TOWN OF YARMOUTH ISLE OF WIGHT
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING HELD AT YARMOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL, MILL ROAD, YARMOUTH ON TUESDAY 24 APRIL 2012 AT 6.30pm.
PRESENT: Councillors S Cowley (Town Mayor) R Corbett, R Goodridge, A Ingram, S Mence, S Poston, B Tongue, Harbour Commissioner Phil Keen and 24 members of the public.
IN ATTENDANCE: Brian Jacobs (Town Clerk)
APOLOGIES: Councillor Peter Garlick, CC Stuart Hutchinson, Derek Moore
1. WELCOME BY THE MAYOR
The Mayor welcomed all present to the Yarmouth and Thorley Town Meeting.
2. MINUTES OF THE 2011 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Annual Town Meeting held on May 24th 2011 be taken as read, confirmed and signed as being an accurate record of the proceedings.
3. MATTERS ARISING
None were raised
4. REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL
The Mayor Steve Cowley made a verbal report based on the written document (Appendix 1 attached). There were no questions.
5. REPORT FROM THE LOCAL POLICE.
No report had been received from the local police
6. REPORT OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL MEMBER
Apologies were noted from the Isle of Wight Councillor Stuart Hutchinson. His annual report appears as Appendix II.
7. REPORT OF THE YARMOUTH TOWN TRUST
Richard Leonard, Chairman of Yarmouth Town Trust spoke to the written report (Appendix III as later amended).
Mayor Cowley disputed the statement that the YTC was prepared to have the application for village green status withdrawn and Mr Leonard agreed to change this in his report.
Stuart Holloway questioned the proposed community centre on the Recreation Ground regarding public access to the site, car parking and the lack of a location for the Children’s Play Area.
Mr Leonard replied that the proposal had not yet been discussed with the Town Council and, in reply to a further question, said that the public would be consulted when discussions began.
A member of the public asked how the idea of a community centre arose. Mr Leonard and the Mayor both replied that it was in the Yarmouth & Thorley Community Plan.
Peter Scott asked if the new 21-year lease would cover the whole of the Recreation Ground, to which Mr Leonard responded that it would, including the wild area.
Peter Scott also queried the use of the Recreation Ground by the public under report para 3A(iii) and Mr Leonard agreed to change this to the actual wording used in the Heads Of Agreement.
Debbie Davies stressed the need to provide a good park and equipment for children when the lease was renewed.
8. REPORT FROM YARMOUTH HARBOUR COMMISSION.
Phil Keen of the Harbour Commission spoke to the written report (Appendix IV).
There were no questions.
9 REPORT ON THE YARMOUTH AND THORLEY COMMUNITY PLAN.
Chairman Councillor Brian Tongue presented a summarised report of the activities of the Advisory Committee during 2011/12 (full report Appendix V), and gave thanks to all who participated in the Plan.
There were no questions.
10. REPORT ON YARMOUTH OLD GAFFERS FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
Debbie Cotton gave a report on the continuing progress of the Festival (Appendix VI).
There were no questions.
11. REPORT ON THE YARMOUTH CARNIVAL COMMITTEE
Chairman of the Carnival Committee, Chris Waddington spoke to the written report. (Appendix VII)
There were no questions.
12. REPORT ON THE YARMOUTH SOCIETY BY DEREK MOORE
A report was received on the activities of the Yarmouth Society (Appendix VIII)
13 TO CONSIDER RESOLUTIONS OF WHICH WRITTEN NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN
As no written resolutions had been received the Mayor thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 19.35.
Signed....................................................................................... Date................................
(Town Mayor)
APPENDIX I Annual Report of the Town Council by the Mayor, Councillor Steve Cowley
The Town Council has had a very busy year and there seems little prospect of this changing in the future. We continue to make good use of the Yarmouth and Thorley Community Plan which is now being submitted for adoption by the Isle of Wight Council as a Supplementary Planning Document. In particular, I would like to mention that in response to the Plan’s support for the much needed footpath along the main road in Thorley, the Council has ensured that this is on the IW Council’s list of highway improvements when funding is available and we will continue to press for some priority of action.
I would like to thank the Advisory Committee for the Implementation of the Plan for their continuous work in giving advice to the Council and in undertaking Council projects: Councillors Brian Tongue and Sylvia Mence with Barry Coates-Evans and Michael Craig and, in the History Project, with Councillor Rod Corbett and Kevin Shaw.
Financially, the Council has continued to seek sponsorship for projects where possible and to maintain reserves. The use of reserves, for one-off expenditure to support local royal event celebrations and the new Freshwater / Yarmouth / Totland Community Bus service, was restored by a small rise in the precept equivalent to about 7p/week for a Band D property. We wish the Community Bus service well and hope residents will make increasing use of it.
Annual grants have been made to support the Old Gaffers Festival, Carnival events throughout the year, the Primary School PTFA, the Little Stars Pre-School, the Ceri Irish Dancers, the printing of leaflets for Mill Copse and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The grants reflect the Council’s appreciation of the efforts of many volunteers involved in these local activities. There are also others who quietly make their personal contribution to the community and I was delighted to present the Mayor’s Award for 2011 to one such person, Carole Pitman for her 37 years service to the Brownies of Yarmouth.
I also wish to express the Council’s appreciation to our sponsors who have made possible our projects: Lottery funded West Wight Landscape Partnership, the Delphie Lakeman Memorial Trust, the Harbour Commissioners and Wightlink. I am pleased to report that one project, the refurbishment of the Sir Robert Holmes Chapel and statue, has just gained an IW Society’s Conservation Award.
I am very pleased to report much better relations between the Town Council and Town Trust since the last Town Meeting, with the acceptance of all four of the Council’s representative appointments to the Trust: Richard Leonard, Mike Dorey, Councillor Poston and myself. Preparations are in hand for a new lease of the Recreation Ground in September. Although joint discussions were held by Council, Town Trust and Harbour Commissioners about a possible community use for the old station building, its condition and selling price put it beyond our resources.
In Planning matters the Council has submitted a strong objection to the renewed application for five 100m high Wind Turbines on the edge of Thorley and supported Wightlink in its recent Lymington-based problems
Together with local marine organisations and Freshwater Parish Council, we have held a meeting with the IWC Highways PFI team to voice our very serious concerns about the proposal for remote operation of the Yar Bridge in the PFI scheme. Another meeting will be held after the PFI contractor is chosen in June and is then considering the detailed schedules and protocols to put forward to the IW Council. Any doubt about the reliability and efficiency of the bridge operation would seriously impact on the town and its businesses, the ferry service, and the harbour.
Yarmouth and Thorley lost a great friend and supporter in September. Stuart Dyer was in turn a Thorley Councillor, Town Mayor and then Ward County Councillor: hard working, shrewd and approachable. He is greatly missed.
We have given a warm welcome to our new IW Councillor, Stuart Hutchinson, and have already made good use of his advice and services with County Hall issues. We wish him well.
We have also had a change in Town Clerk, thanking John Medland for his time with us and welcoming Brian Jacobs.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow Councillors for their support throughout the year, and in particular the Deputy Mayor, Sylvia Mence. The Council and residents of Yarmouth and Thorley have much to look forward to in the near future: the Old Gaffers Festival in May, the Diamond Jubilee in June, the Olympic Torch Relay in July and the Carnival in August.
APPENDIX II The Report of Isle of Wight Councillor, Stuart Hutchinson
Last November I was pleased and proud to be elected as your representative on the Isle of Wight Council, for the West Wight ward. Ordinarily, this report would cover the previous 12 months but since it is, as I write, just 20 weeks since the election, it covers this period.
I have worked at senior levels in both City and County Authorities during the course of my career, but the work of a Councillor is quite different and so there has been a somewhat steep learning curve over the first few months. Not the least of that has been finding my way around the labyrinthine maze of all the council services.
It has been a busy few weeks and since being elected, I have to date attended over 100 meetings or events of one sort or another, both within the ward, at County Hall and across the Island as a whole. I regularly attend the meetings of Yarmouth Town Council to report on County Council activities and similarly of course for the two Parish Councils within the ward.
As well as Council duties I am glad to say that I have been able to resolve many queries for individual constituents – including being somewhat swamped with enquiries when the rubbish collection arrangements changed recently! That has now been successfully accomplished and has led to a huge and very welcome increase in recycling as well as a saving on Landfill Tax.
I was pleased to support The Town Council in their successful bid for Economic Improvement funding, and am also working to help local organisations such as the Old Gaffers Festival, with some of the difficulties they have experienced with the Island Council.
Since being elected I have been appointed to serve on IW Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which reviews the quality and effectiveness of key policy decisions, and also on the Employment Committee which sets salaries, terms and conditions for the Council's staff. I have also been asked to consider serving on the Planning Committee, but have declined until after the application for wind Turbines just south of Thorley, is considered. I can speak out more effectively against them if not part of the Committee.
More locally I am a member of the Yarmouth Harbour Advisory Committee, and have been co-opted to the Coastal Defence Working Group. I shall work closely with the Town Council on issues affecting both the Town and the Harbour.
Whilst I do not propose to hold monthly surgeries, as the experience of colleagues elsewhere shows they are rarely used, I regularly attend local meetings and open social events through out the ward and am happy to be contacted by constituents at any of them or:
post to: White Acre, Main Road, Wellow, Yarmouth PO41 OTD
email to: telephone: 760048
APPENDIX III Annual Report of Yarmouth Town Trust by the Chairman, Richard Leonard
1 – Financial matters
A – The accounts for the year ended 31 March will be considered at the next trustees’ meeting on 21 May. I do not have any exact figures for you today, I’m afraid, because tonight’s meeting is too soon after the year end for there to have been enough time for the accounts to be prepared. However, I am pretty sure that the results will be pretty much in line with what the trustees were expecting. Once the accounts have been approved by the trustees, they will be sent to the Charity Commission and eventually appear on the CC’s website…
B - Scaffolding came down from the south wall of the Town Hall on pretty much the last day of the trust’s financial year, after the renovation of that wall had been completed. We have heard a number of appreciative comments on the appearance of that wall, so thanks to Ingrams of Ventnor for the quality of their work. Cost for this work was £8,166. We hope to be able to attend to the front and north walls over the next year or two, including the War Memorial, but this will depend on what we can afford. I suppose that one day, and not too soon I hope, we will need to see what state the roof is in.....
I remind you that the main purpose on which the Trust can spend its income is maintaining the Town Hall, and indeed protecting all the trust’s property. The trust’s own income comes almost entirely from lettings of the Town Hall, and rents from the Mill Road cottages, and they all need regular maintenance. The Town Hall was used on 230 days last year, and bookings are up to 194 days so far this year.
C - Number 12 Mill Road has been renovated, and we hope to relet it next month. The trustees are grateful to Dave Cooke for all his work. As well as paying for the renovation works, which came to £19,474, the trust has had to bear a loss of a few months’ rental income from that house.
D - I take this opportunity to thank the trustees of the Delphie Lakeman and Herapath-Shenton trusts for their generous donations, without which the Yarmouth Town Trust’s finances would be in a poor state. We very much hope to receive further support from those trusts this year.