BELPER TOWN COUNCIL

1/08 APPOINTMENT OF CLERK FOR THE MEETING
Mrs Elaine Hibbert was appointed Clerk for the meeting.

2/08 MINUTES OF THE 33rd ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF PARISH AND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL HELD 15 MAY 2007
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the 33rd Annual Assembly of the Parish of Belper held 15 May 2007 be accepted as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

3/08 ANNUAL REPORT 2007/2008
The Mayor, Councillor Jackie Cox introduced the Annual Report of the Town Council for the municipal year 2007/8. Councillor Cox said she was pleased that her year in office had seen the opening of new businesses in the town which was helping to make Belper a thriving place to live and work. She had very much enjoyed representing the town and meeting so many people at the various events she and her husband Alan had attended and was delighted that it had enabled her to raise funds of £576 for her appointed Charity, Belper Cottage Project. A cheque for this amount was then presented to the Vice Chairman of the Charity, Mrs Brenda Rose.
Councillor Cox then thanked her fellow councillors and all the staff for all their hard work and support and made presentations of gifts to Alan, Elaine Hibbert (Clerk) and Rosemary Bridges (Mayor's Secretary).
Councillor Nelson as Leader of the Council then presented the rest of the Annual Report beginning by thanking Councillor Jackie Cox for her dedicated service as Mayor in the year.
He then gave details of the various ways in which the precept had been used to provide services to Belper residents. In addition to keeping the town clean and tidy and providing bus shelters and grit bins, the Council had grant funded various groups and organisations; provided outstanding floral displays and Christmas lights and maintained and improved public open spaces.
He highlighted the various events organised or funded by the Town Council, in particular the very popular monthly Farmers' Market, the Larks in the Parks and the Food Festival in July which had been so successful that it was likely to become an annual event.
Councillor Nelson thanked Police Inspector Graham Lamin for the very efficient police service in the town and for introducing the Safer Neighbourhood teams which aim to empower local people to have a greater say in how their community is policed. Councillor Nelson ended by thanking the many local groups who worked hard within the community and also thanked his fellow Councillors and Staff.
Councillor Alan Cox as Chairman of the Finance Working Party then presented the figures as detailed in the Income and Expenditure Summary for the Year to 31 March 2008.
It was RESOLVED to note the Annual Report for 2007/8.

4/08 BUDGET AND COUNCIL TAX PRECEPT FOR 2008/2009
RESOLVED to note the Budget and Council Tax Precept of £230,000 for 2008/2009.

5/08 MAURICE HEELY AWARD
The shield, certificate and cheque for £400 for services to the young people of Belper was presented by the Mayor, Councillor Jackie Cox, to the Belper Army Cadets, congratulating them on the excellent contribution they made within the community.

6/08 TOWN SERVICE AWARDS
Three framed certificates were awarded in appreciation of outstanding services provided to the Belper community as follows:
Mr Roy Pooley - Chairman of Belper Community Hall. Nominated by Councillor Jackie Cox for the past thirteen years of unfailing commitment to the management of the Hall.
Mrs Margaret Parkin. Nominated by Councillor Mick Nelson for charitable work and dedication to raising funds of £15000 for Cancer Research.
Friends of Belper Parks. Nominated by Councillor John Nelson in recognition of their excellent efforts to improve the Parks environment and also for carrying out an archaeological survey of the area.

7/08 OTHER PARISH MATTERS
No matters were raised under this heading.

1074. ELECTION OF TOWN MAYOR
      Councillor Martin Tomlinson was nominated and duly elected as Town Mayor for the municipal year 2008/9. He said he was pleased to be given the opportunity to serve the town in this way and signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
1075. ELECTION OF DEPUTY TOWN MAYOR
      Councillor Norman Bull was nominated and duly elected as Deputy Mayor for the municipal year 2008/9. He thanked his fellow Councillors for his nomination and signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
1076. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
      Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Peter Arnold (AVBC Mayoral duty) and Mick Potter (Holiday).
1077. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
      There were no declarations of interest.
1078. CHANGE IN THE ORDER OF BUSINESS
      There was no change in the order of business.
1079. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
      Borough Councillor, Peter Makin expressed his concern that no notification had been given by either Central Networks or the County Council in respect of the major roadworks in the town. He also raised concerns that the County Council did not now appear to have funds allocated for the proposed new public Library.
      County Councillor, Chris Jackson advised that he continued to attempt to resolve the various traffic issues in the town with officers of the County Council.
      Councillor John Nelson proposed a vote of thanks to Councillor Jackson as the only County Councillor in regular attendance at Town Council meetings and for his determined efforts in attempting to resolve relevant issues with the County Council.
1080. POLICE
      Inspector Graham Lamin advised that vigilant policing had brought about an improvement in crime detection rates across all the major categories. Re the proposed restructuring, he confirmed that although it was unlikely that Belper would continue to have its own Inspector, it was not anticipated that the Police station would close and there would be no reduction in the Police service provided to the public.
      Instances of vandalism, particularly in the River Gardens, were reported to Inspector Lamin for action.
1081. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF BELPER TOWN COUNCIL HELD 15 MAY 2007
      These minutes, approved in June 2007, were confirmed as correct.
1082. MAYOR'S ALLOWANCE 2008/2009
      RESOLVED to agree the Mayor's allowance of £2000 for the year 2008/2009 which amount had been provided for in the budget.
1083. MEMBERSHIP OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES 2008/2009
      RESOLVED to agree the list of Membership of Council Committees for the year 2008/2009.
1084. MEMBERSHIP OF OUTSIDE BODIES 2008/2009
      RESOLVED to agree the list of Membership of Council Representatives on Outside Bodies for the year 2008/2009.
1085. STANDING ORDERS
      RESOLVED to note the amended Standing Orders and recommend they be considered and adopted at the next Ordinary Meeting on 10 June 2008.
1086. DATES OF COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2008/2000
      RESOLVED to accept the proposed schedule of dates for Council Meetings during the year 2008/2009 with one amendment to change the October date to 14 October 2008.