Posts Tagged 'Rachel Eburne'

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Development incentives?

Published June 11, 2014 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

Haughley field and housesMid Suffolk District Council has launched a public consultation on the first stage of setting it’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This is effectively a charge placed on development which will be levied sometimes instead of, and sometimes in conjunction with, S106 agreements. (S106 is the current system when a developer makes a payment to mitigate the impact of the development so called as it is detailed under Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990)

The CIL charge is levied per square metre of building and monies collected go towards infrastructure both locally and across the district that would be needed with any new development. Parishes will receive 15% of this to spend within their Parish and 25% if they have a Neighbourhood Plan. They are being encouraged to agree a “list” of items on which they would expect to spend CIL monies. Despite this percentage figure, the funding will still be relatively small (for one house built, the Parish may receive £750 for example.)

Planning Policy at Mid Suffolk expect that the charge will have two levels, high and low. Broadly speaking low will cover areas where development is currently being encouraged (such as Stowmarket and areas along the A14 particularly towards Needham) and high will cover elsewhere. Note that developments already with planning permission are not affected and strategic sites will be covered separately.

Further consultations will follow with the CIL expected to be adopted by April 2015: although given the amount of centralised planning policy changes in the last few years, this may still be changed again.

 

Broadband developments for Haughley Green

Published January 20, 2014 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Tags: , , ,

Displaying Broadband cabinet (600x800).jpgOn Friday I received an important update from the Better Broadband team at Suffolk County Council and there are some significant developments regarding broadband in our area.  This is, in part, due to the overwhelming pressure placed on the Council, BT and others by members of the public.

 The major issue for our area has been that we were told BT would include us in their commercial upgrade but the reality is that for most of us this has not happened (as many suspected at the time).  Additionally some areas in Suffolk were not covered either by a commercial upgrade or the publicly-funded intervention area.

These two areas are now being addressed by a new procurement process which starts today.  The public consultation for this will be in the Spring with the new contract being signed in the Summer and work commencing before the end of 2014.  I will do all I can to help bring these dates forward (as much as the procurement rules allow) but, in the meantime, will advise you when the public consultation is open.

Say “No” to A14 toll

Published November 7, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

With the news that Suffolk County Council are planning to provide £1m in subsidies towards a tolling scheme for the A14, the Green Party believe far more should be done for public transport and safer roads.

http://midsuffolk.greenparty.org.uk/news/a14-subsidy-should-be-spent-on-public-transport-and-safer-roads-say-greens.html

 

Why do people drop litter?

Published March 24, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

This month there were community litter picks in Haughley and Wetherden – volunteers targeted roads leading into the village centres to give them an annual tidy up. Thanks to everyone who came and helped but why do people drop litter? One young volunteer helped pick up rubbish from the edge of Haughley playing field and from that alone 2013-03-16 12.07.35403002405five bin-bags were collected including one just of plastic bottles and one just of glass. And this is on a site with two waste bins nearby. Still it all looks tidier – for a while.

Broadband – fibre optic cabling…

Published November 14, 2012 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Tags: , , , , ,

Many of you will have noticed various vans along the roads installing cabling.  The current installation is of fibre optic cable, running from Stowmarket, to Haughley and then via Haughley Green to Bacton.   For the next stage, this needs to be connected up to the cabinets for improvements in line speed.

 A planning application has been made to install a new cabinet just round the corner from the existing cabinet next to the bus shelter in Haughley (next to 2 Station Road).  This cabinet serves most of Haughley and Haughley Green.  I understand that that this cabinet will be fibre-enabled and, once in place and “live”, will greatly enhance broadband services in the area.

There is no date for this work (the application goes before Haughley Parish Council next week) and in a similar situation it was some months between installation of the cabinet and the fibre becoming operational – however a step in the right direction!

With regards to the Suffolk-wide Better Broadband project, I have raised our concerns that properties on the edge of Haughley and in Haughley Green may be at risk from not being part of the project nor benefit from the BT investment.  I’ve been told that these concerns have been “taken on board” and will be included in the contract discussions.  In the meantime I understand Suffolk County Council is still waiting on the EU decision as to how the public funds can be used.

Car park review in Mid Suffolk

Published October 19, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Mid Suffolk District Council is reviewing car parking facilities in the district – including the six car parks in Stowmarket for which you have to pay.  Mid Suffolk is asking:

  • are current charges appropriate?
  • are the long stay and short stay designations adequate?
  • is there sufficient car park capacity in Stowmarket?
  • should alternative forms of management of the car parks be considered?

Stowmarket is a small market town and needs people to shop there.  In the current economic climate we should be encouraged to shop locally and use the local businesses.  Giving drivers an hour free or implementing Stowmarket Town Council’s idea of “free after three” would help I feel.

What is important to you?

Published September 6, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , ,

With the need for longer-term planning in order to minimise financial pressures, Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC) is asking local communities (residents and businesses) what services the council should or should not be providing.  Information gathered will help to prioritise the council’s work in the future.

MSDC are asking questions such as “What’s good about living here?; What do you want to change?  What community facilities are being well used and also under-used?” and also “What should the Council be doing more – and less – of in the future?”

Discussions with many residents have highlighted the following issues.  Which of these do you feel need the most attention?

1. Having an efficient rural transport system

2. The need for safe foot/cycle-paths (and lower traffic speeds)

3. Access to high-speed broadband

4. Price of heating oil and also petrol

5. Employment opportunities for young people

6. Affordable housing for local families

7. Volunteers to run local clubs and services

And are there any specific issues businesses have that MSDC can help solve?

Please let me know your thoughts.

If you want to understand more of the detail, please get in touch.  You can also respond directly to MSDC via the council’s website www.midsuffolk.gov.uk.  (Look for “Community Engagement 2012”.)

May news

Published May 10, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

Planning: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is now in place. This is 49 pages of planning policy to replace thousands of pages of national policies. One of the main principles is for a “local plan-led system” and at Mid Suffolk District Council there are the current Local Plans and Core Strategy documents which should be in line with the NPPF. Part of this, and in line with the Localism Act, is the creation of Neighbourhood Plans. This is for our local communities to decide whether to produce a Plan to suggest what development they might want in the area. It is a complex process and Mid Suffolk is currently working through ways to help.

While there is a reduction in paper the actual planning process is still in place and those involved will look at how the NPPF is interpreted in relation to day to day planning decisions.

Haughley Playing Field equipment: Mid Suffolk were pleased to be able to contribute a small grant towards the fundraising efforts for new play equipment on Haughley Playing Field. This has been a great effort in getting all the funding necessary and preparing the ground ready for the equipment to be installed in time for the Jubilee weekend.

Broadband Progress

Published March 22, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , , ,

At the Suffolk Better Broadband conference in Bury St Edmunds earlier this month (two years after the need for better broadband was recognised), we were updated with the progress of the bid to provide decent broadband speeds across the whole of Suffolk.  I was assured, by political leaders, county council executives and project coordinators, that the hard to reach areas with little or no service (such as Old Newton and Haughley Green) would be dealt with first.

Overall the plan is for the contracted supplier to begin work by the end of this year and entire project is expected to be completed by March 2015.  The conference heard that the hard to reach areas would be addressed within the first six months of the contract (ie: by June 2013 at the latest) and the other easier to reach areas would follow.  We were told the coverage would be a combination of technologies and may involve existing providers.

More immediately, residents of Haughley may have noticed work going on in the village including the installation of a new telecoms cabinet on Windgap Lane.  This is part of the upgrade to the Stowmarket exchange that will, in the next few months, lead to an improvement in fixed broadband services in Haughley and hopefully beyond.  We are told that this work has been brought forward due to local pressure.

When the upgrade is complete, retail providers will be advised and will then contact their customers with news of any changes or upgrades in service.

The Suffolk Better Broadband team are still asking if residents could complete their survey (www.suffolk.gov.uk/broadband ) as the more people that complete this, the more the suppliers will see the demand and want to invest in the project.  If you haven’t already completed it, the deadline is 31st March.

 

March news

Published March 2, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

The budget for 2012/13 has been finalised at Mid Suffolk.  The recommendation to councillors was to accept the Government’s council tax freeze grant of £136,000.  It is noted that, as this is a one-off grant, this will mean a difficult year in 2013/14 when further reductions in Council funding are due.

At the same time, recommendations were made with regards to the extra debt councils are being asked to take on.  As part of the Government’s reforms of council housing finance, local councils have to take on their share of the national housing debt.  In return they get to keep the rent income rather than return some of it back to the Government – albeit with conditions attached.

The snow in February had some impact on the waste services and there was a delay in many bins being collected.  The brown bins were not collected while the waste team caught up with collecting the black bins.

Contact me

rachel.eburne@midsuffolk.gov.uk tel: 01449 673311 or 07768 460 108

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 8 other subscribers

Follow me on Twitter

Links

Mid Suffolk District Council

Mid Suffolk Green Party

Archive