Apologies Were Received from Councillors a C Lloyd and a J Pearson

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SALTNEY TOWN COUNCIL held at the ODDFELLOWS HALL, 65 HIGH STREET, SALTNEY on WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY, 2016.

PRESENT: The Mayor, Councillor M S Streeter; Councillors H D Beddow; P S Board; C Evans; V Gay; M Green; E E Greensmith; B M J Gregory; C Gregory; T R Lloyd; J Shallcross; T Walker and the Town Clerk.

159. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors A C Lloyd and A J Pearson.

160. CODE OF CONDUCT – DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Richard Lloyd declared an interest in item 10.(2) (Community Asset Transfer).

161. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13 January,2016 were confirmed as a correct record.

162. MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising.

163. POLICE MATTERS

Unfortunately due to police duties PCSO Hughes was unable to be present. The Town Clerk had spoken to PC Hughes prior to the meeting. He had acknowledged that there were still problems with the 101 telephone link and invited Members to visit the Control Room and see how the calls were handled. Members were invited to contact PCSO Hughes direct in order to make the necessary arrangements.

PCSO Hughes submitted a report, circulated by the Town Clerk, in which he referred to the good results being produced by the new CCTV cameras and also the seizure of a mini motor bike being used by a youth in the Douglas Place area.

Members discussed the following points:

· the 101 telephone call system. Personal experience from Members demonstrated that the 101 system was not working. Calls either misdirected to another police force or the call not being answered at all. Members felt that the matter should be drawn to the attention of the Police Commissioner;

· cycling on pavements all around the Town, especially around the shops area, along the High Street and Sandy Lane where a cycle lane was unused whilst the cyclists used the pavement. PCSO Hughes to be asked to make this problem a priority in the next few weeks;

· despite the confiscation of one mini motor bike there were other motor bikes being ridden in the alleyway between Linden Grove and Allandale and also on the Saltney Ferry playing fields;

· complaints had been received about a van that was habitually parked on the pavement adjacent to The Yews on Saltney Ferry Road it interfered with the 'sight line' on the approach to Saltney Ferry School.

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk be requested to draw these matters to the attention of the Police.

164. STREETSCENE

Mr Griffiths was in attendance from Streetscene and Members raised the following points:

· the problems with the waste paper bins at Morrisons. It was felt that the present bins were too small and paper was being blown about. Continued complaints were being received;

· a number of trees and hedges throughout the Town needed cutting back and pruning before the 'bird nesting season' begins, such as Larchway; Sandy Lane; by St David's School etc. Mr Jones explained that most of them were not within his remit as they were owned by different sections of the County Council or even in private ownership. He agreed to look further into the matter with the Departments concerned;

· dog - fouling in many areas of the Town. Members agreed to invite 'Paws on Patrol' to make a presentation at the next meeting; mention was also made of the lack of dog poo bins on the High Street and Mr Jones asked for Members to suggest suitable sites;

· Mr Griffiths was thanked for the prompt way his department dealt with the fly tipping of some mattresses;

· the seat in the bus stop adjacent to the 'Tavern'. It was reported that it was too badly vandalised to repair and a replacement had been ordered;

· there were any number of shopping trolleys being abandoned around the Town and the Town Clerk was asked to write to Morrisons drawing their attention to their responsibilities in this matter;

· Mr Griffiths circulated posters for insertion in the Town Notice Boards informing the public that the County Council were introducing a 'zero tolerance' to the depositing of litter.

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk be requested to pass the comments onto the Streetscene officer.

165. MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor had prepared a written report and had circulated it to all Members present.

166. CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT LOCAL GOVERNMENT (WALES) BILL

Members were reminded that the Town Clerk had reported that the Minister for Public Services had published, for consultation, a Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill which set out the Welsh Government's detailed proposals for the reform of local government in Wales. Welsh Government/ Draft Local Government (Wales) Bill and Explanatory Memorandum

In the event the small working group appointed to consider recommendations, with regard to the Council's response, in time for the Council meeting in February, 2016 had been unable to meet for various reasons. However they had, as individuals, considered those matters particularly of concern to Town and Community Councils. These had been amalgamated into a response by the Town Clerk and the results circulated to the Members present.

RESOLVED: That, subject to the one amendment now indicated in relation to the extension to the period of office to be served by Town and Community Councillors for the one cycle, the comments of the Town Council be submitted as per the Town Clerks report.

167 SALTNEY LIBRARY

1. Petition

The Town Clerk reported that a petition had been received signed by 34 residents. The petition is headed 'Saltney Library Service : Request for a Public Review and states 'Please lend your support to request Saltney Town Council/Flintshire County Council provide a date for a public review meeting on the future of this important community service. More signatories were submitted at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the petition be received.

2.Meeting

The Town Clerk report that on 18 January he had received a request from the County Council for a Town Council representative to attend a meeting with regards to 'Saltney Library Community Asset Transfer'. On further enquiry it had been revealed that the request had come following a meeting of the County Council's Organisational Change Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that the meeting would also involve the Chief Officer for Organisational Change, the Chief Executive of the County Council; the Cabinet member for Education, a representative from the Library Service and one from the Youth Service; the County Council Ward Members; a representative from the Community Centre Management Committee. After consulting The Mayor the name of Councillor Walker was put forward to attend together with the Town Clerk. The meeting had been held on Tuesday 9 February and the Town Clerk submitted a report as follows.:

All those present proposed the following principles and way forward which would take away the risk of library provision being lost in Saltney from 1st April 2016.

1. That work takes place during 2016 to develop, jointly between Saltney Town Council and Saltney Community Centre Management Association, one application to Community Asset Transfer the Youth and Community Centre.

2. That this application includes Saltney Library.

3. That initially and prior to this application, an expression of interest and proposal for how the library can be operated as a community library in the existing youth and community centre be developed ready to implement between April and June 2016.

4.That the vision for the Youth and Community Centre is that it can be a community hub with a range of services and activities being delivered from the building, while still meeting the needs of existing users.

5. That the asset transfer of the Youth and Community Centre needs to consider and incorporate in the best way possible the aspirations of key stakeholders in the community including existing users of the building, and that more detailed community engagement will start in March.

6. Flintshire County Council will continue to operate youth services from the building.

7. Flintshire County Council will consider in line with existing policy and practice, proposals for capital support and one off revenue support that will facilitate these asset transfers.

8. Flintshire County Council library and youth service staff will support the Town Council and Community Centre Management Association to develop these proposals.

9. That representatives present at the meeting are committed to working co-operatively to achieve the best outcomes possible for the community of Saltney, and will initially be part of a working group along with other key stakeholders in the building to take these principles forward.

A further meeting of the group together with the other stakeholders had been arranged for Wednesday 24 February.

RESOLVED: (Unanimously) That, without prejudice to any of the other principles referred to above , paragraphs 1,2 and 3 be adopted.

168. REQUESTS FOR GRANTS

1. The Town Clerk reported the receipt of thank you letters from Saltney Methodist Church and St Anthony's Catholic Primary School.

2. The Town Clerk reported the receipt of an application for grant from 'Transformation for Veterans - Woodwork to Wellness. The Group were housed in Unit 4b, Saltney Business Centre and their aims were to 'promote social inclusion for the public and ex-forces personnel to benefit by preventing those people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are isolated or socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society'.

The main activities include woodworking crafts and projects including wood turning skills, workshops, DIY, art and basic trade skills such as plumbing, tiling plastering and carpet fitting. The workshop space was substantial at just over 2000 sq ft and the grant requested was for £1460 for the purchase of a table saw; wood lathe and a woodburner for heating (including the fitting cost). At present only one area had a set of tools. The grant would equip another area and provide much needed heating.

The Workshop had been officially opened by The Mayor earlier in the month.

RESOLVED: That a grant of £1460 be made to 'Transformation for Veterans for the purposes outlined above.

169. SUMMER PLAY SCHEME PROGRAMME - BILLY'S PARK

The Town Clerk reported that the County Council had yet to receive any confirmation of their share of grant funding to enable them to match fund a play scheme of 3 weeks duration in the summer of 2016. Last year the 3 week course had cost the Town Council £900. If the grant was withdrawn from the County Council the cost to the Town Council would be £1800. In the past such a scheme has been approved for Billy's Park in Saltney Ferry and the County Council were requesting an indication of whether the Town Council would be prepared to meet the full cost if necessary.

RESOLVED: That the County Council be informed that the Town Council would only be able to match fund the £900. In the event that the County Council grant was not forthcoming the £900 be 'ring fenced' for the Saltney Ferry Tenants and Residents Association in order that they could run their own summer play scheme.

170. NOTICES OF MOTION

1. Councillors Gay, Greensmith and Shallcross declared a personal interest in this item.

Members considered a Notice of Motion standing in the name of Councillor T R Lloyd, 'That as Saltney Town Council is investigating the possibility of completing a community asset transfer of the Saltney Youth Club and Community Centre, Sandy Lane from Flintshire County Council, a request is made from the Town Council to the Treasurer of the Community Centre Management Committee to provide a recent profit and loss a/c for the Community Centre and also a list of the present and future bookings that have been taken for the said centre. With a request that the information is provided before the next meeting of this Town Council '.

Following a request for a named vote:

Voting For Cllrs Voting Against Cllrs

P S Board B M J Gregory H D Beddow

C Gregory T R Lloyd C Evans

M S Streeter T Walker

RESOLVED: That the motion be approved and the Town Clerk write as now indicated.

2. Members considered a Notice of Motion standing in the name of The Mayor, Councillor M S Streeter 'that the Town Council appoint a 'Liaison Councillor' tasked to report on youth services activities within the Township with a remit to represent the Town Council with the youth and to act as an advocate on their behalf'.

Following a request for a named vote:

Voting For Cllrs Voting Against Cllrs

P S Board B M J Gregory H D Beddow

C Gregory T R Lloyd C Evans

M S Streeter E E Greensmith V Gay

J Shallcross T Walker

RESOLVED: That the motion be approved.

It was then proposed and seconded that Councillor T Walker be appointed Youth Liaison Councillor and an amendment that Councillor C Evans be appointed Youth Liaison Councillor was proposed and seconded.

In accordance with Standing Orders the amendment was taken first and following a request for a named vote:

Voting For Cllrs Voting Against Cllrs

H D Beddow PS Board

C Evans E E Greensmith

V Gay B M J Gregory

C Gregory

T R Lloyd

M S Streeter

Councillor Walker abstained

The amendment was NOT carried.

Voting on the substantive motion that Councillor T Walker be appointed Youth Liaison Officer and following a request for a named vote: