Towards a Council for West Row

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

Editorial 2

What does

the Council

do?

2

Crucial

Crew 2018

3

Contact

details

4

What a lark

in the Lark

5

More

Pictures

6

Notices 7

M I L D E N H A L L P A R I S H

C O U N C I L

Mildenhall MATTERS A P R I L 2 0 1 8 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 2

C O N T A C T

0 1 6 3 8 7 1 3 4 9 3

To tell us your

news, telephone

us on the above

number or e mail.

clerk@mildenhall

parishcouncil.org.

uk

Website:

Mildenhallparish-

council.org.uk

FACEBOOK

Mildenhall Parish

Council

Following the campaign by the ‘West Row Action Group’ and the unanimous

support received from Forest Heath District and Mildenhall Parish Council as

part of the Community Governance Review, the formation of a new West

Row Parish Council has moved a step nearer.

Officers from Forest Heath convened a meeting at West Row Church Hall on

24th March to outline the procedures for the change. About thirty people

attended—including nine Mildenhall Parish Councillors, together with their

Clerk and Deputy Clerk, as well as the District and County Councillors. The

audience was told about the process of transition (WRexit) and it was

explained how assets, such as allotments, street-lights, playgrounds, war

memorials, trees etc, and the responsibility for their upkeep, would be

transferred to the new body. Assets currently in West Row will be adopted

by West Row Parish Council and those in Mildenhall—such as the Cemetery,

children’s play area and the Jubilee Centre—will remain the responsibility of

Mildenhall Council.

It is anticipated that the new Council will comprise nine members and

elections will be held in May 2019. However, a shadow body will need to be

established in the interim in order for negotiations with Mildenhall Parish

Council to take place and for decisions to be taken about the level of precept,

(i.e. the money collected through Council Tax) together with other

administrative details. A Clerk will have to be appointed and the new Council

will be required to draw up and agree terms of reference for any committees,

as well as standing orders relating to the conduct of meetings.

The Parish boundary will be unchanged and will be coterminous with the

existing West Row Ward. A Planning Committee will be required which will

examine applications and make recommendations to the Forest Heath

Development Control Committee. The Council may decide to form other

committees to handle the various responsibilities.

A series of monthly meetings is planned by the local group with a busy and

exciting few months in prospect for the Parishioners of West Row!

What Does the

Council Do?

What does the Council do?

Annual Parish Meeting

M I L D E N H A L L M A T T E R S

A frequently asked question. There are 15 elected Councillors representing

3 Wards. They are unpaid volunteers who work alongside the Parish Staff—

Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Office Assistants, Custodians and Groundstaff—to

manage the responsibilities associated with the role.

The Parish Council is responsible for the upkeep of certain grounds and

facilities—such as the Cemetery, the Jubilee Fields, the Jubilee Centre, parts

of the River Bank, the Old Cemetery, the Churchyard, the Allotments and

War Memorials. Additionally, we have a number of streetlights, trees and

some signs which fall within our list of assets and which need regular, and

often costly, attention.

We are not responsible for highways and footpaths, rubbish collection,

parking or the policing of anti-social behaviour. We will, however, make

every effort to make representation on these matters to the District or

County Council, County Highways or the Police, when necessary.

To help us meet our responsibilities we have a number of Committees and

Groups which meet regularly. The Planning Committee considers all

applications and can register support or an objection before passing them to

the District Council for a final decision.

The Amenities and Operations Committees oversees the facilities within the

Parish for which we have responsibility and the Establishment and Policies

Committee monitors expenditure and ensures that we remain within our

legal remit.

Editorial Comment

Mildenhall Parish Council will hold the Annual Parish Meeting on Tuesday 17th April

at 7pm in the Jubilee Centre. All members of the Parish are invited to attend.

Last year we broke from the traditional format and invited those attending to sit at

tables hosted by Councillors. Representatives from Parish and Community Groups

then gave a short resume of their activities over the previous year.

The feedback from this approach was very favourable, most people appreciating the

less formal atmosphere, and we shall be repeating the arrangement this year. Any

groups who wish to give a short (3 minute) presentation of their work and activities

should contact the Parish Clerk to book a slot. This is particularly important in the

case of groups which have received financial support through grants from the

Council so that we can see how the money has benefited the group.

There will also be a report of the activities and finances of the Parish Council and a

chance to ask questions about what has happened during the last twelve months.

We look forward to a big turnout. Refreshments will be served.

Crucial Crew 2018

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 2

The volunteer group Forest Heath Crime Prevention Panel organised Crucial Crew again this year and introduced over 500 local Year 6 children to eight fun, safety scenarios. The event was held over four days at Mildenhall Stadium and the children were bussed in from all the local schools. Mildenhall stadium kindly donated the use of the venue again and the Crime Prevention Panel Members, along with the many volunteers and the Police, guided the children through experiences such as making a 999 telephone call, first aid resuscitation, internet safety and under-standing about anti-social behaviour. The Parish Council are very supportive of this great initiative and Cllrs Russell Leaman, Ros

Hamill, Grace Bristow and Ruth Bowman all worked as volunteers, mostly guiding the children between the various scenarios. Russell helped by playing the role of the bag thief for the children to witness and give descriptions of him to the Police later. He was delighted that he was described by some children as half his actual age!

This is an annual event and the hope is to keep it going in the future for the benefit of the children, but it does take a good many volunteers to make it work. If you feel you would like to be involved next year it’s not to early to give your name to fhcrimepreventionpanel@gmail.com .

Mildenhall Parish Councillors Great Heath Ward Cllr J M Bloodworth 01638 714255 Cllr Mrs F G Bristow 01638 713967 Cllr R J Alecock 01638 711949 Cllr R Leaman 01638 515833 Cllr N Roman 01638 712679 Cllr I Shipp 01638 713742 Market Ward Cllr B J Sulman 01638 712813 Cllr Mrs J M Busuttil 01638 810517 Cllr Mrs R A Bowman (Vice-Chairman) 01638 510896 Cllr A F J Peachey 01638 510676 Cllr Dr R L Greenfield (Chairman) 01638 711237 Cllr J Lawrence 01638 428787 West Row Ward Cllr Mrs T A Gooch-Taylor-Balls 01638 715780 Cllr Mrs R Hamill 01638 715329 Cllr G H Taylor-Balls 01638 715790 Clerk to the Council Mrs N Glading 01638 713493 clerk@mildenhallparishcouncil.org.uk Council meetings are open to the public and are held on the last Thursday of each month in the Fenland Room of the Pavilion. Other Committees meet routinely throughout the year and may be attended by members of the public. Those wishing to speak at any meeting should notify the Clerk in advance. Alternatively, you may wish to raise a matter with your Ward Councillor.

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P A G E 4

Parish Contact details

M I L D E N H A L L M A T T E R S

LARK IN THE PARK 2018 Save the date in your diary for this year’s Lark in the Park: July 14th 11am until 4pm More fun than you can shake a crayfish at!! Confirmed bookings include; Zack FM Vintage cars Fairground rides Birds of prey Simulator ride Mildenhall Football Club Suffolk Lowland Rescue Craft fair Music and entertainment Food and refreshments And more to be announced!! If your local club or organisation is interested in showcasing your activities please get in touch with The Clerk at Mildenhall Parish Council.

What a lark on the Lark!

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 2

The Parish Council are working in conjunction with the River Lark Catchment Partnership who are a voluntary community group, supported by DEFRA, bringing their knowledge and expertise to restore sections of the River Lark. Very Successful projects have already been completed on the River Lark in Bury St Edmunds and at Fornham. On Saturday 24th March it was the turn of Mildenhall to make a start and the RLCP ran an open event. The whole idea was to get volunteers to come and hear about the ambition to restore 75m of the River bank along the back of the Jubilee Fields and then work as a volunteer, if desired; there was also a guided walking tour, joined by Cllr Brian Sulman, around the area to see where the work can be done and improvements made. The open event was well attended and some of those who came along dipped their toes in the water of volunteering. Cllrs Richard Alecock and Ruth Bowman both donned the waders and had a go at placing bundles of willow along the bank edge to improve the ecology for fish and insects, stop erosion of the bank and improve the flow of the river for the future. It was great fun for all those who attended and is recommended as both interesting and good exercise whilst saving the planet! If you would like to hear about how to get involved just contact the Parish for details

More pictures on the following page

P A G E 6

Volunteers working on

the Lark restoration

project

M I L D E N H A L L M A T T E R S

Don’t miss lots more pictures, together with a time-lapsed video on the Mildenhall Parish Council Facebook page. Thanks to Ruth Bowman and Richard A l e c o c k f o r t h e photographs

Notices P A G E 7 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 2

Each issue of Mildenhall MATTERS will have limited space available for local community groups to place notices about their events. We do not take adverts for commercial activities and reserve the right to restrict information which we deem inappropriate or misleading.

Mildenhall Movies. Friday 20th April at the Jubilee Centre. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30 start. Admission £4.00. ___________________________________________________________________

RAF Honington Band Concert. Date to be announced. Watch the Parish Website for further details. ___________________________________________________________________

Don’t miss lots more pictures, together with a

lapsed video on the

A l e c o c k f o r t h e

A closing thought from the Editor. The old Greek philosopher sat all night pondering long and hard, speculating on the mystery of where the sun went after dark. Then it suddenly dawned on him! If you have got this far —- thanks for reading Mildenhall MATTERS . Next issue June 2018.

Mildenhall WI meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month in the Jubilee Centre - Main Hall 9.45 for a 10am start, finishing at noon. All women welcome - join us as a visitor the first meeting is free.

*** Future events *** 17th April Sainsbury’s telling us about recycling. 15th May Annual General Meeting, quiz and games. 19th June Health & Wellbeing Event with various speakers. ___________________________________________________________________

Any organisations offering summer holiday activities for children are invited to contact the

Parish Office to enable details to be published in the next issue of Mildenhall MATTERS.

Hard copies of this Newsletter are available from the Parish Office on request.

Mildenhall Lodge is opening its doors to the public on April 21st for National Care Home Open Day from 12 noon to 4pm. The afternoon kicks off with Traditional Indian dancing, Sari dressing and Henna work from 12 noon to 1pm.,followed by 3 hours of music from the 50’s and 60’s era. The home will be dressed in the Indian flag colours as chosen by our residents, The afternoon will consist of tombola stalls, plus………….. BBQ; stall holders from Mildenhall; retired greyhounds for a meet and greet; Mildenhall Police Cadets; Sunday suppers; Body shop; sweet stall,; Indian clothing; WI Ladies; and Newmarket Harley Hogg motor cycle riders. We welcome all the community to join us for an afternoon of fun and laughter.

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