DRAFT
New Alresford Town
Council
Meeting of Town Council
Apologies: Cllr. Middleton, Evans, Phillips
Press: 1
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Declarations
of Interest on Agenda Items Cllr.
Gentry declared an interest in Item 703.1 and abstained
from voting. Minutes
of the meeting held on 11th September, 2008 Amendments
made to minutes (11th September) Item
697.3 Dog bins had not
been installed but approval for
the installation had been granted. Item
697.4 Cllr. B. Jeffs was requested to have no further involvement in the Railway Cutting as opposed to stepping away from giving advice. Proposed:
Cllr. Cattle Seconded Cllr. Mansfield (AGREED) Actions
Carried Forward from 11th September, 2008 Resolution: To approve and
proceed with the Busby Builders quotation of £6,986 for the repair of the
Flint Wall. Proposed Cllr. Yeldham
Seconded Cllr. Mansfield
(AGREED) Repairs
to Perins Fence Perins had agreed with the Town Trust
to carry out the minor repairs to the fence.
The two main repairs would be scheduled to coincide with the
installation of the footpath when landscaping could be planted which would
protect the fence from vandalism. District
and County Councillor’s Report Cllr.
Porter produced a written report which was circulated. Cllr. B. Jeffs to get the file for
paths to the Town Partnership. Cllr. B. Jeffs to review the South
East Plan and produce comments for consideration by NATC. As NATC had published that the community
would be able to comment on the Co-op site, this commitment must be honoured. A 1st draft proposed plan
for disabled bus stop access was presented and passed to the Environment Committee
for consideration. Cllr.
Cook explained the background of £1m WCC investment in the
Icelandic Bank. The cost of the Standards Board
Complaint made against Cllr. Gentry was significant and would fall on the
city council for settlement. The lands surrounding Gleeson Homes are
owned by Gleeson’s and remain their responsibility. Complaints have been received
regarding the noise from the station bottle bank which requires muffling. Cllr.
E. Jeffs reported on a meeting with the deputy
leader where support was requested in respect of the housing sites elected by
Alresford as appropriate and sustainable locations. The main objection was that the WCC officers were dismissing
alternatives without any form of investigation. Icelandic investment of £1m was taken
on treasurer recommendation and the economic climate would result in a tough
budget in an attempt to keep costs down. The Robins Court flats were now nearly
all allocated with only 3 empty properties. Public Participation (meeting
adjourned) Geoff Sayer Q Stated that
he was the recipient of numerous ideas from the Community and
felt it would be helpful to convene a meeting with NATC to review these
community ideas. A Mr.
Sayers was thanked for his continued community support. (meeting reconvened) Standards Board Investigation There
were 3 points to the complaint made against Cllr. Gentry and the Standards
(Determination) Sub- Committee found there to be NO BREACH on each point:- 1) Preventing
access to ‘entitled’ information. Findings:- Decision made by Town Clerk in the exercise of her discretion,
not at the instruction of the Councillor.
No breach 2) Failure
to declare a Personal Interest in APSSC at Town Council Meeting. Findings:-
The code did not apply to this body and the Cllr. was not involved in the
control or management of the Club. No breach 3) Failure
to record a personal interest in the Members’ Register of Interest. Findings:-
The Cllr. was found to have no personal interest in the club and therefore
had no requirement to record the Club in the Members’ Register of
Interests. No breach The
complaint had cost the tax payer a little under £10k and was consider to be a
waste of tax-payers money. Burial Grounds A
request had been made by St.John’s Church to assist in finding burial grounds
as the current space available held approximately 2 years capacity. There was no statutory requirement to
provide burial space, although there may be an obligation, the Council may
provide a non-denominational plot with allotted areas dedicated to given sects. It was pointed out that the scattering of
ashes on church grounds was an option which would alleviate this situation
but was recognised that cremation was not always a preferred option. It was proposed that surrounding parish
churches be reviewed for space. A
meeting to be arranged with Phil Colins and an appropriate parochial
representative to discuss the situation.
Cllr. Cattle and Cllr. Yeldham to review this matter. Finance Payments Resolution: To
approve payments for September, 2008 of
£34,237.61 Proposed:
Cllr. Yeldham Seconded Cllr. Power (AGREED) Precept Three
items were identified for Precept consideration. Grant to the Community Centre of £7k and the Town Trust for £8k
and a provision of £4k for possible election costs. System Maintenance Resolution:
To approve a contract with Green Frog at a quarterly rate of £200 for
professional system backup recovery and daily system monitoring. Proposed Cllr. Gentry Seconded Cllr. Cattle (AGREED) System Security Resolution:
To approve the annual purchase of system security (approx. £200 p.a.) Proposed Cllr.
Cattle Seconded Cllr.
Power (AGREED) System Equipment Resolution:
To approve the purchase of a computer screen £89 Proposed Cllr.
Cattle Seconded Cllr.
Power (AGREED) Finance Clerk
Salary increment Resolution:
To ratify Finance Clerks salary increment in accordance with Minute 692.2
(exempt) meeting dated 6th March. Proposed Cllr. Read
Seconded Cllr. Power (AGREED) Poppy Wreath Resolution:
To approve the annual purchase of a Poppy Wreath Proposed Cllr.
Cattle Seconded Cllr.
Power (AGREED) Parking The
return of tenders with the estimated November start date was expected
shortly. Work including the footpath
would take 2/3 months to complete.
There had been no consultation or agreement by any group regarding
ticket machines. Parking was now the
responsibility of the Town Council.
The enforcement of parking needed to be formally documented to ensure
that the Town’s major organisations requirements were met. Resolution: To respond
to WCC (A.Hickman’s letter) to enter into a Service Level Agreement with WCC
to increase Civil Enforcement Officer coverage to 5 days per week upon
completion of the Perins car park. If
required discussions and investigations to review possible ticketing and also
resident and business parking for the Town Centre drawing their attention to
the fact that all the major representative organisations in the town have
problems with a Pay and Display scheme.
Proposed Cllr. Gentry Seconded Cllr. Cattle (AGREED) Local
Development Framework Resolution: That the
Terms of Reference of the Working Party established to review the long term
premises requirements of commence and industry, within the scope of the Local
Development Framework, to ensure the sustainability of the town, be extended
to cover a review of the whole Local Development Framework, as currently
proposed by WCC, to ensure that all issues and options are fully considered
and evaluated to ensure the future sustainability of the Town. Recommendations to be reviewed and agreed
by the Full Town Council prior to being submitted to WCC. Proposed Cllr. B. Jeffs Seconded
Cllr. Mansfield (AGREED) Committee
Reports Committee
Structure. Resolution: To reduce Recreation and Environment Committee meetings to quarterly Proposed Cllr.
Power Seconded Cllr. Gentry (AGREED) Resolution:
To merge the
Finance Committee matters with Full Town and dedicated Financial meetings be
convened on an ad hoc basis. Proposed Cllr. Gentry Seconded
Cllr. Cattle (AGREED) Resolution: For all
formal representation both verbal and written regarding planning issues are
ratified by Full Town Council and all large planning applications and issues
which fall outside of the application comment box become the responsibility
of Full Town. Proposed Cllr. Power Seconded
Cllr. Mansfield (AGREED) Resolution: For the
Planning Committee to adopt and follow the formal procedure (attached to
minutes) and that these procedures form part of Standing Orders. Proposed Cllr. B. Jeffs Seconded
Cllr. Power (AGREED) Clerk to
update Standing Orders Recreation
Committee Resolution: To employer
a Litter Containment person at £7.50 per hour for 8 hours per week to
commence immediately. Proposed
Cllr. Yeldham Seconded
Cllr. Cattle (AGREED) Environment
Committee Resolution: To approve
and accept the Town Trust conditions regarding the installation and
collection of dog fouling bins. Proposed Cllr. Yeldham Seconded
Cllr. Mansfield (AGREED) Guidance
had been obtained and evidence found to support the Pinglestone Road. Planning Committee Railway Cutting and Bridge Road
applications had been refused by WCC.
Swan Car Park wall required maintenance as it was in a poor condition.
Tourism
Committee Thanks was given to the Wednesday
Volunteers for relaying of the Millennium Trail and the Fence at the Memorial
Gardens. Alresford
Recreation Centre The Centre had fallen short of its
finance target by a few hundred pounds this was due to a planning error as the
Rugby Club season started later than thought. This was therefore an excellent performance. Congratulations were given to Sally
Ramshaw for the Twinning Society function.
It was reported that the Centre was being used by a wider section of
the community. Reports
from Outside Bodies Town
Partnership - Resolution: For NATC
to organise the opening ceremony of the John Arlott Plaque. Proposed
Cllr. Yeldham Seconded
Cllr. B. Jeffs (AGREED) The Town Partnership memorandum of
understanding was not adopted by the Council. The Council were concerned that the Partnership was not acting
democratically and that they were losing community involvement. The NATC representatives were requested to
encourage the Partnership to fulfil its community constitutional role. Town
Trust - The Council
congratulated the Trust on the work carried out on The Avenue trees. Meeting
Dates and Items for next Agenda Agenda
Items for 27th November. Precept - 2009/10
Precept to be discussed and approved. Date of Next
Meeting Thursday, 7.30 27th November, 2008 at Town Offices,
Upper Meeting Room, Arlebury Park The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.55pm. Chairman’s
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