In addition to any announcements made at the meeting, please see Paper BC/18/26 attached, detailing events attended by the Chair and Vice-Chair.
Minutes:
64.2 The Chairman then invited Councillor Ward to present his report as follows:-
1) Firstly, the Leader on behalf of the Council welcomed Councillor Hurren back from his recent illness and wished him continued recovery from his heart surgery.
2) The Leader on behalf of the Council, congratulated Councillor Arthey and Councillor Patrick on being shortlisted at this year’s LGiU and CCLA Councillor Achievement Awards, to take place on 6th November at the Guildhall in London. Councillor Arthey had been shortlisted for the Place Shaping and Environment Award and Councillor Patrick had been shortlisted jointly with Councillor Glen Horn from Mid Suffolk for the Finance and Transformation Award. There were nearly 200 nominations this year and so this shortlisting was a fantastic reflection of their calibre. The Leader wished them both the best of luck.
3) Since the last Council meeting, the Leader reported that he and Cllr Osborne had held another three further Q&A sessions around the district – in East Bergholt, Long Melford and Gt. Cornard. East Bergholt was challenging, with 152 fairly angry residents in attendance. Most were there to listen as they wanted to understand, with only one or two who were unwilling to accept anything that was said. As expected most of the questions were about planning policy with a few additional topics raised. The Leader and Deputy Leader had taken away a list of 12 points to follow up and had since been in correspondence with Mr Dent, one of the leading lights behind the Action East Bergholt group, about progress on these points. Mr Dent had since written to the Leader as an East Bergholt resident, having reflected on Saturday’s meeting and also taking account of what so many people have since shared with him had concluded that the meeting with a packed assembly of villagers was very ‘successful’ He also had reiterated the need to maintain dialogue, which the Leader had promised to do.
The Leader then went on to say that Long Melford, in contrast, had been disappointing as nobody had attended the meeting. Gt Cornard had also been a bit disappointing. The concerns that had been raised were mostly highways-related. But residents were also interested in the plans for Hamilton Road and keen to hear of the progress with the Baker’s Mill footpath bridge.
The next Q&A session would be a return to Lavenham on Saturday, followed by Pinewood, Capel and Brantham.
4)The Leader reported that the Stars of Babergh and Mid Suffolk awards had been held in St Mary’s Church, Hadleigh. The event was a great success and was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The venue was wonderful – the church had been transformed for the evening – and the food was excellent. There were some inspiring stories of what businesses, community groups and individuals had achieved in our districts, and the winners were genuinely surprised and pleased at being nominated and then winning. The Leader passed on his congratulations to the winners, and express his thanks to all the nominees, the officers who organised the event and particularly the sponsors who had supported the event so generously.
5) The Leader paid tribute to a long- standing member of staff Linda Sheppard, who was retiring on 27th November after 32 years of service to Babergh for her efficiency in supporting both Councils. Councillor Beer presented a gift on behalf of the Council and Councillor Bavington also paid tribute to Linda thanking her for her support and kindness over the years she had been at the Council.
64.3 At the invitation of the Chair, Councillor Bryn Hurren made a short statement to Council thanking them for all good wishes and support during his recent illness.
Supporting documents: