At a meeting of the Parish Council held on Wednesday 12th November 2003 there were present, Mr. J. Nichols (Chairman), Mr. G. Alderton, Mr. S. Perks, Mr. J. Blowers, Mrs. T. Townend, Mr. T. Prettyman, Mr. K. Woods and Councillor B. Hunter. 10 Parishioners and three young boys also attended
Apologies were received from Mr S. Lewis, Mr. P. Offord and Pc Hill.
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 13th October were approved and signed. 
There were no declarations of Interest
Mr. Nichols reported on the progress with the skateboard area and remarked on how helpful Matt Fubron of the Lowestoft Volunteer Bureau and Martin Burnside of W.D.C. had both been in many aspects. Matt had been exceptionally helpful with advice on funding and the right sort of surfacing for the play area. The clerk had followed up his suggestion of applying to Wren recycling and the application pack had been received, other possible sources were the District council via Graham Osborn, Awards for All Eastern, and Locality Funding via S.C.C. and Brian Hunter. The Clerk had telephoned a contractor to give an estimate for the work, but he had not made contact again. Mr. Nichols went on to say that both he and the Clerk had done the “spade work” for the project and now they would like two adults to volunteer to carry on the project and liase with the Parish Council, the young boys and the Volunteer Bureau. None of the Parish Councillors were prepared to take on this job. Mr. Blowers said that he was not in favour of the area being built, especially on the proposed site and he said that he was speaking for at least 8 members of the public who were present. He read out a statement from Gareth Burroughs in a local newspaper, regarding the high cost of setting up this sort of an area, and the noise associated with such activities as skateboarding, in addition he was concerned that youngsters from other villages may also congregate at the site and make even more noise and perhaps trouble. Mr. Perks agreed that it would indeed probably be noisy. After some discussion as to whether the idea should be dropped altogether it was proposed by the Chairman that the Council should continue to back the idea of the provision of a hard, flat, play area to be used by youngsters on skateboards, subject to two adults coming forward to coordinate the job. Mr. Alderton seconded this; a vote was taken with 5 for and one against the proposal.  The Chairman asked if the Councillors would like to invite Matt Fubron to a meeting to give the Council advice, it was agreed that this would be beneficial. Mr. Offord and Mr. Wood had both returned the Ordnance Survey maps of Common Land and Rights of Way in Blundeston and Flixton, the Blundeston map was considered to be correct except for a small piece of land at the rear of Queensway which had not been included in the green shaded area and it was also considered to be advantageous to pursue the option of getting access to the river bank again on the Marshes, this had been possible until the Railway Company insisted on the right of way being closed. The Flixton map was correct except for a small alteration to a footpath near Whitehouse Farm. Mr. Blowers gave a Parish team report in which he said that the representative from H.M.P had agreed that their workshop would repair the seat on the Play area and they would also get a working party to paint the play equipment. The Chairman then informed the meeting that Mr. Hunter had obtained the full amount from the Locality budget to replace the glass-fibre chute on the slide with one made of stainless steel and the Parish Council were extremely grateful for his help with this matter. 
Planning
The following plans were all considered and approved.
Mr. & Mrs. R. Head, 7, Micawber Mews, Construction of a rear conservatory.
Mr. & Mrs. A. Clarke, South View, Lowestoft Road, extensions and alterations to existing bungalow
Mr. & Mrs.V. Douglas, Conifers, Market Lane, Increase roof height, include dormer windows, construction of a conservatory and garage extension.
Mr. & Mrs. Harvey, 1 Copperfield Terrace, single storey side and rear extension.
Mr. S. Lewis, Pickwick, Hall Road, Single storey side and rear extensions.
Broadland Environmental Services. Proposed flood alleviation work for Somerleyton.
The Chairman attended the W.D.C. planning committee meeting which considered the revised plan for the land adj. to The Brambles in Lound Road. This was turned down due to an impasse regarding the provision of affordable housing on the site. The new ruling is that if there are more than 3 dwellings per plot, 30% should be “affordable housing”. The proposal to build two houses on the land adj. to Holly Barn was also rejected for a similar reason, the committee were of the opinion that 4 smaller cottage style houses would be more in keeping with the ethos of the Village. Several Councillors expressed disbelief at this, as all the surrounding houses in that area are large detached 4 bed-roomed houses.
Accounts
It was agreed that the Parish Council should pay back the money for the replacement fence to the Village Hall Management Committee. 		£1,549.  76
Discussion then took place on setting the Parish Precept for 2004. Mr. Perks felt that it should be increased by at least 3%, as it has remained fixed for several years now. The Clerk and Chairman had assembled a budget for the next year and were satisfied that the precept could remain the same Mr. Wood proposed and Mr. Prettyman seconded that the precept should remain the same. This proposal was carried.
It was unanimously agreed that the annual subscription should be paid to Suffolk Association of Local Councils					£242. 40
Brian Hunter then reported on the progress with the resurfacing of Lound Road Pavement, the Highways department have assured him that major roadway works will be carried out in the near future and after these have been completed the footway will be resurfaced early in the new financial year. After a site meeting with Mr. Lewis and much discussion with the relevant authorities he has been told that no footpath along the junction of Hall Lane and Hall road is possible. Although it is perceived that this area is dangerous they feel that drivers do take more care at such spots, Mr. Hunter will continue to monitor the situation. Mr. Hunter then explained that now the decision had been made to keep the Precept at the present rate he could speak on the subject and he said that the Parish Council could also top up their income for any unforeseen expense by applying to the Community Locality Funding Budget. The Chairman informed the Councillors that he had received information from the Charity Commission to confirm that the minutes of Blundeston Charity Trustees meetings should be kept confidential, although the new Trustees wish to produce a regular newsletter for Parishioners.  Information had arrived regarding W.D.C. Grants review update. The latest edition of the Suffolk Acre Magazine had arrived, as had a PPI Forum Application form. Details of the Next Area Forum had been received this will take place on 16th December in Oulton Community Centre. The next Northern Parishes Liaison meeting will be held on 29th January at Oulton Community Centre.
Other Parish Business.
Mr. Alderton asked if any further correspondence had arrived from Anglian Water regarding the drainage problems in Market Lane, the clerk agreed to write again as nothing had been received since the letter saying that the person dealing with this was on leave. He also wanted to know when the slow signs and line markings were going to be marked on Market Lane. Mr. Perks asked if the Highways department had given any information on when the bodged repair at Cockshoot would be rectified. The Clerk was asked to write to the Highways department about these matters. It was also felt that the flooding near Pound Lane in Hall Road should also be reported in this letter, the clerk was also asked to include the terrible state of the road surface on the B1074 in Flixton. The Chairman was asked if any further contact had been made with Louise Wilby regarding setting up a Village Survey, he agreed to contact her in the next few days and it was decided that she should be invited to attend the January meeting, which would begin at 7p.m. and she would be asked to speak first, to allow her to leave at a reasonable time. Mr. Blowers then asked if it was the Parish Council’s wish for him to continue with the project of getting the slide chute replaced, and he was assured that this was the case. He also asked if at future Remembrance Sunday services the Parish Council would like to provide a poppy wreath to be laid on the War Memorial by the Chairman of the Council, it was generally felt that this was a good proposal. Mr. Wood reported that a parishioner in Flixton had approached him about the bridge on the B1074, which spans the outflow from the Lake at Lakeside Rise. Apparently this bridge can be felt to flex when a heavy vehicle passes over it, the clerk was asked to inform the Highways Department about this.  He also wondered if the owner of the Lake should be asked to cut back the hedge which obscures the drivers view when trying to exit from the lane leading to Whitehouse Farm, he then concluded that perhaps as Mr. Hunter was saying drivers do take extra care under hazardous circumstances. Mr. Nichols thanked Mr. Covak and Mr. Fitch for cutting back the hedges and trees which had been overhanging the public footpath from Market Lane to The Street, the residents of Micawber Mews and Pickwick Drive had been told earlier that it was their responsibility to keep the hedges neat to allow access along the footpath. 
The meeting was then opened to the public. Mr. Maddock said that he agreed wholeheartedly with Mr. Blowers sentiments on the subject of the skateboard area, he said that he had supervised outdoor activities for many years in his capacity as a teacher, and fully realised the need for young people to have suitable places to play, but he felt that as this area would not be supervised it could raise many problems. The Chairman then asked if two people from the Parishioners present would agree to take over the project, there were no volunteers. Mr. Hurley said that he felt sorry that the youngsters did not have a suitable place to skateboard but felt that a visit to the site by the Heath & Safety officers could well put the matter out of the question. The Clerk asked for permission to speak in her capacity as a Parishioner and clerk to the Village Hall Management. She pointed out that the children already skateboard around the Village Hall and therefore the noise could be expected to be no more that it already is, also some people who hired the Hall had complained that they were concerned that the youngsters were skating in the car park and could easily be hurt or damage the parked cars. There being no further business the meeting closed.