MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF BELPER TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON 6th NOVEMBER 2001
PRESENT: Councillor Randall Sanders (Town Mayor) in the Chair,
Councillors Tim Benson, Alan Broughton, Ron Buzzard, Alan Cox, Ron Day, Elaine Emmott, Ben Miller, John Nelson, Joyce Sanders and Richard Watson.
-
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Robert Hallsworth, Michael Handley and Pete Leahy.
- CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
Item 4 (Police Report) would not be included on the agenda as no representatives of the police were available to attend the meeting. The thoughts and best wishes of the Council would be sent to Inspector Hicklin and his family.
- DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Alan Cox declared an interest in item 14 (Planning Applications) and Councillor Ben Miller declared an interest in item 15 (Justices and Entertainments Licences) and in planning application AVA/2001/1107.
- TOWN CENTRE CLEANLINESS
Mrs Paula Darlington, the Head of Public Services at Amber Valley Borough Council started by outlining her role and responsibilities. These cover practically all environmental aspects of the Borough Council's services including street sweeping, waste management, refuse collection, public conveniences and parks and open spaces. However, she was not responsible for town centre management and dog fouling.
She explained that the transfer of Section 42 responsibilities back to the County Council was complex . All the structural parts of the service had been transferred to the County Council including street works and the provision of grit bins. However, the amenity/environmental aspects were in a state of flux. Thus the Borough Council was responsible for clearing weeds from footpaths whereas the County Council had assumed responsibility for hedge trimming and overhanging branches. It was hoped to resolve such anomalies over the next few months and reach agreement between the two Councils over the financing of the work retained by the Borough.
As well as this confusion over Section 42, there was confusion in the mind of the public over the respective responsibilities of the Town and Borough Councils. It was hoped that over the next few months the identification of roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of local government would be clarified and then it would be possible to publicise their respective roles. It was suggested that this would best be done by circulating a notice with the Council Tax bills in the Spring.
The overall service provided to the public should be as seamless as possible and to this end the Borough Council was exploring the idea of setting up a Town Centre Task Force. This proposal was welcomed as it would make more effective use of limited resources. It was questioned as to what the role of the Parish Warden service would be if such a task force was created. Originally this service had been set up to provide improved standards of cleanliness to those parishes that participated in the scheme. However, with the increasing constraints on public expenditure, there appeared to be little difference in the standards of cleanliness between those parishes which had parish wardens and those that had not.
The discussion then turned to specific aspects of the standards of cleanliness in the town centre focusing on chewing gum, oil patches, cigarette stubs particularly around tree bases and the time taken to make temporary re-instatements permanent. Mrs Darlington explained the steps that were being taken to overcome some of these problems. She said that recently an audit, based on European standards had been carried out on cleanliness within Amber Valley. Much of Belper fell into the higher categories of cleanliness and very few areas were not classified as satisfactory.
Finally, the refuse collection service was considered and the targets for recycling and reducing land-fill were outlined. It was noted that the pilot scheme for the collection of waste paper was performing extremely well and was likely to be extended to most of the Borough in the new year. It was recognised that a civic amenity site in Belper, or Ambergate, would help to improve the proportion of waste that was recycled. As a start, it was suggested that a small recycling site could be set up in the Whitemoor area, possibly on the recreation ground.
- PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public were in attendance.
- ITEMS TAKEN IN CAMERA
No items on the agenda warranted the Council going into camera.
- MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 2ND OCTOBER 2001
The minutes of the meeting, including that part taken in camera, held on 2nd October 2001 were received and approved.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES
It was reported that HMS Brocklesby was now based at Faslane on fishing protection duties under a new Commander. Attempts would be made to re-establish contact.
It was reported that the old pick-up had been sold for £365 under a sealed bid procedure.
394 East Midlands in Bloom
In response to the letter from the Chair of BIG, it was decided that the Council should be represented by those persons it had nominated to be members of the group. It was reported that the designs of the floral displays for the summer were now nearing completion and members who were interested were invited to call into the office to make their comments. There was some discussion on the Field Lane bed where the design prepared in the office was confirmed as satisfactory.
It was noted that sponsorship of £1,000 had been promised for a cascade of flowers on the corner of Bridge Street and King Street by Hunter Jones & Alton.
It was also reported that a new seat to be sited at the Field Lane corner was being sponsored by the family of Harold Walker who had a business on the site.
Councillor Joyce Sanders said that she had consulted with the County Council's Conservation Officer over ways in which the Market Place surface could be cleaned. He had recommended a firm, CSL, who specialise in such work and a quote of £1,075 had been obtained for a one-off clean.
The Town Clerk was asked to make enquiries as to how a prosecution for fly-posting could be pursued.
- MINUTES OF THE CHRISTMAS COMMITTEE HELD 11TH OCTOBER 2001
The minutes of the Christmas Committee of 11th October 2001 were noted. The Council was warned that many of the groups who performed at last year's Christmas Festivities were unable or unwilling to participate this year and very few new organisations had come forward. Consequently, it may be necessary to spend money on professional entertainment.
- MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE HELD 16TH OCTOBER 2001
The minutes of the Recreation and Development Committee held on 16th October 2001 were noted.
The Council's policy on sports development was confirmed and accordingly Councillor Ron Buzzard would be continuing his discussions with the Hockey Club as to how best they could be involved in encouraging youngsters to take up the sport.
A recommendation by the Committee that a grant of £3,000 should be made to Belper Music and Arts in this financial year was agreed. Consideration would be given to the request for a grant of £5,000 in 2002/3 during the budget making process.
In addition to the proposed week of events in June 2002 to commemorate the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, ideas for a permanent memorial were given preliminary consideration. The two most popular suggestions were a community clock and an avenue of trees.
- MARKET PLACE WORKING GROUP - 16TH OCTOBER 2001
A report on the Market Place Working Group's informal meeting was noted. The Rugby Club would be providing the labour to erect the stalls on Friday evening and dismantle them on Saturday afternoon for the first time this coming weekend. Logistically, it was impracticable to erect the stalls on the morning and the police had been asked to monitor the use of the Market Place on Friday evening/Saturday morning to ensure that there were no further acts of vandalism.
It was agreed to write to English Heritage to seek their suggestions on ways in which the landscaping of the Market Place could be softened whilst still staying within their guidelines. If this failed to elicit a satisfactory response, then English Heritage would be asked to send a representative to a future meeting of the Council.
- MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor reminded Councillors of the Remembrance Sunday Service and Parade and hoped there would be a good attendance. He also reminded the Council of the switching on of the Christmas lights on Friday 30th November. He reported that he had selected the Christmas tree for the Market Place and in addition had ordered 30 smaller Christmas trees to give to businesses which wished to decorate their premises. An order had been placed with Claytons for brackets to hold the trees. A modest charge would be levied for these.
- PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Councillor Joyce Sanders reported that the planning applications circulated at the last committee meeting and on 29th October contained no contentious issues. On the schedule tabled at this meeting, it was queried whether the application to convert the offices at 122 Bridge Street into six flats (application AVA/2001/1107) had made provision for car parking.
- JUSTICE'S AND ENTERTAINMENTS LICENCES
No comments were made on applications for Justices' Licences and the one for an Entertainments Licence on the schedule of 29th October.
- PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS
There were no comments on the Schedule of Payments and Receipts covering the period from 21st September to 29th October 2001.
The Town Clerk reported that the Borough Council had only sanctioned up to £450 for the black spot lighting scheme at Belper Community Hall. This was the amount originally requested but subsequently the estimated cost had been increased by £800 so the Borough Council had been asked for a further £800. This had not been approved because of the lack of funds. However, the Borough Council would consider the application retrospectively in the new financial year.
- ALLOWANCE FOR PARISH COUNCILLORS
The letter sent to the National Association of Local Councils by the Town Clerk following consultation with senior members was endorsed.
- DOUBLE TAXATION
Similarly, a letter sent by the Town Clerk to the Derbyshire Association of Local councils was also endorsed. It was regretted that the government had given such a short time for consultation as such an issue warranted greater consideration.
The letter raised the issue of the funding of Belper Leisure Centre and in particular the contribution made by the Borough Council. There appeared to be some difference of opinion over the Borough Council's contribution to Belper Leisure Centre compared with its contribution to the other three major leisure centres in Amber Valley. Councillor Ron Buzzard reported that the Leisure Centre Trust was having to modify its development proposals and go out to re-tender because none of the original tenders was acceptable. Because of the fluid situation, the Leisure Centre would be included as an Agenda item over the next few months.
- PARISH COUNCILLORS AND THE NEW ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
The Borough Council's initiative was welcomed and the Mayor, Councillor Randall Sanders, was nominated to serve on the Standards Committee. Because the Town Council had adopted a voluntary register of members' interests, it was already complying with the key items within the framework.
- THE BUTTS IMPROVEMENT SCHEME
The proposals submitted by the Borough Council were welcomed. However, it was regretted that because of the lack of finance it was not possible to improve the appearance of Sweetings Corner where concrete steps and rusty railings were not only an eyesore but also potentially dangerous. There was some parking of cars on the pavement on the corner of Lander Lane and the Butts and it was suggested that bollards should be provided to prevent this. This point would be raised with the Policy and Conservation Officer.
- PARISH LIAISON COMMITTEE
The Mayor, Councillor Randall Sanders was nominated to attend the meeting at Ripley Town Hall on 28th November. The Town Clerk had also been invited to the meeting.
- BELPER MILLS AND MILFORD MILL SITES – PROPOSED STUDY
Councillor Joyce Sanders outlined the reasons for the proposed study which had been necessitated because the hoped for grant from East Midlands Development Agency had not been sufficient to provide for the study. It was agreed to make a contribution of £1,000 to demonstrate the Council's commitment to the exercise.
- POTTERY PRIMARY SCHOOL
It was reported that the four year term of office of Mr John Cresswell was coming to a close. As he was willing to continue to serve as the Council's representative, it was agreed that his name should be put forward again, and that a letter should be sent to him thanking him for his service over the last four years.
- FOOTPATH LIGHTING
It was agreed to take on board the request for a light on the footpath from Bessalone Drive to Crich Lane. The County Council would be asked to carry out a survey and design an appropriate lighting scheme.
- BELPER TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB
The letter from John Harrington, a director of the Football Club, was noted. It was confirmed that the Council's grant to the Football Club was specifically for sports development. The Club itself had designed the football strip and made "BTC" prominent without any request from the Council to do so.
- CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
The schedule of correspondence received together with various items that had been received since the Agenda was circulated was noted.