Monday night is Parish Council night...

I wasn't supposed to be at Parish Council this time. The original date clashed with Federal Conference, and I had advised Council that I wouldn't be present. But work commitments and ill health conspired to cause the postponement of the scheduled meeting, and so, having just recovered from another dose of COVID, I made my way to Creeting St Peter for another opportunity to catch up with events in my beloved village.

The big news, I guess, is that the Speed Information Device that we ordered has arrived. It wasn't cheap but, thanks to generous grants from our County and District Councillors, the cost is pretty much wholly mitigated - we've received the grant from our District Councillors and the funds from our County Councillor are expected imminently. The next step is for the post on which it is to stand to be installed, and I'm optimistic that this shouldn't take too long.

Our finances remain sound, we've received the second instalment of our precept for the 2024/25 year and I'm confident that we can make it to the end of the financial year in our customary good shape. We'll be looking at proposals for next year's precept at our next meeting, so Council will need to decide what our goals are for 2025/26 then.

One recommendation from our audit this year was that we move to having a gov.uk account, and we've acted upon that. Residents will see that the contact address for the Council is now clerk@creetingstpeter-pc.gov.uk, bringing us into line with local government generally.

We have noted our objection to the proposed solar array in Badley, on the grounds that good agricultural land will be going to waste. At a time when food miles are part of the challenge of net zero, it does seem a pity that such land cannot be farmed economically. However, it is clear that the new Labour Government are keen on renewables, as evidenced by their decision to approve the Sunnica project in West Suffolk.

Our next project is to consult with residents about the renewal of the play equipment. There is potential to apply for funding available from the Gateway 14 development and we're keen to find out what potential users would like, rather than leaving the decision to people like me.

We've been approached by the River Gipping Trust, who have taken up the challenge of keeping the river path clear of vegetation for walkers to enjoy the route. As a volunteer group, they would be grateful for any financial contribution that we might be able to offer. That's a bit of a problem for us, as we don't have a lot of money available for such things, but we'll take a look and see if there is anything that we can do. If, however, any residents want to either join the River Gipping Trust, or make donations themselves, I'm sure that the Trust would be more than grateful.

Our next meeting is at 7.30 p.m. on 18 November, in the Church Room, and residents are more than welcome to attend.

Creeting St Peter: someone has stolen our signpost...

I was back in my beloved Creeting St Peter on Monday, in my capacity both as Chair and Responsible Finance Officer of our small, but perfectly formed, Parish Council. In fairness, it couldn't be described as an exciting one. Efficient yes, thrilling... no, not really. We're pretty effective in a low-key way.

Our finances are healthy, our relationships with our County and District Councillors thriving - they give us money from their locality funds too - and we're making progress on our next big community safety investment, a Speed Indicator Device (or SID to the highways cognoscenti), in that we've secured the funding and are working with the County Council on installation. We're also moving our website to a gov.uk domain, as recommended by our recent internal audit.

It was reported that we have peregrine falcons in our parish too, although they nest just across the river on one of the chimneys of the Muntons plant - we're very keen on protecting the environment in Creeting St Peter, although there are concerns about an apparent falling off of the owl population.

Having completed the meeting by noting that my Vice Chair will be covering for me at our next meeting - it clashes with the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference - I needed to head back to Stowmarket to catch a train. My council colleague graciously offered to drop me off and we were catching up when, as we reached the T-junction where Pound Road meets Mill Lane, I spotted something. Or rather, didn't spot something. The signpost that has been there for years... isn't. Now, as you can tell from the picture above, it was in pretty poor shape. I'd reported it for repair, only to be told that there were no funds available to replace it.

But, at a meeting earlier this year, our County Councillor, Keith Welham, had advised that he had a budget to replace one road sign and, as neither Stowmarket not Stowupland had a need for it, the opportunity was ours effectively by default. So, we asked for the sign to be repaired, which he agreed to take forward. And now the road sign is gone. Does this mean what I hope it means? We await with baited breath...

À la recherche d'un village perdu

As some of you will know, I am now the remote Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council, in that I don't live there any more. And you aren't alone in wondering whether or not this is a good idea. There is, I suspect, every possibility that you come across as the Parish Council equivalent of a colonial administrator, without any real skin in the game.

I've been conscious of that all along, and am entirely up front about being willing to go should Council conclude that the arrangement doesn't work for them or for the residents of Creeting St Peter. But, for the time being at least, everyone appears to be content and are happy for me to continue.

And so, this evening, I made my way back to Creeting St Peter on a cold, damp evening for our first meeting of 2024.

Luckily, we'd made most of the difficult decisions in our November meeting, including settling on our 2024/25 budget, so the meeting was mostly about reports and "box-ticking", in the company of our Liberal Democrat District Councillor, Terry Lawrence. And that meant that I was able to steer us through the business in about fifty minutes, allowing me to catch an earlier train back to Ipswich.

One of the things about having an efficient Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer is that everyone can read the papers in advance, minimising unnecessary debate and make quick decisions, even allowing opportunities for councillors to raise any point they feel they need to. And that means that business is brisk but open - I'm even relaxed about bringing in members of the public to speak should they wish to.

And I'm fortunate in that my fellow councillors, Ayse, Dan, Davin and Lynne, are committed to their responsibilities, are active in village life, and pay attention to what's going on around them. Not every Chair of a Parish Council is as lucky.

So my reign of terror leadership continues, at least until May, and the Annual Parish Council Meeting. May everything continue to run as smoothly as it has so far...

Creeting St Peter - return of the prodigal?

I had thought that, having served four years as Chair of my Parish Council, I had deserved to enjoy a slightly slower pace of life as Vice Chair, and Finance portfolio holder. I'd even managed to resolve our lack of a Parish Clerk with what seems like a rather innovative solution. Unfortunately, for reasons too complex to explain, the Chair became vacant within ten weeks. After a discussion with my remaining colleagues, it became clear that the only solution was to return as Chair.

And so, on Monday night, Council met to pick up where we'd left off in July, with the first order of business to co-opt a new member. We had two vacancies, and still hope to fill the second next month, but having four councillors when your figure for quoracy is three can only be a good thing, especially as our newcomer looks likely to be active and capable.

My colleagues then graciously elected me as Chair, and so life returns to normal in our small, but perfectly formed, village.

That said, I'm probably better equipped than I was the first time. The experience of having to act as Chair, acting Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer has given me an insight into the mechanics of local government that I might not otherwise have gleaned. You can, as it turns out, rely too heavily on your Clerk, to the extent that you don't really have a grasp of how things actually work in reality. I would admit to having fallen foul of that but, if you've got a Clerk you can rely upon, the temptation is simply to let them get on with it.

And, right up to the point where the relationship is severed for whatever reason, that isn't a problem. And then it is. I was lucky, in that the relationship with our ex-Clerk was still good, and she was willing to tolerate acting as a "postbox" whilst we sorted out a replacement. I don't think that either of us thought that it would take nearly a year...

But, as noted before, we have now appointed both a Clerk and a Responsible Finance Officer, and I intend to work closely with them going forward, so that I understand what is happening and why, and can fulfil my obligations more effectively.

And so, my reign of terror leadership resumes. Watch this space...

Not so fast, Cllr Valladares...

Three months ago, I reported that my reign of terror four years as Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council was at an end. And I absolutely meant it, having persuaded a colleague to take over. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out, as said councillor resigned last month, both as Chair and as a councillor. Naturally, the Vice Chair acts on a temporary basis until such time as Council can meet to elect a successor. That would be me then... 

I've discussed the matter with my remaining colleagues and they have decided that they'd really rather I return to the post. Under the circumstances, I don't really feel that I've got a choice - Council must have a Chair, and if nobody else will do it... well, I'd rather do it with good grace than grudgingly.

There is some good news though, in that our organisational problems appear to have been solved, with a new Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer starting on 1 September. Unusually though, especially for a small micro Parish, they're two different people.

Another Parish Council in Suffolk has been innovative in doing this, and it seemed like a perfect solution for us. So, having approached their Chair, I was told that their Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer might be willing to act for us too. I spoke to them both, and was impressed by their enthusiasm and expertise, and Council was happy for me to proceed. Hopefully, that will make my role less onerous than it had become, and I won't lie awake at night wondering what I've missed.

Council meets again in less than four weeks, and I'm hoping that we can also fill the two vacancies that have arisen over the summer - we're currently only just quorate with three councillors. I also intend that we take the Civility and Respect Pledge, not because we have a problem with that but because I think that it sends out a message to both those we represent, but also those beyond the Parish with whom we interact.

And so, I'm a responsible adult again. At least, more responsible than I had been. Wish me luck...

Creeting St Peter - my reign of terror is at a close

I’d always been a strangely reluctant Chair of my Parish Council, something which might surprise those who have watched me carry out my duties. But, if you’re going to do something, you might as well give it your best shot and, besides, I’ve probably benefitted from my observations of committee chairs good, bad and indifferent over the years. And, of course, I have views.

But, at last year’s Annual Parish Council Meeting, I made it absolutely clear that I wouldn’t be serving a fifth year in the role, leaving it to my colleagues to find a replacement from amongst their number. Last night saw the moment of truth arrive and, I’m pleased to say, I’ve been “relieved”, so to speak. My new role, apart from being Vice Chair, is to be the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Compliance and Street Lighting, which rather suits my skill set, and I’m already working on some of the more immediate issues, which should keep me busy moving forward.

Of course, there is the challenge which faces all former Chairs, i.e. how to avoid looking as though you think that you're still Chair. But I do believe that no organisation benefits from having the same person lead it for too long, and my successor will offer a change of perspective that will hopefully allow us to progress.

There is a strange sensation of having a weight lifted from my shoulders though, even if that sounds a bit strange. After all, how much pressure can there be leading an organisation with an annual budget of £5,500 or so? But, that said, you do have the responsibility of representing your community, trying to speak for it in the face of developments that are unpopular or unwelcome, and attempting to ensure that things happen when they're supposed to. It does weigh on you, even if only subconsciously, particularly if you take the role seriously.

It's probably far too early to assess whether or not my four years have been a success but my colleagues have been kind about my leadership, and my presence is still welcomed, so I ought to take that as an endorsement, I guess. And I still feel that I have something to offer, and want to remain engaged, so that, until next year's elections at least, I'll continue to play my part. After that, it's up to the electorate, albeit that we haven't had elections in living memory and might not in 2023 either.

Creeting St Peter - I am, if only for a little while, the possessor of a narrow, but extensive, hat collection

It came as something of a surprise when our Parish Clerk asked me if we could have a chat in early November. And it came as even more of a surprise when, in the course of that chat, she advised that she would be handing in her notice.

Jennie has handed over an immaculate set of records, as well as a fulsome handover guide and the administration was wholly up to date. She had even prepared the documentation for our next meeting, which was a weight off of my mind.

Getting a replacement is not a straightforward process, however. We could just advertise the post on the same basis as we had previously, but that seems like a wasted opportunity to re-evaluate our needs as a Parish Council. Do we need the same things? Should Councillors take more responsibility for things previously left to the Clerk?

And, ironically, our first response to the new situation was to reintroduce the concept of Councillor portfolios, partly because I think we had somewhat begun to leave the organisational heavy-lifting to the Clerk, something I realise I was guilty of.

My portfolio is finance, compliance, street lighting and transport (which reminds me…), and this is probably the most intense time in the Council year for financial matters. We need to agree a budget and set a precept, and notify the latter to the District Council, and there’s a deadline to be met.

I eventually concluded that finding a locum Clerk to cover our January meeting was going to be quite difficult, and so determined to minute the meeting myself - I’m a very experienced minute secretary and the minutes needn’t be that complex. That is somewhat complicated by my role as Chair…

But, with the co-operation of my colleagues, and with little complexity in the agenda as a whole, the meeting itself ran relatively smoothly. All I have to do is process the resultant paperwork…

I’d better get on with finding a new Clerk though, as attempting to be Chair, Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer all at once is probably not viable for too long… 

Creeting St Peter - can you really go on doing things the same old way?

Our Parish Council has seen rather a lot of change lately. Two resignations have led to two newcomers joining our group, and leave me as the sole directly elected member - and I was elected unopposed, which is barely but importantly different from being co-opted. And, with our Clerk having handed in her notice - it wasn’t acrimonious, I’m glad to say - it isn’t the Council that I once chaired.

I find myself with the sense that, whilst finding a new Clerk is obviously essential, there is the question of what sort of Council do we want to be, and how do we get there?

Under my somewhat idiosyncratic leadership, we’ve possibly been more active in terms of our responses to planning applications, and my active engagement in SALC has had the benefit of opening my eyes to other possibilities. Nonetheless, I find myself wondering if we couldn’t organise things differently. That’s slightly awkward, as I am still wholly determined to stand down as Chair at our 2022 Annual Parish Council meeting.

When I first became a councillor, portfolios were the thing. I had finance and wildlife in my portfolio - I always assumed that the wildlife element reflected my almost total lack of knowledge in the field. In my second incarnation, they had been given up, and Council was more collegiate in its approach. That said, we may have devolved too much to our highly capable Clerk.

Whilst I wouldn’t have wanted to have to replace her, her departure offers an opportunity to reflect, especially with a much changed Council with a new range of skills and experience. And, given that someone is going to have to take over as Chair, it offers scope for a Chair-elect to emerge as part of the process.

It will be interesting to see who comes forward, and how they fulfil the role. Having done the job for nearly four years, I’ve learned that I really wouldn’t describe myself as a Leader figure, more an administrator attempting to maintain good order. I find confrontation stressful, and have a tendency to delay decisions until the point where they can’t reasonably be delayed much further. Here in Creeting St Peter, that hadn’t proved to be much of a hindrance - how heated can things get when you’ve got a budget of £5,500 to spend each year, much of which isn’t particularly discretionary?

That tells me that I’ve possibly found my level in local government, as I can easily imagine life at District or County level to be more intense, more stressful, with decisions that, potentially, impact significantly on people’s lives, and much larger budgets. If you like, I acknowledge that at this time in my life, I’m something of an enthusiastic amateur. You can probably get away with that as District or County level too, but I’m not sure that I’d want to test the theory personally.

But I do want to see things done well. Even though our budget is small, our discretionary spend even smaller, we can at least run our affairs and serve our residents as best we can and, with District and County Councils seemingly ever more remote, we should try to encourage residents to take advantage of the services and facilities that are available, many of which they pay council tax to support.

So, there is much to think about, even if some of it feels a bit philosophical in nature. I’m a liberal, and I believe in good governance, openness and personal responsibility. Perhaps that offers a framework for a new way of working, here in the Gipping Valley?

Parish Council doesn't meet, which gives me some time to reflect...

There is one obvious peril when you only have five councillors, which that it doesn't take much to jeopardise quoracy and thus the ability to hold meetings. Holidays, ill health and, occasionally, sheer misfortune, can interfere with the smooth running of local government and, tonight, that combination gained me an unexpected evening off.

Luckily, we're in a quiet part of the cycle at the moment. Gateway 14 has been approved but there is no sign of activity yet in terms of the infrastructure needed before actual buildings can go up. There are no outstanding controversies, and although there are things that could be done, none of them are exactly urgent.

I admit to a vague sense of relief in that sense, in that I find myself slightly distracted in the generality - there's a lot going on, and I've grown unused to that during the pandemic. Maintaining focus across a range of disparate roles does not entirely come naturally, especially when they don't really interconnect.

But life is slowly beginning to return to normal here in the Creetings. Church services have resumed, the first coffee morning for eighteen months has taken place - I was on duty supporting the Parochial Church Council and thus missed it - and there are even going to be pub nights in the foreseeable future.

I'm also attempting to manage the transition from Chair to, well, ordinary Councillor really, by leaving a bit more space for my fellow councillors to fill. I don't have to offer an opinion if there is an emerging stance, my colleagues can take on responsibilities that I might have picked up, and I'm trying to feel less obligated.

It's not that I'm any less committed to the wellbeing of my community, it's just that I really believe that organisations ossify if the leader doesn't change from time to time. I like to think that I'm fairly adaptable, and not prone to dominating the debate but there's a real danger that you settle into a comfortable regime, especially if unchallenged. A new approach, a new style, can be a good thing.

And I still have ambitions, both personal and collective. The pandemic has rather distracted me from some of my thinking on how a small Parish Council might operate, and I still have my roles with the Suffolk Association of Local Councils and as their representative on the National Assembly of the National Association of Local Councils.

So, as I enter my last six months as Chair - and I really mean it - it's time to lift my eyes to the horizon and ponder the future...

Creeting St Peter: a few words from the Chair…

One of the joys of leading a Parish Council is drafting my column for the Parish Newsletter…

If I had thought for one moment that chairing the Parish Council was going to be easy, recent events have demonstrated that there is no such thing as “too quiet”. So, time for a quick run-through of what’s happened over the past few months…

We’ve got a new County Councillor in Keith Welham, who won the Stowmarket North and Stowupland division by 139 votes over outgoing Cllr Gary Green. Keith is familiar with our issues here, having served as our District Councillor between 2015 and 2019, and has hit the ground running. We look forward to working with him in the years ahead.

We’ve also got a new Parish Councillor in Lynne Jardine, who was co-opted at our Annual Parish Council meeting in May. She has already set to work on issues relating to Poundfield and the local footpaths on the western side of the Parish, and we’re pleased to have her onboard.

No news from Gateway 14. Despite the initial expectations that the planning application would be heard by Mid Suffolk District Council at the beginning of the year, there is still no sign of a date for its hearing. Both the Residents Campaign Group and the Parish Council have made full submissions, as have many of you as individuals, although the remaining delays seem to revolve around highways, with Highways England having sought a delay until mid-September whilst their concerns are addressed.

Mid Suffolk District Council says no to extended hours for Poundfield. After more than eighteen months of uncertainty, the application was rejected – the company failed to supply the required noise and light reports required. The Parish Council will now focus our attention on seeking enforcement of the existing operation hours restrictions, and welcome reports of working outside those hours. 

The conditions are as follows;

No machinery shall be operated, no process shall be carried out and no deliveries taken at or despatched from the site outside of the following times;

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays with no working on Sundays or on Bank Holidays.

Please send your reports to our Parish Clerk.

An appeal for the “Meadows” site. Residents of the surrounding properties will be aware that an appeal has been made to the Secretary of State regarding the second refusal of planning permission to demolish the property and build four new ones in its place. The Planning Inspector will consider all of the evidence already submitted, and Mid Suffolk District Council are expected to actively defend their position given the potential impact on the Local Plan. We have no timeline for any announcement.

New street lights? Residents of the core village will know that our ten street lights are not in good condition, and some of them have been out of order for some time. They’re expensive to maintain and increasingly obsolete. Suffolk County Council have announced a programme of replacing some 43,000 street lights with modern LED versions, and there is a possibility that we might be able to piggyback on that. We’ll keep you updated on that.

An e-newsletter for Creeting St Peter? One of the key lessons from the pandemic is finding better ways to keep residents informed. Producing newsletters and delivering them by hand is slow and expensive, whereas if we could e-mail them to most residents, it would cut costs, allow us to issue newsletters more frequently, and improve our reporting back. We need to make sure that we’re GDPR compliant though, and that those who don’t, or can’t, use the Internet aren’t excluded. However, we’ll be looking to seek your agreement to this over the coming months so, if one of us knocks on your door, don’t be too surprised.

 

Finally, life is slowly returning to something more familiar as normal. However, there are still those amongst us who need support, and I know that many of you are looking out for friends and neighbours. Thank you to everyone who has gone out of their way to help, and whilst the path out of the pandemic is still a bit fuzzy, I’m hopeful that this will continue as long as it is needed.

I'd like to make myself believe that Planet Creeting turns slowly...

It's been an evening of two meetings here in the Gipping Valley - one that I chair, one that I don't.

First up was Federal International Relations Committee (I don't chair that!). Fortified by a (if I say so myself) decent risotto prepared by my own fair hands, I threw myself into what became a somewhat unsatisfying meeting. Now I wouldn't blame anyone for that - it's the problem when you know that you aren't going to be there see the whole thing through - but we probably allowed ourselves to get bogged down in the mechanism of how to do things rather than just making quick decisions and allocating the work to committee members.

I still feel slightly out of place amidst a group of people with seemingly more practical experience than I have, and I have to fight a persistent urge to use the Standing Orders as an offensive weapon, but there is some really interesting stuff being done. It might reasonably be said that the Committee shows dangerous signs of living up to my hopes for it when it first took on its current form five years ago. Perhaps I should have been more patient.

And yes, I still think that there's scope for improvement, but a relatively new Chair and a new Secretary (and thank you, Adrian, for volunteering) should be given the opportunity to make their mark, so again, I ought to demonstrate that I can "do patient".

But time and Parish Councils wait for no bureaucrat, and I had to sign off from Zoom in order to see real people up close (well, closeish, as we're still attempting to maintain reasonable social distancing here in the Gipping Valley).

I do find chairing my Parish Council vaguely reassuring. The debate is measured and pragmatic, I'm encouraged to move things along briskly, and there's seldom much in the way of stress or opposition.

In some ways, we're in the lull before the storm, with Gateway 14 still awaiting planning consent, and the concrete products factory now refused permission to extend its operating hours (somewhat to our pleasant surprise, it must be said).

There are some issues of concern - the work going on next to Flint Hall (are they seriously planning a dirt bike track?), traffic speeds on Mill Lane, the state of local footpaths - but we're a persistent group, and we'll keeping writing letters in the hope that Mid Suffolk District and Suffolk County Councils will do their jobs.

We were done in fifty-two minutes though, and I was almost tempted to log back into FIRC to see if they were still going. Almost, but not actually...

Creeting St Peter - let's play the music and Chair...

Three years ago, I was somewhat unexpectedly catapulted into a position of supreme power elected as Chair of our village's Parish Council. I hadn't sought the role - which is becoming something of a recurring theme - but wasn't quick enough to escape when I was the victim of an extremely genteel ambush by my fellow Councillors.

I had been led to understand that the Chair served two years before being replaced  by their Vice Chair, which turned out to be a ruse. But it was alright, and I had quietly enjoyed the responsibility for two years. And then the pandemic struck, and our 2020 Annual Parish Council Meeting was cancelled. It was agreed that I might as well carry on for another year, and I was happy enough to do so - not that I think that the village particularly needs an active Parish Council Chair - but to offer some stability.

Perhaps if I had known that we could expect the pandemic to last for more than a year, or that the business and enterprise zone long threatened on the edge of the Parish would turn up in the middle of it, I might have been less sanguine, but life can be like that sometimes. The past year has thus been a bit more stressful.

But you can't go on forever, in any event. I'm not one of those people who believes in holding positions for year after year, and Parish Councils need to evolve. That said, whilst I'd be perfectly happy to hand over the invisible chains of office to one of my fellow councillors, it had become clear that they, in turn, were quietly keen for me to stay on.

And so, on Monday night, at our Annual Parish Council Meeting, when nominations were sought for a Chair for 2021-22, I was duly nominated for a fourth year. I accepted, but gave notice to Council that it would be my last year - they now have a year to decide which of them wants to take the Chair going forward. I've even offered to give up the Chair for a meeting so that anyone who wants to "try it for size" can do so.

I do think that any of them could do the job. Not, perhaps, in the same way that I do it, but that need hardly be a bad thing. I'm keen on process and form, but with a Council made up of reasonable people - as ours is - different styles and approaches could work just as well, possibly better. And, in any event, I'm planning to stay on as a councillor, so the skills that I think that I offer are still available.

It has been an honour and a privilege to chair Creeting St Peter Parish Council, and I've learned a bit about myself in the process. But, in a year or so, it'll be time to hand the baton on to someone else and let them lead the band...

Gateway 14 - the response is written...

And so, the formal response is on its way, and I can relax just a little. Here's my summary of our thoughts as a Parish Council...

It would be fair to say that Creeting St Peter has lived with the prospect of development of the site for a quarter of a century or more, and we are realistic in terms of our expectation as to its future. However, we feel that there is an opportunity for the District Council to create something which is an exemplar in terms of the future of the workplace post-Covid, offers a positive experience not only to investors but to the workforce and reflects the villages and communities that surround it. 

The site itself is, we acknowledge, not an area of outstanding natural beauty but as part of the working countryside it serves as an escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life, both for its residents and for those who take advantage of the opportunities it offers. It is a refuge for flora and fauna that would otherwise be driven further into the margins. This will be lost, and not replaced. 

We are also concerned as to the effect that Gateway 14 will have on our hamlet village. The poor state of our road network, the risks of increased traffic flows through a village without a means of separating pedestrians from other road users, and the encroachment of the site, extending Stowmarket two-thirds of the way across the gap between town and hamlet, will impact on our community for many years to come. 

Under such circumstances, it is not unreasonable to ask what Mid Suffolk District Council is offering to our community in terms of benefits that might accrue. Simon Knott, the highly regarded chronicler of East Anglia’s churches, wrote of our Parish Church; 

“St Peter is separated from its village by the four lanes of the A14, the roar of which can be heard from the churchyard. How has this happened? Simply, Creeting St Peter consists mainly of council houses and farm cottages, working people’s houses. People like this do not get asked if they want a motorway at the bottom of the garden.” 

In this instance, whilst we acknowledge that we have been asked, we want to know that we are being listened to as well, and we trust that you will take our reasonable concerns into account in reaching a judgement on the acceptability of this planning application and the conditions you set upon it.

Drafting, drafting and more drafting - a Parish Chair and a planning application response...

It is, in all probability, the most challenging planning application that Creeting St Peter Parish Council has had to deal with in many a long year, and the stakes are high. A 156 hectare business and logistics park, featuring a range (in both senses of the word) of "megasheds" (as the Gateway 14 Residents Campaign Group refer to them) on the edge of our village is not something that a micro-parish such as ours is really equipped to deal with, given the imbalance of resourcing.

However, we are going to give it our best shot and, as Chair, I feel obliged to lead the effort. What is a Chair otherwise, if not to lead, after all?

But it is daunting, as I've noted previously. How do you balance the fears of the community against what is credible? What evidence is there, and can it be properly interpreted? Can you avoid mission creep, whereby existing problems are conflated with the possible but unevidenced impacts of the new development?

And so, I've spent a week mulling over our response, incorporating the contributions of my fellow councillors where I can, praying in aid the concerns of various statutory consultees - Natural England, Suffolk Highways, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to name but three - and professional Council staff where their credibility is likely to be higher than ours but where their issues reflect ours.

It isn't easy. You have to create something which is likely to be taken seriously by the various councillors who sit on the Mid Suffolk Planning Committee, makes the points that really matter, but doesn't bury them in surplus verbiage. That isn't always one of my strengths - I tend to write like a slightly cautious Victorian bureaucrat. Given that I am a slightly cautious early twenty-first century bureaucrat, perhaps that shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

The fear is that, in attempting to be reasonable and realistic, you end up failing to sufficiently press the community's case but I have concluded that my only option is to be as true to my beliefs as possible and write a response which is honest, balanced and credible. At least, that's what I think it is.

We'll see soon enough, I guess...

Creeting St Peter - the learning curve doesn't get any less steep...

Small Parish Council, not much of a budget, nice bunch of fellow councillors, able Clerk, how difficult could that be, eh? Perhaps they'll write that on my tombstone when I'm gone.

And, indeed, most of the time, it's been pretty straightforward, keeping things ticking along, cleaning the odd road sign, signing the odd cheque. However, the arrival of a series of increasingly complex planning applications has caused me to find out more about local government than I had ever had a desperate urge to know.

Today saw me take part in a virtual meeting with the District Council and the developers, hosted by the Gateway 14 Campaign Group, to discuss the latest developments as part of a four-weekly cycle of discussions. It was my first, as I feel that I should give the Campaign Group the space to explore the wider issues as they choose, including some that don't necessarily impact on my responsibility as the Chair of a statutory consultee.

The big developments have been the submission of the hybrid planning application and the announcement that the site is to be part of the Freeport East bid. It was confirmed that, as far as Mid Suffolk District Council are concerned, there will be no impact on the S.106 funding that the project will generate, which is welcome news.

It does strike me that there is a great deal of uncertainty in terms of the impact of the Freeport bid. We now know that the entire 156 ha site will be included in the tax site which, whilst interesting, doesn't have a huge impact on the current application. However, the question of the customs site is somewhat more complex, and that's important, because it will need "robust perimeter security measures such as fences, controlled access gates and lighting".

We were assured that this area won't be that large, although the bidding prospectus notes that part of the customs site will need to be designated as a temporary storage area, as per the standard United Kingdom customs import rules. Now, given that one of the potential types of occupiers would be businesses assembling products using components produced abroad, there might be more or less space required. That in turn potentially impacts on access, in particular the footpath that has been rerouted through the northern part of the site.

That offers a challenge, because we may need to seek planning conditions that will address the possibility that the footpath might require diverting again, for example.

And that, of course, sums up the challenges of a hybrid planning application - you're attempting to nail a jelly to a wall, as you don't know what the site will eventually look like, because that in turn depends on who turns up as a potential customer and what their needs are. It is all too easy to let your imagination run riot, and to experience mission creep. As a statutory consultee, should I worry about the financial viability of the site, or whether or not it provides value for money? As a council tax payer, I probably should.

But the next stage is an Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council to discuss the planning application on Monday. I've got a lot of documents to read before then, and it's not likely to be an easy meeting, even though there is unlikely to be anyone saying that we should just ignore it...

Freeport East - the bid has landed

I've already mentioned the Freeport East proposal (coming to a parish near you very soon), and it has now been formally launched, with a rather soft focus video, and lots of talk about jobs, development and innovation. And, I have to say that it all looks very impressive.

So, what might it mean for our community, given that a major tax and customs site will be located on the edge of the Parish (we're the teal coloured circle towards the top of the map)?

I'll set aside the planning application for the time being.

Stowmarket, our neighbouring town is a bit of a poor relation to its neighbours, as an industrial hub and railway junction. Aspiration is not as high as it might be, although unemployment rates are low. An innovation hub may attract new industries, and offer better paid jobs to a town that has little in the way of attractions - we only got our first McDonalds last year, and fine dining is predominantly (although not wholly) something you leave town for. The shopping area is a bit limited, compared to similar sized towns and, in short, if you've got money to spend, you'd probably go to Bury St Edmunds or Norwich.

On the plus side, housing is reasonably priced even for Suffolk, transport links are good, with express trains to Norwich and London, plus regional services linking Ipswich with Cambridge and Peterborough. Throw in the A14, and you can get quite a long way quite easily.

In short, there is potential that could be unlocked by a successful bid that lives up to the hype.

The proposed location of the only tax and customs site outside the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe themselves, Gateway 14 is ideally located between the mainline railway and the A14, both of which act to frame the site, so providing a direct link to a major trunk road linking Felixstowe and Harwich with Cambridge and the Midlands.

Do I wish that it was further away, less immediate? Well, yes - I like the setting of my village as it is. But that isn't a viable stance, the site has been earmarked for developed for three decades now, and if I were a developer, it is exactly the sort of location I would want to get my hands on. And, as someone who wants the best for the wider Mid Suffolk community, an  influx of potentially well-paid jobs in innovative industries and technologies can only improve the lives of local residents, encourage new retail and cultural opportunities and support new facilities.

That offers me two contrasting challenges. As the Chair of the Parish Council, I want to seek a design for the development that makes it less intrusive on the eye, protects our rights of access and reduces the impact on residents (particularly those whose properties will be right up against the boundary of the site). I also have to have an eye on what possible benefits that might accrue to the community - new street lights, perhaps, or road improvements that improve traffic flow and reduce the need for braking. Will there be benefits in terms of s.106 funding?

As a council tax payer, I want the development to be as efficient as possible, in terms of generating revenue for the District Council, who own it, and in terms of bringing quality jobs to the area. I do wonder if the somewhat limited ambition of the developers, who talk about logistics and distribution, matches up with the aspirations of the Freeport team, who talk about innovation, green energy, and links to the universities across the region.

The former challenge is an immediate one - a hybrid planning application is all about setting down a marker in terms of landscaping, transport plans and building heights. In fairness, I tend to the view that the landscaping is pretty generous, and the potential road network offers some decided advantages in terms of addressing long existing issues such as the sharp curve at Clamp Farm. The proposed building heights are a significant improvement on what was originally suggested, but whilst 21 metres is still pretty intrusive, it may be difficult to reduce that much further. The devil will be in the detail, and the detail is a Parish Council issue.

As for what ends up on the site, the idea of large sheds is a bit depressing, but each of them will be the subject of a rather more concrete planning application, open to challenge. And, as it isn't clear who will want to take up the space, it is conjecture to start visualising the site as it might look in ten years time. Ironically, the Freeport East Board will probably have a lot to say about what their priorities are for potential customers, and my initial impression from sources is that their view is somewhat different to that of Jaynic, the developers appointed by Mid Suffolk District Council to manage and promote the site. It isn't a Parish Council issue, however, although the Campaign Group will be addressing the question, as I understand it.

So, my challenge is to keep the two issues at arms length from each other, focussing on what we know and are being asked to judge, as opposed to what might or might not be at some point in the undefined future. Fortunately, I've got Ros to ensure that my concentration doesn't wander...

Who is this mystery Parish Councillor?... a reprise

It appears fashionable, all of a sudden, for people to want my photograph and a brief biography. That is, two organisations have asked in quick succession, this time my own Parish Clerk for our village website. And, whilst I could have simply recycled the first one, these are my friends and neighbours, so I thought that I ought to put a little more detail in this time...

Mark Valladares is the Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council, and has been since 2018, having been on the Council in this incarnation since 2016. With decades of experience watching other people chair organisations well (and badly), he has developed a relaxed yet efficient style of chairing on the basis that meetings are usually dull and people (including his fellow councillors and the Clerk) are better off doing things as opposed to talking about them. His particular fields of interest are governance and finance. 

He can normally be seen wandering around the village as part of his 10,000 plus steps a day habit, and is thus fairly approachable once you've attracted his attention (if alone, he's listening to music via headphones). A former Londoner, he has had a steep learning curve to reach his current level of knowledge of how villages do, and might, work, although a bus service would be very nice (he doesn't drive). 

In the rest of his life, he is married to Ros (who is far more interesting), and works as a civil servant in a large building in Ipswich. He writes about life as a Parish councillor and villager here and can be found on Twitter at @honladymark.

If that doesn't persuade residents to vote me out of office in 2023, then nothing will...

Creeting St Peter - some thoughts on Poundfield Products

As possibly expected, Monday night saw a slightly uncomfortable meeting. A packed agenda saw us adopt our 2021/22 budget and set our precept - we have not raised the band D charge, leaving it at the same £52.27 that it is this year. We declared a Climate Emergency without challenge, and dealt with the rest of the business in our usual efficient manner.

Of course, the spectre of Gateway 14 hangs over us still, but until the actual planning application comes in, we’re in limbo to a certain extent. However, we did have the application from Poundfield Products to expand their facility to consider. Their Managing Director had sought an invitation to attend - the same gentleman who had announced by e-mail that he would have nothing to do with the Parish Council whilst I was still Chair. You might guess that my welcome might be a less than entirely warm one.

The problem, I suspect, is that he has little understanding of what a Parish Council does. He seems to be under the impression that we should be supporting a growing local business, whereas our role is to represent the interests of our residents. That does lead to a degree of conflict.

It turned out that he wanted to do two things, firstly to explain what his company were doing to meet our concerns and why we should support expansion, secondly to express his unhappiness about the objections from local residents. I did have to politely explain that we had no control over the right to free expression of the citizenry, nor would we seek to influence them - they have a right to express their concerns, just as he does. However, we had to measure the likely impacts of expansion on our community.

We are concerned about the impact on local roads of additional heavy goods vehicles given that they are not designed to handle such weights and are suffering significant, and potentially dangerous, degradation already - the road edges are already collapsing in a number of places, offering hazards to traffic after dark. The rural location of the facility is already impacting on overlooking properties, and by encroaching towards the valley of the River Gipping, it jeopardises the ecosystem of the valley floor.

And finally, the expansion, combined with the company’s continued attempts to overturn the restrictions on operating hours included as part of the conditions for approval of the facility in the first place, will cause disturbance and loss of amenity to those living on Mill Lane and Fen Lane, as heavy lorries and staff arrive as early as 5.30 a.m.

In truth, it was a remarkably stupid place to put such an industrial facility in the first place, with poor infrastructure, no public transport for staff to use and little in the way of parking. However, that fight was lost long ago and whilst relocation to a more appropriate, better resourced site would probably be in everyone’s interests, it is acknowledged that too much capital investment has been sunk into the current site for that to be a credible option.

We voted to object, as was probably always likely, although there was some sympathy for what Poundfield Products are trying to do. The problem is that the business has a long and somewhat ignoble record of subverting planning conditions, and the initial exchange went badly wrong from their perspective. I do not, for example, take kindly to be talked over at a meeting by his local plant manager.

There was an unexpected ending though, when Mr Roddy offered us £7,000 towards Parish projects. I admit to having been taken somewhat by surprise, especially as we had just voted to object to his company’s planning application. I wasn’t really sure what to say in response but took the sensible view that, if in doubt, seek advice. Subsequently, I’ve let the Parochial Church Council know that there are funds potentially available, and that they should approach him - the Church Room needs work done on it, and £7,000 would go a long way towards funding that.

So, another eventful meeting came to a close, and I could retreat to my armchair and ponder over what I had learned...

Creeting St Peter: looking plaintively at the exit door?...

Year 1 of being Chair of my Parish Council was alright. Yes, I’d been rather hijacked by my colleagues who sprang a hitherto unknown two year rule for Chair rotation on me, but the job wasn’t very onerous and it was nice to be in charge, albeit notionally. After all, how much power can you have on a council with an annual precept of just over £5,000?

Year 2 ended with the onset of the pandemic. We were having some difficulties with the local concrete products factory, although that has been something of a slow burner, impacting on everyone who has chaired the Council since I joined, but it was as much about being available and helpful as anything else. And, in a village where people are great at looking out for their vulnerable, or even potentially vulnerable, neighbours, it was about passing on information, helping people to help themselves to some extent. Again, not too difficult.

The pandemic led to year 3, as nobody seemed much minded to change things. I’ve spent the year pottering about the village, talking to residents, trying to keep their spirits up (and mine). And now, I’m in the midst of two major planning issues, attempting to balance competing expectations. It does feel a bit more stressful and there is rather more confrontation, something that I must admit to struggling with.

My third term comes to an end in April and, for the first time, I’m beginning to wonder whether or not the Council requires a change. Admittedly, given that I’d not sought the job in the first place, and suffer from a touch of imposter syndrome, I’m a touch surprised that I’ve gotten this far.

This evening’s Parish Council came with a degree of trepidation. With the Managing Director of Poundfield Products, with whom I haven’t entirely seen eye to eye inviting himself, and the ongoing debate over Gateway 14, I worried about how things would go. I’m not a gung-ho sort of Chair, and prefer a more inclusive style. The problem with that is that, if things get heated, timing your intervention becomes more challenging, and that’s when my decision making is at its most fragile.

It was a robust, but mostly courteous affair, however. Whilst I remain to be convinced that the management of Poundfield Products are anything more than tolerant of my existence, that isn’t a problem unless I lose the confidence of Council. So far, that doesn’t appear to be the case, which is reassuring.

And so, another Parish Council meeting is safely delivered. Only one more is scheduled before I sleep, so to speak, although it’s highly likely that there’ll be an Extraordinary one to deal with the Gateway 14 hybrid planning application (coming to a District Council near you later this month). Perhaps I’ll fret about that another day...

Creeting St Peter - a Parish Council and a Climate Emergency...

I noted the other day that I was running out of Liberal Democrat things to do. The last remaining role I have is that of membership of the Appeals Panel for England, and my five-year term expires in March. It can be renewed once, however.

As a courtesy, I notified the Regional Secretary once her re-election had been confirmed more than five weeks ago but, as I haven't heard from her one way or the other, I'm guessing that either my services aren't required, or nobody cares or, quite possibly, that the Appeals Panel for England has become obsolete. In truth, I'm a bit out of touch with the constitutional settlement of the Party these days, which feels a bit strange for a self-confessed political bureaucrat.

Luckily, into that "vacuum" has fallen my work as a Parish Council Chair. And boy, are we busy at the moment, with two large (one of them vast) planning applications to respond to and all of the work that involves.

But it probably isn't enough to be reactive, and so I've decided to initiate a small project, to "green" the Parish Council. The first step is to declare a Climate Emergency.

I know what you're thinking. Isn't little old Creeting St Peter Parish Council, residents 275, precept £5,285, getting a bit up itself with this whole climate emergency thing? And, I suppose, you may have a point. We don't have a building to maintain, or much in the way of energy burning assets, and the village sits in the midst of fields of wheat, barley, oil seed rape and sugar beet.

But, we can play a small part. Our street lights are aged, obsolete and decidedly inefficient. We could print less paper, lobby our District and County Councils to rethink the services they provide to us, encourage recycling and walking, plant trees.

And so, I've drafted a very simple motion for discussion at our next meeting on Monday week which reads;

This Council pledges to:

1. Declare a climate emergency.
2. Ensure that, in its decisions, it takes into account the impact of its actions on the environment.
3. Work with local government partners towards the aspiration of making the county of Suffolk carbon neutral by 2030.

It isn't particularly fancy, but it isn't prescriptive, and I can't help but feel that, like a lot of rather larger local government bodies, we're going to have to rethink how we do much of our business in the coming years. And if, by doing that, we can both offer value for money and improve our communities, no matter how marginally, that must be a good thing.

Luckily, there is much inspiration available, both through the Suffolk Association of Local Councils and the National Association of Local Councils. But, ultimately, it will be up to us as a community to design solutions that suit us.