At a meeting of the Parish Council held on April 28th 2003 immediately after the Annual Parish Meeting there were present Mr. J. Nichols (Chairman) Mr. J. Blowers, Mr. S. Lewis, Mr. S. Perks, Mr. T. Prettyman, Mrs. E. Socratous, Mrs. T. Townend and Mr. G. Alderton. Councillor Brian Hunter and 12 Parishioners also attended.
Apologies were received from P. Offord and E. Hume.
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 7th April were approved and signed.
There were no declarations of interest. 
A letter had arrived from a Parishioner who was unhappy about the idea of the parish Council providing a convex mirror for the corner of the Copperfields development. The writer pointed out that the Parish Council and 5 households close to the development had objected at the time of the planning application that the corner would prove to be dangerous and this was ignored by the Highways department. He was also concerned about the Parish Council agreeing to part fund the footpath in this area, but it was felt that there was a misunderstanding about the actual siting of this path. The letter stressed that the Parish Council had objected to the dangerous access to and from the development, but the Chairman pointed out that that was felt to be “water und the bridge” now and the Parish Council should try and address any problems to improve road safety, he offered to deal with the letter and explain exactly where the footpath is being placed. Mr. Hunter had spoken to the Highways Department about erecting a mirror here and they do not recommend the use of them because if an accident were caused through someone relying on the mirror the authority would be liable. It was felt that it would be a dangerous matter for the Parish Council to get involved in in case of litigation. The members were reminded that the next Northern Parishes Liaison Group meeting was due to be held on Wednesday 21st May at 7.30. in Blundeston Village Hall.  The Clerk was asked to contact the P.C. Insurance Company with regard to the repair of the fence around Peto’s Pond which was damaged by a car last year. Notice of a Conference on Renewable energy and the Planning System being held in Beccles on 3rd June by Go-East had arrived the Chairman asked the Clerk to put this on the agenda for next months meeting. A newsletter had arrived from the Environment Agency.
Accounts. The following account was proposed for payment by Mr. Blowers and seconded by Mr. Prettyman.
		Allianz Cornhill Insurance plc	786. 75.  Annual Premium
The clerk distributed a copy of the Parish Council accounts to each Councillor and the account books and copies of the accounts had been displayed to the Public during the Annual meeting held immediately before this meeting.
Planning The following plans were approved -
Mr. & Mrs. C. Harrowven, Decoy Farmhouse	Single storey extension and alterations plus construction of a carport.
Mr. & Mrs. C. Harrowven, Decoy Farmhouse	Conversion of existing Dairy Parlour to Dwelling and construction of a garage.
The Countryside Agency had forwarded a Guide to Parish Plans. Waveney District Council had replied to the Parish Councils comments on the Local Plan.
Other Parish Business, Mr. Blowers reported that he had been informed that the Parish Council would not be able to acquire grants to put safety matting under the play area equipment as this was classed as improvements and not providing new play equipment.  The Clerk had met with Mr. D. Jessop earlier in the day and various matters had been discussed regarding the play area. The Seesaw was in need of attention and the other metal pieces of equipment would be better for a coat of paint. Other than that Mr. Jessop was impressed by the amount of leisure facilities Blundeston had in the area surrounding the Village Hall. Mr. Lewis had been approached by a parishioner to see if a footpath could be provided along Hall Road to the junction with Hall Lane, Mr. Hunter agreed to meet Mr. Lewis and see the situation for himself. Mr. Perks asked Mr. Hunter if he could find out what the purpose of the repair to Lowestoft Road was, the surface resembled something of a speed bump and the drainage problem had still not been addressed. The Parish Council were assured last year that the surface water was going to be piped into the pit at Cockshoot, and the farmer of the adjoining field was concerned in case someone repeated the action taken last year, to open a grup to his field which caused a large area of this to flood. Mr. Hunter agreed to make contact with the person concerned and ascertain what progress if any had been made on this matter.  Mr. Prettyman had been approached by a Parishioner who felt that the wall dividing the Play area from the Village Hall Car Park looked to be in a dangerous condition, Mr. Lewis offered to inspect this and report back to the Council. Mrs. Socratous had been asked if a one way system down The Street could be instigated, this may help to solve some of the problems encountered along there, it was thought that this would be difficult to inaugurate, and would probably be as popular as the double yellow lines answer to the problem. Mrs. Townend had received a complaint that during windy weather the squeaking of the Millennium Green sign was keeping some residents awake at night. 
15 minutes for Parishioner Input.
Mr. Soanes suggested that the Clerk should contact the Community Service authorities to see if they would paint the Play equipment. Mr. Ffitch stated that Waveney District Councils Highways Department must be the only one in the Country not to erect Mirrors. The Chairman had inspected the hedge in Market Lane which was the subject of a complaint at the previous Parish Council meeting, and he was of the opinion that it did need trimming back and the Clerk was asked to contact the owner and ask for this to be done as soon as possible. The Clerk reported that the drain covers had been replaced at the rear of the Village Hall and these are now screwed down, and should remain in place. 
There being no further business the meeting closed.