MPC(22)M03
Minutes of the Meeting of Melton Parish Council held on Wednesday 30th March 2022 commencing at 19:00 at 17 Riduna Park, Station Road, Melton IP12 1QT.
Present:
Cllr Mr A H Porter (Chair)
Cllr B Banks
Cllr C Biggle
Cllr N Brown
Cllr D Darby
Cllr Gradwell
Cllr K S Martin
Cllr C W Taylor
Cllr J Hilson
Cllr M Holmes (left at 8:10pm)
Cllr F Harvey-Smith (by Zoom)
In Attendance:
P Alder Clerk and Executive Officer to Melton Parish Council
F Waters Assistant Clerk to Melton Parish Council
2 members of the public
Part 1/2 – Open to the Public
Item No Item to be discussed
22.22 To receive apologies for absence
Apologies were received from Cllrs Packard and James. Cllr Harvey-Smith attended by Zoom. Apologies were also received from District Councillor Smith-Lyte and County Councillor Nicoll.
22.23 Declarations of Interest
22.23.01 To receive Amendments to the Register
There were none
22.23.02 To receive Declarations of Pecuniary Interest in Respect of Items on the Agenda
There were none
22.23.03 To receive Declarations of Non-Pecuniary Interest in Respect of Items on the Agenda
There were none
22.23.04 To consider Full / Partial Dispensations for Pecuniary Interests Declared
There were none
22.24 Public Participation Session
22.24.01 To receive a Report from the District Councillor
No report was received
22.24.02 To receive a report from the County Councillor
No report was received
22.24.03 To consider village matters raised by Members of the Public or Councillors
The Clerk made members aware that the flagpole was damaged and the Ukrainian flag was stolen on Saturday evening. Although captured on CCTV the images were not clear enough to identify the two individuals. After discussion it was unanimously AGREED to re-use the current flagpole but to place it in clearer view of the CCTV in time for the Jubilee celebrations in June. It will be decided at a later date if the flagpole will be re-sited near the Pavilion once it has been rebuilt.
22.24.04 Statement by the Chair on the Annual Melton Award
Cllr Porter announced that he would be contacting the joint recipients of the Melton Award and inviting them to the Annual Parish Meeting.
22.25 To consider co-option to the Council in respect of the vacancy
At the invitation of the Chair, Mr James Stearn introduced himself to Councillors. He has a background in engineering and lives in Melton. It was RESOLVED to welcome him as a co-optee onto the Council.
Proposed by: Cllr Porter Seconded by: Cllr Gradwell
22.26 To approve the Minutes of Full Council and Special Full Council
22.26.01 MPC(22)M01 Minutes of Full Council from 19th January 2022
22.26.02 MPC(22)M02 Minutes of Special Full Council from 2nd March 2022
It was RESOLVED that minutes MPC(22)M01 and MPC(22)M02 previously distributed, be received, noted and signed as a correct record by the Chair.
Proposed by: Cllr Taylor Seconded by: Cllr Gradwell
22.27 Community Governance Review
Councillors agreed the Council’s response to the CGR District-CGR-Terms-of-Reference.pdf (eastsuffolk.gov.uk) as found in paper MPC(22)27 previously distributed.
Proposed by: Cllr Martin Seconded by: Cllr Brown
22.28 To receive and consider Minutes of Committees
22.28.01 Finance Employment and Risk Management (FERM) Committee 9th February 2022
Minutes FRM(22)M01 (Draft) and FRM(22)M01 CONFIDENTIAL (Draft) were received and NOTED
22.28.02 Planning and Transport Committee 26th January and 9th March 2022
Minutes PLA(22)M01 (Draft) and PLA(22)M02 (Draft) were received and NOTED
22.28.03 Recreation Committee 15th March 2022
Minutes REC(22)M02 (Draft) were received and NOTED
22.29 To consider Financial and Internal Control Matters
22.29.01 To receive and consider the financial management reports for the period 1 April 2021 to 28 February 2022
Papers MPC(22)29.01 and MPC(22)29.01a-h were received and NOTED
22.29.02 To consider the budget report
Paper MPC(22).29.02 was received and NOTED
22.29.03 To approve requests from Recreation and Planning and Transport Committees arising from March meetings
Councillors agreed to fund the purchase of a 3rd SID with a solar panel to be funded from CIL for £2,990 as per the details contained in MPC(22)29.03. The Clerk will contact Highways about upgrading the other SID posts in the parish to be compatible with solar panels.
Proposed by: Cllr Banks Seconded by: Cllr Brown
22.29.04 To review and consider the report on Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funded projects
Paper MPC(22)29.04 previously distributed was received and noted. Cllr Banks asked if the MUGA replacement could be funded by grants. The Clerk confirmed it could and that Recreation had agreed to revisit this project in September after the Pavilion is constructed. The Clerk will contact Cllr Nicoll to get support for SCC making a bid for District CIL to fund the pedestrian improvements at Bredfield Road. The Clerk will also speak to the Bredfield Road residents. It was AGREED that the Winifred Fison Earmarked Reserve should be topped up with 3k from the General CIL reserves due to an increase in project costs.
Proposed by: Cllr Porter Seconded by: Cllr Brown
22.29.05 To review and confirm the Council’s Standing Orders
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Standing-Orders-v11-May-2021.pdf
An updated legal topic note on Procurement has just been received which will impact the Standing Orders. It was AGREED to refer the review and updates to FERM’s meeting in April, by which time the Clerk hopes to have clarified some points with SALC.
22.29.06 To review and confirm the Council’s Financial Regs
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/documents/financial-regulations/
An updated legal topic note on Procurement has just been received which will impact the Financial Regs. It was AGREED to refer the review and updates to FERM’s meeting in April, by which time the Clerk hopes to have clarified some points with SALC.
22.29.07 To consider risk issues
The Risk Register was reviewed and the following updates were agreed: 1. Combine the two Covid items into a generic Covid item and keep at low risk. 2. Update the Pavilion item to include reference to construction having started. Cllr Gradwell will raise the issue of recent ASB at the next ASB meeting.
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/documents-base/risk-register/
22.29.08 To review the Internal Control Policy for the year ending 31 March 2022
Paper MPC(22)29.08 was received and reviewed. Cllr Banks asked if paragraph 5 should include reference to 2022 and that the first two sentences of paragraph 6 should be removed. Subject to these changes it was RESOLVED to AGREE the Internal Control Policy and it will be signed by the Chair.
Proposed by: Cllr Porter Seconded by: Cllr Brown
22.29.09 To receive an update on the Internal Audit arrangements
The Clerk reported that the internal audit will take place on the 25th May and is being carried out by Trevor Brown. The office has received notification of the external audit and accompanying documentation from PKF Littlejohn.
22.29.10 To review the Council’s Asset Register as at 31 March 2022
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MPC2229.10-Asset-register.pdf
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Land-and-Building-Asset-Register.pdf
The asset registers were reviewed and the Clerk explained that next year the asset register would be compiled using the Parish Online service. It was decided that only assets costing £100 and above (including items that would now cost more than £100 to replace) would be recorded from next year.
22.30 To receive an update on the Pavilion Project
The Clerk reported that the Pavilion construction began this week. A temporary access road has been laid and the slab has been lifted. Foundations should be poured next week. The Clerk explained that a layout change had been proposed to create an internal storage area and to remove the internal partition doors, resulting in a saving of nearly £3k. It was unanimously AGREED to go ahead with this change. A resident in attendance has kindly joined the Pavilion Working Group and introduced herself, explaining that before her retirement she practised as an architect and ran a building company.
https://melton-suffolk-pc.gov.uk/recreation/pavilion-project/
22.31 The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend
Cllr Porter will be lighting the beacon and raising the flag on the 2nd June in the evening. He has also engaged the services of a cornet player. Cllr Taylor has provided a risk assessment from the previous beacon event and Cllr Porter was advised to use a lot of firelighters and to use the coiled eco ones as they are more effective.
It was AGREED that former Cllr Abbott should be nominated as the torch bearer for the Melton leg on the 31st May. If she is unable then the Birkbecks will be approached with Cllr Porter as a reserve.
Proposed by: Cllr Porter Seconded by: Cllr Martin
22.32 Jubilee Fete event – June 2022
Paper MPC(22)32, previously distributed, was presented by Cllr Biggle. It was confirmed that there would be a book stall and that the next fete meeting is taking place on the 19th April. It was AGREED that the profits will be split between St Andrews church, the Burness Parish Rooms and Melton primary school. The raffle takings will be used to help kit out the Pavilion. Brownies will be able to keep all their takings if they have a stall. The lack of a tea tent was raised as an issue so it was agreed that the Clerk would contact the mobile coffee van to see if they can attend, hopefully charging a slightly lower price.
Proposed by: Cllr Gradwell Seconded by: Cllr Brown
22.33 To consider arrangements for meetings for 2022/23
Paper MPC(22)33 containing proposed dates of meetings for 2022/23 was discussed. It was proposed and agreed that the Full Council meeting should be moved from the 21st September to the 28th September.
22.34 Annual Parish Meeting
Cllr Porter reported that the APM is taking place on the 27th April at 7.30pm at the Burness Parish Rooms. It was proposed that the fete should be promoted and there should be information boards about the Pavilion project on display.
22.35 To receive and consider reports from representatives to Outside Bodies
22.35.01 Burness Parish Room Management Committee
Cllr Gradwell reported that the AGM is taking place on the 21st April.
22.35.02 Melton Trust
Cllr Martin reported that three Trustees had resigned and three new Trustees had joined. The Council conveyed their thanks to the former Trustees, Tony Thompson, John Patman and Roger Hobson.
22.35.03 Melton Primary School
The Clerk reported that the head had resigned to take up a position at SCC in September and that interviews for a replacement were taking place next week.
22.35.04 Melton Messenger
Cllr Porter requested that any news items are sent to him including a piece about the Yarmouth Road Appeal from Cllr Brown.
22.35.05 ASB Co-ordination meetings
Cllr Gradwell reported that there has been no meeting recently but one is coming up.
22.35.06 Sizewell C update
The SZC Project Team is giving a presentation to Melton Parish Council at 6pm on the 13th April. As it looks highly likely the project will be approved, although the Secretary of State has acknowledged the local opposition, it is important that as many mitigations and improvements as possible are sought for locals and the local area eg railway upgrade, 4 village bypass, triple glazing etc.
22.35.07 Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC)
Nothing to report
22.36 To consider Items for the Melton Messenger
Yarmouth Road Appeal, Flagpole vandalism, SZC meeting and Pavilion update.
22.37 Chairman’s urgent business
Cllr Darby raised a question about training for Councillors. The Clerk/Asst Clerk reported that there had not been much interest from Councillors but that the Asst Clerk would contact Woodbridge Town Council to see if they were interested in having some joint in person training later in the summer/autumn which could be held at the Parish Council office. Could also offer our venue to SALC for training and ask them to advertise.
22.38 Date of next meeting
The next meeting of Full Council will take place on Wednesday 11th May 2022, commencing at 7pm at 17 Riduna Park, Station Road, Melton IP12 1QT. The Annual Parish Meeting is taking place on Wednesday 27th April 2022 at the Burness Parish Rooms at 7.30pm. There being no further business for the Open part of the Agenda, and following consideration of the Confidential Items, the meeting closed at 21:00.
