MINUTES of a Meeting of LYDD TOWN COUNCIL Held at the Guild Hall On

MINUTES of a meeting of LYDDTOWN COUNCIL held at the Guild Hall on
Monday 2nd July 2007 at 7.00 p.m.

PRESENT: The Town Mayor - Councillor J.A. Commerford - Chairman
Councillors T. Allen, C.E. Albrow, Mrs M.R. Masters, Ms V.M. Dawson,C. Goddard, Revd.A.J. Davis Mrs P.A. Davis, Mrs V. Loseby A.F. Ryder,G.D. McKay, W.L. Richardson, Mrs J. Shepherd, Ms R.G. Saunders,D.F. Watts, D.G. Kersey,

Town Clerk - John Rich
Town Mayor’s Chaplain - Revd. S. Hardy

PRAYER
Revd. Hardy led the Council in prayer.

TOWN CLERK
The Town Mayor read a letter from Mrs Margaret Weaver thanking Councillors for the bouquet of flowers they had sent on her last day of service as Town Clerk. The Mayor paid tribute to Mrs Weaver’s lengthy and sterling service to the Council and wished her a long and happy retirement on behalf of the Council.

Minutes

(a) TOWN COUNCIL, 4th June 2007
Cllr. Albrow asked that it be recorded that he could not support agreement to the minutes of the last meeting because he believed that there was insufficient detail concerning the accounts which had been passed for payment which should be specified.
It was agreed that the minutes be revised as requested and submitted for signature at the next meeting.
(b) PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE, 4th June 2007
It was agreed that minute 337, concerning Ceremonial Robes, be amended to read that “new Councillors would need to consider the purchase of robes” and that it was“resolved that robes may be worn”. With this amendment the minutes were agreed.

(c) PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE, 18th June 2007
The minutes of this meeting were agreed.

(d) FINANACE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE, 18th June 2007.
Cllr. Albrow asked that it be recorded that he could not support agreement to the minutes of the last meeting because he believed that there was insufficient detail concerning
proposers, seconders and voting on motions.
The Town Clerk explained that the level of detail in minutes was a matter of individual preference. He accepted that his minutes were intentionally more concise as this may be considered more efficient, but he was happy to receive comments on any changes.
Concerning minute 343, Cllr. Albrow informed the meeting that he wished to withdraw his acceptance of the Council’s nomination for the SDC Standards Committee.
It was agreed that the minutes be revised as requested and submitted for signature at the next available meeting.

(e) ALLOTMENTS & GARDENS SUB-COMMITTEE, 26TH June 2007.
The minutes of this meeting were agreed.

FIRES ON LYDD RANGES
The meeting received a letter from Lieutenant Colonel Guy Bettesworth, the Commander of the Ministry of Defence training assets in the area, which apologised for the inconvenience caused by fires on LyddRanges and explained how these are dealt.
The Lieutenant Colonel asked that his apologies are passed on to the local residentsof LyddTown in a suitable manner.
It was agreed to place the letter in the Guild Hall noticeboard and to thank the Lieutenant Colonel and particularly those soldiers who had dealt with the fires.

ROMNEY MARSH DAY CENTRE
The meeting received a letter asking the Council to extend their generosity by sponsoring their Christmas parties.
Cllr Albrow proposed, and Cllr Goddard seconded, a motion to defer consideration of therequest until the August meeting when all such requests would be dealt with and this was agreed.

LYDD TWINNING ASSOCIATION, EXHIBITION OF ART WORK
A request was received for the use of the Guild Hall for an exhibition in October of items from 3 overseas towns.
Cllrs. Albrow, Allen, Commerford, Mrs Davis, Kersey and Shepherd declared an interest in this and the following item as they are on the committee.
Cllr. Goddard proposed and Cllr. Richardson seconded, a motion that the free let be agreed on the condition that the users clean up afterwards and this was agreed.

LYDD TWINNING ASSOCIATION, STUDENTS VISIT
On 5th July the Association is hosting a visit of 40 students and 3 teachers from Ostrach in Germany. The itinerary includes the Guild Hall and also lunch at The George costing £200, which the Council was asked to consider funding.
Cllr. Masters reminded the meeting that a sum of £1,000 was set aside in the budget to be shared between the costs of the Club Day band and the Twinning Association.
Cllr Albrow proposed, and Cllr Ryder seconded, a motion to defer consideration of the request
until the August meeting when all such requests would be dealt with.
10 Councillors voted in favour, Cllrs. Allen and Goddard were against and
Cllrs. Commerford, Dawson, Mrs Davis and Revd. Davis abstained.

MARSH V.O.I.C.E.
New Romney Town Council has sent a copy of a proposal put forward by Cllr. Patricia Rolfe that an independent forum should be established with the aim of:-
sharing good practice and information between local authorities, communicating and liaising with other local Councils,
identifying issues and concerns that are common to all our Councils,
consolidating and improving the impact of concerns raised by Marsh Councils by working together, and
raising awareness that we are all part of one unique and special area – the Romney Marsh.
New Romney Town Council asked whether such a forum would be of interest and if so, would the Council be willing to commit to it by bearing a proportionate part of the costs and
clerical resources needed to run it.
In their discussion Councillors recognised that there had been other such groups set up in the past and also that our District Councillors have an important part to play.
It was proposed by Cllr. Albrow and seconded by Cllr. Masters that no action be taken and this was unanimously agreed.

REVIEW OF MINERAL PERMISSION, LYDD QUARRY
A letter dated 20th June from Shepway District Council’s Planning Officer to Kent County Council’s Planning Applications Group had been previously distributed to all Councillors.
The letter sets out the background and the District Council’s position in respect of additional / new gravel extraction in the Lydd locality. KCC is requested to strive to achieve some positive benefits for local people and suggests that the developers be required to come up with a long-term management plan for the sites including a financial package to ensure restoration and maintenance work continues. After considerable discussion during which Councillors expressed their appreciation
of the letter, it was proposed by Cllr. Richardson and seconded by Cllr. Dawson that the Town Council write to SDC proposing that it be made a provision of the planning application that when extraction is finished the land may revert to the people of Lydd. It was agreed to defer consideration of this motion whilst Cllrs. Albrow, Commerford and Richardson seek an urgent meeting with representatives of the gravel company.

LYDD COMMUNITY HALL COMMITTEE
On 26th June the Hon. Secretary had responded to the Town Council’s notification of its nominations to serve on the Community Hall Committee. The letter stated that the Committee had resolved that the 2 members as listed in the trust deed be adhered to. The Mayor expressed his concern at this letter in view of the fact that the Committee
appears to have accepted 3 nominations from the previous Council and had not responded to the Mayor’s request for a meeting. After discussion it was decided that that the Mayor and Town Clerk should continue to seek a meeting with the Chairman and Secretary of the Community Hall Committee and report back.

LYDDAIRPORT
In reply to Mr Michael Walsh’s question on 18th June, the Mayor stated that the previous Lydd Town Council at their meeting on Monday 23rd April 2007 voted to request the
Secretary of State to hold a full public inquiry into the proposed expansion of Lydd (London Ashford) Airport (Minutes 235 & 236). This decision remains current under Lydd Town Council’s Standing Orders and as such no further debate will take place unless this forms part of the official process. Furthermore, it should be noted that the “Community Plan for Shepway” to which the questioner referred was issued on the 1st March, 2007 and thus pre-dated the decision made by Lydd Town Council on Monday 23rd April 2007. It was proposed by Cllr. Mrs. Davis and seconded by Cllr. Revd. Davis that this statement be agreed.

PARK STREET CAR PARK

In reply to Mr Michael Walsh’s question on 18th June, the Mayor stated that the previous Lydd Town Council appear to have exhausted all available avenues, including the involvement of Central Government, in their attempt to prevent the sale by Shepway District Council of the land upon which the Park Street Car Park is currently situated. It appears inevitable that this sale will shortly proceed. The new Lydd Town Council in their determination to ensure that the use of this site is not completely lost to our community will support any proposal, subject to the required planning permission being obtained, to build a purpose-built Health Centre at this location.
Furthermore, it should be noted that discussions are already taking place with Shepway District Council to ensure that the current weekend refuse collection service continues
at an alternative site. It was proposed by Cllr. Richardson and seconded by Cllr. Dawson that this statement be agreed.

THE BANKS SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB

The Mayor informed the meeting that the Banks costs the Council in the region of £4,000 a year to run and although it is a superb facility it is under-used. The main users are the Lydd Cricket Club who share the ground with Brenzett Cricket Club.
There is a nice social club that ought to be used more by the community. The Mayor therefore suggested a full review of the facility by a working party to report to the Council by September. Possible improvements might include re-instating the single
tennis court, converting the disused double courts into supervised 5-a-side football and netball areas, a bowls area, charity boot sales and open air events such as cinema, discos and concerts.
The Grants & External Funding Sub-Committee could consider sources of possible funding.
The Mayor proposed that he would chair the working party, which should include Cllrs. Dawson, Goddard, Shepherd & Saunders. Cllrs. Allen, Dawson, Goddard,
Saunders spoke in favour of the proposal and it was agreed.

ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENTS

Cllr. Revd. Davis raised some queries that were answered by the Town Clerk, who agreed to the request that the accounts for payment be presented in a more understandable form, also to look into the number of electricity bills that are estimated.
The accounts were agreed for payment as set out in the schedule circulated during the meeting as follows:-

CPRE(annual subscription)£27
Wicksteed Leisure (spares for play equipment)£98.11
Hythe Plant (skip for allotments)£172
Shepway District Council (April poll)£2,133.08
Shaws (binding of 2006 minutes)£94
Inland Revenue£715.44

MAYOR’S ENGAGEMENTS

The meeting noted the list of engagements that had been distributed earlier.

Town Mayor/Chairman

Town Clerk