Sutton Parish Council - AGM
14th May 2024
Chairman’s Annual Report
After a record year of rainfall, I write this report in the middle of another warm spring, lets hope the storms and heavy rain is behind us and we can all enjoy our wonderful gardens in the village.
A number of us have had the pleasure of welcoming grandchildren into the world and as the cycle of life continues and the sad loss of elderly family members.
Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II we all joined in the various celebrations on the Coronation of The King and The Queen on the 6th May last year. Annual and regular gatherings continue to take place with our Church services, harvest festival, the ever popular residents Christmas drinks and closer to Christmas the village carol service. The community continues to raise funds for our church, charities and support food banks through the Carol singing, Sutton 49ers and the January Quiz night. Many thanks to all those who make these possible.
Other gatherings include the monthly Coffee Morning and what seems to be the very regular village ladies Sinners dining and Ginners drinking evenings. Come on gents we need to get our act together!
Some residents have moved on and we welcome Donna and Colin Blake at number 4 Graeme Road to the village.
We have had a change in the council team with Dr Mike Caskey joining us to replace Ann Burden who stepped down due to personal workload. The council team and I would like to thank Ann for her time and commitment towards the council and village as a whole.
The year has once again been very busy for the Parish Council dealing with a number of matters on behalf of the residents:
The A47 Dualling
It shocked me when I looked back through my old notes to realise my first dealing with National Highways on this was in late 2016. At last in 2023 pre construction work started with further borehole geology and a significant amount of Archaeology surveying. The latest date we have is a late summer start for primary construction when all pre planning conditions will have been fulfilled. We are aware of ongoing funding issues and cost overrunning with all the preliminary work.
Wansford Road(Sutton) railway station
The A47 dualling project route alignment meant the former WR station building needed to be demolished and 2 groups put forward proposals to move and rebuild the building in a new location. One was within the parish and the other at Rail World in Peterborough. A consistent lack of transparency and legitimate engagement with the Parish Council by both National Highways, who had compulsory purchased the building, and Peterborough Planning Dept was significant. Despite demands by our Ward Councillor, Parish Councils and individuals the decision to award the building to RailWorld was taken. A very sorry tale of local democracy at its worst. Following a considerable amount of time and effort, particularly on the part of resident Robbie Reid, we lost the battle to keep the station in its original home parish.
Village Habitat Improvement Project
Last year we received a grant of £8600 from Highways England Social Value Fund towards this important environmental project. This is our part in the John Clare Countryside Habitat Improvement project.
Almost 6000 spring flowering bulbs were acquired and planted by residents and volunteers around the village. Over the coming years as they get established we should be proud of our spring display and of course the food it gives to the important insect world.
As part of this project we have also planted over 600 hedging whips and started the process of hedge laying on the west boundary of the recreation field. This ongoing hedge management process will not only provide improved nesting sites for birds but also a secure corridor for small mammals. Once the new pathway and seating along the hedge line is sorted it will provide an excellent vista over the river.
Recreation Field
As described above we continue to improve the fauna and flora habitat and note new species of plants every year. Thanks to Peter Lee for managing many of the tasks along with supporters from around the village. We have also had support of volunteers from Perkins Engines and Peterborough Road Safety Dept.
Habitat improvements for wildlife also include the human population and we were also awarded another grant for £9900 towards the fabulous gazebo we can now see alongside the eastern footpath. To complete this we need to purchase the new seating for the interior which should be in place within a few weeks
Field Garden Allotments Sale(South Allotment)
Progress on this has been very slow due to land registry complications however, I am pleased to confirm this is now completed allowing us to proceed with sale of the land.
The Proposed Muslim Burial Ground
Following a residents meeting on this subject it was decided to set up a sub group to the Parish Council to look into the establishment of a village Neighbourhood plan(see next section). Following some conversations with both the land owner and the burial ground management company everything has gone very quiet. To date no pre planning application has been made but we know this issue has not gone away and we will continue challenging this as appropriate.
Peterborough Local Plan and Sutton Neighbourhood Plan
At the same time the Muslim Burial Ground arose Peterborough City Council(PCC) began the process of reviewing its 30 year Local Plan. As part of the review process and to increase the potential housing bank, during the call for “new land sites” for development, over 60 plots have been put forward by land owners adjacent to the village boundary. Additionally and partly within the parish boundary to the north of the A47, land to provide over 5000 homes and some employment areas has been put forward during the call for land process.
With the pressures from the above the Sutton Neighbourhood Planning(SNP) team was established in June last year as a semi-independent extension of the Parish Council to focus on a Neighbourhood Plan which would give us a greater say in potential planning development in and around the village.
To spread the workload Simon Scriven agreed to chair the SNP team of 4 other residents and 2 members of the parish council. Meeting of the group takes place every few weeks and the first major output has been the first public meeting and SNP Questionnaire, the results of which are currently being analysed and summarised before being released to the residents. It was pleasing to see that over 95% of the residents responded and the results will set the direction and contents for the first draft of a plan.
Other ongoing challenges:
• Rabbit population control.
• Litter, now a regular thanks to our resident “Wombles of Sutton” for the ongoing clearing of rubbish.
• Fly Tipping, again an improvement on previous years especially at Muck Hole Corner since the hedging was opened up and cleared.
• Speeding in and around the village especially with delivery drivers and trades people working at various residents.
• Reading Room replacement.
• Although this has improved, sadly dog poop left around the village and in the recreation field is still an issue.
Enjoy the summer and the rest of the year
Mick Grange
Chairman - Sutton Parish Council