In addition to any announcements made at the meeting, please see Paper BC/22/6 attached, detailing events attended by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
Minutes:
18.1 The Chair referred Councillors to Paper BC/22/6 and also informed Councillors that she had attended an event earlier in the day in Framlingham to mark the official start of Suffolk Day.
18.2 The Chair also draw Councillors’ attention to the forthcoming Armed Forces Day event due to be held in Hadleigh on Thursday 23rd June.
18.3 Councillor Ward made the following announcements:
Gt Yarmouth Market
It was a busy month for me. It started on the 1st with an invitation to the official opening of the first phase of the new market in Great Yarmouth. The total project cost was £4.6m, partly funded by the council but also with Future High Streets Fund support. The town was bustling and thriving, having had a bumper tourism season last year due to travel restrictions and expecting similar this Summer. It was bit galling that they are category 1 for the Levelling Up Fund, which they hope to take advantage of, while we languish in category 3.
And on the evening of the 1st, I was invited to attend a major road accident training exercise by the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service at Assington Autos. This was their biggest training drill in two decades and it was very interesting to see the detail and complexity that goes into a response – and to see the variety of equipment that they can draw on to help the victims and save lives.
Jubilee
Like many of you, I attended several Jubilee events in my ward, all of which were very well attended and enjoyable. The weather threatened on the Sunday, but it did remain dry, if a little chilly. We had about 200 at the Polstead beacon lighting on a warm Thursday evening in an idyllic location with views across to Stoke by Nayland where we could see their beacon.
6th June
On 6th June, along with Cllr Davis, I was invited to the mast lowering ceremony at HMS Ganges. After several years of inactivity, this site is now on the way to being redeveloped into a vibrant new community with residential, commercial, retail and leisure facilities. The mast will be renovated and returned to its position at the centre of the site.
Later, I watched the Women’s Tour speed through Raydon in a slight drizzle at lunchtime as I headed for Shimpling to see Mount Farm Vineyard with Cllr Holt and Michelle Gordon. They have a great idea for a tourism theme linking all the vineyards along the Stour valley. This would sit well with the artistic and heritage offerings in Babergh.
Sudbury
On Thursday last week, I attended the preview of the ‘What’s Next for Sudbury?’ exhibition. A lot of work was put into this, and it is gratifying to know that is was so well attended over the three days it was on. There was a total of 442 visitors – members of the public, business representatives and county, district and town councillors. We have had a huge amount of positive feedback. The online survey is open until 18th July.
On Friday evening last week, I attended the official opening of the Sudbury Innovation Lab in Borehamgate. This is part of our Innovate Local initiative and offers businesses a co-working space, access to cutting edge technologies, business support services, funding advice and network opportunities in the heart of the town. It opened to businesses yesterday.
LGA Annual Conference
Next week I will be attending the LGA Annual Conference in Harrogate with Cllr McCraw. This is the first time this has been held as a physical event since 2019 and I am looking forward to seeing many of my colleagues in person for the first time in a long while. I will provide a summary of what took place on my return.
Net Zero Carbon Toolkit
I just wanted to take a few minutes to let you know about the Net Zero Carbon Toolkit.
This was commissioned by local authorities in Oxfordshire and funded by the LGA Housing Advisers’ Programme and has been made available to be adapted and shared by other local authorities. The Suffolk Climate Change, Environment & Energy Board has taken the opportunity to publish it for the county and earlier this year SPSL approved its county-wide use.
It has been created to make Net Zero carbon new build and retrofit more accessible for all building professionals and is also relevant to self-builders, planning officers and other housing professionals. Although it can be used by homeowners, it is aimed at those who already have some knowledge or experience of construction.
The primary focus is on small to medium scale housing projects, but the principles are generally applicable to projects of any scale. It covers all stages of building design and construction, including maintenance and operation.
Suffolk Day
As our Chairman has already mentioned, today is Suffolk Day and yet again we have had the perfect mid-summer’s day for it. This year it is particularly special – not just because we can enjoy it fully for the first time in 3 years, but also because it is part of the ongoing Festival of Suffolk, the county’s own special celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Gavin and Cas
And finally…I just want to mention two of our SLT who will be leaving us soon. I know Jan will be saying a few words about Gavin later. We will miss his professionalism and hard work – he has built a great team in what is a very large and complex Housing service. Yesterday’s excellent all-member briefing has given us all a great insight into what he has achieved. Cas, too, will be sorely missed. The Environment service is also wide-ranging and complex, made more so with all the new work we are doing as we face the climate change and biodiversity challenges. Her enthusiasm and humour have made working with her a sheer delight.
I think I speak on everyone’s behalf in saying that we will miss them both greatly and wish them the very best for their new challenges at Ipswich Borough Council and East Suffolk Council.
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