At a meeting of the Parish council held on Monday 23rd August 2010 there were present, Mr G Wade (Chairman), Mr John Nichols,Mrs T Townend, Mr S Perks, Mr J Blowers, Mr S Rees, Mrs G Soanes, & Cllr Paul Ashdown. 11 Parishioners were also present.
Apologies were received from Mr Rod Leech, Mrs J Browne, Mr K Wood, Cllr Colin Law, Cllr Mike Barnard, PSCO Sue Kershaw and PC Stranks  
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 19th July were approved and signed.
Declaration of Interests No interests were declared
Clerks report Following the previous parish council meeting. First of all a big Thank you to all who took the time to meet up with the judges for the final stage of 'Suffolk Village of the Year'. As you may be aware we didn’t make it to the final, however the judges were again very impressed with our village, community and Parish council. Our final score was 157 out of 220. These scores were based on general appearance, Community Spirit, Bonus/Special Activities, Suffolk Wildlife trust &   Parish Council. Positive comments from the judges were beautiful wood built play area & new skate park. Disappointing news but we have been advised that we did win the open space award for open spaces for our Millennium green. We will receive a certificate and £100, so well worth entering and something we should be very proud of.
Co-option of new parish councillor  Mr Paul Button, Mr Phil Ball and Mr Martin Arnold were introduced by the chairman. Each had applied for the position by the given date and were invited by the chairman to  introduce themselves to the councillors. The voting took place and Mr Ffitch was volunteered as independent teller. Following the count the resulting vote was for Mr Phil Ball who was duly elected and given the appropriate paperwork. Mr Nichols advised that an election of all parish council seats is due to take place in 2011. 
15 minutes for Parishioner input A parishioner reported there has been a large number of water fowl knocked over by vehicles beside the Market Lane/Barkis Meadow pond. He enquired as to whether it would be possible to obtain road signs warning drivers traveling in both directions to slow down in this area. Cllr Paul Ashdown advised a sign could possibly be sought from Suffolk highways. The clerk will contact SCC and report back on progress at the next meeting. 
Other Parish Business (Parish Councilors). Mr Perks reported the concrete block wall between the playground and village hall car park is leaning and looked dangerous. It is split from top to bottom in 3 places and suggested it is removed as in his opinion it is now unsafe. He suggested replacing with a new fence. Mr Perks will look in to costs of new fencing and removal of existing wall. Mr Nichols attended a meeting with Suffolk wildlife trust to seek help and information in maintaining the wildflower meadow on the Millennium green. It was advised to cut the grass earlier in mid June and again in the Autumn rather than just one cut per year.  SWT recommend a cut path through the meadow to enable people to view the flowers and grasses close up . Some of the trees will also need coppicing with identification of these recommended now while in leaf with removal in the Autumn / Winter. Mr Blowers apologised for not attending the planning meeting as he had been away. He also reported the trees on the playground boundry with the footpath are overhanging over the footpath along Hall Lane and need to be trimmed. Cllr Paul Ashdown will report this to Waveney Norse for action. Mr Blowers also reported that a parishioner has asked if the parish council would consider a new outside toilet block which could be accessed when the village hall is closed primarily by the users of the playground . Mr Blowers offered to seek funding however queries were raised over who would maintain cleanliness and who would lock up. It was agreed that there would be no need for extra toilets at the village hall due to small size of village and playground and the extremely large amount of money that would need to be raised. It was reported the bowls club has won the Bob Whitley memorial shield for the 3rd consecutive year. Congratulations to the team were passed on from the chairman. Mrs Soanes advised brand new netball equipment had been found whilst tidying up the village hall. It was suggested this could possibly be donated to the school or suggestions of a local netball team. Mr Perks has been advised by a parishioner in orchard close that a large tree growing on the adjacent footpath was now of real concern to her as it is close to properties and she was concerned of the damage it would cause if it was blown over. Both Cllr Ashdown and the clerk will seek advise on this as the footpath was recently cleared by Suffolk County council. 
Police Report.  Report was received from PCSO Sue Kershaw and read out by the clerk. For the month of July 2010. There were two recorded crimes for Blundeston & none for Flixton.1 - Was an assault causing non injury-this was eggs being thrown at a cyclist in Hall Lane and other incidents of the same nature that occurred in Lowestoft. 2 - A burglary from a shed, this was a theft of two bikes that were later returned. Please can residents in the village secure their bikes. Over the last two months 7 bikes have been stolen, 4 of which have been returned/ recovered, on all occasions for the thefts the bikes were unsecured. The crimes have taken place in the early hours of the morning. The investigation is still on going. If you have any information in reference to these thefts please contact PCSO Sue Kershaw on 01986 835300. Community Speed Watch update. A social event was held at Lound for the volunteers of the scheme and PSCO Sue Kershaw gave updates referring to the number of vehicles that had been sent letters warning to the drivers of their speed. All sites had been visited several times, the B1074 at Flixton and Jay Lane having the most recorded vehicles travelling over 30 mph. In total 90 letters have been sent in the first three months of the new scheme. Suffolk police gave thanks to all the volunteers, as they are making a difference to road safety throughout Rural North Lowestoft.
District Councillor report  Cllr Paul Ashdown reported that information had been obtained & passed onto the parishioner who was concerned over the possibility of pigs on neighbouring farmland. The dead oak tree along Queensway is still ongoing. The tree has been looked at by waveney Norse however as the tree is covered by ivy nothing will be done until the end of September because birds may still be nesting in it. 
County Councillor Report. No report available
Waveney Standards Committee Mrs Caroline Nixon introduced herself and gave information about the standards committee. The committee comprises five district councilors, three town/parish representatives & three members of the public. Their role is to maintain high standards of conduct by councillors & officers alike. This is done by advising, observing & training the council on the adoption or revision of the members & employee’s codes of conduct. They also deal with any complaints, respond to any report from the monitering officer, raise awareness of ethical & conduct issues within waveney, review the whistleblowing policy & the protocols for councilors dealing with planning & licensing matters & grant dispensations. 
New bench at bus stop Mrs Soanes obtained quotes for a metal bench from HMP Blundeston. Two further quotes were given for wooden benches in addition to the quote for a metal bench received at July’s meeting. Mr Rees proposed to go with the quote from the prison, This was seconded by Mr Blowers. Mrs Soanes and Mr Blowers will contact the prison to discuss further and process the order. 
Village Leaflet Following on from the previous meeting. The clerk had found out the information from Somerleyton Parish Council and reported back to the council to enable Blundeston to look at producing a village information leaflet similar to that done in Somerleyton. The leaflet that Somerleyton produce is put together by one of their councillors & is photocopied & distributed by a team of six. Local companies are not charged to advertise. Mr Blowers volunteered to look at this and will report back.
Blundeston in Bloom Following our success in becoming Waveney Village of the year, Mr Wade at July’s meeting suggested creating a ‘Blundeston in Bloom’ in 2011. Mr Rees suggested a committee of volunteers from the village would need to be created. The Chairman, Mr Graham Wade volunteered to head the committee as chairman and he requested the clerk place posters around the village asking for volunteers to help. If anyone is interested in helping please contact the chairman.  
Accounts Mr J Blowers. Payment for replacement tennis wire £6.14 + vat. This was approved.
Planning Mr Clive Manthorpe, 2 Short Road. Two storey side & rear extensions & storm porch to front – This was discussed & approved by the planning committee. Mr Nichols suggested re- establishing the planning sub committee to deal with any plans that are received between meetings. It was agreed the planning committee would be Mr Perks, Mr Rees, Mr Nichols, Mrs Townend and the chairman Mr Wade.
Correspondence Blundeston Parochial church Council. Thank you letter received for donation to churchyard maintenance. SALC– Council tax referendums. SCC, Health & wellbeing training information placed on notice board in village hall along with revised Norwich shopper timetable. 
Suffolk Police mobile police station timetable, placed on notice board in hall. 
There being no further business the meeting closed at 2030 hrs. The next meeting will be held on Monday 27th September.