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Minutes of the meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 9th June 2008 at 7.15pm in the Council Chamber.

Present:

In attendance:


1. Apologies

Mrs N Goodchild – illness
Rev R Spittle – work commitments
Mrs D McCullum (District Councillor) – holiday
Mr S Hudson (County Councillor) – alternative meeting Police shift patterns


2. Declarations of Interest

Mr Briggs declared a prejudicial interest in item 8.a., Financial Matters, Chairman’s Allowance, being the retiring Chairman, and left the room while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Comber declared a prejudicial interest in Item 8.a., Financial Matters, Receipts and Payments being a recipient and left the room while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Bridgeman declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Briggs declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Bugg declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Comber declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mrs Klaschka declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mr Mills declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration;

Mrs Ogden declared a personal interest in Item 14, KWMCC/02 lease, being a Trustee and remained in the meeting while the matter was under consideration.


3. Minutes of the last regular meeting held on 12th May 2008

The minutes of the last meeting having been circulated the Clerk apologised that the document issued was not the proof read copy. A corrected copy had been issued in the meeting papers and she directed Members to the three matters of error and offered also to read out the various typographical errors. Members were content to accept the revised document as read and the minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman.


4. Matters arising

a. Late items for information None.


5. Annual Town Meeting matters arising

Members had been issued with a copy of the draft minutes of this meeting which are attached at Annex 1 to the permanent copy of these minutes.

a. Parking issues A resident had raised at the meeting the difficulties experienced in Ashdale and Windrush Road because of the cars parked by 6th Form pupils. Mr Bugg gave some details on numbers of staff cars and parking spaces and that staff have been encouraged to “go green” resulting in 7 motorbikes and 7 cycles being used. A number of 6th Formers are also using motorbikes. Additional parking has been made available within the school grounds but some part time staff and parents of special needs and disabled children also have to be catered for. He added that it should be recognised that for 5 months of the year there is no problem.

The Clerk had spoken to the Headteacher who has confirmed the School are acutely aware of the situation and are doing all they can to alleviate it. Additional car parking spaces within the grounds will be made available within the year.

b. Town Plan The Clerk also reminded Members that Mr Walker had raised the issue of the progress of the Town Plan. It was understood that since the meeting he had been allocated a place on a Workshop but had been unable to attend. Mrs Klaschka had however attended. This matter had not been agendad but the Chairman had agreed earlier in the day with Mrs Ogden's request that there should be some discussion at Item 17. Further information is therefore minuted there.


6. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman reported:

– she had agreed the wording of the holding letter sent on Council's behalf to the Boundary Committee with regard to the current Boundary Review. A copy is attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes and had been issued to Members. It was noted it also now appears on the Boundary Committee Website.

– there is to be a second meeting of the Ipswich Fringe parishes with SCDC regarding the Boundary Review at the KWMCC on the 8th July, the day after the expected announcements of the Concepts on which consultation will take place. KTC have 4 places but Mrs Evans is unable to attend. Mr Beecroft, Mrs Read and Mr Comber will attend and others interested in being the 4th member were asked to contact the Clerk. Mrs Ogden will attend the meeting in her capacity as District Councillor.

Mr Beecroft reported in his capacity as Vice Chairman he had attended two meetings:

- on 13th May he had met with the Clerk and the applicant for the alterations proposed to the Day Hospital at Rupert Fison Centre. Concerns had been expressed about parking when monthly meetings are expected to take place. The applicant has stated additional parking is to be provided and by car sharing and double parking when the larger meetings take place they believe parking at other locations will not be an issue. They also stated they will be augmenting the landscaping and wish to develop a good relationship with the other Rupert Fison occupants. They were however adamant they could not accommodate a Children's Centre on the premises as the layout was unsuitable for this mix of users.

– on 14th May he had chaired the meeting held at the Council Office between SCC officers, KTC and neighbouring parishes which has been considering the difficulties of the A1214 and adjacent roads. The traffic lights, Grange Lane, extending the bus lane over Rushmere Heath, Dr Watsons Lane junction and Foxhall Road had all been discussed. The SCC Officers have suggested KTC makes a further request for extending the speed limit on Foxhall Road. It is possible a request for 40mph from the current 30mph limit to just east of the Bell Lane junction may be considered while the accident investigation is being carried out at this junction. As requests for a speed restriction on Foxhall Road have been made on previous occasions it was agreed the Clerk should progress this without further delay.

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An adjournment was declared:

– to receive reports from the County and District Councillors, Police, Crime Prevention representatives, Public Transport Liaison Officer and Local History Recorder

Mr Klaschka, as County Councillor, firstly congratulated Mrs Evans on her election as Chairman and then reported:

– on Children's Centres and the hope by SCC that the Day Hospital can be used, with Heath School as the second choice. He anticipated there will be discussions between Officers at Senior level;

– Sgt Richardson of the SNT has been seconded until September to improve Shift patterns. The Chief Constable has made it known he wishes to see a change in the way SNT Sgts are deployed and if the anticipated changes take place it is likely that Playford, Bealings and Purdis Farm will be included within the Kesgrave SNT but that the Sgt will not be taken away for other duties as at present;

– a SCC Policy task group is considering the ways in which waste is dealt with;

– he had found the difficulties with parking at Windrush Road an intractable situation when he had investigated it 2 years previously;

– SCC Councillors are seeking a stronger role under the new Local Development Framework, with Senior Councillors stating they should be prepared to object to development which has insufficient infrastructure and will lead to difficulties.

The Clerk added that when she had served at SCDC the Development Control Committee had often been in a position where they knew if they refused an application it would be permitted at Appeal because SCC had not objected; moves towards more robust comments would therefore be a great improvement.

Mrs Ogden, as District Councillor, reported:

– she had visited a Childrens Centre with Sue Hall, Project Officer, and commented on their positive application;

– SCDC press releases have been issued


Mr Grimwood, District Councillor, reported:

– the application for the Day Hospital had been passed by Development Control at their May meeting;

– he will be unavailable for a while following his wife's operation – the Chairman extended Council's good wishes to Mrs Grimwood for a speedy recovery.

Mr Klaschka, as District Councillor, had nothing to report.

Mrs Neale, District Councillor, reported:

– on the findings of the Travel survey which had been very well supported. The results are held on file and Mrs Evans agreed this will be useful evidence when the consultation on the Boundary Review begins in July;

– parking in Century Drive is causing difficulties with several drivers having to take refuge on her drive.

The Clerk read out the section of the Police report which explained the situation about parking and police involvement. She will raise the Century Drive difficulties with the Acting Sgt later in the week and will forward a copy of the Police report to Mrs Neale.

No member of the Police was present but Members had been issued with a report, which is held on file.

Mrs Brown, as PTLO, asked if the S66 bus would call at the Garrett Hospital. The Clerk will make enquiries.

Mrs Brown, as LHR, asked if she could have copies of the new Walks Leaflets for her records. These will be supplied and it was noted they are proving very popular.

- to allow members of the public to speak

The Members of the Public present did not wish to speak

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7. Notices and Correspondence

a. Items for Discussion The Deputy Clerk advised Council of the following:

3.D. A thank you letter had been received from Suffolk Accident Rescue Service for KTC's donation.

A copy of the lists of Notices and Correspondence, including those for information only, and Reports and Mandates received were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 3 to the permanent copy of these minutes.


8. Financial Matters

Mr Briggs and Mr Comber left the room for the following item.

a. Receipts and Payments Copies of the statements of Receipts and Payments were issued to each Councillor, are attached at Annex 4 to the permanent copy of these minutes and were agreed.

b. Transfer between accounts Council agreed a transfer of £9,800 be made from the Instant Access Saver Account to the Ordinary Account.

c. Transfer of Reserve Funds Council agreed that funds be transferred as detailed.

Product/service - Amount - Reserve fund
RFC Grass cut - £55.80 = From RFC

d. Audit forms Members had been issued with the documents which are attached to the permanent copy of these minutes at Annex 5 and the Clerk gave some explanation as follows. Previous Auditors had required explanations of variances of 15 % or more and the Accounts presented at the May meeting had included annotation and explanation to this effect. The new Auditors, BDO Stoy Hayward, require 10% variances for the Audit form. Although there is no requirement to alter the Approved Accounts, the expenditure for the 2007/8 year exceeds £200,000 and additional documents will be forwarded with the Audit form. As this includes the underlying accounting information of the Accounts as presented last month the Clerk suggested it would be more professional to have the variances annotated for 10%. Members were informed the figures for the balancing of the accounts necessarily remain the same the only changes being the additional annotations at 7,8,9 and 12 on the revised sheet. Council agreed this revised document and the Chairman and Clerk signed accordingly.

The Clerk then went on to explain the Audit form completion. Section 1 presents the Statement of Accounts and Council agreed the Chairman and Clerk should sign this section. Section 2 had not been completed until Council had agreed the answers and explanations to be added. Council were reminded Miss Hall is preparing documents for F&R consideration on the risk assessment. Audit does not just encompass the accounting procedures but also all risks to Council and Council therefore agreed the Clerks recommendations for Section 2 noting that work is still in progress. The Clerk therefore added the answers to the document and the Chairman and Clerk signed both Section 1 and 2 accordingly.

e. Late items for information None.


9 Planning and Development Matters

a. Planning applications received since 9th May 2008 The list of planning applications where comment was required, those which were not contentious and the decisions received, had been issued to each Councillor and is attached at Annex 6 to the permanent copy of these minutes. The P&D Committee then approved this list and the comments en bloc.

b. Street naming None.

c. Late items for information Members had been issued with copies of documents sent by SCDC asking for comment on Enforcement Policy. As a response is required before the next KTC meeting Members were asked to read the document and make any comments to the Clerk by 25th June in order for them to be collated and forwarded to SCDC.

Mr Bugg raised the issue of the Planning Application for a 30 cell block building to be erected at the Police HQ. Although this is not in Kesgrave, residents are expressing concern about the people who will be released from custody but not taken back to their place of arrest. The Clerk will ask SCDC for a copy of the application so that comment can be made. A copy of a letter from Kesgrave High School to SCDC was received.


10. Recreation and Amenities Matters

a. Roads, footways and footpaths The Deputy Clerk advised Council that SCC are to change the sign at Hall Road to direct people to Kesgrave Hall as well as the Admirals Head Public House.

Mr Bugg asked when a second sign stating No Right Turn was to be erected at the east end of the school lay-by. The Clerks will investigate.

b. Trial traffic light switch off Council agreed SCC should be advised that they wish the traffic lights at St Michaels to remain switched off. It was recognised there are some difficulties in turning right out of Bracken Avenue and Dobbs Lane as there are no breaks in the traffic flow but at peak times the queues at the roundabout have been almost non-existent and nearby residents have commented how much quieter it is. If the decision is made to take the lights away there will be some alterations necessary in particular with the pedestrian crossing point which will be moved further east and have its own lights, on demand, to protect the many users.

It is anticipated SCC will report back on the decision to the A1214 working party meeting and at that time requests will be made to have further consideration of the All Saints roundabout and how queues here can be addressed.

c. Late items for information None.


11. Youth Provision

a. Youth Club Mrs Evans and Mr Beecroft are due to judge another Ready Steady Cook competition in the near future.

b. Other youth issues Revised documents for Council in the Classroom are in progress and a dummy run is soon to be undertaken. It was reported that Mrs Bowditch at Heath School is keen to have the team visit the school and Mrs Coupe will ask her to contact the office. Mr Briggs reported when he visited Gorseland School they also expressed their keenness to participate and the Clerk will ask the Martlesham Clerk for an update on whether Martlesham Parish Council are happy for Kesgrave to conduct this exercise, and whether some of their members wish to be involved.


12. Boundary Review

It was again noted the letter at Annex 2 has been sent to the Boundary Committee expressing the Town Councils view that Kesgrave should not be part of an Ipswich Unitary. The Concepts for consultation are expected to be announced on 7th July and Members were encouraged to continue to consider the situation in anticipation of the need for more substantive comment at that time.


13. Election to fill in the Councillor Vacancy in East Ward

It was explained that had Mrs McCullum been present and the necessary documentation completed she would have joined Members at the Council table as she had been elected unopposed to the West ward seat. There are however two candidates for the East ward vacancy and the polling date has been set for 19th June. Polling cards and postal votes have been issued. A resident had called the office to complain about the change in her polling station, it had been explained that with the ever increasing population there have had to be changes in East ward so the polling stations are visited in equal proportions. A short piece about this will be written for Kesgrave News.


14. KWMCC / 02 lease

It was agreed the revised documents for this lease should be countersigned by the Chairman and Vice- Chairman on behalf of the Council who are custodian Trustees for the KWMCC. Mrs Evans and Mr Beecroft signed the documents and the Council seal was applied.


15. PCSO Pilot Scheme

Council considered the opportunity to participate in the PCSO scheme which would enable them to partnership fund an additional PCSO for Kesgrave. It had been established the Constabulary would fund the first year and KTC would share the cost (50/50) in the second year, this would be in the region of £15,000 although it could be further reduced if Rushmere and Martlesham Councils would consider participating also.

The Clerk reported on her discussion with Sgt Richardson who had stated that as the SNT area is worked as a whole an additional PCSO would be deployed where ever he/she was required and would not necessarily just work in the paying parish. Also, as one of the current PCSO's is a trained trainer the SNT area often has additional manpower of trainees.

Council considered the issues and Mr Bridgeman said he had spoken sometime ago to a Clerk from a parish where this had been adopted and although initially it was very acceptable the situation had deteriorated over time. He will provide the Clerk with details of the contact. Some concern was expressed about the manner in which evaluation could be made to determine if the additional PCSO was worthwhile. It was agreed the current officers have a good rapport with the young people but current crime figures would not recommend that additional expense is necessary. The Clerk will make enquiries on what is anticipated for the funding of 3rd and subsequent years and also contact the neighbouring Clerks to ascertain if Martlesham and Rushmere Parish Councils have given the matter any consideration.


16. Report from Clerk and Press Officer

The Clerk reported having attended:

– a Town Clerk/Chief Executive meeting at SCDC which had resulted in the holding letter to the Boundary Committee;

– an Open Day at Alice Grange which had been very informative.

Articles for inclusion in May Kesgrave News will be submitted on:

– the changes to Polling Stations;

– the Senior Citizens Outing;

– recycling credits.


17. To receive such other communication or matters of sufficient urgency and importance that the Chairman will allow for discussion

As it had been agreed to allow some discussion on the Town Plan, Mrs Klaschka gave details on the workshop she had attended on 7th June. Letters have subsequently been sent to all those who expressed a willingness to form the Town Plan Steering Group and it is hoped to convene a meeting within the next 10 days. The meeting will elect a Chairman, a Treasurer and a Fund-raiser and it is understood that none of these can be a Town Councillor. The Group will be required to adopt a constitution, open a bank account, take out insurance and fund-raise before proceeding to dealing with the Town Plan topics and consultation. A non copyrighted explanatory disc had been given to the workshop attendees and a copy will be provided for the Town Council.

Mrs Evans asked if Mrs Klaschka as the Town Councillor on the Steering Group would be providing Council with updates on progress and this was confirmed. This will become a standard item on the agenda.


18. Date of next meetings – Monday 14th July 2008 in the Council Chamber

The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.50pm.

Chairman

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