7 minute read
Letter from Layham
Parish Council
Below are the main matters discussed at the Parish Council meeting of 28 June 2023
• District Council
The £12,000 raised for the Ipswich Blossom Appeal, the chosen charity of the former Babergh Chairman Cllr Kathryn Grandon, was a record amount. The new coalition administration at Babergh was settling in well; Cllr David Busby was the elected leader for the first year. In response to a question from Cllr Laing concerning the restructuring of the Babergh offices in Endeavour House, Cllr Ward confirmed that this had cost in the region of £100,000, offset by a reduction in rent and business rates; the office space was now more flexible and facilitated more efficient working. In response to a question about penalties for littering, Cllr Ward said fly tipping should be reported to Babergh as offenders could be prosecuted.
• County Council
SCC had announced a one-off support grant of £2,000 for Ukrainian refugees moving from a host into their own accommodation. New funding had been announced to repair residential roads, mainly targeted at smaller streets. GH confirmed that concerns about water leaks should be referred to Anglian Water. With regard to improving services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Cllr Keeble stressed the importance of one-to-one teaching; however, this was not always possible due to the lack of trained teachers. She suggested that funding should be ringfenced for recruitment and training. She was pleased to note the council’s commitment to library services in Suffolk.
• Co-option
Councillors agreed to co-opt Gillie Cranfield. The Clerk had asked SALC about bespoke training for the whole council, following the recent elections.
• Finance
Sections 1 and 2 (Governance & Accounting Statements) of the Annual Return for 2022-23 were approved. It was agreed to review the practice of holding funds for other bodies at the July meeting.
• Speeding
Cllr Curran’s update was noted. The SID was moved regularly; however, he said that signs in some other villages did not appear to move, despite SCC’s recommendation that they should. Cllr Hall asked him to forward a list of villages to her. The ANPR equipment would be deployed in Layham from 11–18 September 2023. Cllr Hall suggested that it might be worth considering Community Speedwatch again.
• Traffic calming
Cllr Laing’s paper was noted. Cllr Hall said it would be useful to have the SID data so that SCC could look at building a case for traffic calming measures. In response to a comment that there should be a rationale for NOT introducing such measures, she suggested an onsite meeting might be useful.
• Village signs
The project had been started some time ago; it was noted that it was not a Parish Council initiative, although the PC supported the idea in principle. It was agreed that there should be a working party, with a representative from the PC who would report back to councillors. Mike Woods had confirmed that the Layham Local History Group would be pleased to be involved.
Defibrillators
There is now a defibrillator located on the wall at Warwick Cottage, Stoke Road, Lower Layham. As with our other defibrillators, the cabinet is unlocked and does not require a code to access it.Just a reminder that we now have 5 defibrillators in the village – familiarise yourself with these locations to save time at a moment of need:
The Marquis, Upper Street; Upper Street phone box Brett Green - opposite no 29; Phone box outside the Queen's Head Warwick Cottage, Stoke Road
Social Club Programme for August
August 7: Refreshments and chat
August 21: Paul Seymour from Tools with A Mission (T.W.A.M.) will give an illustrated talk about his work with the charity, focused especially on Zambia.
Please bring small hand tools you wish to donate. At a later date, to be announced, Paul can collect larger items. All are welcome. We make a small charge of £2 to cover hire and refreshments and for charities a voluntary donation. The meetings are held at Layham Village Hall from 10 am to 12 pm.
Layham Playing Field 120 Club
July winners were: £25 Ticket No 32 Byham, £15 Ticket No 51 Adams
Social Club
We all enjoyed Father Jo’s talk on July 3. He explored his journey from John Lewis to Lincoln Theological College. His physical journey from parishes in London and Essex to Suffolk was described with many entertaining stories on the way. His love of, and interest in people is obvious. There was much laughter and a resounding round of applause. We will be inviting Father Jo back next year to speak about his musical journey especially his interest in Heavy Metal.
