MINUTES of the ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE TOWN MEETING for the Town and Parish of Lydd, held at the Guild Hall, Lydd on MONDAY the THIRTIETH day of APRIL 2007 at 7.00 p.m.
PRESENT: The Town Mayor - Councillor C.E. Albrow - Chairman
Councillors T.Allen, Mrs J.E. May, Mrs B.A. Walsh, Mrs M.R. Masters, A.R.J. Hills, G.F.A. Snell, M.J. Walsh, Mrs R.G. Huxley-Williams, Ms V.M. Dawson (also Shepway District Councillor), C. Goddard, Mrs N.S. Stephens, W.L. Richardson (also Shepway District Councillor)
Clerk to Lydd Municipal and Other Charities - Mrs B. Coatts
Community Wardens - Mr P. Croft and Mr R. Stephens
15 members of the public
Town Clerk - Mrs M. Weaver
Town Mayor's Chaplain - Revd. S. Hardy
APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D.J. Alford, MJ. Reynolds, D. Donohoe, County and Shepway District Councillor F. Wood-Brignall, Freeman Mr D.A. Prior. Also Mr & Mrs J. Commerford, Mr & Mrs G. McKay, Mr and Mrs J. Stanton, Ms R.G. Saunders.
MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual Assembly held on the 24th April 2006 and Special Parish Meetings held on the 16th August 2006, 2nd March 2007 and 7th March 2007, copies thereof having been made available at the Guild Hall and Lydd Library from the 16th April 2007, were submitted.
Revd. A. Davis referred to omissions from the meeting of the 16* August and Mr A. Ryder said he made a proposition and it is not recorded in the minutes that the Town meeting with non-electors present was not valid and at it was not put to the vote that the meeting should be abandoned.
The Town Clerk reported that it was in order for non-electors to attend such meetings, and to speak, but they were not permitted to vote. This was the reason electors for the Parish attending the meeting were given a card with their electoral registration number on for voting purposes.
Cllr. Albrow responded by reading a letter he had received from the Chief Executive of Shepway District Council dated for the end of July and said that had this been received within a short time of it being of it being sent the to the Chief Executive there would have been no need for the meeting. As it was the letter was not received until ter the meeting had been held. The minutes of the meeting had been accepted and approved by the District Council.
RESOLVED: That the minutes be taken as read, confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
REPORT OF LYDD TOWN COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2006/07
The Town Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting and reported as follows:-
“Indifferent to past annual reports that I have presented I have to confess that on this occasion I have found it difficult to focus on what I would consider to be a general overview of the aspirations and achievements of this Council spanning the past twelve months, as I am quite sure that it is widely recognised that it has proved to be a period of some considerable contention, both within and outside of the Council Chamber.
There have been a number of issues that have given such cause, namely, and not in any order of importance or significance, Lade Fort Recreational Area, the Multi-Use Games Area at Greatstone. the call for the creation of a separate Parish Council for the Polling District DC, the submission of a planning application for a New Terminal Building and Runway Extension at Lydd Airport, the First Time Main Drainage Scheme serving Greatstone and Lydd-on-Sea, Shoreline Defences and Flood risk assessments, some having been partially resolved, whilst others remain high on the agenda, predicted to create further concern throughout the community, and, of course, give cause for much further debate and consultation.
We have nevertheless continued to consult with various agencies, namely KCC Highways, Shepway District Council, The Environment Agency, Natural England and The Ministry of Defence on a number of issues affecting the Parish, in the hope that where improvements could be made, would be made, and that maintenance where appropriate would be ongoing.
Town Council representation has continued on a number of external organisations, associations and consultative committees, ensuring that issues of local concern are given a hearing. Councillors serving on these outside bodies have indeed given up a great deal of their voluntary time ensuring that their representation has been worthwhile and of some significance, it should therefore not be said that we are complacent or not forward thinking.
REPORT OF LYDD TOWN COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2006/07 cont'd
Unfortunately there have been a number of areas where the Town Council has been brought into question, but I remain hopeful that, with the Parish elections imminent and the fact that there will be an injection of newly elected Councillors, that some of these issues, if not all, may be resolved to the acceptance of the majority elected and re-elected, and more importantly, the Parish electorate.
In conclusion I am quite sure that we are all very much aware that those of us who choose to represent the Parish do so with the very best of intentions, and with the best interest of the community at heart. We may not always get it right, mistakes have, and will no doubt continue to be made, there will be differences of opinion and some of the views expressed may, on occasions, be seen as derogatory and sometimes personal, let us therefore be mindful that we will all at some time be subjected to criticism, whatever our views and actions.
I think that it would also be appropriate at this meeting to record a vote of thanks to Councillors Mrs May, Mrs Huxley-Williams, Mrs Stephen, Mr Alford and Mr Donohoe who have unfortunately decided to retire from Council. They have all in my view made a very valid contribution to the community during their terms of office".
RESOLVED: That the report be received.
STATEMENT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL'S ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 2006/07
Submitted: Statement of the Town Council's Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2007 - pages 6, 7, 8.
Revd. A. Davis proposed, seconded by Mrs P. Davis, that the accounts be received as unexamined, on the grounds that they had been presented at the meeting and people would not have had time to look at them in detail.
Mrs Coatts stated that they are the accounts of the books as at the end of the financial year but not the audited accounts, these are submitted later in the year.
Voting on the proposal was nine votes for, nine against. The Chairman gave a casting vote against.
RESOLVED: That the Statement of Accounts be received.
REPORT OF THE COUNTY COUNCILLOR FOR THE ROMNEY MARSH ELECTORAL DIVISION OF KENT
Submitted: Written report by Councillor Wood-Brignall given by the Town Clerk, as foilows:-
'"I am sorry that I cannot be with you tonight for the town AGM. This year has certainly flown by and it has been a great honour and a wonderful experience for me to be Chairman of Kent County Council. My term of office finishes on the 17th May. As Chairman I do not serve on committees so it is difficult to identify any schemes that are programmed for Romney Marsh. However, I am pleased to say that at long last the interactive speed signs should be in operation within the next few weeks - the poles are already up.
I am pleased to say that the Kent County and Shepway District Councils' Joint Transportation Board is again in operation. This gives both county and district members an opportunity to study the highway works programme for 2007/8. The Board will generally meet four times a year to consider, on dates and at times and venues to be specified in consultation with KCC, (1) capital and revenue funded works programmes (2) traffic regulation orders (3) street management proposals. All in all this should make for a better service in these areas.
Throughout the year I have helped a large number of parents with education and transport appeals and people with housing and planning problems across the Marsh.
I would like to thank the people of Romney Marsh for their continued support and if anybody has any problems please get in touch with me on 01797-321459 or write to me at 26 Copperfields, Lydd, TN29 9UT and I will do all I can to help you ".
Mr Ryder said he had asked Councillor Wood-Brignall at last year's Town meeting to ask Highways if a speed indicator sign could be provided between the Jolly Fisherman and the 'S’ bend at The Parade, Greatstone.
The Town Mayor said as far as he knew a speed indicator sign was being place at Station Road/Harden Road junction and it is currently waiting for EDF Energy to provide connections. He was not aware of any others to be provided in Lydd Parish.
RESOLVED: That the report be received.
REPORT OF MANAGERS OF SCHOOLS WITHIN THE PARISH
LYDD PRIMARY SCHOOL
Submitted: Report by Cllr. Mrs B. Walsh, as Chairman of the School Governing Body, as follows:-
"Currently we have 274 children on role with 13 teachers, a Head and no class exceeding 30 pupils.
Finance: As we end this financial year we are in a position of having managed the budget well despite falling numbers and with no redundancies. Presently the formula for funding has been based roughly on average around £1,000 per pupil with more for Special Needs Children and various other pots of money available to develop the Nursery, extra curricular activities and the extended school day. This however, is all going to change. In March the DfES published their proposals for school funding arrangements for the next three years. These include the extension of Early Years Free entitlement and the new specialised diplomas for 14-16 year olds. The local authority will be reviewing the proposals in more detail and will then discuss the implications with the Schools Funding Forum. The forum has already instigated a complete review of the delegated formula budget due to falling roles which have affected many rural areas.
Teaching, and Learning: Curricular targets have now been agreed and staff, via their Performance Management have stated that they will be working towards 100% achievement for higher ability pupils and 80% for both average and SEN pupils. This means that we expect all above average pupils to maintain the rate of progress and so achieve the expected target. With the average and SEN ability groups there are more acute problems, as the history of the school conveys but with support and an adopted learning plan children could achieve at a slower pace. Currently we have 48 pupils with special educational needs which equates to 17.5% of pupils. We have established strong leadership teams which includes teachers, partners and subject leaders. These teams track each pupil's learning to ensure that progress is made throughout the school. Governors have been encouraged to join these teams so that they can have a greater insight into how every child's progress is different.
Raising Standards: Changes are also being made into how schools are monitored. Ofsted will still inspect schools but all the relevant
information will now be put on line. The new web-based resource, Raise-online replaces Performance and Assessment and pupil tracking.
This will allow schools to interact with the data held by the DfES and Ofsted in a meaningful way that supports school self-evaluation and
improved planning. It also allows schools to bring together their information and compare it with national data. It is this information that Ofsted will look at in future inspections with the form being frozen on-line when an inspection is imminent.
Literacy,Numeracy, ICT, Humanities, Arts, Science, PE and RE: The local authority is providing a bespoke programme entitled 'ensuring success' for the school. This will lead to a very rigorous approach and system of monitoring children's progress, which is essential as regards achieving higher standards and greater achievement for pupils support.
All classrooms now have an Interactive White Board. These are large blackboard sized boards which operate as a computer and have a touch
screen for pupils and teachers. The teachers have been motivated by the IWB as they are an incredible resource. Training is on-going
throughout the year. We have fulfilled three quarters of the requirements for the Artsmark and hopeful by the end of the year to achieve the quality mark. RE, we have been very fortunate to have many lay preachers who have offered to deliver RE and take school assemblies throughout the year.
Nursery: Our nursery numbers have increased dramatically with 25 attending in the morning and about 17 in the afternoon. We also run a toddler group in the nursery once a week to promote the nursery to parents. We are very nearly at capacity.
Building and Grounds: Our new security measures will be in place shortly. These include new fencing, electronic gates, cameras and intercom system. We are very fortunate in that the local firemen came to the school very shortly after the fire at Lympne to carry out a risk assessment and also observe the fire drill. The fire at Lympne started in the roof cavity. It was suggested we should place smoke alarms in the roof above some of the older classrooms.
Children's Centre: We are now in the process of having a Children's Centre established. This will be on the site of the old Kiddiwinks nursery and work will begin during the summer break. The building will be sectioned off from the main school to ensure pupil safety. This will be worked independently from the school and run on a separate budget although the governors will be able to be a part of a joint committee.
Breakfast Club: The breakfast club is proving to be very successful. The Club started in February 2007. The session starts at 7.45am and
ends at 8.45am. The cost of each session is £1.50. From the start it has been very popular, with 15-20 children per day (our target for the first year was 12 per day). There is a wide variety of food and drink available for the children to choose from including eggs (scrambled or boiled), bacon, sausages, waffles, cereals, fruit, yoghurts, toast, bread rolls, milk, fruit juices, water etc. Provision is also made to clean their teeth after breakfast with each child having a toothbrush with their name on. They then enjoy a wide range of activities, i.e. reading, colouring in, playing games, exercising, outdoor play with outdoor equipment (weather permitting), writing, homework, socialising with
other children etc. The children are escorted to their classrooms at 8.45am.
Drop-in Family Centre: The Drop-in Centre has been going for one year and is proving to be an asset to the school with many parents being able to meet advisers to discuss a range of issues. The facilities will be extended once the Children's Centre is opened later in the year.
Other: The school has won a Healthy School Award which was received at a ceremony on 20 April in Ashford by a teacher and two junior
Pupils. KCC's Healthy Schools programme is designed to support improvements through a whole-school approach to health and well-being,
inclusion and educational achievement. The criteria revolved around four core themes, personal, social, health and education. Finally, during the Easter period Lydd School came first in the Athletics festival held for primary schools at Southlands. They were up against eight other schools on the Romney Marsh. This is a major achievement for the children and we are all very proud".
Cllr. M. Walsh expressed disappointment that the school was still not using the facilities at Lydd Town Football Club. Mrs Walsh responded that discussion was still on-going with the staff and Mr Hambley of the Football Club but the main problem was getting the children to the facilities.
GREATSTONE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Submitted: Report by the Headteacher of Greatstone Primary School, Mr Leigh Mortimer, read by the Town Clerk, as follows:-
“Greatstone Primary School has continued to flourish this year managing to maintain its roll of between 350-360 children. The school's main projects this year have been the building of the Nursery, which is now completed and is to open in September, and the levelling of the school playing fields which will be completed shortly and hopefully re-opened in September.
There has been one change to our teaching team this year with Mrs Roberts retiring and her position being replaced by Miss Booth. The school's highly professional support staff continue to enhance the quality of experiences for all our children.
The school calendar, as for most schools, is absolutely packed with events and this year the Shepway Sports Partnership has brought extra sports activities including Golf, Athletics, Rugby, Kwik Cricket, Netball, Dance and Swimming to the school for the children to experience.
The high reputation of sports within the school have led to the school football teams winning the Herald Cup for the second year running, the Girls Year 6 Shepway Football Tournament and the Girls Netball League.