Minutes of the meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 9th August 2010 at 7.15pm in the Council Chamber.
| Present: | Mr K Beecroft (Chairman) | Mr P Miller |
| Mr A Comber | Mr P Mills | |
| Mr R Haskell | Mrs S Ogden (Vice Chairman and District Cllr) | |
| Mrs J Klaschka | Rev R Spittle | |
| Mr G Lynch | Mr R Walkling |
| In attendance: | Mrs V Read (Clerk to the Town Council) |
| Mrs J Francis (Deputy Clerk to the Town Council) | |
| Mr M Grimwood (District Councillor) | |
| Mrs D McCallum (District Councillor) | |
| Mrs P Brown (Local History Recorder) | |
| 6 Members of the public |
1. Apologies
| Mr C Pryke | – family commitments |
| Mrs E Smith | – work commitments |
| Mrs S Coupe | – family commitments |
| Mrs S Evans | – work commitments |
| Mrs N Goodchild | – illness |
| Mrs L Bennett (Admin Asst) | – family commitments |
| Mrs M Neale | |
| Mr S Hudson |
2. Declarations of Interest
Mr Beecroft declared a personal interest in 8.a.i. Planning and Development application C10/0064, being the neighbour of the applicants father, and remained in the meeting while consideration and discussion of the matter took place.
3. Minutes of the last regular meeting held on 12th July 2010
The Clerk explained the two deletions which had been made to the draft minutes and then the minutes having been issued were taken as read and approved and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
a. Late items for information None.
5. Reports from Chairman and Vice Chairman
The Chairman reported he had attended a 12PT meeting on 16th July and would be attending a Public Community Engagement Meeting on 11th August.
The Vice Chairman had nothing to report.
An adjournment was declared:
– to receive reports from the County and District Councillors and Local History Recorder
Mrs McCallum, District Councillor reported:
– some vegetation is to be cut back on Main Road, including the removing of ivy from the lamp post on the south side of the bottle neck between All Saints roundabout and Bell Lane;
– the Music Festival had gone well, with approximately 3,000 people attending and with no incidents. She thanked Council for their contribution regarding the rubbish bins and announced £10,000 will go to the Hospice, the Committee will hold back a sum for next year's event and a small donation will be forwarded to the Children's Hospice.
Council agreed their thanks to the Music Festival Committee for once again organising this popular Community event be minuted.
Mr Grimwood, District Councillor, stated:
– he would make no comment on the application for a Church Centre C10/1678;
– the recent criticism of the District Council's Planning Services had been highlighted in the press and the Scrutiny Committee is to invite some Parish and Town Councils to attend a meeting to make presentations on their concerns. Kesgrave is one of the Councils to receive an invitation;
– he also referred to an application which has been submitted for 281 dwellings to the south of Main Road, Martlesham.
Mrs Ogden, as District Councillor, reported:
– a revised Licensing policy is undergoing consultation;
– policy development on provision of equality of services is also being considered, and Town and Parish Councils will soon be asked for relevant information of facilities in their area;
– she did not agree with the Town Council's comments on parking with reference to the Church Centre application.
Mrs Brown, LHR, circulated newspaper cuttings.
– to allow members of the public to speak
Mr Merchant, Camborne Road, brought to Council's attention several issues which he recognised are ongoing but he considered if left unattended contributed to what he referred to as “scruffy” Kesgrave:
– overhanging hedges – this is the subject of the September Kesgrave News page 3 article but Mr Merchant was encouraged to contact the Clerk with specific areas of concern in order for the standard request letter to be sent to householders;
– some land drain investigation in Camborne Road, which has resulted in 6 new manhole covers in the grass verge – Mrs McCallum offered to investigate this;
– the poor surface treatment which has been executed in Western Kesgrave – Council have already sent one letter of complaint to Suffolk County Council (SCC) Highways and this is further reported at Item 9.a.;
– the large lorries parking in Penzance Road while deliveries are made to the shops, instead of using the service road to the rear – it is understood this is not adopted Highway but Mrs Ogden offered to investigate further as she believes she knows who the owners are.
Mr Copping of The Lloyds:
– explained he addresses Council in a personal capacity, as he did in July, unless he states he is speaking on behalf of any other association. He took exception to the Clerk contacting Kesgrave Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Association (KALGA) to ascertain if he was speaking on behalf of the Committee. It was explained this had been done for clarification for the minutes;
– reminded Council there had been a query raised in the adjournment in July about Neighbourhood Watch and this was not minuted. The query had been on a sign which had been removed. During the meeting Mr Hudson, County Councillor, had stated there is a legal obligation to remove signs when no co-ordinator was in place for a particular scheme. The Clerk had volunteered to investigate where the removed sign has been taken as this had been paid for by the Town Council, she will now make those enquiries.
– queried whether there is a Parish Plan and if allotments are included. He was informed both the original Town Plan and the latest revision do contain references to allotments and Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) are aware of both plans and the need for allotments in the area.
Mrs Ogden explained she had been making investigations over the weekend and the only area commercially available in Suffolk at present is in Lower Reydon.
During Mr Copping's discourse it became clear that land may be available. He asked if Council agreed they have a duty to provide allotments and was advised clarification on this issue had been dealt with on previous occasions.
Mr Bradbrook, KALGA Chairman, aggressively addressed Mr Walkling, Town Councillor. The Chairman informed him his comments were not appropriate to the meeting and he resumed his seat.
– to receive a presentation by Julie Abernethy, All Saints Church, with an update on their Parish Nurse Project.
Unfortunately Mrs Abernethy had been delayed in Northern Ireland and this item will therefore be included in the September agenda.
The following item was brought forward.
11. Kesgrave Allotment Association
The Clerk reported she had so far received two replies to the three letters she had written to landowners regarding purchase or lease of land. Both responses had been in the negative.
A second adjournment was declared as Mr Copping had indicated he wished to again address the Council.
Mr Copping requested that copies of the landowners replies be made available to verify what had been reported to Council. Council agreed the Clerk will ask the landowners in question if this may be done, and if their response is in the affirmative will forward copies to the KALGA Chairman. Later: Following advice from SALC only the content of the letters were forwarded to KALGA as the names and addresses are Commercially sensitive.
Many members of the Public left.
6. Notices and Correspondence
a. Local Councillor Members attention was drawn to the page 3 article which dealt with Precepts and the reference to the Power of WellBeing.
b. Items for discussion
| 1.D | There was no discussion regarding the Community Magazines. |
| 5.D | Members had been issued with a news sheet from SALC on the “Big Society” and were advised that many documents with information on proposed changes to Local Government are being received at present. It was agreed all Members will have further such documents forwarded by email (or hard copy when email is not available) as they arrive. This will enable Members to read for themselves and assimilate the information which is cascading down from Central Government, NALC, SALC and the County and District Councils. |
| 7.D. | Papers on the Central Government Council Tax Referendums consultation from both SALC and SCDC had been emailed to Members. It was agreed the responses put forward by Shona Bendix, SALC Chief Executive, should be supported. References to “excessive increases” in Council Tax is not explicit enough on which to comment. Council do not agree that anyone for any reason should be able to challenge the Precept as proposed in this consultation document; this requires far more detail and stricter criteria. A reference will be made in the response letter that for Audit purposes only items over a 10% increase need explanation and a percentage might usefully be considered a benchmark with regard to excessive increases. |
| 10.D. | An invitation had been received from Suffolk Police to make comments on the PCSO scheme and to attend a “Problem Solving Awards Day” on the 8th November. Further details will be available shortly and it was agreed either Mr Beecroft or Mr Haskell will attend if possible. |
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.
c. Councillor Representative Reports None.
d. Police Reports Members had been issued with two reports which are held on file:–
| 1. | A crime report for Kesgrave from Pc Kay Hammond. |
| 2. | The 12PT monthly report. |
7. Financial Matters
a. Minutes of the last meeting held 26th July 2010 a copy of which are attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes.
i. Treasury Bond (F&R Item 8) Council agreed the F&R recommendation that the monies in the Standard Life Bond be rolled over if the opportunity is offered. Reverend Spittle offered to investigate alternatives but also advised Council that a small amount should in any case be left in Standard Life as by removing all the monies KTC will not be able to open a further Bond with them in the future.
ii. Standing Orders (F&R Item 15) Members had been issued with a copy of the Standing Orders as considered at the F&R meeting in July. Council agreed the F&R recommendation and adopted the Standing Orders as attached at Annex 3 to the F&R minutes.
iii. Resolution to exclude the Public under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 (to consider).
The Council resolved that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 7.a.iv. Financial Matters, Office Equipment since publicity would prejudice commercially sensitive information, 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.
iv. Office Equipment (F&R Item 18)
b. Receipts and Payments Copies of the statements of Receipts &Payments were issued to each Councillor and are attached at Annex 3 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Council agreed the Receipts & Payments be accepted with no further discussion and settlement of the accounts was approved.
c. Transfer between accounts Council agreed a transfer of £14,300 be made from the Tracker Account to the Ordinary Account.
d. Transfer of Reserve Funds Council agreed that funds be transferred as detailed.
| Product/service | Amount | Reserve fund | |
| SCDC Kesgrave East By Election | 3,796.60 | From Elections | |
| SNT safety equipment | 120.00 | To 12PT | |
| NCS Ltd Recycling Credits | 165.11 | To RFC | |
| Donation | 100.00 | To Conservation |
e. Late items for information None.
8. Planning and Development Matters
a. Planning applications received since 9th July 2010 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.
The Chairman drew Members' attention to the plans displayed on the board and read a number of the conditions of approval with regard to parking which had been included in the now extant Outline Planning Permission of 2007 for the Church Centre. This application has been resubmitted as C10/1678. The P&D Committee then approved this list and the comments en bloc.
b. Street naming None.
c. Late items for information The Clerk reported on two issues.
i. The consternation expressed by residents regarding works at area FF and in the woodland. SCDC are aware and the barrier erected in the wood is to keep the protected lizard off the building area. Confirmation has also now been received from the developer that they will pay for the Council handyman to effect a clearance of the rubbish in the woodland.
ii. Further to Mr Grimwoods report in the adjournment and following the recent articles in the local press about complaints against SCDC Planning Department, the Clerk had become aware of District Council plans to hold a meeting with selected Councils. She had asked if Kesgrave could be included and a letter has now been received inviting KTC to attend a meeting on September 17th to make a presentation on their concerns. Two representatives are required to attend and it was agreed Mr Beecroft and Mr Mills will attend, although the latter has to confirm his availability. Later: Mr Mills was unavailable and Mr Haskell agreed to accompany Mr Beecroft.
The concerns of many of the smaller parishes are generally because of their lack of acceptance of planning policy; KTC's concerns are with regard to the lack of consistency in advice and decisions, and the “black hole” of communication. It was agreed the two representatives will meet with the Clerk to determine the basis for the presentation which must not refer to specific planning applications nor make any reference to a specific Coastal Officer. It is understood that Kesgrave have been invited as a growing Town with experience on planning issues and to give some balance to the meeting.
9. Recreation and Amenities Matters
a. Roads, footways and footpaths
| 1. | Comments relating to proposed waiting restrictions and further proposals for the Cedarwood School zebra crossing had been received with SCC stating it is not possible to have waiting restrictions aligned to school opening and term times, because of the variance of these across the Country. The extent of the yellow lines also does not accord with KTC's original response. It is understood very few residents have been consulted and it was agreed KTC will respond again to County, explaining their concerns over the proposals with a copy being delivered to all the properties in Wilkinson Drive at some distance to those already consulted and in Pontins Walk, asking for those residents to also voice their concerns. |
| 2. | A temporary road closure on the U3211 Beech Road, Rushmere St Andrew and bus re-routing was brought to Members' attention. |
| 3. | The response from SCC regarding the surface treatment in Kesgrave had been emailed to Members. However the Clerk had been speaking that morning with a Highway Officer who has agreed to visit sites within Kesgrave and discuss his findings with the Clerk. |
| 4. | A further temporary road closure of the U3210 at St Isidores, between 6th and 13th September, although these dates may be altered slightly. SCC are aware two cul-de-sacs are effected and access will be made available for those residents. The work is being restricted to 6.00pm until midnight to reduce the noise disturbance. |
b. Late items for information The Cedarwood Green Event, which was this year to have been a tournament on the 11th August organised by PCSO Glynn Bown, will not take place as insufficient teams have come forward. The SCDC mobile skateboard park will still be available during the afternoon.
10. Grange Lane Traffic regulation orders are still awaited for Grange Lane but this should complete the works and this item will therefore be removed from the agenda for the first time for many years.
11. Kesgrave Allotment Association
This item had been taken immediately after the adjournment and is minuted there.
12. Quality Status
a. Training Needs – SALC courses Members were reminded that after the holiday period it had been hoped to arrange further SALC bespoke training in conjunction with the two neighbouring parishes. However the Clerk has now been advised that neither neighbouring parish wishes to undertake further training at present. With elections due in May next year Members considered it imprudent to undertake more general training at the present time however they discussed whether or not training in the Power of Well-being should be considered.
The Power gives greater scope for Councils to interact with other tiers and enhances the powers without recourse to Section S137. In order to self certify 80% of Councillors (12) require to be trained. After discussion of the viability and needed for this training it was agreed not to pursue it for the time being while circumstances evolve with changes to Local Government being made at Central Government. If this training does appear to be more viable between now and May 2011 the suggestion will be brought back to Council, otherwise it will be considered in more depth after the May elections. In the meantime the Clerk will enquire of other Suffolk Town Clerks their experiences of Quality Status.
b. Retrospective Analysis The next session is to be held on 23rd August and a report will therefore be made at the September Council meeting.
13. Retrospective Debate
Council considered the possible subjects which are outstanding for Retrospective debates:–
1. Why doesn't the Press make contact with KTC and
2. Why don't Members of the Public attend the ATM.
It was agreed a decision will be made on a topic following the Retrospective meeting to be held on 23rd August.
14. Senior Citizens Outing
A record number of 90 participants have asked to go on the outing which is to be held on 18th August and a number of Councillors and their spouses have agreed to help either on the coaches or at the Hall afterwards. Staff will be delivering letters in the coming week advising participants of timings etc.
15. Report from Clerk and Press Officer
Articles for inclusion in September Kesgrave News will be submitted on:–
Page 3 Brambles and overhanging hedges, parking and cycling
Planning applications
16. 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 Council were able to consider the following:
7. Financial Matters
a. Minutes of the last meeting held 26th July 2010
iv. Office Equipment (F&R Item 18)
The Clerk explained that SALC Chief Executive Jayne Cole has been on leave and an update on the legal advice is still awaited following the submission of documents by another Parish Council. It was agreed the Clerk will contact SALC this week and then inform the F&R Committee who will determine the next step and may be asked to authorise a payment for the photocopier and for a further transfer from the Tracker account. It was agreed that as soon as practical further discussions on this issue will be held in open session. Later: The Clerk spoke to Mrs Cole and ascertained the documents from the other Council have still to be received by Prettys. Mr Beecroft and Mrs Ogden therefore signed the cheque as agreed and a transfer of a further £3,860 was made.
Date of next meeting – Monday 13th September 2010 in the Council Chamber
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.32pm.
Chairman
