Wellington Town Council
Town Mayor Town Clerk
Cllr Phil Morris-Jones MBE KAREN ROPER
B.A,(HONS) DMS
Civic Offices, Larkin Way
Tan Bank, Wellington
Telford TF1 1LX
Tel: 01952 567697
Email: www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk
15.07.2016
1
FULL COUNCIL MEETING
Minutes for the meeting held at the Wellington Civic Offices on Tuesday 12th July 2016 commencing at 7:05pm.
Present: Cllr P Morris-Jones MBE, Mayor Cllr S deLauney
Cllr D Allen- Deputy Mayor Cllr G Cook
Cllr A McClements Cllr S Fikeis
Cllr J Alvey Cllr P McCarthy
Cllr C Mason-Morris Cllr F Burns
Cllr P Fairclough Cllr R Perkins
Cllr J Gorse Cllr S Hall
Cllr D Roberts Cllr A Lowe
Cllr K Tomlinson Cllr L Tillotson
In attendance: - Karen Roper Town Clerk, 9 members of the public and Rev. John Grice from All Saints Church.
35/16 Welcome – The Mayor
Cllr Morris-Jones welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked Rev. John Grice to lead the prayers.
The Mayor introduced Mr E. Lowe from the Plough Inn to discuss ideas for future Carnival events. He said that holding the event at the Bowring Park took people out of the Town centre and that the communities need to come together. It was proposed that Cllr Fikeis and Mr Lowe work to bring Community groups together to deliver an event.
Following Mr Lowe, the Mayor introduced Mr Paul Thompson, Deputy Church Warden at All Saints Church. Mr Thompson said he was very concerned about the numbers of people drinking, swearing, dog fouling, sleeping rough and using the Lytchgate as a toilet disrespecting the Towns memorial. The Police have been called a number of times due to anti-social behaviour around the church and concerns have been raised from the general public. Other groups including a toddlers group use the premises and grassed area and he believes this behaviour is stopping people coming into Church and giving the Town a bad name.
It was reported that Hadley Parish Council had recently gone through the process of creating an anti-social behavioural order and the Clerk would investigate this further. Cllr McCarthy suggested a regular police patrol is requested. Cllr Alvey said possibly the Street Pasteur’s could help. The Clerk reported she had been in touch with the Police who were unable to attend tonight but would be invited to the next meeting to discuss this further.
The Mayor introduced Jean Wordsworth from The Telford Lions who had held their very successful Day on Wheels event on Saturday. She presented a certificate to the Mayor to thank the Council for the vital support it gives them.
The Mayor thanked Mrs Wordsworth, Mr Lowe and Mr Thompson for attending this meeting, they and their supporters left at this point.
36/16 Apologies - Were received and accepted from Cllrs.,Carter, Brittain and Hosken, members
proposed and agreed acceptance of the apologies.
37/16 The Mayor reported he had attended the following events:
15.06.16 / Taylor / Wimpy Exhibition re. proposed developments Ercall Lane18.06.16 / Queens Tea Party Wellington Market
22.06.16 / Team Wellington
24.06.16 / Army Cadet Curry Evening @ Donnington
29.06.16 / Opening of a Shop – Bella Deserts
01.07.16 / Battle of the Somme Service – Oakengates
02.07.16 / Wrekin College Speech Day
03.07.16 / Newport Mayors Service
08.07.16 / Open Art Exhibition Methodist Church
08.07.16 / Attend ceremony for Graham Riley’s Award BEM
09.07.16 / Open Dothill School fete
10.07.16 / Open Telford Lions Day on Wheels
Cllr Mason-Morris asked that members are notified of event in the Mayor’s diary before they take place so he can supported by other Councillors. They Clerk will action.
38/16 Declarations on Interest – None received.
39/16 To Receive and Approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 14th June 2016.
It was proposed by Cllr Allen, 2nd Cllr Perkins and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting Full Council meeting held on 14th June 2016 be approved and signed by the Mayor as a true and accurate record.
40/16 Matters arising from those minutes - None
41/16 To receive the minutes of Wellington Town Council Committees and to consider and deal with the recommendations therein.
41:16:1 Planning Committee
Cllr Alvey presented the minutes of the meeting of 22nd June 2016. It was proposed by
Cllr Alvey, seconded by Cllr deLauney and RESOLVED by members that the minutes be received and action taken be endorsed
Cllr McClements arrived at 7.30pm
41:16:2 Promotions & Liaison Committee
Cllr Hall presented the minutes of the meeting held on 29th June 2016, these were seconded by Cllr Allen, and RESOLVED by members that they be received and action taken endorsed.
Cllr Roberts raised the issue of the condition of the Bus Station both in relation to cleanliness and lack of information. Cllr Gorse said routes and bus stops had been changed but there was no information to inform people. Cllr Tomlinson said other areas have electronic signs and that Dothill bus routes were also changed so a further bus shelter is now needed. The Clerk said she had been liaising with Arriva to improve the situation and would chase for progress. Cllr Roberts would raise the problems at the Bus Users Group meeting.
41:16:3 Wellington Festival Committee
Cllr Mason Morris presented the notes of the meeting held on 21st June 2016. She reported she had written articles for several local magazines and the final programme is currently at the printers. The website is operational www.wellingtonartsfestival where tickets for events are downloadable and 10% had already gone. Benchmarking information will be collected for use in future years. Information is being delivered to supermarkets and local shops, clubs and societies were particularly being targeted. The overall aim is to deliver a Festival which is family friendly and offers something of interest to everyone. Cllr Alvey thanked Cllrs Fairclough and Mason Morris for driving this forward. Members welcomed the report.
41:16:4 Policy & Resources (P&R) Committee:
Cllr deLauney referred members to the pink tabled copies of the minutes and asked them to disregard the yellow copies of the meeting dated 5th July 2016. The pink copy of the minutes was formulated in two parts with a confidential sheet relating to an item under the Project Board.
Matters arising from those minutes:
· Watling Street / Arleston Community Centre – Cllr deLauney explained a very active and capable management group were taking over the running of the centre and had asked for some financial support. P&R had agreed to support the project.
· Wrekin News – The current edition was available.
· ICT Project - Cllr Roberts asked for a progress report on this project. Cllr deLauney said that staff had populated the files and now needed member’s birthdates to issue individual wi-fi access cards. Cllr Mason Morris said she had a meeting with Leegomery Computers next week to discuss the content of member training sessions.
· PCSO – The Chairman explained that P&R were in favour of sharing a PCSO post with Newport Town Council over a 6 year period. The Borough would fund the post for the first 3 years then the Town Council(s) would fund the following 3 years.
· Election of Working Party to take forward the Planning Event Report – The Chairman reported on the recommendation from P&R appointing the working party. Cllr Mason-Morris said she thought the appointment should be made by the Full Council as members had skills and expertise that could be used to take this forward. Cllr Roberts agreed commenting that she feels that information is received by Full Council is 2nd hand. Cllr Mason-Morris proposed the Working Party is made up of members drawn from the Full Council and it reports back to the Full Council. This proposal was 2nd by Cllr Cook, a vote was taken and the proposal was carried. The Clerk was asked to add this item to the agenda for the September meeting.
· Personnel Sub Committee – Cllrs deLauney, Gorse and Hosken were appointed to the Personnel Sub Committee, the minutes also stated the ex officio membership of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The Chairman said this was an error because the P&R Committee had previously suggested that they should remain independent to enable them to hear and Chair any appeal meetings. The Mayor said this point needed clarification as the Councils’ Standing Orders state the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor have automatic membership of any Committee. A review of Standing Orders and Committee Terms of Reference was agreed.
It was proposed by Cllr Alvey item 27/16 on the P&R Confidential Minutes is discussed in closed session at the end of the meeting, members agreed. It was proposed by Cllr deLauney, seconded by Cllr Hall and RESOLVED that the minutes of the P&R meeting of 5th July 2016 be received and action taken be endorsed.
42/16 Matters for Information Only.
Civic Centre Management Group - Cllr Burns reported on the meeting held earlier today. A budget had been identified and there was now an outline programme for works to be done to enable the Town Council to move to the lower library. T&W were currently out to tender for costs, work was expected to start in the Autumn and the Town Council move is likely to be March during 2017. Cllr Roberts felt this was presumptive as we do not really know what is being proposed. Cllr Burns said at this point we do not know what the budget will deliver and Wellington Town Council can still object if it is not satisfied.
Cllr Alvey said he felt it was good news allowing the Council to move forward. Cllr deLauney said the key thing is that Borough will be able to identify costs when the quotes come back by September we will know if they can afford to fund our requests.
Shropshire Wildlife Trust – Cllr Roberts reminded members of the presentation by John Hughes earlier in the year and gave an update on the progress on the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) application. Representatives from various local groups had met with HLF people who were looking for evidence of sustainability, heritage, the involvement of Young People and working with Community Groups.
The Wrekin Forest Group – Cllr Roberts said the area was now protected as it had been included in the local plan but it is important for wellington to continue to be represented on this group.
Request to Use of the Wellington Rural Councils Chain of Office - A second letter had been received asking the Council to reconsider its view. The Clerk read the letter to the meeting.
It was agreed to respond that Wellington Town Councils’ view remains unchanged because there are many other parishes throughout the Borough who have an equal claim on the Chain of Office. Members consider that it would be unfair to allow just one of those parishes to use the Chain. Additionally, the Clerk has been informed that the loaning of the chain would be against the terms of our current insurance policy.
The request for a contribution of £1,000 towards the purchase of a chain of office for another Council was also refused as Wellington Town Council Members’ view is that precept money raised in Wellington should be spent for the benefit of the people in Wellington.
Gasworks Bench – The Clerk informed members she had ordered the bench and it would be delivered in 4 weeks. Costs were within the budget set and the Borough was hopefully to install the bench free of charge.
43/16 To agree the date of the next meeting- The date for the next meeting was agreed as 13th September 2016.
It was proposed by Cllr Morris-Jones 2nd by Cllr Burns and resolved by members that under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the public and representatives of the press and media be excluded so consideration can be given to the Project Board proposal, publicity of which could prejudice the commercial position of the Council.
Signed ………………………………………………………..13th September 2016
Confidential Minutes of the meeting held 12th July 2016
Cllr deLauney proposed acceptance of the confidential minutes, these were 2nd by Cllr Lowe. The minutes relate to the project board money unspent from the PIYHS fund finance and business project board
3 bids had been forwarded for slightly under £50k and the Board meets a week tomorrow. Recommendations then go back to Telford and Wrekin and the independent adjudicator to ensure they represent good value for money and that no rules are being broken.
The Project Board membership consists of Cllrs Burns, Lowe, deLauney (Chairman) 2 cabinet members, (Cllrs Carter and McClements) and one deputy Director from the Borough.
Discussions ensued on the possible purchase of properties in the town, namely; 4 Market Square and 4 Market Street
The properties have accommodation upstairs that could be developed into up market living accommodation. Both were withdrawn from auction and the proposal is that Borough and Town Council cash could be used for the project. P&R approved the principal
Councillor deLauney explained the borrowing rate at the Public Loan Board is currently 2.5 % and £ ½ m can be borrowed on a fixed rate for 25 years ending up with property which would appreciate in value over the long term.