NEWS MISTLEY PARISH COUNCIL SAVING BRANTHAM DECOY POND This five-acre established lake at the end of Factory Lane in Brantham is home to a huge stock of carp, mainly in the 3-6lb range but with a few fish to 20lbs or more. Roach and rudd in excess of 3lbs are present and some perch over 4lbs have also been recorded. Licenced fishing rights are held by Paxmans Fishing Club. Brantham Decoy Pond/Lake is recorded in the web-based version of the Suffolk Historic Environment Record, the definitive record of the known archaeological sites and historic buildings in the county. The Decoy Pond is recorded as reference number BNT 018 and as a Monument. Post Medieval-1540 AD to 1900 AD shown on OS map, 1838.
Mistley Parish Council understands the owners of Mistley Place Park are in discussion with McCarthy and Stone developers in connection with the future of the Mistley Place Park site. The owners plan to retire and are in dialogue with the developers who are prominent national developers of retirement properties. It is understood that the discussions with the owners and developers relate to the area at the far end of the site, which would not impede any views on the landscape. There have also been preliminary discussions about the owners of Mistley Place Park possibly gifting some of the land to Mistley Parish Council as a community asset for the benefit of local residents.
The pond is also recorded in national archives with the records held at the Suffolk Record Office, ref: HC410/A1/1, dated as 1740-1913 with 22 documents held.
It should be noted that Tendring District Council is the Local Planning Authority. Mistley Parish Council make recommendations on any planning and development matter to Tendring, but the final decision on any planning application is with the district council. No applications or proposals have been received by Tendring.
Further details of Brantham Decoy Pond can be found in books available online: The Wildfowler – A Treatise on Fowling, Ancient and Modern The Book of Duck Decoys; their construction, management and history by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey
Should any firm offer be made to the parish council, the council would hold an Extraordinary Public Parish Council Meeting and invite local residents to attend and voice their views. The sole purpose of Mistley Parish Council is to represent its electorate, i.e. local residents of Mistley, and to provide and enhance the services and facilities for the community.
This pond has stood the test of hundreds of years and never dries out or stagnates. It must therefore be fed by natural springs with a natural outfall. The level rarely changes so there is a natural balance. A proposal to use the pond for run-off water from a proposed housing estate would change the natural balance and cause considerable harm. Run-off water would contain contaminates from roads, roofs, parking areas and salt spread on the roads. Salt will destroy all lifeform in the pond/lake.
Any further queries please contact Susan Clements, Parish Clerk/Proper Officer on 01473 827791.
Decoy Ponds are considered to be of historical significance for two main reasons: 1. They may be important historic features in their own right. 2. B oth their structure and their sediments may contain important historical information relevant to the history of the waterbody, its surrounds and the wider environment (pollen record, historical artefacts etc.). Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is to have its boundaries extended such that the Decoy Pond land would fall within the designated area. This gives some protection to the site, but it is limited as AONB have no powers of enforcement. An application has been submitted to have this historic pond listed as a protected monument in the National Heritage list for England (NHLE). I have applied using the free service, but would like to use the fast-track service to ensure the site is protected for the enjoyment of future generations and from the current drainage plan to use the pond as a drain for the proposed housing estate. The cost of fast-track starts at £1,000 with an average cost of £2,000/£3,000 which is beyond my resources. I am willing to donate £250 towards the cost but should any person or organisation wish to contribute, I have opened a JustGiving account (see link). I have also applied to the parish council for financial support. My application also has the support of AONB, the Paxman Fishing Club and James Rolfe Senior Archaeological Officer and Head of Suffolk CC Archaeological Service. However, they have no funds to offer financial assistance www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/david-fisk David Fisk: dave.ann@hotmail.com
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Statement Regarding Mistley Place Park, New Road
Parish Councillor Charlotte Howell – Chairman of the Council Parish Councillor Jenny Chaplin – Vice Chairman of the Council
SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM Hello from Pc 710 Mike Small, Hadleigh and Babergh area Community Engagement Officer Suffolk Police. As summer is now well and truly on us, may I please remind all residents to be extra vigilant with their home security. We are still getting incidents of rural break-ins. However a number of the offences that have taken place were to premises and outhouses that were insecure. Please remember to lock all of your garages and sheds before leaving your property. Garden equipment such as ride-on lawnmowers are the type of objects being stolen. If you are going away over the summer, please take all precautions to secure your homes and make local residents aware so that they can watch out for your property in your absence. We have stepped up our rural patrols in the rural areas as this is one of our current policing priorities. If you need to contact us or report a crime, ant-social behaviour or have some information connected to your area, you can report to us directly using our Suffolk Police website. Go to our website and click on the ‘REPORT SOMETHING’ tab. This can then be actioned and sent to the relevant officer for your area and avoids busy times when using 101. We are increasing our number of community engagement officers and in the next few weeks, Pc Sarah George and Pc Di Porter will become engagement officers for the Hadleigh Sector. We will provide more information of this when the change takes place. This will increase the service that you receive as I currently cover the west of Ipswich in addition to Babergh. They will become designated Hadleigh Community Engagement Officers. Police Constable 710 Michael Small If you have any quires or questions please contact Hadleigh SNT at Hadleigh Police Station, Magdalen Road, Hadleigh IP7 5AD Hadleigh.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk Emergency: Call 999 / Non-Emergency: Call 101 Follow us on Twitter@ HadleighPolice Police Connect: Suffolk.police.uk/police connect
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