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EAST BERGHOLT PARISH COUNCIL

ANNUAL PARISHIONERS’ MEETING

Thursday 8 May 2025 at The Lambe School, Gaston Street, East Bergholt

Present – Parish Councillors
Councillor J Miller (Chairman of the Council)
Councillor N Roberts (Vice-Chairman of the Council)
Councillor M Burns
Councillor S Davies
Councillor P Dent
Councillor R Elmer
Councillor M Hockley
Councillor M Hurley
Councillor L Matthews
Councillor J Price
Councillor G Woodcock

In Attendance
G White, Parish Clerk
N Reed, Media Consultant
County Councillor Georgia Hall
One member of the public

1. Welcome

The Chair of the Parish Council, Councillor Joan Miller, welcomed everyone to the Annual
Parishioners’ Meeting.

2. Apologies for absence

An apology for absence received from Councillor Allen, was NOTED.

3. Annual Reports from the Chairman of the Parish Council and Committee Chairmen

Written annual reports from the following Parish Councillors had been placed on the council
website and each was presented to the meeting by its author.

The Chair of the Parish Council – Councillor Joan Miller

With reference to the Council’s priority projects:

The Congregational Church project was awaiting the approval of the Charity Commission to the
change of objectives of the charity, which could take up to three months.

With regard to affordable housing, Councillor Matthews had been attending meetings of East
Bergholt Community Land Trust as the Council’s representative and Councillors Miller and

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Roberts were trustees of the trust. The problem for the trust was trying to find suitable land to
develop, with high prices a real problem.

Progress had been made on improving Road Safety, with draft technical designs for the B1070
through the village prepared by the consultants, PJA, now at the stage for discussion with the
highway authority.

The Council had launched a new website in January 2025 which was a big improvement on the
previous site being much clearer and user friendly. The Chair thanked former councillor Rob
Wombwell for his considerable technical input and Louise Smith, Assistant Clerk together with
Nicki Reed, Media Consultant for their work in ensuring that the site was quick and easy to use.

With continuing residential development in the village the Parish Council has given priority to
welcoming newcomers and aiding their integration into the local community. The Summer Fair
on 6 July 1pm-5pm, provides local organisations with the opportunity to introduce themselves to
new residents and vice-versa and a working group has been working hard to make this more
than just a celebration of summer.

The Government’s national house building targets will impact on all communities, and on the
development of the neighbourhood plan revisions. Additional site allocations in East Bergholt
may be required. These are currently being discussedany any substantive changes to our
current draft will be presented to an Extraordinary Council meetingand potentially could involve
a full public debate.

The Council has been in discussions with Jonathan Peachey who offered for sale the Red Lion
Car park and the adjoining development land. The asking price for the land was £1.4m but the
Council’s best and final offer was £850,000 based on its RICS Red Book valuation. Clearly the
gap between the two is quite large and currently the Council is waiting to see whether or not Mr
Peachey wishes to have further discussions.

The Chair thanked all parish councillors, particularly committee chairs, for their hard word during
the last municipal year to benefit the village.

Councillor Dent noted that Sudbury Town Council had erected their own speed limit signs in the
town, which, whilst unenforceable, were a deterrent to excess speed. Should the Parish Council
consider doing something similar? The Chair said that if speed limit signs were erected they
needed to be enforceable ones.

Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee – Councillor Bob Elmer

The Council’s budget for 2024/25 was £206,048.50, an increase of £30,130 on the previous
year. The precept of £148,000 was the same as for the previous year resulting in a reduction of
1.32% on the Band D council tax bill. The difference between the budget and the precept would
be covered by reserves as necessary.

The Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee had an overspend of £1,596 due to a number of
unforeseen contingencies across the Council which amounted to £22,096 against a budget of
£5,000, though this was offset by bank interest which was some £10,350 more than had been
anticipated. This overspend was accommodated within the overall Council underspend.

The Grants budget was also overspent by a modest £675 on a budget of £15,000. This had
occurred only because of a large grant approved in the previous financial year but not paid until
this year.

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The Council made awards from the Parish CIL fund to the Parish Council (Cricket Club) project,
£20,832; the Parish Council (Tennis Club) Project, £37,000; and £12,00 to the Playing Fields
committee to discharge the cost of surveys of the pitches against future flooding.

The lease for the Parish Office expired on 31 December 2024 and a new rolling lease for up to
3 years was accepted. Although costing more than the previous lease, it remains good value,
being cheaper than the the market rent for equivalent office accommodation in the area.

Reserves equivalent to 50% of the precept, £74,000, were retained as unallocated to be used in
the event of an unforeseen emergency. All remaining reserves were earmarked for Council
priority projects.

Burial Grounds Committee – Councillor Mark Hurley

Councillor Hurley paid tribute to Alan Nicholson who had retired as Cemetery and Churchyard
Groundsman after nearly 12 years service. Two local contractors have been awarded a 3 year
contract to carry out the work.

Thirteen interments for the year were average and cemetery fees received exceeded the
£10,000 anticipated by £1,665.

The digitisation of burial records has now been completed and the Council is in a far less
precarious situation with electronic backup of all the records and a modern system for going
forward.

Councillor Hurley thanked members of the committee for their work throughout the year and the
Parish Clerk and Assistant Clerk for their tireless work and support.

East Bergholt Neighbourhood Plan Committee – Councillor Sallie Davies

Whilst the timetable for public consultation on the plan was proceeding smoothly, a spanner in
the works was the new Government National Planning Policy Framework and the imposition of
mandatory housing targets which impact on housing allocations in the draft neighbourhood plan.
The working group has paused whilst considering the implications. At the moment a rough
number of 220 new houses for East Bergholt over the next 20 years has been cited, though it is
inevitable that the number will change. A concern is that Ipswich may declare an unmet need
over its own number and turn to neighbouring authorities to help out.

In addition as local government in Suffolk is reorganised it is understood that an option being
developed by Ipswich is for a Greater Ipswich unitary authority, the boundaries of which are
currently unknown but may extend as far as the Essex border and include East Bergholt.

Whatever transpires in relation to the housing allocation for East Bergholt, it is imperative that
some sites are allocated in the neighbourhood plan.

The Council is keen to extend the conservation area thereby giving additional protection to the
heritage of the village. Babergh DC has agreed to pay half the costs of a consultant who is
preparing the case. Consultation with the village and with landowners will be necessary before
the case is submitted.

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Playing Fields Committee – Councillor Graeme Woodcock

Councillor Woodcock reported that the winter of 2023/24 had brought all activities on the playing
field to a halt due to flooding but the winter of 2024/25 had been kinder and no fixtures had to be
cancelled for this reason. Some groundworks had assisted in this and surveys have been
undertaken to identify works which may eradicate the problem altogether.

The Parish Council has partnered the Sports Club with their projects and provided financial and
other support. Both the Cricket and Tennis clubs have received Babergh CIL awards for their
cricket nets and clubhouse projects respectively to which the Parish Council has also made CIL
awards. Babergh has provided 75% of the project costs subject to its maximum award of
£100,000 and the Parish Council has awarded the other 25%.

The Council has also supported the Bowls Club by providing a perimeter fence and a storage
shed.

The Council financed the Pavilion kitchen upgrade which has now been completed and installed
an outdoor table tennis table.

Councillor Woodcock thanked Dennis McGrath for his Chairmanship of the Sports Council over
many years and members of the committee, particularly Councillors Hockley and Matthews for
their hard work and support during the year, District Councillor Davies for facilitating grants from
Babergh DC and Michael Hall for his diligent groundsmanship. The assistance from the Clerk
and Assistant Clerk was much appreciated.

Roads, Footpaths and Flatford Committee – Councillor John Price

Councillor Price noted that Suffolk County Council had carried out footway works to Gaston
Street and from the Hare and Hounds to the Medical Centre, both of which would make use
easier for people with mobility impairments.

Flooding was still occurring on Flatford Road, and pressure will be maintained on the highway
authority to alleviate the problem.

Heath Road remains a major concern in terms of speed and safety and with additional use
inevitable as a result of the residential developments. Joint meetings with the highway authority
are ongoing.

Sadly a fatal accident occurred at the dangerous blind bends on Touchy Hill, the third major
accident in four years and with more trafiic in prospect, intervention is necessary and
discussions with the highway authority are imminent.

Work is continuing towards creating an East Bergholt-Manningtree cycleway. Eight councils are
involved in discussions and only Essex County Council has proved to be reluctant so far but
persuasion is continuing.

Councillor Price extended his thanks to Councillor Woodcock for getting a volunteer to maintain
the trug in the car park and for a variety of other substantial contributions to the work of the
committee. Also to Councillors Hockley and Allen, District Councillor Davies, the Clerks and the
toilet cleaners. Special thanks to Jeremy Kemp, the litter picker for keeping the village roads
and footways clean. The River Stour Trust volunteers were worthy of special recognition and
thanks for repairing three breaches of the river bank thereby enabling continued use of the
footpath on the south side of the river.

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The Suffolk County Council volunteer footpath warden started earlier in the year and hopefully
will be able to resolve footpath issues more quickly than has been possible in the past.

Young People Committee – Councillor Sallie Davies

The committee had commissioned a survey in 2024 to establish what young people wanted
which demonstrated the need for somewhere for young people to gather in a safe space. In
consequence the committee had awarded a contract to 4YP to establish and run a youth club
facility which has now started and is anticipated to build up over subsequent months. Links have
been developed with the High School with a view to offering young people as many
opportunities as possible to develop their experience within the village.

Discussions are ongoing about nursery provision in the village generally and with particular
reference to St James Place. Babergh DC is also looking at this. Councillor Davies asked
County Councillor Hall whether Suffolk County Council had any plans to improve school based
nursery provision of which there was none in East Bergholt at present. County Councillor Hall
will make enquiries.

Councillor Davies also enquired what would happen to East Bergholt children who were unable
to get into East Bergholt schools in view of the wider catchment area covering surrounding
villages and it appeared they would have to go elsewhere.

Councillor Davies thanked members of the committee and the Assistant Clerk for their hard
work throughout the year in beginning to establish positive outcomes in this relatively new area
of parish council service.

4. Report from County Councillor Georgia Hall

County Councillor Hall presented her written report which included month by month reports on
County Council activities. The budget for 2025/26 was focused on protecting essential services
and supporting the county’s most vulnerable residents. While the budget will increase by 6.7%,
significant savings targets are required to balance the books and the focus will be on
restructuring and transforming how services are delivered.

Devolution remains at the forefront and questions remain over whether Suffolk will have one or
more unitary authorites and the appropriate distribution of members.

Councillor Hockley referred to the report for March 2025 which informed that Suffolk CC had
secured £7.3m to develop EV charging infrastructure across Suffolk. He was concerned that
Babergh DC was charging 49p per unit for its chargers whereas the actual cost was
approximately half of this. In addition the chargers are slow. At this price the incentive for
residents to change to EVs is removed as the cost is greater than for petrol or diesel. In its
strategy Suffolk CC needs to make EVs more attractive if a higher take up is to be achieved and
the cost of charging is a primary consideration.

County Councillor Hall said she would make enquiries and report back.

5. Report from District Councillor Sallie Davies

Devolution has been the predominant issue throughout the year, with no resolution so far. The
County Council is seeking one unitary authority for Suffolk whilst the districts are debating 2 or
3. The Parish Council should give careful consideration to which of the district proposals is
better for East Bergholt.

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Parking charges in Hadleigh and Sudbury had dominated service considerations in the summer
and autumn and although free parking in the towns was preferred, the financial pressures meant
it was no longer viable and charges were introduced from January 2025. The council will
monitor the situation to see whether there has been any detrimental effect on the towns.

Mandatory changes to waste collection have meant the council has had to restructure its
collection cycle and the materials collected in each. Weekly food waste collections will
commence in 2026.

The properties at Cork Lane Hadleigh, the old district council offices, have finally started to go
up for sale. This has been a difficult project for the council which will eventually see 49 new high
quality homes. Due to the rising cost of materials the project cost continues to rise and Green
Councillors have asked for an independent inquiry upon how the whole venture has been
handled.

Kingfisher Leisure Centre, Sudbury is an aging facility in need of substantial maintenance, so
much so that the pool had to be closed while unbudgeted works were undertaken.

The budget is a continuing concern and despite savings and new income streams, £630k had to
be taken from reserves with an ongoing budget shortfall forecast for the next five years.
Increased fees, charges and council tax will be inevitable.

The Government’s housing delivery commitments mean that Babergh has to build 775 new
homes across the district annually for 20 years. Numbers given to each parish are likely to
change when a spatial strategy is formulated.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk has made the decision to stop work on its emerging Joint Local Plan
and tocommence a new plan afresh with the intention of having a new Local Plan in place and
adopted at a date in 2029.

Elm Estate has been a focus and officers have visited twice to talk to residents and good
communication links have been established so residents can easily communicate with the
council to ensure that the properties and the public environment are kept in good order.

Councillor Price expressed disappointment that both County Councillor Hall and District
Councillor Davies will not be standing for elction to a unitary authority.

6. Open Forum

Joyce Baker commented on a number of current issues.

1. Suffolk Highways had not yet painted the yellow lines opposite the car park because
they said they could not find the edge of the road. Apparently they will come back at
some time to do this.

2. Flatford Lane still requires sweeping

3. The local postal service is getting worse with deliveries only every other day.

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4. The National Trust have installed the new kiosk, which is appreciated. However, there
was a post box adjacent to the old kiosk which the Post Office has not reinstalled. Could
the Council ask them to do so.

5. She was pleased that the National Trust was planning to install the Parkingstone
memorial stone on the Mill wall. The Chair commented that this proposal was in their
Management Plan.

Joyce Baker thanked the Parish Council for its hard work throughout the year in support
of the village.

The Chair thanked Joyce Baker for her attendance and contribution.

The meeting closed at 8.18 pm.

The next Annual Parishioners’ Meeting will take place on 14 May 2026.