75 Years of local empowerment: Suffolk Association of Local Councils celebrates milestone with film premiere and vision for the future

I don't normally print press releases here, but as I'm a member of the SALC Board, perhaps you might forgive me on this occasion...

The Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC) has marked its 75th anniversary with a celebration and the launch of a new film showcasing the vital role of town and parish councils and parish meetings across the county.

Formed in 1950, SALC has grown into the trusted voice and support hub for over 400 local councils and parish meetings in Suffolk—the grassroots tier of the public sector. To commemorate this milestone, more than 100 attendees gathered in Bury St Edmunds for SALC’s Annual General Meeting, which was simultaneously live-streamed to audiences across the county.

 

A highlight of the event was the premiere of a new film capturing the voices and stories of councillors and clerks, shining a light on the people powering local democracy.

 

Sally Longmate, CEO of SALC, said:

This layer of government is closest to the taxpayer—hyper-local and deeply connected to community needs. It’s powered by individuals who step up to make a difference, supported by skilled clerks and officers. Our anniversary is a chance to celebrate their work and explain the impact they have. The film brings that story to life.

The event featured keynote speeches from Christine Luxton, CEO of Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and Baroness Ros Scott of Needham Market, President of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC). Both speakers underscored the power of community and the importance of collaboration.

 

Earlier this year, SALC was named County Association of the Year by NALC for its pioneering work with Suffolk County Council on guidance for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).

 

Andrew Lewis, Chair of the SALC Board, added:

We’re incredibly proud of the SALC team. The mission set in the 1950s—to enable councils to be the best they can be—remains just as relevant today.

Looking ahead, SALC is actively engaged in local government reforms, climate action, digital transformation and the evolving role of AI in the sector. The Annual Report presented at the AGM reflects the last 12 months and outlines priorities for the future on behalf of town and parish councils and parish meetings across Suffolk.

 

Sally Longmate concluded:

Amid all the change, our core promise remains: to be there for our members. Whether it’s a quick call or an urgent email, that hands-on support is what our members value most—and that will never change.

Mid Suffolk Town and Parish Councillors meet

Whilst I did say that I might get a little more involved with all things Liberal Democrat - you know where to find me everyone - I do still have a few other things to do. And this evening, it was time to resume in my capacity as Chair of the Mid Suffolk branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC).

We've had a minor organisational reshuffle, with the original two branches, Mid Suffolk North and Mid Suffolk South, combined into one larger branch, which reduces the number of meetings and, hopefully, increases attendance. And whilst I was Chair of Mid Suffolk South, the recent resignation of my opposite number in the North had meant that I was effectively Chair of a merged group.

Tonight, I was notionally up for re-election as Chair and, whilst I was happy to continue, I wouldn't have stood in the way of anyone who really wanted the job - I'm not one to stand in the way of the ambitious. But we had guest speakers to welcome first...

Laura and Naomi from the Mid Suffolk District Council Communities team were first up, highlighting the new "Feel Good Suffolk" project, intended to help people become more physically active, give up smoking and lose weight, with a joined-up approach to help people improve their quality of life.

We then had a brisk run through what else the Communities team does to support Town and Parish Councils and local volunteer groups, including the variety of grants that are out there to support our work. I ought to acknowledge that my own Council have benefited from some of the grant opportunities available, including recent locality grants from our District Councillors, which have financed a grit bin, a Parish noticeboard and refurbishment of the Church Room, the village's only building available for community events.

Next up was Teresa from Community Action Suffolk, hoping to encourage us all to form Good Neighbour Schemes in our communities. I recall that, during the pandemic, an informal support system sprang into life helping the more vulnerable members of the community with shopping, prescriptions and the like, and whilst people might not want to be part of a formal structure, it works well in some places.

And last, but not least, Laura from Suffolk County Council explained how the DEFRA Property Flood Resilience scheme was available to make grants of up to £5,000 to help make vulnerable properties safe from potential flooding in the wake of last year's Storm Babette.

All great presentations, and I wish that we'd had a better attendance and more time to explore the opportunities available. But we had to elect new officers and, after a brief exploration of possible candidates, I was gloriously re-elected as Chair. Alright, nobody wanted to challenge me or, perhaps even more accurately, nobody else wanted the job. But, nonetheless, I have another year of glorious leadership ahead of me.

I've got two new Vice-Chairs though, in addition to my old friend, Mark Clements from Old Newton and Dagworth, James Spencer from Great Finborough and Michelle Salazar from Eye, and I'm looking forward to working with them in the coming year.

We skipped the information exchange, as it was getting on a bit, and there weren't that many of us present. It was agreed though that we should invite the three new MPs (one Conservative, one Green, one Labour) to attend a future meeting so that they might get to know us, and what we do.

And with that, I thanked everyone for coming and brought the meeting to an end. And if you're a Town or Parish Councillor in Mid Suffolk, why not join us on 5 December for our next meeting, where we are hoping to discuss community transport.

SALC: the Board meeting!

I have to admit that I've rather gotten behind with my reporting of events. You know how it is, you look at the blog and think "I really ought to write something" but never quite get round to it. I ought to do better...

But enough mumbling, and on with events.

I've now served a whole year on the Board of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils and, having been re-elected by Mid Suffolk South Area last month, I got to return for another term. The first item of business? Elections.

We've got a new Chair, Andrew Lewis, from Walberswick Parish Council, where he's their Chair too. He has a tough act to follow in William Sargeant, the Chair of Botesdale Parish Council, whose calm, dry wit and sense of ordnung served us so well. I think that Andrew will be just fine though - he's not one to allow meetings to drift into anecdotage, which I appreciate, and he brings a sense of professionalism to the task which suits our needs well.

I admit that I rather leant on Julie Bell, the Chair of Gislingham Parish Council, to take on the role of Vice-Chair, having noted how nice it would be to have a gender balanced leadership team. The fact that Julie is highly experienced in local government helps and she's a good meeting chair too, having had the pleasure of working with her at Mid Suffolk joint meetings.

Russ Rainger gamely agreed to continue as our representative on the East Suffolk Council Community Partnership Board, and I was reappointed as our representative on the NALC National Assembly - I think that my rather curious enthusiasm for the role surprised my colleagues.

I reported back on National Assembly matters before we turned to our finances. We're lucky in that we have a good Finance Officer and, being Suffolk, a cautious sense of the possible when considering expenditure, so it's fair to say that all is as well as one might hope.

We then turned to the knotty problem of membership subscriptions, something I've experienced before in other organisations. The challenge is to create a fee structure that is fair, relatively easy to explain and likely not to repel potential and current members. And, just as in my days on the Financial Advisory Committee of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, the basis upon which members are billed is a bit of a moving target, especially as development leads to sudden, dramatic population increases in relatively small communities. I believe that we have a workable solution, but we need to communicate it to member councils rather than just drop it on them from a height.

I was able to offer a solution to the question of pay awards for our professional staff which allows us, hopefully, to somewhat reflect their hard work and dedication in the face of the pandemic. Sometimes, being a mathematician by training comes in handy.

We considered the activity report and I continue to be impressed by the sheer volume of activity generated by a small team of dedicated professionals, including increasing collaborative working with neighbouring counties. There are definite advantages to pooling some services on a regional basis and, if we can develop sufficient capacity to play a leading role in that, I am sure we will.

There's a new Code of Conduct to consider, developed in conjunction with the Local Government Association, and whilst it can never resolve all of the problems that arise in the various tiers of local government, it at least offers a set of guidance that it consistent across the tiers, especially welcome to those amongst us who operate at more than one level.

We ended by renewing our Complaints and Motions policies, making sure that they're as up to date as they can be. Something that the pandemic has brought is a greater appreciation of different ways of doing things, especially through technology. I accept that, especially at Parish level, not everyone is comfortable with online working, but it offers access to those who might otherwise be excluded from the opportunities and training we offer - those with caring responsibilities, or disabilities, or who simply might not find it easy to get across the county to a physical meeting.

So, all in all, a very successful evening. Next up, our annual strategy meeting in February, which should be interesting and another step on my personal learning curve.

Sometimes, a lack of drama is most welcome…

It’s been a year since I somewhat unexpectedly became Vice Chair of the Mid Suffolk South group of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, and last night saw the election cycle come around to reset. It is occasionally hard to believe that it’s been a whole year but…

In truth, there wasn’t a huge rush to challenge me. After all, the job of Vice Chair is quite undemanding, but the Chair of the County Association was kind enough to say that I’d added value as the County’s representative on the National Assembly of the National Association of Local Councils, which was appreciated - people seldom say thank you these days.

We discussed planning issues and there is a genuine sense of frustration that, having been encouraged to produce neighbourhood plans, these seem to be disregarded by the District Council when considering housing development. I admit to being a cynic about neighbourhood plans, although it had never really seemed like a valid use of our time to produce one for Creeting St Peter.

But if you insist on engaging local communities into developing a plan, and tell them that these will be critical in determining the future of their village, and then disregard them subsequently, you might not be surprised to find that those communities then look at you with suspicion thereafter.

As a Hamlet village, as defined by Mid Suffolk District Council, we’re basically excluded from consideration for more housing, given our complete lack of services. That tends to mean that our interest in any Local Plan extends as far as checking the map to see if they’ve changed the settlement boundary. And, given that, why would we go to the trouble and expense of preparing a neighbourhood plan?

We also discussed 20 mph speed limits. Again, I’m a bit cynical about their effectiveness given our experiences. Without enforcement, or engineering to slow speeding drivers, our 20 mph limit acts to provide almost false reassurance to pedestrian road users. And, without pavement, those on foot are sharing the space with metal boxes on wheels that tend to come out better in the event of a collision. I’d almost rather encourage pedestrians to take extra care when walking around the village.

I gave a brief report on events as the National Assembly, noting that we were expecting a 1% increase in the NALC membership fee based on the recommendation that would go to October’s Annual General Meeting. We discussed the payscale for Clerks, noting that the current pay offer has been rejected by their union.

At the end of the meeting, I asked if we could seek a briefing on devolution proposals for Suffolk, given that a bid has been put in by the County Council in conjunction with the Districts and Borough. That seemed to gain support, so we’ll see what comes of that. I find myself wondering what impact it might have on the ability of town and parish councils to influence decision making by the principal authorities.

So, all in all, an interesting meeting and I’d like to think that those councillors who attended found it useful.  

Who is this mystery Parish Councillor?...

The Chief Executive of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, Sally Longmate, is on a mission to improve the way the organisation works, improving accountability, engagement and our relationships with other parts of the architecture of local government and the voluntary sector across the county.

As part of that, it was suggested that the Board might like to contribute a photograph and a paragraph or so about ourselves for the website, so that our membership might get to know us better. I’m keen on that as a concept, although less keen on the idea of having a photograph of me appear anywhere - I don’t tend to photograph well, especially if I know that I’m being photographed.

Luckily, the photograph is, for the time being, solved, thanks to the 2018 Harwich Shanty Festival and Ros’s Twitter feed. Yes, there is a pirate in shot, but I look relaxed and happy, and not as much like a walrus as is often the case.

As for the biography, the brief reads;

A brief paragraph about yourself, how long you have been a councillor, your position on the council, why you joined the board inc. your specific interests and maybe experience so far to help encourage others to consider this in the future.

So, here’s a perhaps not entirely serious first draft...

Mark Valladares is the current Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council, in Mid Suffolk South’s Gipping Valley, having been brought out of retirement by my now fellow councillors for reasons best described by the phrase “process matters”. I joined the SALC Board last year because it seemed that nobody else in Mid Suffolk South wanted to do it, possibly the story of my life in politics and local government. 

As you might guess, as my professional life revolves around stress-testing the accounts and records of small and medium sized enterprises for a major government department, my particular interests are governance and finance. As a somewhat improbable member of the BAME community, I take diversity issues seriously, based on the theory that organisations are best equipped by considering the widest range of perspectives in their decision making.

That does at least give me something to hone over the coming week...

SALC: catching up on my reading...

So, having unexpectedly gotten myself elected to be Vice-Chair of my Branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, I am also a member of the County Board, which is a bit of a step up for the Chair of a small, albeit perfectly formed, Parish Council. And that means that I have to take it rather more seriously than I might have done hitherto.

For me, a key task when joining an experienced and knowledgeable group on a committee is to find out exactly what its role is, make sure you understand the rules, and acquaint yourself with the key issues. Now, for some, perhaps many, of you, that seems pretty obvious, but in my experience, there are plenty of people who go into things with their own agenda and attempt to shoehorn the organisation to fit. It seldom ends well - better to establish the lie of the land, the group culture, before attempting change (assuming that change is really needed, of course). Luckily, SALC has made all of that freely available, in the form of an explanation on its website. So, the SALC Board;

meets every 6 months and is made up of experienced councillors who provide guidance and strategic direction. The Board maintains SALC values, determines mission and identifies the long-term objectives. The SALC Board appoints the CEO and delegates business administration to the SALC Executive Committee.

That doesn’t sound too onerous, does it? “Experienced councillor” might be stretching it a bit in my case, although I have served for eight years now, and am in my third (glorious) year as Chair. On the other hand, I have a reputation for liking good organisational order, and for supporting our professional staff, and I strongly believe in SALC’s value to local councils, especially smaller ones like mine.

There is a constitution, which has undergone serious revision recently, and looks to be in good order - like many organisations, its constitution had suffered from years of bolt-ons to the point where it didn’t entirely make sense any more. Been there, rewritten that t-shirt...

And, most importantly, there is a business plan and an experienced group of professional staff, led by our Chief Executive, who are ambitious to take the organisation forward. That reassures me, although not as much as the news that I will have an induction session in a fortnight’s time. If it merely serves to help me to avoid looking daft at my first meeting, it will be time well spent, but I have a feeling that it might be more valuable than that.

Time to start reading, I think...

A newly elected Vice-Chair emerges blinking into the world....

Ever since I became a Parish Councillor, one of my responsibilities was what you might call external liaison, i.e. attending meetings of bodies that reach beyond our small (but perfectly formed) parish. That really consisted of two things, the Stowmarket Area Road Safety Committee and the local branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils.

And, in truth, I have enjoyed both of them, albeit that I played a central role in bringing the Road Safety Committee to an end (it had become clear that the committee had run its course). But, and I know this may come as a surprise to many, I’m not always very good at promoting myself, so tend to take on organisational roles rather than leadership ones. I only became Chair of Creeting St Peter because I was the victim of a very genteel ambush by my fellow councillors.

The local branch of the County Association is a little more serious. I am an active participant in its meetings, partly because of my natural curiosity - I still feel like a newcomer after a decade or so, and my colleagues have a lot of knowledge and experience that I appreciate - and partly because, thanks to Ros, I have a far better sense of how local government works (or doesn’t).

And so, this evening, I logged into the Mid Suffolk Autumn Area Forum, held on Zoom. There was an issue that I wanted to raise - punctures sustained on local roads - but apart from that, I hadn’t given much thought to further input. We were due to elect a Chair and Vice-Chair for another year, but given that the incumbents were both able to run again, and had been effective thus far, it struck me that we would just renominate them and move on to the rest of the business.

Josephine Lea is the Vice Chair of Needham Market Town Council, and is a very well-established figure there. And, given that Needham Market is a rather more serious entity than, say Creeting St Peter, she brings a wealth of practical knowledge and pragmatism to our meetings that is highly valued. I was therefore a little surprised when she announced that she wasn’t going to restand, instead suggesting that her Vice Chair, Sheona Warnes, should take over. Sheona is the Chair of Offton and Willisham Parish Council, off to the south-west of Needham Market, although she used to be a member of Needham Market Town Council, I understand. There wasn’t any dissent, nor was there any good reason for any, so Sheona was duly elected.

That left a vacancy for Vice Chair, and I thought to myself, why not? And so, I declared my interest and found myself the sole candidate. Thus, I am the newly-elected Vice Chair of the Mid Suffolk South Area of the Suffolk Association of Local Councillors and, by extension, a member of the Board of the Suffolk Association of Local Councillors.

I’m not going to get carried away here - after all, the Board meets but twice a year and has a strategic oversight role rather than a “hands on” management one - but it allows me a deeper insight into the issues that face local councils whilst allowing me to contribute in a small way to the work of a really valuable organisation. And, interestingly, it allows me to apply my political philosophy in a non-Party political environment.

Most councils in the third tier aren’t really very political in the sense of Party labels. In the villages, most of us don’t run under a political label - like many, I’m not entirely convinced that party policy offers much steer in terms of deciding who cuts the grass on the playing field, or what commentary might be offered on a planning application. It is different on larger councils, those that provide meaningful services, for example, for there you find more political cut and thrust with serious money to be spent and managed.

However, how you interact with residents, how you communicate, the approach you take towards problems is influenced by your belief system. I’d like to think that I’m keener than some to encourage residents to do things for themselves, using the various communication tools to raise their concerns directly with appropriate bodies, rather than acting as an intermediary. That isn’t a laissez faire approach, with the Parish Council doing very little, but a collaborative approach, allowing residents to make their point in their way, rather than having it interpreted by us and then passed on. Our job is both to provide a forum for debate, as well as to summarise views and convey them in our role as statutory consultees.

So, a new role, with new responsibilities, albeit I’ll be the very junior member of the Board, but one that I’m looking forward to...

"Shaping Suffolk" - how community engagement might influence planning and development

Yesterday found me out of the office, but not by very far, as I had signed up to take part in a conference organised by the Suffolk Association of Local Council, called "Shaping Suffolk".

The aim of the event was to look at how we might improve the way planning authorities and local councils (by which I mean town and parish councils) engage with each other and with developers.

I would be the first to admit that, in Creeting St Peter, we don't really do much about engagement in an organised sense. It can feel a bit ad hoc and, I suspect, look a bit amateurish. That, I guess, is partly due to resource and knowledge - we're a collection of concerned citizens that mean well, after all.

But a lack of planning applications due to our status as a hamlet village doesn't mean that there isn't much that we can do to improve, and so I volunteered to attend on behalf of our small, but perfectly-formed, Parish Council.

The first session was on the principles of engagement framework, and was introduced by Philip Isbell, the Chief Planning Officer of Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, and he launched a good practice guide for community engagement. Now, you may argue that such a guide would be unnecessary for a well-run council, and I might agree with you, but many issues surrounding consultation and engagement require smaller councils in particular to step outside of their natural comfort zone. You know, making decisions in the public eye, rather than in virtual anonymity.

I did feel that there was a weakness, in that the document seemed only to address the stages up to and including the decision making stage, yet the question of how we engage with the post-application phase, mostly around issues of enforcement, something which has irked me in the past, appeared to be rather disregarded. So, I took the opportunity of the lunch break to ask him if he thought that there was more that could be done, and he was willing to acknowledge that it was an aspect that could be improved.

The after lunch session started with a session on how to respond to planning applications, led by Rachel Almond, from West Suffolk Council, highlighting the issues that can be reasonably considered in our submissions as statutory consultees, as well as those that really can't, but often are. There can be a tendency to assume that, because you don't like a particular aspect of a planning application, you can simply say so and be taken seriously. The National Planning Policy Framework does offer a useful guide to what a local council can, or should, do.

The final session was about infrastructure assessment, funding and delivery and, that elusive thing, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Neil McManus and Steve Merry, from Suffolk County Council, talked about the sort of infrastructure spending that developers might be persuaded to support. Although, for parishes such as mine, we wouldn't expect to have much in the way of CIL funding ever, especially given we aren't thought of as being a likely magnet for development, nor does the Council intend to permit more housing in hamlet village due to the lack of facilities.

Nicola Parrish, from East Suffolk Council, spoke about how CIL funds are distributed, and highlighted some recent changes that specify reporting, not only in terms of how money is spent, but what happens if it isn't. And, to wrap up, Tom Newcombe, a partner at our hosts, Birketts, and head of their Planning and Environmental Team, neatly summarised some of the key issues for local councils to factor into their thinking.

All in all, a useful day, and I think that most of the attendees gained something from it, so much credit to Sally Longmate and her team at the Suffolk Association of Local Councils for organising it. Apparently, they're hoping to hold a similar event on highways and allied issues, although, from a personal perspective, I'd like to see public transport included as part of the mix. It would be fair to say that I have "views" on that particular subject.

Talking about a constitution...

Never let it be said that this blog is not focussed on the big issues, such as constitutional reform. Yet, funnily enough, having written about the importance of our unwritten conventions, this evening I found myself debating a new constitution for our county umbrella group, the Suffolk Association of Local Councils.

Apparently, the current version has developed over many years and almost as many iterations, finally becoming so overloaded that it was felt easier to just start again. And, indeed, it is a far more streamlined, accessible document. But, as is often the case, I felt that it could be better.

This evening was billed as being one of the three means by which members could make their opinions and suggestions known and, after the Chief Executive had introduced the document, I had intended to raise two issues of immediate concern. It was perhaps then unfortunate that the debate segued almost seamlessly into a discussion of issues relating to planning enforcement, which the chair of the meeting not unreasonably ran with, as it was clearly the will of the meeting to raise mutual concerns.

I let the debate blow itself out, before the Chair attempted to move on to next business. Politely, I noted that the accompanying document to the draft constitution stated quite clearly that the meeting was an opportunity to raise issues of concern or to seek clarification, and that I wanted to do just that.

There was a little uneasy shuffling, but I felt that I needed to stand my ground. So I did.

I wanted to question why the constitution as drafted appeared to make no reference to issues of diversity and equality, noting my previously stated concerns about the lack of gender balance amongst the Honorary Vice Presidents three years or so ago (they were all male). Where was the commitment not to allow such things to happen again? What message did the apparent lack of interest send out to women and other under represented groups?

In fairness, both the Chair and the Chief Executive acknowledged that SALC needed to do better in this area, and promised that my concerns would be conveyed to the Board (I now intend to be at the AGM to follow that up).

There was also a proposal to remove term limits for officers. Funnily enough, I might have let that slide a few years ago, but it is clear that best practice for public bodies is to have term limits, and I have been convinced by that argument. Long-established leaders in most groups tend to become ossified, and hard to shift, and I noted that SALC appeared to be heading away from acknowledged best practice.

The logic was, apparently, that people had simply ended up rotating through the Board positions, which perhaps indicates a closed-shop mentality amongst some of them, conscious or subconscious. Or, in other words, “we’re not very good at developing new leaders, so we’ll give up trying”.

Finally, whilst I had the floor, I raised the issue of holding an AGM during a workday. Yes, I can see the attraction, but it does send a subliminal message to non-retired Parish Councillors that they aren’t perhaps as important as retired ones, who possibly have more time on their hands.

So, a small blow for diversity, and a marker to the SALC Board that somebody is watching them. Transparency, as one of my fellow councillors noted, is a good thing, and it tends to lead to better decision making.

Here’s hoping, eh?

An evening at the Suffolk Association of Local Councils Area Meeting

To Claydon this evening, for the quarterly meeting of the Mid Suffolk South Area of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, the gathering of Town and Parish Councillors from the borders of Ipswich to a line south of the railway line to Bury St Edmunds.

I’ve been attending these for a while, in my former capacity as Creeting St Peter’s “Foreign Minister” (if it’s outside the Parish, Mark’s happy to go). It’s a useful opportunity to find out what’s happening across the District, and to get a heads-up on emerging issues. There is usually much talk about planning, highways and infrastructure, and whilst we don’t have much of those dots of things, we are impacted by decisions affecting our neighbours.

You also get to learn a bit about local representation and the responsibilities of a councillor, which can prove most useful.

I was slightly late due to a delayed bus, and the meeting was already underway, but there were some familiar faces, and a free seat, so I made myself comfortable and eased myself into the flow of discussion.

SALC has a new(ish) Chief Executive, who is immersing herself into the role and is developing a sense of what needs doing and how it might get done - there will be technology involved. She reported back on some of the developmental opportunities that are available to local councils, and we talked about how councillors might take advantage.

Much useful material is available via the website, but is password protected, limiting access to those who are given (and can remember) the means to access it. I suggested that we might move more of that information into the public domain, an idea that seemed to meet with some approval. At the moment, most information flows via the Parish Clerk, and whilst they usually pass that information on efficiently, not all Clerks are as enthusiastic or, worst still, competent in doing so. Whilst we’re lucky like that in Creeting St Peter, it isn’t so everywhere.

We discussed neighbourhood plans, which have run into difficulties due to the general unhelpfulness of Mid Suffolk’s chronically underresourced planning department - my fellow councillors are pretty scathing about their failings, it appears.

There was a brief discussion about possible motions to the County AGM, and I suggested two things, firstly for a SALC campaign to encourage younger people to come forward as potential Parish Councillors, the second to call for meetings to take place at more accessible times and in easier to reach places. By holding meetings during the working day, you exclude potentially good people, and send out a message that younger people aren’t really welcome.

We ended with a discussion of future guests/speakers. I suggested either one of the new Suffolk Constabulary Community Engagement Officers, or someone to talk about Suffolk Highways proposals to devolve some minor works to Parish and Town Councils. The other popular suggestion was to have someone explain what would be happening as a result of the merger of Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals, a matter of grave concern in some quarters.

It was a surprisingly good meeting, well chaired by Josephine Lea from Needham Market, and we were done pretty much on time, so I’d have to mark down the evening as a success.