Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 9th July 2025, 7.35pm at Burstall Village Hall
- Present
- Cllr B Gasper (Chair), Cllr S Main, Cllr K Raby, Cllr W Petersen
- In attendance
- Mrs S Frankis, Clerk & RFO to Burstall Parish Council
The meeting was chaired by Cllr Gasper.
Apologies
The Council resolved to accept the apologies received from Cllr Godfrey for his absence due to work commitments, and from Cllrs Kerrison and L Raby for their absences due to personal commitments.
Dispensations
None were received.
Reports
No report had been received from District Cllr Busby.
No report had been received from County Cllr Hudson.
Comments
No comments were received.
Minutes
The minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting held on 14th May 2025, having been circulated to the Council prior to the meeting, were confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the meeting.
Matters Arising
Cllr Gasper referred to the absence of any district councillor representation for Burstall and how the situation is woefully unacceptable. The absence of any report received from the county and district councillors is totally inadequate from elected representatives.
- Action: The Clerk is to contact the Babergh District Council Monitoring Officer to express the concerns of the Parish Council.
Re. minute number 452 and 460: the Parish Council wrote to the Chief Fire Officer for Suffolk focusing on the fire risk and safety issues of the already existing and proposed future development of battery storage sites in and around Burstall; a response has been received with an invitation to meet and discuss the matter.
- Action: The Clerk is to arrange a meeting with representatives of Burstall Parish Council and the Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Suffolk.
Annual Parish Meeting
There were no matters to consider.
Planning
DC/25/02796: T2 Oak – fell and treat stump with eco plugs. 1 New Cottages, The Street, Burstall IP8 3DN
The Council unanimously agreed to submit a comment of ‘no objection’ to planning application DC/25/01871 and to include a recommendation that an appropriate replacement tree be planted at a suitable distance away from the property.
Finance
- The Council unanimously approved the following payments:
- P14. Mrs S Frankis / May 2025 salary (LGA 1972, ss101,111,112) £236.45
- P15. Nosegay / grass cutting (LGA 1972, s139) £360.00
- P16. Mr K Raby / VE80 Commemorations (LGA 1972, s139) £106.73
- P17. Mrs S Frankis / HP Ink (LGA 1972, s139) £2.99
- P18. Mrs S Frankis / broadband (POA 1954, s51) £15.00
- P19. Heelis & Lodge / internal audit (LGA 1972, s139) £170.00
- P20. Unity Trust Bank/ fee (LGA9172, s139) £6.00
- P21. Mrs S Frankis / May 2025 salary (LGA 1972, ss101,111,112) £124.41
- P22. Nosegay / grass cutting (LGA 1972, s139) £630.00
- P23. Mrs S Frankis / HP Ink (LGA 1972, s139) £3.49
- P24. Mrs S Frankis / broadband (POA 1954, s51) £15.00
- P25. Gareth Lee / village sign (LGA 1972, s139) £650.00
- P26. Unity Trust Bank / bank fees (LGA 1972, s139) £6.00
- The May and June 2025 Budget and Precept Reports, having been circulated to the Council prior to the meeting, were agreed. The bank statement balances were verified by Cllr K Raby.
- The Council agreed to transfer £230 from the Reserve Account to 2025/26 budget heading ‘BT Box Refurbishments’.
Disposal of Documents
The Clerk had circulated a list of documents to be disposed of in accordance with the Parish Council’s Document Retention Policy 2020 prior to the meeting. The Council unanimously agreed to dispose of the documents as listed.
Traffic Calming Measures
Cllr K Raby advised he had contacted Suffolk Highways to report the damaged signs and verge at the junction of Coronation Corner and The Street, and to also ask about the procedure for having a weight restriction order put in place for Burstall (continuing the existing weight restriction in Sproughton along Burstall Lane and The Street).
Cllr K Raby advised of the following response received from Suffolk Highways -
“Although the County Council would not normally fund the replacement of these signs as they are not mandatory Paul West, Cabinet Member for highways is trying to find a solution whereby they can be funded as the issues your village and the surrounding area has with HGVs is recognised.
As you probably know the signs have been knocked down before due to the overrun on this corner. The highway verge width is limited, so we need to explore some other options here as there is a high risk if replaced, the signs will be damaged and knocked over again.
With the exception of local farms and businesses HGV's should ideally be using the recommended lorry route via A1071/A1214/A14. The last couple of weeks have been very difficult for all Parishes around Ipswich due to the Orwell Bridge works as drivers become frustrated with the delays and traffic tries to find alternative routes that they don’t usually use, cutting across county through villages.
The starting point for traffic calming measures would be for the PC to commission a traffic survey which would verify the volume, speed and class of vehicles passing through Burstall. The data would then be assessed by the Safety and Speed Engineers and the Transport Strategy Team for their analysis.
A case would need to be evidenced based on definitive data to justify installing additional traffic calming measures. If the PC would like to fund a traffic survey, please come back to me with plan or details of the hot spot/s to monitor. I can then ask for an estimate to undertake the surveys and arrange for this to be undertaken in September when traffic resumes to normal levels after the works and the school summer break.”
Although the Parish Council felt Suffolk Highways may have misunderstood the situation by suggesting that HGV’s have only been short cutting through Burstall over the past couple of weeks as a consequence of the Orwell Bridge works, the Council agreed to consider commissioning a traffic survey.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on 10th September 2025.
Matters Raised by Members
The Council discussed the upcoming changes to the local authority tier structure (unitary authority/ies).
Cllr Main informed the Council that after a series of mishandled FOI requests with BMSDC, she has requested the Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Committee conduct an investigation into maladministration, mishandling of data, and potential data fraud by the jointly run Data Protection Team and Information Governance Officer. The mishandled FOI request that Cllr Whyman was asked to investigate on behalf of Burstall Parish Council has been included as an example for investigation.
Cllr Petersen referred to the National Grid’s Norwich to Tilbury project and advised there are a number of new consultations ongoing directly with landowners that are not in the public domain. He has contacted a local source to try to establish what the pylon route is likely to be.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 20.39.
Signed ………………………………………………… Date …………………………………………