2018/001
MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 18TH JANUARY 2018 AT THE BEECHES COMMUNITY CENTRE, BIRCH COURT,TUXFORD COMMENCING 7.00 PM
PRESENT: Cllrs . E. Taylor, G. Nicholls, J.Moorhouse, M.Richards,K.Phillipsand M.Phillips,
IN ATTENDANCE: Lynn Holland ( Town Clerk)plus 2 members of public
18/001Apologies for absence
Apologies received from Cllrs.T. Silcock, J.Robinson& E.Atkin, These were accepted andapproved.
18/002Declarations of Interest
None given.
18/003To approve & sign the minutes of the meeting held 21st December 2017 (Folio ref. 2017/091-096)
The minutes of the meeting held 21st December 2017 were approved & signed.
18/004Matters arising
01Funding Streams – Clerk confirmed these were still being investigated re CCTV & play ground equipment. NCC LIS closing date extended to 31st January 2018 & it was agreed Clerk to submit application for CCTV in line with quote provided by BDC from TIS.
02Enquiry re stability of chimney stack on a property. Clerk reported that BDC had confirmed that Building Control Surveyors had visited the property in question and chimney stack appeared to be structurally stable. Agreed to refer back to BDC.
03Savings on insurance premium – Clerk confirmed there had been a saving of £513.68 by transferring to another insurance company & entering into a 3 yr. LTA.
04BDC confirmation reference is made to Tuxford Neighbourhood Plan – BDC had confirmed reference was made to the Neighbourhood Plan when considering planning applications.
05Complaint re NCC Youth bus FS-Case-65014591 – awaiting response from NCC.
06Pollarding of trees in cemetery – Clerk had requested a quote; however; Groundsman was unsure nature of work Councillors were requesting therefore contractor had not yet visiting site. Clerk to arrange a site meeting with contractor & Councillors.
07Brick planter in car park – a third quote had been obtained & Clerk was in process of confirming contractor’s insurance etc.
08Clerk reminded Councillors about meeting 25th Januaury2018 at 7pm with representatives from firms re quotes for additional play equipment. Another firm was suggested “Inclusive Play”.
09Spares re defibrillator should arrive 19th January 2018.
Continued......
2018/002
MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 18TH JANUARY 2018 AT THE BEECHES COMMUNITY CENTRE, BIRCH COURT, TUXFORD COMMENCING 7.00 PM
Continued......
18/005District Councillor and County Councillor reports.
NCC Councillor J. Ogle reported the following:
- 2nd camera car for outside schools had been budgeted for.
- Grant Funding of £400 available.
- Recent Police meeting (PSM) poorly attended due to it not being publicised but if numbers do not increase then this meeting could fold. Councillors should consider if they would prefer additional Police Officers rather than PCSO’s (due to fact that PCSOs do not have power to arrest) & if so lobby the Police in the future. If budget is there for PCSOs then it is available for Police Officers. Paddy Tipping had been lobbied directly re Neighbourhood Policing being a priority rather than relying on Response Team.
- Pedestrian crossing Newark Road – NCC would consider if TTC were willing to fund.
18/006 Questions from members of the public.
- Positive feedback re Christmas Fair.
- Speeding on Eldon Street.
18/007 Finance
01To approve invoices for payment
Payments on the report attached at Appendix ‘A’ were approved to the valueof £3126.71 & DD’s £5215.70;
Approved.
02To approvebudget monitoring as at 29thDecember2017 including year to date income & expenditure.
Clerk presented budget monitoring as Appendix ‘B’ the bank reconciliation as @29thDecember 2017 showed a balance of £126,429.28 which wassupported by abank statement showing the same.
Year to date as at 29.12.17 expenditure £70,320.47;income £121,020.16Resolved to approve the Finance items above.
03To consider consider budget & Precept for 2018/2019
Clerk confirmedTax Base for 20182019 = 797.22 with Grants allocated by BDC as follows :
- Concurrent grant £350
- Cemetery grant £1148
- Street Cleaning grant 1968
2% increase presented would give estimated budget of £101,102 giving a Precept of £97636 Town Council tax £122.47 (refer to Appendix ‘C’)
Following a discussion Councillors approved an increase of 3%.
04To note HMRC notified changes re reclaiming VAT on form VAT126.
Clerk reported HMRC were changing system re reclaiming of VAT. (awaiting further information)
Continued......
2018/003
MINUTES OF THE FULL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 18TH JANUARY 2018 AT THE BEECHES COMMUNITY CENTRE, BIRCH COURT, TUXFORD COMMENCING 7.00 PM
Continued......
18/008Planning Matters.
01To consider –Planning Applications - nothing to report.
02To note Planning Decisions received from BDC - nothing to report.
18/009Update on Policing Issues
Chairman confirmed successful meeting held 11th January 2018 with Police & other Parish Councils. (refer to notes Appendix ‘D’)
18/010To consider security re public car park & Village Hall site.
Nothing to report.
18/011To consider form re enquiry to have gas brought into Tuxford.
Clerk to apply for gas to be brought into Tuxford.
18/012To approve training course for Clerk “Appraisal Skills”
Approved training course “Appraisal Skills”.
18/013 Tonote guidance notes received from NALC
01Councillors’/Clerks’ emails
Clerk informed Councillors that they should have an email address dedicated to their Council work rather than use their ordinary private email address.
02Data Protection Officer cannot be The Clerk - Clerk confirmed confusion over new regulations as it was being suggested The Clerk cannot be the Data Protection Officer. Awaiting further information on this matter.
18/014To receive items for information and future agenda items:
- Chairman reported on a meeting with A1 re use of The Beeches. General consensus was positive; however; at present meeting it was cold in the main hall. Clerk to follow up with A1.
- Road closure Beckland Hill, East Markham. 12th March – 14th March 2018.
- Road closure Markham Road, Tuxford 26th February – 2nd March 2018
- BDC Garden Waste Recycling Scheme a success - £30 per season
Items for future agenda
- Website – twitter/facebook etc.
18/1015 Date Of Next Meeting
15TH February 2018
Meeting finished8.35pm
CHAIRMAN’S SIGNATURE ......
DATE......
Appendix ‘A’2018/004
Appendix ‘B’2018/005
DRAFT BUDGET 20182019 showing 2% increase
Appendix ‘C’2018/006
NOTES ON MEETING WITH POLICE & OTHER PARISH COUNCILS
11TH JANUARY 2018 7pm at THE BEECHES
Appendix ‘D’ 2018/007
ATTENDEES : 29 as per attendance list (Tuxford Town Council 8; Police 3; Other Parish representatives 17; Town Clerk 1)
- Tuxford Town Council Chairman Cllr. G.Nicholls welcomed everyone & invited each person to introduce themselves to the rest of the attendees.
- GN then opened up the meeting to discuss Policing issues & Police staffing levels which the Parish Councils felt required addressing:
- Main bone of contention was when will there be a replacement for PC Bailey/Haynes? Police response – reassured the group that there will be a replacement officer; however; there was no-one available to fill the post at the moment due to low staffing levels. Recruiting was currently underway & 10 recruits will go for Neighbourhood Policing – 1 of which will be allocated to Tuxford in the next few months at the end of the training period. This did not mean Tuxford and surrounding areas were not being Policed as Police response comes from all levels of Policing via 101/999.
- Query re 40 minute response time – Cllr. Ogle argued local knowledge is essential which you don’t receive going via the emergency response. Police response – there is a value behind Neighbourhood Police Officers as they can address local issues ie. nip anti-social behaviour in the bud & prevent it escalating but Emergency Response is just that ie. nearest PC would respond. Whilst PC Bailey was an excellent Officer members of the public should not be contacting officers direct as all calls should initially be logged via 101 (999 if it was an emergency) & 101 service would delegate the calls to the officers actually at work at that moment in time ie. if Officer off on day call made he would return to several calls which had not been addressed then the weight fell to that Officer only. The new Officer in the future whilst working with the neighbourhood would not be working in exactly the same way as previous officers.
- Tuxford had grown therefore more money from Council Tax was being paid therefore why is there less Police in Tuxford & surrounding area? Police response – whilst this may be the case the actual funding received by the Police has fallen & therefore there has to be a balance between the demand and resources available. Cannot afford 2 dedicated Police Officers for Tuxford.
- Concerns that Neighbourhood Policing had gone to be replaced by Emergency Response only with crime numbers only being issued in certain instances (ie. burglary etc.) Police response – Neighbourhood Policing was strong, supported & important to Notts. Police; however; other aspects have to be taken on board eg. Cyber crime, hate crime, sexual crimes etc.
- How would you go about getting a 2nd Officer? – Police responce - would need additional resources across the board before a 2nd Officer could be provided as all aspects of Policing would have to be considered not just the Neighbourhood Policing Team. Decisions re allocation of resources, funding etc. were made at a higher level; however; Officers present would ensure concerns from the meeting were fed back.
- The new officer would cover Tuxford & surrounding villages and be available in a few months time following training.
- The Response Officers were being educated across the board re specialist knowledge in rural crimes eg. Poaching etc.
- Sgt. Crofts confirmed that he would be standing down in approx. 42 days;
PC Martin was Beat PC; PCSO Lucy Martin
- Increase in PCSO & some were being allocated to this area.
SUMMARY - Police would provide a plan of Policing Structure for the future & a letter will be sent to all Parish Councils direct.
- GN thanked everyone for attending & felt that Councillors know understood the situation a bit better than before.
Meeting finished 8pm.