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Minutes of the meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 13th October 2008 at 7.15pm in the Council Chamber.

Present:

In attendance:

1. Apologies

Mr R Bridgeman – work commitments
Mr N Bugg – illness
Mrs N Goodchild – illness
Mrs D McCallum (District Cllr) – work commitments
Mr S Hudson (County Cllr) – alternative meeting


2. Declarations of Interest

Mrs Evans declared a prejudicial interest in item 8.b., Payment for Chairman's Expenses, being the Chairman and left the room while the matter was under consideration.

Mr Beecroft declared a personal interest in item 8.b., Payment to Kesgrave News, being a Committee Member, remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.

Mr Comber declared a personal interest in item 8.b., Payment to Kesgrave News, being the Chairman of the Committee, remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.

Mrs Evans declared a prejudicial interest in item 9.a.ii., C08/1725 Planning application for Adastral Park, being an employee of BT and left the room while the matter was under consideration.

Reverend Spittle declared a personal interest in item 13., Annual Reception, being the Vicar of All Saints Church, remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.


3. Minutes of the last regular meeting held on 8th September 2008

These minutes having been circulated were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman.


4. Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 22nd September 2008

These minutes having been circulated were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

5. Matters arising
a. Late items for information None.


6. Reports from Chairman and Vice Chairman

The Chairman informed Council that:–
– Mrs Brown, LHR and PTLO, wished to resign from these positions but has volunteered to remain in post until replacements have been found;
– following the resignation of Mrs Dunnett, Administrative Assistant, it had been agreed that until another member of staff had been appointed only the noticeboard outside the Council Office would be updated weekly with a notice of explanation displayed in the remaining noticeboards alongside the map, list of Councillors and meeting calendar.

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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 and District Councillor reported:–
– a SCC feasibility study had identified the most appropriate location for a Children's Centre in Kesgrave in their opinion would be the Scout Hall;
- temporary road closures at Bell Lane would be implemented to carry out further maintenance work on the problem of drainage;
- the traffic lights at Ropes Drive East are to be permanently switched off after a successful study and will be completely removed once the pedestrian crossing has been relocated;
- the decision to appoint a Diary Secretary for the SCC Chief Executive had been overturned.

Mrs Ogden, as District Councillor, reported:–
- the SCDC publication 'Coastline' had been issued;
- she had attended a Suffolk Constabulary public meeting where information presented on new initiatives such as Speed Watch and Match Funded PCSO had not been altogether positive.

Mr Grimwood, District Councillor, reported:–
- Suffolk Coastal Development Control will be discussing the feasibility of working jointly with Waveney District Council to improve the performance of both Councils;
- the planning application for the Detention Centre at Police HQ is to be discussed at the next DC Sub Committee meeting and he thanked the Clerk for the copy of the KTC response letter.

Mrs Neale, District Councillor, reported she had also attend the Suffolk Constabulary meeting and will be attending the Local Development Framework meeting to be held on the 21st October 2008.

Mrs Brown as LHR stated in response to an article in Coastline regarding the preserving of local heritage she will write highlighting locations in Kesgrave such as Dobbs Grave and the Pump House.


- to allow members of the public to speak

Mr Walkling, of Peasey Gardens, expressed his concerns over the situation of dog fouling which in his opinion was on the increase and asked how the Town Council was going to improve the situation. The Clerk explained dog fouling was a difficult offence to police without any details/description of the offender. It was agreed the Clerk will write an article for Kesgrave News asking again for all dog owners to be responsible and clear up after their animal.

Mr Walker, of Peart Grove, stated that youths were misusing the Teen Shelter at Cedarwood Green by climbing onto the roof and then created a disturbance by banging on the metal. This type of misuse was also occurring on the pump house roof. He realised displaying signs highlighting the dangers would not be a deterrent and asked if the Council could contact the manufacturers to see if they had a solution to this situation. The Clerk will make enquiries.

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Mr Klaschka left.


7. Notices and Correspondence

a. Items for Discussion

1.D. A thank you letter had been received regarding the Senior Citizens Outing.

2.D. An invitation had been received from SCDC for KTC to attend the sixth annual forum of the Suffolk Coastal Local Strategic Partnership. Any Member wishing to attend this function was asked to contact the Clerks.

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 1 to the permanent copy of these minutes.


8. Financial Matters

a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 6th October 2008 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes.


The Council resolved that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 8, a, iii Staffing Review, since publicity would prejudice staff confidentiality, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 18 on the agenda.

The following item was taken after item 18 and is minuted there.

Mrs Evans left the room while the following item was discussed.

b. Receipts and Payments Copies of the statements of Receipts and Payments were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 3 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Council agreed the Receipts and Payments be accepted with no further discussion and settlement of the accounts was approved

c. Transfer between accounts Council agreed a transfer of £14,000 be made from the Barclays Instant Access Saver to the Ordinary Account.

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

Product/service - Amount - Reserve fund
Donation for Cemetery bench - £310.00 - To Cemetery seats
Genesis Cemetery seat - £310.00 - From Cemetery seats
Equipment sales - £50.00 - To 3PT
NCS Grass cutting - £51.00 - From Cedarwood Walk POS
Purchase of daffodil bulbs - £770.00 - From Cedarwood Walk POS
RFC grass cut & inspection - £46.88 - From RFC

e. Budget 1st April 2009 – 31st March 2010 final suggestions The Clerk stated work has started on preparing next years budget and therefore any further suggestions to be considered for inclusion should be received as soon as possible for the F&R Committee to consider at their November meeting.

f. Fixed Rate Bond Council approved the Barclays fixed rate bond which had been activated for a period of 6 months at a gross interest rate of 5.7%. Reverend Spittle stated the Church has taken out a similar bond with favourable interest rates and would be willing to give further information to the Clerk when the Council's present bond had matured; this offer of information was accepted by Council.

g. Late items for information None.


9. Planning and Development Matters

Mrs Evans left the room while Item ii of the list was discussed.

a. Planning applications received since 5th September 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 4 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Those plans for which comment was required were displayed and further comments were invited, but none were made. The P&D Committee then approved this list and the comments en bloc.

In view of the implications which the Adastral Park application could have on Kesgrave residents Councillors, not members of P&D were offered the opportunity to look at the application documentation before the response is written. Mr Briggs, Mrs Ogden, Mrs Smith and Rev Spittle and Mr Walkling, all indicated they wished to have the opportunity to comment.

b. Street naming None.

c. Changes to the Permitted Development Regime for Householders A letter from the Head of Planning Services, which is held on file was precied to Council. Seminars and written documentation on the changes are expected in November. Council were assured that residents querying whether or not planning permission is necessary for works are always advised to speak directly with the Planning Authority.

d. Late items for information The Clerk drew attention to the air conditioning units which have been erected on the elevation of the former Day Hospital which faces Rupert Fison Square. These were not shown on the elevations depicted in the Planning application and Members who had already seen the units agreed these were unacceptable. The Clerk will contact SCDC asking what can be done with a view to having the units moved. Later: The SCDC Planning officer will visit the site and report back. A Mental Health Trust representative rang the office to discuss invitations to their opening event. The Clerk explained Council's concerns over the placement of the fans and the representative will make his first visit to the site and investigate the situation.


10. Recreation and Amenities Matters

a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 29th September 2008 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 5 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
i. Resolution to exclude the Public under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960

The Council resolved that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 10, a, ii Scattering of Ashes Tender, since publicity would prejudice commercially sensitive information, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 18 on the agenda.

The following item was taken after item 18 and is minuted there.

The Council resolved that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 10, a, iii Provision of a Litter Picker, since publicity would prejudice staff confidentiality, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 18 on the agenda.

The following item was taken after item 18 and is minuted there.



Mrs Klaschka asked if the land to the east of the former MOD site in Foxhall had been considered. Mrs Ogden confirmed this had not been discussed and suggested that the provision of allotments be included in the Town Plan for future consideration.

b. Roads, footways and footpaths The Deputy Clerk advised Council of the following matters.

• Notification from SCC had been received regarding the temporary closure in late October to parts of Bell Lane for works to continue to rectify the problem of drainage.
• u In response to the disappointing decision by SCC regarding the improvements to the junction of Foxhall Road with Bell Lane the Deputy Clerk suggested Council may wish to ask the Town Plan Steering Group to consider the inclusion of further improvements at this junction. Council agreed and this was noted by Mrs Klaschka as Town Plan representative.
• u Information had been received from SCC that the traffic signals at Ropes Drive East are to be permanently switched off after a successful study and will be completely removed once the pedestrian crossing has been relocated. Members asked if the bid for funding for a study of the All Saints lights had been successful and the Clerk will make enquiries. Later: The bids are due to be made this week.

c. Late items for information None.


11. Town Plan Revision

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An adjournment:

At the invitation of the Chairman, David Walker addressed the Council in his capacity as Chairman of the Town Plan Steering Group. He reminded Council of the meeting held in February 2008 which had launched the current Town Plan, and reported numbers of volunteers have dwindled considerably since that time. Road shows are to be held in October, November and December and residents are still being encouraged to join the Steering Group but following a meeting held with the Chairman and Clerk he and the Steering Group Treasurer hoped the Town Council would consider some requests.

– Suffolk ACRE suggest that Parish Councils should contribute 5% of the cost of the Plan and this would amount to approximately £600;

– Recognising that Council have considerable expertise in putting the original plan together and knowledge of what has been achieved and can be achieved the Steering Group would appreciate the
opportunity to meet with Council members to learn from them;

– although articles had been, and will continue to be placed in Kesgrave News on behalf of the Steering Group it was hoped the Council would promote the Town Plan in their own articles to encourage support.

Council asked questions of Mr Walker regarding his requests.

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Council then debated the situation with concerns being expressed on whether any more Councillors should be connected with the Town Plan Steering Group. It had been made very clear in the February meeting that only 2 Councillors could be directly involved and Mrs Klaschka and Mrs McCallum fulfilled that role.

With only 6 members in the Group the Council involvement already amounts to 1/3rd. Members were conscious that they had been criticised for having too much input in the original plan and did not wish to put themselves in the position where the general public might think the Council were having undue influence on the current plan.

After considerable discussion it was agreed that £1,200 be placed in the 2009/10 budget. This would be available as a contribution to the costs of forming the plan. Some Members considered that a further contribution might be made to ensure residents all have a copy of the plan to the same professional standard as in the 2003 document however this will be considered at a later date.

Concern was also expressed about mention of the Plan in Town Council articles. It was agreed that if the Steering Group continue to place articles in Kesgrave News the Council articles can include reference to these, to the roadshow dates and Councils support of a Town Plan which truly represents residential visions for the future of Kesgrave.

Members then turned to the request for a meeting between the current Steering Group and Members. Recognising that the Group, and therefore the new plan, could benefit from the Councils knowledge and expertise of the original plan and parish issues, Mr Beecroft, Mr Comber, Mr Mills, and Rev Spittle all agreed they would meet with the Clerk and representatives of the Town Plan Steering Group. Mrs Ogden, who had not been part of the original plan also volunteered to be part of the meeting. Mr Walker and the Clerk will liaise on dates, and a report will be brought back to Council in due course.


12. Youth Provision

a. Youth Club There was nothing to report.


b. Other Youth Issues

A meeting had been held between SCDC, the Clerks and Councillors connected with the Cedarwood Green celebrations and a date set for 2009 event of 12th August. Mr Beecroft confirmed Cedarwood School are happy for the event to be centred on the school grounds. This year the school facilities had been more extensively used without any adverse incident, and by using these facilities it would be possible to avoid having traffic on the walkways to Cedarwood Green.

The Deputy Clerk reported on the success of the visit by an invited number of Senior Citizens to Kesgrave High School on 10th October and that a further group will be visiting on the 17th. It is hoped these residents will act as ambassadors and encourage more interaction between young and old. This will in turn give the senior residents more confidence when seeing young people around the Town. Young people will also benefit in hearing from the Seniors about their experiences.


13. Annual Reception

Council were reminded the Annual Reception is to be held in All Saints Church on 12th December. Catering this year will be performed by caterers from Holm Court and invitations will be issued shortly.


14. Boundary Review

Council had been issued with a draft letter to the Boundary Committee with regard to the financial implications of the concept under consideration. Council agreed the letter as attached at Annex 6 be sent.


15. Match Funded PCSO

It was explained a meeting had been held between the local Police Inspector, a clerical officer from Police HQ and the Clerks of Rushmere St Andrew and Kesgrave Councils to discuss the Service Level Agreement for a Match Funded PCSO. The base document had already been agreed between the Police and SALC so Councils could be assured that they could sign up to the agreement. Since that meeting draft documents have been passed between the Police clerical officer and the two Clerks with amendments being suggested from all three. Having been assured that, a PCSO has already been identified for the post, the work would be performed only in Rushmere and Kesgrave and not in Martlesham who had declined to join in the scheme, and payment would be in arrears with the first payment in April 2009 to ensure any abstraction could be compensated for, Council agreed the final documents would be agreed by the Chairman of the Council and the Chairman of Finance and Resources and signed on Councils behalf by one of them.


16. Quality Status

The Clerk reported she had received some documentation from SALC regarding the qualification for Quality Status and it would appear KTC are, as expected, already fulfilling many of the criteria. She will be liaising with Mr Comber over how the Website can be enhanced to advantage and the F&R Committee will consider a statement of Intent on Training at their November meeting which will be reported to Council in December. Gathering evidence for the application will entail a great amount of photocopying, including the 12 months of minutes preceding the application, so work on that will not be commenced until it is considered all the criteria can be met.


17. Report from Clerk and Press Officer

The Clerk drew attention to the following:-

1. Nonsense titles A national paper had reported that Harrow Council have banned from use seven bewildering phrases in order to make things clearer for residents. The Clerk suggested if any Town Councillors have examples of instances where plain speaking would improve communication between the District and County Councils and residents she would be pleased to pass those on to the Councillors concerned with a request for their help in promoting plainer speaking.

2. Members were asked to pass on to the office any reusable A4 envelopes which are used for delivering to Councillors.

Articles for inclusion in November Kesgrave News will be submitted on:–


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

None.


The remaining member of the public left and the Council were able to consider the following:-

8. Financial Matters

a. iii. Staffing review (F&R item 7)

Council agreed to accept the F&R recommendations minuted at Item 7 in the F&R minutes attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes. The November and December Council articles in Kesgrave News will explain applications are invited for the Administrative Assistant post. A display advertisement will also be submitted for inclusion.


10. Recreation and Amenities Matters

a. ii. Scattering of Ashes Tender (R&A item 5.a.)

Council agreed to accept the R&A recommendation to accept Drivescape's quotation of £3,800 plus VAT for tarmacing and kerbs in the Scattering of Ashes area. It is hoped that the work will be completed before Christmas and an article will be submitted for inclusion in Kesgrave News alerting residents to the need to close the Lawn Cemetery for a short period while the work is in progress.

a. iii. Provision of a Litter picker (R&A item 8.a)

Further investigations had been made since the R&A meeting and these were reported to Council:
– Zurich have confirmed a Litter Picker would be covered by the Councils insurance;
– any motorised transport used by the Litter Picker would need to be insured by the owner for business use:
– necessary mileage covered in order to deposit bags of litter in the Council cemetery skip would be reimbursed at the usual rates.

The Deputy Clerk had drawn up a list of tasks which could be trialed and after consideration of the effect this would have on the current Handyman tasks it was agreed to advertise a post for 4 hours at the minimum rate of £5.73 for a trial period of 3 months. Council believed this would then enable further consideration to be made of the effectiveness of the scheme and whether it should be continued or expanded.

There was some discussion on whether tax payers would believe this to be a positive way for the Council to spend Council tax and it was agreed the tax payer should be alerted to this cost, comments made could then be taken into consideration at the end of the trial.


19. Date of next meeting – Monday 10th November 2008 in the Council Chamber

The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.45pm.

Chairman

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