News from the Chairman May 2010

At the recent AGM, I was elected Chairman of Saxmundham Town Council for the coming year, having spent the last twelve months as Vice Chairman. It is indeed a great honour to have been entrusted with this position, and in taking over this role, I would like to express my thanks to Barry Jones, the outgoing Chairman, for all his endeavours over the past year.

The year ahead promises to be an exciting, and yet challenging time for Saxmundham, with so many crucial developments beginning to take shape. Firstly, development of the Reef Estates site at Church Street has finally received approval from Suffolk Coastal District Council after more than a decade of planning applications and revisions, which will now lead to demolition of the eyesore which has greeted visitors to the town from the east during this period. As you will no doubt know by now, a new supermarket, to be occupied by Tesco, plus three smaller retail units will be constructed on the site. We have already met with Tesco representatives, and will continue to liaise with relevant key personnel from all organisations involved with this development throughout the construction stage to ensure that issues of concern to Saxmundham residents, such as facilitating increased traffic levels, are addressed.

The year 2012 may be associated nationally with the London Olympic Games, but for us here in Saxmundham, it will also see the closure of our Middle School, as the county moves to a uniform two tier education system. The Town Council gave its full support to the Middle School in its fight to remain an educational establishment, but despite having waged a superb campaign, the school's Governors recently decided to accept the closure, and we respect their decision. This, however, now moves us on to looking at a different use for the school site, and with this in mind, we will be throwing our weight behind the excellent plans put together by the Saxmundham and District Community Interest Company (SADCIC) to turn the building into a Community Enterprise Centre. Those who turned up at the recent SADCIC public meetings will have seen the impressive plans to turn the site into a top quality venue for community activities including internet café, sports facilities, conferencing rooms and much more. It is without doubt a true once in a lifetime opportunity to enhance the social quality of life in this town, especially for the younger members of our society, and we really have to work together to make this happen.

This is your town and your Town Council, so please feel free to contact me, or the Town Clerk, if you have any issues you wish to be raised. Full Town Council meetings are held at the Market Hall on the second Monday evening of each month. Everyone is welcome to attend, and to contribute to the meeting during the public forum.

Mark Palman

Summer 2009 (report from the Clerk)

Cllr Barry Jones was elected as the new Chairman at the AGM on the 11th 2009 with  Cllr Mark Palman as the Vice Chairman.  Sincere thanks go to Cllr John Fisher the retiring Chairman who continues to work tirelessly for the Town Council and remains a Councillor.

Spring 2009

It is hard to believe that we are already nearing the end of my second term of office as Chairman, and it is time to pen another foreword for Saxmundham News.  The Council elects a Chairman annually at its May meeting.  Although there is no legal limit on the number of years a person may hold the post, in Saxmundham we have traditionally served two years, so perhaps I will soon be able to retire to the back benches.

I hope that the spring weather we are enjoying while I write this will still be with us when you read it.  As you will see our Saxmundham in Bloom team are already busy fundraising and preparing for this years display and I am looking forward to another colourful year.

On page 11 of Saxmundham News you can read about the work being done to rejuvenate our play areas and the visits we are now receiving from the 'Go with the Flow' youth bus.

You will find details of the programme which has been arranged for your enjoyment over the St. George's weekend on our events page of this website.

May I also invite you to attend our Annual Town Meeting at 7.15pm on 20th April when we receive reports from the schools and other organisations, and you will all have the opportunity to raise issues of concern.

Autumn 2008

I would like to start this foreword by thanking all those involved in getting Saxmundham blooming again this year. As you will have seen, we have received Silver Gilt in our category of the Anglia in Bloom Awards; a step up on last year's Silver. Well done to all of you. The Saxmundham in Bloom team will always welcome additional help, so if you wish to contribute please contact the Clerk.

  I also want to thank Victoria Burdett for all she has done during her term as Councillor, particularly for the younger people in the town. She has recently resigned for personal reasons and we have co-opted David Willett of the White Hart Hotel to fill the vacancy.

  Like many other local authorities we are spending a lot of time deliberating on how the Boundary Committee's proposals for reorganising local government in Norfolk and Suffolk will affect us. By the time you read this, the consultation period will be over and the Committee will be preparing their report for the Government who will decide early next year what action, if any, to take on the matter.

  Finally, I hope I will see many of you at the events planned for the sixth Annual Saxmundham Arts and Entertainments Festival, of which you will find more details on pages 18 & 19 

Spring 2008

I hope when you read this we are still enjoying as good weather as we have been up to the time of writing it. The early spring is getting us in the mood for doing things and the Saxmundham in Bloom team have been busy raising money for this year's display. At their wine tasting in February, Alan George, as well as being an excellent caretaker for the Market Hall, revealed hidden talent by winning the competition with his knowledge of grape varieties.
In January three of us attended the Felixstowe Youth Forum to observe proceedings there with a view to starting something similar in Saxmundham. These meetings are run by the young people themselves and we were very impressed with what they are doing. We have also met with local schools and will report on this project in the next issue.
We have just co-opted Bryony Peall onto the Council to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Sheridan Trotter-Langlois. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sheridan for his contribution and welcome Bryony to the role.
In the centre of this edition you will find a pull-out supplement with a programme of the events arranged to commemorate St. George's Day. As this falls on a Wednesday, these take place on the previous weekend, 18th to 20th April. Please do try to support the events that the organisers are working hard to put on for you.
We are currently planning an information point to be placed outside the Market Hall for the benefit of both residents and visitors. In the meantime the Town Clerk will be pleased to assist you with your enquiries.

January 2008

Welcome to our new edition of Saxmundham News which we have brightened with some colour. I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to former Councillor Gerry Wright for all the work he has put into the compiling of this magazine for the last five years. With the new electronically produced version we have brought the production in-house and it is now being done by the Clerk (as if she didn’t already have enough to do). See the latest news here.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 100th birthday celebrations of Saxmundham resident Jimmy Balls. Mr Balls was chairman of Saxmundham Urban District Council in 1957/58, the year in which Wilfred Pickles recorded an edition of his radio programme “Down Your Way” in the Market Hall.

We now need to look forward to the next hundred years and Councillor Moye has suggested we initiate a Youth Council for Saxmundham. To this end we will shortly be attending a Youth Council meeting in Felixstowe to see how things are run there. The idea is that the new Youth Council will have some say in the spending of part of our budget thereby directing it to some of the things that they themselves would like.

By the time you read this we will have decided the Town Council precept (our portion of the Council Tax) for the coming year and this is likely to be in the region of £47,000.

May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very Happy New Year and we look forward to assisting you with any matters that may be causing you concern.

John Fisher (Chairman)
Saxmundham Town Council