The attendance record showed 15 persons present.

1. Apologies for absence.
Received from Paul Bevan and Rev. Ian Finn.

2 Minutes of the 2002 Annual Parish Meeting.
With the approval of the meeting these were taken as read and signed.

3. Matters arising from the minutes.
No matters were raised.

4. Annual presentation of the Alf Hicks Crystal Biscuit Barrel.
The Chairman reported that the Parish Council had unanimously decided that the recipient of the Biscuit Barrel should be David Turner in recognition of his years of service to the Village. Particular reference was made to David’s 28 years Chairmanship of the MSC.
In reply David said that his involvement with the MSC was even longer. As a relatively new Parish Councillor he had been cajoled to become Secretary of the MSC and remains a committee member to this day.
The Biscuit Barrel and award certificate were presented.

5. Report by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Julian Wilson.
The Chairman said that he wished to highlight some of the matters involving the Parish Council over the past year:
5.1 Peter Bayman had resigned after 27 years as a councillor. To mark his retirement a presentation evening had been attended by many current and past councillors. Peter had been presented with trees, to be planted in locations of his choice, and an illuminated address.
5.2 At the recent elections there had been only three nominations, all existing councillors, so no poll had been called. Paul Bevan, who had been co-opted to replace Peter Bayman, had indicated a wish to stand but due to an oversight his nomination had not been lodged in time.
Previous councillors not standing for re-election were Sylvia Brady, John Crysell and Brenda Fairhall. All were thanked for there sterling service, in particular Brenda Fairhall who had retired after 26 years continuous service as a councillor.
5.3 Parish Council meetings. Thirteen meetings had been held during the year, including one inquorate meeting, plus one extraordinary meeting to deal with a Planning Application. All councillors had also attended an Estates Committee meeting for the Teen Project.
5.4 Village Sign. It had been a long time in coming but was a fine addition to the Village.
5.5 Road safety. Warning signs had finally been erected at Thorns Corner and on the approaches to it. A 40 m.p.h. buffer zone had been installed through Boyden End.
5.6 Planning. 45 planning applications had been considered.
5.7 Precept. Up a bit this year, mainly due to funding for the Teen Project. Sport England, potential providers of the bulk of the funding for the Project, had indicated that the Parish was expected to contribute 10% of the total Project cost. This amounted to £6,000, of which £3,500 was from the current precept and £2,500 from the Six-acres development fund.
5.8 The Clerk had tendered his resignation in November due to the increasing workload. The post had been advertised but with little suitable response. Councillors considered that they had been remiss in not recognising the increase in the Clerk’s duties, and offered improved conditions and working practices. The Clerk had accepted this and had agreed to withdraw his resignation in April. The Clerk was thanked for his support throughout the year.
5.9 There being no questions from the floor, the Chairman closed his report.

6. Report by the Chairman of the Parish Council Estates Committee, Julian Wilson
6.1 Meetings. Eleven meetings had been held although two of these had been inquorate due to the required three councillors not being present.
6.2 Membership. Jenny Shaw, Allan Mitchell and Peter Bayman had joined the committee as lay members.
6.3 Responsibilities. The committee was delegated to manage the Parish Council’s duties in relation to the cemetery, churchyard, village greens, Six-acres, Playground and Teen Project.
6.4 Cemetery. Derek Pope, who had administered burials in the cemetery on behalf of the Parish Council for many years, had advised that he planned to leave the village and would be passing the duty over to the Clerk. Derek was thanked for his help.
6.5 Playground. Safety tiles had been installed under the seesaw and one of the springers thanks to County Councillor Jane Midwood who had provided financial assistance through her Locality Fund. The scrub adjacent to the senior swings had been cleared. Most of the equipment had been re-painted thanks to volunteers Pam and Peter Miller.
6.6 Village Greens. Seats had been installed on Attleton and Coltsfoot Greens – apologies for the delay in this due to the need to change contractors. Various options to protect Moor Green from damage by car parking are being considered and incursion on Attleton Green is being dealt with.
6.7 Grounds maintenance. Contracting-out has proved successful and the appearance of the village greens, cemetery and churchyard are much improved. Thanks are due to the Swinburn family who voluntarily cut the grass on Genesis Green.
6.8 Six-acres. Agreements for use of the Tennis Courts and Bowls Green are being drawn up. These are essential as the facilities are on Parish Council owned land so have to be included in the Parish Asset Register. Such agreements will be required for any other clubs wishing to use the area, e.g. for football.
6.9 Risk assessment. Regular inspections are carried out on the playground, cemetery, six-acres and village greens.
6.10 From the floor:
6.10.1 Q. Cemetery. Surfacing of the entrance is a great improvement but had extending the hard surface to the memorial, as suggested last year, been considered?
A. It had but cost, probably in excess of £3,000, was a concern. Also the proximity of graves to the path could make excavation difficult.
Q. Could the British Legion contribute to the cost?
A. That would depend on cash availability.
6.10.2 Q. Six-acres agreements. Where do these leave the MSC which draws ground rent from the Tennis and Bowls Clubs?
A. It has never been the Parish Council’s intention to charge more than a nominal rent – a figure of £10 per annum having been agreed. It is assumed that the clubs will continue to pay the MSC for access and use of the MSC Pavilion facilities so income should not be affected but this will be for the MSC to agree with the clubs. The MSC could incur legal difficulties by claiming “ground rent” on land it does not own.
6.10.3 Q. Is the Estates Committee still able to act?
A. As the Annual Parish Council meeting held earlier this month was inquorate the Estates Committee could not be reappointed. In view of how few councillors there are we need to see who comes forward for co-option before a decision can be made. However, if necessary, the committee could be re-appointed as an Advisory Committee although this would restrict its powers.
6.11 There being no further questions Julian closed his report with thanks to all members of the Committee and to the Clerk for their support throughout the year.

7. Teen Project report by Chair of the Advisory Committee, Pam Miller
7.1 Contract. The Parish Council considered five quotes and selected that from EIBE as offering best value.
7.2 Cost. £63,081 including a contingency figure of £1,500 for spoil removal.
7.3 Funding. Pam presented a detailed analysis of the available funds (copy attached). from which she highlighted the amount raised through local events and donations, £5,000 from County Councillor Jane Midwood’s Locality Fund, the Borough Council grant of £5,500 and Suffolk Environmental Trust (Landfill Tax Credit) grant of £2,500. An application had been made to the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and one is being prepared to the East of England Community Safety Fund. The application to Sport England (Lottery) is due to go before the Board for final consideration next week but we have been warned that all applications are being re-considered in the light of reduced income. However with over £34,000 already raised and pledged, even if all outstanding bids are unsuccessful there are sufficient funds to provide some facilities.
7.4 From the floor:
7.4.1 Q. Why do three fund raising events show a loss?
A. The Tangent Dance was cancelled because of low ticket sales which would have resulted in an even greater loss had the event gone ahead. The Fireworks were washed out by the weather. The 40’s Dance was poorly attended.
7.4.2 Q. There was reported to be a problem with youngsters outside during the Wickhamfest and damage was done to the Football hut – had the event not been supervised?
A. There was supervision in the hall and patrols outside. It is understood that the problems mainly arose before the event started.
7.4.3 Q. What is being done about vandalism to the hut?
A. This has been raised by the Football Club with both the MSC and the Parish Council.
7.5 There being no further questions, Pam closed her report by thanking the Advisory Committee members for their support with the fundraising and all those who had contributed in any way towards the Project.

8. Parish Council Financial Report
8.1 The Clerk presented the financial statement for the year ending 31st March (copy attached).
8.2 From the floor:
8.2.1 Q. How does the current precept compare with previous years?
A. Current Parish Tax £24.05 for total precept of £14,433. Year 2002/03, £20.97 for £12,613. 2001/02, £10.86 for £8,300. 2000/01 - £18.05 for £11,400.

9. Report by County Councillor Jane Midwood.
9.1 Council Tax. Increased by 18.5% this year representing 33% increase in two years and 108% increase over the ten years the present administration had been in office. The opposition’s alternative budget for this year of 14% for the same level of services had been disallowed following incorrect legal advice.
9.2 Highways. On a recent tour of villages, including Wickhambrook, with the West Area Highways Manager a number of problems – potholes, hedge cutting and general maintenance – were discussed.
9.3 Workload. Since last years meeting, when I said that I would have to cut down on my commitments, I have taken the opposition lead on the Access and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee and am now a member of the Shadow Executive as well.
9.4 Mobile Library. In March I spent a day out with the mobile library during which I learnt a lot about the service and about what people thought of council services in general and local public transport in particular.
9.5 Locality Fund. Of my total fund for the last year of £11,395, I donated £5,000 to the Teen Project. This year I plan to donate most of it to the Chevington to Chedburgh footway project
9.6 From the floor:
9.6.1 Q. Mobile library – is it likely to be stopped?
A. It is going to be reviewed on cost. With only four library busses in Suffolk can the service, though excellent, be justified? Library Links are going to be expanded and they and libraries are now opening for longer hours.
9.7 There being no further questions the County Councillor closed with thanks for the support she had received during the year and promising to represent local views and to try to help on any county council matter.

10. Report by Borough Councillor Derek Redhead
10.1 Council Housing stock transfer. The transfer went through very successfully
10.2 Environmental Health and Housing section. A major transformation has been undertaken. 7.2 Waste recycling. The Environmental Health Department has increased its role in the recycling of waste The Borough received a Government grant of £1.2M in recognition of its Beacon Status for recycling which is being ploughed back into further recycling initiatives. Blue bins are shortly to be introduced as an important element in plans to bring recycling up to 40% of total domestic waste.
10.3 Inward investment. The Borough Council has worked in partnership with industry to facilitate in excess of £150M of additional investment in the last financial year. A further 68 acres of industrial land has been made available at Haverhill on which development work has started.
10.4 Local Plan. Has been structured to gear proposed housing development to employment opportunities in an effort to reduce commuting.
10.5 Leisure Services. There has been a large capital investment to bring the Bury and Haverhill Leisure Centres up to present day standards.
10.6 Cattle Market development. Signed-up except for the anchor store – decision to be made on 8th June. Proposed to be 38 retail outlets in addition to the anchor store. Value of these outlets will depend on the anchor store chosen and this must be a major consideration in its choice in order to meet Best Value criteria.
10.7 Modernisation. the Borough Council has now been operating for almost eleven months under the new system and although it is still early days, it appears to be working effectively and, with a little fine tuning, will deliver.
10.8 From the floor:
10.8.1 Q. Blue bins. Do people want another bin?
A. recognising that storage may cause problems for some people there will be the alternative of pink bags.
10.8.2 Q. Haverhill Arts Centre. What is happening?
A. In 1992 a £1M Lottery grant was received and the Centre Management Committee set up. However the Centre’s programme was arranged by Leisure Services. Expenditure was spiralling so two years ago it was agreed between the Borough Council, Haverhill Town Council and the Management Committee that a fixed annual grant should be made to the Committee for it to arrange its own programmes. The handover was delayed by the Charity Commission until March this year but has now been fully agreed and implemented.
10.8.3 Q. It is difficult for people working in the countryside on low pay to find affordable housing – are planners giving adequate thought to this?
A. Planners have to work within criteria issued by Government and currently money for house building is being reduced. The problem is exacerbated by people buying small properties, extending them and selling high but nothing can be done legally to stop this.

11. Report on United Charities by Julian Wilson.
11.1 Almshouses. They have been empty since July last year for refurbishment. There have been a number of snags – architectural delays, slump in investments (down by 17.5%). However an interest free loan has been promised by the Almshouses association and negotiations are in progress for a grant from the Borough Council so it is hoped that the refurbishment can start in the Autumn.

12. Memorial Social Centre report by the Chairman, Jeff Claydon.
12.1 Secretarial. Two new joint secretaries have been appointed.
12.2 Burglar alarm. Following the two break-ins and vandalism an alarm system is to be installed.
12.3 Funding. £20,000 was received from RAFT and £5,000 from a Lottery grant. Of this, £16,000 had been spent on improvements to the heating system including the new boiler.
12.4 Rents. It will be necessary to increase all rents by 5% this year.
12.5 There being no questions Jeff closed his report with thanks to the Trustees and to the Caretaker Gladys Alexander.

13. Any Other Business.
Nothing raised.

The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.40 p.m.