BURNHAM-ON-SEA AND HIGHBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL MONDAY 6 th AUGUST 2012

Transcription

1 BURNHAM-ON-SEA AND HIGHBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL MONDAY 6 th AUGUST 2012 Minutes of the Town Council meeting held this day in the Old Courthouse, Jaycroft Road, Burnham-on-Sea at 7pm Present: Cllr Smout (Chairman) and Cllr Mrs Burge Cllr Burridge-Clayton Cllr Clarke Cllr Cox Cllr Davey Cllr Miss Groves Cllr Hancock Cllr Harvey Cllr Jones OBE Cllr Ms Lawson Cllr Mansfield Cllr Miller Cllr Nicholls Cllr Miss Parkin Cllr Mrs Pollard Cllr Williams Cllr Young Mrs Shaw (Town Clerk) and Mrs Emery (Deputy Clerk) Also present: Mr Alex Turco, Mr Tony Lynham, Mr Doug Bamsey (Sedgemoor District Council) One member of the press and three members of the public. 127/12/TC 128/12/TC Apologies Apologies were received (and approved) from: Cllr Miss Parkin (family) Cllr Miller (work) District Cllr Joe Leach Declarations of Interest Cllr Smout asked for advice on whether he should declare an interest on agenda item 6.4 and 6.6, as a member of the management committee at BiARS. The Clerk reported that having re-read the draft Model Code of Conduct she saw no reason for members to declare an interest as members of another body (such as BiARs), unless they had a clear personal pecuniary interest, or they had been appointed by the Town Council. Neither was pre-determination an offence under the new legislation, and in other areas such as planning and licensing, provided a member explained that he would listen to information at the Town Council whilst not determining their opinion, and reserved the right to consider new information and make a decision after all information had been presented, it was not necessary to declare an interest (unless pecuniary) or leave the meeting. Question Time The meeting was suspended to allow members of the public who had registered to speak in accordance with Minute nos. 14/96/TC and 49/97/TC. Members NOTED Mr Tony Lynham s request that the Town Council consult with residents about the pedestrianisation of Burnham High Street. He gave reasons why pedestrianisation would benefit the town including: Help with pollution levels, increasing the amount of pedestrians, no lorries in the high street at peak times. He also mentioned the cost of parking in Burnham compared to other towns such as Street. 1

2 Members NOTED that Mr Turco was speaking in a personal capacity in favour of the recommendation from the Town Improvements Committee for money from the Tesco 106 agreement for a Town Centre Manager. Mr Turco felt that as the 106 agreement was made to offset the damage to the town centre from the expansion of Tesco, a Town Centre Manager working with other bodies to promote the town, fulfilled the criteria for such funding, and could work through the 19 other points put forward by the Town Team to access their viability. The meeting was re-convened. 129/12/TC Chairman s Announcements The Mayor had attended more than 18 community and charity events in the last month, including garden parties, fetes, charity events and the Stert Island swim. He thanked his two deputies for attending events when he was not available and the office staff for their assistance with the Civic Service on the 15 th July. The Chairman said he was pleased to see Cllr Davey back and wished him good health on behalf of everyone. 130/12/TC Minutes of the Last Town Council Meeting held on Monday 2 July The Chairman presented the minutes of the last meeting and members AGREED they should be signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting. 131/12/TC Minutes of the Planning Applications Committee Meetings held on Wednesday 4 th July and Monday 1 st August Cllr Burridge-Clayton presented the minutes held on the 4 th July as he had chaired the meeting, in the absence of Cllr Miller. Cllr Mrs Burge presented the minutes from the meeting held on the 1 st August. Members present at those meetings AGREED they should be signed as a true and accurate record. 132/12/TC Minutes of the Staffing Committee Meeting held on Monday 9 July Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the last meeting. The recommendation that the post of Town Clerk be advertised at spinal points was AGREED, and members present at that meeting AGREED the minutes should be signed as a true and accurate record. 133/12/TC Minutes of the Property Committee Meeting held on Wednesday 11 July Cllr Hancock presented the minutes of the last meeting, and members present at that meeting AGREED the minutes should be signed as a true and accurate record. 2

3 134/12/TC Minutes of the Town Improvements Committee Meeting held on Wednesday 11 July Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the last meeting. Cllr Harvey asked for clarification on the 100,000 remaining from the monies obtained from the RDA for the regeneration of Burnham Town Centre - the Clerk advised that this would be an agenda item for the next meeting of Town Improvements Committee, as SDC would like some decision on how the Town Council feel that this should be used. Members present at that meeting AGREED that other than minute number 69/12/TIC, which would be discussed further, along with the Policy & Finance Committee minutes, the minutes should be signed as a true and accurate record. 135/12/TC Minutes of the Princess Management Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 17 July Cllr Burridge-Clayton presented the minutes of the last meeting and members present at that meeting AGREED they should be signed as a true and accurate record. Cllr Miss Groves asked if there were any more details on the feedback from the What s On leaflet. Clr Buridge-Clayton said this information had been presented at the last Town Council meeting and that figures were available from the minutes of that meeting. 136/12/TC Minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee Meeting held on Monday 23 July Cllr Williams presented the minutes of this meeting and members present at that meeting AGREED they should be signed as a true and accurate record. The Clerk reported that the order had been placed for the new I.T. equipment, and confirmation that the 300 cash back on the Small Business Server would be paid had been received. 137/12/TC Minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on Monday 30 July Cllr Williams presented the minutes of this meeting. He thanked those members that had taken on a portfolio and the additional work that came with it. Cllr Williams recommended that Town Council adopt the NALC model code of Conduct, with the small changes to paragraph 12 & 13, and this was seconded by Cllr Harvey, however it was agreed that this would be considered fully at the next Town Council meeting after all members had received training. Cllr Williams said he was not in favour of the Recommendation in minute No 56/12/P&F on the funding to assist BiARS with the appointment of a Town Centre Manager and wished to have a recorded vote on the recommendation. 3

4 After a lengthy discussion on the nature of the post, job description and how BiARS had discussed funding for the post with Sedgemoor District Council without a remit or reference from the Town Council, Cllr Harvey proposed that the Recommendation from minute No 69/12/TIC was deferred and that the appointment of a Town Centre Manager should be re-considered at the next meeting of the Town Improvements Committee. Members would need to think about such a post in terms of who would be the employer, who would be the line manager for the person appointed, and where funding would come. This was Seconded by Cllr Nicholls. There were: 8 votes for the proposal 7 votes against 1 abstention and the proposal was therefore carried. Cllr Harvey then proposed that in view of the decision to defer this recommendation the recommendation in minute No 56/12P&F was also deferred until after the Town Improvements Committee had revisited the post of Town Centre Manager. This was seconded by Cllr Nicholls. There were: 6 votes in favour and 9 against so this proposal was not carried. Cllr Miss Groves left the meeting at this point. The Chairman then referred the meeting back to Cllr Williams as Chairman of the Policy and Finance Committee. Cllr Williams then put the recommendation in minute No 56/12/P&F. The Clerk reminded members this was to be a recorded vote. For the Proposal Cllr Jones Cllr Young Cllr Burridge-Clayton Cllr Mrs Pollard Cllr Davey Cllr Clarke Cllr Hancock Cllr Smout Cllr Cox Against the Proposal Cllr Williams Cllr Mansfield Cllr Harvey Cllr Ms Lawson Cllr Mrs Burge Cllr Nicholls abstained It was therefore AGREED that 3,500 was paid per annum for 3 years for promotional and running expenses of the Business and Tourism manager. This funding would come from the 40,500 set aside in Earmarked Reserves for Regeneration. This funding would cease should a Town Centre Manager be appointed by another body. 4

5 Having discussed and voted on the recommendation Members present at that meeting of the Policy & Finance meeting AGREED they should be signed as a true and accurate record. 138/12/TC Report from the NALC Conference in Bristol on 5 th July Members NOTED the written report from Cllr Harvey on the NALC conference, the theme of the meeting had been People in Action. Cllr Clarke left the meeting Cllr Ms Lawson had taken copious notes and agreed to summarize them and give a written report to the next meeting. Cllr Clarke rejoined the meeting 139/12/TC Report from the County Councillors It had been agreed at the Policy & Finance meeting that time would be given each month to County Councillors to report on anything that may be of interest to the parish. Cllr Burridge-Clayton said he welcomed the opportunity to keep residents informed. Whilst he would take questions at a meeting, any reply would be made after the meeting, after he had time to investigate the matter, when he would circulate his reply to everyone by /12/TC Fritzlar Twinning Society Members NOTED the letter of thanks from Fritzlar Twinning Society, thanking the Town Council for their grant. 141/12/TC Local Government Boundary Commission Members NOTED the letter from the Local Government Boundary Commission on the Final Recommendations on the electoral review of Somerset 142/12/TC Correspondence Members NOTED the details of the road closures for the Burnham on Sea Folkfest and the Folkfest Traders Craft Fair. Members NOTED the letter from the Environment Agency about Bathing Water Quality and it was AGREED that the Clerk asked Phil Perkins of the Environment Agency to come and speak at the October Town Council meeting. It was agreed that the matter of Portfolio Holders would be an item for the next newsletter. 5

6 143/12/TC Accounts There were no questions on the cheques paid in June, and members NOTED the Committee reports that show expenditure against budget. 144/12/TC Items for Information and Forthcoming Dates Members NOTED items for information and forthcoming dates. The following changes were made to meeting dates/times:: Princess Management Committee Tuesday 21 August. Staffing Committee 7.45pm on Wednesday 8 th August Neighbourhood Planning W P Next meeting 13 th August 7pm There was no other business and the Chairman closed the meeting at 21.10hrs 6