HIGHWAYS; the cabinet and leader of the council have agreed to extend the highways contract with Keir for an extra 5 years. At the meeting Cllr Finch cabinet member for highways was questioned in depth on this and what the advantages were.
I have included the final recommendation;
(a) that the Director of Resource Management, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Heritage, shall (on an annual basis) thereby determine any time deductions that should be made from the overall contract period (and notify Kier accordingly) until such time as two years remain of the contract, at which point it shall naturally expire.

I have passed onto to all my clerks the consultation on the new HIGHWAYS MAINTANANCE OPERATIONAL PLAN which any of you can comment on!!
HGVS; I met with Russell Morley, David Fawcett and David Irving SCC (who is taking over from Josh Kerridge) to discuss any possible solutions; it was agreed to look at an “ unsuitable for HGVs “ sign at Birds Green and other safety issues including the condition of the bridge at Lower Road.
SCHOOLS; the government has pulled back on insisting all schools becoming academies but has introduced a Green Paper on education which includes the idea of new Grammar schools.
SAFE AND SEEN IN SUFFOLK. 12,000 reflector badges given to primary school children as part of a campaign with Radio Suffolk to help keep walkers and cyclists safer as the days become darker.

MID SUFFOLK; following the recruitment process Arthur Chavonia has been appointed the new chief executive covering Mid Suffolk and Babergh.
NEW COUNCIL HOUSES; 5 new council homes have been built and handed over to tenants in Barking and Bramford. This is the first of hopefully more.
MEETING AT OWERS CLOSE; councillors were welcomed by one of the residents and the local officer from the housing association. It was agreed these were extremely well built and energy efficient. I raised the concern of neighbours about the lighting