Minutes / Agenda – July 29th 2008
Agenda
Full Council
29 July 2008
Agenda
Public Forum
85. To accept apologies
86. To receive declarations of interest
87. To approve minutes of meetings 8 July
88. To raise matters arising from meetings 8 July
89. To fill the outstanding positions on Committees and Council representatives
Public Safety 1 vacancy.
Gloucestershire Playing Fields Committee 1 vacancy
90. To make decisions about the future of the public convenience provision in Coleford and the Town Council involvement and to decide about the invoice demanding maintenance payments received from the FoDDC on 11 June 08.
Presentation Steven Kendall FoDDC
91. To discuss the correspondence from the Wynols Community Tenants & Residents Association regarding traffic calming measures
92. To discuss and make recommendations regarding the implications of the A40/A48 contra flow system (incl. report from Cllr Sue Merrikin, Mayor)
93. To agree to Coleford gaining a designation order that will make it an arrestable offence when requested by an officer to stop drinking in a public place.
94. To agree to the junior warden scheme to clearing graves in the cemetery
95. To formalise the use of a minute secretary at all full council meetings
96. To agree that the past deputy mayors should be listed on the Mayoral board and that past deputy mayors should be invited to an unveiling and be presented with a past deputy mayors badge.
97. To make a decision regarding the proposal from Two Rivers Housing that they should transfer to the Town Council the responsibility of the grass cutting and maintenance areas for which they are responsible.
98. To decide the action the Council should take regarding the response from Two Rivers Housing about the regeneration of the Cornish type housing at Sunnybank.
99. To respond to the consultation on house hold waste being conducted by Gloucestershire County Council.
100. To agree that to the training requirements of the Clerk and Assistant Clerk identified from their recent appraisals.
101. To agree to the recommendations made as a result of the Clerks and Assistant Clerks appraisals.
102. To agree to the recommendations of the Amenities Committee
103. To agree to the recommendations of the Burial Committee
104. To agree the recommendations of the Highway meeting
105. To note the decisions of the Planning Committee
106. To note reports from members (for information only)
107. To note reports from District and County Councillors (for information only)
108. To note correspondence (for information only, see attached list)
109. To agree to the months payments (see attached list)
Minutes
At the Monthly Meeting of the Coleford Town Council held at the Town House, Lords Hill Walk, Coleford on Tuesday 29th July 2008, there were present:
Councillor Mrs S Merrikin (Mayor)
Mrs C Allaway-Martin
Mr D Atherley
Mr C Elsmore
Mrs H Lusty
Mr R Phelps
Mr M Weston
Also present:
County Councillor Mr P Chamberlain
District Councillors Mrs G Bensted & Mr D Riley
Gloucester Constabulary PCSO Neil Evans
PUBLIC FORUM
Mrs Gill Robins addressed the Council as Chairperson of the Wynols Community Tenants and Residents Association. And referred to her letter dated 14th July 2008. She expressed residents concerns about the danger speeding cars posed to children and requested that action be taken to install traffic calming measures. She also highlighted the poor state of the highway and pavements and the risk to elderly people.
The Mayor thanked Mrs Robins and said the matter was on the agenda for discussion. The Council would keep her informed about any decisions made.
Mr Williams addressed the Council in relation to correspondence with Welsh Water on the matter of floodwater issues in the Coleford area. Mr Williams said he was gathering information regarding flooding events and asked if the Council could release any information held.
The Mayor said that Mr Williams was welcome to see any information the Council held and invited him to call at the Council office during opening hours
85. APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Cllrs Howell, Kay, C Lusty, Nicolson, and Thorne.
86. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllrs H Lusty and Phelps declared personal interests in item 90, public conveniences.
87. TO APPROVE MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 8th July 2008 were approved by those present and signed by the Mayor.
88. MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
89. COMMITTEES AND COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
Cllr Atherley agreed to join the Public Safety Committee
Cllr H Lusty agreed to join the Gloucestershire Playing Fields Committee.
90. PUBLIC CONVENIENCES
The Mayor invited Mr Kendal (FoDDC) to address the Council in relation to public conveniences in Coleford.
Mr Kendall said that an asset management strategy was being put together which would be considered by the District Council in August. He said that there was money in the budget for refurbishment of toilets but he could not pre-judge any decisions the Council might make. He said that the Council would also be considering car park charges to cover the cost of maintenance.
Mr Kendall also said that he would investigate and clarify the invoice sent to the Town Council for public convenience charges.
Councillors made their views known to Mr Kendall:
· Many promises have been made by the District Council over a 6 year period, all seem to have been forgotten and documents have been lost.
· One toilet is not sufficient for a town the size of Coleford.
· The car park toilets are well below standard with no baby changing facilities and are a focus for anti-social behaviour.
· The car park toilets are not in the best location for the majority of pedestrians.
· The toilets at Newland Street were allowed to deteriorate while repair costs escalated forcing closure.
· Despite closure, there is still a sign pointing to toilets in Newland Street.
· A number of planning applications have been granted for food outlets without toilets on the understanding that public toilets were available in Newland Street.
· The Town Council has spent a great deal of time over a number of years giving input and providing plans to the District Council.
The Mayor summed up the feeling of the Council by saying that Councillors felt that they had been badly let down.
Mr Kendal said that he was now aware of the strength of feeling and gave a commitment to conduct a thorough investigation at the District Council and agreed to report back to the next Town Council meeting.
91. WYNOLS COMMUNITY TENANTS AND RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
Members noted the letter from Mrs Robins and agreed that the matter should be referred to the Highways Committee to be discussed with the Highways Authority.
It was agreed that many of those who might be guilty of speeding would be residents who themselves lived on the Estate. It was suggested that leaflets should be delivered to all householders. PCSO Evans offered to deliver the leaflets. He said that Mrs Robins had already been invited to join the Neighbourhood Panel.
District Councillor Riley said he was going to a meeting with Two Rivers Housing on 29th July and would ask their views.
92. A40/A48 CONTRAFLOW SYSTEM
Members expressed concerns regarding the ability of emergency services to deal with incidents in the Coleford area during the 6 months of major road-works at the A40/A48 junction. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to the Primary Care Trust, the Police, the Ambulance Trust and the Fire Brigade to establish what emergency planning systems they had in place and to ask if inter-county arrangements had been made for the duration of the road-works.
93. DRINKING IN PUBLIC PLACES
PCSO Evans reported that the trial ban on drinking in public places in Lydney appeared to be having some success and had lead to a reduction in anti-social behaviour. The Police were proposing to introduce a similar ban in Coleford. After discussion it was proposed that the Council should support this initiative.
Proposed: Cllr Atherley Seconded: Cllr Phelps
On being put to the vote, the proposal was accepted unanimously.
94. JUNIOR WARDEN SCHEME
Cllr Phelps reported that an offer had been made for the use of junior wardens to help clear undergrowth around gravestones in the cemetery while under the supervision of Street Wardens. The Clerk confirmed that all gravestones had been tested for safety and had been found to pose no risk.
It was proposed that the offer be accepted.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Elsmore
On being put to the vote, the proposal was accepted unanimously.
95. MINUTE SECRETARY AT COUNCIL MEETINGS
It was proposed that Alan Clarke should be formally appointed as Minute Secretary to the Council.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Elsmore
On being put to the vote, the proposal was accepted unanimously.
96. DEPUTY MAYORS
A personal interest was declared in this item by Cllr Atherley.
After discussion it was agreed that all past Deputy Mayors should be listed on the Mayoral Board and be presented with Deputy Mayor badges.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Lusty
On being put to the vote, the proposal was accepted unanimously.
97. TRANSFER OF GRASS CUTTING RESPONSIBILITIES
Members noted the proposal from Two Rivers Housing that responsibility for grass cutting should be transferred to the Council.
It was agreed that the terms of transfer should be very specific and future ownership of land also needed to be established. It was agreed that Two Rivers Housing should be invited to give a presentation at the September meeting.
98. CORNISH HOUSING AT SUNNYBANK
It was agreed to invite Two River Housing to give a presentation at the September meeting.
99. HOUSEHOLD WASTE CONSULTATION
It was agreed that the Clerk would circulated the consultation document to Councillors so that they could respond individually.
100. TRAINING OF CLERK AND ASSISTANT CLERK
Members noted the training needs identified arising from the recent appraisals of the Clerk and Assistant Clerk. The Clerk reported that the cost of training required would be approximately £200 and was well within budget. After discussion it was agreed that the training identified should be implemented.
The Clerk said that 2 hours a week would need to be set aside during office hours to implement the training.
101. TO AGREE APPRAISAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Members noted the objectives set out following the appraisal of the Clerk and Assistant Clerk, including the change of title for the Assistant Clerk to Deputy Clerk.
After discussion it was proposed that the recommendations for items 100 and 101 should be agreed.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Lusty
On being put to the vote, the proposals for items 100 and 101 were accepted unanimously.
102. AMENITIES COMMITTEE
Members noted the report of the Amenities Committee and after discussion it was proposed that the following recommendations should be accepted:
· That the Council support the Young Gloucestershire Youth Project up to an amount of £10,000.
· Young Gloucestershire to invoice the Council quarterly and produce a report of its activities.
· Young Gloucestershire to arrange for young people to attend a Council meeting.
Proposed: Cllr Elsmore Seconded: Cllr Allaway-Martin
· That the Royal Forest Centre should continue to use the King George V pavilion.
· All users should collect and return the key on the day of use.
· A log to be kept of faults and issues arising at the pavilion.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Allaway-Martin
· That all bolts and keys for the pavilion be replaced.
· No users be permitted to have keys cut.
The Clerk reported that it was currently not known how many keys were in circulation. The cost of new bolts and keys which could not be copied would be £558.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Allaway-Martin
The Clerk reported that urgent repair work had been carried out to the tiles in Mushet Walk. In future the area would be kept clean by the Council’s handyman. The Clerk had confirmed that any future injuries that might arise would be covered by the Council’s insurers.
Cllr Allaway-Martin reported that some areas of erosion had taken place in Mushet Walk and needed attention. It was agreed that the handyman should deal with this.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Elsmore
On being put to the vote, all the proposals made by the Amenities Committee were accepted unanimously.
103. HIGHWAYS
Members noted the report made by the Highways Committee and which contained the following proposals:
· A meeting be set up to discuss how the issues of HGV traffic in Coleford can be resolved.
· That once County Highways has sprayed weeds in problem areas, the District and Town Councils work together to remove the dead weeds.
Proposed: Cllr Phelps Seconded: Cllr Elsmore
On being put to the vote, the proposals made by the Highways Committee were accepted unanimously.
104. PLANNING COMMITTEE
Members note the decisions taken by the Planning Committee.
105. REPORTS FROM MEMBERS
The Mayor reported that she had attended an art exhibition at Lakers School. It had attracted a good response and some of the work will be on display at the District Council. It was hoped that it would become an annual event.
Cllr Weston expressed his concerns about the speed of traffic in St. John’s Street and the potential for damage to culverts caused by HGVs. Perhaps these were issues which could be tackled by the Highways Committee.
Cllr Atherley said he had attended a positive meeting with the Highways Authority (see item 103) and a number of issues were being tackled.
Cllr H Lusty reported that she had attended a visit to Fairford with the Market Towns Forum and had been very impressed by what was being achieved there.
Cllr Elsmore reported that a new dental practice was being set up in Lydney in October.
106. REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
County Councillor Chamberlain recommended that Councillors should express views to the County Council for smaller, more flexible solutions to waste management. This would be preferable to the construction of a large-scale incinerator with the potential for hidden long-term running costs. Cllr Chamberlain added that Coleford had been listed as number 7 on the list of priorities for dealing with flooding problems in Gloucestershire and was good news. Cllr Chamberlain also said that over £1,000 had been raised at a recent event towards the cost of purchasing the Almshouses in Newland.
District Councillor Bensted said that a consultant’s survey of flooding problems in Coleford should be published in 4-6 weeks. It was likely to contain proposals for the construction of a holding tank beneath the main town car park. This would cause considerable disruption while being constructed but should produce longer-term benefits.
District Councillor Riley said that a meeting was being held with Arriva Trains next week to discuss the current service which was causing some dissatisfaction.
107. CORRESPONDENCE
The items of correspondence received during July were noted.
108. PAYMENTS
The list of payments for July were noted and agreed.
109. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 26th August at 7.00pm and will convene at the King George V playing field for the annual inspection.
The meeting closed at 8.40pm
