Parish Council meeting - A meeting of Corton Parish Council was held in the village hall on September 1. David Butcher was in the chair and those attending included county councillor Bruce Provan, district councillor David Coulam and seven members of the public.

Parish Council meeting - A meeting of Corton Parish Council was held in the village hall on September 1. David Butcher was in the chair and those attending included county councillor Bruce Provan, district councillor David Coulam and seven members of the public. Christine Round was introduced and welcomed as the new parish clerk. Mr Butcher announced the resignation of Valerie Russell and said a letter of appreciation for her services had been sent. He pointed out that only six of the nine places on the council were filled and appealed for residents to come forward to fill the vacancies.

The chairman announced that after lengthy negotiations, the county officer and village representative Steven Pavey had come to an agreement on two important conditions for the sale of the village hall site, namely that the school would be bought on a 99-year lease and that the bowls club would be allowed to stay for an extra year, until 2013. The former condition would allow the hall to revert to village ownership in the event of a future change in educational policy, while the latter would allow adequate time for the replacement of the bowls green and facilities. All relevant bodies had been informed and the agreement had been approved at a later meeting of the County Development Control Committee. It was agreed that the parish council would seek to waive the requirement to advertise the sale of charitable assets for a month as the village's valuers were satisfied that no higher offer would be received. Waiving the requirement would help overcome the delay caused by the initial reluctance of the Charity Commission to recognise the council as the hall's official trustees.

With other projects now completed, it was expected that Waveney Play Officer Simon Walker would soon be available to make his recommendations for play equipment at the Pit.

The Parish Plan was now ready and limited copies were available at the meeting. In order to give the public full access to the contents, it was proposed to publish the plan on the village website and in monthly sections in Coastline magazine. Developments on ongoing matters, such as the school, would be added at a later date.

PCSO Sue Kershaw wrote that up to August 25, there had been cases of criminal damage at a holiday park, a caravan park and at Baker's Score, where there had also been an attempt to resist arrest. An attempted break-in at St Bartholomew's Church had damaged a window at the western end of the church. In addition there had been a theft at a holiday park and a case of wounding with intent at a caravan park.

Mr. Butcher reported on the playing field proposal to build dugouts on the Mills Drive side of the field. The caravan rally in July had been enjoyed by all the participants and �672 had been raised for playing field funds. Dog fouling had decreased, thanks to the vigilance of the village dog walkers' group. An area now under rubble would be cleared and levelled to provide extra parking spaces and reduce the need to park in Mills Drive. It was also reported that the committee had commissioned a specialist sports company to produce a feasibility study for future developments on the field.

For the Poor's Land Trust it was reported that the wardens had given notice of their retirement. Eighteen applications had been received, of which six had been shortlisted and would be interviewed the following week.

Reporting on the northern parishes meeting, John Burford outlined a scheme by which the police offered training and equipment for monitoring the speed of traffic to teams in the parishes concerned. The scheme would require the participation of each parish and at least three volunteers in each team. All residents would be eligible for the teams and they would not operate in their own parishes.

Answers to questions in the public forum made it clear that the bowls facilities would be replaced and that the Charity Commission had made the replacement a condition of the sale. The county had no obligation to provide a new green and the cost of the replacement would be met from the proceeds of the sale of the present site. Mr Pavey said that he had already talked with a company who could supply a functioning green within the specified time. Mr Butcher said that the re-planting of some trees in the grounds of the sewerage works would take place, though in some areas species of butterfly not found in a woodland environment flourished. It was confirmed that Suffolk would not sell agricultural land in the parish for the purpose of new sport facilities.

Sponsored ride - St Bartholomew's Church will be open from 10am to 5pm tomorrow to welcome visitors taking part in the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust sponsored cycle ride. Sponsorship or donations would be much appreciated by church organist Rachel Cossey, who is cycling on behalf of the Corton church.

Church services - On Sunday there will be a service of sung eucharist at St Bartholomew's Church at 9.30am. The morning service at Corton Methodist Church at 11am will be a service with sacrament, led by Rev R Seales.