CREWKERNE TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the ANNUAL TOWN MEETING OF ELECTORS held in the Victoria Hall, Market Square, Crewkerne on Monday 7th April 2014 at 7.30 p.m.
PRESENT :
Robin Pailthorpe Mayor of Crewkerne (in the Chair)
Jeanne Warner Town Clerk
Approximately 25 local government electors of the Parish of Crewkerne and 10 other persons.
The Town Crier, David Craner, announced the opening of the meeting with a special cry.
INTRODUCTION BY CLLR. ROBIN PAILTHORPE, THE MAYOR
The Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting. He said there would be an opportunity for electors to ask questions or to raise matters of concern following the presentations. Also there would be an informal period at the end of the meeting to talk to individual Councillors.
ANNUAL CITIZENSHIP AWARD PRESENTATION
The Mayor said this was the 18th year of the Award and explained the process by which the recipients were chosen.
The Mayor presented an Award to Mrs Valerie Watson.
Mrs Watson and her husband moved to Crewkerne in 1967 and was a teacher in Yeovil, later teaching science at Maiden Beech School. She became involved in the community from the outset and has been significantly involved in the Crewkerne Ranger group and Girl Guide movement for many years and has undertaken the role of secretary for the Trefoil Group. She has been running a popular geological group within the U3A and also arranges local walks, giving participants details of points of interest. Along with her husband she also runs a successful mah-jong club in Crewkerne.
Mrs Watson accepted the Award and thanked everyone. She said that Crewkerne was a very pleasant place to live.
INTRODUCTION OF TOWN COUNCILLORS
The Mayor introduced the Councillors.
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE LAST ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
ON MONDAY 15th APRIL 2013
The Minutes of the meeting of the Annual Town Meeting of Electors held on
Monday 15th April 2013 were APPROVED.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THESE MINUTES
There were no matters arising.
TO RECEIVE THE ANNUAL REPORT OF CREWKERNE TOWN COUNCIL
BY CLLR. PAILTHORPE
A copy of the report read out by the Mayor is attached.
TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE POLICE LOCAL BEAT MANAGER: ‘COMMUNITY POLICING REVIEW’
The Mayor welcomed PC Purcell to the meeting.
PC Purcell said that the local policing ambition was to ensure that communities were safe and that they had trust and confidence in Avon and Somerset Constabulary. He referred to PACT meetings, where local issues were identified and policing priorities were set. He said that previous priorities identified were burglaries, drugs, anti-social behaviour and issues with speeding, parking and traffic. The Police were now seeking the concerns for this year and asked those present to complete a PACT form which had been distributed.
The Police were working with private landlords and partner agencies, taking a risk-based approach to tackle anti-social behaviour so that the most vulnerable victims and communities received the support they needed. He said they were targeting and convicting those involved in the distribution of drugs and added that it was pivotal that the public reported any suspicions. There had been an increase recently in non-dwelling burglaries, in particular shed break-ins and as a result a mobile shed named ‘Sheducation’ was set up offering crime prevention advice. He talked about the town link radio for shops, who were members of the initiative, enabling them to communicate with the local Safer Neighbourhood Team.
There had been a fundamental review of the way the local Police worked and said that new Neighbourhood Managers would be working closely with partners and communities to tackle hotspots and there would be a greater visibility of officers. He also reported that week commencing 7th April there would be Rogue Trader Week and they were continuing with rural crime prevention to reduce the sense of isolation and vulnerability. He explained about a scheme called ‘Safe Places’ which helps vulnerable people deal with difficult situations whilst they were out in the community. He also referred to the community speedwatch and said that the volunteers were doing a fantastic job. He concluded by saying that they would continue to work with the public and on the success of last year.
PC Purcell was thanked for his report.
TO RECEIVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE WWI COMMEMORATIONS AND VARIOUS TOWN PROJECTS
Cllr. Mrs Singleton reported that the working party of Town Councillors, members of the Royal British Legion, residents and Officers of Town and District Council had been working together to ensure that the 3 memorials in Crewkerne would be at their best in time for the World War One Commemorations. The Severalls Park Avenue War Memorial Soldier monument looked splendid now it had been cleaned and there was a display in the hall that showed the proposals to enhance the gardens, footpath and new benches. This was an exciting project which she hoped it would be a pleasant place to visit and a safe environment for children. The existing war memorial plaque in Falkland Square would be replaced with a newly engraved brass plaque in a carved oak frame. The memorial in St Bartholomew’s Churchyard would be cleaned also. She explained that funding had been received from various sources, including South Somerset District Council, Cty. Cllr. Dyke’s Community Fund, the Royal British Legion and Town Council.
There were plans for services of rededication for the memorials in Severalls Park Avenue and St Bartholomew’s Churchyard, plus a service of dedication for the new memorial in Falkland Square on 3rd and 4th August to mark national commemorations of the outbreak of World War One. There would be more information in the local press and the Royal British Legion were the main contacts.
She also reported that the Crewkerne Town Fete would be held on Saturday 7th June and CUDOS would be holding their next production called ‘Oh what a lovely war!’ between 7th and 10th May.
TO RECEIVE AN ANNUAL REPORT ON THE GEORGE REYNOLDS CENTRE BY CREWKERNE SPORTS AND YOUTH ACTIVITIES LTD
Apologies had been received from the Chairman of CSYAL that he was not available to provide a report.
TO RECEIVE AN ANNUAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVE LIFESTYLE CENTRE AND CREWKERNE AQUA CENTRE FROM A DIRECTOR OF CREWKERNE LEISURE MANAGEMENT
Mr Nick Sale, Director said that the Aqua Centre has had another successful year of trading and Crewkerne Leisure Management remained financially stable. They were careful to remain competitive, deliver a great service and encourage healthy, active lifestyles.
The pool was closed for 2 weeks over the Christmas period for maintenance work. He thanked all those involved for their hard work and feedback had been positive.
There were 8 first schools bringing large groups of children every week for swimming lessons. They also run an extensive programme of swimming lessons for the public, 25 fitness classes per week and new gym equipment had been installed.
A key group for the Aqua Centre was the proactive adult users, who were referred by their doctors for health reasons. Currently 62 people were on the programme and fitness instructors had been specially trained to support them.
The centre was a busy place and he took the opportunity to thank the centre managers and staff who cope fantastically well in a challenging environment. He also thanked the volunteers who were a vital factor in making the centre a success and said that more are volunteers are always welcome.
Mr Sale was thanked for his report.
PRESENTATION OF GRANTS CHEQUES TO LOCAL GROUPS AND ORGANISATIONS
The Mayor welcomed representatives from local groups and organisations to the meeting. He thanked them for all their hard work and said it was a great pleasure to present them with the cheques from the Town Council and wished them all every success for the future.
Those receiving grants were as follows: Henhayes Centre, Crewkerne and District Heritage Centre, CUDOS, Young People’s Music Festival at the Henhayes Centre, South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau, Twinning Association, Tea Dance Group and an Honorarium to David Craner the Town Crier. There were no representatives to collect the grant from the Golden Oldies Charity.
MATTERS RAISED BY CREWKERNE RESIDENTS
The Mayor invited residents to ask questions or raise any concerns.
Mr Clarke requested an update on the situation of the CLR housing development.
The Mayor informed Mr Clarke that 525 houses had gone through outline approval. Origin3 recently held a public consultation for opinions on an additional 200 houses which would cover ¾ of proposed employment land, but there had not been a formal planning application for the additional houses. He added that this matter had not been formally debated by the Town Council, however his opinion was that if the site was to lose the employment land for more houses, Crewkerne stood the risk of becoming a dormitory town.
Mr Clarke responded by expressing his concerns and encouraged the Council to keep the desire of the balance of the original development to provide jobs and accommodation for the community.
Mr Forster thanked Councillors and the Police for all their good work, he then raised a number of questions. He asked for an update on the 30 minute parking restrictions in the town centre and when was it going to be extended to 1 hour, he then referred to a recent article in the Western Gazette with regards to some of profits from Yeovil car parks going to Yeovil Chamber of Trade and questioned whether Crewkerne could similarly source some of the money for Crewkerne car parks. He expressed his concerns that some people are regularly jumping the one system from Hermitage Street to Market Street and felt that it needed to be policed more significantly, also people were parking on the zig zag lines by the pedestrian area on Market Street. He advised that he had spoken to the Police with regards to his concerns and said he had been told that there was a lack of resources and funding. He questioned whether some funds could be transferred to the Police to assist with traffic crime.
The Mayor responded by advising Mr Forster to write to the Town Council with regards to the matter of sourcing profits from Crewkerne car parks and Cllr. Best informed that the extension time of the 30 minute to 1 hour parking restriction was awaiting a Road Traffic Order and would be enforced soon.
PC Purcell advised that the Police had issued several tickets to drivers coming out of the one way system in the wrong direction.
The meeting closed at 8.20 p.m.
Signed: ……………………..
Dated: ………………………
jc/council/ATM07Apr14
THE MAYOR’S REPORT
I would like to welcome you all to this, the Mayor’s Annual Report 2013/14, to let people know of the work carried out by the Council and changes made within the last year and also remind us of some of the major events that have taken place.
This last year seems to have been a fairly quiet one to many, but this is not the case for the Council, working hard to make changes, some small, some large, to hopefully improve the town.
As most of you will be aware the Wednesday Market has moved from South Street car park to Market Square, where it is proving to be a great success! What is less well known is that it is also now run and managed by the Town Council, giving the people a far greater say in their market.
We have taken over the lease of the public toilets and are looking to spruce them up a little and make them a positive part of our town. Little by little we will improve them, if not to a place of great beauty, at least somewhere we can feel unashamed of!
The project to improve Henhayes Recreation Ground progresses slowly with the demolition of the old clubhouse and pavilion due soon, and other works to improve the play facilities and planting of the South Street car park entrance (see Amenities report).
Once again traffic is an issue within our town, what with the gas main being re-laid in Church Street and elsewhere it has been a bad time recently. This has made life tougher for traders in town but we are assured that this is the last, for the gas, for some time to come! And we must be grateful that all the heavy rain did not cause flooding here at least.
I would like to thank my fellow Councillors, who do a wonderful job on your behalf in ensuring that Crewkerne remains a vibrant town. However they could not do this without the Town Council staff and a large number of volunteers who help out with various groups and organisations in the town and I would also like to thank them for all their continuing effort on behalf of the Community.
Cllr. Robin Pailthorpe, Mayor
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