Parish council - The chair welcomed everyone to the June meeting of Oulton Parish Council at the community centre when councillors present were Tina Claxton (chair), Carolyn Gosling, Ivan Levett, Charles Swan, John Grisby, Peter Collecott and Kevin Hogdkin as well as PCs Stranks and Leggett.

Parish council - The chair welcomed everyone to the June meeting of Oulton Parish Council at the community centre when councillors present were Tina Claxton (chair), Carolyn Gosling, Ivan Levett, Charles Swan, John Grisby, Peter Collecott and Kevin Hogdkin as well as PCs Stranks and Leggett. There was an apology from Brian Hunter.

Weeding and cleaning: The chair said that de-weeding and drain clearing in the parish was now being done. Last July the council had been asked for their comments about parking in Oulton Road North and Suffolk County Council is trying to get double yellow lines put there. Regarding last month's discussion about new building development at the old ambulance station and the problems with sewage and pedestrian safety, discussion had taken place with Mr Waller and Mr Henwood who had both previously raised the matter. When the plans come in this will be discussed again. Regarding the nailing of notices to trees in Jenkins Green, the WDC tree warden said that no harm will be done to them. It was also said that there was dog fouling there. To put up signs about this the developers should be contacted.

Police report: PC Stranks introduced himself to the meeting saying he knew the area well as he had lived there for 16 years. He gave the police report saying there had been 12 crimes in the village last month, the most serious being two cases of criminal damage and three of criminal damage to vehicles. Councillor Collecott said there had been problems of vandalism in Pound Farm Drive reported, with a gang going round smashing windows and throwing eggs etc. There was also a noisy motor cycle in the Oulton area. Speeding in the Bentley Drive area was also reported. PC Stranks said he would look into these problems. Regarding problems with the filter at the traffic lights near the Aldi store he said he knew of no accidents occurring there since the filter lights were installed. If there had been, Highways would pick up on this and investigate the situation. As this was a new junction he said it took time for people to adjust to it.

New councillor: There had been an application for the post of a new councillor for Oulton from Mr John Grist, who was present at the meeting. In his letter he said that he had lived in the parish for 19 years and wanted to give something back into the village. Council would discuss his application after the meeting finished and let him know the outcome.

Plaque: Following recent renovations to the community centre Councillor Hunter had received a plaque donated by WREN to be put up there, following their contribution to the refurbishment. As the parish council had also contributed to the renovations it was asked if they could have one. Suffolk Environmental Trust were also having a plaque and Councillor Swan suggested that one plaque could be shared to cut costs, which was agreed.

Parish plan: A possible parish plan was discussed. The chair said that this had been talked about before and Councillor Swan said it would need lots of work and volunteers to carry it out as there were so many different opinions and the whole thing needed to be kept tight. Councillors were asked to think of ideas and the chair would ask Nanette Grey to speak about it.

Planning applications: Under planning applications there was a change of use from a swimming pool to dwelling areas at New House Farm, Parkhill. Another application involved building 56 houses to the rear of Oulton Road as far as Fallowfields. It was said that this was the last piece of open space in the village and was once declared by WDC as a buffer between Oulton village and Parkhill. There would be access problems and environmental issues involved as it was thought great crested newts bred there.

Oulton Marshes: The visit by councillors to Oulton Marshes was confirmed as Saturday, June 20, at 10am when they would be shown round by Matt Gooch, the warden.

Grass cutting: Councillor Swan had spoken to Geoff Young who will continue to cut the grass around the village sign. He also said that Mr Young was applying for a grant.

Felled trees: It was noted that four large trees had recently been felled on land near St Michael's Church and Councillor Levett, as tree warden, would look into this.

Road sweeping: Parishioners in Oulton Road North had complained about the lack of road sweeping there and in the rest of the parish. Councillor Collecott said schedules had been laid down for this to be done every few weeks. Councillor Levett said there had been no road sweeping in Oulton Road North for five years, partly because of parked cars.

New road: Councillor Grisby was continuing to find out when the new spine road would be built to alleviate traffic in the Bentley Drive area. He had telephoned Suffolk County Council and someone from Waveney District Council had also told him who to speak to about it. He also mentioned the house in Diprose Drive where there had been an explosion two years ago. In his opinion the property still belonged to the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society and he had spoken to someone there who was not willing to discuss the matter with him. He said the property needed repairing. The chair said she had looked at the house and it was safely boarded up. She thought that they would now have to draw a line under this and keep within the law.

Thank you letter: The chair said that following the county elections in which Allyson Barron and Malcolm Cherry had lost their seats a letter of thanks would be sent from Oulton PC to them thanking them for their past help and attendance at meetings.

The next ordinary meeting of Oulton Parish Council will be on Monday, July 13, at 10am.