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HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL |
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DRAFT 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 |
| Councillor Mrs J Allen Councillor Mrs H W Catley |
Apologies Present |
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| Councillor Mrs S A Diver | Present | |
| Councillor M J Fincken | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs L J Hilton | Present | |
| Councillor S Kirby | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs K A Little | Present | |
| Councillor A Munday | Apologies | |
| Councillor K Paisley | Apologies | |
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Also in attendance: Peter Caulfield – Crime Prevention Tactical Advisor
PCSO B Edwards – Police
Mr M C Murkin – Town Clerk
Mrs J Smith – Minute Clerk
160. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Mrs J Allen; Cllr A Munday; Cllr K Paisley
161. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
Cllr Mrs J Pell declared Pecuniary Interest on two counts in planning item no. 13/00117/FUL: a: House is almost opposite her home and b: Parents signed Cllr Pell’s nomination for Councillor.
Cllr Mrs J Pell declared Non-Pecuniary Interest in Agenda item no. 11 – Community Hall – as Town Council has appointed her to form a Trust Group and Charity.
Cllr Mrs S Diver declared Pecuniary Interest in planning item no. 13/00114/FUL as Agent is a family friend
Cllr S Kirby declared Non-Pecuniary Interest in all planning matters as he is member of Braintree District Council Planning Committee.
162. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
There were no members of the public present and no statements from Councillors.
163. PRESENTATIONS
- a) Police PCSO B. Edwards gave some details about crime statistics during the past 4 weeks and said that crime remains at a fairly low level. There has been 1 dwelling burglary and 2 other burglaries in Halstead – numbers in Braintree and Witham are higher. PCSO Edwards urged all to monitor personal security, and security of others and to dial 999 if anything untoward is seen. He said that most burglaries are committed between the hours of 8am and 9pm so it is important to ensure doors and windows are locked. There had been 4 thefts from vehicles, and 2 stolen vehicles recently and 7 instances of nuisance – that could be of varying types. There had been 4 instances of criminal damage although no details of these instances are available. After questioning PCSO Edwards said that he was reporting on core crime, and had no further details on suspected crimes that were under investigation. Councillors asked that they be given a full picture of crime in the Town on a monthly basis.
Chairman said he would liaise with the Inspector for Halstead to agree a protocol for reporting and this would then be written as a paper and distributed to members.
There were no further questions, and PCSO Edwards left the meeting.
- b) Crime Prevention & Architectural Liaison Peter Caulfield explained that he is the new Crime Prevention and Tactical Advisor for Braintree District, including Halstead, and that he also has responsibilities in the Uttlesford District. He explained his history and links with Halstead and said that he has strong links with various Town and Parish Councils, but did not attend meetings on a regular basis although always is available for discussions. He said that he was very keen to link with the Chamber of Trade and give some retail staff training on crime prevention and wanted to be proactive welcoming all connections and communications to improve the environment. He said that crime had changed over the years of his Police involvement and that there are few ‘local’ villains now, but that criminals tend to travel in to an area, commit crime and leave. Mr Caulfield urged members to contact him with any concerns, and said he would meet with the Halstead Crime Prevention Panel next week.
Chairman thanked Peter Caulfield for his input.
Peter Caulfield left the meeting.
164. Minutes. To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 24th January 2013.
Minutes were unanimously approved
165. PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
Cllr Mrs S Diver took the Chair for this part of the meeting
Cllr S Kirby left the meeting
Cllr Mrs J Pell left the meeting.
13/00117/FUL – Meadow Croft, Tidings Hill, Halstead, and Essex, CO9 1BJ – Erection of ground floor side and rear extension.
Cllr Mrs Diver commented that the plans to be viewed were atrocious and could not be properly viewed. She asked Clerk to make representation to Braintree D.C. about the presentation on web site.
Members agreed they could not discuss this application until proper plans were available.
Cllr Mrs J Pell returned to the meeting
13/00135/FUL – 7 Hedingham Road, Halstead, CO9 2DA – Application for a new planning permission to replace an extant planning permission 09/0015/FUL – Proposed alterations including replacement roof structure.
Members raised no objections to this application.
13/00148/LBC & 13/00147/ADV – The White Hart, 15 High Street, Halstead, Essex CO9 2AA – Repainting existing sign to change the background from red to green, changing the lettering, replace the lighting over the sign and return the hanging sign to a painted pub sign.
Members had not had time to view this application and it was agreed that delegated authority be given to Cllr Mrs S Diver with Cllr D Hume to view and make comments for Council. There was general support for the application but details in this conservation area should be clarified.
Post Meeting Note: Cllr Diver recommends no objections to this application provided that the lighting is in keeping with the rules regarding lighting in a conservation area.
Cllr Mrs S Diver left the meeting
13/00144/FUL – 7 Bentall Close, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1RA – Erection of single storey front extension
Members noted that this application had previously been refused by Braintree D.C. although members had no objections.
Members agreed that delegated authority be given to Cllr Mrs J Pell and Cllr D Hume to review the situation regarding refusal and make comments for the Council.
Cllr Mrs S Diver returned to the meeting
Cllr S Kirby returned to the meeting
Cllr D Hume resumed Chair of the meeting.
166. MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
An additional item on 8th March – Civic Service at Braintree DC was noted.
The report was noted.
167. FINANCE –
a) Financial Monitoring – some miss-postings to Departments were advised; clerk to correct before next meeting and assured Cllr H Catley that any other mis-postings would be corrected. Cllr Pell asked if targets would be met, and Clerk said that he thought both income and expenditure would be under target.
Report was noted.
b) Monthly Performance. – Clerk drew attention of exception report item 1. Noting increased income and also noted Queen’s Hall bookings increased. Member noted that the Hall was well cared for although some chairs appeared stained and needed to be replaced. It was also requested that purchase of a dishwasher be investigated and these fixtures and fittings could be moved to the new Community Hall. Cllr M Fincken asked if there could be some refurbishment in the downstairs Gent’s cloakroom as hooks are broken and doors are not properly painted. He also said that storage of chairs in this area made it difficult to access. It was agreed that this Town Asset should be regarded as a Flagship and there was a budget in place for some replacement and refurbishments.
Report was noted
168. LIST OF PAYMENTS TO BE APPROVED Item ‘Tree Surgery’ was queried and it was said that this was payment for erecting Christmas tree.
Payments were unanimously approved.
169. OUTINGS it was noted that the previously agreed supplier – Ruffles – is now in liquidation so other suppliers had to be sought. King’s Coaches have been engaged for trips 2-5 and Chamber’s Coaches for trip 1.
Cost of unsubsidised fares was discussed and Cllr M Fincken proposed a cost of £15 per person per trip for unsubsidised fare and this proposal was seconded by Cllr Mrs J Pell.
Proposal was unanimously agreed.
170. COMMUNITY HALL
Clerk reported that the contamination survey results were awaited, but initial findings were one trace of asbestos at a depth of 20cm that was probably a remnant of disposed material. There was a low level of some inorganic material and an above average level of other substances. Full report awaited; it was said that grants may be available for remedial work, although had not been available for the variable price survey work.
Cllr Mrs J Pell noted that a meeting had taken place with Cllr D Hume, Cllr M Fincken and Cllr Mrs J Allen regarding formation of trust and 6 candidates had been identified; so far 5 affirmative replies had been received:- from Mrs Jenny Smith (Business Woman); Ms J Abrams (former VAT Inspector and Magistrate); Mr A Green (Business Man); Mr D Isles (Former Head Teacher, Richard de Clare School), Mr A De Frates (former Councillor and Mayor of Halstead). A Trustee Pack was in the process of being drawn up and a meeting will be called. All respondents are keen to proceed and have agreed to work with Council; it was agreed that matters needed to be handed to the new Charity as soon as possible.
Report was noted
171. YOUTH
Cllr Mrs L Hilton had no report as there have been no meetings of the Youth Council since last Full Council Meeting; one is scheduled for later in the month.
172. SUMMER EVENTS
List of bookings was viewed but Clerk said he had recently been contacted by Colchester Silver Band and he had therefore contacted the Friends of Halstead Public Gardens to see if they would pay for this event.
Cllr Hume noted the Halstead Music Event over the weekend of 22nd/23rd June and expressed the hope that this might be an annual event. Members agreed that ‘events’ are important to the Town.
Clerk advised that he is revising the Events Leaflet and that this would then be sent to local Councils and Tourist Information Points. Cllr Mrs L Hilton said it was important to send the leaflets to hotels, leisure centres, airports, etc. where they might be noticed by potential visitors.
The Fun Fair was discussed, and it was hoped that a compromise could be reached to allow the event to take place in the Public Gardens.
Clerk advised that the Town Council Web Site carries events, and can be updated when new events are advised.
Cllr Mrs S Diver asked if the Easter Egg Hunt could take place again this year and be an annual event. It was agreed that this was an incentive for traders to get involved and also brought people to the Council Office.
Cllr Mrs S Diver proposed that prizes be sourced as last year and that traders should be advised of this event and encouraged to take part. Motion seconded by Cllr Mr S Kirby. Unanimously agreed.
173. PROPOSED COMMITTEE DATES 2013/2014
It was said that 2nd May Annual Town Council Meeting and Full Council Meeting would clash with the Essex County Council Elections.
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs H Catley that this date be moved to 9th May, seconded by Cllr Mrs S Diver and unanimously agreed. All other dates were agreed.
174. TOWN TEAM Cllr Mrs J Pell said that she was unsure of the Terms of Reference and the make up of the Team. Cllr M Fincken gave details regarding the nominated members and the Chairman and Vice Chairman. Cllr Fincken is keen that the Team doesn’t lose momentum and said that there would be a maximum number voting of 14 with Alison Jennings from BDC a non-voting member. It was said that the Town Team should be driven by the Business Community with Council giving support. The present Terms of Reference are seen as a working document which the elected committee will refine. Cllr Fincken noted that there is a vacancy for Secretary/Treasurer as Lisa Taylor has given notice that she cannot be involved due to other commitments.
Cllr Pell proposed that Cllr Linda Hilton be the Town Council representative on the Town Team and this proposal was seconded by Cllr S Diver. A vote was taken with 6 votes for the proposal and one abstention (Cllr S Kirby abstained as he felt the decision should be taken by all Councillors and three Councillors were not present.)
At this point Cllr Mrs L Hilton asked if Clerk had obtained quotes on revamp of public toilets – these will be presented at a future meeting.
Cllr Hilton, Cllr Diver and Cllr Fincken reported on a successful Action for Towns meeting that day at Queen’s Hall. Ideas had been put forward and ideas had been shared.
Report was noted
175. BRAINTREE DISTRICT COUNCIL’S LOCALISM FUND
Cllr M Fincken explained that the Local Council Tax Support Grant is designed to ensure that no Parish Council is worse off in year 2013/14 when new benefit changes come into force. He is not confident that this position will be maintained in future years.
He reported that Witham has taken on some Localism agreements and he thought this might be an avenue that Halstead could investigate.
Chairman asked what comments should be passed to BALC, and it was decided that BALC should be informed that it will be difficult for parishes to set precepts without sufficient information and that members expressed concerns over these difficulties.
Report was noted
176. CAR PARK
Clerk explained that after investigation following the January Full Council Meeting it had been said that it would not be possible to issue ‘free’ tickets in Chapel Street Car Park. Cllr M Fincken said it had been the intention to offer free parking after 3, and the issue of tickets was for monitoring purposes. He felt that there were different ways of monitoring that could be put in place, not on a continuous basis but on sample days and through footfall in retail premises. He felt that Town Council should work with Traders and that this would improve trade in the second half of the afternoon.
Cllr Kirby agreed with these statements and proposed that there should be free parking in Halstead Town Council Car Parks after 3p.m. Cllr L Hilton said that there should be advertising to promote this positive step and Cllr S Diver said she believed that the trial at Braintree of a 10p. fee after 3p.m. had been a success.
Cllr Mrs J Pell said she felt that there should be a 10p. charge to allow monitoring by ticket, and also so that excess charge tickets could be issued to those vehicles not displaying a ticket. She believed there were issues with permit holders if there was a free period and that a small charge was better than no fee. She was also concerned about the situation in Solar Car Park as this is owned by East of England Co-op. She warned that the matter would not be discussed again for at least 6 months under Standing Orders.
Cllr Mrs H Catley asked if there would be a charge for altering machines to issue 10p. tickets, and was told that there was a charge as previously discussed.
Cllr S Kirby proposed that there should be a zero charge after 3p.m. in Town Council Car Parks and this proposal was seconded by Cllr M Fincken.
A vote was taken with 9 votes for the proposal and 1 vote against.
Chairman said that signage of these free periods should be professional and that monitoring should be carried out in a meaningful way. It was said that the Car Park sub-group should monitor the trial, and that Kerry Cooper, Finance Officer, be asked to attend this group. Cllr Mrs J Pell said that East of England Co-op must be appraised of the situation, and that the situation with permit holders should be resolved. Discussion took place about signage in Solar Car Park – this is the responsibility of East of England Co-op Society. It was thought the trial would start on Tuesday 2nd April (Monday 1st April is a Bank Holiday).
177. 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 matters to discuss.
Chairman closed the meeting at 9.15 p.m.