Minutes of the Lutterworth Town Council Meeting

MINUTES OF THE LUTTERWORTH TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

HELD ON 13 SEPTEMBER 2011 AT THE COUNCIL OFFICES

COMMENCING AT 7.30PM

Present The Town Mayor, Councillor T Hirons

The Deputy Town Mayor, Councillor R Coleman

Councillors E Derrick, D Gair, A Holyoak (7.38), M Johnson-Howe,

B Piper, G Robinson, V Thornton, P Toye and C Weston

99 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

An apology for absence was received and approved from Councillors Ackerley, Howes, Koriya and Turner. Members noted that Councillor Holyoak was due to attend but had apologised in advance for her late arrival which was due to attendance at another meeting.

An apology for absence was also received from Councillor O’Connell, however members RESOLVED that, prior to accepting this apology, further information be requested due to the repeated absence of Councillor O’Connell.

100 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Derrick declared a personal interest in item 7 of the Clerk’s report due to her involvement in the Masharani Patient Participation Group.

Councillors Johnson-Howe and Weston declared a personal and prejudicial interest in planning application 11/01172/FUL due to having been involved in the preparation of the application and being members of the Lutterworth Masonic Association.

Councillor Piper declared a personal interest in planning application 11/01172/FUL due to having several friends that are members of the Lutterworth Masonic Association.

101 MINUTES, LUTTERWORTH TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Lutterworth Town Council meeting held on 12 July 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record.

102 MINUTES, EVENTS WORKING PARTY MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Events Working Party meeting held on 18 July 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

103 MINUTES, RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Recreation Committee meeting held on 28 July 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

104 MINUTES, TOWN GUIDE WORKING PARTY MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Guide Working Party meeting held on 1 August 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

Thanks were extended to the Town Guide Working Party for their work to date.

Councillor Holyoak arrived at the meeting.

105 MINUTES, PLANNING AND GRANTS COMMITTEE MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning and Grants Committee meeting held on 1 August 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

106 MINUTES, EVENTS WORKING PARTY MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Events Working Party meeting held on 8 August 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

107 MINUTES, PAVILION WORKING PARTY MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Pavilion Working Party meeting held on 31 August 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

Councillor Piper reminded that no short term work undertaken at the Pavilion should compromise long term alternative energy solutions for the building and / or the recreation ground.

108 MINUTES, PLANNING AND GRANTS COMMITTEE MEETING

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning and Grants Committee meeting held on 5 September 2011 be signed by the Town Mayor as a true record, that the minutes be adopted and that all recommendations contained therein be approved.

109 TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Councillor Hirons reported his attendance at the Lutterworth Volunteer Centre AGM; Lutterworth Town Council friendly match against Lutterworth Town Bowling Club; Lutterworth Fire Station Open Day and League of Friends of Feilding Palmer Hospital Fete; numerous events throughout Feast Week; the Choir of St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, Australia at Leicester Cathedral; Rugby Methodist Church Centre for the welcome service for new Ministers on the Rugby / Lutterworth circuit; supported Lutterworth Swimming Club and presented them with medals at the Annual League Swimming Finals at Wolverhampton Central Baths; Civic Service for the new Chairman of Harborough District Council at Medbourne Church.

110 COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

County Councillor Page and seven members of the public were in attendance.

Mrs Pat McVay encouraged the Town Council to collect residents’ views on the proposed parliamentary boundary changes that would affect Lutterworth and to respond to the consultation. Councillor Thornton advised that Andrew Robathan MP was due to hold two public meetings in Lutterworth and Broughton Astley concerning this subject and would therefore pass the details of these meetings onto the Town Clerk once final arrangements had been made.

County Councillor Page urged members to forward any comments about the proposed Rugby Road pedestrian crossing as the scheme was due to be signed off on 19 September 2011. Mrs Page also advised members of her objections to the District Council’s revised Core Strategy proposal for ‘at least’ 700 dwellings to be built in Lutterworth by 2028 due to the lack of infrastructure planning to support this proposal.

Mr Martin Willey addressed members on the subject of Feilding Palmer Hospital and reminded that during his recent time as a Town Councillor, he had attended numerous Primary Care Trust site meetings to consider the viability of the facility. Mr Willey expressed that whilst he was sympathetic to the problem of available beds for Lutterworth residents, a certain occupancy level is needed to underpin the viability of the facility. In 2007-08 this occupancy level was quoted as being 80% and at this time only 30% of the occupancy related to residents of Lutterworth and the surrounding villages. There is therefore a very real concern that if the facility does not accommodate residents from outside of the Lutterworth area, it could result in it being identified as at risk of closure.

Mrs Mary Guppy explained to members that on two separate occasions her mother was unable to be accommodated at Feilding Palmer Hospital despite an initial message being conveyed by Walsgrave Hospital that there was available space. The problem appears to lie with the Bed Bureau who are responsible for allocating beds to patients and it is not known how the priority is weighted.

111 ACCOUNTS PAID AND TO BE PAID

Councillors Robinson and Thornton reported that all was in good order.

112 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE / BANK RECONCILIATION

Members noted the income and expenditure as at the end of August 2011, as well as the bank reconciliations for the end of August 2011.

113 COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATOR

RESOLVED to fully support the aims of the Masharani Patient Participation Group to purchase and install a public access defibrillator in the town centre.

114 FEILDING PALMER HOSPITAL

Further to recent press coverage concerning the availability of beds at Lutterworth Feilding Palmer Hospital for local residents, it was RESOLVED to contact the Chief Executive of the Leicestershire and Rutland NHS to advise that whilst it is understood that a high degree of occupancy is needed to make the facility viable, there are concerns that available beds are being denied to local people and therefore it is requested that the NHS Bed Bureau reviews the allocation of beds to ensure that the sensitivity of local residents is taken into account.

It was further RESOLVED to contact Leicestershire County Council to request that they scrutinise this aspect in a future work plan as they are due to take on the scrutiny function over the Leicestershire and Rutland NHS. County Councillor Page confirmed her support.

Dr Masharani was in attendance and commented that the NHS Bed Bureau does try to favour local patients in the accommodation of beds at local facilities but the actual process as to how this is achieved is not known. It is however understood that an occupancy level at approximately 90% is required otherwise beds would be costing more than premium beds in Leicester City.

115 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Councillors Johnson-Howe and Weston left the meeting whilst planning application 11/01172/FUL was discussed.

It was RESOLVED to support the following applications:

Members RESOLVED to object to the following application as it was considered that the proposal would detrimentally affect the street scene and would also restrict drivers’ visibility upon exiting Wheeler Close:

116 HARBOROUGH DISTRICT CORE STRATEGY EXAMINATION

Members considered the District Council’s proposed changes to the Core Strategy document and RESOLVED to comment that the previous proposal for 500 dwellings to be delivered in Lutterworth was consistent with the objectives contained within the Built Environment section of the Lutterworth Town Plan 2010. It is understood that Lutterworth needs to achieve an optimum population size to sustain a diverse economic prosperity whilst ensuring that the infrastructure keeps pace with carefully planned development. Lutterworth Town Council feels strongly that no more than 500 dwellings must be provided otherwise development land would risk distorting Lutterworth’s spatial integrity. There appears to be no justification for the new proposal of ‘at least 700 dwellings for Lutterworth’ nor is there information available about the types of dwellings that are to be provided.