Approved Parham P.C. Minutes

Councillors Present

Present: Michael Block (Chair), Jonathan Cottrell, Michael Gray, James Rogers
Apologies: John Patrick, Jason Wood
In attendance: Lydia Kindred (clerk), County Councillor Steve Molyneux (until item 8)
Apologies: District Councillor Langdon-Morris

Declarations of Interest

Cllr. Cottrell declared an interest in item 7 as a Trustee of the Village Hall Committee and left the meeting during this item.

Minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 19^th May 2026 were approved as a true record.

Matters Arising

None

Public Forum

There was an extended Public Forum during which the Chair raised a number of issues and concerns with the new County Councillor. Topics discussed included repeated missed bin collections, the limited number of highways repairs being undertaken, traffic management and temporary speed limits, the proposed unitary council arrangements, and the high costs charged by Suffolk County Council Highways for small-scale projects. The County Councillor advised that he was happy to receive enquiries on any other local issues and would endeavour to investigate concerns raised by the Parish Council.

Chair's Report

The Chair reported that Suffolk County Council Highways had attended The Pound to address the recurring flooding issues. However, it was unclear what works had actually been carried out, despite the disruption caused by the installation of three-way temporary traffic lights. The Chair expressed his disappointment that the highways team had not cleared one of the drains, despite debris obstructing it while they were on site, and he cleared it himself.

Clerk’s Report

SALC’s AGM will be held on Thursday 9th July. All AGAR documentation has been submitted to the external auditor and published online. We are currently in the public rights inspection period, which is running from 3rd June to 14th July 2026. No requests have been received to date. HMRC has increased the approved mileage rate to 55p per mile. Councillors may now remove their home address from the public Register of Interests and replace it with the prescribed Localism Act statement. Other property interests must still be declared. East Suffolk Council's ‘Better Recycling’ rollout has experienced some initial issues, including the food waste collection contractor difficulties. Residents are encouraged to use the ESC app for collection information and service updates. The Council has sent a complaint email in regarding the poor communication, missing bins and collections that have not taken place for many weeks. A response is still awaited.

Responsible Financial Officer’s Report

The following payments were approved:

Amount	Payee	Details
£250.00	Pear Space (Formerly Suffolk Cloud)	Gov.uk domain renewal, 10gb mailbox, website hosting and support
£1,270.75	L. Kindred	Pay to 30.06.26

There have been no additional payments since the last meeting
Receipts: 08/06/2026 Barclays £36.83 interest
Bank balances & CCLA Fund holdings
- Community account: £969.98
- Deposit account: £8,419.07
- CCLA Deposit Fund £36,025.29
This includes £12,000 transferred from Barclays account on 8th June 2026
With the Examining Councillor absent, Cllr. Cottrell, as a non-banking mandate, signed the bank reconciliation and statements. The clerk advised that the bank reconciliation was out by £97 due to the April PAYE payment seemingly not having gone through. She will liaise with SALC and HMRC in this regard to see what the issue is.
The receipts and payments account to 30th June 2026 had been shared and this was considered in line with the budget.

Community Infrastructure Levy Grant Application

An application from the Village Hall Committee for CIL funding to purchase additional chairs was considered. It was agreed to approve the grant subject to confirmation from the VHC that action will be taken to ensure that these chairs are not damaged by moths. The clerk will liaise with the VHC regarding purchase and payment of the chairs.

Community Governance Review

It was agreed not to progress this at present. The Parish Council is happy to work with Hacheston Parish Council to try to address any shared issues.

Local Government Reorganisation in Suffolk

Suffolk County Council has voted to launch a legal challenge regarding the Government's Local Government Reorganisation decision to impose three Unitary Councils. Updates are available on SCC’s website and will be shared as and when received.

Correspondence

East Suffolk Council- Scoping Consultation on preparing a new Local Plan. Deadline 29th July 2026
Framlingham Town Council- Consultation on draft Amended Neighbourhood Plan. Deadline 31st August This can be completed online or at the Town Council Offices
The Pensions Regulator re Re-enrolment and re-declaration– The clerk will complete the council’s duties as an employer before the September deadline.

Councillors’ Reports & Updates on Actions

Biodiversity report- The village greens have had their annual cut and will be baled in the next few days. Cllr. Rogers will fill in the rut on North Green caused by a large vehicle getting stuck here during the wet weather. The churchyard has now been mown, and the memorial health and safety checks can now be carried out. The Clerk and Cllr. Gray will liaise regarding this.

There were no additional matters to be raised at the next meeting

Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 15th September.

The Chair closed the meeting at 8.25pm and thanked everyone for attending.

Signed …………………………………. Dated ……………………………… Chair