District Councillor’s Report for August

I hope the warm weather as enjoyable as it is has not proved too uncomfortable and that the temperatures are not proving too much to bear, it’s a challenging time in terms of ensuring water levels do not drop too far and the recent wildfires in Dunwich with the amount of resources required just to contain the spread of the fire are concerning. This is an area which is the equivalent size of 210 football pitches overall that have been destroyed.

It emphasises the importance of tackling the climate emergency and a general acceptance of the way weather patterns are changing within the world.

I was sad and sorry that two pubs within the Peninsula at The Oyster Reach (In early Sept) and The Freston Boot have had to close their doors, it goes without saying how important to jobs and to the community these are.  All pubs and restaurants are under a lot of inward and outward pressure, any assistance from local authorities and national government is needed, that’s very clear.

In July’s Babergh meeting there was a unanimous vote to preserve the conservation of East Bergholt with such historic heritage sites for example at Willy Lots Cottage so to have a conservation plan will be protective of such characteristics is welcome news for the village and it’s ability to attract tourism both locally and nationally.

Green Members of Suffolk County Council were protesting about the undeclaration of the climate emergency last month, to undeclare the climate emergency at such a high level of local governance is risking not having the correct infrastructure to cope with climate emergencies which I’ve already highlighted, at the very least having a robust plan going forwards is absolutely necessary and this doesn’t lead by the correct example in my perspective.

The fire crews tackling the blazes require additional equipment to successfully put them out and this has been acknowledged by the Fire and Rescue teams at Dunwich and a spokesperson for the Fire Brigade’s Union Richard Beeby has said we do not have the correct PPE, firefighters and engines needed.

At the end of July, I was part of the Licencing team at Babergh to ensure increased hours for planned activities at The Swan Inn at Stratford St Mary could go ahead, the management of the pub and restaurant already has a good reputation by all frequent patrons who visit it’s doors so that was a big factor when considering the additional licence for extending the hours. There were also good facilities on site including large parking bays and mitigation of noise levels throughout normal hours and an assurance that this will continue. The pub has been managed well throughout the decade long tenure of its owners.

Finally, I have donated the year’s locality budget to Shotley Peninsula’s Cricket Club who play at Tattingstone’s Playing Fields to have a new sightscreen and scoreboard.  Cllr McLaren at Stour Valley has also donated a significant proportion of her locality budget as well. 

This will enable the club, which already has players across the Peninsula district to realise their potential as a thriving club with the addition of these facilities for its matches. There has been a lot of on field success and having these extra facilities will harness the club’s potential in the Peninsula Community.

 

I also have to report Peninsula Locality Officer Rachel Cattermole has stepped down with a replacement as yet unannounced but a great deal of thanks must be paid for the projects undertaken by myself and other Peninsula Councillors for her valuable assistance provided throughout the last couple of years, she is moving departments within Babergh District Council so whatever her new role will entail I wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

 

Babergh District Councillor for Orwell

Daniel Potter