I can't remember if I mentioned that I was co-opted back onto the Parish Council last year somewhat unexpectedly. At least, I hadn't sought to return, nor had I expected to be asked to do so. You know how these things are. But I was, and it was (and is) nice to be back.
I was particularly delighted at our Annual Meeting, to be nominated as Vice Chair, a position I happily accepted, even if it involved very little actual effort. Machala, our Chair, is very good - brisk with the agenda but keen to allow Councillors to participate and have their say. Combined with Jennie, our relatively new Parish Clerk, the Parish Council is a far more amicable place than once it was.
Monday night saw a rather full agenda, including a presentation on the new business park, "Stowmarket East", which will emerge on the fields that lie south of the A14, east of the A1120 and north of Mill Lane. I can't say that we're terribly keen, but our former Conservative District Councillor sold us down the river on that, and all that we can really do is minimise the damage done by having a bunch of warehouses filling half of the gap between the village and Stowmarket.
We discussed the report of our current Green District Councillor, Keith Welham, who is far better than his predecessor, and the lack of a report from our Conservative County Councillor who, having been re-elected in May, won't be as assiduous as he was in the run-up to the election. We also noted that the Suffolk Constabulary don't talk to us any more. We're not alone - the relationship between our local police and the towns and parishes has faded away in recent years - and you wonder what our Police and Crime Commissioner really does in terms of communication with the local communities asked to elect him every four years. But I digress.
The nature reserve was the subject of much discussion. Basically, the problem stems from having a boardwalk in a bog. The boardwalk is made of wood, which rots and needs constant repair, which we can't afford. It is, frankly, an ongoing health and safety risk, and given that we have a responsibility towards users, it is a perpetual worry. I am not optimistic about its future as a visitor attraction.
We also considered the village traffic problems. How many problems can a village of two hundred souls have, I hear you ask? Well, parking is a problem, especially for households with teenagers and older children. Everyone needs access to a car, and so where can they be left? The answer is often in the street, making the narrow lanes even narrower, and making getting tractors and other bulky farm equipment through the village impossible.
But also, the village has a T junction in its centre, and traffic coming out of The Lane has to emerge almost blind into Pound Road because the laurels in the front garden of the corner cottage are rather overgrown. Thus, the need to have someone ask them to trim their bush.
It's all go in Creeting St Peter, I'm telling you...
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