Parish Clerk’s Report for May/June 2018

25th April 2018 | Parish Clerk Report

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by Wickhambrook Parish Clerk

Further important news regarding the Community Public Access Defibrillator

Wickhambrook community public access defibrillator

Mr Peter Vince writes:

I am pleased to announce that the second Wickhambrook CPAD (Community Public Access Defibrillator) is now operational. The CPAD is located at the Wickhambrook MSC Hall, Cemetery Road, Wickhambrook.

The CPAD was funded by the local community and local benefactors, who had supported the initial Wickhambrook CFR project, which is no longer operational.

The CPAD is used when a person makes a 999 call and the ambulance service deem that the use of the CPAD is appropriate. The instructions are provided by the ambulance service, as well as the code to open the cabinet.

My thanks to the MSC Hall Committee, who have allowed the CPAD to be installed at the hall and Sandy Wood, secretary and Vince Harvey, caretaker, who organised the fitment. Thanks are due to Wickhambrook Parish Council, especially Sonya Thorburn, Parish Clerk, who have supported this project and Mary Evans who supported the initial CFR project with funding. Also thanks to Jonathan Needle, of East of England Ambulance service who has assisted in this project and they will be providing ongoing support.

Also thanks to Richard and Craig from World of Wiring (www.worldofwiring.com) who installed the cabinet providing materials and time FOC for this community project.

Thanks to those individuals who I have not noted in person.
Peter Vince
CPAD Co-ordinator

The Chairman of Wickhambrook Parish Council will undertake weekly checks on the machine at the MSC Hall supported by two other Councillors for holiday cover. The Parish Council would also like to thank those mentioned above plus of course Peter Vince who has once again given up time to co-ordinate the project. A reminder to everyone that the first machine is located at the Fire Station, Giffords Lane.

Litter Pick cancelled

The March litter pick once again succumbed to the bad weather and had to be cancelled. Not only were St Edmundsbury Borough Council unable to deliver the equipment due to the snow but the litter could not be seen to collect! It had been hoped to re-arrange the date but the weather is still against us at time of going to press and we will have to see if a settled spell makes it sensible to set another date, otherwise the summer one will go ahead after the Carnival in the usual way.

New website – plus thanks to Mdsign

We are pleased to announce that a fresh new design of the Wickhambrook website is now online for you to enjoy. The website is provided to the village by the Parish Council in conjunction with Maria Sumner of Mdsign. Maria has done wonderful work re-vamping the whole site with easy links to follow for more information on every facet of life in the village. A huge vote of thanks must go to Maria for the hours of time and attention to detail that have made this a really interesting site to visit. If you have not done so already take a look – you are sure to become a regular visitor to the site once you have done so.

Donation to School for play bark

The Parish Council all agreed to a request from Wickhambrook Primary Academy to contribute to the fund to replace the play bark in an area at the front of the school. A cheque for £500 has been sent to the school and it is hoped that the rest of the total needed to replace the bark will be raised soon and the children will once again be able to access this area.

Refurbishment of skate park

The Parish Council has been busy again offering further support to the young people in the village by a refurbishment of the skate park ramps. These were becoming unsafe due to the constant use they sustain (this is a good thing!) and the decision was made to use the contingency reserve for play equipment to renew the surfaces. Work is still to be done on the edge of the ramps and this is being programmed shortly. Lay member Roger Merry has been closely involved liaising with the supplier giving up time to have site meetings and it is thanks to this voluntary work that the Parish Council is able to provide outdoor entertainment and exercise to the village youngsters.

Skate Park Refurbishment

Vacancy for lay member

The previous paragraph is a good link to the vacancy the Wickhambrook Parish Council Estates Committee has for a fourth Lay member, due to the resignation of Mr Andrew Harris. This involves attending an evening meeting every two months and being prepared to give time to Estates matters such as safety inspections of outdoor spaces and possibly assisting with minor repairs. Thanks must go to Andy Harris for all his help inspecting the greens and with the play equipment maintenance.

If you think you may be interested in filling the vacancy please contact the Clerk for more information: either phone 01440 821861 (please note this is a dedicated line for Parish business only and a voicemail can be left) or email

Cemetery update

The Parish Council all agreed that the fencing by the footpath at the end of the Memorial Garden should be extended to offer privacy in the scattering of ashes area and for those visiting the graves in this old part of the cemetery. There will also be new signage at both gated entrances requesting that dogs be kept on leads while in the cemetery grounds.

Annual Parish Meeting – Thursday 10 May 2018 at 7.30 p.m.

A final reminder please to attend the APM on Thursday 10 May. It is hoped that clubs in the village will present reports which provide a good insight as to what is on offer to members. The Alf Hicks Biscuit Barrel Award will also be presented during the evening. This is not a Parish Council meeting but a meeting for residents of the village.

Planning:

Applications considered by the Parish Council over the last six weeks:

DC/18/0170/HH, DC/18/0170/LB Clematis Cottage, Meeting Green Single storey glazed extension to side. No objection.
DC/18/0242/VAR 4 Wickham House Bungalows, Giffords Lane. 1 replacement Dwelling. No objection
DC/18/0205/HH Celeste, Bunters Road. Garage conversion to annexe No objection
DC/18/0182/HH 22 Boyden Close. Single storey front extension. No objection

Decisions made by St Edmundsbury Council:

DC/18/0059/HH, DC/180060/LB Sunnyside House, Church Road. Garage conversion to living. Two bay cart lodge and canopy over doorway. Plus Listed Building application. Approved
DC/18/0016/HH Westering, Attleton Green. Single storey rear extension and associated alterations (part retrospective). Approved

Parish Council meetings

The dates for the next meetings are Thursday 31 May (Annual Parish Council meeting) and 28 June. The next Estates Committee meeting will be held on Thursday 14 June. The Annual Parish Meeting Thursday 10 May. All meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are open for everyone to attend.

Please note the meeting on 28 June will be held in the meeting room, All Saints Church, Wickhambrook, all other meetings in the pavilion adjoining the MSC Hall.

Would you like to find out more about Wickhambrook Parish Council