|
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY 14TH JUNE 2010
Present: Cllr J. Hart (Chair), Cllr P. Allen, Cllr M. Blake, Cllr D. Bain, Cllr D. Linney, Cllr C. Lofts,
Cllr J. Lynch, Cllr A. Maycock, Cllr C. Stanger, Cllr D. Yates
1. Apologies for Absence
Cllr C. Dryden, Cllr J. Godwin, Cllr M. Johns, Cllr R. Mills, Cllr A. Wardle, Cllr H. Wright
2. Declarations of Interest
None.
3. Open to the Public
Towcester resident, Mr Clarke, attended the meeting. He said he had been to a number of meetings since the Annual Meeting of the Town in March but many of his concerns had still not been addressed. The Clerk confirmed that Cllr Allen had removed the sign for the closed Moat Lane conveniences immediately after the Annual Meeting and today she had spoken to two contractors working for S. N. C. assessing the repairs required for the notice board outside Willen Hospice. Mr Clarke complained that the street lamp (No.4) at the entrance to Baker’s Lane was still not working and one of the street lamps outside the Town Hall was still permanently on despite reporting this to the Highways Agency Contractors A1+ in March. His understanding was the lamp outside the Town Hall would be repaired within two weeks; the Job No. given was 359953 and the contact name Ian Malatrop. The Clerk agreed to follow this up. Mr Clarke referred to recent publicity concerning the poor state of Towcester in terms of litter and cleanliness saying he had never witnessed the streets being swept and litter bins in the town are a disgrace. Mr Clarke emptied a plastic bag contained plastic ties saying that he had cut 14 off a single lamp post in Watling Street. The Clerk advised that many organisations use the lamp posts on the A5 to advertise sales and events. She said she would write to all regular hirers of the Town Hall reminding them that the ties must be removed. Mr Clarke asked why the TC never flies a flag on its flagpost; he was disappointed there was not a St George flag flying on St George’s Day. The Clerk advised this was primarily due to health & safety concerns as the TC would need to hire a cherry picker to fly a flag from the tall flag post; however, the TC does not own a St George flag. Cllr Lynch asked for this item to be added to the agenda for the next Town Hall Committee Meeting. Mr Clarke pointed out an error in the Town Crier magazine and asked why the dates of meetings are no longer publicised. The Clerk confirmed that regular meetings have not been publicised in the Town Crier for many years although it does advertise the annual meetings that take place in March and May.
4. Town Mayor’s Items
Cllr Hart gave details of events she has recently attended as follows:-
03/06/10 Opening of the SNVB Volunteer Fayre at the Town Hall
03/06/10 Bromford Support Unit Open Day at South Northants Council Offices
05/06/10 Presentation of medals at the Towcester Junior Football Club Annual Tournament
06/06/10 Cadet 150th Anniversary Celebration at North Luffenham
12/06/10 Towcester Choral Society Spring Concert at the Town Hall
5. Report back from:-
Report back from Cllr R. Bromwich, Northamptonshire County Council
Cllr Bromwich confirmed that works to the drainage system from Watling Street to the Tesco entrance have been completed. Permission has been given to commence the next phase of works to prevent surface water accumulating at the entrance to Tesco by the end of June. Works to resurface the crossroads at the Saracens Head Hotel have been signed by the Highways Agency. It is now preparing a specification and costing report; the works are likely to commence in January 2011. Cllr Bromwich referred to the N.C.C. Parking Review. Following discussions with residents of Richmond Court, she had requested the parking spaces be removed from the entrance to Richmond Court to Richmond Road Car Park and be replaced with double yellow lines and this had been agreed. The Clerk advised that the consultation on the proposals was on the agenda for discussion later in the meeting. N.C.C. will be holding a consultation on changes to Adult Care Services in the Town Hall on 14th July; anyone with any concerns on this issue is welcome to attend. Cllr Bromwich confirmed that her Civic Service will be held in November and will be attended by the new Bishop of Peterborough; invitations will be sent to all members of the TC.
Cllr Stanger raised concerns over the way N.C.C. is addressing the issue of pot holes. Cllr Yates referred to the new cycle path along Silverstone Brook and said the central posts that were installed to prevent vehicular access have been pulled out and thrown into the river. The Clerk confirmed that this has been reported to the contractor who will come back on site to carry out the necessary repairs.
Cllr D. Dallyn, South Northamptonshire Council
Cllr Dallyn referred to the issue of weeds overgrowing the footpaths in some areas of the town. She considered it the responsibility of the householder to prevent weeds from growing under their fence into the footpath. She wondered whether it would be possible to form some agreement between the TC and S.N.C. to resolve this problem. The Clerk advised that there is a clear responsibility for the ownership. Details of the problem areas should be forwarded to the Clerk and she would ensure they were dealt with. Cllr Dallyn said the footpaths between Wordsworth and Byron Close and Shelley and Tennyson Close were particularly overgrown. S.N.C. Cabinet has once again been discussing HS2. As the district in Northants most affected by the proposals it has requested a meeting with N.C.C. who are lead authority on this issue. It is not clear at this stage how the change in Government will affect the proposals. Cllr Dallyn gave details of the committees she will sit on for the forthcoming year.
6. Minutes of Meetings
Resources/Planning Committee 17th May 2010
Town Council Meeting 17th May 2010
Town Hall Committee 24th May 2010
Recreation/Leisure Committee 24th May 2010
Page No. 10/05/055
Cllr D. Linney was added under Item 1 – Apologies for Absence. The Chair signed the correction accordingly.
Proposal
Cllr Linney proposed that the Minutes of Meetings for May be signed by the Chair as a true record;
seconded by Cllr Lofts; all in favour
7. Matters Arising from the Minutes
Page No. 10/05/056
The Clerk confirmed that further negotiations had taken place with the Highways Agency concerning traffic management on the Market Square for Midsummer Music. The H.A. insisted the Market Square be cordoned off at 6am before the A5 becomes busy. This raised concerns over the impact on town centre retailers. Cllr Lynch managed to reach a compromise with the H.A. which allows partial use of the Market Square until 2pm when the section required will gradually be closed for the event. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to use the Market Square for future events.
8. Report back from the Chair of the:-
Resources/Planning Committee
Cllr Maycock had nothing to report
Town Hall Committee
Cllr Lynch had nothing to report. The Clerk confirmed that the high-level cleaning planned for this week will not go ahead as the contractor could not carry out the works.
The Clerk has arranged partial holiday cover for the next two weeks.
Recreation/Leisure Committee
Cllr Yates confirmed her attendance of a meeting on 10th June at SNVB aimed at giving advice on completing applications for Big Lottery Funding. Grants are available of up to £10,000 for each project and she and Cllr Dryden will investigate the potential of this fund for new play equipment on Belle Baulk. A copy of the proforma agreement provided by Pocket Parks Office, Rose Little, will be circulated prior to the next meeting. Head Teacher of Nicholas Hawksmoor School and a representative of the Pocket Park Committee plan to attend the meeting to give and update on the current situation and plans for the future.
Cemetery Committee
The Clerk confirmed that the works to the Cemetery Chapel have commenced. The Clerk has spoken with Surveyor, Paul Brown, on a number of occasions concerning the amount of concrete being used by the contactor who has now requested a substantial increase for the works to be completed. As the original tender was significantly less than others the Clerk had allowed an additional £5,000; however, Paul Brown is now looking to the contractor to find savings and will negotiate with them on any additional payment.
Allotment Working Group
Cllr Maycock had nothing to report.
9. Report back from Local Bodies
Cllr Blake confirmed the Allotment Society will be holding Towcester Produce Show on Bank Holiday Monday 30th August. The inaugural meeting of Friends of Towcester Library will take place on Saturday 19th June.
Cllr Allen referred to the Towcester Junior Football Club Annual Tournament and commended the organisers on the effort taken to clear the Recreation Ground afterwards.
Cllr Lynch confirmed bookings for the South Northants Youth Bus are ever increasing to the extent that soon a second bus will be required. Towcester Partnership has won the prestigious award in the Social and Community Category of the East Midlands Market Town Awards for ‘The Bus’. It is currently project managing Phase 1 of works to Towcester Museum.
Cllr Lofts confirmed that the newly formed U3A (University of the Third Age) now has 100+ members signed up; 16 separate interest groups have been formed covering a range of activities. Cllr Lofts has been asked to become a trustee of the South Northants Leisure Trust and asked that any problems concerning Towcester Centre for Leisure be referred to him.
Cllr Linney confirmed that Towcester Youth Coffee Shop has now secured sufficient volunteers to open three nights per week; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Cllr Hart advised there are indications that the South Northamptonshire Council Standards Board may be dissolved by the new Government. The AGM scheduled for later this year may be its final meeting. The town centre window boxes were put up last week. South Northants Homes has agreed to sponsor the baskets on the bridge and these should be planted within the next week.
10. Accounts 2009/10
a) Town Council Balance Sheet at 31st March 2010
At its meeting on 14th June; the Resources/Planning Committee agreed the accounts for 2009/10 and proposed that the Annual Return be put forward to the Full Council for acceptance.
Proposal
Cllr Lofts proposed that Section 1 and 2 of the Annual Return be accepted by the Council;
seconded by Cllr Linney; all in favour.
11. Northamptonshire County Council
a) Parking Review South Northants – Statutory Consultation for Proposals in Towcester
Details of the Parking Review for Towcester were forwarded to all members of the TC prior to the meeting. The proposal is to remove all car parking spaces (approximately 6) between the entrance to Richmond Court and Richmond Road Car Park and lay down double yellow lines. Cllr Hart confirmed that this issue has been brought to a head as a result of irresponsible parking by one business person; increasing concerns over the blind spot when exiting the Richmond Court or Richmond Road car park. She suggested the removal of all the car parking spaces could result in a problem with speeding traffic and taking out 1 or 1.5 spaces would be sufficient. Cllr Stanger said the situation is dangerous as motorists need to put the front of their car out into oncoming traffic. Cllr Allen stressed the need for commercial and residential parking in this location adding that the 6 parking spaces represent approximately 5% of parking in Towcester. He agreed there is a need for a wider vision splay but this could be achieved by the removal of 1 – 1.5 spaces. Cllr Bain agreed saying it will be dangerous to cross Richmond Road if the parking is removed. Cllr Blake strongly opposed the removal of all 6 spaces saying the problem was lack of enforcement. It the parking regulations were enforced there would be a regular change-over of traffic. Cllr Linney agreed it would better to reduce the number of spaces than remove them altogether.
Proposal
Cllr Allen proposed that the TC objects to the removal of all car parking spaces from the entrance to Richmond Court to the entrance to Richmond Road car park and recommends the removal of spaces equalling 1 – 1.5 car lengths to give a wider vision splay for motorists.
seconded by Cllr Lynch; 8 in favour, 1 abstention.
b) Northamptonshire Minerals & Waste Development Framework
Correspondence invites the TC to make representations on the soundness of the Development Plan Document on the Control and Management of Development relating to minerals and waste development in Northamptonshire and the Proposed Submission Control DPD. Any representations must be submitted by Thursday 22nd July 2010 after which the documents will be submitted and subject to an independent examination by a planning inspector.
c) Section 38 Agreement – Tove Valley Business Park
Correspondence confirms that under N. C. C. Highways Act 1980 (Adoption of Private Streets) the following will street became highway maintainable at public expense from 12th May 2010:-
Old Tiffield Road, Towcester 217m
12. South Northamptonshire Council
Wind Turbines Supplementary Planning (Consultation Draft)
Re-use of Rural Buildings Supplementary Planning Document (Consultation Draft)
Developer Contributions SPD (Consultation Draft May 2010)
The Clerk confirmed she has reserved one place for a TC representative to attend a meeting at SNC on 17th June to discuss the above consultation documents. Any comments on the documents must be submitted to S. N. C. by 16th July. Cllr Allen agreed he will attend the meeting if no-one else is available. The Clerk asked for volunteers to read through the documents prior to the next meeting; Cllr Lofts took the consultation draft on Developer Contributions.
13. Correspondence
a) Northants 50+ Network – Northamptonshire Roadshow
Details of the Northants 50+ Network Roadshow are available from the Clerk.
b) N.C.A.L.C. Update
A copy of the most recent N.C.A.L.C. Update is available from the Clerk.
c) S. N. C. Licensing
Cllr Hart gave details of the application from the Monk & Tipster P. H. to extend its opening hours. In the main the request is to open from 12 noon to 12.30 am Monday to Thursday; 12 noon to 1.00 am Friday and Saturday with 11pm closing on Sunday evenings for the sale of alcohol and playing of live and recorded music.
The Monk & Tipster is situated in a predominantly residential area and it is anticipated there will be many objections to the proposals.
Proposal
Cllr Lynch proposed the TC strongly object to the Monk & Tipster extending its opening hours beyond 12 midnight;
seconded by Cllr Stanger; all in favour.
|