Planning Application - Mill House, Stowmarket Road, Badley

Whilst this application does not directly affect Creeting St Peter, Mill House is within yards of the River Gipping which, at that point, forms the parish boundary. For more details, visit the Mid Suffolk District Council website.

The application will be considered by the Parish Council in its a role as a statutory consultee at its forthcoming meeting on 5 July. The deadline for comments is 22 July.

Do something for your environment and for the River Gipping

The River Gipping forms part of the boundary of Creeting St Peter, and whilst the River Gipping Trust is working to restore the river along its full length, the Pickerel Project focuses on maintaining the area in the middle of Stowmarket, an area where litter is dumped in significant quantities.

Its declared aims are;

1. The improvement of wildlife habitat
2. Improvement/enhancement of the landscape and access to the river
3. The promotion of informal public recreation
4. The promotion of culture, heritage and the arts

On Sunday, volunteers will be out, as they are on the first Sunday of every month, meeting at the Prentice Road car park at 10 a.m. If you join them, you may be in the river (it isn't very deep) clearing litter, or on the banks, removing weeds and tidying the undergrowth.

Planning Application - 10 Peterhouse

Residents of Creeting St Peter village may have noticed the orange sign outside 10 Peterhouse, announcing that a planning application has been lodged. For more details, visit the Mid Suffolk District Council website.

The application will be considered by the Parish Council in its a role as a statutory consultee at its forthcoming meeting on 5 July. The deadline for comments is 11 July.

Mid Suffolk Building Control retains quality accreditation

The Building Control section of Mid Suffolk District Council has retained its prestigious accreditation for quality assurance for the 10th year in a row.

The ISO 9001accreditation is an internationally recognised standard of quality management systems and was retained by Building Control following a full day site inspection by BM TRADA, the accrediting body on 21 June 2011. This award is in recognition of Building Control continuing to deliver a consistently high level of service to their customers.

Nick Gowrley, Corporate Director at Mid Suffolk said,"I am delighted that we have retained this prestigious accreditation.  The assessor was pleased with how we have performed over the last year and has therefore awarded us the ISO 9001 for the coming year. Working with the ISO framework has helped us look carefully at our quality assurance process and this has resulted in some improvements along the way. It is credit to our staff that the comments from the assessment were advisory rather than issues that require major change."

Whilst this is undoubtedly good news, local residents will remain aware of ongoing dissatisfaction with the performance of Mid Suffolk's planning department, whose failings remain unaddressed by District Councillors.

Thornham Walks launch online consultation

Thornham Walks has launched an online survey to gain community feedback on its facilities and to gauge public opinion on whether it could diversify into other areas. The consultation document is part of a joint project with Beyond the Wall, a charity based at the Thornham Walled Garden, to help secure the long term future of both organisations.

The survey covers areas such as sources of funding and future events and activities at the Walks. It can be completed online at here and is open until the end of July 2011. A bulletin board forum has also been linked to the document allowing users to go into further detail if they wish to.

Helen Sibley, the countryside officer at Thornham Walks said: “We would really appreciate feedback from as many people who have used the Walks as possible; it’s essential that we get a clear understanding of what the community like and need from a countryside facility like Thornham.”

Ben Hall, the Commercial Manager for Beyond the Wall said: “We have a strong historical partnership with Thornham Walks staff and are happy to be part of this consultation project. We have built up a fine resource at the Thornham Walled Garden for people with disabilities and we are keen to extend our service to provide more benefits for this section of the community.”

The results of the survey will collated during August and may be used as evidence in future funding bids.

Parish Council meeting called for 5 July

In local news, word reaches the Journal that Parish Clerk, Rosemary Cochrane, has published the calling notice for the July meeting of the Creeting St Peter Parish Council.

Recently re-elected Cllr Steve Ashcroft, having been nominated to resume as Chair, will be taking back the reins from Cllr Mark Valladares, who filled in for the Annual General meeting in May.

Items expected to appear on the agenda will be reports from Suffolk Constabulary, the County and District Councillors, but most important of all, a report on progress towards formalising the status of the playing field.

Residents of the village are cordially invited to attend, and the meeting starts at 7.30 p.m. in the Church Room at the end of The Lane.

Your chance to take a book out as the Mobile Library comes to town

Just a brief reminder that the Mobile Library Service comes to The Lane, here in the village, on the following date this month;

Friday, 24th June

The Mobile Library will be present between 11.45 a.m. and 12 noon.

County Council finally acts to attract broadband funding

As village residents continue to voice their concerns at slow internet speeds, it appears that the County Council are finally taking the issue seriously.

Following last month's failure of the county's bid for funding for super fast broadband in the county, it emerged that, whilst neighbouring Norfolk County Council were offering a £15 million contribution to demonstrate their commitment to their county's bid, Suffolk County Council had offered to put in less than £500,000. Unsurprisingly, £15 million of funding went to Norfolk, and Suffolk got nothing.

Last week, county councillors decided to sweeten their renewed bid with a £10 million contribution, making the funding of the £41.7 million project to bring decent broadband services to the whole county much more likely.

In an increasingly internet-reliant world, super fact broadband has the potential to make smaller villages like Creeting St Peter sustainable by attracting small businesses, especially those that can work remotely from their customers. It will also help school children in the village, who will be able to use the internet to help with their homework, and allow elderly residents to keep in touch with family and friends.

Stop Press: Creeting Road now reopen

Good news for villagers, as Creeting Road is now open to traffic after four weeks. Whilst the road is not entirely clear yet, we are now connected to Stowmarket by the normal route.

However, sources indicate that more disruption can be expected during future development phases in Cedars Park, as the road layout is scheduled to be changed, and The Creeting St Peter Journal will be covering news of any road closures and diversions as we get it.
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Concerns over parish roads raised

At a meeting of the Mid Suffolk South Area Committee of SALC, the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, Cllr. Mark Valladares raised local concerns about poor communication of the closure of the village's main link to Stowmarket recently.

In a conversation with County Council Highways official, Steve Bone, Cllr. Valladares noted the failure to notify villagers of the closure, pointing out that had he not taken it upon himself to circulate the information, drivers would only have discovered the closure on reaching the junction of Pound Road and Mill Lane.

He also noted the failure to co-ordinate roadworks, given that at the same time, Church Road in Stowupland, the only other convenient route to Stowmarket, was the subject of redressing, reducing traffic speeds to 20 mph. Other subjects raised included the dangerous right hand turn from the A1120 into Creeting Lane, and the filling of the grit bin in The Lane.

"It really isn't good enough,", claimed Cllr. Valladares, "the County Council needs to be more careful in scheduling road closures, especially when fuel costs are soaring. Long diversions, especially when they are unexpected, are costly to those of us who live in villages.".

Meanwhile, the closure of Creeting Road, on the edge of the parish at the entrance to Cedars Park, has overrun, although the road is now passable, and should reopen to traffic shortly.

A new look for Creeting St Peter's only media outlet

I'll be honest, I've neglected this blog a bit of late. What with the election (I lost) and a general sense of ennui, even my main blog, the one that reaches out beyond the Gipping Valley, has suffered a bit. So, I thought that I'd freshen it up a bit. But first, an explanation of how we got here.

I'm a relative newcomer to Creeting St Peter, having only become a resident in 2008, and then only occasionally. I sold my house in North London in July 2009, and began a life split between London and mid-Suffolk. When I joined the parish council, it seemed like a fun idea to start blogging, a notion which created a degree of trepidation amongst some of my new colleagues.

It was suggested to me that I shouldn't cover the events of parish council meetings, that, as a councillor, I should leave reportage for the official version. And, rather foolishly, I agreed. However, there were mobile library visits to report on, county consultations and stories of buses, so I kept going, with the income from advertising being donated to the parish council (worth 5.5p per household in 2010!).

Becoming the Liberal Democrat district council candidate provided more restrictions on the blog, as I wanted to separate the politics that I do away from the village separate from the politics of Stowupland ward. I had, however, moved my job from London to Ipswich and finally become a full-time resident.

However, election over, it's time that I made up my mind as to what I want to do with it. So, I've changed the template, to something more redolent of the village. I'll add in some more interesting links over the next few weeks, some to local businesses (none of whom will be paying me for the privilege), others to local community groups who serve the village. Occasionally, it will look rather odd, as I experiment with the layout, colour scheme, or whatever. But bear with me, I'll get there in the end.

I'll also change the reporting style a bit. I have a rather liberal approach to freedom of speech and besides, you have a right to know what I'm up to as your parish councillor. I'm sure that my colleagues will be happy to communicate in whatever way they're comfortable, but I find blogging to be a decent way of reaching people... or should I say, publishing a local online newspaper...

Time to have some fun!