BELPER TOWN COUNCIL

The meeting commenced with prayers led by the Mayor.

181. APOLOGIES
     Apologies were received from Councillors Les Dorey, John Nelson, Mark Robertson and Martin Tomlinson.
182. CHANGE IN ORDER OF BUSINESS
     The Recreation and Development Committee Minutes of 13th January 2004, Planning Schedule and a letter from Amber Valley Borough Council regarding Tree Preservation Orders were tabled. As three members of Belper Improvement Group were present at the request of the Mayor to discuss Santa Aid, item 12 would be taken immediately Police Matters (item 4).
183. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
     Councillor Mick Nelson declared an interest in item 14 (Planning Applications) in respect of application AVA/2004/0034.
184. POLICE MATTERS
     Inspector Hicklin spoke to the report circulated identifying the four main categories of crime and commented upon the actual numbers as against those targetted. He hoped to achieve the target figures at the end of the financial year. Discussion took place on the low levels of detection which were running at less than 20%. It was considered this led to people not bothering reporting crimes and a lessening in the public confidence in the police in general.
     The report by the Derbyshire Constabulary on the Parish Councils Evening which dealt with the performance of the police, call handling, the drug market mapping project and specific points raised during question time, was noted.
     The draft "Lap dancing policy" and conditions formulated by the Borough Council was considered and it was decided to let members forward their individual comments to the Borough Council.
185. SANTA AID
     The Mayor outlined the history of Santa Aid and the circumstances that led to the increased involvement by Council this Christmas. He thanked Mrs Janet Davis, Mrs Ellen Wheeldon and Mr Brian Rudkin who were present on behalf of Belper Improvement Group for their major contribution in making the project such a great success. They in turn thanked the Council for its contribution, particularly the use of the Heritage Centre for the eight years that Santa Aid had been in existence. As the Christmas Working Party would be meeting on 27th January to discuss the range of Christmas activities in which the Council is involved and it was hoped that Mr Peter Davies would be present, they too were asked to come to the meeting.
     The Mayor also thanked the congregation at Christchurch who had made a collection towards the expenses of organising Santa Aid and there was a substantial amount of money left. He asked that this be put in the Council's keeping and at Mrs Janet Davis' suggestion, should be used to purchase Easter eggs for those children living in Belper who had benefited from Santa Aid. The Mayor would, in the first instance, approach Thorntons to see whether they would either give or supply at cost the requisite number of Easter Eggs.
186. HEATH IN THE COMMUNITIES PROJECT
     Mary Hague, the Healthier Communities Project Manager, outlined the work of the project which was funded by the Amber Valley Partnership and the New Opportunities Fund. In all, they had funds available of some £2 million to cover their five core areas over the five year life of the project. A presentation explaining the aims of the project were to tackle health inequality and to promote health and well-being in a holistic way along with improving the quality of life for all the people of Amber Valley, but particularly those communities in need.
     Following the question and answer session the Mayor thanked the Project Manager for their excellent and illuminating presentation.
187. IN CAMERA
     There were no matters other than Minutes 178-180 from the last meeting which warranted taking in Camera.
188. MINUTES 147-177 OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL HELD 9TH DECEMBER 2003
     Minutes 147-177 of the Meeting of the Council held 9th December 2003 were received and adopted.
189. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL HELD 9TH DECEMBER 2003
     Minute 160 - Tree Work in Conservation Area
     The letter from the Borough Council had been circulated , which made little change to the present arrangement, was noted.
190. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE RECREATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE HELD 13TH JANUARY 2004
     The Minutes of the Recreation and Development Committee meeting held 13th January 2004 were received and noted.
     Reference was made to the Committee's recommendation that the Council should not pay a grant to Music & Arts for the current financial year. Because the Group had entered into commitments which could possibly exceed their cash at bank it was decided to ask them for their accounts for the preceding year and an income and expenditure statement for the current year up to the present together with a copy of their latest bank statement, details of their commitments in date order and any income likely to arise from these commitments by next Wednesday.
     The Finance Working Party was delegated to take a decision based on the information provided by the Group as to whether any or no grant should be payable.
     Consequent on this decision, the Working Party would also be delegated to decide the level of grant to be paid to the organising committee of the Wakes weekend.
191. MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
     The Mayor reported on his crowded itinerary over the Christmas period which started with a concert by the Dalesmen Choir on 12th December, the arrival of Santa Claus at the River Gardens the following day and Park Residents Christmas Party that evening and the Council's Fun and Shopping Day the day after.
     He then went on to describe the successful Christmas Eve Carol Service in the Market Place and his visits on Christmas Day to the Ada Belfield Home and Osmaston Grange.
     On behalf of the Council, he thanked all those involved in organising such a successful series of events.
192. MARKET TOWNS HERITAGE INITIATIVE
     Rather than reporting on their visit to Lutterworth verbally, the Mayor and Councillor Mick Nelson said they would be presenting a written report to the next meeting of Council.
193. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
     The only item raised on the three schedules presented to Council regarded application AVA/2004/0013 where the concerns of the Council about the loss of part of a natural dry stone wall and a tree were to be raised with the Borough Council. The loss of the wall was to be deplored as it made a valuable contribution to the street scene and reminded the community of the traditional crafts which are part of our heritage.
194. JUSTICE'S AND ENTERTAINMENT LICENCES
     The two applications for entertainment licences, Belper Leisure Centre and the Central Methodist Church would be returned to the Borough Council without comment.
195. PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS
     The schedule of payments and receipts covering the period 17th November 2003 to 8th January 2004 were received and approved. The schedule is attached to these minutes and shows net expenditure of £24765.45 and net income of £9261.69.
196. PROPOSED CLOSURE OF BRANCH POST OFFICES
     The response by the Post Office to the Town Clerk's letter did not address the points raised. The writer made no reference to the Council's invitation to attend the Council meeting, did not say why the Council had not been consulted in the first place and made no comment on the deterioration of the service to the public both in those areas where branch post offices were scheduled to close nor the remaining one were queuing would be an even greater problem than at present. The Town Clerk was requested to write in the strongest terms to the head of the national consultation team expressing Council's dissatisfaction with the cavalier approach of the Post Office to their reduction in service.
197. COMMUNITY GARDEN ORCHARD
     The letter from Groundwork Erewash was welcomed and it was suggested that they could be involved both in a scheme at the Memorial Gardens and possibly Hunter Road allotments if land was available.
198. FREE TREE SCHEME
     The contents of the letter from Amber Valley Borough Council was noted.
199. FUTURE MEETINGS
     It was confirmed that the Christmas Working Party would meeting at 10am on Tuesday 27th January 2004.
200. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
     The schedule of correspondence received was noted.