Crewkerne Town Council s7
CREWKERNE TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the CREWKERNE TOWN COUNCIL meeting held in the Council Chamber on Monday 28 November 2016 at 6.45 p.m.
PRESENT:
Cllrs. R. Pailthorpe (Chairman), Mrs S. Allman, Mrs K. Head, B. Hodgson,
Mrs R. Jackson, Miss K. Pritchard, N. Sturtivant and D. Wakeman.
In attendance:
The Clerk Mr P. Davidson, Admin Officer Mrs J. Cowie, Cty. Cllr. J. Dyke and 1 member of the public.
129 TO NOTE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
16/17
Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs. M. Best (another commitment), Ms Dawson (personal), Mrs A. Singleton (unwell) and Mrs A. Stuart (unwell).
130 OPEN FORUM
16/17
No one wished to speak.
131 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS
16/17
It was AGREED that the minutes of the meetings of Crewkerne Town Council held on Monday 24 October 2016 and Monday 14 November 2016 be APPROVED.
132 declarations of interest
16/17
Cllrs. Miss Pritchard and Mrs Jackson declared a personal interest in item 8, planning application 16/04479/FUL (both live in close proximity).
Cllr. Pailthorpe declared a personal interest in item 9 a), Finance (cheque for Mayor’s Annual Civic Allowance).
Cllr. Wakeman declared a personal interest in item 17 (Town Council representative).
133 TO RECEIVE REPORTS FROM THE COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
16/17
County
Cty. Cllr. Dyke reported on the following items:-
· North Street Pavement: Cllr. Dyke had attended a site meeting at North Street, along with Mike Fear - SSDC Assistant Highway Manager, Cllr. Mrs Allman and the Deputy Clerk. The meeting was to discuss concerns with regards to the uneven pavement, where in certain areas it was particularly dangerous for wheelchair users and pushchairs.
Mr Fear had noted the issues but had advised that funding was not available to undertake the necessary repairs. Cllr. Dyke then advised that he had submitted a request to Highways for a Safety Auditto be carried out and asked that the Town Council reinforce the need for the audit by also writing to Highways. The Chairman noted that a recent incident where a resident had been hit by a heavy goods vehicle had emphasised the need for action to be taken.
· Somerset County Council Budget: The projected overspend for this financial year was now just over £16 million. There was a continued freeze on recruitment and only essential work was allowed to be carried out.
· Clinical Commissioning Group: Continued attention was to be paid to the South West Clinical Commissioning Group and preventative measures to avoid illness. The County Council was to work more closely with the National Health Service to help make the public aware of keeping active.
· Painting of a Crewkerne Weaver: There was a painting in the member’s room at County Hall of a Crewkerne Weaver. It was currently being restored and as it had historical interest, the Crewkerne Heritage Centre would be welcome to borrow it if they had a display.
District
On behalf of Cllr. Best, the Chairman advised that the North Street planning application 15/04770/FUL was likely to be reviewed at the January meeting of the Area West Committee, and that it would be very beneficial for a member of the Town Council to attend. Cllr. Hodgson advised that he would attend the committee meeting.
134 CLERKS PROGRESS REPORT
16/17 To receive an update report
The Clerk reported on the following:
· Buildings Insurance Revaluation: The Clerk reported that the Council’s buildings had recently been revalued for insurance purposes. It had been a number of years since the last valuation had taken place and, inevitably, the value of the buildings had increased, in some cases significantly. This had resulted in a small increase in the Council’s insurance premium.
135 DEFERRED ITEMS
16/17
a) New Town Council Website: WordPress website development software has now been upgraded, which now allows Cllr. Miss Pritchard to refine the prototype website. Ongoing.
Cllr. Miss Pritchard reported that a website hosting package had now been purchased, which would allow her to finalise the design of the website. Ongoing.
136 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
16/17 To consider the following applications requiring observations before the next Planning and Highways Committee meeting
16/04479/FUL 66 Hermitage Street, Crewkerne
Alterations, change of use and conversion of shop to single storey dwelling (additional information).
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
16/04720/LBC IPS Palace, 145 South Street, Crewkerne
Internal and external alterations to include the installation of extraction/ventilation equipment (revised application).
RECOMMEND APPROVAL subject to approval by the SSDC Conservation Officer.
137 FINANCE
16/17
a) To approve accounts for payment for November 2016 as listed
The Clerk reported that Cllr. Hodgson had verified the accounts for payment for November 2016 in accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations and Risk Management.
Accounts for payment in the sum of £36,535.65 + VAT for November 2016 were approved.
b) To report that the bank reconciliation has been completed for October 2016
The Clerk reported that Cllr. Hodgson had verified the bank reconciliation for
October 2016. It was noted that cash in hand as of 31 October 2016 was £370,237.90.
138 QUALITY COUNCIL
16/17 To receive a progress report from the working group on the route to achieve accreditation in the Local Council Award Scheme at ‘Quality’ level
The Chairman reported that the working group had met to review progress towards submission of an application for accreditation of the Local Council Award Scheme at Quality level. The working group had concluded that the Quality award was achievable, and that the aim should be to achieve accreditation before the Annual Town Meeting of Electors in March 2017.
There were some minor process gaps which the Clerk was in the process of addressing and which would be reviewed at forthcoming Policy and Resources Committee meetings. The other area to be addressed was that of introducing a clear link between the recently issued ABCD Community Plan (and their associated draft Action Plan), and the Council’s Vision Action Plan. Cllr. Mrs Jackson, the Council’s ABCD representative, offered to raise this point at the forthcoming ABCD Annual General Meeting. It was therefore agreed that the Clerk and Cllr. Mrs Jackson would meet prior to the ABCD AGM, to clarify what action was required of ABCD.
139 OUTSIDE BODY REPRESENTATION
16/17 To appoint a new Town Council representative for the Crewkerne Area Business Chamber
After discussions, it was AGREED to suspend Town Council representation on the Crewkerne Area Business Chamber, pending the Clerk seeking confirmation from the Chamber that they required representation from the Council and clarification of the Chamber’s meeting schedule.
140 NEWSLETTER DELIVERY
16/17 To consider the acceptability of the newsletter being delivered alongside advertising material
It was reported that advertising material was recently distributed with the November newsletter. It was noted that the distributor makes only a small profit, margins were tight and therefore marketing material had been included by the distributer to help keep the newsletter delivery costs low.
Councillors acknowledged and supported the need to keep costs down but expressed concerns with the type of advertising material that could be sent with future deliveries as it could infer that the Council was seen to be endorsing those businesses.
After further discussions, it was AGREED to write to the newsletter distribution company to stipulate that although it would be permitted to include advertising material, it should not be inserted or folded together with the newsletter. They would be provided with a list of advertising material that should not be included in the delivery round.
141 TO RECEIVE DRAFT COMMITTEE AND WORKING GROUP MINUTES
16/17
a) Planning and Highways Committee meeting held on 14 November 2016
Noted.
c) Amenities Committee meeting held on 14 November 2016
Noted.
Heritage Centre Trustees Meeting: Cllr. Pailthorpe reported on his recent attendance at the meeting, which had been extremely positive, with the trust being in a strong financial position.
142 OUTSIDE BODIES
16/17 To receive reports from Crewkerne Voluntary Transport and Crewkerne Action for the Disabled
Noted.
Cllr. Mrs Allman referred to a comment included in the CAD minutes regarding the George Reynolds Centre, which stated that ‘no buggies or wheelchairs allowed upstairs because there is a notice in the lift’. She added that the centre was originally designed for disabled access. The Clerk agreed to investigate this matter.
143 TO RECEIVE ANY MATTERS OF REPORT
16/17
Cllr. Miss Pritchard reported on the outcome at the recent Bincombe Management meeting, where the following items had been discussed:
· Green Flag award: Work was ongoing to identify in detail the requirements to achieve Green Flag award for Bincombe. Once this work was complete, a gap analysis would be carried out to highlight areas to action.
· Ash Dieback: This disease was spreading and was likely to impact Crewkerne, with potentially significant cost implications for the Council because of the large number of ash trees on its grounds. This item would be carried forward into the Amenities Committee.
· Bincombe Fayre: The proposed date for the fayre was Saturday 10 June 2017. The Deputy Clerk would be planning the event over the coming months, with the emphasis on a “low footprint” on Bincombe itself, in keeping with the nature of the site.
144 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
16/17
Monday 19 December 2016 at 6.45 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
Signed: ………………………
Dated: ………………………..
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It was AGREED that in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted it was advisable that the public and press be excluded and were instructed to withdraw.
CONFIDENTIAL SESSION – CONTRACTUAL MATTERS
145
16/17
146
16/17
147
16/17
The meeting closed at 8.00 p.m.
Signed: ………………………
Dated: ……………………….
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