Chair approved

MINUTESof the Annual Town Meeting of Wivenhoe held at the William Loveless Hall, Wivenhoe at 7.30pm on Wednesday 13th May 2015.

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Present:The Town Mayor (Cllr. K. Read) (Chairman)

Cllrs: R. Needham, F. Richards, A. Aldis, D. Henley, P. Kraft, N. Lodge, C. Kelly, N. Tile and A. Vaughan.

Borough Cllrs. C. Liddy and R. Scott

Town Clerk, Antoinette Stinson

CBC Zone Warden Melinda Bracey

Jean Coverley and Pat Smith

57 local residents

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. I. Endean and County Cllr. J. Young.

The Town Mayor, Cllr. Kevin Read,welcomed all to the meeting saying how proud and privileged he had been to be Wivenhoe’s Town Mayor. He had enjoyed the year immensely and spoke aboutWivenhoe being a fantastic place to live. His aim during the year which was to bring the community together as ‘One Wivenhoe’ - and he was extremely pleased that this had been accomplished. He thanked the team of people in the background who had helped to achieve the fantastic amount of over £11,000 during his year, which was a record amount. He paid especial thanks to the Mayoress, Hayley for her support and enthusiasm, organising and driving forward a variety of fund-raisers, in particular the Sale Trails, Curry nights, trips to Newmarket, Mayor’s Ball and the Candlelit supper.

Cllr. Read also thanked all the Town Council staff for all their help during the year with special thanks being expressed to the Town Clerk.

Cllr. Read spoke about the Town Council’s year and how projects were now coming into fruition, the JubileeGarden and the WildlifeGarden were almost completed, a new project for the future was the floating Pontoon for public river access to the River Colne, which had now been granted Planning Permission. Fund-raising could now begin in earnest for this public facility. Another initiative has been to create a new landscaped area over a piece of highway waste land near the bus stop at Vine Parade, improving the entrance into Wivenhoe. Cllr. Read expressed thanks to Wivenhoe in Bloom for taking this on and supplying all the plants and to the Town Council’s two groundsmen for landscaping the project.

Much work had also been carried out on the Cemetery Chapel during the year in preparation for its opening as a small museum. Championed by Cllr. Needham the small project had snowballed over the year and the grand opening was scheduled for 14 May. After that it would be open on weekends throughout the summer, manned by willing volunteers. Many artefacts had been donated and it will be of great interest to both visitors and residents.

The Wivenhoe Neighbourhood Plan was now in its second year of progress and when completed would secure a better future for the town.

Cllr. Read also spoke about the Town Council’s vision for the future which had been previously displayed at past Town Meetings with artwork by Anglian Ruskin students, presenting their imaginative sketches of a Civic Centre for Wivenhoe. It was a very exciting venture and all the more attainable now that the Town Council had secured the site of 81/83 High Street and were in the throes of negotiations with Colchester Borough Council to reclaim the site of 77/79 High Street, which originally belong to Wivenhoe Urban District Council before Local Government Reorganisation in 1974.

Cllr. Read then had the honour of presenting the Citizen’s Award to two very special ladies who do so much for Wivenhoe – these being Jeannie Coverley and Pat Smith, both Jeannie and Pat said how delighted they were to receive the Award and how much they enjoyed taking part in Wivenhoe life.

Cllr. Read then presented another Award, this time to Graham Wadley in recognition of Graham’s 50 years service with St. Mary’s Church and also for all his assistance with the Annual Civic Service. Graham thanked the Town Council saying how honoured he was to receive the Award. Photographs were then taken of the Award recipients.

2/ Minutes.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Annual Town Meeting held on 14 May 2014 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

3/ Matters arising from the Minutes.

There were no matters arising.

4/ Annual Report.

The Town Council's Annual Report for 2014/15, previously circulated to all residents in the April edition of the Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe Chronicle, was presented by Cllr. Read.

RESOLVED that the Annual Report be received.

5/ Financial Statement.

The Town Council's Financial Statement for 2014/15 was received and noted.

RESOLVED that the Financial Statement be received.

6/ Points/Resolutions raised by residents.

There being no formal points or resolutions submitted Cllr. Read opened the floor for questions.

  • Ward Cllr. R. Scott asked about the current situation with regard to the Town Council’s negotiations with Colchester Borough Council concerning the Public Conveniences.

Cllr. Needham responded that the Town Council were reluctant to take on the burden of the public conveniences without the Town Council building and yard being part of the transfer and that this was now at the negotiation stage.

  • A resident asked about the Doctor’s Surgery.

Cllr. Lodge responded that this was expected to be completed by December of this year at the Philip Road site.

  • A resident asked about whether the riverbank could be cleared on the Alresford side.

Zone Warden Melinda Bracey responded that she would looked into this.

  • Cllr. Scott mentioned that there was to be a meeting about Home to School Transport at BroomgroveSchool on 4 June at 6.30pm. This was a very important meeting for parents to attend.

Cllr. Read explained that the current state of play was that the County Council’s decision to supply free school transport to the ‘nearest geographical school only’ still stood, despite objections and petitions. This would end the 50 year reign of free school transport to the ColneSchool at Brightlingsea which would have a drastic affect on many Wivenhoe parents, as new pupils will have no choice but to go the ColchesterAcademy or pay for travel to the ColneSchool.

  • A resident asked what is happening with the land opposite MillfieldsSchool.

Cllr. Read responded that the Town Council had made offers to Elmstead Parish Council to purchase the land from them, but these had all been rejected. The land has the status of open space.

Cllr. Vaughan left the meeting at this point.

6/ Mayor's Charity Fund and Presentation of Cheques.

Cllr. Read thanked all those who had so generously helped to raise money for the Mayor's Charity Fund during hisyear. An amount of £11,000 had been raised at an assortment of functions which included the regular favourites of Wivenhoe Memories and the Mayor’s Ball– all repeat successes of traditions begun in previous years. New ideas this year were the Candlelit Supper, Sale Trail, Newmarket races, Curry night, Jazz in the Church and a Rugby lunch.

Cllr. Readthen presented the proceeds of his Mayor’s Charity Fund to representatives of the following organisations:

£

Wivenhoe Community minibus / 200
MethodistChurch / 200
Wivenhoe Communities Teas Group / 250
Colne Radio / 800
Wivenhoe Film Theatre / 300
Wivenhoe Toddler Group / 150
Junior Warden Scheme / 100
Britannia Court / 150
Stuart Pawsey Court / 150
WivenhoeChapelMuseum / 300
Wivenhoe Bosom Pals / 200
Wivenhoe Scouts & Guides / 450
WAGA / 250
Wivenhoe History Group / 200
WivenhoeTown Cricket Club / 400
Wivenhoe Christmas Lights / 300
Wivenhoe Congregational Church / 200
St Mary's Sunday Club / 200
The Robin Cancer Trust / 400
Wiv and Dist Sporting Facilities Trust / 400
William Loveless Hall / 150
Wiv Gigs / 265
Wivenhoe Corsairs / 265
Grassroots / 400
Wivenhoe May Fair / 600
Wivenhoe Youth Club / 200
TransitionTownWivenhoe / 400
Wivenhoe Canoe & Kayak Club / 250
Helping Hands / 250
Wivenhoe Over 60's / 100
Wivenhoe Memories / 100
Monday Club / 100
Wild About Wivenhoe / 250
Wiv Gilbert & Sullivan Society / 200
N.E.Essex Horse Rescue Unit / 300
Fete on the Field / 300
JubileeGardens / 400
Floating Pontoon / 500

£10630

Photographs were then taken of each recipient.

7/ Any Other Matters.

The Town Mayor, Cllr. Read then thanked all who had attended, and formally declared the meeting closed.

The meeting ended at 8.40pm.

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CHAIRMAN

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