Parish Councillors:
Harriet Bowes, Chairlady harrietbowes@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
Amanda Noller Amanda.noler@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
Jeanette Creasey Jeanette.creasey@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
Richard Palmer 01449 766484 Richard.palmer@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
Thomas Rowe 01449 768693 Thomas.Rowe@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
VACANCY
VACANCY
Parish Clerk Tina Newell 07767 163706 clerk@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk
To view the Register of Interests for Parish Councillors, please go to the Babergh and Mid-Suffolk District Council Self Service form. This is the link: Parish Members Register of Interests
We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Parish Clerk. Tina Newell. Tina lives in Mendlesham with her husband, two sons (aged 19 and 17), Willow the labrador and Flora their Burmese cat (aka the house princess). Tina brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge having worked in this sector for eight years and prior to this as an accountant.
Tina can be contacted by email at clerk@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk or by calling/text to 07767 163706. Tina works part-time four hours a week so please bear with her if you don’t receive a response as quickly as you would like.
We are also pleased to announce Harriet Bowes has accepted the position of Parish Council Chairman.
Harriet can be contacted by email to harriet.bowes@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.
There is one vacancy for a Parish Councillor. Councillors represent the electors and are accessible to listen to concerns and deal with them or to pass them for action to the appropriate authorities directly or via the Parish Clerk. Councillors can help shape the future of the Parish and with the news of up to 50 new dwellings in the Parish in the forthcoming years and the Norwich to Tilbury Pylon application, now is a great time to join the Council. If you are interested in applying for this position please contact Tina, Harriet or any of the current Councillors:
Jeanette Creasey (Jeanette.creasey@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.)
Amanda Noller (Amanda.noller@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.)
Richard Palmer (Richard.palmer@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.)
Thomas Rowe (Thomas.rowe@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.)
Tim Thorogood (Tim.thorogood@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk.)
During the last meeting on 6th October 2025, all present noted 1,834 photos were taken during the recent Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) speed camera visit, of which 779 were recorded travelling in excess of 35mph! Councillors agreed to purchase another Speed Indicator Device to help remind/educate road users of the speed limit.
Jeanette Creasey has undertaken a considerable amount of work to update the Community Emergency Plan. It is hoped a meeting with Suffolk County Council Emergency Plan team, to review and guide on how to progress this further, will take place soon to allow a current plan be adopted and publicised soonest.
During the same meeting, all present noted that the Development Consent Order (DCO) from National Grid, relating to ‘The Great Grid Upgrade Norwich to Tilbury,’ has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State. After consideration it was agreed to register Wickham Skeith as an interested party, allowing the Parish Council to have a say on the application and take part in the examination. Please look out for more information on this on the website and social media.
Mid Suffolk District Council have issued a ‘Call for sites’ inviting land owners to put forward land for consideration for future housing development – this does not mean planning will be granted it is simply to register an interest.
The Parish Council is financially secure with total cash available as at 12 September 2025 of £35,255.30. Noting the difficulty in amending the mandate request with Barclays, it was agreed to open another bank account with Unity Trust Bank – this is a bank account used by many Councils and one the Clerk recommended. Tina will be an administrator only, with no access to make or authorise any payments.
Councillors agreed to set up various working groups and invite residents to join.
Groups currently set up are:
If you are interested in joining any of these please contact the Clerk by email at clerk@wickhamskeith-pc.gov.uk or by calling/text to 07767 163706.
Please note the next meeting of Parish Council will be 7.30pm on 3rd November 2025.
Matters to be considered will include the first draft budget 2026/27, a neighbourhood plan and the Great Grid Upgrade (pylon application).
Village Defibrillator
I have recently taken on the guardianship of the village defibrillator and thought it would be a good time to remind villagers about the device.
Location - the defibrillator is located on the external wall of the village hall (next to the car park and emergency exit).
To access the device you will need to dial 999. They will then ask you for the cabinet number –
ask you for the cabinet number – 2334 and/or postcode of the device - IP23 8LX
These numbers are also on the outside of the defibrillator.
This information will be enable the 999 service to locate our defibrillator and give you the access code to allow you to get access to the device.
The defibrillator is portable and so can be taken to wherever it is needed in the village. 999 will talk you through how to use it and once it is switched on the device will also give you verbal and visual instructions.
Defibrillator training
No training is necessary to use the defibrillator but it would be useful if some villages have some training. I have contacted someone locally who can provide training for the defibrillator together with some resuscitation training. The cost of the training will be covered by the Parish Council and there are 10 places available for people who live in the village. The training takes about 2 hours and will include the use of a Resus Doll and training defibrillators.
If you are interested, please can you contact me as soon as possible. I can then organise a suitable date and time for the training.
If you have any queries regarding the defibrillator, please contact me. If I don’t know the answer, I will endeavour to find someone who does!
Julie Keable
01449 766771
juliekeable@btinternet.com
