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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 S A Diver | Vice Chairman | Present |
| Councillor Mrs J Allen | Present | |
| Councillor M Day | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs S Dingle | Present | |
| Councillor C Fox | Present | |
| Councillor D Gronland | Present | |
| Councillor A Munday | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs J A Pell | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs E Penn | Present | |
| Councillor M Radley | Apologies | |
| Councillor Mrs J Sutton | Present |
Also in attendance: Public – Mrs Helen Catley, Mr Malcolm Fincken, Mr Steve Kirby, Mrs Victoria Leever, Mrs Carol Oatham, Mr Ken Paisley, Mr Ian Tinton, Mr Derek Williams, Mrs Helen Wolf
Miss Emma Robinson – Halstead Gazette
Mr M C Murkin – Town Cleek
20. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were apologies for absence from Cllr M Radley
21. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
Cllr D Hume declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.4 Presentation, as he is a Braintree District Councillor (BDC), Agenda item no.7 Planning 15/00644/FUL & 15/00645/LBC, as the applicant is known to him, an Other Pecuniary Interest Agenda item no.13 Proposed Residents Only Parking, as he lives in close proximity to the proposed scheme and a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.15, High Street Improvement Consultation, and he is a BDC councillor.
Cllr Mrs S Diver declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.7 Planning. 15/00665/ADV and 15/00666/ADV, as she has Co-op shares
Cllr Mrs J Allen declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.4 Presentation, as she is a Braintree District Councillor, Agenda item no.7 Planning 15/00666/ADV, as she is a member of East of England Co-op, Agenda item no.13 Proposed Residents Only Parking, as her mother-in-law lives in Pretoria Road and Agenda item no.15, High Street Improvement Consultation, and she is a BDC councillor.
Cllr Mrs S Dingle declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.7 Planning 15/00666/ADV, as she is a member of East of England Co-op
Cllr D Gronland declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.13 Proposed Residents Only Parking, as he knows a resident who lives in the road
Cllr A Munday declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.7 Planning 15/00666/ADV, as he is a member of East of England Co-op and a pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.9A Payments to be approved, as it is a reimbursement of his expenses
Cllr Mrs J Pell declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item no.4 Presentation, as she is a Braintree District Councillor, Agenda item no.7 Planning, 15/00645/LBC as the applicant is a fellow trustee of H4C, 15/00666/ADV as her son-in-law works at the head office and she is also a member of East of England Co-op, 15/00682/FUL, as the application is a neighbour, 15/00665/ADV, as she is a member of the Co-op group, Agenda item no.10 Community Hall, as she is Chairman of the Halstead Community Centre Charitable Company, Agenda item no.13 Proposed Residents Only Parking, as residents are known to her, Agenda item no.15, High Street Improvement Consultation, as she is a BDC councillor.
Cllr Mrs E Penn declared a non pecuniary interest in Agenda item 7 Planning, 15/00666/ADV as she is a member of East of England Co-op.
22. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Mr Malcolm Fincken asked if the council was aware of the sorry state of the Community Hall sign at Butler Road. Cllr Mrs Pell advised that the sign is to be removed. Mr Fincken also enquired if there was any further news on the Footbridge at Bridge street. It was explained that the council were still waiting for a date for a meeting between Essex County Council, Braintree District Council and Halstead Town Council.
Mrs Carol Oatham read out a statement regarding the proposed residents’ only parking at Morley Road. She stated that parking in the road for residents was intolerable and there were also issues with safety as the road was so narrow, causing problems for emergency vehicles to access the road. A consultation was carried out and residents only parking was applied for the whole of Morley Road but North Essex Parking Partnership are only recommending one half of the road.
Cllr D Hume read out a statement to explain why he cannot take part in the discussion and gave an example of the problems he has in parking near his own property in Pretoria Road, which is a similar hazard to road users. He stated that if the scheme goes ahead, it will put more pressure on already crowded and limited parking in other roads, but he did have sympathy for case made by the residents of Morley Road.
23. PRESENTATION:
Mr Stephen Wenlock and Mr Colby Crossman of Braintree District Council gave a brief presentation regarding Section 106 money available for public open spaces and the High Street Improvement Public Consultation. Mr Wenlock suggested that some of the money available could be spent to improve the river walk by putting in additional benches and trim trees. He also suggested that some money could be put towards Broton Drive improvements.
Mr Crossman gave an update on how the consultation was going. At the moment the split for and against the improvements are very close. A5 postcards are due to be delivered to households and once returned, they will be able to produce the statistics to show what is supported and what is not. They can then decide what improvements to proceed with.
24. MINUTES
To approve the minutes of Annual Town Council Meeting held on 14th May and Council meeting held on 18th May 2015
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Diver and Seconded by Cllr Mrs Sutton that the minutes be approved. Minutes were approved
25. a) MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cllr D Hume advised that he has been in touch with the Mayors Charities to make a presentation of charity funds.
Report was noted
b) PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES TO RETIRING TOWN COUNCILLORS
Cllr D Hume presented certificates to former councillors, Mrs Helen Catley, Mr Malcolm Fincken, Mr Steve Kirby and Mr Ken Paisley. Cllr Hume confirmed that all Halstead Town Councillors are volunteers and thanked them for their commitment to the town.
26. HIGH STREET IMPROVEMENT CONSULTATION
Members discussed the current Public consultation. It was felt that it was not reaching enough people in Halstead and the questionnaire was not easy to complete. It was suggested that an empty shop could be used, where it would be seen by more people. It was also suggested that a leaflet explaining the proposed ideas could be sent out with the postcards.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Pell and Seconded by Cllr Mrs Sutton that Members respond to BDC to say that the consultation is flawed, publicity is inadequate and lacking information and it is not reaching the majority of the population of Halstead. The display boards should be kept in place and the date extended.
27. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Cllr A Munday took the chair for this part of the meeting
Cllr Mrs J Pell left the meeting
15/00644/FUL& 15/00645/LBC – Halstead Physiotherapy Clinic, 2 Market Hill, Halstead, CO9 2AR – Alterations to modern partition arrangement and lowering of opening to receive ne pedestrian entrance.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Diver that members raised no objection
15/00666/ADV – Solar Superstore, 12 Weavers Court, Halstead, CO9 2JN – Removal of existing signage and replace with new, including the new company logo.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Dingle that members raised no objection
15/00682/FUL – Riverside Works, Chapel Street, Halstead, CO9 2LS – Change of use of timber store room to be used by nursery aged childrens (the rest of the building has already been given approval for the change of use to a children’s nursery).
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Fox that members raised no objection
Cllr Mrs Pell returned to the meeting
15/00665/ADV – The Woodman Inn, Colchester Road, Halstead, CO9 2DY – Display on various advertisement.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Allen that members raised no objection
15/00627/FUL – 10 Slough Farm Road, Halstead, CO9 1XR – Erection of single storey rear extension.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Diver that members raised no objection
15/00640/FUL – 14 Grange Close, Halstead, CO9 1NB – Erection of two storey extension.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Sutton that members raised no objection
15/00654/FUL – 2 Highfield Villas, East Mill, Halstead, CO9 2EL – Erection of timber frame garden shed/workshop.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Mrs Penn that members raised no objection
15/00667/FUL & 15/00668/FUL – NatWest Customer Service Centre, 31 High Street, Halstead, CO9 2AG – Installation of externally accessed steel security door, formation of ATM room and illuminated surround to existing ATM.
Proposed by Cllr Munday and seconded by Cllr Fox that members have no objection to the ATM but do object to the bright lights, as it does not conform to the lighting policy for the conservation area.
Cllr D Hume resumed Chair of the meeting
28. FINANCE –
A) Financial Monitoring.
Report was noted
B) Monthly Performance (Car Parks).
Report was noted
C) Monthly Performance (Lettings/Sickness)
Report was noted
D) Final Accounts for the year to 31st March 2014 and External Audit Return
Cllr Mrs Diver noted that she appreciated the work that the staff does to prepare the accounts.
Members approved the accounts for year to 31st March 2015, agreed the Accounting Statement on page 2 and agreed the Governance Statement on page 3 of the Audit Return
E) Internal audit report dated 23rd April 2015
Members noted this favourable report
29. LIST OF PAYMENTS TO BE APPROVED
Payments were approved.
30. COMMUNITY HALL – Release of earmarked reserve
Members agreed to release £10,000 of the earmarked reserves
31. YOUTH
Cllr A Munday confirmed that the Youth Council have a meeting on Wednesday 10th June with Halstead in Bloom to discuss what the Youth Council do or get involved for the Anglia in Bloom Judging. Cllr Mrs Penn asked if any Town Councillors would like to be Marshalls on the Skateboard awareness day on 4th July.
Report was noted
32. TOWN TEAM
Cllr D Gronland advised that Cllr Lady Newton is no longer the portfolio holder at Braintree District Council, covering town regeneration. This is now covered by Cllr Tom Cunningham. Cllr Mrs Allen has forwarded the Town Team minutes to him. Some of the Tourist Information display boxes have now been received.
Report was noted
Cllr D Hume left the meeting
33. PROPOSED RESIDENTS ONLY PARKING
Members discussed the proposed residents’ only parking and did not know of why North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) have only agreed to permits in half of Morley Road. Members felt that it was a no win scenario; if the proposal was approved, it would push the problem to neighbouring streets and if denied, there would still be an issue of parking for the residents. Members felt they did not have full information on which to base their response and requested:
- To know why only half of Morley Road had gone forward in this proposal;
- To see the letters or emails objecting to see the reasons; and
- That NEPP be asked to review the whole area before agreeing the current proposal.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Allen and seconded by Cllr Mrs Pell, it was agreed by members that the Town Clerk to go back to NEPP to request this further information
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Pell and seconded by Cllr J Sutton, it was agreed to extend the meeting time by fifteen minutes
Cllr D Hume returned to the meeting
34. BEAT-A-FEST
Members agreed to Adopt Beat-a-Fest as a Town Council event for 2015 and subsequent years and appoint Mrs Linda Hilton as lead organiser on behalf of the Town Council
35. GROUNDSMAN – LONG SERVICE
Cllr Mrs Pell stated that Mr Jason Bedlow was taken on as an apprentice and was an absolute treasure, she is very proud of his work for the Council and felt it was appropriate to mark his 30 years service.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Pell and seconded by Cllr Munday that the Town Clerk and Cllr Hume would purchase a gift to mark Mr Bedlow’s 30 years long service and that it be presented at a suitable opportunity.
36. ACORN CHILDREN’S CENTRE
Cllr Mrs Diver said she would be happy to represent the council on the Acorn Children’s Committee, but anyone is welcome to go along.
Proposed by Cllr Mrs Pell and seconded by Cllr Mrs Allen to appoint Cllr Mrs Diver to represent the Town Council on the Management Committee.
37. EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS
To give consideration to adopting the following resolution: – “That in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted and pursuant to the provisions of section 1(2)-of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, as amended, the public and the press be temporarily excluded from the meeting”.
38. THERE ARE NO ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.40pm