Councillors Present
- Present
- Michael Block (Chair), Michael Gray, John Patrick, James Rogers, Jason Wood
- Apologies
- Jonathan Cottrell (out of the parish), County Councillor Stephen Burrouges (attending other meetings)
- In attendance
- Lydia Kindred (clerk), District Councillor Vince Langdon-Morris (until item 5), 1 resident
Declarations of Interest
Cllr. Rogers declared a pecuniary interest in item 7.1.
Minutes
The Minutes of the Meeting held on 13th January 2026 were approved as a true record.
Matters Arising
None
Public Forum
A member of public attended with a view to joining as a Parish Councillor. She lives on Brick Lane which is partially in Framlingham and Parham. She is keen to raise awareness of Brick Lane and also to get it designated as a Quiet Lane. She is in discussions with the County and District Councillors about this, as well as Framlingham Town Council and has set up an online petition.
The District Councillor gave a verbal report in addition to his written one. It is hoped that the decision regarding the Unitary Council division will be announced later this month. Numbers using the Katch bus service are up 15%. He also reported on the work of the Flood Resilience Group and advised that ESC’s Resilience Co-Ordinator is running sessions for Parish Councils.
Chair’s Report
The Chair reported on his ongoing discussions with East Suffolk Council’s Planning Enforcement Team regarding the insufficient hedging planted at the Orwell Housing development. The clerk will share alternative contact details for Orwell Housing to try to seek action from them directly.
Clerk’s Report
A meeting organised by neighbouring Hacheston Parish Council regarding the proposed battery plant there was attended by approximately 30 residents and the Parish Council submitted an objection to the proposal.
The clerk was not available to attend SALC’s Annual Meeting Surgery on 3rd March but she will view this via catch-up when available.
The Section 137 spending limit for 2026–2027 will increase to £11.60 per elector, up from £11.10 in 2025–2026. Current Parish Council spending remains well within the limit.
A VAT reclaim of £57.60 has been submitted covering the period 1st February 2025 to 28th February 2026.
The clerk attended the East Suffolk Council Town and Parish Council Planning Forum on 2nd February. The proposed Developers’ Charter was discussed and appears promising, although it will be voluntary. Sites submitted through the Call for Sites process for the Local Plan review are expected to be published later this month.
A £150 donation was made to the Air Ambulance in March as previously agreed.
The clerk has cleaned several highway signs around the village where safely accessible.
Suffolk County Council responded on 2nd February regarding Parham Bridge. SCC acknowledged the damaged wire mesh on the parapet but advised repairs are currently low priority. A quotation will be sought from their contractor and, if acceptable, the work will be added to the forward maintenance programme. In the meantime, the temporary plastic barrier will be reinstated with additional fixings. The Enforcement team are speaking to a landowner near the Pound about their field drains and flooding issues here.
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
7.1 Cllr. Rogers left the meeting.
| Amount | Payee | Details |
|---|---|---|
| £31.99 | L. Kindred | McAfee Total Protection (split between 3 Councils) |
| £47.00 | ICO | Data Processor Fee (Paid via Direct Debit) |
| £300.00 | J. Rogers Agri | Hedgecutting around village green (using Biodiversity reserves) |
| £16.00 | Suffolk Cloud | Set up of new emails and upgrade of mailbox |
| £1,173.75 | L. Kindred | Pay to 31.03.26 |
| £97.00 | HMRC | PAYE to 05.04.2026* |
| £98.40 | Parham Village Hall | Hall hire 2025-2026 |
| £22.80 | Suffolk Association of Local Councils | Payroll service |
* This needs to be paid after 5th April so will be included in the 2026-2027 accounts.
7.2 There have been no additional payments since the last meeting.
7.3 There have been no receipts since the last meeting.
7.4 Bank balances & CCLA Fund holdings
- Community account: £3,202.50
- Deposit account: £11,353.50
- CCLA Deposit Fund £23,575.72
7.6 The bank statements and bank reconciliation were reviewed and signed by the Examining Councillor.
7.7 The year-to-date report on payments and receipts was noted.
Flood Mitigation
Cllr. Patrick gave an update on the flood mitigation projects. The Mill Green project alone appears to be making a positive impact on the flow rate during heavy rainfall further downstream. The landowners for the second project have approved the amended design which has addressed their drainage concerns. Unfortunately, it has been too wet to do the works recently and the nesting season is now approaching so it is likely that this project will be carried out in autumn. It is hoped that the culvert near White House Farm will be desilted in summer when the road is closed there to locate the gas main. Cllr. Patrick will remove brambles from the site this weekend. He also reported on some attenuation projects which are being discussed in Framlingham and Dennington, which would all likely benefit Parham.
Assertion 10
Councillors now have access to gov.uk email addresses and will start to transfer over to them.
Community Emergency Plan
Disappointingly, only four responses have been received to our residents’ survey about this. The clerk attended ESC’s Emergency Preparedness information session on 27th February and outlined some of the emergencies the plan should cover, as well as actions the Council can take to help prepare residents. There is a follow-up session on Emergency Planning on 29th April which the clerk and Cllr. Patrick will try to attend. Cllr. Gray will speak to the Chairman of the Village Hall Committee about making the Village Hall an ESC designated Emergency Rest Centre.
Consider Correspondence Received
- Invitation to join Suffolk parishes Road Safety Group – it was agreed to join this.
- ESC Clerk’s CIL checklist- this was noted and will be referred to for the annual report.
- Elancity- Information on Evolvis Speed Indicator Device – noted.
- Response from SCC Highways re timings for repair of wire mesh on the bridge – noted.
- Invitation to Town and Parish Councils to attend East Suffolk Council’s Design Code Engagement Workshop 18th March- The Chair will attend this.
- East Suffolk Planning Alliance (ESPA) newsletter, meeting notes and invitation to AGM on 18th April. Cllr. Patrick will attend the AGM.
- Community Partnership meeting on Friday 17th April- Councillors will let the clerk know if they are able to attend but noted that it is during the day which is difficult for Councillors who work.
- Four Rivers Recovery Project Community Workshop- 9am- 4pm 12th March. Again, Councillors noted that unfortunately this is difficult to attend during the day and that insufficient notice had been given. Councillors wanted to express gratitude for the hard work of the Four Rivers Project Volunteers and noted the results of their most recent river tests. It was agreed to donate £150 to the project using Biodiversity funding.
Parish Councillors’ Reports & Updates
Cllr. Rogers reported damage to the grass at North Green following a large vehicle getting stuck on the green. He also reported on the recent hedgecutting around the village greens. Further work had been planned, but this was not possible due to the wet ground conditions so the remaining work will be carried out next season.
Matters to be Raised at the Next Meeting
Biodiversity projects and pond improvement works
Next Meeting
The next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 19th May at 7pm for the two Annual meetings.
The Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 8.50pm.