TUXFORD TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Tuxford Town Council held on Tuesday 15 June 2010 at 7.30 pm in the Tuxford Methodist Church Hall

Present: Councillors Taylor, Fox, Richards, Willatt, Kettle, Smith, Bett, Frost, Moulds and Holland.

Also present: Mr Peter G Hills (Clerk), Mrs Lisa A Hill (Assistant Clerk), District Councillor Keith Isard and four members of the public.

C23/1011 Appointment of Chairman for this meeting

The Clerk reported that in the absence of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman it was necessary to appoint a Chairman for this meeting. It was Resolved: that Councillor Moulds should take the Chair.

C24/1011 Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Cook, Downing and Anderson who were on holiday and these were accepted.

C25/1011 Declarations of Interest

There were no new declarations of interest.

C26/1011 Minutes of the previous meeting

Resolved: that the Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 18 May 2010 be accepted as a true record. The minutes were signed by the Chairman.

Resolved: that the Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on 18 May 2010 be accepted as a true record. The minutes were signed by the Chairman.

Resolved: that the Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held on 18 May 2010 be accepted as a true record. The minutes were signed by the Chairman.

C27/1011 Matters arising from the Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held on 18 May 2010

C27.1 Minute C14.1 - the Clerk reported that the street sweeping schedule covering every street in Tuxford had been completed. The Clerk circulated a copy of the street sweeping schedule to Councillors for information.

C27.2 Minute C14.2 – the Clerk reported that he had highlighted to Mr Gordon Albery, Principal Technical Officer for Nottinghamshire County Council Highways, Councillor Bett’s concerns about the obstruction the bollards due to be installed on the grass triangle outside the Lock-Up would cause to large vehicles.

C27.3 Minute C14.3 – the Clerk reported that he was working with the handymen on ideas for enhancing and planting the surrounding of the Canadian Airman’s grave. It had been suggested by the War Graves Commission that a particular variety of Hebe would be suitable as it produced red flowers around November time.

C27.4 Minute C14.4 – the Clerk reported that a letter had been sent to each known trustee of the Tuxford Recreational Association (TRA) asking if they were prepared to allow the Council to temporarily take over the administration of the TRA whilst arrangements were made to reform it.

C27.5 Minute C14.5 – the Clerk reported that the height barrier at the entrance to the public part of the Sun Inn car park had been restored to vertical by the handymen and flower troughs had been installed either side of the barrier to stop vehicles attempting to by-pass the barrier whilst still allowing pedestrian access.

C27.6 Minute C14.6 - the Clerk reported that Mr Ray Snowden, the local engineer who was preparing the depot plans had now submitted these. However, he was concerned that he did not have the technical qualification to progress them any further at this stage. Mr Snowden believed that it was not possible to build the proposed depot in brick as the structure was too open, therefore a steel frame would be required to support it. Mr Snowden had suggested three possible contacts that could provide the necessary level of structural engineering expertise. It had been resolved at the Finance and Services meeting that the advice of a structural engineer should be sought.

C27.7 Questions from the public - the Clerk reported that the Assistant Clerk had visited The Beeches as a result of last month’s complaint that the grass had not been cut and strimmed to the Council’s usual high standards and had discussed the areas in question with the Chargehand Handyman. The areas which had not been strimmed had been left deliberately as it was thought they may be flower borders. These areas had now been addressed.

C27.8 Minute C15.1 – the Clerk reported that the Internal Auditor had completed his Audit of the Council’s accounts and there were no areas of concern highlighted. The Annual Return had now been sent to the external auditor.

C27.9 Minute C20.1 Green Burials – the Clerk reported that the planning application for the Green Burial Ground had been submitted to Bassetlaw District Council (BDC). The public consultation deadline was 22 June 2010.

C27.10 Minute C20.2 Public car park - the Clerk reported that a funding bid had been submitted to BDC for the car park re-surfacing works which would be going to Cabinet for a decision in July. The Clerk reported that he had sent out two requests for quotes.

C27.11 Minute C20.4 Regeneration/highways matters - the Clerk reported that a draft feasibility study into the traffic/highways problems faced by Tuxford had been received from Scott Wilson, the highways consultancy agency appointed by Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC). The report was still waiting for input from NCC and the Nottinghamshire Police Authority.

C27.12 Minute C20.5 Composting area at the allotments - the Clerk reported that the construction of the new compost area at the eastern end of the allotment was complete. Two new allotment plots had been created as a result of the area being cleared.

C27.13 Minute C20.6 Development of Council Website - the Clerk reported that the development of the Council website was ongoing with the building of the ‘behind the scenes’ information now underway.

C27.14 Minute C20.7 Art works in empty shops’ windows - the Clerk reported that the photographs to display inside some of the empty shop windows in Tuxford had been returned to the secondary school because, although of high quality, the content of the photographs was not as expected – school children instead of adults. Mr Geoff Lloyd, Head teacher, had agreed to have the photographs redone using staff instead. The exercise had been a useful one for the school’s art department.

C27.15 Minute C20.8 Flower troughs - the Chairman reported that four half whisky barrels had now been planted up and installed in the Market Place and had so far not been interfered with.

C27.16 Minute C20.9 Land registration – the Clerk reported that the registration of the cemetery field was progressing slowly. Action – Clerk.

C27.17 Minute C20.10 NCC Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) – the Clerk reported that he had met with Karen Tarburton, Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire (RCAN), to discuss the creation of mini gardens/pocket parks following the approval for funding of the scheme by LIS. The Clerk had also contacted the Tuxford and District Tenants and Residents Association who were keen to be part of the project. The Clerk reported he had also spoken with Ms Andrea Oswin, NCC Youth Worker, who was willing to involve the young people of Tuxford in the project. The Clerk had also suggested to Mr Lloyd, Headteacher at Tuxford Comprehensive School, that a mini garden could be created and tended by the children on the Marnham Road roundabout.

C27.18 Minute C20.11 Gilbert Avenue playing field – the Clerk reported that he had yet to explore with BDC the possibility of extending the lease on Gilbert Avenue playing field to 2040 to allow for the redevelopment of the field. Action – Clerk.

C27.19 Minute C20.12 Telephone kiosk, Lincoln Road – the Clerk reported that Councillor Anderson was currently sourcing a piece of hardwood to replace the broken side of the telephone box and prices for replacement glass were being compared. New hinges and a lock had been obtained.

C27.20 Minute C21.3 - the Clerk reported that he had attended the LIS launch event today at Newark Showground and had found it a very useful event.

C27.21 Minute C22 - the Clerk reported that a meeting had taken place between representatives of the Memorial Hall Trustees and Councillors Anderson and Kettle to address issues of concern between the two bodies, including the role of the Council’s Memorial Hall Trustees representative.

The meeting was adjourned to allow for questions from the public.

Mrs Kath Hobart advised the Council that it could not legally ask the TRA to disband nor take over its administration but the Council could be a holding body until such time as the TRA could be brought back to life or reformed. Mrs Hobart offered her help with reviving the TRA. The Chairman thanked Mrs Hobart for her helpful clarification.

District Councillor Isard asked why the Council was not cutting the grass on the embankment to the right had side of the Memorial Hall field entrance. Councillor Isard requested information on all the grassed areas in Tuxford the Council was contracted to cut for NCC. Action – Clerk.

The meeting was reconvened to deal with the following items.

C28/1011 Finance

C28.1 The Clerk circulated copies of the monthly financial monitoring sheet that monitored actual versus budgeted expenditure for each budget head. The sheet covered the first two months of the 2010/11 financial year and showed expenditure under budget as at 31 May 2010. The Clerk gave reasons for the variances between budget and actual expenditure to date and answered questions on the financial information.

C28.2 The Clerk circulated copies of the income and expenditure sheet to 31 May 2010 and explained the figures.

C28.3 The Clerk reported on invoices approved for payment previously at the Finance and Services Committee.

C29/1011 Planning applications

The Clerk explained planning application decisions made by the Planning Committee at its meeting in June 2010. Application numbers 50/10/00021, 50/10/0023, 50/10/00024/L and 50/10/00025 were discussed. No objections were made to application numbers 50/10/00021 and 50/10/00025. The planning committee objected to planning application numbers 50/10/0023 and 50/10/00024/L relating to the Newcastle Arms on the grounds that the site would be over-developed and concerns over highways issues.

C30/1011 Planning Decisions

The Clerk reported that Bassetlaw District Council (BDC) had approved planning application 50/10/00015.

C31/1011 Projects

C31.1 The Chairman said that reports on progress on most of the projects had already been dealt with under Matters Arising, above.

Encouraging play in Rural Areas – the Clerk reported that BDC had launched an initiative to support Parishes to provide play facilities. BDC has £50,000 available to parishes with a likely average of £5000 per award being given to imaginative schemes for 5 to 16 year olds. The deadline for applications is 31 August 2010. The Clerk reported that Ms Andrea Oswin would be undertaking consultation work with the young people of Tuxford next week, and the Clerk would be initiating consultation work at the schools in Tuxford in order to meet this deadline. Action – Clerk.

C32/1011 Correspondence for Action

C32.1 The Clerk reported on ‘Standards for England Publications – Bulletin 45’ designed to keep Councillors up to date with the standards and ethical framework agenda. The Clerk reported that he would summarise the report and distribute to Councillors for information. Action – Clerk.

C33.2 The Clerk reported on BDC’s ‘Preferred Options Core Strategy and Development Management Policies’ which forms the second formal consultation stage in the development of the Core Strategy, which will form part of the Local Development Framework for Bassetlaw. The report comments on the vision for Bassetlaw as a district and also what part Tuxford has in that vision. The report states that over the next 15 years it is expected that Tuxford could accommodate up to 4% of the District’s housing requirement. District Councillor Isard reported that with recent change in government some of the report content would be ‘fluid’.

C33/1011 Items for exclusion of the public

Councillor Kettle reported that the recent meeting held between representatives of the Memorial Hall Trustees and Councillors had taken place in a positive spirit, with views aired and misunderstandings cleared up. Both bodies acknowledged that their common goal was to achieve what was best for Tuxford and agreed to work together to achieve this goal. The Chairman stated that the Council would offer every assistance to the Memorial Hall Trustees.

The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.35pm.

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