ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - 2011 - Cllr Mrs Marian Andrews

As you know Mark Palman who was the Town Council Chairman from the start of the Municipal Year in May 2010 had to resign at the end of 2010 due to home and work relocation and I was elected in his place with Glynn Moye as Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the term. It seemed sensible therefore that I should combine the two reports into one for the purposes of this Annual Meeting.

Quite a lot has happened in the year 2010/11 culminating in the very hard work that has been put into trying to solve the divestment problems to the benefit of our town. More about that later. Some of the ongoing matters that we have been tackling have been-

• A resurgence of dog fouling problems in the town which Cllr. Moye has been delegated to solve.
• A deterioration in the street cleaning standards since our street cleaner had to leave his post due to family illness.
• The continuation of speeding in South Entrance.
• The need for repainting of yellow lines where they have faded due to wear and weather and the institution of more in vulnerable places where inappropriate parking is taking place.

Other matters which have taken the attention of the Town Council and which are still ongoing are –

• The commencement of work on the Tesco site which I think will bring with it some traffic concerns and may need more than a re-phasing of the traffic lights (there have already been complaints about the difficulty of crossing Church Street since the Factory Shop opened last Saturday!). This may be solved by the establishment of a right turn filter opposite the pedestrian walkway to Waitrose car park.
• Use of the old Primary School site (The County are applying for a revision of their outline planning permission).
• The restoration of the drought garden down one side of Fromus Square (this has been promised by Waitrose if they get permission to extend their store).
• The Town Council's ownership of Fromus Square .
• The Town Council's management and control of the Wednesday Market (this will only happen if it proves financially viable to the Town Council).
• Installation of CCTV cameras in various parts of the town (BOS is the lead partner in this project).
• Completion of the Hopkins Homes development on Church Hill with subsequent establishment of a riverside walk and refurbishment of two derelict retail premises in the High Street.
• A change to the format and style of Saxmundham News.

Some very good things have been happening in and around the town this year –

• The Beccles loop is going to happen – this will provide better and more frequent train services for visitors and commuters alike and has, for a long time, been on the ‘wish' list for many of us.
• In spite of changes to the bus services and the withdrawal of some services, the new Demand Responsive Transport Service seems to be working well.
• The High Street has very few empty shops – in spite of the deep recession which is affecting us all, our retailers and small businesses seem to be doing well and this is due in no small part to the hard work of our rejuvenated Business Association.
• We hope that the town will look well dressed again this year through Saxmundham in Bloom; this is in spite of the fact that we are not entering the Anglia in Bloom contest, due to the economic climate.
• We have received a great deal of help over the last few months from Community workers assigned to us by the Prison Service. They have done very useful work and, we hope, have learnt something themselves from their involvement with us.
• In spite of the necessary change of date due to Easter falling so late this year, last weekend's St. George's celebrations went well. The Food Fair in the Hall and the Charity Market in Fromus Square were both well attended as was the Quiz on Friday evening. The parade was enjoyed by all those who took part and the service had a slightly more serious note than for some years with a special emphasis on commitment to public service. Most of our Scouts were at another service in Woodbridge but the good news for them is that due to the efforts of Cllr. Damiral White and others their Scout Hut is being rebuilt – perhaps next year's St. George's Parade could be a celebration of that achievement? However, there was a good turnout from the Guides, Brownies and Badgers and it was also good to have the presence of our M.P. Therese Coffey, and her delightful dog, during the afternoon. Our thanks to Simon Nicholls, the Lay Reader from Kelsale who took the service in the absence of a Vicar for Saxmundham at the present time. We are looking forward to the new incumbent's arrival in the summer and hope that he will become involved in the life of the town and Kelsale. Thanks also to Glynn Moye and his team who did all the arranging for the events this year.

There will a reduced number of Town Councillors in the new term, down from 14 to 11: these will be selected by an election from 13 candidates. The Town Council has much important work to do in the coming year and every successful councillor will be expected to pull their full weight. I feel that Simon's address yesterday about the value of “commitment to public service” came at a timely moment.

The Town Council will be heavily involved in, at the very least, maintaining the standard of public commitment which we have attempted to set over the past four years. The New Strategic Direction and the Big Society about which we have heard so much in the past few months will require the efforts of us all if we are to save vital services which take such an important place in the life of our town. We have already succeeded in saving the Youth Club, at least for the time being, while we search for more funding to continue the work beyond this coming year. Saving the library services is likely to be a more complex task but groups set up to help the Town Council to save both are already working hard on these projects. Of course, the ideal solution would be for the County Council to think again about the policy of cutting front line services such as these but, assuming they don't, we are doing everything we can to prepare to take over the responsibility in part, if not completely.

Finally, my thanks on behalf of you all to those Councillors who have served for the past few years, particularly those who are leaving - Col. Ron Warren, Mark Palman, Barry Jones and Bryony Peall. A special thanks to our Caretaker, Alan, who has really been a “star” during the time he has worked for us but who has had to relinquish his post due to ill health. And, of course, our thanks to Maddie, our Town Clerk who will tell you that she has a lot to put up with from her councillors but still comes back, day after day, for more!

COUNCILLOR ATTENDANCE AT TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS