Richard Kemp’s page
(County Councillor)

Monthly report to the parishes

Parish Report May 2007 Councillor Richard Kemp Tresco New Road Long Melford Suffolk CO10 9JY 01787 378149 richard.kemp@councillors.suffolkcc.gov.uk

Return to "Local Organisations " | Return to Village Front Page |
Previous reports : | Apr07 | Mar07 | Feb07 | Jan07 | Dec 06

Warning about dodgy doorstep dealers

With the warmer weather encouraging doorstep callers onto our streets, the County Council's trading standards department are warning residents to watch out for bogus 'once in a life time deals'.

Trading standards advice to the public is:

• Don’t agree to any work at your doorstep
• No offer is ever so good it won’t be repeated.
• Don’t be pressurised into accepting work.
• Ask yourself, does the work really need doing? If so, shop around and get some quotes before signing up to any work.
• Are there personal recommendations from friends and relatives you could use instead?
• A good trader will give you time to consider his estimate.
• A good builder is always in demand and does not need to chase work by knocking on doors. 
• You have a right to cancel any contract signed on the doorstep within seven days.
• You must be given a cancellation notice with any work. If you are not, the contract is void and no one can force you to pay.
• If you are concerned about the work or offers of building work, call Consumer Direct on 08454040506

Have your say on sand and gravel workings in the county

Sand and gravel is necessary for the building of new homes, schools and roads.  Sufficient deposits of sand and gravel are being identified for extraction at new or extended quarries in Suffolk over the next 15 years.

Potential sites have been submitted to Suffolk County Council for inclusion in the Minerals Site Specific Allocation Plan. Initial public consultation on these sites took last summer, and the County Council has now undertaken an assessment of each site, to include ecological, landscape, highways, noise and social impacts. Comments are invited on the assessment results, prior to the selection of the preferred sites in September.

Suffolk County Council is also formally consulting with Suffolk residents on the council's preferred core mineral policies which will be used to guide the location of minerals development in the county until 2021. The Core Strategy options have already been subject to extensive public consultation and a preferred strategy has now been developed, prior to submission to the Secretary of State in September.

Ensuring that restored quarries contribute to bio-diversity is one of seven proposed development control policies within the Core Strategy designed to protect and enhance the environment during and after mineral working.

Both reports, with supporting documents, can be viewed and commented on through the Suffolk County Council website www.suffolk.gov.uk or at Endeavour House, the county council's headquarters in Ipswich, the main offices of the seven district and borough councils in Suffolk, and at libraries throughout the county.

The closing date for comments is 28 May 2007.

County Cabinet to decide school review implementation plan           

At its meeting on 10th May the Conservative Cabinet at Suffolk County Council will be approving their implementation plans for the schools organisational review. It is proposed that the first areas which will undergo the change will be Haverhill and Lowestoft. 

The proposals will go to consultation with all interested parties after they have been approved by the Cabinet, with a final report on the consultation and proposals going to the Cabinet in Spring 2008.  Work will then begin on implementing the changes in 2009.

The papers are available via the county council website: www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/sor or directly through this link: http://apps2.suffolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/committee_xml.cgi?p=doc&id=1_9451&format=doc  [note: this downloads a 38-page paper in MS Word format (.doc)]

Unitary Ipswich Bid           

At its meeting on 24th May the County Council will discuss the unitary bid of Ipswich Borough Council and the response it will send to government consultation.

The consultation asks people to consider the extent to which the Ipswich proposal, if implemented, would achieve the following:

• Be affordable
• Provide stronger leadership
• Improve public services
• Empower local communities
• Deliver value for money
• The Ipswich proposal must also be able to demonstrate a broad cross-section of support for the change.

The final decision from the government is expected in June/July.

Top of this page

Return to "Local Organisations "

Return to Village Front Page