MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BELPER TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON 8 MAY 2001
PRESENT: Councillor Randall Sanders (Town Mayor) in the Chair,
Councillors Tim Benson, Alan Broughton, Ron Buzzard, Alan Cox, Ron Day, Elaine Emmott, Robert Hallsworth, Pete Leahy, Ben Miller, John Nelson, Joyce Sanders and Richard Watson.
APOLOGIES
Councillor Michael Handley.
CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
It was agreed to defer item 25 until the next meeting, and add two further items to the agenda. The first, the temporary closure of Farnah Green Road, would be taken at the end of the open agenda, and the second, Holbrook Miners Welfare, would be taken in camera.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Alan Cox declared an interest in item 13 (Planning Applications) and any other matters which had planning implications. He also declared an interest in item 17 insofar as it related to the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Councillor Ben Miller declared an interest in item 14 (Justices and Entertainments Licences).
POLICE REPORT
Inspector Arnie Hicklin tabled a schedule showing the overall crime figures for the Belper Section for 2000/01. The Section had been set a target of keeping reported crimes in the Section below 2,378. In fact actual reported crimes were only 1,974. Of the three main categories of crime, actual cases of violence and vehicle crime were 40% below target whist house burglaries were only marginally above target.
Inspector Hicklin anticipated the creation of four new posts for the Belper Section for town centre beat work under the new Chief Constable's initiative. He hoped these posts would be filled by the end of the year.
He also referred to the improvement in relations between the Police and the teenagers of Belper. This was due in some measure to initiatives such as the Drop Inn Centre. Members considered that in general the Police were far more approachable than in the past and were to be congratulated.
Concern was expressed once again about traffic speeding on Kilbourn Road. Inspector Hicklin assured the Council that the Police were aware of the situation and were taking the appropriate steps to encourage vehicles to obey the speed limits.
Several members had attended a seminar given by the Police to the Borough Council. They had been left with the distinct impression that funding for the fight against drugs in Derbyshire was about to be reduced. Though Inspector Hicklin was unaware of any such steps being taken it was agreed to write to the Chief Constable to ascertain the situation.
FLEET ARTS
Sarah Laman, the Fleet Arts Coordinator, and Andrea Fox attended the meeting on behalf of Fleet Arts. Sarah, with the aid of photographs, outlined the activities that had taken place during the last year. She then went on to detail the activities they planned for this year and identified the areas where the money requested from the Town Council would be used. In addition to £800 for general expenses, £1,400 had been earmarked for the Nail it Down project, £1,000 on the Parks Estate, principally for work with the Youth Club, and £1,300 for the very popular Children's Arts Workshops.
There was a general consensus that the Project was carrying out valuable work in Belper, and it was providing a service that was not available elsewhere in Amber Valley. Accordingly it was agreed to meet the request for grant aid of £4,350 in full (£150 had already been paid - minute 259).
BELPER MARKETS
A general discussion followed Mr Layton Davis' presentation of his report setting out the options available to the Council for the development of Belper's markets. The strategy he outlined whereby priority was given to developing a Thursday market, then if this became established focusing on the Saturday market, was endorsed.
At this stage, with the lack of interest in opening on Sundays by many town centre shopkeepers, it was considered that the provision of a Sunday market in King Street would not bring a significant benefit to Belper. The issue of having stalls sited in King Street on three or four days was, in the first instance a matter which had to be addressed by the Borough Council, as it was the authority responsible for the issue of Street Trading Consents.
As many of the restrictions relating to the foot and mouth epidemic had been lifted it was agreed to proceed with the Farmers' Market on June 9. As many decisions had to be taken in the short period it was agreed to delegate responsibility for ensuring the success of the first Farmers' Market to Councillors Michael Handley and Richard Watson. They would meet with Mr Layton Davis and the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk to consider such issues as the provision and layout of stalls, the attraction and selection of stall holders, electricity and water supplies, publicity, signing and traffic control.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mr Godfrey Bertelsen who had been closely involved in the creation of the Ashford Rise Recreation Area addressed the meeting. He said the play area was proving highly successful attracting children through a wide age range from an extended area. Inevitably the noise from upwards of 70 children from 4 to 16 had led to complaints and even conflict with the owners of properties close to the play area. Indeed the Police had visited the play area four times in the last week and were dealing with a case where it was alleged a child had been assaulted by a person from a nearby property.
It was agreed that the Councillors for the area from the Town and Borough Councils should meet with residents, and Mr Bertelsen should speak to Inspector Hicklin about the problems and a joint meeting should then be held of all interested parties with the object of setting up a Residents Liaison Group.
ITEMS IN CAMERA
It was agreed to take the minutes of the Staff Working Group held on 10 April, and two other matters in camera.
MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETING - 3 APRIL 2001
The minutes of the meeting held on 3 April 2001 were received and approved except for the addition of the following sentence to Minute 251 (Payments and Receipts) "Councillor Alan Cox asked the Town Clerk to provide details of the costs of the climate change levy."
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES
242 - Belper Leisure Centre
It was reported that the funding package had not been completed, partly because of the inability of local authorities to guarantee the liabilities of trusts. Once the package was finalised the Clerk to the Belper Leisure Centre Trust would report to the next appropriate meeting of the Council.
247 - 220 - Proposed BMX Ramp
The final visit to recently installed sites would be taking place this week and negotiations with potential suppliers could then be completed. Unless there were any unforeseen problems it was anticipated that the ramp should be in place in July or August.
247 - 225 - Grit Bins
Councillor John Nelson tabled a note entitled "Position Statement on Grit Bins" which set out the Borough Council's policy in regard to the supply and maintenance of grit bins
247 - 234 - Memorial Gardens
It was noted that the contract for the tree work in the Memorial Gardens had been awarded to Emery Landscapes at a total cost of £1,620.
258 - Standing Orders
The proposed amendment to Standing Order 17 was agreed so bringing it into line with Standing Order 6. Now notice of 14 days had to be given both for ordinary items and resolutions to be included on the agenda.
MINUTES OF RECREATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
The minutes of the Recreation and Development Committee of 24 April were received.
It was noted that Councillor Tim Benson attended the meeting and that Councillor Alan Broughton was not present. It was also noted that as Councillor Ron Buzzard had been appointed to Belper Town Football Club by the Council he had no need to declare an interest. The minutes would be amended accordingly before submission to the next Recreation and Development Committee.
MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor referred to the success of the Hockey Club in being promoted to the National League: they were now one of the top 40 clubs in the country.
He highlighted the Belper Celebration Week's many events which ran from Sunday 20 May to Saturday 26 May. He hoped Councillors would be able to join him at the service at Christ Church on 20 May to launch the week.
He also hoped members would be able to attend the seminar arranged for the visitors from Blackstone Valley which included sessions on the regeneration of both the Derwent and Blackstone valleys. This would be on the morning of Saturday 19 May and would be followed by a buffet lunch.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Councillor Joyce Sanders reported that there were no issues raised in the applications circulated on 3 and 24 April that needed to be brought to the attention of the Council.
However she referred to the earlier submission of an application to demolish the chemist's shop at 46-48 King Street. This had now been resubmitted in a much modified form that left the frontage of the premises intact.
JUSTICES LICENCES
No objections were raised to five of the six applications for the transfer of Justice's Licences. However the sixth was for the Strutt Club who were also applying for an Entertainments Licence. It was agreed to write to the Borough Council reiterating the Council's concerns about the noise created by people leaving clubs late at night. Where clubs were located in residential areas those living nearby could be disturbed for up to an hour after closing time.
PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS
Because of the limitations of the computerised accounting system it was not possible to provide a print off of transactions so far in the new financial year. This could only be provided once the old year had been closed. Accordingly a manuscript copy of the cash book was tabled.
PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS 2000/01
The Town Clerk said that under Standing Order 48 he was charged with issuing a statement of payments and receipts for the preceding financial year to the first ordinary meeting of the new year. He saw little point in this as members had already had the information in instalments throughout the year. His suggestion to delete Standing Order 48 was endorsed, but under Standing Order 66 discussion was adjourned until the next meeting of the Council.
There was a heated debate over the fact that the total income for the year of £256,000 was £1,000 less than expenditure for the year. It was pointed out that because of the tight control of cash flow and the fact that a surplus had been brought forward from the previous year the Council had never been overdrawn but had maximised the use of its available funds.
ANNUAL GRANTS
After some discussion it was agreed to make the following annual grants:-
Community Transport
£2,000
Belper Town Football Club
£4,000
Citizens Advice Bureau
£6,000
Belper North Mill Trust
£5,800
Belper Leisure Centre Trust
£21,100
The Town Clerk would make the payments at the appropriate times. The quarterly payments to the Leisure Centre Trust would be held until the position over the funding package (see minute 272 - 242) was clarified.
A report from Belper Town Football Club on the progress they had made over the last year, which was the first year of the second three year sponsorship arrangement was noted. Representatives of the Club would be invited to a future meeting to make a presentation.
PENSIONABLE POSTS
After they had been in post six months Elaine Hibbert and Rita Beard joined the County Council Pension Scheme. The County Council have informed the Council that the post rather than the individual should be pensionable.
Accordingly it was resolved that the posts of Assistant Town Clerk and Finance Assistant should be pensionable.
BLACKSPOT LIGHTING
In addition to the request to prepare a lighting scheme for the footpath between the library and the Community Hall it was agreed to ask the County Council to prepare schemes to eradicate a pool of darkness at Farnah Green and one to illuminate the bridleway at Kirks Lane. Then when the estimated costs were known the Council could evaluate them.
Before the present scheme was installed at Farnah Green there was extensive public consultation. This had resulted in a few isolated blackspots. The current proposal was to eradicate one of these. However in view of the strong feelings of local residents it would be necessary to make sure all those likely to be affected by the installation of another lamp were in agreement.
LAWNMOWER
The Town Clerk's action in selling the six year old Toro lawnmower for £205 was approved as was his recommendation to purchase a Honda HRH 536 QX at a cost of £970 (inclusive of VAT) as its replacement.
TOWN VEHICLE
The Ford pick-up was becoming increasingly unreliable, was nearing the end of its life and was unsuited to some of the tasks that the work force were currently undertaking. It was agreed that Councillors John Nelson and Randall Sanders should meet with the three outdoor staff, together with the Town Clerk to determine the most appropriate types of vehicle to meet the Council's requirements and then assess which offered the best value for money.
PENGUIN CLUB
The request for a grant of £500 towards the total cost of £4,000 to take the 56 members of the Penguin Club on a week's holiday in Great Yarmouth was agreed. The Club's further request to use one of the Council's three "free" days at the Leisure Centre was also agreed.
FLORAL DISPLAYS
It was reported that Adshead Ratcliffe and Jaeger had agreed to sponsor the Field Lane and Talbot flower beds, respectively, once again this year. There was also reasonable interest in sponsoring the hanging baskets in Chapel Street, but the response from businesses with their own (or Belper Improvement Group's) baskets was most disappointing.
This was probably due to the fact that last year empty baskets had been filled and maintained by the Council as a last resort to enhance the appearance of the town through the summer months. It was agreed that this year no such action should be taken and only those baskets that had been paid for would be planted and maintained by the Council.
COPPICE CAR PARK
The Town Clerk reported that once again he had received complaints about taxi drivers misusing the car park by racing up and down when it was empty and playing loud music when they were waiting for a fare. Councillor Robert Hallsworth said he had received a complaint from a female member of the public about a taxi driver urinating in the car park.
These complaints would be taken up with the owners of the taxi firms concerned through the Borough Council's Enforcement Officer. It was also suggested that by providing a marked space sufficient for two or three taxis in the south western corner of the car park some of the problems could be resolved. Because of the likely increase in use of the car park arising from the proposed Thursday market and the Farmers' Markets it would be sensible to mark it out so as to obtain maximum usage out of the space available. Quotes would be obtained.
The Town Clerk also reported that part of the wall on the western boundary of the car park had fallen into Selways and as the Buildings Control Officer had considered the situation dangerous he had sought tenders for the work and accepted the lower one of £1,111 from Milward Construction. Discussions were taking place with the Council's insurer in the hope that some of the cost may be borne by them.
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
As there seemed to be a break down in communication between the secretariat of Amber Valley Access and the Council's representatives on the group the Town Clerk was asked to notify AVA once again of their names and addresses.
Councillor Alan Cox enquired why a letter from the District Auditor dated 12 February had not been included either as an agenda item or listed in the correspondence received. The Town Clerk could not recall seeing the letter but would look into the matter and report back to the next meeting.
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF PARISH AND ANNUAL MEETINGS
Because the General Election had been called for June 7 and the County Council election had been deferred to that date it was agreed that the Annual Assembly of Parish meeting and the Annual meeting originally scheduled for 15 May should be deferred until 19 June. As a consequence the next ordinary Council meeting would be held a week earlier on June 12.
LOST GARDEN OF BELPER
Mr Peter Davies' initiative to look into the feasibility of restoring the old Cottage Hospital garden at Bridge Foot was welcomed. His request that the two Ward Councillors for the area (Councillors Ron Day and Robert Hallsworth) should be invited to join the Steering Committee was agreed. His offer to detail his proposals to a future Council meeting would be accepted.
FARNAH GREEN ROAD
The notice from the County Council about the temporary closure of Farnah Green Road for 350 metres at its northern end was noted.
ROADS MAINTENANCE
Councillor Alan Cox queried why the County Council was resurfacing part of Nottingham Road when many other roads in Belper which the Borough Council was responsible for under the Section 42 agreement were in a worse state. Councillor Joyce Sanders explained that the small part of Nottingham Road being resurfaced was that part which had not been completed in the previous year's programme.