Groton Alliance calls second public meeting

A second public meeting has been announced this morning by the Groton Pylon Alliance as part of its campaign to challenge National Grid’s proposal to build a new 400kV overhead power line in south Suffolk.

The purpose of the meeting will be to:-

• update the public on the expansion of the GPA

• explain what the GPA has achieved since its first public meeting

• articulate the strategy of the GPA for the next phase of the campaign

The meeting will be held at Dove Barn, Castlings Hall, Groton, Suffolk C010 5ET at 7.30 pm on Monday 23rd November.

For further details and directions see the GPA’s website at www.groton-pylon-alliance.co.uk

The GPA can be contacted on contact@grotonpylonalliance.co.uk

Tales of love and death

Well! Our visit to English National Opera to see Duke Bluebeard's Castle and the Rite of Spring yesterday evening was very enjoyable and both productions of these early 20th century masterpieces were really first rate.
I have to admit I was rather concerned since the critics, while on the whole complimentary, had made it clear that the audience was not in for a conventional evening out. One commentator implied that the two different producers were vying with one another to shock, and this can sometimes result in a rather uncomfortable audience experience.
I remember one evening some years ago at the ENO when I went alone to see Verdi's Masked Ball. Before the performance started I got talking to a very nice respectable man sitting next to me. The production was VERY explicit, and I found it cringeingly embarrassing sharing the experience with a total stranger!
Anyway, I had no worries this time. Although some aspects of the show were shocking and/or strange, as might be guessed from the men wearing dog's heads in the image from the Rite of Spring, above, I felt that there was nothing that was not justified by the nature of the underlying works.
I think that the most electrifying moment for the audience was when one of the cast lit a cigarette on the stage in the Rite of Spring. She was swiftly copied by most of the cast and clouds of smoke enveloped the first few rows of the stalls. In our new smoke free world this seemed exceptionally shocking and I came out of the theatre wondering whether smoking is now the new great taboo.

Community Walkabout in Acton

At yesterday evening’s Parish Council in Acton councillors expressed the view that the Village Walkabout, was held in the village last Thursday morning, had been a useful exercise.
Those who were out and about might have seen a troop of us marching round the village with representatives of the local police and Babergh District Council on a clear and sunny morning last week. The general idea was to have a look at problem areas in the village with a view to taking rapid action to resolve any outstanding issues.
On the whole Acton came out very well, looking spick and span and graffiti free in the November sunshine. However, discarded crisp packets were quite ubiquitous, and there was a trail of detritus across the playing field and leading round the back of the village hall. It was good to see that the dog bin in Coblers Way has been moved at last, and a Babergh community warden was on hand to remove a television that had been discarded in the bottom of a hedge in Jennens Way.
The vexed question of parking at the school was considered. This is a problem in many places as anyone who has gone past All Saints Middle School or Great Waldingfield School at around 3 pm will know. However, it seems that the no parking chevrons do extend too far, so it may be possible to create a little more legal parking space in Lambert Drive.
While we were walking round, Chris Moss, the Chairman of the Parish Council, was able to try out a speedwatch camera in the High Street. It seems that his luminous yellow jacket was something of a giveaway, since the fastest motorist clocked was only travelling at 37 mph! The Parish is joining up with other villages locally to purchase their own speed recording device which it is hoped will act as a deterrent to those who persist in racing along in 30 mph areas.
It is hoped to repeat the walkabout exercise on a regular basis.

News from the Braithwaite Trust

On Wednesday afternoon I attended a Trustees Meeting of the Braithwaite Trust. As many of you know the Trust looks after the allotments in Great Waldingfield and I am happy to report that on the whole Trust’s position, both financial and operational, remains good.

At the beginning of the meeting we were addressed by Siobhan Hemmett, our Police Community Support Officer and a colleague who is involved with the organisation of neighbourhood watch schemes and the like. They suggested that the Board consider setting up an ‘Allotment Watch’ scheme with their help. Apparently thefts from allotments have become more common recently and raising awareness may prevent further crimes.

In the summer, some of the Trustees and young members of their families worked hard to fill a skip with rubbish that was dumped on the drove road off Ten Tree Road that is owned by the Trust. In addition to waste that could be disposed of by skip, they were faced with a large number of propane gas cylinders which are less easy to dispose of safely and legally. David Floyd has spent a good deal of time and effort reuniting cylinders with their original owners at various gas companies, but is still somewhat perplexed by what to do with a cylinder of german extraction!

Horses have now taken over from the six alpacas in Mill Field, and although I am sorry to see these very attractive animals go, allotment owners have been very pleased to be able to take advantage of the horses’ ‘by products’ .

Demand for allotments remains good, but not unmanageable. In the past it has been difficult to find takers for all the plots available but this is no longer the case. It will be interesting to see whether the new fashion for ‘grow your own’ is just a passing fad or whether there has really been a change in people’s behaviour.

Finally we are all looking forward to introducing the new vicar to the joys of membership of the Board of Trustees. I am sure that she will keep us all on the straight and narrow!

Raised concerns about pylons

I am rather less sanguine than I was about the prospect of huge pylons marching close to Great and Little Waldingfield.

I hear on the grapevine that a strong challenge is being mounted against the two routes that run south of here. I have up to now felt that it goes against common sense and also against economic sense to do anything other than follow the existing route with a new line and I still feel this. However, I am less confident than I was.

John Fensom from Great Waldingfield has drawn an interesting website to my attention which has been set up by opponents to the northern routes. I feel that perhaps it is time to start more active opposition to ‘Route Four’ and I will be urging Parish Councils in Great Waldingfield and Little Waldingfield to consider joining the wider campaign. Individuals can get involved too.

To see the website go to:

See http://groton-pylon-alliance.co.uk/

Changes to rubbish collection schedules

The message below from Babergh doesn’t affect us in Newmans Green, since next week is a ‘black bin’ week, but others in the Ward will be affected!



‘Around half of the district’s residents are set for a change in their bin collections as Babergh changes the way waste and recycling collections are organised from next Monday (9 November 2009).

At the moment, each week half of Babergh’s residents have their black bins emptied while the other half have their recycling bins emptied.

To increase the efficiency in waste collection and to reduce the refuse vehicles’ carbon footprint across the district, all Babergh residents will be asked to present the same coloured bin on the same week.

Residents who will be affected by the change will receive information stickers on their bins with this week’s collection (w/c 2 November).

Cllr Humphrey Todd, Babergh’s representative on the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Waste Partnership, said: “The change will affect only those residents who are due to put out their recycling bin on week commencing November 9th.

“This will mean that the affected residents will need to keep their recycling waste for an extra week but any extra recycling waste can be put in a clear sack beside the recycling bin for collection on November 16th.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that people may experience during the change, but the message for residents for these few weeks of change is ‘If in doubt – put both bins out’.”

Following this, all residents will be back to alternate weekly collections as follows –

Week commencing 16 November – recycling week
Week commencing 23 November – black bin week
Week commencing 30 November – recycling week

Residents are reminded to please present their waste bins by 06.30am on the day of collection.

If you would like more information on any of the changes, please contact Customer Service Direct on 0845 606 6045 or visit www.csduk.com.’

That's it folks!

Section 106 - a complex issue

Recently the East Anglian Daily Times wrote an article about Section 106 agreements and I would just like to put the issue into proper perspective.
The journalist implied that councils in Suffolk were gratuitously hanging on to over £25 million of taxpayers money when they could and should have been spending it on community assets.
Would that it were so simple!
Section 106 agreements are signed between developers and the council, generally after planning permission has been granted. The grant of permission is often made subject to the agreement which is negotiated between the developers and the officers of the council. The developer deposits money with the Council (which can be the District, the County, or a combination of the two) for specified purposes intended to compensate the community for the loss of amenity caused by the development.
Thus the agreement could be for the provision of extra school places, or highway improvements, or for open space or leisure equipment. Each agreement is different and the timing of the payment of money and the purpose for which it is intended is closely defined. Sometimes, if appropriate use for the money, within the terms of the agreement, cannot be made in time, the money has to be returned to the developer, although clearly the Council will do their very best to avoid this. An important condition is that where the money is for an asset such as play equipment it cannot be for the refurbishment of existing kit, and a new project must be found by the community. This does not always prove possible.
It is important to realise that the situation is very complex, and is being made more so at present due to the fact that many housing developments are currently ‘on hold’ due to the financial climate. This means that the relevant S 106 money is also effectively ‘on hold’ and cannot be spent.
In Babergh’s case Section 106 funds amount to around £1.6m, of which nearly £500,000 is earmarked for affordable housing provision. Parish Councils and Councillors receive reports from time to time on the current status of the moneys.
We are working hard at Babergh to make the Section 106 agreements more transparent, not only for Babergh Councillors and Parish and Town Councils, but also for members of the public. The Information Management Task Group, of which I am the Chairman, recently approved the purchase of a new database which will link the multiplicity of Section 106 agreements seamlessly with other planning documents, and make sure that the agreements are easily available for reference. Eventually they should be available on the Babergh website for all to see.