A Parish Council meeting is like an Amazonian river, calm on the surface but seething with energy underneath.
Yesterday evening I was the solitary member of the public at Great Waldingfield Parish Council meeting and I was struck by how, despite the business-like atmosphere and apparent calm, frenetic activity has been going on behind the scenes. With a bit of luck this activity will deliver a positive contribution to village life in the medium term.
Firstly there was discussion as to whether or not the replacement of play equipment on the playing field with state of the art kit, which will transform playtime for the village’s children, needs planning permission. This is quite vital because applications for funding are now reaching a crucial stage, and a huge amount of work that has been done by parish councillors, looking at different options and filling in endless forms, might have been pointless if Babergh could not confirm to the providers of funds that all was in order in the planning department.
Secondly, councillors were concerned that residents are becoming dissatisfied about the fact that the village hall has been operating for some time with a temporary floor which, it seems, has proved problematical for some. It is true that the hall has been in this unsatisfactory state for a little while, but behind the scenes a lot of work has been going on to find an environmentally friendly solution to the defunct heating system and to make other vital improvements. Finding the money has not been easy. To satisfy one provider of funds, the Chairman has had to write a 5000 word summary about the project. Not an easy task!
It is a pity that everything takes so long to sort out these days. Searching for appropriate grants and then fulfilling the necessary requirements to actually secure the money is a frustrating and long winded business. This is a side of the work of a parish council that by and large continues unseen, and for which the people involved receive little recognition.
