BELPER TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 5th NOVEMBER 2002
PRESENT: Councillor Ron Buzzard (Town Mayor) - in the Chair
Councillors: Tim Benson, Alan Broughton, Alan Cox, Ron Day, Peter Leahy, John Nelson, Joyce Sanders and Randall Sanders
The meeting commenced with a prayer by Canon Robert Parsons.
- APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Robert Hallsworth, Ben Miller and Richard Watson
As Councillor Ben Miller was on active service, Council agreed his absence should be approved under S.85 of the 1972 Local Government Act.
- CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
An additional item concerning the junction of Kilbourn Road with Sandbed Lane and Over Lane at Openwoodgate would be taken with item 21.
- DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
- PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
- IN CAMERA
It was agreed that items 26 and 27 did not warrant being taken in camera, and there were no other matters that needed to be so taken.
- MINUTES COUNCIL MEETING HELD 1ST OCTOBER 2002
The minutes of the Council Meeting held on 1st October 2002 were received and approved.
- MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES
100 - Police Report
Councillor Alan Cox said that he had met the Chief Constable and spoken to him about the Town Council's concern aboout the proposal to base the Beat Team in Babington Hospital rather than in the Police Station.
The proposal to introduce an alcoholic drinks ban for Belper was currently being considered by the legal staff of the Borough Council.
It was reported that letters had been received from the Police stating that despite their enquiries they had not been able to trace the people who had vandalised the planter at the bottom of King Street and the brick paved area in the Memorial Gardens.
It was agreed that at the next meeting Inspector Hicklin would be asked to comment on the Police's attitude towards parking transgressions. There appeared to be an increasing amount of parking on double yellow lines, close to pedestrian crossings and in disabled parking bays. At the same time the subject of controlling the parking in the Market Place could also be considered.
101 - Coppice Brook
Councillor Ron Day reported that there had been a good attendance at the public exhibition and a number of people went on the guided walk.
105-67 - Safeway Traffic Island
Councillor Joyce Sanders reported how effective the floodlighting of the flying geese had been. As the County Council lighting section were unable to carry out the work themselves, they had suggested three firms who were capable of undertaking the work. Tenders had been invited and two firms had responded. The lower tender was for £2,300.
It was pointed out that planning permission may be needed and that the Highways Authority's formal permission would also be necessary. Councillor John Nelson suggested that local firms should be invited to tender. The Town Clerk would ensure the appropriate permissions were obtained and seek advice on whether local contractors should be invited to tender. If he was advised that they could be invited to tender he should take the necessary action to include them in the tendering process. If advised to the contrary then the contract would be awarded to the lower tenderer.
106 - Christmas Activities
It was agreed that Somerfields should be approached to see whether they could brighten up their frontage by decorating their windows for the festive season.
112 - Railway Station
No response had been received from the successor body to Railtrack about the frequency of cleaning of the Railway Station and the possibility of training the Council's staff in trackside safety.
- MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE HELD 15TH OCTOBER 2002
The Minutes of the Recreation and Development Committee meeting held on 15th October 2002 were received and noted.
An approach had been received by the Council for it to take the lead and set up a Working Party to progress the North Mill Volunteers Association's suggestion for the erection of a memorial to Jedediah Strutt. As the initiative had come from the Volunteers they should be encouraged to progress the idea in deciding what form the memorial should take and where it should be located. However the Council was supportive of the concept and debated the relative merits of various sites. One suggestion was that a statue could form the focal point of the "Lost Garden" project and the costs of the memorial could be included as part of the bid.
- MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor reminded members of the Remembrance Sunday service and parade.
An e-mail had been received from the Mayor of Bailesti in Romania seeking to set up a twinning agreement with Belper. Because of the Council's commitments in America and Poland, it was agreed to reply to the Mayor of Bailesti that the Council would be unwilling to participate in such an arrangement.
- PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Because Councillor Hallsworth lived at some distance from Belper, it was agreed that the role he shared with Councillor Joyce Sanders should now be undertaken by the latter alone. Councillor Joyce Sanders reported that there was little of consequence on the current applications.
The Borough Council's Planning Board was meeting on 11th November to inspect the site of an application for a horse drawn vehicle store/horse shelter on land off Morrells Lane, Milford. A representative was invited to attend from the Town Council. The recommendation to the Planning Board was that the application should be turned down; as the Town Council endorsed this view, it was agreed to inform the Borough Council thereof and there would be no need to attend the site meeting.
- JUSTICES AND ENTERTAINMENT LICENCES
No comments were made on the various applications set out in the schedules that were under consideration.
- PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS
The schedule of payments and receipts from 24th September to 24th October 2002 was received and approved. The schedule is attached to these minutes and shows expenditure of £45,867.49 and income of £115,301.39
- BELPER LEISURE CENTRE
The Mayor reported that the pool had been closed and drained for fourteen days to allow necessary work to be undertaken to the plant room. Although the completion date had slipped a little, some of the time had been recovered during the last three weeks.
- ECONOMIC STRATEGY FOR THE EAST MIDLANDS
The Town Clerk introduced the Consultation Document that had been received from the East Midlands Development Agency. He had discussed the proposals contained therein with senior officers at the Borough Council and together they had concluded that the Consultation Document should in general be supported. However it should be made known to EMDA that it did not include any reference to the role of Parish and Town Councils and lacked any detail on the resources needed and where these should come from.
There was a general discussion on the role of EMDA and its relationship with local authorities in general and those in Derbyshire in particular.
- LOCAL PLAN REVIEW - REVISED DEPOSIT PLAN
There were two areas of concern to the Town Council. The first was the continuation of the designation of Bullsmoor Road for industrial usage rather than housing and the second related to the proposals for Cinderhill where it was considered there should be less emphasis on housing and more on job creation in the area proposed for mixed development. At the initial consultation on the local plan, the Council had advised that Bullsmoor Road should be reserved for housing and it was regretted that this had not been taken into account. Councillor Alan Cox suggested that there would be a stronger case for the redesignation of Bullsmoor Road if the Council proposed an alternative site for industrial development.
Councillor Tim Benson said that there was no designated site for a hotel. He considered that if one was identified it would demonstrate to potential developers the intent of both Councils to embrace the development of tourism in the area.
The announcement of the closure of the Jaeger factory sparked a debate on attracting industry to Belper. Whilst some members wished to attract major employers, others considered this aim to be unrealistic and that Belper should concentrate on attracting small and young industries.
- DERWENT VALLEY RURAL TRANSPORT PARTNERSHIP
The draft action plan's key themes were agreed. Councillor Joyce Sanders said that there would probably be two partnerships - one for the north Derwent Valley and the second for the south which would include Belper.
- DERWENT VALLEY MILLS INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION STUDY
Councillor Randall Sanders agreed to be the Council's representative at the Workshop which was to be held on 20th November 2002 at Cromford Mill.
- MILFORD FOUNDRY REGENERATION SCHEME
The Mayor ruled that there should be no discussion on proposals for the site until after the meeting with Tapton Estates.
In response to criticism from Councillor John Nelson about the format of the meeting with Tapton Estates on 14th November, Councillor Tim Benson explained why it had been decided that there should be two meetings rather than one.
- USE OF LOGO
The action suggested in the last two paragraphs of the letter from NALC'S solicitor would serve as a basis for the Council's policy on the use of the logo. Councillor Peter Leahy said that he knew the person who won the competition to design the logo and would give the name and address to the Town Clerk who would then seek to ensure the copyright vested in the Council.
- ENVIRONMENT AGENCY COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS FUND
The initial approach of the Environment Agency should be explored and, in particular, it should be determined whether the footpath over the bridge nearest the river was on the definitive map, and whether the ownership of the bridge vested with Fuchs. Also the financial consequences for the Council should be explored. When this was done, the Town Clerk would report back.
- FOOTPATH TOP OF KING STREET
The response of the County Council was noted.
- PROPOSED JUNCTION IMPROVEMENTS - OPENWOODGATE
The proposals were endorsed although some members questioned whether the scheme should take priority over others that had been raised with the County Council.
- CESSATION OF SUNDAY CHEMISTS' SERVICE
When the Primary Care Trust was established and the Chief Executive had addressed the Council, she emphasised the importance of services being kept at a local level. Although the number of prescriptions issued on Sundays was small, the availability of a chemist for other medicines was much appreciated. In emergencies where prescriptions were necessary people would have to go to Derby to obtain them on a Sunday. This was a deterioration in the local service and would be raised with the Primary Care Trust.
- STREET WARDEN SCHEME
Councillor Randall Sanders reported on the management of the scheme and the proposals to develop the service with additional resources being made available.
- FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
Under the Act local councils were obliged to produce and maintain a publication scheme. The scheme basically classifies the types of information which a Council should make available to members of the public. The object of the scheme is to encourage local councils to publish more information proactively and to develop a greater culture of openness. The Information Commissioner had issued some guidance on the methodology to be used and a model scheme had been prepared in conjunction with NALC. However, though this model scheme had been approved in August, it had still to be issued to Parish and Town Councils. The Act stated that Councils must submit their schemes for approval between 1st October 2002 and 31st December 2002. Despite pressure from NALC, DALC and many Councils, the guidance pack was still awaited. The Town Clerk had spoken to the Information Commissioner's Office on several occasions and had requested an extension to the time limit but they were not prepared to accede to this. Accordingly, he was asked to send a further letter to the Information Commissioner pointing out the absurd situation that existed. He hoped it would be possible to submit a suitable scheme to the December Council meeting.
- CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
The schedule of correspondence received together with the supplementary schedule was noted.