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MINUTES of the Meeting of Wivenhoe Town Council held in the Council Chamber on Monday 15 December 2008. Present: The Town Mayor, Cllr. F. Richards (Chairman), Cllrs: D. Purdey, C. Liddy, M. Iacovou, P. Kraft, C. Fox, N. Lodge and B. Sinclair. County Cllr. J. Young Borough Cllrs. A. Quarrie and S. Ford. Mr. Peter Kay Mrs. A. Stinson (Town Clerk) 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs. K. Rogers and A. Vaughan and Borough Cllrs. M. Cory and J. Manning. 2. MINUTES. RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Town Council held on 17 November 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record. 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES. Members noted that the proposal on the William Loveless Hall by Messrs. O’Dell and would be deferred until the January meeting. Vacancy for a Councillor: It was also noted that the deadline for the Notice of Casual Vacancy for a Town Councillor in Wivenhoe Cross Ward had been extended to 12 January 2009. 4. POINTS RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. None. 5. REPORTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY AND BOROUGH COUNCILS. a) Essex County Council: Cllr. Young gave an update on the Wivenhoe Trail. The design was scheduled to be completed by 2009 and construction proposed for 2011/2012 with funding coming from the LTP budget for cycling and walking; a public consultation on new health facilities was being held in the William Loveless Hall on 17 December, from 9.30am – 12noon and on 19 January 2009 from 4.30pm – 7.30pm. Transport issues had been identified; refurbishment of the public toilets in the High Street car park were still being pursued. The flooding problem in Ernest Road appeared to have been solved for the time being. b) Borough Council: Cllr. Ford gave a report on the VAF, which the Borough Council had now decided to go ahead with; he had looked in the Sustainable Communities Act and reported that they were cost implications for those councils wishing to take this on board. Members requested that Cllr. Ford find out which councils had taken this up and what the financial burden had been imposed on those councils who had adopted the SC Act. Concerning the Park Hotel, which had closed at the end of November, Cllr. Ford said that the chief attributes for its closure were the smoking ban and the sale of cheap alcohol at nearby supermarkets. Cllr. Quarrie also reported on the long Borough Council meeting to decide the fate of the VAF, which was now going forward. c) Public Transport Representative: Peter Kay reported on issues concerning the proposed new Health Centre and bus route. 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 6.1 Planning a) Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 17 November, following a Town Council meeting were received and noted. The draft minutes of the Planning Committee held on 9 December were received and it was noted that this was held mainly to consider the planning application for 300 houses at Rowhedge Port. Members had drafted a full response and appreciated that the development had learnt valuable lessons from the two riverside housing developments at Wivenhoe. b) Section 106 Working Party (Cook’s): Cllr. Liddy reported that there had been no further progress on this matter. Cllr. Richards said that she had spoken with Bridget Tighe concerning S106 contributions, but the outcome was not known yet. c) Health Centre: Cllr. Lodge reported that the public consultation on the new Health Centre proposals was going to be held in the William Loveless Hall on 17 December between 9.30 and 12noon and on 19 January 2009 between 4.00 and 7.00pm. Details and posters had been received from the PCT and were circulated. They had also been displayed at the library and on notice boards. 6.2 Personnel, Finance and Administration Committee. a) Minutes of the Personnel meeting held on 25 November were received and noted. Cllr. Kraft reported that the new member of staff on reception and admin duties, Miss Nicola Edwards, had commenced work on 8 December. A proposal for the future of the Christmas Bonus scheme had been agreed upon and a system put in place for the future. b) The next Personnel meeting would be held on 5 February 2009. 6.3 Best Value Committee a) Draft notes of meeting held on Monday 8 December were received and noted. Items of Note: Cllr. Kraft put forward the proposal that the Town Council would not be interested in proceeding with an increased offer on the building but would like to be kept informed of future developments. This was AGREED and the Town Council would write to the sellers of the St. John Ambulance Hall advising them of the Town Council’s decision.
7. WORKING PARTY REPORTS. 7.1 William Loveless Hall Working Party: a) Date of the next meeting 29 January 2009. Cllr. Kraft reported on the outcome of the CIF Parish and Town Council’s grant. Due to the current economic climate there was a much lower amount available overall for funding. The bid for the hall floor replacement therefore had been awarded £7500. The Town Clerk had since applied to substitute the application for a bid on replacement windows, which was much lower than the cost of the hall floor, but this had been turned down by CBC. To be discussed further at the January working party meeting. 7.2 Estates (General Amenities & Landscaping) Working Party. a) Notes of the Meeting held on 1 December were received and noted. b) Cemetery wall: AGREED to accept the quotation of £3370 for continuing work on the the replacement of the copings on the New Cemetery wall, this would now complete the works on both cemeteries. Cllr. Lodge said that there might be some S106 monies towards the basketball and netball pitch proposal on the KGV. Cllr. Kraft had looked at the landscaped area in front of the High Street car park, opposite The Greyhound PH and advised that the wall at the entrance to the car park was in need of attention before any work could commence on improving the area. Town Clerk would find out who was responsible for the maintenance of this wall. Cllr. Steve Ford said to let him know if the wall proved to be Colchester Borough Council’s responsibility. 7.3 Wivenhoe Wood Working Party: Cllr. Sinclair had nothing to report other than coppicing and removal of sycamore would continue in January. 7.4. Minibus Working Group. Nothing further to report. 7.5 Youth Facilities Working Party. Cllr. Purdey had nothing specific to report other than that he was working with the youngsters on trying to secure future grants. The Youth Club was being well used and the youngsters were delighted with their new shed. Cllr. Lodge congratulated all the volunteers for their excellent work. Members also noted that one of the Youth Council members had been elected to the ECC Young Essex Assembly. 7.6 Members' Individual Proposals or Reports: a) Mayoral Activities: Cllr. Richards reported on the following attendances: November 18 - Thanksgiving Service at St. Peters Church, Colchester for the return of the Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade after a six month tour in Afghanistan and to remember those who have not returned.; November 21- Millfields Christmas Fayre; November 22 – Wivenhoe Sailing Club dinner (speech and toast); November 29 - Quay Quilters quilting exhibition in the William Loveless Hall; December 4 - ride with Santa and switch-on of the Christmas Lights for Late Night Shopping; December 10 - carol service at the Ivor Crewe building, Essex University; December 12 - Colne Estuary W.I. members carol service at St. Mary’s Church. b) Community Safety and Police Matters: Cllr. Rogers had submitted a report detailing one burglary at the Black Buoy PH, no damage had been done to the property. 8. TOWN CLERK'S REPORT. 8.1 Burial Grants and approval of memorials. The Town Clerk reported that one Burial Grant had been issued and one memorial had been approved since the last meeting. One interment had taken place which was former Town Mayor and Town Councillor, Mrs. Margaret Dunne. 8.2 NALC/EALC Communications. The Town Clerk reported on the November monthly communications and newsletters from both NALC and EALC which were available in office for members to read. 8.3 Tenancy Allocations/Changes from Colchester Borough Council. None. 8.4 Work Management. a) General: The Town Clerk reported that maintenance jobs on the William Loveless Hall had been been carried out. Holly and greenery had been cut for St. Mary’s Church and new Christmas lights had been put up outside the William Loveless Hall and the Council Offices. The crib had been re-roofed with new straw and put outside the office in its usual place, this time with some lights in it. The number of visitors to the Council Offices for the month of November totalled 186. Members congratulated the groundsmen on the Christmas Lights display this year. 9. FINANCE. 9.1 Current Financial Report a) The November spending and income Report was received and noted. b) Preliminary Budget meeting: Noted that this would be held on Tuesday 16 December at 7.30pm. Working Parties to consider their spend for the following year. Cllr. Purdey said that the budget estimate would be based on the same level as the previous year. 9.2 List of cheques numbered 502983 -503000 drawn since the last Town Council Meeting was approved and signed. 9.3 List of Payments made from the Imprest Account since the last Town Council Meeting was approved. 9.4 Motions Under Standing Orders Recommending Expenditure. AGREED the following: a) New Cemetery wall £3370 9.5 Appeals for Financial Support. None. 10. NEW BUSINESS. 10.1 Correspondence. a) ECC – draft Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy for Schools and Colleges 2007 – 2011: Consultation document available at meeting. Cllr. Purdey would look at the document in connection with the Town Plan Group. 10.2 Conferences/Seminars. None received. 10.3 Notices. Members noted the following: Mayor’s Charity New Years Eve Dance – William Loveless Hall 8.30pm – 1.00am tickets £15 now on sale. 10.4 Licences. None received. 10.5 Highway Matters. a) Footpath between The Folly and Walter Radcliffe Way. As discussed at the Town Council’s Best Value meeting the Town Clerk advised that a letter had been sent to Taylor Wimpey pressing for the footpath between The Folly and Walter Radcliffe Way to be re-opened. b) ECC Highway Rangers: Cllr. Ford reported that he was meeting Paul Maplestone at 11.00am on Friday 19 December for an inspection of Wivenhoe’s footpaths. Members all agreed that the state of the pavements in Wivenhoe were very poor. Agreed to email the CALC Highway Panel with a list of priority work needed in Wivenhoe. Cllr. Iacovou added that the recent work on a bit of pavement opposite Bowes Road was a curious design in that it actually created a hazard for users. Cllr. Ford said he would provide the name of the portfolio holder responsible for pavements. c) Ladder at West Quay: Members discussed the safety ladder alongside West Quay which had still not been replaced. Cllr. Sinclair said he would follow this up and report back. d) Sid Cox Bench: Agreed that Town Clerk write to Colchester Borough Council about siting the bench on the footpath along the riverside path to Alresford on the side closest to Wivenhoe. The meeting closed at 8.45pm. CHAIRMAN
At the close of the meeting members gave a presentation of an antique glass decanter to former Cllr. Peter Hill in recognition of his 25 years service to the Wivenhoe Town Council. Cllr. Richards expressed her gratitude to Peter Hill for his guidance and knowledge which had been invaluable, especially to new members. Peter thanked the members for this presentation, saying that he had enjoyed his term on the Town Council immensely and that it had been very rewarding. During his term he had been Town Mayor three times, each time raising a substantial amount towards local clubs and organizations. The beginnings of his involvement with the Town Council started with former UDC and Town Mayor, Miss Betsy Grasby, who said that he should stand for Town Council. He then recollected his involvements with the Keep Wivenhoe Tidy Campaign, the Community Association, the Carnival Association, the start of Wivenhoe’s Christmas Lights (which were actually the lights used by Colchester Borough Council and which were put up for auction and then obtained by Peter for £1700 20 years ago). The lights were then put up by Tony Allcock of the Wivenhoe Traders for many years. He also spoke about his Wivenhoe First campaign, a drive to keep Wivenhoe’s shops open, now sadly dwindling. Members concluded that they missed him very much and that maybe in the future he might be persuaded to rejoin them again on the Town Council.
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