the council

Bildeston Parish Council has Members with a wide range of skills and backgrounds. The Clerk to the council has many roles, providing advice to the council on law & procedure, administrative support and implementing decisions and policy council has made. The job of the council is to represent the interests of the whole community. Discovering the needs of all groups in the community including the young and elderly is an important part of a Councillor’s work. Parish Plans can provide a valuable opportunity for local people to “have their say". Parish councils can: give views on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish; undertake projects that benefit local residents; work in partnership with others to benefit the parish; advise relevant authorities of problems or action that is needed and help the other tiers of local government to engage with, and understand their local communities.

Current Members:

Mr Richard Lester (Chairman) Tankard House Wattisham Rd Bildeston Ipswich IP7 7EG	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text44426 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 744120
Mr Andrew Guttridge (Vice-Chairman) 3 Copt Hall Cottages Ipswich Road Bildeston Ipswich IP7 7BH	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 741673
Mrs Joanne Cartwright 86 High Street Bildeston Suffolk IP7 7EA	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 741116
Mr Paul Cousins 55 Wattisham Road Bildeston IP7 7EG	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 744360.
Mr Robert Lindsay 147 High Street Bildeston	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 741959
Mr David Dempsey 21 Newberry Road Bildeston Ipswich IP7 7ES	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mr Robin Taylor 4 Copt Hall Cottages Bildeston Ipswich IP7 7BH	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 741421
Mr Neville Tye Four Seasons Chapel Street Bildeston Ipswich	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 741368
Parish Clerk Mrs Valerie Allard 3 Market Place Bildeston Ipswich IP7 7EN	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01449 740849
Responsible Finance Officer (RFO)	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Structure:
A council can arrange to have its work carried out by a committee and delegate its powers to a committee.
Bildeston Parish Council does not employ any committees at present. It does however, from time to time, appoint working parties to explore certain projects such as ‘Cemetery Improvements’ or ‘Appointment of Clerk’. A working party will collect information regarding the best and most cost effective way to achieve the desired end result. It will then advise the Council who make a final decision on how best to proceed. Working Parties have no executive powers.

For further information on committees and working parties, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lead contacts: We have Lead Contact for certain services or community groups, these are listed below.

Community bus (LAMBS) & transport		David Dempsey
Footpaths		David Dempsey
Litter & environment
Street lights		Robin Taylor
Wattisham Airfield liaison		Richard Lester
Ton Class liaison		Neville Tye
Chamberlin Hall		Andrew Guttridge
Sportsfield
Adventure playground, Chamberlin		Paul Cousins
Allotment holders
Baptist Church		Paul Cousins
Kings Pightle nature reserve		Robin Taylor
Parochial church council		Richard Lester

Parish Council Meetings are held monthly in Chamberlin Hall, Bildeston usually on the second Monday of the month. Provision is made for an additional meetings to deal with planning applications (as a consultee) if and when the need arises.

Agendas for meetings are published on the Parish Council notice board affixed to the Clock Tower in the Market Place and circulated to Members and other interested bodies/organisations. There is a commitment to publish the agenda and accompanying papers on the parish council web site www.bildeston.org in the near future.

Services in the village

Allotments

Allotment gardens are located off the High Street on the northern end of the village. The land is privately owned and is leased to allotment holders on an annual basis.

Contact: Mrs Pauline Squirrell (owner) - 01449 740720 for further information.

The allotments are accessed via a footpath, there are no car parking facilities.

Chamberlin Hall (Village Hall)

Chamberlin Hall is located in the centre of the village off Wattisham Road. It has a range of first class facilities for whole community, it is home to several local clubs and organisations. It is operated by a committee of “Management Trustees”. Bildeston Parish Council hold the title to the land and are “Custodian Trustees” only. Contact: Mrs June Taylor – 01449 740995 Secretary (email)

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Large car park and fully accessible.

Coronation Playground, Wattisham Rd

This playground located in Wattisham Rd on the North East edge of village is targeted at the 11-16 age group. It consists of approx 1 acre of grass and a social seating area. The playground is directly managed by Bildeston Parish Council. Contractors are used for grounds maintenance, annual safety inspections are undertaken professionally by 3rd parties via Babergh DC.

Contact: The clerk for further information,

Bildeston Sportsfield

Bildeston Sportsfield located in Consent Lane on North West edge of village. Its 6 acres provide both pitches for organised sports and general open space. It caters for all age groups and is home to several local sporting clubs. It is operated by a committee of “Management Trustees”.

Bildeston Parish Council hold the title to the land and are “Custodian Trustees” only.

Contact: Mr Jonathan Davey – 01449 741740 Secretary (email) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Car Park on site.

Chamberlin Hall Playground

Seating, litter bins, clocks, memorials and lighting

Public seating for the benefit of parishioners and visitors is managed by the Parish Council in the following locations. Junction of High Street & Ipswich Rd, to rear of Clock Tower and in Church Road.

Public Lighting.

There is a mix of ownership for public lighting in the village with some stock owned by The Parish, Some by Suffolk CC and a small number by Babergh DC. There is however a single agency for dealing with all faults. Contact 0845 606 6067 or visit www.bildeston.org For any other enquiry contact the clerk.

War Memorial
The War Memorial is a listed building located in market place is managed by the parish Council. For all enquiries contact the clerk.

Clocks
There is a public clock located on the tower in market Place. The clock and tower are managed by the parish Council. The Parish Council holds a specific fund from a bequest for maintenance of the clock. The Clock Tower is a Listed Building

Litter Bins
Litter and Dog bins are located throughout the village and are managed by the Parish Council. Bins are emptied on a regular basis by contractors employed via Babergh DC. For all enquires contact the clerk.

Bus shelters
There are no bespoke bus shelters in the village. However, the base of the clock tower is fitted with seats and is opened during daylight hours for use as a bus shelter.

Markets.
There are currently no regular markets in Bildeston. Bildeston Parish Council manages the Market Place, which accommodates the war memorial, Clock tower and bus facilities. The market place is used occasionally by village organisations for fund raising activities. Contact: The clerk for further information.

Public Conveniences
There are no public conveniences in the village

Grove Cemetery.
Grove cemetery is a Public cemetery operated by the Parish Council. All documentation including the schedule of fees, conditions and application forms are available FOC from the clerk.

Ton Class Association Liaison – HMS Bildeston
The ship’s ensign and bell are permanently displayed in the village church, the nameplate, kindly donated by Ton Class member Bryan Player and his wife, Betty is now prominently displayed in Chamberlin Hall. Mr Neville Tye This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it has information available regarding HMS Bildeston and he provides liaison with the Ton Class Association which has members all over the UK and at various locations across the world.

The Assets we hold

Bildeston Parish Council Supporting Statement for Year end is included in the Annual Report.

The Parish Council raises funds through a Council Tax levy annually. This is done by the Parish Council in order to pay for its on-going operation and services and for investment in the parish. It is levied on residences (not businesses) and collected by Babergh District Council along with Council Tax for County Council, District Council and Police services. Parish Councils do not receive central government grants.

In the year ended 31 March 2009 the Parish Council levied a Council Tax amount of £18,000 - in our jargon "the precept" - which was equivalent to £46.04 per Band D tax payer.