Parish Council Chair in meeting with newly elected County Councillor

Yesterday evening, following an approach from newly elected County Councillor Keith Welham, Parish Council Chair, Mark Valladares, and Parish Clerk, Jennie Blackburn, met with him to discuss the issues that he might be able to take up on behalf of the village. 

Following the conveyance of congratulations to him on his success, Cllr Valladares indicated how much he, and Parish Council, were looking forward to working with him over the next four years.

Amongst the issue raised were;

• the impact of Gateway 14 on the junction at Clamp Farm
• village street lights
• the 20 mph speed limit and how it might be made more effective
• footpaths and rights of way
• general highway issues (potholes)
• potential tree planting
• wifi for the Church Room

The meeting was described as amicable and productive, and Cllr Welham advised that he would be attending the Annual Parish Council Meeting on Monday, and looked forward to having the opportunity to attend village coffee mornings going forward.

Mid Suffolk District Council challenged on planning enforcement

Whilst most attention is on the ongoing planning application for the Gateway 14 development, issues are emerging with the recent planning consent given for the expansion of Poundfield Products.

The planning consent came with conditions, including:

Prior to the commencement of the use hereby approved, a scheme of hard, soft and boundary treatment landscaping works for the site must be submitted to and approved, in writing, by the Local Planning Authority. 

Unfortunately, the site is already being used for storage, blighting the landscape for residents at Creeting Hall in particular, and Needham Market District Councillor, Mike Norris, has been lobbied actively to seek enforcement of this condition, amongst others.

We are aware that he has approached the Planning Enforcement team at Mid Suffolk District Council, urging action to ensure that conditions are met. He, like village residents, will be only too aware that the Council has done a poor job of enforcing the conditions that it has itself set, and it can only be hoped that further pressure will lead to a meaningful response.

It's time for the Annual Parish Meeting - testing, testing...

Every year, Creeting St Peter offers an opportunity for Parish residents to hold its representatives to account, and whilst that didn't happen last year due to the pandemic, there will be an Annual Parish Meeting this year, which will take place on Monday, 17th May.

There is a complication though. Following a failed attempt to extend the temporary legislation allowing local councils to meet and transact business virtually, the meeting will have to take place in person, at least to some extent. The problem is, social distancing is still in place, and the Church Room really isn't large enough to allow much more than the Parish Council to attend.

So, there will be an effort at making a hybrid meeting work, and tests will take place this week to see if it is possible.

A new County Councillor for Stowmarket North and Stowupland

After a dramatic day of counting, a 12% swing from the Conservatives to the Greens saw Keith Welham, the Green District Councillor for Haughley, Stowupland and Wetherden, defeat the incumbent Conservative councillor, Gary Green by 139 votes. The full result was as follows;

• Keith Welham (Green) - 1,512 votes (45.6%)
• Gary Green (Conservative) - 1,373 votes (41.4%)
• Will Howman (Labour) - 433 votes (13.0%)

Chair of the Parish Council, Mark Valladares, asked for a comment, remarked;

I'd like to thank Gary for his service to the community for more than a decade. As for Keith, we worked together effectively when he represented the Parish on Mid Suffolk District Council, and I'm confident that he'll work with us on our key projects over the next four years.

As for the Police and Crime Commissioner election, the incumbent (and only person ever to hold the post), Tim Passmore, was comfortably re-elected on first preferences. The full result was as follows;

• Tim Passmore (Conservative) - 112,139 votes (54.7%)
• Elizabeth Hughes (Labour) - 47,159 votes (23%)
• Andy Patmore (Green) -  27,965 votes (13.6%)
• James Sandbach (Liberal Democrat) - 17,801 votes (8.7%)

Parish Church closed for repairs

No sooner has lockdown partially ended, than work starts on repairs to St Peter's Church. As a result, the church will be closed until the works are completed in mid-May.

The churchyard is still accessible though, and is well worth the gentle walk required to get you there.

Simon Knott writes about the church here.

Parish Council to seek speed monitoring in village

Cameras with number plate recognition technology are to be installed in speeding hotspots in Suffolk villages as part of a police crackdown on dangerous driving.

Ten automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are to be purchased in a joint scheme from Suffolk County Council, Suffolk's police and crime commissioner Tim Passmore and Suffolk police.

The Parish Council have responded to this news by applying for one of the cameras to spend time in Creeting St Peter, the intention being to install it midway between the old village noticeboard next to 4 Peterhouse and the speed limit sign at the southern end of the village, which offers the best sightlines and is expected to be most effective.

It is hoped that this will allow some of the more egregious offenders to be caught and penalised, and encourage drivers to use more caution when driving through the village.

Hopefuls for County Council seat announced

Nominations have now closed for the County Council elections on 6 May. And, as Creeting St Peter falls within the Stowmarket North and Stowupland division, the three candidates are (in alphabetical order);

• Gary Green (Conservative)
• Will Howman (Labour)
• Keith Welham (Green)
  
  

Parish Council Chair, Cllr Mark Valladares, has announced his intention to organise an online hustings to give voters and opportunity to meet and question the candidates.

Given that campaigning is restricted by COVID-19 restrictions, I have invited all of the candidates to take part in an online hustings on 21 April and await their responses.

Whilst a significant number of voters in the Parish already have postal votes, for those of you who don't have a postal vote, but would like one, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20th. Here's the link which explains how to apply...

Poundfield Products to expand its facility despite local opposition

Mid Suffolk District Council has announced its approval of the application from Poundfield Products to extend their facility onto land they currently own to the south-west of their current site, despite the objections of both the Parish Council and local residents.

Whilst the conditions reinforce the existing restrictions on working hours, the existing application to extend said hours of operation, lodged in December 2019, remains outstanding, as does enforcement action sought by the Parish Council.

In response to concerns raised by local residents, the Managing Director of Poundfield Products, Michael Roddy, has offered an opportunity for any issues to be raised directly with him, and has given his personal mobile number (07718 478891) and e-mail address (mroddy@sigmappg.com) in order to make it easier for residents to reach him.

Residents are encouraged to raise issues such as noise, light pollution, operating outside permitted hours and traffic.

Mid Suffolk District Council is encouraging Parishes to plant trees and wildflowers

It has been announced that Mid Suffolk District Council are launching a programme of tree planting across our area, and they have written to Parish and Town Councils offering free trees and hedgerow plants.

The trees and shrubs can be planted pretty much anywhere, on council, parish, church and even private land, and applications should include details about the area of land available, and any indications of the age and species of trees you would like to plant (for example, this could be new hedgerows, creating orchards, or planting to fill gaps in an existing tree or hedge row line).

Applications for more mature tree planting on the edge of developed areas, in towns or villages or as focal points in green open space are welcome.

The Parish Council is keen to encourage residents to offer suggestions, and will be consulting with the village's tree warden, Ginny Taylor, to see what might be done.

Alongside this, the District Council are planning to sew wildflowers in appropriate locations, and are encouraging suggestions with the intention of establishing wildflower patches next spring. Sowing will take place in the autumn.

The Parish Council can be reached at pc@creetingstpeter.suffolk.gov.uk

Connecting Communities - mobility for those without access to a vehicle

With the loss of the village's scheduled bus service in 2011, Creeting St Peter now relies solely on the Connecting Communities service for public transport.

This service, which is demand responsive, requires potential users to contact a central booking office to arrange a journey from A to B, usually to a nearby town, railway station or bus route, but it also helps convey patients to hospital or to medical appointments at local surgeries. Buses are available between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday

During the pandemic, bookings have only been possible for essential journeys, and for those travelling to or from work, but it is hoped that, as things return to relative normality, that it will become available for leisure journeys too.

If you want to know more, here's a video that explains how the service works.

Alternatively, you can call the booking office, which is currently open between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday to Friday, on 01449 614271.

Have you thought of being a Parish Councillor?

Following the recent resignation of Cllr Machala Peecock, Creeting St Peter Parish Council finds itself with a vacancy. The District Council has been notified and, as required by law, issued the following notice;

PARISH OF Creeting St Peter

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a casual vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for the Parish Council.

If by 9 April 2021 a request for an election to fill said vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer at the address below by TEN electors for the said Parish, an election will be held to fill the said vacancy, otherwise the vacancy will be filled by co-option.

If an election is called, it will take place not later than 15th June 2021.

Arthur Charvonia, Returning Officer, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2BX

If you're interesting in finding out more, leave a comment, or contact Parish Council Chair, Mark Valladares, at markv233@aol.com.

Welcome back! It's been a long time...

Long ago, and far away (or so it seems), I had the idea of publishing something resembling a web-only newspaper, covering the life and events of my village. And, I have to admit, it was fun... until it stopped being fun.

However, I wonder if, in terms of recording history, albeit ultra-local history, there isn't some value to picking up where I left off. And so, I'm going to try it and see what happens.

Please join me, as I invite you to Creeting St Peter...