Pakenham Parish Council : Minutes 16th April 2026

PAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 16th April 2026
Pakenham Pavilion

Present: Cllr Davey (Chairman), Cllr Bagnall, Cllr Berry, Cllr Dorling, Cllr Palfrey, Cllr Sargent and Cllr Sidebotham.
Others in attendance: Claire Usher (Clerk), District Councillor Speed and 6 members of the public

160426/01 Apologies for absence: None.
160426/02 Declarations of Interest (DoI): Councillors noted no declarations of interest were made.
160426/03 Dispensation: Councillors noted no requests had been received and none were requested at the meeting.

Public Forum:-
Two members of the public who represented Beyond The Fen reported that the leat had been repaired and this was causing less water flow under the Mill but had concerns regarding the impact that any upstream damage by the works due to be carried out by Sizewell C would have on the flow of water to the Mill and still believed that these issues had not been addressed by the Environment Agency or Sizewell C.

160426/04 District Councillor Report:-
Cllr Speed reported that Officers at the District Council were now considering the impact of the Government's decision to create 3 unitary councils for Suffolk. He was still investigating the planning decision made by West Suffolk Council regarding Daraleen, noting that this had now gone to appeal. He would be happy to be part of further conversations regarding the Fen.

160426/05 County Councillor Report: Cllr Hopfensperger was not in attendance.

160426/06 Minutes of previous meeting:-
All Councillors resolved to accept the minutes of the Council meeting held on 19th March 2026 as a true reflection of the decisions made and authorised the Chairman to sign the minutes.

Planning:-

160426/07 DC/26/0503/LB – Listed Building Consent – Replace glass in ground floor front elevation windows – Councillors supported this application.

160426/08 Councillors noted that no planning decisions had been made since the last meeting.

Finance:-

160426/09 All Councillors confirmed receipt of the end of year finance report for the period ended March 2026.

160426/10 All Councillors noted that there had been no receipts since the last meeting.

160426/11 All Councillors resolved to approve the following gross payments by internet banking, supported by invoices, had been received prior to the meeting.

160426/15 Parish Council Insurance:-
All Councillors agreed to continue the insurance with Zurich Insurance for 2026/2027.

160426/16 VAT Claim: All Councillors noted that £802.23 had been claimed from HMRC.

160426/17 New Pavilion Project:-
Paul Harris reported that he was continuing to receive various grants towards the rebuilding of the Pavilion. He requested a contribution from the Parish Council as this would help generate other grants. All Councillors agreed to donate £1000.00 towards the rebuilding of the pavilion. These monies will be taken from the Council's reserve for the Village Hall.

160426/18 Outstanding Actions: All Councillors had received the outstanding actions report.

160426/19 Chairman's Report:-
The Chairman reported that a resident who lives in the village's conservation area regarding the new bins being delivered by West Suffolk Council, expressed concern that a few properties do not have a convenient method of storing these bins and therefore will be left on the pavement. Clerk to ask West Suffolk Council for its policy regarding this.

160426/20 Councillors Reports: It was requested that the yearly tree survey be an item on the next agenda.

160426/21 Correspondence: The Clerk reported that she had not received any additional correspondence.

160426/22 Councillors to note any items for inclusion in a future meeting:-
Pakenham Fen and Sizewell C.

160426/23 All Councillors noted that the next meeting will be the Annual Parish Meeting followed by the Annual Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 21st May 2026 to be held in the Village Hall.

160426/24 The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.10pm