Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes 18th September 2025

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 18th September 2025
Pakenham Village Hall

Present: Cllr Davey (Chairman), Cllr Bagnell, Cllr Berry, Cllr Dorling, Cllr Palfrey, Cllr Sargent and Cllr Sidebottom. Others in attendance: Claire Usher (Clerk) and 24 members of the public.

180925/01 Apologies for absence: None had been received.

180925/02 Declarations of Interest (DoI): No interests were declared.

180925/03 Dispensation:-
Councillors noted no requests had been received and none were requested at the meeting.

Public Forum:-
180925/04 District Councillor Report: Cllr Speed had been delayed and will address the meeting later on the agenda.
180925/05 County Councillor Report: Cllr Hopfensperger had sent her apologises. Her report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
180925/06 There were no questions from the public.

180925/07 Minutes of previous meeting:-
All Councillors resolved to accept the minutes of the Council meetings held on 17th July and 14th August 2025 as a true reflection of the decisions made and authorised the Chairman to sign the minutes.

180925/08 Reports Arising from Previous Minutes: None to report.

180925/09 Clerks Report: All items had been circulated prior to the meeting.

Planning:-
180925/10 DC/25/1262/ADV : Wild Pakenham, Fen Meadow Site Entrance Thurston Road, Pakenham
Application for Advertisement consent – Two entrance signs
Councillors were unhappy that Sizewell C had submitted this application without prior discussions with the Parish Council as promised and were unaware that this area had now been designated Pakenham Nature Reserve and therefore Councillors could not support this application until further discussions between the parish council and Sizewell C had taken place. Clerk to notify West Suffolk Council's planning department and to contact Sizewell C for a response.

180925/11 DC/25/1397/FUL : Bridge Farm, Bury Road
Detached building for use as microbrewery (use class B2 general industrial)
All Councillors supported this application.

Finance:-
180925/12 All Councillors confirmed receipt of the finance report for the period ended 31st August 2025.
180925/13 All Councillors noted that a community grant had been received from West Suffolk Council for £500 as a contribution towards the running of the community coffee mornings held in the village.
180925/14 All Councillors resolved to approve the following gross payments by internet banking, supported by invoices, had been received prior to the meeting.

180925/17 Highways:-
Cllr Berry raised concerns with the speed that vehicles travel along the A143 as they pass the village and would like to approach Suffolk County Highways to see if it would be possible to introduce a reduced speed limit. He would like to see a speed limit reduction from Stanton through to Great Barton where there is already a 40 mph speed limit in place. Cllr Hopfensperger had indicated in her report that changing a speed limit could be a costly exercise. It was agreed that the Clerk make initial enquiries with County Highways to find out the procedure and costs involved.

180925/18 Noise Levels:-
The Chairman reported that the Parish Council had received a complaint regarding the noise levels from an event held at the village pub during the summer. The Chairman had been reassured that this was a one off event and the Landlord was aware of this and Councillors hoped that future events are held in line with their licence.

180925/19 Presentation:-
The Chairman welcomed Phil Cobbold, Phil Cobbold Planning Ltd, who was attending to give the Parish Council a short presentation about a planning proposal in the village.
Phil explained that the piece of land in question was between Pelambech and Rivendall at Grimstone End. This would be a small-scale development of upto 5 bungalows. He understood that there was a need for bungalows within Suffolk. At this time, is was just a proposed sketch of the site layout, with an access close to the bend on Fen Road and a second access further along on the Fen Road. Development was in the rear garden of Pelambech and the adjacent land. He was attending to obtain comments from the Parish Council as part of the pre-application planning process.

All Councillors were happy with the overall plan but the Chairman made Phil aware that several applications had been refused at this site because of the site entrance onto Fen Road on a very tight bend. It was felt that if there was only one road in and out of the site and was further round the bend along Fen Road, this would be more acceptable. It was suggested if a footpath could be installed around the bend. Phil thanked everyone for their comments and once the plan had progressed further he would present this back to the Parish Council before submitting the application to West Suffolk Council.

180925/20 District Councillor Report:-
Cllr Speed apologised for being late. He reported on the latest information regarding the reorganisation. He reported that the District Councils were submitting a business plan for 3 District Council's across Suffolk. This will be presented to the Secretary of State for a decision.

A member of the public asked Cllr Speed if he had any information regarding Fulmer Bridge and the repairs. He would investigate this and contact Cllr Hopfensperger also to see if she had any further updates.

180925/21 Councillors to note any items for inclusion in a future meeting:-
Cllr Palfrey asked if the Remembrance Day arrangements could be included on the October agenda. Cllr Berry asked if an item to discuss the Definitive Map could be added to the November agenda.

180925/22 Christmas Arrangements:-
Councillors agreed that arrangements be made during December.

180925/23 All Councillors noted that the next meeting will be on Thursday 18th September 2025 to be held in The Village Hall.

180925/24 The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.30pm