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MINUTES of the Meeting of Wivenhoe Town Council held in the Council Chamber on Monday 20 October 2008. ______________________________________________________________________ Present: The Town Mayor, Cllr. F. Richards (Chairman), Cllrs: D. Purdey, C. Liddy, A. Vaughan, M. Iacovou, P. Kraft, C. Fox and B. Sinclair. County Cllr. J. Young Borough Cllrs. M. Cory and S. Ford. Mr. Peter Kay Mrs. A. Stinson (Town Clerk) 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were received from Borough Cllrs. A. Quarrie and J. Manning, and Cllrs. P. Hill, N. Lodge and K. Rogers. 2. MINUTES. RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Town Council held on 15 September 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record. 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES. None. 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 congratulated the Mayor on an excellent Civic Service, in particular the enjoyable music. She was still pursuing the on-going saga of the temporary barriers on the High Street bridge, which had now been in place for 2 years and would ask for Highways to look at it again; concerning the British Legion Hall she had put in a bid for £5000 for a new kitchen and a bid for IT equipment for the Youth Centre; re the flooding in Ernest Road behind the Co-op hopefully a solution had now been found as the problem had been identified; plans for the Health Centre are soon to be revealed. Cllr. Young would look into whether £350,000 in the ECC budget for "walking and cycling improvements" was earmarked for particular projects, such as the Wivenhoe Trail and report back. b) Borough Council: Cllr. Cory reported on the opening of the Mede Way play area, planned for 1 November, and that negotiations on improving the open space in Henrietta Close were proceeding; had dealt with overgrowing trees and vegetation and pothole repairs; he was also involved with the Youth Club, the official opening to be on 6 November, thereafter it would meet twice a week, Thursdays for 10-15 years and Tuesdays for the younger ones. Cllr. Steve Ford also congratulated the Town Council on a wonderful Civic Service, thanking all those who helped with the occasion. After intensive lobbying he had managed to get a replacement Valley Road road sign put back, but that the other Valley Road sign was awaiting repair. Planning matters: Concerning Papa’s, English Heritage had no objections to the application, which was still current; the Park Hotel was to close at the end of November and Cllr. Ford reminded members of the planning application to convert the Park Hotel into flats, approved in 2006. Bradwell Power Station was being looked at for recommissioning, Cllr. Ford would keep the Town Council informed. Cllr. Fox would liaise with Cllr. Ford on this and the Sustainable Communities Act. Information on the new planning system was to be obtained. Cllr. Quarrie had also sent her congratulations on the Town Council’s Civic Service saying how well it went and how enjoyable the occasion was. c) Public Transport Representative: Peter Kay circulated a very detailed report on transport issues and the Town Plan. He also informed members that there was to be a Sunday 62a service which would terminate at the Station, this was to start in November. 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 6.1 Planning a) Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 16 September and 7 October were received and noted. Cllr. Liddy reported that information on new legislation about small extensions and drives would be obtained. Concerning Land Registry Cllr. Liddy advised that he would be assisting the Town Clerk with the process of registering Town Council-owned land. b) Section 106 Working Party (Cook’s): Cllr. Liddy reported on a meeting with Vincent Pearce and Sue Jackson on 14 October re outstanding matters concerning the Cooks’ development and the leases. The Town Council had so far completed everything which they had been asked to do but disappointingly CBC officers had not progressed their matters at all. Members also expressed concern that the public footpath should be re-opened if building work ceased altogether on the site. This would be monitored. c) Health Centre: Noted that plans for the Health Centre were soon to be revealed. 6.2 Personnel, Finance and Administration Committee. a) Noted that a Finance meeting would be held on 12 November and Personnel meeting on 25 November. 6.3 Best Value Committee a) Draft notes of meeting held on Monday 13 October were received and noted. Items of Note: Allotment fence – Work had now started on the fence between the Allotments and the Cricket Club; New Cemetery: Trimming of macrocarpa trees completed.
7. WORKING PARTY REPORTS. 7.1 William Loveless Hall Working Party: a) Noted the date of the next meeting which will be on 6 November. 7.2 Estates (General Amenities & Landscaping) Working Party. a) Notes of the Meeting held on 6 October were received. 7.3 Wivenhoe Wood Working Party: Cllr. Sinclair reported that an action plan for the coming year was being drawn up. There was to be continuing maintenance on paths, more coppicing and removal of sycamore saplings, which were very invasive. The Action Plan would be circulated to all members. Cllr. Sinclair was still working on trying to recruit volunteers for the Old Cemetery. 7.4. Minibus Working Group. Minutes of the meeting held on 9 October were received and noted. The Working Group’s recommendation for a small increase in hire charges was AGREED. Town Clerk reported the current balance to be £20,191. Members noted that a replacement vehicle would be aimed for in 2010. 7.5 Youth Facilities Working Party. Cllr. Purdey reported that good progress had been made with the Philip Road centre being secured for the youth on two nights a week and that the launch would be on Thursday 6 November. An appeal had been put out for items which may of use to the youth club. Cllr. Purdey formally expressed thanks to the Wivenhoe Voluntary Youth Group for their dedication in this project. 7. 6 WRUG. Agreed to remove this item from the Agenda. 7.8 Members' Individual Proposals or Reports: a) Mayoral Activities: Cllr. Richards reported on the following attendances: Thursday September 18 – Colne Community School reception and Awards Evening; Thursday September 25 – Colchester Royal Grammar School Holocaust Survivors Exhibition; Saturday October 4 – 1940’s Afternoon tea dance and Big Band evening dance at the William Loveless Hall; Thursday 9 October – Wivenhoe Scout and Guides AGM; Sunday October 12 – West Mersea Civic Service; Wednesday October 15 – Royal British Legion (Wivenhoe Branch) 85th Birthday Celebration and finally, Sunday October 19 – the Town Council’s Annual Civic Service, in which thanks were expressed to all who contributed to the success of the occasion. Special thanks were also given to Cllr. Kraft for helping the Churchwarden in showing the many dignitaries to their seats. Cllr. Richards added that she had received many calls from the public expressing their enjoyment of the occasion. b) Community Safety and Police Matters: The suggestion of a Town Council funded PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) was raised and the Town Clerk would research the cost of a PCSO. c) Formal Resignation of Cllr. P. Hill: Cllr. Richards read out Cllr. Hill’s formal resignation, following 25 years on the Town Council, which members noted with sadness. The Town Clerk would inform the Town Council’s Monitoring Officer at Colchester Borough Council which would then instigate the formal procedure. 8. TOWN CLERK'S REPORT. 8.1 Burial Grants and approval of memorials. Town Clerk reported that here no Burial Grants had been issued and one memorial had been approved since the last meeting. One interment of ashes had been carried out and one scattering of ashes undertaken in the Old Cemetery, which the Town Clerk added were of the late Val Last, past member of the Wivenhoe Urban District Council, Town Council and former Mayor of Wivenhoe. 8.2 NALC/EALC Communications. The Town Clerk reported on the 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 the Macrocarpa trees alongside the New Cemetery had been trimmed by a contractor. Some clearance had been undertaken in the Old Cemetery. A start had been made on planting daffodil bulbs in the Old Cemetery. Allotment rents had been issued. Grass cutting had continued in the New Cemetery. The footpath at Tower Road and to the allotments had been cut back. The bench in the Quay Shelter had been repaired and the small piece of land at the rear of the William Loveless Hall had been cleared, bark put in and planted with shrubs. New fence put in at the rear of the Council Yard. The number of visitors to the Council Offices for the month of September totalled 168. b) SLCC Conference: Town Clerk had circulated a report on the Reading Conference to all members which was noted with interest. 9. FINANCE. 9.1 Current Financial Report a) The September spending and income Report was received and noted. Town Clerk drew attention to an item of spend on the pavilion windows which had been covered by S106 funding. Other than that all was on schedule and most budgets were on track with their spend. b) Preliminary Budget meeting: Agreed that this be held on Wednesday 12 November at 7.30pm. Working Parties to consider their spend for the following year. 9.2 List of cheques numbered 502930 -502944 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. None. 9.5 Appeals for Financial Support. None. 10. NEW BUSINESS. 10.1 Correspondence. a) Communities and Local Government – Consultation on making and enforcing of byelaws: Received and noted with interest. Cllr. Liddy would look through the document. Comments needed by 20 November. b) School Governors: Members noted the email appeal launched by School governors’ One-Stop Shop (SGOSS). c) CBC Statement of Accounts 2007/08: Noted receipt of copy. 10.2 Conferences/Seminars. Cllr. Kraft gave a report on her attendance at the RCCE Village Hall and Community Building Conference at Copford Village Hall on 18 October. Issues covered were insurance; grants; youth services and energy efficiency. 10.3 Notices. Members noted the following: Remembrance Service Sunday 9 November at 2.30pm at Congregational Church followed by Parade and service around the War Memorial. Childrens’ Remembrance Service at the William Loveless Hall 2.30pm. Cllr. Kraft would attend the Childrens’ service in place of Cllr. Lodge. Mayor’s Charity New Years Eve Dance – William Loveless Hall 8.30pm – 1.00am tickets £15 now on sale. 10.4 Licences a) Wivenhoe Cricket Club – Application for a licensed bar in the William Loveless Hall on 8 November to 12.30am. Recommended for approval by the Best Value Committee on 13 October. AGREED. 10.5 Highway Matters. Noted the following issues concerning public footpaths: a) ECC – temporary closure of footpaths 4 from 2300 on 29 October to 0430 on 30 October for works to level crossing; b) ECC – temporary closure of footpath 7 from 2300 on 30 October to 0430 on 31 October for works to level crossing; c) ECC – Extension to temporary prohibition of use for footpaths 12 and 18 and byway 11 (Cooks’ site) to 27 March 2009. Alternative route via Walter Radcliffe Way. (Original closure commenced on 27 March 2006 and is required to facilitate development works and is in the interest of public safety) Cllr. Fox would find out the situation on this footpath should development stall. 10.6 Press Releases: Cllr. Iacavou was actioned to issue press releases on (1) the Civic Service, and (2) new legislation on non-permeable surfaces on driveways and patios, when sufficient information had been collected. CHAIRMAN The meeting closed at 9.20pm.
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