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HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL |
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MINUTES OF FULL COUNCIL MEETING HALSTEAD, Essex. CO9 1ET
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Membership:
| Councillor D Hume | Chairman |
Present |
| Councillor Mrs J A Pell | Vice Chairman | Present |
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Councillor Mrs J Allen Councillor Mrs H W Catley |
Apologies Arrived at Agenda item no 6 |
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| Councillor Mrs S A Diver | Present | |
| Councillor M J Fincken | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs L J Hilton | Present | |
| Councillor S Kirby | Apologies | |
| Councillor Mrs K A Little | Apologies | |
| Councillor A Munday | Present | |
| Councillor K Paisley | Present | |
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Also in attendance: Mr R Water – Public
Mrs H Wolf – Public
Mr M C Murkin – Town Clerk
Mrs L Dover – Minute Clerk
348. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were apologies for absence from Cllr Mrs J Allen, Cllr S Kirby, and Cllr Mrs K Little
349. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
Cllr Mrs J Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no. 11 as she is Chairman of Community Centre Charity Trust. Cllr Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no 14 as she is Vice Chairmen of Halstead Hospital League of Friends. Cllr Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no. 17 as a Trustee of the Day Centre. Cllr Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no. 9 as one of the recipients is working for the HCCC Trust. Cllr Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no. 10 as is a member of Braintree District Council Licensing Committee. Cllr Pell declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.6a as the applicant is known to her.
Cllr S Diver declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.6a as the agent is a close family friend
Cllr J Fincken declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.6a as he lives opposite the site on the other side of King George V playing fields
Cllr D Hume declared non-pecuniary interest in Agenda no. 6a as the applicant is known to him
A minute silence was observed as a mark of respect, at the death of former councillor Mr Roy McDowell. Cllr Mrs J Pell gave a brief eulogy
350. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Mrs Helen Wolf reported that Halstead 21st Century Group had received only one written response from an email sent to over sixty councillors. The general consensus was that only the district councillors received the email and the chairman said it was a personal decision whether or not councillors responded. It was agreed that a meeting with the 21st Century Group outside full Council meeting would be the way forward.
Mr Robin Waters spoke about the proposed closure of the Family planning Clinic at Halstead Hospital and asked for town council support for the League of Friends of Halstead Hospital’s campaign to keep this clinic open.
351. PRESENTATIONS
Police. There was no police presence at the meeting
352. MINUTES To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 7th November 2013. Minutes were approved
353. FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC CLOSURE
Chairman agreed to take this Agenda item out of order
Members were concerned about the potential loss of another service in Halstead and after discussion, it was agreed that members would support this campaign to retain the clinic at Halstead Hospital and a formal response will be sent from Halstead Town Council
354. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Cllr A Munday took the chair for this part of the meeting
Cllr Mrs S Diver left the meeting
13/01266/FUL– 27 Bois Hall Gardens, Halstead CO9 2HX – Erection of two storey side extension – Members raised concerns that the visual aspect of the estate will be spoiled and would set a precedent for future developments
Cllr Mrs S Diver returned to the room
Cllr Mrs H Catley joined the meeting
13/01319/LBC– 9 Bridge Street, Halstead, CO9 1HU – Replacement of roofing felt to dual pitched roof re-pointing of chimney and external re-decoration – Members raised no objections
13/1275/ADV – Doubleday Property Lawyers, 20 High Street, Halstead, CO9 2AP – Display of non illuminated fascia sign and two non illuminated wall signs –Members raised no objections
13/1276/LBC – Doubleday Property Lawyers 20 High Street, Halstead CO9 2AP – Display of advertisement signage – Members raised no objections
13/01220/FUL & 13/01221/LBC – 25 High Street, Halstead CO9 2AA – Change of use to Tea Shop and associated internal and external works – Members raised no objections
13/01342/ELD – Land Adjacent 83 Chapel Hill, Halstead, Essex – Application for a lawful Development Certificate for an Existing Use – Garden land ancillary to dwelling. – Members raised no objections
13/01331/FUL – 61 Kings Road, Halstead Essex CO9 1HA – Partial demolition of existing retail facility and associated building remodelling to form refurbished premises for Brands Direct Barbados Limited (Class D1). Proposed reception of three no. two bedroom cottages associated landscaping and parking – Members welcomed the proposed new employment in the area, but were concerned about overdevelopment of the site and lack of parking. Members were concerned about lack of available documentation to support this new application
PLANNING REQUEST – A request has been received from Scott Properties regarding the removal of highway rights to an area of land adjacent to Kings Road and Factory Lane West – Members raised no objections
Cllr D Hume resumed Chair of the meeting
355. MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Cllr D Hume noted that he did not attend the Charity Football match on 24th November and Cllr Mrs Pell deputised.
Cllr D Hume also noted that he did not attend the launch of the scout “District Centenary Book” and Cllr Mrs Pell attended in his place. A copy of this book was generously donated to the council.
Cllr D Hume did not attend the Senior Citizens parties and Cllr Mrs Pell read a statement on his behalf at each of the parties.
Report was noted
356. FINANCE –
A) Finance Monitoring. It was noted that car parking revenue was still below expected figures. Probably due to Free After 3 Iniative. Situation to be monitored.
Report was noted
B) Monthly Performance (Car Parks)Report was noted
C) Monthly Performance (Lettings/Sickness)
Report was noted
357. LIST OF PAYMENTS TO BE APPROVED
Payments were unanimously approved.
358. CONSULTATION – BDC Hackney Carriage Licences
Members asked the Town Clerk to respond saying that vacancies within Halstead should be allocated to Halstead drivers as with other areas in the district. Town Clerk to respond to this consultation on behalf of the Town Council
359. COMMUNITY HALL
Cllr Mrs J Pell reported that Trustees appreciated the support of the Town Council.
Discussion took place about the future of the Empire Theatre and it was agreed that a meeting should be set up with Trustees of the Empire Theatre.
Report was noted
360. YOUTH.
Cllr Mrs L Hilton gave a verbal report and said that a HYPE event is planned in February 2014. It was mentioned that the first Youth Council meeting of the new year was positive.
Report was noted
361. TOWN TEAM
Cllr Mrs L Hilton gave a verbal report and said that at a recent meeting the Christmas Fayre was deemed to be a success. The next meeting will be an open meeting on 16 January 2014 at the Queens Hall. It is hoped that local organisations will attend to help set up an interactive website. Chairman noted that the Halstead Town Council website is in need of updating and asked that this matter be put on a future Agenda.
Report was noted
362. POLICING IN AND AROUND HALSTEAD
Discussion took place about the level of policing in Halstead and members expressed concern about the lack of police presence, particularly at the recent Torchlight Procession. Members were concerned that in the future, Halstead Police Station might be closed. It was agreed that Town Clerk should ask for details about present policing in Halstead and ask that the Police Commissioner attend a future Town Council meeting
363. REQUEST FOR A GRANT – Vikki V’s
Members noted that insufficient accounts had been provided and not in the usual/expected format. Discussion took place about purchasing the equipment for the Queens Hall. It was agreed that Vikki V’s grant request be refused and agreed to purchase appropriate equipment for the Queens Hall, responsibility delegated to the Clerk and Mayor
Cllr Mrs J Pell left the meeting
364. REQUEST FOR A GRANT – Day Centre
Discussion took place about the need for a grant as the accounts showed a large amount of funds in hand in as of March 2013. It was agreed that Halstead Town Council purchase one computer and one printer with a proviso to check the validity of any Guarantees.
Cllr Mrs J Pell returned to the meeting
365. Exclusion of Public and Press
To give consideration to adopting the following resolution: – “That pursuant to the provisions of section 1 (2) – of the Admission to Meetings Act 1960, in view of the next item to be conducted, the press and public to be excluded from the meeting.”
There were no items to be discussed in private session.
Chairman closed the meeting at 9:03p.m.