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MINUTES of the Meeting of Wivenhoe Town Council held in the Council Chamber on Monday 17 November 2008. Present: The Town Mayor, Cllr. F. Richards (Chairman), Cllrs: D. Purdey, C. Liddy, A. Vaughan, M. Iacovou, P. Kraft, C. Fox, K. Rogers and B. Sinclair. County Cllr. J. Young Borough Cllrs. A. Quarrie, J. Manning and S. Ford. Mr. Peter Kay Mrs. A. Stinson (Town Clerk) Prior to the meeting Tom Roberts introduced Brian O’Dell, Michael Balla-Goddard and Martin Stanley of MBG Architects who gave an exciting presentation on the future of the William Loveless Hall and the Wivenhoe Council Offices. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were received from Borough Cllr. M. Cory and Cllr. N. Lodge. 2. MINUTES. RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Town Council held on 20 October 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record. 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES. 7.8c) Town Clerk to contact Electoral Services on the Notice of Casual Vacancy. 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 reported that, further to the previous meeting, £350,000 was going to be set aside for the upgrade of Wivenhoe Trail and included identifying and reinstating / diverting the areas of missing PROW that have been eroded by the river; formalising the permissive rights over private land / land acquisition and any works required to bring the route up to rural route standard. Cllr. Young also reported that she had been successful in securing 2 grants of £500 and £1500 for the Wivenhoe Youth Group and £3500 to support refurbishment of the Wivenhoe British Legion Hall. A £12000 bid for the Wivenhoe Football Club was being determined on 24 November and it was hoped to be successful. Concerning the High Street railway bridge there was a possibility that a resolution would soon be forthcoming, Network Rail were currently being consulted on a proposal, which would then go to the Head of ECC Highways, then CBC and then the Town Council for consultation. Works on a new footway along Alresford Road, at the quarry entrance would be commencing on 26 November and traffic lights would be operation for the duration of the works. b) Borough Council: Cllr. Ford reported on the refusal of planning permission for the Pizza takeaway in High Street; the increase in size by 50% of Abberton Reservoir; approval of Papa’s application in East Street; the emergency meeting held at the Wivenhoe Town Football Club on 13 November on the future of the Club, in short £20,000 was needed in the next few months to secure the Club’s future. Cllr. Fox asked Cllr. Ford about the Sustainable Communities Act and whether the Borough Council would be opting into it. Cllr. Ford would find out and report back. Cllr. Manning reported on the cycle route to the University and the ongoing situation with buses to the University. He was also pursuing the matter of the High Street railway bridge. Cllr. Quarrie congratulated Cllr. Richards on the Town and Gown dinner last Friday, 14 November. At the NAP meeting speeding in Rectory Road was again raised and a solution pressed for. Cllr. Quarrie reported that she had also been busy with licensing issues. Tomorrow she would be attending the Church Service at 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. Cllr. Richards advised that she would also be attending the service. c) Public Transport Representative: Peter Kay reported on issues concerning the 61/62 route. In particular the decision of First not to run a service to lower Wivenhoe in the evening because of the difficulty in manoeuvering the parked cars. Peter Kay asked members to consider this in the next CBC Parking Review and also the need for a parking bay in the High Street by the Library and near the Co-op. 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS. 6.1 Planning a) Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 10 November, which was held following a Best Value meeting were received and noted. Only one application was considered. Cllr. Liddy informed members that the meeting scheduled for 28 October was cancelled because no planning applications had been received b) Section 106 Working Party (Cook’s): Cllr. Liddy reported that there had been no further progress on this matter. Cllr. Sinclair said that he was attending a meeting that week concerning the wet dock and the jetty and would report back. c) Health Centre: Noted that a public consultation on the new Health Centre proposals was going to be held in the William Loveless Hall on 4 December between 4.00 and 7.00pm. Two sessions had been scheduled and the Town Clerk would circulate details when they had been received. 6.2 Personnel, Finance and Administration Committee. a) Minutes of the Finance meeting held on 12 November were received and noted. Concerning the Town and Parish Councils/CIF Scheme 2008/09 there was to be a meeting at 12noon on Thursday 20 November to which the Town Clerk would attend. b) The next Personnel meeting would be held on 25 November in the Council Chamber. 6.3 Best Value Committee a) Draft notes of meeting held on Monday 10 November were received and noted. Items of Note: Sid Cox Memorial Bench – recommendation for a bench to be ordered; WYVG – recommendation to purchase a shed in which the Youth Group could store items belonging to them the Philip Road centre. 7. WORKING PARTY REPORTS. 7.1 William Loveless Hall Working Party: a) Notes of the meeting held on 6 November were received. Cllr. Kraft said that estimates for new carpet for the Wyvern, new chairs and replacement windows were being obtained and would be submitted to the next Best Value meeting. 7.2 Estates (General Amenities & Landscaping) Working Party. a) Notes of the Meeting held on 4 November were received. b) Christmas Lights: AGREED to sponsor £50 for refreshments for the lighting team following the lights ‘take down’ in January. Town Clerk to advise John Moores so that the can arrange this. Members also took note that the electrician, George Brown, had indicated that he would be glad to step down after this year as he was finding it difficult to carry on with the lights due to work commitments. Another volunteer would need to be found to take this on for the future. 7.3 Wivenhoe Wood Working Party: Cllr. Sinclair reported that a working party was held last weekend cutting blackthorn back on the top of the sea wall along Ferry Marsh. Members were pleased to learn that the water vole population on the Ferry Marsh was increasing. The next work day would be 11 January and would feature removal of more sycamore saplings. 7.4. Minibus Working Group. Nothing further to report. 7.5 Youth Facilities Working Party. Cllr. Purdey reported that the launch on 6 November had been successful and so far all was going well. A full report of the meeting held on 11 November at the Council Offices was circulated. The next meeting would be held on Thursday 26 January 2009 at 1.00pm at the Council Offices. Members noted that a caretaker had now been recruited, which was good news. To summarise the Youth Club was divided into two sessions by age: Tuesdays for years 6-8 and Thursdays year 9 onwards. Members were very pleased with the success of this venture. 7.6 Members' Individual Proposals or Reports: a) Mayoral Activities: Cllr. Richards reported on the following attendances: October 23 Mayor’s Charity Fish and Chip Supper; 25 October – launch of the Town Plan at the William Loveless Hall and in the evening Fireworks on the Quay to celebrate 85 years of the Royal British Legion; October 31st – Colchester Oyster Feast; November 1 – Opening of refurbished Mede Way play area; Wivenhoe Society Craft; St. Mary’s Christmas Fayre and Pumpkin Judging Competition at Millfields School; November 6 – launch of Wivenhoe Youth Club; November 8 – Methodist Church Christmas Bazaar; November 9 – Remembrance Services both at Colchester and at Wivenhoe; November 14 – Opening of Christmas exhibition at Wivenhoe Eyecare and in the evening the Town and Gown dinner at University of Essex and finally November 15 – French trip with Cedrics’ Coaches. b) Community Safety and Police Matters: Cllr. Rogers reported that crime figures were up at the University. There had been reports of theft of cycles and criminal damage to four cars. Cold callers had also been reported on the Dene Park estate. Concerning CCTV, Cllr. Rogers was waiting for a response from the Post Office. Cllr. Rogers congratulated Cllr. Purdey on the success of the Youth Club. Minutes of the NAP meetings were also available. c) Land Registration: Cllr. Liddy reported that work was proceeding on registering parcels of the Town Council’s land. Work on the Old Cemetery had revealed some interesting historical documents which the Town Council, as custodian, might like to consider putting on public display in the Council Chamber. There were a few anomalies on the registration of the site of the William Loveless Hall which Cllr. Liddy would resolve with the Colchester Borough Council. 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 of ashes had taken place. 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 work on the fence between the allotments and the Cricket Club had finished. It had been a very physical job and members expressed their thanks to the groundsmen in completing this. The Mede Way play area had been completed by contractors and had been opened on 1 November. Residents very pleased with the play area. The Town Council’s groundsmen had laid turf to finish the project and cut the hedge back. The number of visitors to the Council Offices for the month of October totalled 270, which was very high compared to the previous month, the Town Clerk explained that this was mainly due to allotment rents being paid at the office. b) A Parish Council Toolkit from RCCE on ‘Stop the Drop’ – litter and fly-tipping had been received. Members took note of this and would incorporate it their Awayday meeting. 9. FINANCE. 9.1 Current Financial Report a) The October spending and income Report was received and noted. b) Preliminary Budget meeting: Noted that this would be held on Tuesday 9 December at 7.30pm. Working Parties to consider their spend for the following year. c) Wivenhoe Web Site: A feasibility study for the future of the Town Council’s website, with a view to improving it, would be undertaken. 9.2 List of cheques numbered 502946 -502982 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) Wivenhoe Voluntary Youth Group – shed £165+ vat b) Barlow Tyrie – Sid Cox Memorial Bench £325 + vat (noted that sufficient funds had been raised for the bench) 9.5 Appeals for Financial Support. None. 10. NEW BUSINESS. 10.1 Correspondence. a) Communities and Local Government – Consultation on Code of Conduct for local authority members and employees: Received and noted with interest. Town Clerk advised that EALC would respond on behalf of Essex Town and Parish Councils, unless the Town Council had any particular comments to make. Comments needed by 24 December. b) Essex Stragglers: The request for permission to use Wivenhoe Woods and Park for orienteering event on 14 June 2009, as per event held this year on 15 June 2008 was AGREED. 10.2 Conferences/Seminars. None received. 10.3 Notices. Members noted the following: Late- Night shopping and Christmas Lights switch-on, Thursday 4 December 6.00pm 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. The following was noted: a) ECC Highways, Alresford Road: Work to take place at the La Farge quarry site entrance on Alresford Road, almost opposite Bowes Road, on the 26th November for approx. one week. This is to install a new section of footway in order to assist pedestrians. It will link the current footway across the quarry entrance to a point opposite the existing footway on the Bowes Road side. Traffic Lights will be in operation. 10.6 Press Releases: Cllr. Iacavou would prepare press releases for circulation to members for approval on (1) new legislation on non-permeable surfaces on driveways and patios and (2) Town and Gown dinner. CHAIRMAN The meeting closed at 9.30m. |