones were placed on the feet of the temporary barriers for safety reasons after the original wall & fence was decimated by high winds. Mr Lewis will ensure the gates are securely locked after hours. Mr Ffitch advised the water level on the Barkis Meadow pond was very high & is above the outlet pipe and was concerned there may be another blockage. Mr Ffitch also asked if we had received a final report from Anglian water regarding the sewerage problem during Autumn 2009 & also when the pond would be re-stocked with fish. The clerk will check back through the previous minutes and will also contact Anglian water. A parishioner asked if we could arrange a village ‘litter pick’. This was done in the past & was very successful. All the councillors agreed this would be a good idea. Mr Rees volunteered to organize this & a date was set for Saturday 20th March. Cllr Ashdown will provide bags & gloves etc. All are encouraged to come along and help and this would be much appreciated. Please meet at Blundeston village hall at 10am. A parishioner had reported that damp is coming though into his home from a neighbouring property in Orchard Lane. The property is currently unoccupied and has been for a number of years. Cllr Ashdown will follow up as this has been previously looked into by WDC.
Other parish business (Parish Councilors). Mr Blowers reported that a short wall outside 5, Queensway had been damaged two years ago & had still not been re-built. It was suggested WDC were responsible for this wall. Cllr Ashdown will follow up. Mrs Towend reported a large pothole in Orchard Close outside the entrance to the car park behind the hairdresser’s. The clerk will report this to the highways dept. Mr Wood reported large lorries are still churning up the verges on the Flixton Road ( B1074). This will be reported to the highways dept by the clerk. Mrs Browne had been contacted by two parishioners who had noticed the smell of sewerage along Market Lane. This could be linked to the high level of water on Barkis Meadow pond. The clerk will contact Anglian water regarding this whole problem. Mrs Browne also reported she had been in contact with all parties as previously discussed, concerning the traffic problem in Church Road. Mr Blowers had been in contact with the owner of the land opposite the school and had discussed the possibility of widening the road or forming a new lay by. The land owner had advised widening of the road would be the preferred option and would consider selling a section of his land for this use subject to conditions and agreement by all concerned. Mr Leech raised the matter of the poor state and general appearance of the old Walton garage site and asked if the site could be tidied up. Mr Lewis advised that it can be tidied up and he would arrange this. Mr Rees thanked Cllr Barnard SCC for his assistance in getting the flooding on Lowestoft road resolved last week. Mr Wade advised the ditches off Lound Road behind ‘Edelweiss’ were blocked and asked who’s responsibility it would be to clear these out. Mr Wood advised it was generally the land owners responsibility and Mr Perks agreed that land owners should ensure ditches on their land are clear. Mr Wade agreed to speak to the landowner concerned								
Police Report. The police report was read out by PSCO Kershaw. There were five recorded crimes; for the month of February for Blundeston & none for Flixton. 1 Relates to H.M. Prison, 2 were for criminal damage to vehicles on Meadowlands & The Street as reported briefly in last months meeting. Damage was a broken windscreen wiper & wing mirror. 1 burglary took place at the garden centre on Lound Road. The investigation is still ongoing. A common assault took place at a property in the Street. There was no injury & the case has been closed. PSCO Kershaw also reported to the bus company concerns over the speed of buses through the village. The bus company reported it will look into the matter but for the complainant to give them times & days. Cllr Barnard reconfirmed that SCC had spoken to the operating company who  225
confirmed all drivers had been spoken to regarding speed as reported in the last meeting. Following the decimation of the railings around Peto’s pond in February, no accident had been reported there. On 21st February a vehicle left the road at the junction of Hall Road and Hall Lane. The driver as taken to hospital & the road was closed for approx 1 hour. Community speedwatch has taken another step forward. The clerk from Lound (on behalf of all the rural North councils) is in the process of purchasing equipment, signs & Hi-Vis jackets. WDC Cllr Barnard advised the money had been received. Two more volunteers have come forward from Oulton Village & there is a possibility of two more form Corton. The sites are being looked at by Sgt Green & PC Stranks & a meeting will be held at Lound for the volunteers showing them how to use the equipment & also to discuss health & safety issues. With WDC & as part of the North SNT priorities tasking, dog fouling has been highlighted as the third priority. These priorities are decided at the task meeting. The next meeting is to be held on Monday 15th March 10am at Oulton Community centre.
District Councillor report  Mr P Ashdown confirmed that the fly tipping had finally been cleared on the Flixton Road. Waveney Norse will start looking at cleaning of roadsides in rural areas as work to clear the A12 is nearing completion. He will speak to the environmental health officer to arrange equipment for the littler pick and the removal of the collected rubbish. The meeting was attended by WDC Andrew Reynolds, principle environmental health officer. Mr Reynolds gave a short talk detailing a new scheme to enable community representatives to participate in the enforcement effort by means of the Waveney ‘incident Ticketing Scheme’. This scheme involves training being offered to key representatives of the local community to enable them to capture essential information about incidents of littering & dog fouling. This will be placed on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting. 
County Councillor Report.Cllr Barnard reported the following. The meeting which was due to take place in February regarding the junction of B1074 and Church Road was subsequently cancelled due to illness and Mr Barnard is waiting for an update. It was also reported that due to a shortage of salt only major roads will be gritted incase of any further frosts.
Skate Park update Mrs W Dawson read out the following report. Phase 2 ramps are progressing well and they are half way through the installation. This means that the interim payment of £10,000 (plus VAT) is due. Suffolk Environmental Trust will be making this payment direct to the contractor, Clever Curves Ltd, however, the parish council need to make the VAT payment of £1,750, which we can then reclaim upon receipt.  Mrs Dawson advised The EDP had been in touch, and asked to have details of Phase 2 which was agreed and that she will be in touch with them to have a photo shoot when the ramps are complete. This is likely to be around mid day on either the 27th March or 3rd April. 
Accounts The following accounts were approved for payment.
Clever Curves Ltd 	VAT ( This to be reclaimed ASAP)		£1,750.00		
Planning 
Mrs T Cains. 8 Orchard Lane. Construction of single storey side extension. This was approved.
Correspondence
WDC – Waveney Local development framework. Blundeston has no current sites for development. Information pack was passed to councillors for perusal. 
WDC – Village of the year competition. Cllr. Ashdown to forward entry form.
SCC – Temporary closure of Bridleway Fisher Row ( part) Oulton. During flood defence improvement works.
The next meeting will be held on Monday 12th April 2010 at 7.30p.m. There being no further business the meeting closed at 9p.m.									

226