MINUTES OF A MEETING OF STOTFOLD TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 6TH JUNE 2012 AT 7.30PM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, SIMPSON CENTRE, STOTFOLD
Councillors present: Chairing meeting: B Collier (Mayor)
Mrs S Bundock Mrs A Clarey
A Cooper B Dack
S Dhaliwal T Naisbitt
B Saunders (& CBC Cllr) G Smith
Also present: Central Beds Councillors Jon Clarke and John Saunders, PCSO Lisa Antoine, 5 members of the public and the Clerk
9565. MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS & CIVIC ATTENDANCE
For information, since the Statutory Council meeting, Councillor Naisbitt has joined the Town Enhancement Committee. There are still two vacancies on the Planning Committee, one of which could be taken by the new co-opted Councillor.
The Mayor has attended the following events since the last the meeting:
· Stotfold Scouts AGM and Awards Ceremony
· Stotfold Junior Football Club Awards Ceremony
· Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire’s Celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee & Service of Thanksgiving Service
· Stotfold’s Jubilee Picnic in the Park
· Stotfold’s Jubilee Beacon Lighting Ceremony
The Mayor has been invited to attend:
· Sandy Town Council – Summer Charity Garden Party, Sunday 15th July 2012, 7.30pm, at the Mayor’s house. Tickets are £8 each.
· Sandy Town Council – Mayor’s Charity Flying Proms Concert Reception, Saturday 18th August 2012, from 10am through to the evening. Tickets are £45 each.
The Mayor proposed that a letter of loyal greeting is sent to the Queen.
Resolved that a letter of loyal greeting is sent to the Queen congratulating her on her Diamond Jubilee.
9566. DISCLOSURE OF MEMBERS INTERESTS
There were no disclosures of interest. Members were reminded that if at any time during the meeting they feel they have an interest in an item being discussed, they should declare it at that point.
9567. TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Mrs Cooper, Hayes, Mrs Hyde, Miss Saunders and Stoter.
9568. TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM A REPRESENTATIVE OF BEDFORDSHIRE POLICE
PCSO Antoine gave the following report:
Anti-Social Behaviour – there were 25 reports of anti-social behaviour in Stotfold. 3 of the calls were linked to the incident noted below. 7 of the incidents were to do with youths, 1 with parking and 2 with nuisance bikes. The rest were either neighbour issues or highway disruptions.
Burglary Dwellings – there have been no burglary dwellings for the month.
Burglary Other – there were 5 burglary others. Two of the burglary others the offenders have taken copper.
Theft of a Vehicle – there were 2 theft of vehicles. One vehicle was left insecure with keys in and the other vehicle was locked and alarmed.
Theft from a Vehicle – there were no thefts from vehicles for the month.
Criminal Damage – there were 4 criminal damages. Two were in the same area.
Incidents of Note – on the 28th May there was a disturbance called in by a member of the public, on arrival officers witnessed two known offenders fighting with each other. Both were arrested on scene. Investigation is still ongoing.
Good News – Following a warrant, there was a substantial amount of drugs found in a property and the owner of the property was arrested and charged with trafficking controlled drug.
9569. ORAL QUESTIONS FROM ELECTORS
There were no questions from electors at this point.
9570. COUNCILLOR VACANCY – CO-OPTION
No applications for co-option have been received.
Resolved that the Clerk commences advertising for the vacancy again during September.
9571. TO NOTE AND SIGN AS A CORRECT RECORD - MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETING HELD 2ND MAY 2012
Resolved that the minutes of the Council meeting held on Wednesday 2nd May 2012 be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
9572. TO NOTE AND SIGN AS A CORRECT RECORD – MINUTES OF STATUTORY COUNCIL MEETING HELD 2ND MAY 2012
Resolved that the minutes of the Statutory Council meeting held on Wednesday 2nd May 2012 be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
9573. CLERK’S REPORT FOR INFORMATION
The Clerk asked for volunteers for the forthcoming Festival Fete, Saturday 23rd June, 1 – 4pm, Hitchin Road Recreation Ground, to man the Council’s stall/gazebo.
The Assistant Clerk has asked for her thanks to be passed on to all those who helped to make the Jubilee Picnic in the Park and the Beacon lighting ceremony such great events over the bank holiday weekend.
She would like to thank: Terry Seymour for providing electric points and lighting, Peter Trulock for judging the photograph competition, Bews Electrical for the loan of a freezer for ice-creams, Stotfold Scouts for providing two mess tents, erecting them and taking down again in such horrid weather, Shefford Fire Station for their visiting fire engine, Saunders Garage for providing the cash prizes for the photograph competition winners, Salvation Army Band and Major Chris Davidson for their pivotal part in the Beacon lighting ceremony, Rik Golder for help in laying out the Hitchin Road Recreation Ground, setting up and clearing away for both events, all Councillors who helped during and after the events, all Events Committee Members, businesses and individuals who donated raffle prizes, and stall holders and residents who took part.
The Clerk added on a personal note, her thanks to Mandy, Suzanne and Rik for their huge efforts in providing such wonderful events to bring the community together for the Jubilee celebrations. Both events were well attended, despite the weather, and the number of people attending the Beacon lighting ceremony was outstanding! There may be people that have been missed off the list of thanks, but their help has not been forgotten.
9574. CORRESPONDENCE
For information:
· Town & Parish Council Conference 1st May 2012 – post conference report circulated to Members.
· Statutory Notice – information on proposal to expand Fairfield Park Community Lower School to provide new school places circulated to Members.
· Stotfold District Guides Annual Report – report from AGM recently attended by Councillor Mrs Cooper available for Members to read.
Invitation for Members to attend:
· Flitwick Town Council ‘Buy a Brick Appeal’ being held at Flitwick Manor Hotel, Sunday 17th June, 11am to 12noon for the provision of a youth hub. Bricks £2 each.
· Older Peoples Delivery Partnership Event – ‘Living Well, Ageing Well’, 26th June, 9.30am, Forest Centre, Marston Moretaine.
· Babus (Bedford Area Bus Users’ Society) AGM, Saturday 16th June, 10.15am, Meeting Room, Bedford Central Library, Harpur Street, Bedford. The Library and Co-op will be asked to display a copy of this invitation for residents.
9575. TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM A CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCILLOR ON MATTERS PERTAINING TO STOTFOLD
Councillor John Saunders gave the following report:
· On a personal note and with regard to the Mill, he thanked the Council for making Millennium Green available for parking during the recent Mill event. The weekend was very well attended and they made in excess of £40,000. The Mill apologise for traffic problems associated with the high volume of visitors, they will be looking at these issues for next year.
· Also on a personal note, the Mill is discussing how they might improve the nature reserve in the long term.
Councillor Jon Clarke gave the following report:
· Central Beds Council has recently received six awards for their Building Control team at national awards.
· The Langford and Henlow area is popular with walkers and is down for path and meadow improvements.
· The Olympic Torch will be in Dunstable on Monday 9th July, from 7.30am.
9576. TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM MEMBER AND NOMINATED REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES
Councillor Smith gave the following report:
· He recently visited the Scouts at their camp in Gilwell. This was a huge event and was very well organised. He was very proud to be there.
9577. TO RECEIVE A REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE TOWN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GROUP
Councillor Mrs Clarey gave the following report:
· Minutes of the last meeting of the Town Plan Implementation Group were reported to Town Council on 2nd May 2012 (minute 9554). Copies of those minutes were given to Members.
· Following the Clerk’s attendance at that meeting she has been working with Nicola King, the Youth Participation and Community Officer to establish ways in which young residents might become more involved in the town. More will follow on this in the coming months.
· Pam Manfield’s document on Wildlife Friendly Planting has been presented to the Planning Committee and it was resolved that the Committee would encourage the use of the majority of plants suggested in future development plans. The list will also be presented to other appropriate Town Council Committees.
· A number of the Implementation Group met with Marcus Lambert (Director of the Town Planners and Surveyors working on behalf of Taylor Wimpey for the Taylors Road site). He and three others from the developers were clearly working towards producing a plan that was more acceptable to the Town Council, local residents and Central Beds.
· They left a copy of the most up to date plan for the area, together with a copy of the rejected plan.
· They liked Pam’s Wildlife Friendly Planting document and would be happy to present this to their landscape planners.
· They appeared to be receptive to the idea that discussion with the Town Council on play equipment could produce a more satisfactory outcome over choice of equipment, and the Group mentioned the research already carried out with younger residents.
· Whilst they appeared to know little about the toad migration in Taylors Road, they agreed to contact the Central Beds Council ecologist. This has been carried out.
· Again, there will be more to report in future weeks. The next meeting is on Tuesday 26th June, 2pm at the Simpson Centre.
At this point the Mayor was taken unwell, and the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Cooper took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.
9578. ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2011/2012
A copy of the Council’s Annual Statement of Accounts for the financial year ended 31st March 2012 was previously circulated to Members.
Resolved that the Annual Statement of Accounts is accepted.
9579. ANNUAL RETURN – ACCOUNTING STATEMENT & ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2011/2012
A copy of the Annual Accounting Statement (section 1) and Annual Governance Statement (section 2) of the 2011/2012 Annual Return was previously circulated to Members. The Clerk, being Responsible Financial Officer and Chairman are to sign both sections once approved by Council.
Resolved that
i) The Annual Accounting Statement (section 1) of the Annual Return 2011/2012 is approved by this Council.
ii) The Annual Governance Statement (section 2) of the Annual Return 2011/2012 is approved by the Council.
9580. INTERNAL AUDITOR’S REPORT 2011/2012
A copy of the Internal Auditor’s report on the internal audit carried out on year-end figures 2011/2012, together with the Annual Internal Audit Report (section 4) of the Annual Return were previously circulated to Members.
Resolved that the Internal Auditor’s report and the Annual Internal Audit Report (section 4) of the Annual Return are noted, together with any recommending comments made by the Internal Auditor.
9581. LOCALISM ACT 2011 – CODE OF CONDUCT
The Localism Act 2011 requires all Town and Parish Councils to adopt a Code of Conduct, to be in force on 1st July 2012. NALC has produced a template Code of Conduct, however the document previously circulated to Members was the suggested model produced by Central Beds Council, which was adopted on 19th April. The Localism Act provides that any complaints about the conduct of Town and Parish Councillors will be subject to investigation by the District Council, in this instance Central Beds Council, and it therefore makes sense for Town and Parish Councils to adopt a code that is the same, or at least similar, to the Code adopted by Central Beds Council.
Where sections recommended by NALC have been omitted from the Central Beds model, these have been inserted and it is recommended that these sections are included in the Code to be adopted by this Council.
It should be noted that an important element of the Code cannot be resolved at this time. The Localism Act requires that the Code must include provisions covering the registration and disclosure of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests. ‘Disclosable pecuniary interests’ will be prescribed by the Secretary of State in regulations, but these regulations have not yet been published and so this aspect of the Code cannot be finalised.
Council will be notified of additional inclusion regarding interests in due course. It was noted that the Central Beds Council General Purposes Committee will be meeting the day after this Council meeting to discuss aspects of the Code further. It is suggested that if there are any relevant sections, these are to be included in this Council’s Code.
Resolved that the previously circulated draft Code of Conduct for Stotfold Town Council is adopted, including the relevant NALC insertions. Once further information has been received from the Secretary of State regarding interests, this is also to be included, together with any relevant further sections from Central Beds Council meetings.
9582. LEISURE CENTRE PROJECT
Members were previously circulated copies of relevant paperwork for the following agenda bullet points:
· To receive a report from Councillor Collier of an informal meeting with Trevor Saunders, Assistant Planning Director, Central Beds Council regarding the release of open space area for building at Land South of Stotfold development towards leisure provision on Arlesey Road.
Members were advised that the outcome of the meeting was that Trevor Saunders had said he wouldn’t support or allow the release of open space area on the Land South of Stotfold development for building as he couldn’t see that there would be any support from residents and there was no evidence that there was a need for this land elsewhere.
· To agree to the canvassing of residents to establish their views on whether they wish to see open space land given up for development in order that leisure provision may be provided/enhanced elsewhere.