New website for Go Start

Go Start Community Transport, that provides vital local transport services in the Sudbury area has a new website.

The site is easy to use and gives full information about the services that Go Start offers.

Go Start works for anyone who is unable to use conventional bus services or other means of transport through disability, isolation, affordability or availability.  It operates within a 7 mile radius of Sudbury.

If you think you could use Go Start, and many are eligible, click on this link for information and more.

John Philips, the founder of Go Start with Phyllis Jones

Some healthy developments

Walnut Tree Hospital, once the Workhouse!

At Chilton Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday there was an update on the situation with regard to the prospects for various National Health owned properties around Sudbury.

It was re-iterated that, contrary to what has been reported in the press, ‘contractors will be on site’ in the Spring at the new Health Centre Site in Church Field Road, Chilton.  It is important to get the work started before birds take it into their heads to start nesting , and it was (jokingly perhaps) suggested that a man with a gun would need to take up a position on the site to see them off.   

Although this is not encouraging for birdlife, it is good news for all who have been looking forward to seeing the facility become a reality.

Scepticism and doubt with regard to the intentions of NHS management over the new centre are unsurprising given the history of previous disappointments related to the previous hospital site on the inappropriately named 'People's Park'.  Controversy continues to rage, with a sense of injustice being felt by those who think that the NHS should not be allowed develop the area for anything other than health facilities.  After all, this was what they committed themselves to do when the land was purchased from the community almost 30 years ago.

 Many are of the opinion that the financial windfall from the proposed housing development on the site has been achieved through a combination of delay, prevarication and deception.   The authority ought of course to put things right by selling the land back to the community.  They will only do this however after the site has had the benefit of planning permission!  This pushes the cost beyond what is affordable, and so many Sudbury residents sense that they have been wrongly deprived of a valuable and rare stretch of green space, in a town where open spaces are at a premium.

'People's Park' with welcoming NHS sign!

On a brighter note, plans are in the pipeline to develop both the Walnut Tree Hospital and St Leonard Hospital sites for housing, and public exhibitions etc. will be organised in due course.  There is a suggestion that the outpatients unit (where you now go for all those blood tests) may be the focus for community asset provision under a Section 106 agreement.  A community/church hall is possible, as is a space for the conservation of Sudbury archival material.

With all these houses planned on attractive sites close to the centre of Sudbury, one wonders who on earth will want to buy the homes at Chilton Woods!

A bright spot on a dull Monday

To Lavenham on a gloomy Monday morning to attend the first of Hugh Belsey's spring lectures on Art History.

This year Hugh is focussing on a masterpiece a week until the middle of March.  The paintings are billed as key works in the history of art.  The first offering was Piero de Francesco's enigmatic work 'The Flagellation of Christ', reproduced above, painted in 1440 or thereabouts.

Not just a stunning picture, and lesson in the theory of perspective, the work is split into two distinct halves. Art historians have spent decades discussing what the picture means.  Of particular interest and mystery are the three characters standing to the right.

Hugh rehearsed the different theories and gave us many interesting historical and aesthetic insights.  Spending an hour with this wonderful painting certainly perked up what might otherwise have been a gloomy post Christmas January morning.

Hugh continues his series next week when he will be focussing on The Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyke. The talks are held every Monday morning at 11.15 a.m. at the Guildhall. (£9 per ticket to include coffee and congenial pre and post lecture conversation.)  Seats are limited so if you are interested be sure to arrive promptly.  There is no lecture on 11th February.

Government funding...when a plus is actually a minus

When I first eyeballed the numbers that came out from the Government just before Christmas setting out Babergh and Mid Suffolk's expected grant in 2014/15 I was quite encouraged.  The figures seemed to be in positive territory, in a sea of minuses elsewhere, which was encouraging to say the least. 

After the New Year I contacted Babergh’s finance officers to find out whether my optimism was well founded  only to be told that the much quoted number has been ‘dressed up’ by the Government, and that in fact significant cuts in absolute terms will continue over the next few years. 

I find this very puzzling, and will take time once everyone is back to work and firing on all cylinders to try to understand why a positive number in the government tables translates into a negative number in reality.  The complexities of local government finance are such that I am expecting to have to put a wet tea towel round my head and think quite hard for a while…but, if I manage to work it out,  I will try to communicate the results of this exercise to you in due course.

Whatever the funding situation at Babergh, it seems that yet again across the board rural councils have lost out in favour of more urban areas.  The Rural  Services Network’s latest newsletter has reported that a coalition of some 140 rural councils has called upon Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, to think again about the funding balance.  They are threatening a judicial review of the settlement in the light of its unfairness.  The level of services received in the countryside is very poor relative to those delivered to urban areas.  The latest news will do nothing to reverse this trend,  and it is time to redress the balance.

New Year warning from Suffolk Police

Police in Suffolk are urging residents to be vigilant against distraction burglars following a spate of incidents across the county on Wednesday 2nd January.

At around 12.30pm  a man visited a residential property in Park Road, Sudbury.  When the female resident, who is in her 70s, answered the door, the man said he needed to read the gas and electricity meter.  When the lady challenged him about this, he left abruptly, getting into a dark coloured, dirty, four-door saloon and leaving in the direction of Waldingfield Road.  A woman was seen in the passenger seat.  The male suspect is described as white, in his late 40s, around 5'10"-6' tall, of medium build, clean shaven, with short, dark hair.  He was wearing dark clothing and a puffa style jacket.

Calls relating to this incident, or any similar experiences, should be made to Suffolk Police on 101 reference SU/13/21

Following similar incidents in Lowestoft and Ipswich the same day residents are reminded to follow these simple crime prevention measures to avoid becoming a victim of a distraction burglary.

1.LOCK – Keep your front and back doors locked, even when at home.

2.STOP– Before you answer the door, stop and think if you are expecting anyone.  Look through the spy-hole or the window to see who it is.

3.CHAIN – If you decide to open the door, put the door chain or bar on first. Keep the chain or bar on while you are talking to the person on the doorstep.

4. CHECK– Check their details and identity before you let them into your home.  If it is someone claiming to be an official, ask for and carefully check their identity card

Babergh, Suffolk, the World. What does the year ahead hold?

A winner in 2013?

Well, looking back at last year’s Year Ahead pieces I am pleased to say that, as far as predictions went, in some respects,  I managed to do better than the previous year. In early January 2012  I called the results of three out of the four big election results correctly…with Boris, Vladimir Putin and Sarkosy all winning or losing as anticipated.  However I did fail when it came to the result of the US Presidential election.

2013 will see fewer elections globally, although in the Autumn Germany goes to the polls.  It is a hard one to call, but I will stick my neck out and say that Angela Merkel will manage to form a coalition once again.  If she does so, she will be on the way to becoming the longest serving female head of state in Europe and the second longest serving German Chancellor after Helmut Kohl.

On the economic front, I anticipate that 2013 will be a year of continuing global growth, almost entirely fuelled by the fast growing economies in the Far East and Latin America.  The UK will see little in the way of recovery as government cuts finally start to bite.  This won’t do the Conservatives much good in the opinion polls, and I was too optimistic last year about the continuing popularity of the coalition.  However, the Conservatives are doing better than most governments at this stage in a parliament.   I was also wrong last year to predict that some of the weaker European countries would leave the Eurozone.   Governments on both sides of the Atlantic have all managed to ‘kick the can’ (an awful phrase) further down the road, and avoid economic meltdown.  It remains to be seen if this can be achieved indefinitely however.

I was too gloomy about the impact of the Olympics on the nation, and I am very pleased that I got that one wrong!

As far as Babergh is concerned my predictions were more or less correct, although I was wrong about Council Tax being frozen. After debate, and despite government inducements, we decided to increase the tax by the maximum amount permitted without triggering a referendum.  I expect that this will happen once again in 2013/14, and that a lot of other councils will join us this time.   The amount per month involved per household is very small, we are taking steps to protect the poorest households, and the need to conserve our small tax base remains pressing.  The two year pay freeze for staff is expected to come to an end which will put more pressure on our finances.   Last year, despite some pressure, short term car parking in our towns remained free.  I really hope that this perennially attractive source of funds stays firmly off the agenda next year given the state of the retail sector and the need to continue to invigorate our town centres.

Last year’s themes of continuing closer co-operation with Mid Suffolk District Council and financial pressure will persist in the current year.  We will also put the finishing touches to our joint Strategic Objectives, which will look much like our previous ones, albeit with a bit more emphasis on supporting economic growth.  Those of us who are conservation minded in the broadest sense will need to fight to ensure that the protection of our environment, built and natural, is given sufficient prominence in the Plan.  No economic growth is likely if we wreck what is good about South Suffolk.

Last year I predicted that the emphasis on growth in planning policy would lead to some poor planning decisions and this was certainly been true in the case of Chilton.  A resolution of the Prolog issue should be forthcoming in the first months of the New Year, and I will be covering it in detail on this site.  My opinion on this issue (see Prolog tab above) is well known to readers and nothing that has happened since conditional planning permission was granted in May last year has changed my mind.  In fact I feel that my doubts and concerns have been confirmed as the attitude of the company has become clear.

Finally, 2013 sees elections to Suffolk County Council on 2^nd May.  I expect that the Conservatives will hold the balance of power once again, but with a reduced majority.