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EAST BERGHOLT PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday 30 November 2023 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 R Allen
Councillor S Davies
Councillor P Dent
Councillor R Elmer
Councillor M Hockley
Councillor L Matthews
Councillor J Price
Councillor S Rothwell
Councillor G Woodcock

In Attendance
G White, Parish Clerk
No members of the public were present

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies received from Councillors Hurley and Wombwell were NOTED.

2. Declaration of Interests/Dispensations

None

3. Congregational Church

The Chairman presented her paper which had been circulated and published on the
Council’s website and added the latest information that the Federation Board had met on 25
November and at that meeting the managing trustees (the local deacons) had requested the
holding trustees (the Federation trustees) to gift the freehold to the Parish Council by
appropriate means as agreed by the respective legal representatives. The Federation had
also suggested to the local deacons that a Church worker who could work with the residual
congregation could form part of the overall project, though separate from the transfer.

The Chairman said that it appeared that the most efficient means of achieving the outcome
would be by extending the objects of the charity to focus upon community objects whilst
retaining religious objects sufficient to enable the church to use the building on occasion.
The first stage of this would be to obtain Charity Commission approval to the extended
objects and to the appointment of the Parish Council as corporate trustee.

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In response to questions from Councillor Dent, the Chairman said she understood that the
transaction could be effected quickly if Charity Commission consent was obtained. With
regard to consultation with the village, the Chairman noted that her paper to this meeting
was in the public domain. The initial decision of whether to accept the gift from the church
was one for the Parish Council. Once acquired, the Council would consult the village on the
uses to which the Community Hub could be put.

The structural survey had been expected in time for this meeting but had not been received.
Decisions taken will have to be subject to a satisfactory survey outcome as it is important to
be aware of liabilities prior to transfer, though it seems unlikely that there will be any major
structural issues.

The purpose of this meeting was to obtain decisions upon the funding of necessary legal and
technical work to enable the transaction to proceed. The legal requirements of the
transaction cannot be finalised until money has been spent on legal work and final approval
by the Council will be required once the final structure of the transaction is settled and
agreed by the professional experts acting for both parties.

Councillor Price noted that the paper made reference to a café as one of the possible uses.
He was concerned that this could impact adversely on existing businesses in the village. He
was also worried about the use of the land to the rear for elderly persons accommodation as
the area was one of the few areas of open space in the village centre. The Chairman said
these were both future steps for future debates.

Councillor Dent enquired about the cost of running the facility which the Chairman said was
dependent upon the uses to which the building was put. She added that as a result of a pre-
application to Babergh planners it was unlikely that a change of use for community use was
necessary, though planning permission may be necessary for particular works.

Councillor Rothwell was concerned about putting the council office in the building too early
when building work might be ongoing and the building was not satisfactorily equipped. He
was also concerned about lone working of staff and security measures which were not an
issue in the current office. The Chairman acknowledged that the structure and facilities
needed to be satisfactory before office use was possible. The Chairman will arrange a date
in January for members to inspect the church.

On the issue of the small cemetery on the site, the Chairman suggested it could be left or the
remains could be reburied in the council’s cemetery.

Councillor Davies asked when it was proposed to consult the village. The Chairman
answered that once the transfer has been completed the Council will consult the village on
what to do with the property. Councillor Matthews commented that from the recent pop-up
session emerging priorities were for something for teenagers and a community hub. The
Chairman distinguished a community hall from a hub. In the former people come and go to
events whereas in the latter activities are based more permanently and regularly. She noted
the need to cater for up to a thousand new residents in the not too distant future.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthews, seconded by Councillor Hockley and RESOLVED
(unanimously) that the Parish Council reaffirms the principles as set out in its original vision
statement, with the addition of including space for younger people activities.

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It was proposed by Councillor Hockley, seconded by Councillor Woodcock and RESOLVED
(unanimously) that the transfer of the church and land to the Council’s appropriate legal
entity be agreed subject to the gifting of the freehold and satisfactory survey results to
enable step 2 activities, the community hub.

It was proposed by Councillor Hockley, seconded by Councillor Matthews and RESOLVED
that the value of the transfer to East Bergholt is sufficient even if only the 1st and 2nd steps,
the transfer and the creation of a community hub, is achieved.

It was proposed by Councillor Hockley, seconded by Councillor Rothwell and RESOLVED
(unanimously) that the Council allocates up to £20,000 to complete legal work for the
transfer of the asset (estimate £5-8k) and design work for church building refurbishment
(estimate £10k) plus contingency.

It was proposed by Councillor Dent, seconded by Councillor Hockley and RESOLVED
(unanimously) that the Council agrees in principle to the transfer of the Church’s local assets
to Council on the condition that the final mechanism of ownership and terms of the transfer
defined by the legal and technical work are approved by the Council.

All further decisions will be subject to the transfer of the asset being complete and for the
detailed evaluation work and business case development to be completed.

4. Urgent Communications

By reason of special circumstances, namely that a Council decision is required before the
next scheduled meeting, the Chairman considered that the following item should be
considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency.

Application DC/23/00740 The Red Lion, East Bergholt

Councillor Roberts referred to the above application which sought permission for, inter alia,
four houses, to which the Council had recommended refusal in representations submitted in
March 2023. Part 1 of the Joint Local Plan had been adopted by Babergh DC very recently
and consequently the old plan had been superseded. The Council’s recommendations were
based in part on the old plan which had been current at the time. Babergh DC had advised
that it was not re-issuing the consultation but rather any further recommendations would be
taken into account if received by 11 December 2023. This date preceded the next scheduled
Council meeting on 14 December.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthews, seconded by Councillor Rothwell and RESOLVED
(unanimously) that Councillor Roberts be authorised to write and submit further
representations to Babergh DC having regard to new Joint Local Plan.

The meeting closed at 7.40 pm.

Chairman…………………………………………………………………………………….Date……………………………….