BELPER TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 14th JANUARY 2003
PRESENT: Councillor Richard Watson (in the Chair)
Councillors: Tim Benson, Ron Buzzard, Ron Day and Randall Sanders.
- APOLOGIES:
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ben Miller and John Nelson.
- CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
As Amber Valley Borough Council's Sports Development Officer would be attending the meeting, it was agreed to bring item 13 forward and take it after item 8. Similarly, as Chris Preston from the Folk Club was also present, item 12 would be brought forward to be taken immediately after the Sports Leadership Scheme item.
An application for grant from the Belper Art Group was circulated. This would be considered at the same time as the other grant applications.
- DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
The Chair declared an interest in the Belper Folk Club item as he was a director of a possible venue for the Folk Club.
- BELPER MARLIN SWIMMING CLUB
Mr Kevin Hallsworth and Mr Mick Howard outlined the problems facing the Belper Marlin Swimming Club and their plans for the future of the Club. At present, they only had seven hours water time for the Club per week of which four hours only were devoted to senior swimmers. To reach national standards, it was estimated that swimmers needed at least twelve and up to twenty hours of practice time per week. The Club's representatives considered that there was potential for a significant increase in Club membership if more water time was available.
It was agreed that Councillor Ron Buzzard should, as Chair of the Belper Leisure Centre Trust, arrange a meeting with the Club and Manager of the Leisure Centre to see if more time could be given to the Swimming Club. Rather than having exclusive use at all times there was possibly scope for sharing the pool with other users by roping off two lanes. The Committee confirmed their commitment to the Club and said the Council would be prepared to fund some additional use of the swimming pool. As one of the trustees of the Leisure Centre, the Council was allotted free use of the facilities for three days per year. The possibility of using some of this time for the Swimming Club could also be explored.
- MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 15th OCTOBER 2002.
The minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2002 were received and approved.
- MATTERS ARISING
Referring to Minute 15 (the Strutt Family Memorial), the Town Clerk reported that there had been several meetings with the Belper North Mill Volunteers Association and the position was that the volunteers were taking the lead on both the provision of a memorial within the Mill to William Strutt to mark the bicentenary of the Mill in 2004 and a memorial to Jedediah Strutt, possibly in or close to the Lost Garden.
- SPORTS LEADERSHIP SCHEME
Chris Pienaar, the Borough Council's Sports Development Officer, outlined his proposals for the Outreach scheme for the summer which would be led by Alfie Smith, who was also in attendance. The programme set out in the service agreement was endorsed. However, a debate ensued on the practicality of the proposed two hour Nightreach sessions. These were planned to be held at the Bargate Road multi-purpose play area where the lights had been vandalised and were out of commission and much of the fencing was in a dilapidated condition. A member if the public, Mr David Curtis, said that the facility was still well used although one of the two courts had been taken over by ramps for skateboarders and BMX riders.
Council at its meeting next week would be considering the future of this site and its possible relocation elsewhere on the Parks Estate. However, if the relocation was not to take place in the immediate future, there was a case for repairing the fencing and possibly providing new lights.
Following the success of the Wakes Day last year, the Cricket Club had intimated that they would be willing to participate in a similar day this year. Chris Pienaar confirmed that he and his staff would take on board a similar role to that they had performed last year. It was suggested that Whit Monday would be a suitable date.
- BELPER FOLK CLUB
Christ Preston stated that the Folk Club had now left the Kestrel and were endeavouring to return to the Old Kings Head. The Committee confirmed their commitment to the Folk Club and were fully supportive of their efforts to return to a venue in Belper. A letter would be sent to this effect to the Folk Club asking how the Council could provide specific support to them.
- GRANT APPLICATIONS
- Milford and Makeney Well Dressing Group
Councillor Tim Benson explained that the Well Dressing Group had taken over the role of Maypole Productions. It was agreed to make a grant of £500 as requested by the Group.
- Derbyshire Coalition for Inclusive Living
Because of the valuable work carried out by the Coalition, it was agreed to make a donation to them of £100.
- The East Derbyshire Domestic Violence Forum
It was agreed to make a grant of £50 to the Forum as requested in their letter.
- Belper Art Group
It was agreed to make a grant of £170 to the Art Group to enable them to run the annual Pro Loco competition.
- BELPER MUSIC AND ARTS
The Chair said that Belper Music and Arts were experiencing difficulties in performing their role because of the lack of members with sufficient time to fill the gap left by John Harrington. He said that a report on the Group's financial situation would be submitted to the Committee's next meeting.
- CHAIRMAN'S ITEMS
- Composting
The Chair said that he would be keen to develop a composting scheme for Belper and would endeavour to arrange a visit to a successful scheme being run elsewhere. He believed that a scheme could be set up in Belper which would, because of the government grants available, have no impact on the Council's finances.
- Street Music Festival
The Chair said that the annual Street Music Festival which was a national event would be held in Belper on the weekend of 16th - 18th May. Last year it had been held in Hebden Bridge and in 2004 it would be held in Leeds. Some 500 to 1,000 performers and participants were expected for the event. The Festival would include a series of workshops to be held at various venues in Belper including the Chapel, a concert in the Leisure Centre and a mass choir in the Memorial Gardens. It was made clear that the Council's only involvement would be in sending out letters in respect of the proposed Festival Market and permission to use the Memorial Gardens.
As the Festival was the same weekend as the Carnival, there would have to be close collaboration between the organisers of the two events to ensure they complement each other rather than clash.
- Hosiery Week
As part of Heritage Week events were being held throughout the East Midlands between the 9th and 17th May. In Belper the Historical Society were organising an exhibition in conjunction with the North Mill Trust and the owner of Slenderella which was the successor company of Brettles.