Minutes of the meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 10th August 2009 at 7.15pm in the Council Chamber.
Present:
Mrs S Evans (Chairman)
Mrs J Klaschka
Mrs S Ogden (Vice-chairman & District Cllr)
Mr G Lynch
Mr K Beecroft
Mr P Mills
Mr R Bridgeman
Mrs E Smith
Mr A Comber
Rev R Spittle
Mr R Haskell
Mr R Walkling
In attendance:
Mrs V R Read (Clerk to the Town Council)
Mrs J Francis (Deputy Clerk to the Town Council)
Mrs M Neale (District Councillor)
Mr M Grimwood (District Councillor)
1 Member of the public
1. Apologies
Mrs S Coupe – Illness
Mrs N Goodchild – Illness
Mr C Pryke – Holiday
Mr S Hudson (County Cllr) – Family commitments
Mrs D McCullum (District Cllr) – Work commitments
Mrs P Brown (LHR) – Family commitments
2. Declarations of Interest
Mr Beecroft declared a personal interest in item 8.a.11.d. Notices and Correspondence, Kesgrave Youth Club funding request, being a Member of the Adult Advisory Committee, remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mr Bridgeman declared a personal interest in item 12, Boundary Review, being an employee of Ipswich Borough Council, and remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mrs Ogden declared a personal interest in item 12, Boundary Review, being a member of another authority, and remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.
3. Minutes of the last regular meeting held on 13th July 2009
The minutes of the last meeting having been circulated were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
a. Late items for information None.
5. 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 6 Confidential Note regarding Item 7.a.i. of 8th June meeting and subsequent papers, since publicity would prejudice the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 16 on the agenda.
The following item was taken after item 16 and is minuted there.
6. Confidential Note regarding Item 7.a.i. of 8th June meeting and subsequent papers.
7. Report from Chairman and Vice Chairman
The Chairman:
– informed Council that a retrospective meeting, open to all Town Council members and staff, had been agendad for Monday 17th August at 7.30pm at the Council Office and encouraged all to attend. The meeting would be a continuation of the productive session held six months previously;
– reminded Members that if they realised they needed to declare an Interest during a meeting they should do so immediately and sign the Declaration of Interest book;
– explained the re-arrangement for seating on the top table had not been successful because of the lack of space. The Vice Chairman had agreed she will sit on the first chair nearest the top table on the west side of the Chamber; the seat traditionally taken by the Vice Chairman.
The Vice Chairman reported she would be attending the Cedarwood Green Event on Wednesday and the Senior Citizen Outing the following week.
An adjournment was declared:
– to receive reports from the County and District Councillors, Police and Local History Recorder
Mrs Ogden, as District Councillor, informed Council:
– the consultation for Suffolk Coastal Climate Change Strategy was in progress;
– a consultation for Prioritising Services was imminent.
Mr Grimwood, District Councillor, reported he had attend several Civic functions.
Mrs Neale, District Councillor, reported on:
– the current situation regarding the Boundary Review. The Boundary Committee are appealing against the recent ruling and further progress is not possible until this appeal is decided.
As a resident she expressed her concern regarding the increase in parking in the road and pavement in Century Drive and nearby roads and asked if anything could be done to improve the situation. The Clerk will seek advice from the SNT Office.
Mrs McCallum, District Councillor, was unable to attend but had asked the Clerk to report on the success of the Music Festival on her behalf. The Festival had been a great success, with much better weather than last year and it is estimated 4,500 people attended. There were some minor incidents but the Police have already stated this could have happened on any Saturday evening; it is not known yet if SCDC received any complaints. The event had been reported in the EADT and Evening Star and £13,000 will be donated to the St Elizabeth’s Hospice and £1,000 to EACH (The East Anglian Children’s Hospice).
– to allow members of the public to speak
Mr Walkling expressed his concern over the parking of vehicles adjacent to drop kerbs, giving an example of a situation in Wilkinson Drive, obstructing the use of safe crossing areas. The Clerk will inform the SNT Office.
8. Notices and Correspondence
a. Items for Discussion
1.D. There was no discussion regarding the Community Magazines.
3.D. Information had been received from SCC regarding a proposal to introduce a new stop for the Orwell Mobile Library at the Alice Grange Care Home asking for KTC comment. Members were in support of the proposal but suggested an additional stop at Holm Court should also be considered. The Deputy Clerk will write to SCC.
4.D. Members were informed of an open invitation from SCC to attend a ‘drop in’ session as part of the consultation process for the Suffolk Waste Core Strategy to be held at Martlesham Pavilion on 3rd September 2009.
6.D. A request had been received from EADT for information from KTC to improve their papers coverage of community news. The Deputy Clerk reminded Council copies of Kesgrave News and Council meeting agendas were sent to the EADT. It was agreed the Deputy Clerk will reply explaining that further information, including approved minutes could be found on the Council Web site.
11.D. A request had been received from Kesgrave Youth Club for financial assistance and had been referred to the Finance and Resources Committee.
13.D. Notification had been received from Woodbridge Town Council of the Ceremony on 4th September giving the 23rd Engineer Regiment the Freedom of Woodbridge.
14.D. There was no discussion regarding the Local Councillor.
15.D. A request had been received by Playford Parish Council to join the local Speedwatch scheme. Mr Beecroft explained to new Members the history and current position of the local scheme. Council discussed the current situation at length. They agreed the scheme has lost momentum and they would prefer to use this partnership funding elsewhere. They considered with the introduction of the match funded PCSO and the availability of SID on request, local speeding issues could be monitored. The Clerk will inform 12PT of KTC’s current stance.
16.D. Council were informed SCC Trading Standards were promoting an initiative for ‘No Cold calling Zones’. Members were informed of the criteria required for areas to be considered suitable and expressed concern over areas of vulnerable residents being highlighted. Although part of the process would be to consult with local residents Council considered they could not support this initiative. However, if Trading Standards could provide ‘no cold calling stickers’ KTC would be willing to distribute them on request.
17.D. An invitation had been received from Suffolk ACRE to attend their AGM on the 24th September 2009. Members were asked to contact the office if they wish to attend.
A copy of the lists of Notices and Correspondence, including those for information only were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 1 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
b. Councillor Representative Reports
A copy of the Reports were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
c. Police Reports
A copy of the 12PT Monthly report was issued to each Councillor and is attached at Annex 3 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
A report from PCSO Glynn Bown, Kesgrave and Rushmere St Andrew match funded officer, had been received, was highlighted to Council and is held on file.
9. Financial Matters
a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 3rd August 2009 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 4 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
Mr Comber drew Members attention to the following:-
i. Terms of reference with regard to F&R Membership (F&R item 5)
ii. Budget Monitoring (F&R item 9)
and also Office building, Opening hours (F&R item 13.a) and Insurance Cover (F&R item 15).
The Council resolved that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 9.a.iii Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 3rd August 2009, item 12.ii, Administrative Assistant post, since publicity would prejudice staff confidentiality, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 16 on the agenda.
The following item was taken after Item 16 and is minuted there.
iii. Staff
b. Receipts and Payments Copies of the statements of Receipts and Payments were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 5 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Council agreed the Receipts and Payments be accepted with no further discussion, settlement of the accounts was approved.
c. Transfer between accounts Council agreed a transfer of £10,500 be made from the Instant Access Saver to the Current Account.
d. Transfer of Reserve Funds Council agreed that funds be transferred as detailed.
Product/service - Amount - Reserve fund
SNT Equipment sales - 230.00 - To 12PT
SALC competition prize - 25.00 - To RFC
Paint for Cycle project - 5.99 - From 12PT
e. Audit Return anomalies The Clerk explained she had received a letter from the External Auditor. As had been explained when the Audit form was completed, the information required often changes slightly when new Auditors are appointed and so a request for additional information was not unexpected. Presentation of the Explanation of Variances had changed this year and the information given with the Return had not been considered by the Auditor to be comprehensive enough. A revised table was presented to Council and was agreed. Council were also reminded of the request on how to answer Box 11, Section 1 and Box 9, Section 2 and confirmed the latter should now be altered to “N/A”. A copy of the documents sent to BDO Stoy Hayward is attached at Annex 6 and to meet the very short deadline and the postal strike the documents are to be scanned and emailed as well as hard copy posted.
f. Late items for information Rev Spittle asked for information regarding the advertising sign opposite Tesco which was reported to F&R at Item 17. The Clerk explained that following information from SCDC she had written to the residents who have signs displayed opposite Tesco (Harrison Grove) and at the Bell Lane junction (Quebec Drive) alerting them to the possible need for planning permission. The resident of Harrison Grove had telephoned to ask if there have been complaints and the Clerk was able to confirm there had been. The advice to contact SCDC was reiterated and the resident accepted this.
Mrs Neale left.
10. Planning and Development Matters
a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 20th July and 3rd August 2009 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 7 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
Mr Mills as Vice Chairman took Members through the two sets of minutes and indicated the position of the dwellings on the plan displayed for 139 Main Road.
b. Planning applications received since 10th July 2009 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 8 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
c. Street naming None.
d. Late items for information Mrs Klaschka reported on her attendance at the Appeal against the refusal decision by SCDC for 139 Main Road. The appellant put forward a strong case that the development was not cramped as suggested by KTC and SCDC, the density being the same as two dwellings in Sewell Wonter Close. Mrs Klaschka had been unable to attend the site visit; the date when the decision will be made is not known. Mrs Klaschka’s written report is held on file. Later: The decision is expected in early September.
11. Recreation and Amenities Matters
a. Chairman’s Report
The Planters for the Rupert Fison Square have now been ordered but because the sponsorship notices would be over-large it has been decided to only have one sign on the planter in the northeast corner. Letters are to go to local businesses and if 8 sponsers are not obtained sponsorship will be sought through Kesgrave News and from further afield.
Members were reminded of the Cedarwood Green Event to be held on Wednesday 12th and the Senior Citizens Outing on 19th August.
Mr Grimwood left.
b. Roads, footways and footpaths
i. A1214 Main Road, improvements to be carried out in August have already commenced; work in October will require night time road closures.
c. Late items for information None.
12. Boundary Review
Mrs Neale had updated Members in the adjournment and the information is minuted there.
13. Kesgrave Allotment Association
Nothing to report.
14. Quality Status
a. Training Needs Analysis
Members were issued with a list of courses which SALC could offer at the Council Office and asked to indicate which courses they personally would attend. When all the forms have been received by Monday 17th the information will be collated and a decision made on which it would be financially advantageous to request. If space allows contact will be made with Rushmere St Andrew and Martlesham Clerks to ascertain if any of their Councillors would also wish to attend; this will reduce the cost to Kesgrave Council.
The Clerk also asked Members of P&D to indicate which of the five dates offered they could attend a Planning seminar with SCDC. Although no cost will be incurred, as space will be available Rushmere St Andrew and Martlesham Clerks will be asked if any of their Councillors would like to attend.
15. Report from Clerk and Press Officer
Articles for inclusion in September Kesgrave News will be submitted on:–
The revised office opening hours, the Cedarwood Green event, the appeal for 139 Main Road, Rupert Fison planters and the SCC Waste strategy consultation.
16. To receive such other communication or matters of sufficient urgency and importance that the Chairman will allow for discussion
None.
The member of the public left.
There being no members of the public left the Council were then able to consider the following .
9. Financial Matters
a. Minutes of the last meeting held 3rd August
iii. Staff
Mr Comber drew Members attention to the minute regarding Mrs Bennett and Council noted her appointment had been confirmed. They then agreed the F&R recommendation that Mrs Bennett’s hours be increased by an average of 1 per week to 16½ hours in order for her to take responsibility for the ongoing projects as detailed in the F&R minutes and other tasks as appropriate.
6. Confidential Note regarding Item 7.a.i. of 8th June meeting and subsequent papers
Some further information had been made available to the Council since the July meeting which needed consideration.
In view of the nature of the business to be discussed Mrs Klaschka left the room.
The debate which followed is minuted, as before, as a confidential note and is held on file.
17. Date of next meeting – Monday 14th September 2009 in the Council Chamber
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.23pm.
Chairman
