Hello, I hope you are all keeping safe and well.
For me, February holds the first promise of spring, and I always look out for one of my favourite flowers, the woodland violet, as I walk my dog.
Spring flowers are also starting to appear in the cemetery, I saw some winter acconites peeping out on my last visit on a particularly cold and wet Wednesday.
Our thanks go out to the team of lovely ladies who have been running the Warm Winter Wednesdays from the WI Hall throughout January and into the first week of February. I was able to warm up there and enjoy a coffee on a very cold Wednesday at the end of January and meet some of our parish residents who were gathering for free hot drinks, cake and soup etc and spending time in company at card games, board games jigsaws etc. The events have been a great success. Here’s a picture below of three of the team I met. February also sees the financial year drawing to a close, with preparations for the annual audit underway, a review of existing policies, and a look at the work plans for the next financial year to identify key activities in the year ahead.
Three of the wonderful team of ladies in the parish who put on Warm Winter Wednesdays (left to right,Charlotte Salmon, Lorraine Juniper and Amanda Lavelle on Wednesday 25th January)
February also sees the financial year drawing to a close, with preparations for the annual audit underway, a review of existing policies, and a look at the work plans for the next financial year to identify key activities in the year ahead.
It’s looking to be a busy quarter already, and the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group are working to put together a programme of consultation events on the Draft Neighbourhood Plan. Please visit the NP pages on the website at https://wickhambrook.org/neighbourhood-plan/ for more information.
At its January meeting, the parish council agreed:
- The proposed budget and setting of the precept for the next financial year (2023-24) at £42,739.Based on the draft budget as presented, this represents an increase on the precept of 7.25% (£5.47 per property on a tax base of 528.38).
- A proposal to delegate the clerk to respond to some minor planning applications.
- The grounds contract for the next financial year (R H Landscapes and Maintenance Ltd)
and unanimously agreed to award the Alf Hicks Biscuit Barrel award to Mr Kevin Grimes, a parish volunteer who has been looking after the Bury Road Pocket Park. The award will be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting (date to be announced).
The Queen’s Green Canopy is creating a living legacy with over a million trees planted in Her Majesty’s name across the nation during the first planting season, October 2021 to March 2022. The extension of the QGC initiative will build on this legacy and serve as a lasting tribute to Her Majesty’s extraordinary service to her country and her people. Following the wishes of its Patron, His Majesty The King, The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative will be extended to the end of March 2023 to give people the opportunity to plant trees in memoriam to honour Her Majesty.
Our next parish council meeting is on Thursday 23rd February 2023 at 7:00pm in the Pavilion, Memorial Social Centre. At this meeting the parish council will be considering the following matters:
- An Update on Neighbourhood Planning
- Reviews of Internal Control and income and expenditure against budget
- Parish Council Insurance for the next financial year
- Charitable Donations for the current financial year
- Wickhambrook Memorial Clock
- Community Engagement for Parish Elections on May 2023
- Proposals for the Celebration of the Coronation of HRH Charles III on 6th May
- Cemetery Extension project
If you have any other matters you would like to be considered, please contact me .
The Wickhambrook Neighbourhood Plan Working Group has continued to be busy. Since you last saw them at the flower show in July ’22 West Suffolk Council finished its consultation on their preferred site for building 40 homes and other Buildings, to which it and the parish council provided a detailed response. The land alongside Bunters Road is now West Suffolk Council’s preferred location for any new homes and other premises in our parish.
The group has commissioned a:
- full landscape survey of all sites offered up under SHELAA and preferred options
- Design Code, which will help shape the way any new development looks and give guidance to any new building will be part of our Neighbourhood Plan.
and is are working with AECOM to provide a Development Plan, of the new site at Bunters Road. The draft options for this site will be available in February, and the Working Group expects to consult with the Parish, the landowners and West Suffolk before finalising any plans. These plans will form the backbone of the Neighbourhood Plan.
There’s a lot of work to do in the meantime and NPWG needs your help. They need good quality digital photographs of the village and its surroundings, historical buildings and places of interest. Follow this link if you have any images that you would like to upload: https://forms.gle/3p1UhTTFfiB65mML8
For more information on where, when and how you can give your feedback on the draft plans for the preferred site at Bunters Road, watch out for the posters and social media updates. In the meantime you can contact the NPWG team at .
Parish and District elections will take place this year on Thursday 4th May. To check whether you’re already on the electoral register (a list of names and addresses of everyone who is entitled to vote), contact your local Electoral Registration Office .
If you’re not already on the Register of Electors, you can use the .GOV.UK pages to Register to vote online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, it takes about 5 minutes.
Don’t forget that this year, for the first time, you’ll need voter ID to vote at a polling station – you can apply for voter ID until 25th April.
Do feel free to forward this message on to neighbours, friends and family in the parish and ask them to get in touch with me at .uk if they would like to be included in our e-newsletter mailing list!
Wishing you all the best, Keep safe and well
Hilary Workman
Clerk for Wickhambrook Parish Council