Apologies Were Received from Councillors T J Elliott; D a Hope and P Jones

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SALTNEY TOWN COUNCILheld at the ODDFELLOWS HALL, 65 HIGH STREET, SALTNEY on WEDNESDAY13JANUARY, 2010

PRESENT: The Mayor, Councillor Ann Lloyd; Councillors K Armstrong-Braun;H D Beddow; W Crawford; V Gay;E E Greensmith; T R Lloyd; C P Streeter; M S Streeter and the Town Clerk.

110. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors T J Elliott; D A Hope and P Jones.

111. MINUTES

RESOLVED: Thatthe Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 11 November, 2009be confirmed as a correct record.

112. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor reported that:

• she had attended the Lord Mayor of Chester’s Civic Reception on 8 December;
• the Christmas Lights Parade had been a great success and that she wished to thank all those that had contributed in any way – the Town Council, Lafarge; Airbus, Morgan Grenfell; Saltney Social Club; the Highway Authority staff; the Police; all those who had helped as stewards on the day; her husband Richard and especially the Deputy Mayor Councillor Gay. The day had raised £1,250 for the Mayor’s Charity Fund.

RESOLVED: That a vote of thanks be afforded to The Mayor and her supporters for the initiative in arranging the event.

• the Deputy Mayor referred to the considerable help that Councillor Evans and his team of members of the Boxing Club had been in clearing the snow away from the pensioners bungalows etc in the area of Linden Grove and Douglas Place. It had been much appreciated by the pensioners in that area who had rewarded the boys with hot tea and biscuits to keep them going.

RESOLVED: That the best thanks of the Town Council be conveyed to Councillor Evans and his team from the Boxing Club for their sterling efforts.

113. FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 16 December and 6 January, be received and the recommendations contained therein approved with the exception of Minute 12 of the meeting held 6 January which is referred to at Minute 114.

114. BUDGET 2010/2011

The Town Council received a report from the Town Clerk and a print of the proposed budget for 2010/2011 (a copy of which is in the Official Minute Book) and Members considered the recommendations of the Finance and General Purposes Committee contained in Minute 12 of the meeting held on 6 January, 2010.

RESOLVED: That 1) the budget expenditure for 2010/2011 be £114,425 as set out in the documents referred to above; 2) £39,850 be used from the balances and the County Council be requested to provide a precept of £74,590; ( an increase in the precept of 4.5% from £40.52 to £42.34)

115. POLICE MATTERS

PC Ian Millington could not attend the meeting and sent his apologies and a written report that the Town Clerk read to the Council. The report included:

• the anti social behaviour calls over the festive period reported to the Force Control Room had been limited to one call about someone ringing a doorbell;
• the number of snowball incidents had been exceptionally low when compared with other areas;
• there had been no reported incidents with regards to anti social behaviour on the rec and the police patrols had no incidents to report;
• with regards to the continued supply of alcohol to the young people, one of the local Victoria Road off licences had closed and a close relationship with the other off licence Londis remained. The large groups that had been congregating had diminished considerably recently;
• to announce that, following meetings with Councillor Gay and Officers of the County Council, a funding bid had been approved and submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government by North Wales Police and Flintshire County Council for the installation of CCTV (Metal Mickey) police controlled cameras to be located at Victoria Road shops and the Rec to reassure particularly the older members of the Community. In addition funding had likewise been approved and submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government for funding re youth diversionary activities and engagement with the Community to promote trust and allay any perception of fear;
• a request to Members to ask the electorate to ensure that any doors are kept locked and outbuildings secured as there had been a spate of high value bicycles being taken locally and car keys being stolen with the vehicle being stolen at a later time.

114. REQUEST FOR A GRANT SECTION 137

The Town Clerk reported that the Flintshire Disability Forum had applied for a grant of £1000 to be used to put on a one day exhibition to showcase the services (mainly from the voluntary sector) that are available to the residents of Saltney. They had been made aware of a gap in services/information to support the physical and mental well being of the families living within Saltney. Because the Town is on the border with England many families look to Chester as a source of information. Whilst that may seem fine, the information from England differs in many respects from that which is available in Wales. The venue would be central to the Town and the day would include light refreshments. They anticipated that the day would be a Friday in late March or early April. Most of the costs of the day would be for arranging and marketing the event for which they would take the responsibility.

RESOLVED: That a grant of £1000 be approved, subject to a report back on their achievements and the return of any under spend.

115. PROHIBITION OF BALL GAMES ON SPECIFIC AREAS OF LAND

The Town Clerk reported the receipt of a letter from the Head of Legal Services, Flintshire County Council, referring to the use of notices prohibiting ball games on public open spaces. There were a number of notices displayed within the Town purporting to prohibit ball games on specific areas of land. Members were aware that the notices had no legal effect in themselves as they were not supported by any existing byelaw. The problem, if such existed, was dealt with in different ways by different Councils. Some had introduced byelaws to cover particular activities and the failure to comply was then a criminal offence (bearing in mind that the age of criminal responsibility is 10). Each prohibited area had to be designated and set out clearly on a plan and each area required the appropriate signage to enable enforcement to take place. Other Council’s had erected ‘no ball games’ signs to try to dissuade persons from playing in that area.

Playing football in the street was covered under Highway Legislation and section 161(3) made it an offence if a person plays football or any other game on the highway to the annoyance of a user of the highway and this was enforceable by the Police.

RESOLVED: That a questionnaire be prepared and circulated in appropriate areas of the Town to see what the residents think of such prohibitions with a report back to a future Council meeting.

116. DRAFT YOUTH SERVICE STRATEGY - FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Members were asked to contribute to the consultation stage for the abovementioned document which had been extended until 31 January.

RESOLVED: That the attention of the County Council be drawn to the already existing schemes in Wales’ such as the ‘Children’s Clubs of Wales’ and the very excellent work that is already being carried out by that organisation and its affiliated members.

117.QUESTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDING ORDER 23

The Town Clerk reported that he had received the following questions:

1) Has Councillor Armstrong-Braun responded to the Town Council with regards to his expenses during his year as Mayor?

The Town Clerk reported that Councillor Armstrong-Braun had not answered any of the letters sent to him.

2) Has the Town Clerk written to the Tax Office to inform them of his response?

The Town Clerk reported that HMRC had been informed in accordance with the suggestion of the Auditors.

3) Has the Ombudsman been notified of Councillor Armstrong-Braun’s refusal to produce receipts for his Mayoral expenses?

The Town Clerk reported that the Ombudsman had been notified accordingly.

RESOLVED: That the Town Council express its grave concern that Councillor Armstrong-Braun continues to fail to respond to the Council’s requests.

118. SALTNEY RAILWAY STATION

Councillor Streeter reported progress on the campaign to have a new railway station sited adjacent to the new Morrisons Superstore in the centre of the Town. She had given a radio interview with BBC Wales for ‘Good Morning Wales’ which had been broadcast on 7 January. She had been supported at the interview by Councillors CP Streeter and V Gay and the Town Clerk. The Head of Highways and Transportation had been unable to attend this meeting of the Council but had agreed to come to the next meeting of the Council to discuss the proposals. The Town Clerk reported that he had written to the MP for Chester, Ms Christine Russell, Morrisons and the Chief Executive of Cheshire West and Chester seeking their support.

RESOLVED: That the report be received.

119. ALLOTMENT SITE – VICTORIA AVENUE

The Town Clerk reported that the County Council had now agreed to lease the land at Victoria Avenue back to the Council for use as allotments. Discussions with Groundworks and the Environmental Agency and the National Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Limited had commenced and already there were 17 applications. It was suggested that a Working Party be established to progress the action.

RESOLVED: That Councillors V Gay, H D Beddow, T R Lloyd and T J Elliott be asked to form a Working Party.

120. NOTICE OF MOTION IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR ARMSTRONG-BRAUN

Councillor Armstrong Braun proposed the following Notice of Motion -‘To replace the existing brick bus shelter at Park Avenue, High Street Junction, Saltney and consult with Flintshire County Council’s Head of Transportation Unit and relocating the new bus shelter closer to the High Street whereby funding would more than likely be available from the Transportation Unit for this location. The reason for this being to make it more visible to bus drivers and to avoid the danger of the public having to go into the road to attract the driver’s attention’.

This Notice of Motion did not receive a seconder and the Motion therefore failed.

121. GREEN LANE RAILWAY CROSSING UPDATE

The Town Clerk reported that no further correspondence had been received in this matter but that the proposed upgrading of the railway line would mean that the crossing would have to be redesigned sometime in the future.

RESOLVED: That the report be received.

122. INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS

1) Councillor E E Greensmith reported on her attendance at the Police Forum held at Buckley. Inspector Best had reported that the recent celebration of Bonfire Night and Halloween had been quiet insofar as the police were concerned and he praised the efforts of the local shopkeepers who had refused to sell eggs and flour to local youths. He was backing Ian and Danni in their efforts to deal with the problems on the Rec.;

2) Councillor Armstrong-Braun reported that he had attended a Consultation meeting between the County Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council on Transportation Strategy. He had suggested to them that a new railway halt should be programmed for Saltney in the area of the former Saltney Junction site.

Councillor Gay reported on the problems that the County Council were facing in the area with difficulties with salt/gritting supplies. Despite the problems most of the Counties main roads had been kept clear.

RESOLVED: That the reports be received.

123. PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS

RESOLVED: That the payment of the following accounts be authorised:

PayeeInvoiceAmount

A ThornileySalary + Office (£50.00) December£958.81

HMRCTown Clerk’s Income Tax £227.20

NI£84.45£311.65

A ThornileyTelephone Bill for 01244398829 £82.21

VAT £10.98£93.19

NWPDecember Maintenance Chge£245.84

VAT£36.88£282.72

124. NOTICE OF MOTION IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR GAY

LEASE OF LAND AT SANDY LANE

Councillor Gay proposed the following Notice of Motion – ‘that the Council consider the leasing of a 2 ½ hectare piece of land situated on sandy Lane next to the Community Centre. The land is situated outside the Towns settlement boundary and is known locally as the ‘dog filed’. Councillor Gay reminded Members that it was a piece of land with its boundaries protected by streams, there was nothing ecologically important about the land but it would provide a ‘green lung’ for that area of Saltney.

RESOLVED: That following a named vote in accordance with Standing Order No. 9 (as set out below) the County Council be requested to lease the abovementioned piece of land to the Town Council.

Named Vote.

ForAgainst

K Armstrong-Braun

H D Beddow

W Crawford

D Evans

V Gay

E E Greensmith

A C Lloyd

T R Lloyd

C P Streeter

M S Streeter