Procedural Information for the Annual Parish Meeting
- Election of chairman
Cllr Riddick nominated Cllr Bilverstone for the role of Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Fletcher. Cllr Bilverstone accepted the position. Agreed by all. - Cllr Bilverstone signed the declaration of Acceptance of office and advised there were no updates to the register of members interest form.
- To elect a Vice Chair
Cllr Bilverstone nominated Cllr Riddick for the role of Vice Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Pugson. Cllr Riddick accepted the position. Agreed by all. - Cllr Riddick signed the declaration of Acceptance of office and advised there were no updates to the register of members interest form.
- To appoint a responsible financial officer
Council unanimously agreed to appoint the Clerk Amanda Jackson as the Councils Responsible Financial Officer.
Apologies for Absence
No apologies were received.
Members Declarations of Interest and Dispensations
- Declarations of interest from Councillors on items on the agenda. Cllr Mouncey declared an interest in item 9 Lower Farm planning application comments.
- No written requests for dispensations for disclosable pecuniary interests were received.
- No requests to grant dispensations as appropriate under Section 33 of the Localism Act were received.
Approval of the Minutes Tuesday 7th April 2026
The minutes of the Council meeting on Tuesday 7th April 2026 were agreed, approved and signed to stand as an accurate record of the meeting.
Report from RAF Honington
The Clerk reported that RAF Honington have not appointed a community liaison officer but are hoping to later this year.
Meeting Open for Questions from the Public – 15 Minutes Total
Thanks were given to the council for placing the no dogs signs in the children’s playground.
Report from County Councillor Rebecca Hopfensperger
Cllr Hopfensperger did not attend the meeting.
Report from District Councillor Andrew Speed
Cllr Speed did not attend the meeting.
Council to Consider Formulating a Comment in Relation to Lower Farm, Troston Application
After discussion council agreed to delay commenting until further in the process when more information will be available about the planning application at Lower Farm.
Council to Consider Removing the Broken Bench by the Telephone Box
After discussions council agreed that because the bench is broken and the concrete is crumbling that it needs to be removed. Cllr Bilverstone proposed removal of the bench by Martin Jackson, seconded by Cllr Fletcher. Unanimously agreed.
Council to Agree the Following Resolution, Following Unity Trust Guidelines
Council agreed that they have read and acknowledged the terms and conditions for the bank accounts, agreed to the telephone and internet banking declaration and have agreed to the declaration. Councillors agreed to the monthly bank fee of £7 per month with Unity Trust Bank.
Finance
- Council approved and signed the payments and receipts authorisation sheet circulated prior to the meeting.
- Council approved and signed the bank reconciliation report circulated prior to the meeting.
- Council conducted its annual review of reserves and earmarked funds and agreed to keep each earmarked reserve with no changes. Cllr Bilverstone proposed moving an underspend of £377.18 from the 2025/26 budget to the general reserve, seconded by Cllr Riddick. Unanimously agreed.
- Council confirmed plans for the underspend for 2025/26 budget Cllr Bilverstone proposed moving the underspend of £377.18 from the 2025/26 budget to the general reserve and creating new reserves for Training, Election and Troston Woods seconded by Cllr Riddick. Unanimously agreed. The table shows the new reserves.
- Council considered the cost of installation of an extension pole to be supplied and installed by Suffolk Highways for the new vehicle activated sign at a cost of £630.00. Cllr Fletcher proposed, seconded by Cllr Mouncey. Unanimously agreed.
- Council considered adding Councillor Peter Riddick as a bank signatory to view, verify and release payments to give dual authorisation of payments. Cllr Bilverstone proposed, seconded by Cllr Fletcher. Unanimously agreed.
- End of year accounts
- Council to consider the report from the internal auditor and note any recommendations – The Internal Audit report was delayed. Council agreed to review recommendations at its June meeting.
- Council to consider, approve and sign section one, Annual statement of the 2025/26 AGAR – Due to the internal audit report being delayed this will be discussed in the June meeting.
- Council to consider, approve and sign section two, Accounting Statement of the 2025/26 AGAR – Due to the internal audit report being delayed this will be discussed in the June meeting.
- Dates for exercise of public rights - Council confirmed the dates for the exercise of public rights will be Wednesday 3rd June to Tuesday 14th July 2026.
- Council to consider the statement of variances – Council reviewed the statement of variances and had no questions.
- Council to review and approve the Annual Bank reconciliations – Council reviewed the annual bank reconciliations and had no questions.
- Council to confirm AGAR is complete and be submitted to External Auditor – Due to the delay of the internal auditor report this will be added to June meeting. Cllr Fletcher proposed approval of all of 12g, seconded by Cllr Pugson. Unanimously agreed.
Good Governance – Continuing Procedural Items for the Councils Annual Meeting
- Council reviewed the approval of the use of variable direct debt to pay West Suffolk council for bin emptying, Information Commissioners Office (data protection), HMRC PAYE. The use of a fixed Standing Order for the Clerks salary and approved.
- Council reviewed the Asset Register and had no questions.
- Council reviewed its insurance cover and compared against the asset register to confirm Council are adequately insured. There were no changes.
- Council conducted its annual review of Privacy policy, Complaints policy and IT policy. There were no changes.
- Council considered introducing an accident policy circulated prior to the meeting. Cllr Bilverstone proposed adopting, seconded by Cllr Pugson. Councillors voted 5 in favour, 0 against and 1 abstention. Cllr Norris would like a separate document of the procedure if an accident should occur, the Clerk will provide. Cllr Norris also mentioned that there is some fencing and cones in the village hall shed that belong to the parish council. The Clerk will investigate.
- Council re-adopted the LGA Code of Conduct,
- Council reviewed its Standing orders and Financial regulations and there were no changes. Cllr Bilverstone proposed approval of all item 13, seconded by Cllr Riddick. All but item 13v unanimously agreed.
Playground/Playing Field
- Playground inspection report - Council considered the playground inspection report, there were no new reports. Cllr Fetcher had located a very small area of burring on the fence the Cllr Bilverstone will file down.
- Update on any works carried out – Cllr Bilverstone advised that the no dogs signs were now placed on both gates of the children’s playground. Cllrs Pugson and Riddick plan to lay the grass matting under the gate in the children’s playground in the next few weeks.
- Review of the Annual Village Meeting findings – The Clerk had circulated a list of suggestions from residents to add to the playing field gathered at the Annual village meeting on 14th April 2026. Council will discuss at a future meeting.
- More play equipment
- Large/mature trees in the BMX pump track location
- Outdoor gym equipment – 2 requests
- Raised bed for growing vegetables
- Picnic bench in the children’s play area
- Sign positioned in the carpark advising Troston Playing field please treat with care/rules
- Pétanque - ball game like boules
- Allotments
- Dogs on leads
- Willow hedging
- Willow structures
- More seating areas in locations around the field x 4 requests
- A level path leading through around the field
- More trees and picnic area
Village Matters/Maintenance
- Update on works at Troston Wood - Cllr Pugson updated Council on the work carried out with volunteers at the wood on 18th April 2026 actions taken:
- 3 steps were filled with the 2 bags of gravel, more gravel will be needed for the remainder
- Brambles were cleared away from some of the path edges
- Clearance around the stile and that entrance.
- Cutting down of broken silver birch that was balancing on some other trees, used the branches to line any paths that required it.
- Cut several dead tree branches over hanging the paths.
- Troston wood - review of the circulated report submitted by tree warden
Councillors reviewed the report received and discussed. Councillors decided to review again once more solid information was available about the boundaries. - To consider next steps for a new parish council website – Cllr Pugson and the Clerk advised council of a meeting with Suffolk Cloud to discuss a new website. Cllr Pugson proposed commissioning Suffolk Cloud to provide a new website based on the example shown in the meeting at a cost of £450 to include migration of data, hosting and providing 7 Cllr .gov email addresses. Seconded by Cllr Fletcher. Unanimously agreed.
Clerk Report
The Clerk advised receipt of a thank you from Suffolk Families Together for the grant of £100 for their Little Flyers 0-5 years old play group. They advised they had put the money towards a new dolls house. A Thank you had also been received from Ixworth Surgery Patients Association for the donation made last year of £200. West Suffolk Council are running a planning training course on Monday 18th May 2026 and Troston Parish Council have been allocated 2 places. Cllrs Bilverstone and Fletcher have confirmed attendance. Cllr Pugson would like to attend if another space becomes available.
Councillor Reports and Items for Future Agendas and Correspondence for Action or Information
- Cllr Pugson advised there is an area in the old wildflower section of the playfield near the 5 bar gate that is colourful with wild flowers – could we advise the grass contractor not to cut. Councillors agreed the Clerk will advise.
- City Fiber has advised road works in Church Lane in June, the Clerk reported they had advised that access would be granted during the period of works.
- Cllr Mouncey advised that during his new councillor training he was made aware that loans for larger projects were available with a very low interest rate specially for parish councils. The Clerk will find out more information.
- Cllr Mouncey asked about the history of the parish council providing wifi access at the village hall. This was discussed.
Correspondence for Action or Information
None
Date of the Next Meeting
Annual Parish Council meeting - Tuesday 2nd June 2026 at 7pm
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9pm.