Minutes of the meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 13th June 2011 at 7.15pm in the Council Chamber.
| Present: | Mr M Amoss | Mrs N Goodchild |
| Mr M Azmoodeh | Mr G Lynch | |
| Mr N Beecroft | Mr P Miller | |
| Mr R Bridgeman | Mr J Ogden | |
| Mr A Comber | Rev R Spittle | |
| Mr D Fairbrother |
| In attendance: | Mrs V R Read (Clerk to the Town Council) |
| Mrs J Francis (Deputy Clerk to the Town Council) | |
| Mr M Grimwood (District Councillor) | |
| Sgt P Street, Kesgrave Safer Neighbourhood Team | |
| Miss S Hall, Project Officer | |
| 3 Members of the public |
In the absence of Mrs Ogden, Rev Spittle took the Chair
1. Apologies
Mrs J Klaschka – illness
Mr P Mills – family commitments
Mrs S Ogden – family commitments
Mrs L Bennett – illness
Mrs D McCallum (District Councillor) – family commitments
Mrs M Neale (District Councillor) – alternative meeting
2. Declarations of Interest
Mr Bridgeman declared a personal interest in item 10.a, Big Society, Youth Club, being a Member of the Support Group, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mr Comber declared a personal interest in item 10.a, Big Society, Youth Club, being a Member of the Support Group, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mr Fairbrother declared a personal interest in item 9.a, i. Recreation and Amenities, Cedarwood Crossing, being a resident who objected to the proposals, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mr Miller declared a personal interest in item 9.a, i. Recreation and Amenities, Cedarwood Crossing, being a Governor and employee of Cedarwood School, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Rev Spittle declared a personal interest in item 4, Matters Arising, ATM venue, being the incumbent of All Saints Church, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Rev Spittle declared a personal interest in item 9.a, i. Recreation and Amenities, Cedarwood Crossing, being a Governor of Cedarwood School, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
Rev Spittle declared a personal interest in item 10.a, Big Society, Youth Club, being a Youth Work employer, and remained in the meeting during consideration and discussion of the matter.
3. Minutes of the last regular meeting held on 16th May 2011
Members were asked to add Mr Bridgeman to the list of those in attendance to their copy and the minutes having been issued were then taken as read and approved and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
a. Annual Town Meeting 2012 venue Kesgrave High School had offered the use of the Sixth Form Block but Council considered this is too far into the complex to be viable for the Annual Town Meeting. Enquiries had also been made with the Church for use of the Church Hall and it was agreed this venue would be used for 2012. The Clerks will make the necessary arrangements. Later: The booking was confirmed for All Saints Church Hall.
5. Reports from Chairman and Vice Chairman Nothing to report.
An adjournment was declared:
- to receive reports from the County and District Councillors
Mr Grimwood, District Councillor:
– explained he no longer sits on the Suffolk Coastal Development Control Sub Committee (DCSub) but is first reserve, and remains on Licensing and Grants. He also reported that Mrs McCallum is Vice Chairman of both the North and South DCSub Committees.
Council thanked him for the support he has given to Kesgrave Council comments at DCSub meetings while on the Committee.
Sgt Peter Street, Kesgrave SNT, reported on crime figures released for Kesgrave for the month of May. He also gave some explanation on the cloning of cards at ATM machines following recent incidents in Kesgrave. Council asked that he include this valuable advice in a future article in Kesgrave News.
Members had been issued with the following reports which are held on file:–
| 1. | 12PT monthly report. |
| 2. | Kesgrave Crime report. |
– to allow members of the public to speak
Mr Walkling, of Peasey Gardens, said he had hoped to question Mr Klaschka further on the Cedarwood Crossing as he had not received a reply from the County Council, however as Mr Klaschka was not present he would wait until the July meeting.
Miss Hall, of Trinity Close, urged the Council not to make any decision on the Library Expression of Interest until further information has been forthcoming from the County Council. The Scrutiny Committee will be considering various aspects of future Library provision at their meeting on 14th June and Full Council will consider the issues at their meeting on 14th July.
6. Notices and Correspondence
a. Items for discussion
The Deputy Clerk brought the following items to Members' attention:
| 1.D. Community Magazines., where no issues were raised by Members. |
| 2.D. A thank you letter had been received from Cafe 66 for their grant for the Friday sessions. |
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 Nothing to report.
7. Financial Matters
a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 6th June 2011 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 2 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Mr Miller brought the following items to Members attention:–
i. Finance and Resources Chairman, F&R Item 1 when Mr Miller had been elected.
ii. The adjournment and the discussion on the membership of the Committee with a suggestion this be discussed further at the retrospective meeting to be held in September. Council considered this would be an appropriate time to discuss the matter as new Councillors will be more aware of the Council methods, and were therefore in agreement with this suggestion.
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.
It was noted since the election two of the five signatories are no longer Members of the Council. Two of the remaining Members being absent only one signatory was present so on this occasion in order not to delay payments it was agreed Mr K Beecroft (past Chairman and still registered as a signatory with the bank) will be asked to countersign the cheques.
c. Transfer between accounts Council agreed a transfer of £5,800 be made from the Instant Access Account to the Ordinary Account.
d. Transfer of Reserve Funds
| Product/service |
Amount
| Reserve fund | |
| Youth Club – transfer of funds | 2,704.88 | To Youth Club | |
| Youth Club subscriptions | 37.75 | To Youth Club | |
| Spark Grant | 572.00 | To Conservation | |
| Safety Equipment sales | 135.00 | To 12PT | |
| Youth Club subscriptions | 39.40 | To Youth Club | |
| PCSO pedal cycle | 337.50 | From 12PT | |
| Paint | 12.79 | From Conservation |
e. Audit Forms for signature Members had been issued with the recommended information to be inserted onto the Annual Return and they approved the figures and other insertions as presented. Rev Spittle, as Chairman of the meeting, and the Clerk, as Responsible Finance Officer, then signed the document. A copy of the document is attached at Annex 4 to the permanent copy of these minutes. Rev Spittle and the Clerk also signed the Accounts which had been approved at the May meeting but not presented for signature.
f. Banking signatories As had already been noted since the election two of the five signatories are no longer Members of the Council and should be removed from the list held by Barclays. Council agreed to add the other three Members of the Finance and Resources Committee; Mr Bridgeman, Mr Miller and Rev Spittle. It was then agreed Mr Miller should also sign the June cheques so they bear two Councillor signatures and in order that any cheques presented after Mr Beecroft is no longer registered bear two valid signatures.
g. 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.f, Financial Matters, Office Equipment since publicity would prejudice commercially sensitive information, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 13 on the agenda.
The following item was taken after item 13 and is minuted there.
h. Office equipment
i. Late items for information None.
8. Planning and Development Matters
a. Draft Minutes of the last Committee meeting held on 6th June 2011 were issued to Councillors and are attached at Annex 5 to the permanent copy of these minutes. In the absence of Mr Mills, Mr Miller as Vice Chairman, presented the Minutes.
Members of the Committee had attended a workshop meeting following the Committee meeting in order to advise them of current Planning issues.
b. Planning applications received since 13th May 2011 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. Mr Miller explained KTC had not been present for the debate on the application which was considered by DCSub in June as this was a routine application by a SCDC staff member.
c. Street naming Nothing to report.
d. Late items for information Council were advised of a SCC Pre-planning Consultation being held at Heath School from 13th to 17th June on the proposals for extensions to cater for their altered catchment area. The Clerk explained she had requested copies of the plans for the Office but had received no response from the County Council. Council agreed this was unfortunate as it would have usefully demonstrated co-operation between the tiers of Local Government. Later: A copy of the plans was hand delivered on Wednesday 15th.
9. Recreation and Amenities Matters
a. Roads, footways and footpaths
i. Members had been issued with the document which is attached at Annex 7 to the permanent copy of these minutes which set out the history to the Cedarwood School Crossing controversy and corrected misunderstandings arising out of the documents issued by Mr Klaschka at the May meeting. A long discussion took place and Council agreed the situation had not been handled well and a letter be sent to the officer who asked KTC to inform them in future of the content of consultations the Town Council undertook. A copy of the SCC letter and the KTC response and the documents issued by Mr Klaschka form part of Annex 7. It was also agreed to send the documents to Mark Bee, recently appointed Leader of SCC, with a covering letter in the hope a repeat of this situation can be avoided. This letter is also attached within Annex 7.
b. Resolution to exclude the Public under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 This item was deleted from the agenda.
c. Kesgrave Market This item was deleted from the agenda.
d. Late items for information None.
10. The Big Society
a. Youth Club Provision
i. The current position Mr Comber and Mr Bridgeman outlined the current position of the Youth Club Support Group (YCSG) which is being re-formed following the SCC decision to divest the Youth work. The Club is now set to continue under SCC until the end of the Summer term which allows the Youth Club Support Group more time to make decisions with regard to the pending offer of a 3 year peppercorn lease of the building. There is a possibility the High School may become an Academy which may change the situation again and it is hoped Mr Comber will meet with the School and Mr Klaschka in the near future. The next YCSG meeting is to be held on 15th June when decisions will be made for the future of the club; draft Minutes of the meeting will be made available to KTC. Council agreed although there are still many issues to be clarified they must support this project while there is a possibility of providing the Youth Club for the young people of the Town.
ii 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.iii. The Big Society, KTC Staff time commitment since publicity would prejudice staff confidentiality, and that these matters be deferred to follow item 13 on the agenda.
The following item was taken after item 13 and is minuted there.
iii. KTC staff time commitment
b. Library Provision
i. Members had been issued with a copy of the Draft Expression of Interest (EoI) document compiled by a working party led by Mr Klaschka. This is attached at Annex 8 to the permanent copy of these minutes and raised a great number of queries. Mr Fairbrother and Mr Azmoodeh had listed questions they consider need answering and Members were issued with this also. Council discussed the situation at length and received further information from Miss Hall, who as a resident has been taking a close interest in the development of the situation at the County Council. It was agreed to approach the Martlesham and Rushmere St Andrew Clerks with a view to forming a Working Party to determine if a joint stance as suggested by the EoI is possible. Mr Azmoodeh, Mr Beecroft, Mr Fairbrother and Miss Hall volunteered to be part of this Working Party. The Clerk will contact the neighbouring Clerks.
Members will also consider the list of queries provided and inform the Clerk of their comments on this by the end of the week in order that the Working Party can consider these. Mr Fairbrother will be addressing his questions direct to Mr Klaschka in the hope that answers may be available for the Working Party meeting.
There was some discussion on whether Mr Klaschka should form part of the Working Party but it was agreed a first meeting of the representatives would be necessary. Inviting Mr Klaschka to further meetings could then be considered if this was deemed helpful.
c. Dobbs Lane Crossing Nothing to report.
d. Other items None.
11. Kesgrave Allotment Association
Nothing to report.
12. Report from Clerk and Press Officer
1. Articles for inclusion in the July issue of Kesgrave News have been submitted on:–
Page 3 and others: The Council Vacancy,Bonfires, A plea from a child regarding speeding,
Mrs Ogdens introduction as Chairman, Senior Citizens Outing.
2. Council were informed that because of the dimensions of the Kesgrave High School underpass which is due to be officially graffitied imminently the cost will exceed £1,200. The Clerk, as Secretary to the 12PT group who fund this project will ask the County Councillors if Locality Budget could be made available on this occasion. Later: Mr Klaschka pledged £400 for this work.
3. With Agendas and supporting papers being issued by email Members were asked if they required a ream of paper; no one required a ream at this time.
13. To receive any such other communications or matters of sufficient urgency that the Chairman will allow for discussion.
None.
The remaining members of the public left and Council were able to consider the following:–
7. Financial Matters
h. Office equipment Mr Amoss reported on the findings he had made when talking to work colleagues. These confirmed all that had been considered before and it was agreed the Clerk will now draft a letter to NCS asking for the second copier to be returned. This letter will first be sent to Prettys for their advice on the wording before sending to NCS.
10. The Big Society
a. Youth Club Provision
iii. KTC staff time commitment It was explained the Clerk has volunteered to act as Secretary to the Youth Club Support Group while it is being set up. While she is happy to attend the evening meetings in her own time it was agreed the administrative work involved should be covered by the Council in office hours.
Date of next meeting:
– Monday 11th July, Full Council in the Council Chamber at 7.15pm
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.22pm.
Chairman
