At a meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday 28th June 2004 there were present – Mr. J. Nichols (Chairman), Mr. G. Alderton, Mr. J, Blowers, Mrs E. Hilton and Mr. S. Lewis, Councillor Brian Hunter and 6 Parishioners also attended.
Apologies were received from Mrs. Hume, Mrs. Soanes, Mr. Offord and Pc Hill. Mrs. Townend hoped to be able to attend later in the evening.
Mr. Hunter declared an interest in the all the Planning applications and Mr. Lewis declared an interest in the application to build 4 cottages on land adj. to Holly Barn.
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 24th May were approved and signed.
Mr. Nichols explained that the Charity Trustees who were elected at the extraordinary meeting two years ago should have been informed that two Trustees would be required to seek re-election in two years time and the other two in 4 years, then a pattern of two Trustees being elected every two years could start to take place, this ensures that some continuity is kept. Two Trustees have agreed to stand down and apply for re-election, but it was felt that it would be more democratic for the election to be advertised to enable any other person to seek to be elected. The clerk was asked to display a poster advertising the vacancies and the poster should state that Trustees can not claim any benefits from the Charity and no-one with any pecuniary interest in any Charity Land can apply to be elected. The Clerk should receive the nominations in writing by 19th July and the nominees should be proposed and seconded by a Parish Councillor. The election will take place at the next Parish Council meeting on July 26th. The chairman gave a report on the Parish Plans scheme, progress has been made and the application form has been completed and has been sent off to the Countryside Commission. Mike Pawson has agreed to head the project and the Chairman thanked Mr. Pawson and his team for all their hard work so far. A copy of a letter from the Chairman of Blundeston School Governors had been received, this had been sent to the Parish Council’s representative on the board of Governors asking for an appointment to discuss the irregularity of his attendance at the meetings. Mr. Nichols agreed to contact the representative and discuss the matter on the Parish Councils behalf. 
Planning
The Chairman closed the official meeting and opened it to the public whilst the Councillors studied the plans on display, he informed the meeting that a matter of interest which had been brought to light during a discussion at a Northern Parishes Liaison Meeting, if members of the Parish Council have differing views on a Planning Application all these views could be sent to the Planning department and they will be considered.
The following plans were approved
	Mr. & Mrs. Dodson, The Haven, Lound Road – Single storey rear extension.
	Mr. & Mrs. Earle, Landings House, Lound Road -	1&2 storey extensions and alterations
	Mr. D. Rogers, 21 Orchard Close - Side and pitched roof extension and Internal alterations.
The proposed plan to build 4 houses on a site adjacent to Holly Barn, Market Lane, applied for by Mr. M. Osborn was refused. Two letters had been received from neighbours whose properties abutted this land, these contained several matters of concern. It was felt that the properties are totally out of keeping with those surrounding the site. The cottages are extremely close to the neighbouring houses, overlooking and blocking light, with a severe invasion of privacy. The entrance is in a very dangerous position and because of the proximity to a blind corner and another road leading to a recently built development, which is not shown on the large drawing on the plans, it was felt that drivers would experience great difficulty trying to exit from the site. Deep concern was shown that the soak aways on the site would not cope with the surface water drainage, as the soil is known to be heavy clay. Reassurance was required that no further trees and hedges would be removed, as one conifer hedge was removed last year. It was also felt that the building of 4 properties on this site amounted to a gross overcrowding of the plot. The chairman also asked the Clerk to inform the planners that he would like to speak at the relevant Planning meeting, the clerk was also asked to forward copies of the letters from Parishioners to the Planning Department.
Accounts.
The following accounts were proposed for payment by Mrs. Hilton and seconded by Mr. Lewis.
	J. Nichols (Chairman’s Allowance, telephone etc.)	 9.16
	Allianz Cornhill (Insurance for Marquee)			 26. 25
	B.M. Shaw (Clerks Salary April, May and June)		
= £237. 50 + ⅓      Telephone rental @ £9.16		246. 66

The Chairman read a letter from a resident of Lakeside Rise which explained that the Prison Officers Social Club had arranged their fun day many months in advance, and were tied to the dates when a celebrity could attend. As the Village Party in the Park date was decided over a year ago, this did not help with the fact that two large functions were being held in the Village at the same time. The Clerk had replied and sent a copy to the Prison Officers Social Club inviting a representative to attend the Annual Parish meeting and give a report on their activities during the past year and the dates of proposed events, it is hoped that closer communication will prevent a similar clash occurring another year. New maps showing Common Lands in Blundeston and Flixton had arrived from the Countryside Commission the Chairman agreed to appeal, as one piece of common land had not been included in Blundeston. A letter form a Parishioner stated that a coach taking members of the Sunshine Club on an outing had been held up for over 20 minutes as it had been unable to negotiate a section of The Street due to inconsiderate parking by motorists. The writer asked the Parish Council to do something about the number of cars parked along The Street, as this matter had been on the agenda for several years now with various schemes for reducing the congestion discussed Councillor Hunter was asked for his opinion on the matter. He could only say that the problem is now universal, and he agreed with the correspondent and Parish Councillors that should an emergency vehicle have to answer a call under such conditions the results could be catastrophic. The chairman reminded those present that the Parish Council delivered a letter to every house in The Street just over a year ago asking that residents would help matters considerably if they would park off road whenever possible, this did work for a while afterwards. The Chairman agreed to draft another letter to residents on a similar vein. Several items of interest had arrived from SALC. The Shaw Trust had forwarded a Market research form which required filling in. The date of the next Area Forum was announced as being on 28th July at Somerleyton Village Hall at 7.30p.m. A report from W.D.C. summarising the Parish Council Workshops held in May had arrived. The date of the next Northern Parishes Liaison meeting is 22nd July at 7.30p.m. this will take place in Somerleyton Village Hall. An invitation from The Hon Hugh Crossley to attend a meeting regarding a Countryside Stewardship Scheme at Somerleyton had arrived, 2 members agreed to participate. A Local Transport Questionnaire had been received the Chairman agreed to complete this and return it.
Other Parish Business Mr. Alderton informed the meeting that W.D.C. had cut the nettles down along the footpath from The Street to Market Lane and he had been told that in September the footpath would be completely refurbished along its whole length with a hard surfacing and the nettle roots removed at this time. He also wanted it to be noted that the white lines in Market Lane on the dangerous bend near the pond had still not been reinstated, the Parish council had been promised that the work would be done when the contractors were in the area next and work of this nature had been carried out recently in Lound. A report from The Party in The Park committee was given by Mrs. Hilton, she informed the parish Council that the day and night festivities which had been organised went very well, unfortunately the committee are completely disillusioned by the behaviour of several members of the public who attended the event. Bottles and glasses had been thrown over the Millennium Green and rubbish strewn around despite the provision of numerous waste bins, the hired toilets were left in a disgraceful state and very few people who had previously volunteered to help clear up the site on Sunday morning actually turned up to do so. The present committee feel that unless there is an influx of people willing to physically help with the event there is unlikely to be another Party in the Park. To add to the despondency vandals got into the tennis court and wrecked the net raising mechanism during the event, and a group of youths tried to enter the marquee at around 2.30a.m but were disturbed by committee members sleeping in the tent for security reasons. These youths then proceeded to upturn the waste bins around the site, one of them was recognised but no further action has been taken. It was reported that surface water was not draining away in the Meadowlands area and causing flooding problems, Anglian Water had been seen working in this vicinity, so they are obviously aware of the problem. The Police reported that the vandalism at the Tennis Court had been noted, the coin box in the telephone kiosk in Flixton had been broken into and there had been a reported Domestic incident during the past month. Councillor Hunter reported that there is still no clear pointer as to where the new ward boundaries will be, but if no information had been received by the middle of July things will remain the same for the next 4 years. Mr. Hunter asked permission to speak for 10minutes at the September meeting to give a full report on the new system if necessary. Blundeston Bowls club asked for the Parish Councils support in their bid to receive funding from various sources to improve facilities at the site.
There being no further business the meeting closed.