Need something to read on those summer evenings?

Just a brief reminder that the Mobile Library Service comes to The Lane, here in the village, on two dates next month;

Friday, 5th August

Friday, 19th August

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

Local Station to be refurbished

National Express East Anglia have announced that Stowmarket Station will be getting a 'refresh' over the coming weeks.

The project, starting next month and running until the end of October, will see painting, as well as some general repairs to the fabric of the station.

Passengers are asked to take extra care during the course of the works.

Planning application at Clamp Farm House

Creeting St Peter Parish Council have been notified of a planning application intended to gain permission to remove infill from two recently discovered bricked up openings and install new windows. As a statutory consultee, the Council is obliged to consider such an application and, where there are concerns, ensure that they are recorded with Mid Suffolk District Council.

This particular application is the latest in a series of permissions sought in order to restore this Grade II listed property, and is unlikely to draw much comment at a Parish level, being more likely to be considered more closely by the relative experts of the Mid Suffolk Planning Services department.

However, if you're interested in finding out more, or are an expert in the restoration and maintenance of historic properties, more information can be found here.

Ofcom cuts rural broadband charges

The company is the only operator in many smaller telephone exchanges and ISPs have to factor 'renting' BT's equipment into their price plans. Rural broadband bills could fall after telecoms regulator Ofcom moved to cut the wholesale price that BT charges other internet providers. That means customers often miss out on cheaper deals available in towns and cities. The reduction only affects broadband services of up to 8Mbps.

From mid August until March 2014, Ofcom has ruled that BT must cut its rates by 12% below inflation per year. The Countryside Alliance said it was "delighted" by the decision. "People living in the countryside have been left behind in the digital divide for far too long and it is vital that they have effective and affordable broadband if their rural economies are to grow and prosper," said a spokesperson.

The government is keen to see next-generation services thrive in rural as well as urban areas as it aims to make the UK the fastest broadband nation in Europe by 2015. Critics have argued that relying on copper technologies will not future-proof networks and have urged operators to invest in fibre optics which can provide much faster services.

"Any retail price reductions that follow from this wholesale announcement will be welcomed by consumers, but the extent to which providers will reduce prices is uncertain," said Sebastien Lahtinen, co-founder of broadband news service ThinkBroadband.

"The wholesale cost reductions may be used by broadband providers to ease congestion at peak times by adding capacity instead."

"It is also important to note that the price control only applies to 'up to 8 meg services', which may be seen as a regulatory green light to encourage BT to upgrade rural exchanges to support faster 'up to 24 meg' ADSL2+ services, in the knowledge that they will be able to secure a higher return on investment," he added.

County Council announces interim replacement for Andrea

Suffolk County Council’s Staff Appointments Committee has appointed Lucy Robinson as the authority’s interim Chief Executive.

The role is initially for a period of six months, during which time the recruitment of a permanent chief executive will take place. Ms Robinson has been appointed on a salary of £150,000 pro rata.

Key objectives for Ms Robinson will include; effectively managing the budget setting process, to ensure the required savings of £50 million are made over the next two years, develop effective relationships with partners and effectively engage with staff.

Ms Robinson brings a wealth of experience to the position, having held a number of roles across local and central government, most recently as Director for Economy, Skills and Environment with Suffolk County Council since 2002. Ms Robinson has an in depth understanding of not only the county council but also the needs of residents and partners. For the past three months Ms Robinson has been covering the role of Chief Executive.

Cllr Mark Bee, Leader of Suffolk County Council said: “I am delighted that Lucy has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive. Lucy offers not only a wealth of experience but also the personal skills and drive to begin building foundations for the future. 

“Over the coming years we are faced with a number of challenges, not least the need to save £50m over the next two years.

“I look forward to working with Lucy to deliver on our promises to the people of Suffolk – good quality, value for money services and keeping council tax down.”

For the Liberal Democrats, Kathy Pollard commented: "I am delighted that Lucy Robinson has accepted the role of interim Chief Executive at Suffolk County Council. She got the job on merit and the decision of the staff appointments committee was unanimous."

Lucy Robinson said: “I am delighted to be offered this role and look forward to working with Mark, Cabinet and councillors to meet their objectives.”

Ms Robinson will take up the role of Interim Chief Executive from 1 August.

Incinerator gets go ahead

An energy from waste facility, which will turn all of Suffolk’s residual household waste into electricity, has been given the go ahead.

Planning permission for the plant at Great Blakenham near Ipswich was granted last week and earlier this month the Environment Agency issued the necessary draft permit for the site – effectively giving SITA UK the green light to proceed.

Building work is due to start later this year and the plant should be open by December 2014.

Mark Bee, Leader of Suffolk County Council, which has a 25-year contract with SITA UK to build and then run the site, said: “I am delighted we can now start work on this project which will provide Suffolk with a cheaper, greener solution for disposing of household waste which cannot reasonably be recycled.

“We are proud that Suffolk is one of the top recycling areas in the country with over half our household waste recycled. We want to do even better and aim to get to 60% by 2015.

“But there will always be waste left over. Now, we’ll be putting that waste to good use as a fuel to generate electricity. Over the life of the contract this will be around £350 million cheaper than continuing to landfill, and it will also be better for the environment.”

However, Opposition Leader, Kathy Pollard, has already indicated her opposition to the project, believing that there are better technical alternatives.

County Leader outlines priorities

In a speech this week County Councillor Mark Bee, Leader of Suffolk County Council, outlined his priorities for the authority over the next two years.

Councillor Bee said; “Good quality, value for money services, protection of the most vulnerable and keeping council tax down – this is what the people of Suffolk want me to do and I am determined to deliver it for them.“To do this we need to think differently to think radically about how we operate in the future.”

He continued; “One of the key ways in which we can achieve this is to break down the barriers across the public sector and work in partnership removing duplication. I would like to see a single gateway for public services delivering joined up local government.

“A perfect example of this is public buildings. Working together with my fellow leaders across Councils in Suffolk and other public sector organisations including the police and fire service we will be looking to share accommodation, use space more efficiently and improve the services we are able to deliver.

“It’s about delivering what people need, not what we want to provide.”

County County saves libraries - but not all of them

Last week, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet approved an approach that, it was claimed, will secure the future of library services in Suffolk retaining the current library network and putting it on a "strong and sustainable footing for the future".

Three options for the central organisation will be considered and a final decision made by Cabinet at its meeting in November. They are;

• An in-house business unit similar to the Schools Library Service.
• An external, but wholly council-owned, company.
• An independent company managed by the county through contractual arrangements.

County Councillor with responsibility for libraries Judy Terry said the service had undergone significant changes over the last few years, but the council was determined to maintain the network.In the meantime, the council will be working to deliver a number of partnership pilots with town or parish councils, community or staff groups keen on running a library - providing them with the flexibility, funding and support to make it a success. Given that a wide range of groups have come forward with proposals to run their own libraries, it is hoped that the pilots will act as a model elsewhere. Community involvement is critical to the success of the vision throughout Suffolk and the council will work with other groups to develop their business plans.

Unfortunately, as far as the more rural communities are concerned, the prospects are not good, with a proposal to change the frequency of mobile visits from fortnightly to monthly. Whilst no decision will be made on mobile libraries until after the views expressed during the public consultation have been taken into account, the expectation is that Creeting St Peter will see a 50% reduction in its mobile library service to just fifteen minutes each month. The proposal will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting in November, whilst full Council in September will debate the best value options and mobile libraries plans.

Sewer ownership to change from 1 October

Anglian Water have announced that, from 1st October 2011, they will be looking after many more sewers and pipes that take wastewater from loos and sinks as a result of a change in the law. If a house is connected to the public sewer system, they will be taking ownership of any pipes that are outside its property boundary.

This will mean that, from 2014, water bills will be increasing, although by a relatively small amount - the Government have estimated that it will be somewhere between £3 and £14 per year.

For more information, visit the Anglian Water website.

Village to lose popular vicar

After nine years as vicar to the Benefice, the Reverend Christine Everett has announced her retirement. Serving the chuches at Stonham Parva, Earl Stonham, Creeting St Mary and Creeting St Peter, she has played a key role in the life of all four villages and will be sorely missed.

To celebrate her ministry, a Benefice service will take place at Earl Stonham chuch on Saturday, August 14th, starting at 10 a.m.

Alice Mathewson, Chair of the Creeting St Peter Parochial Church Council, commented, "It has been a joy to have her as our vicar.".

Child literacy goes to the Circus!

This summer sees Suffolk Libraries take part in a literacy problem for the under-elevens, the brainchild of the Reading Agency.

Children are encouraged to sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge at Stowmarket Library during the school holidays – it’s FREE – and they will get a stage set and stickers to start them off. As they read their way through six books, they help the Circus Stars progress through Practice and Rehearsal to their ultimate goal – Showtime!

The fun doesn’t stop at the library though! They can create their own avatar and join the Stars on a journey through games and activities. They can keep track of the books they are reading, send messages to other Circus Stars, and even meet some famous authors.

For more information, go to the Suffolk Libraries website or to the Reading Agency's website. The programme kicks off on Saturday (July 23rd), just in time for the school holidays.

Time to turn off the street lights at night?

Whilst Suffolk County Council are taking steps to turn off most of their street lights between midnight and 5.30 a.m., there will not be any change in Creeting St Peter for the time being, as the parish's nine street lights are operated and funded by the Parish Council.

At a recent meeting of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils Mid Suffolk South Area Committee, new lighting proposals were outlined, including the introduction of new gadgets that can control when an individual streetlight switches on and off. "It is estimated,", said Cllr Mark Valladares, "that introducing similar equipment in Creeting St Peter would pay for itself in electricity savings in just three and a half years, a very powerful consideration when financial times are tough, and a potential contribution to reducing our impact on the environment too.".

Cllr Valladares has called upon the Parish Council to give serious consideration to his suggestion that, where Suffolk goes, Creeting St Peter goes too, and it is likely to be a topic for discussion in September's Parish Council meeting. However, he is keen to ensure that there is proper consultation before any action is taken.

Village population grows by one

Congratulations go out to Steven and Tracey Ashcroft, as Tracey gave birth to a baby boy recently. Steven, the Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council, and Tracey attended a recent village social event despite the impending birth, and the Creeting St Peter Journal wishes them, and their son, every good fortune in the future.

Barriers to housing and services blight village

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published its report of Indices of Multiple Deprivation for 2010, and the Creeting St Peter Journal has uncovered a statistic that probably comes as no great surprise to villagers, in that the village falls within the bottom 10% of the more than 32,000 LSOAs (short for lower-level Super Output Areas, or in our case, District Council wards) in England on the index of barriers to housing and services.

The index is calculated with reference to the distance to key services (post office, GP, primary school and general store), as well as the availability of affordable housing. And villagers don't need to be reminded that we don't have any of these things here in Creeting St Peter. There is no doubt that the absence of these services has an impact, especially on elderly residents and those without access to their own transport.

All of this falls against a background of declining rural services. Figures provided by the Rural Development Commission, the Countryside Agency and Suffolk ACRE show that the number of rural parishes with a post office has fallen from 58% to 44% in England, and even faster in Suffolk, from 57% to just 33% since 1991.

The proportion of rural parishes with a general store is down from 25% to 14%,  and whilst Suffolk has retained more village pubs than across England as a whole, that may have something to do with the emergence of gastropubs, as reliant on food sales as they once were on local drinkers.

The Creeting St Peter Journal will be running a series of reports on the rural economy, following on from the Suffolk Foundation's recently published report, 'Hidden Needs', looking at the impact of social and economic change on Suffolk villages.

Why not use the bus instead?

The Journal is asked to remind villagers that the Suffolk Links Gipping North service is now available between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday, for pre-arranged journeys in an area including Mendlesham, the Stonhams, the Creetings, Haughley, Woolpit, Rattlesden and Great Finborough, connecting the villages with Stowmarket and Needham Market.

The vehicle, an example of which is shown above, is fully accessible with low steps, hand rails and a lift for wheelchair access. Best of all, concessionary passes are valid on all services after 9.30 a.m. Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturday.

And even if you don't have a concessionary pass, the return fare to Stowmarket is just £2.10 (£1.30 for a one way trip), and it will pick up as close to your door as is reasonable (usually on Pound Road).

Journeys can be booked up to a week in advance, and passengers can have two  days worth of travel arranged at any one time. For more information, or simply to book a journey, call 01449 616000. Margaret, and her team of helpers, will do everything they can to get you to where you want to go, when you want to go.

But passengers are asked to bear in mind that the bus may not be available exactly when you want it, so some flexibility is really appreciated. And bring the exact fare if you can, as change may not always be available.

Parish Council to meet

Parish Clerk, Rosemary Cochrane, has confirmed that the next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on Tuesday, September 20th, at the Church Room in The Lane, starting at 7.30 p.m.

Reports from both the District and County Councillors are expected, as well as news of progress on the playing field project, and all residents are welcome to attend.

District Councillor mourns failed merger

The newly elected Full Council met in Needham Market on 30 June, in part to discuss the aftermath of the ballot of residents in Babergh and Mid Suffolk on a proposed merger of the two district councils. It was agreed that, given the significant impact claimed as a result of the inability to merge the two councils, further undefined cuts would be necessary.

At a meeting of Creeting St Peter PC on 5 July, Cllr Caroline Byles declared her disappointment with the outcome, as it was her belief that this was the wrong decision to take, a view unlikely to be shared by residents of Babergh, 61% of whom voted against.

However, having been unable to attend the meeting of the full Mid Suffolk DC, Cllr Byles was unable to enlighten the Parish Council as to the nature of the cuts that are being considered, despite her membership of the Executive Committee.

Villagers will doubtless be keen to find out what the impact is likely to be on Creeting St Peter, although there are currently very few services supplied directly by Mid Suffolk District Council - street lights are provided by the Parish Council, the community bus is sponsored by Suffolk County Council, and the major impact is likely to be on those residents still living in accommodation supplied by the District Council.

The Journal will be attempting to find out more over the coming weeks and months so, if you want to keep in touch with events as they take place, keep reading the Creeting St Peter Journal!

Police urge caution over scrap metal thefts

Writing in the Creeting St Peter Newsletter, the official publication of the Creeting St Peter Parish Council, a member of the Stowmarket Safer Neighbourhoods Team, PC Stefan Henriksen, warns that, following recent increases in the price paid for scrap metal, there has been an increase in thefts of such material of late.

"I would like to urge everyone to make sure that all doors and windows are always left secure, no matter how long people go out for, as well as securing sheds and any trailers or other property that might be left outside.", wrote PC Henriksen.

Anyone witnessing suspicious behaviour is urged to call 999 or, if they have information to pass on, to contact PC Henriken directly on 10473 613500.

Saving the cheque, a victory for commonsense

The UK Payments Council yesterday announced that they are to reverse their decision to scrap cheques by 2018 and continue their use for as long as customers need them.

The MP for Cheadle, Mark Hunter, who originally launched the 'Save the Cheque' campaign through an Early Day Motion in Parliament in November 2009 said; "This is a great victory for people power and common sense, and proves the banks cannot afford to ignore the views of their customers. "After years campaigning alongside small businesses, charities and voluntary groups, who will welcome this with open arms, I am absolutely delighted by this news.

Commenting further, Baroness Scott of Needham Market also welcomed the news, noting that there are hundreds of small businesses who were concerned that the removal of cheques would drive up their costs and end up putting them out of business. 

Suffolk Fire and Rescue compile County 'thatch register'

Suffolk Fire and Rescue have responded to a recent increase in the number of thatch fires - twelve in the past year, with nineteen more just across the county borders - by starting to compile a thatch register.

Jon Southgate, writing to Parish Clerks across the county, has confirmed their wish to be proactive in helping the owners and residents of thatched properties by providing them with relevant information to reduce the risk of fire before it happens. The information gathered will be retained for use by the county's control room should such properties ever be subject to a roof fire, allowing it to better judge the number and type of vehicles to be sent to help minimise the level of damage.

Parish Clerk, Rosemary Cochrane, confirmed that details of the three thatched properties in the Parish have been notified to Suffolk Fire and Rescue, noting that no other information has been provided as part of the Parish Council's commitment to data protection and privacy.

Do you know someone worthy of a Community Achievement Award?

Mid Suffolk District Council, together with the Rotary Club of Stowmarket Gipping Valley, have announced that nominations are open for the 2011 Community Achievement Awards, intended to be given to someone in the local community who, it is felt, deserve recognition and praise for their efforts, someone whose thought, perseverance and endeavour has played a vital role in making it a better place to live. Nominees should live in Mid Suffolk, and work on an unpaid voluntary basis.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, July 22nd., and nomination forms are available from the Cultural and Community Services department at the District Council headquarters in Needham Market. Time is short though, so you might prefer to call 01449 724645 and have a form sent to you.

And remember, you can't nominate yourself!

Villagers gather for a nice cup of tea - the morning after the night before

And after the beer, lager and wine of the night before, plus a quick tidy, Sue and Margaret were up and ready bright and early to tend a remarkably perky collection of villagers, keen to pick up where they left off the previous evening at July's monthly coffee morning and produce sale.

Baroness Ros Scott was amongst those chatting away with a cup of tea and something baked, whilst others discussed the possibilities for future events.

In the course of a discussion with the Journal's Editor, Russell Stott noted the need to raise funds for the maintenance of the village's church, parts of which are thought to date back to the eleventh century, and was enthusiastic about  finding ways of raising those funds whilst bolstering the community life of the village.

And we here at the Journal are keen to support the efforts of the Parochial Church Council, so make sure you come back for reports of their activities over the coming months.

Village Pub Night a great success!

Creeting St Peter welcomed the second Village Pub Night yesterday evening, as thirsty villagers gathered to socialise and drink 'The Bees' Knees', another fine ale from Bartrams Brewery in Rougham.

Mein hosts, Russell Stott and Keith Brooks, tirelessly poured the drinks, took the money and made conversation as the Church Room filled to capacity and beyond with villagers keen not only to support the Parochial Church Council but to meet friends and neighbours.

Starting at 7.30 p.m., the revelry continued until after midnight, and a sizeable amount was raised towards the maintenance of St Peter's Church, our reporter was told the next day.

With the first two events being such a success, plans are already being made for a Curry Night and a Quiz Night later in the year or early in 2012, and we are confident that they will be equally well supported.

Mobile Library service to be reduced?

Suffolk County Council's cabinet will this month be asked to approve a vision and model for the future of library services in Suffolk – which would retain the library network and put it on a strong and sustainable footing for the future.

At the meeting, cabinet will also be asked to approve a new public consultation on how mobile library services can be restructured to retain the service and make necessary savings. A proposal to change the frequency of mobile visits from fortnightly to monthly – bringing Suffolk in line with its county neighbours – will be put to the public. Absolutely no decision will be made on mobile libraries until after the views expressed during the public consultation have been taken into account.

Commenting on mobile libraries, Cllr Judy Terry, Suffolk County Council's Portfolio Holder responsible for libraries, said:

"I do not want anyone to jump to any conclusions on mobile libraries. The review has demonstrated to us that there could be a more efficient way of running the service in order to keep it going – so we're going to explore those issues via an open public consultation. No decisions will be made until we've taken those views into account."

Creeting St Peter is currently served by a mobile library which visits on alternate Fridays for fifteen minutes. Cllr Mark Valladares, Vice Chairman of the Parish Council, commented, "We'll do our best to enable residents to make their views known on the potential reduction of one of the very few services directly provided to the village. Whilst I am personally disappointed by the proposal, there may be alternative ways that allow villagers to use the county libraries, and we should explore these.".
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Suffolk moves closer to brighter broadband future

Suffolk’s bid to build a broadband network fit for the twenty first century has taken a step closer – with the Government expected to make a funding decision for Suffolk next month.

Representatives from Suffolk have held positive talks with officials from the Government’s broadband body - and advised them how Suffolk County Council intends to invest up to £10 million in the project over the next four years.

Suffolk County Council’s Leader, Councillor Mark Bee, said:

“The discussions we’ve had with Broadband Delivery UK have been very positive and I’m pleased to say that our planned £10 million investment appears to be having the right impact.

“We must not underestimate the impact that securing this investment will have on local business growth, improving educational attainment and removing a major block to public service transformation in Suffolk.

“I very much hope the financial contribution we’ve pledged, and the partnership approach we’ve taken with our business, community, council and parliamentary colleagues, will secure the vital government support we need.”

The total cost of the Suffolk broadband project is estimated at £41.7 million, of which approximately half should come from the private sector. Suffolk County Council has committed up to £10m in the expectation that BDUK will match that amount.

The Government has set aside £530 million to support broadband projects around the country. Indicative funding decisions are expected to be announced in the first two weeks of July.

Given that Creeting St Peter is particularly poorly served, being as it is a long way from the telephone exchange, and dependent on aging telecoms infrastructure, villagers can only hope that the bid is successful.

Saturday morning is coffee morning

Yes, it's that time once again, hot on the heels of the Village Pub Night, the Creeting St Peter Parochial Church Council is hosting another of its very successful coffee mornings.

And it isn't just an opportunity to drink coffee (or tea, if you're that way inclined) and eat extremely good baked stuff, there are plants to buy and other useful/interesting stuff too, including some Creeting St Peter notelets.

So, make your way to the Church Room at the end of The Lane on Saturday morning, between 10 a.m. and noon - you're sure of a warm welcome.

Andrea Hill goes!

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council has confirmed that its Chief Executive, Andrea Hill, will be leaving her post with immediate effect. 

"There has been significant media attention attached to Mrs Hill which has become a distraction and both parties accept that with new political leadership of Suffolk County Council in place, it is better to allow the organisation to move forward with new managerial leadership."

The Dismissals and Appeals Committee of Suffolk County Council has today concluded its investigation into the 'whistleblowing' allegations made her, concluded that whilst there were undoubtedly expenses claims which, in the current climate, might not represent best use of public money, the Committee accepted that there was no dishonesty in the claims made. It was also satisfied that there was no evidence to support claims of bullying and harassment, or that she was responsible for the death of David White (former Head of Legal Services).

After negotiations between representatives of Mrs Hill and the County Council, compensation is to be paid to Mrs Hill of £218,592. This figure includes her contractual notice period.

The response from the Leader of the Opposition on Suffolk County Council, Kathy Pollard (Liberal Democrat), was swift, condemning the Conservative Group and, in particular, those Conservative councillors responsible for altering the salary scale without proper authority, allowing her to earn such a vast salary.

One presumes that Andrea Hill's replacement will be engaged on a more appropriate salary, given the need to make large savings in the overall budget, with the prospect of more to come over the next three years.

Suffolk launches ‘Stay Safe’ card scheme

Suffolk’s Hate Crime team has launched a new safety initiative to help protect vulnerable people when they’re out and about in Suffolk.

The ‘Stay Safe’ scheme, which was launched in Felixstowe ahead of its county-wide rollout, will give ‘Stay Safe’ cards to young people and adults with learning disabilities. The cards, which provide vital information about the card holder as well as helpful contact details, are there to give the person more confidence when leaving the house and enable them to be more independent in every day life. Card holders will soon be able to visit shops, restaurants, pubs and banks that support the scheme, all displaying specially-designed 'Stay Safe' window stickers. These safe places will have staff trained in how to support an individual who comes to them for support.

County Councillor Kathy Gosling, Portfolio Holder for Sport, Culture, Diversity, Health and Wellbeing said; “All those involved in the project recognise the need for all individuals to feel safe in their environment and understand the importance of having places they can identify as safe places to go for help if necessary."I am absolutely delighted that a scheme of this kind is being launched in our county. It will give vulnerable people a sense of safety and security should they find themselves in a challenging situation. I hope as many businesses as possible will sign up to join the scheme. We are pleased to be able to launch this scheme and look forward to seeing the results.”

The scheme is a project run by Suffolk's Hate Crime Service, in partnership with Suffolk Acre, learning disability groups and Suffolk Youth Parliament. The Hate Crime Service is co-ordinated by Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Police, and was set up to combat discrimination and hate incidents. Allocated workers from the team are on hand to support all those who have been victims.

Every incident is recorded and reported to Suffolk Police through the dedicated Hate Crime team number: 01473 668966.

The Hate Crime service supports people in all walks of life who have experienced prejudice on the grounds of race, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or age.

Suffolk Libraries roll into town again

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

Friday, 8th July

Friday, 22nd July

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

The Parochial Church Council welcomes you to Village Pub Night, the sequel...

Unfortunately, I missed the first pub night, held on Friday, May 20th, as Ros and I were in Dresden for a conference (although I must confess that I was drinking wine that evening in a schloss on the River Elbe, so it wasn't a total write off...). However, given that something like 20% of the parish's population turned up, and that a good time was had by all, it must be unreservedly declared a success.

I am therefore delighted to note that another such event will take place on Friday, July 8th, same time (7.30 p.m.), same place (the Church Room at the end of The Lane), same beer (Adam's Ale from the fabulous Bartrams Brewery in Rougham) and same cause (an armed services charity).

I'm going to be there, unless something very untoward happens, and I'll see you at the bar...

Pickerel Project holds AGM

The Pickerel Project Group has announced that their Annual General meeting will take place at Stowmarket Town Council Chamber, Milton House, Milton Road South, Stowmarket IP14 1EZ on Tuesday, July 5th.

Apart from appointing a new management Committee, there will be a presentation of the Group's plans for Phase 2 of their project to look at ways of improving the river area in the heart of Stowmarket, close to the Pickerel Bridge. In phase 1, the group prepared a scheme of works for the river banks, between the river bridges in Stowupland Street and Station Road. The project group feel that there are opportunities to improve the accessibility of other parts of the river corridors in town for the benefit of all.

For more information, call Sally Sharma on 01449 612060 or email sallys@stowmarket.org.