Spring Clean at Chilton

Peter Clifford, Chairman of Chilton Parish Council, tells me that the Chilton Spring Clean that took place on Saturday was a great success.

‘42 large black bags of rubbish were collected plus assorted sheets of plastic, car parts and planks of wood. 15 volunteers from around Chilton took part over three and a half hours and we cleaned up all the way from St. Mary's Close to the Carbonels at Chilton Corner, a distance of 1.1 miles. Also thanks to our first class Community Warden, Bradley Smith, who helped me organise things and provided the equipment.

‘We also recovered a wallet containing a driving licence and credit cards and this was passed to the Police. The Police have already notified the owner and while the credit cards have been long since stopped he was relieved that they had not been used for illegal purposes.

‘What interested me was that the youngest person taking part was 44. Whilst it was not an activity for small children next to the road, I do wonder whether all the environmental messages are really getting through at the schools and where were all the younger generation?

‘ I also read in my news magazine this week that that floating island of rubbish in the Pacific now covers a continuous area of 540,000 square miles - that's six times the size of the UK! Now that's a growing horror story that is reflected in our own environment where part of the population continues to foul its own nest!

Food for thought there I think! Our excellent Community Warden, Bradley, is pictured above with the rubbish and the scene below shows some of the volunteers working along Waldingfield Road.

Bells and Books at Acton Church next Saturday

Next Saturday, 20^th March, between 10 am and 4 pm, there will be a book sale at Acton Church . There will be the opportunity to hear the Church's fine peal of bells ringing out from time to time during the day.

Last year the quality of the books on offer was very good. My husband Nick was delighted to be able to acquire a complete set of the memoirs of the great lover and confidence trickster Casanova. There are six volumes of the set and as can be seen from the photograph above arranging them in the correct order on the bookshelf creates an exotic impression that always elicits a comment from visitors!

Do go along. I’m sure you’ll find some reading for the Easter holidays.

Help offered with car park patrols.

I could not help but be amused when I, presumably along with other councillors, received the advertisement above on my Babergh e mail within days of the Council's decision to charge for long term parking in Sudbury and Hadleigh. The e mail's title was 'Do you suffer from Car Parking Problems?' a question that must have struck a chord with many of us.

Hexagon Parking Control were certainly quick off the mark in asking a very timely question. However, I do not expect Babergh to be using wheel clamps or dispensing with the services of the 'Terminator' any time soon.

Boris rallies the troops

I have spent most of today at the Conservative Local Government conference in London. The mood was reasonably upbeat although I thought that David Cameron’s voice was a bit hoarse. He probably needs a rest from constant speaking engagements.

David Cameron’s message was that an incoming Conservative Government would increase the transparency of local councils by obliging them to publish every item of expenditure over £500 on the web. He acknowledged however that, unlike MP’s, councillors allowances etc. have been publicly available for some years. He also promised to increase the power of elected representatives by doing away with non elected decision making bodies such as the East of England assembly and other quangos and moving decision making closer to the local community.

I hope we will get the chance to see these commitments become reality.

The star of the conference was inevitably Boris Johnson, who, while expressing complete confidence in a Conservative victory at the General Election, likened the party’s current position to Odysseus’s arrival home to Ithaca after 13 years of travel, Hilary’s ascent of Everest in 1950, or the last few minutes of the 1966 World Cup. Of course everything could have gone horribly wrong. The Greek hero might have found Penelope in bed with one of the suitors, Sherpa Tensing might have dropped a crampon at the crucial moment, or England might have scored an own goal...but they didn’t!

This optimism, together with his description of Liberal Democrat policies as ‘cake...they are pro having it and pro eating it’, enlivened the assembled councillors no end and they really looked quite animated as they made their way to their break-out sessions.

News on delayed projects from Chilton Parish Council Meeting

Many people have been wondering what has been happening in respect of Chilton Woods the massive development that is planned north of Sudbury . News has also been a little sparse in respect of the new health facilities in the Town.
Some information was forthcoming about both of these issues at Tuesday night’s Parish Council meeting at Chilton.
As far as Chilton Woods is concerned, Ashwells, the developer of the site, was put into administration at the end of last year for being in breach of its loan covenants when Lloyds took a look at the loan book that it had acquired with HBOS. The company’s ‘viable’ assets were transferred to a new company called Brookgate, and it is understood that these include those relating to Chilton Woods . However, it is understood that no land at Chilton has actually been purchased to date by the developers, so what we are talking about here is just plans, agreements and aspirations.
Lloyds are shareholders in Brookgate, as are some former directors of Ashwells, and it seems that the scheme is still alive. Given the state of the housing market at present, with first time buyers having to negotiate quite high hurdles to obtain funds, I would not hold my breath with regard to the first planning permission reaching Babergh however. Unfortunately this has serious implications for Babergh’s affordable homes pipeline.
There is more certain news about the health facilities. It has still not been decided which of the two potential sites, the old Walnuttree Hospital, or the new site on Church Field Road, will ultimately be selected but a decision should not be too far distant now as the final assessments and reports are currently being prepared. The 12 NHS managed beds in Sudbury are to close, but these are to be transferred into the private sector where they will continue to be financed by the NHS. Members of the PCT Locality Group have visited a number of nursing and residential homes in the Sudbury area and negotiations are in hand to find suitable private beds to replace those previously provided by the NHS.

Latest from 'Toads on Roads'

Wildlife correspondent George Millins writes:

'The amphibians have started their migration back to their breeding ponds, so the 'Toads On Roads' rescue scheme takes up most of my evening. In case you are not familiar with this scheme, it requires volunteers armed with a good torch, high vis jacket and bucket, to patrol roads where they dissect amphibian terrestrial habitat from their breeding ponds. The plan is: to pick up amphibians, whether they are toads frogs or newts and take them across the road to their breeding pond to reduce road kill.

Without this scheme many populations would, no doubt, become extinct, but it is difficult to get volunteers. I have two occasional volunteers but desperately need more help along Folly Rd., Great Waldingfield, for about 200 mts. either side of the school pond.'

If you can help George please let me know.

Protecting new play equipment in Great Waldingfield

On 22 February work began on installing exciting new play equipment on the playing field in Great Waldingfield. Since the sun is shining today I have taken some photos. As can be seen there has been good progress made at the site already.
Unfortunately the project has been plagued by some vandalism. The fencing was tampered with over the weekend and the swings pulled down from their ‘safe’ position.
I have to say that I do despair. However, the police have been informed and both our PCSO, Siobhan Hemmett, and the Safer Neighbourhood Team Sergeant, Liz Ireland, have been made aware that there has been a problem. I will ensure that the matter is also raised at the next Babergh West Safer Neighbourhood Team Priority Setting Meeting which is to be held at Acton on 18th March at 11 a.m. This should ensure that the area is regularly patrolled.
I hope that this will do the trick in the short term and expect that when the equipment is fully installed people will keep an eye open for further trouble. I am sure that the kit will be much used and valued by the community and would like to think that this alone should serve to keep the mischievous at bay.