MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BELPER TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON 2nd OCTOBER 2001
PRESENT: Councillor Randall Sanders (Town Mayor) in the Chair,
Councillors Tim Benson, Alan Broughton, Ron Buzzard, Alan Cox, Ron Day, Pete Leahy, Ben Miller, John Nelson, Joyce Sanders and Richard Watson.
The Council stood in silent tribute to those who had lost their lives on September 11.
- APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Elaine Emmott, Robert Hallsworth and Michael Handley.
- CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
The Town Clerk tabled additional papers to take with the Agenda. The Christmas Committee Minutes and Matters Arising therefrom would be taken after Agenda item 8 and the Provision of Dog Bins and the Refuse Collection Survey would be taken after Agenda item 17. In addition, a paper proposing events for the Queen's Jubilee celebration, which would be included on the Recreation and Development Committee Agenda was also tabled.
- DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Alan Cox declared an interest in item 10 (Planning Applications) and Councillor Ben Miller declared an interest in item 11 (Justices and Entertainments Licences).
- POLICE REPORT
Unfortunately, the Police representative was unable to attend the meeting. However, various issues were raised which the Town Clerk was asked to take up with the Police. These included the attitude of the staff on Reception at Belper Police Station and vandalism at the Hawthorns where the Police had informed the Council that there was no further action they could take.
A letter summarising the Chief Constable's Parish Council Seminar on 17th September had just been received. Members who wished to have a copy were asked to contact the Town Clerk.
- PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public were in attendance.
- ITEMS TAKEN IN CAMERA
It was agreed to take Minutes 375-378 of the Council Meeting held on 4th September in camera.
- MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING 4TH SEPTEMBER 2001
The minutes of the meeting held on 4th September 2001 were received and approved.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES
348 Cleanliness of the Town Centre
There was considerable debate about the deterioration in the standard of cleanliness of the town centre. As only a holding reply had been received from the Borough Council, it was agreed that the Head of Public Services at the Council (Mrs Paula Darlington) should be invited to the next meeting. However, in order to set an example and prove that this Council was committed to improving the town centre, arrangements would be made to remove the oil stains and keep the Market Place in a good condition.
Councillor Alan Cox reported that all the agendas and minutes of the Council meetings held in this Mayoral year were now on the web site.
351 (331) Local Plan Review
The comments made in the Borough Council's response to Councillor Joyce Sander's original letter were noted. A copy of Councillor Joyce Sanders original letter would be circulated to Members.
Councillor Alan Cox reported that there was a web site for HMS Brocklesby but it did not provide an e-mail address.
It was noted that neither the Conservation Officer nor the Diocese had any objection to the proposal to erect a demountable ironwork balustrade at the top of the steps in front of the altar at St John's Chapel.
It was noted that the proposed Post Office would be on the ground floor and not the first floor.
Councillor John Nelson reported that the sign was being manufactured at present and that its unveiling would be on 14th October when he hoped that as many as possible of the former children at the school would attend.
The Town Clerk was asked to ascertain as quickly as possible the precise requirements of the showmen for winter quarters. It was stressed that they should be kept to the minimum area possible so that car parking space was left available for market goers.
370 Amber Valley Access Group
Councillor Alan Cox would provide the Town Clerk with the name of someone who was willing to stand as the Council's second nominee on the Amber Valley Access Group.
371 Derbyshire Flood Defence Fair
The Mayor and Councillor Joyce Sanders reported on the excellent exhibition which as well as pumps and driers included new equipment that was now available to seal the doors and windows of buildings liable to flooding.
- MINUTES OF THE CHRISTMAS COMMITTEE HELD ON 11TH SEPTEMBER 2001
The minutes of the Christmas Committee held on 11th September 2001 were noted.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES
The Mayor reported that he had now completed testing 75% of the lights and would be meeting Niall Clarke of Derbyshire County Council to discuss the provision of new lights on the west side of Bridge Street from the bottom of King Street to Derwent Street. They would also be looking at the possible provision of pea lights in trees at various prominent locations.
- MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor reported on various forthcoming events including: the launch of the Belper Shopping and Car Parking Guide at the Belper Town Football Club Ground on 4th October at 6 pm; the opening of the Autumn Fair which would be on Thursday 1st November at 6 o'clock meeting beforehand at the Nags Head and the unveiling of the Interpretation Panel in the Market Place on Saturday 13th October at 10 am to coincide with the Farmers' Market.
- PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Councillor Joyce Sanders reported that the planning applications circulated on 19th September and tabled at this meeting contained no contentious issues.
- JUSTICE'S AND ENTERTAINMENTS LICENCES
No comments were made on the three applications for Justices' Licences and the one for an Entertainments Licence on the schedule of 19th September.
- PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS
Several queries were raised on the schedule of payments and receipts from 23rd August 2001 to 20th September 2001. The Town Clerk explained the reasons for incurring the expenditure that was queried.
- TOWN VEHICLE
A great deal of time had been spent by the Mayor, Councillor Nelson and the Town Clerk in searching for either a new pickup or a second-hand one over the last few months. The advantages of paying for a new vehicle were outlined although it was recognised that there was no provision in the budget to purchase a vehicle outright. After considerable debate it was decided to attempt to manage with the small red Renault van for the time being. It was explained that this vehicle would not be able to be used for bedding out, transferring the lawn mowers and filling up the grit bins. Consequently there may be a neccessity to hire a vehicle at certain times.
It was finally decided that should a second-hand vehicle be found that could meet the Council's requirements and cost less than £4000, then the Leader and Deputy Leader should be empowered to approve its purchase. However, if one was not found then a new vehicle should be purchased at the start of the next financial year.
- EAST MIDLANDS IN BLOOM
Councillor John Nelson considered that Belper's performance in coming third in this year's competition was creditable. Because of the changes proposed for next year's judging whereby the assessment would be over a period rather than on one specific visit, it was essential that high standards of bedding and general cleanliness throughout the town were maintained throughout the summer.
It was reported that work had already started on designing the beds for next summer's displays which would be on a theme of red, white and blue. The other organisations who provided hanging baskets and other floral displays in the town centre would be approached to ensure that they adopted the same colour scheme.
It was considered that the present arrangements for co-ordinating the various bodies concerned with the appearance of the town centre were satisfactory and at this stage there was no pressing need for establishing a working group as suggested by the Belper Improvement Group.
- MARKET PLACE
Various aspects were raised on the appearance of the Market Place including its cleanliness which had been discussed earlier in the meeting. There was a general consensus that the hard landscaping should be softened by the possible provision of one or two trees and some planters. However, English Heritage were unlikely to sanction such a proposal. The possibility of encouraging premises around the Market Place to provide hanging baskets and even providing them through the Council would be explored in the first instance.
The three or four wheelie bins outside Victoria Wines and the Black Swan detracted from the appearance of the Market Place. Various courses of action had been suggested in the past and explored without success. However, another initiative would be tried, possibly by the provision of a compound against one or both of these premises.
It appeared there had been a greater incidence of fly posting than in previous years. One of the prime offenders was John Lawson's Circus. The Council staff had removed many of the posters but still some remained that were clearly not the responsibility of this Council. It was considered that a prosecution would prove a deterrent and enquiries would be made as to how to go about this.
- STRATEGIC HEALTH AUTHORITY
A short discussion took place on the effect of the delayering proposals which would result in the setting up of a Strategic Health Authority for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. It was observed that there was no reference to the costs associated with this initiative.
- DERBYSHIRE YOUNG ACHIEVERS AWARD 2001
Although members could nominate individuals or groups themselves, it was agreed that the Council, through Councillor Joyce Sanders, should put forward the Under 15 Belper Meadows Cricket Team for this prestigious award.
- DOG BINS
The proposal put forward by Councillor Joyce Sanders to provide a dog waste bin near the corner of Whitemoor Lane and Gregory's Way was agreed. The Borough Council had been approached a month or so ago to provide a similar bin at Over Lane but no response had been received as yet. This was an item that could be discussed with the Head of Public Services when she came to the next Council meeting.
- REFUSE COLLECTION
Following the changes in the refuse collection service earlier this year, the Borough Council were undertaking a review as part of the Audit Commission's best value exercise. To this end they were inviting representatives of Parish Council to a seminar. It was agreed that this Council would be represented by the Mayor and Councillor Joyce Sanders.
- CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
The schedule of correspondence received, together with various items that had been received since the agenda had been circulated, were noted.
It was noted that there was a vacancy on the Belper Steering Group of the Citizens Advice Bureau. Councillor Alan Cox would inform the Town Clerk of the Conservative Party's nomination for this position.