Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes 17th July 2025

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 17th July 2025
Pakenham Village Hall

Councillors Present: Cllr Davey (Chairman), Cllr Bagnell, Cllr Berry, Cllr Dorling, Cllr Palfrey, Cllr Sargent and Cllr Sidebottom.
Others in attendance: Claire Usher (Clerk), Sandra Brown, Cllr Speed District Councillor, Cllr Hopfensperger County Councillor and five members of the public.

01 - Apologies for absence: None received.

02 - All Councillors resolved to accept the apologies.

03 - The Chairman welcomed the new Parish Clerk, Claire Usher.

04 - Declarations of Interest (DoI): No interests were declared.

05 - Dispensation: Councillors noted no requests had been received and none were requested at the meeting.

06 :-
District Councillor's report: Cllr Speed gave an update regarding the devolution process. There would be a mayoral election in May 2026 to be responsible for both Suffolk and Norfolk. Three Councils are the most favoured option covering the whole of Suffolk with the Secretary of State due to decide in November with elections in May 2027. Cllr Speed felt that Parish Councils could negotiate to have more designated powers within the new proposed structure. Cllr Speed also reported that the District Council were advertising a number of activities for children across the District for the school holidays. These can be found on the District Council's website.
County Councillor's report: Cllr Hopfensperger also joined Cllr Speed with an update regarding devolution. She still had concerns on where the proposed boundaries for District / County Councillors would cover, as it appeared this could be a lot wider than they are at present. She will chase County Highways regarding the clearing of the gulleys in the village.
The Chairman raised concern at the lack of a 10 ton weight limit sign on the Fen Road when approaching from Thieves Lane. Clerk to report to County Highways. He was also concerned that drivers at the Bury Road, Ixworth junction on the A143 no right turn is permissible but drivers were ignoring this sign and turning right. Clerk to report concerns to the Safer Neighbourhood Team and County Highways.
The Chairman also reported that following West Suffolk Council's decision regarding the kebab van, this had now been removed.
Public Forum: A member of the public enquired if there was a list of the grass verges that are maintained by Suffolk County Council. The grass verge outside The Paddocks, Fen Road were being cut but the resident did not want this cut in future. Clerk to investigate.
A member of the public also enquired if the Parish Council would provide water at the allotments. The Chairman advised that this would be too costly. As part of the new pavilion development they were looking at water harvesting into large tanks and this may become available to use.

07 - Before the public forum section was completed the Chairman made a presentation to Sandra following her retirement from the position of Clerk and thanked her for her time with the Parish Council and the support she had given to the Chairman and Councillors. Everyone joined the Chairman in wishing Sandra a happy retirement from the role.

08 - Minutes of previous meeting:-
All Councillors resolved to accept the minutes of the Council meeting held on 19th June 2025 as a true reflection of the decisions made and authorised the Chairman to sign the minutes.

09 - Reports Arising From Previous Minutes: None to report.

10 – Clerk's Report: There was no items to report.

11 - Model Railway Clubhouse:-
Sandra Brown reiterated what had been reported at the last meeting: that the applicants would need a change of use planning application as it was designated as allotment land and would need approval by the Secretary of State, legal advice would need to be sought and who would take ownership of the building going forward. With all the information available it was proposed by Cllr Berry and seconded by Cllr Bagnell to withdraw the Parish Council's support for this project and following a show of hands this decision was carried. To note that Cllr Davey abstained from voting. The Model Railway Club to be informed of the Council's decision.

12 - Correspondence: None had been received.

13 - Planning:-
DC/25/1020/HH – Prebends, Fen Road
Application for a ramped access to front elevation.
All Councillors supported this application.

Finance:
14 - All Councillors confirmed receipt of the finance report for the period ended 30th June 2025.

15 - Bank Reconciliation: Councillors agreed that the reconciliation for the period ended 30th June 2025 as presented agrees to the bank statements with cash available of £26,859.41 being
£15,893.15 in the current account and £10,966.26 in the deposit account.

16 - Receipts: Councillors noted that there were no receipts.

17 - Payments: All Councillors resolved to approve the following gross payments by internet banking confirming a full schedule, supported by invoices and receipts, had been received prior to the meeting.

20 - Any other Council business for information to be noted or for inclusion in a future agenda: None

21 - All Councillors noted that the next meeting will be on Thursday 18th September 2025 to be held at The Village Hall.

22 - The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.30pm.