BELPER TOWN COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 13th DECEMBER 2011

PRESENT:
Councillor Alan Cox (Mayor) - in the Chair
Councillors: Jim Anderson, Peter Arnold, Simon Black, Deborah Biss, Alan Broughton, Joseph Booth, Kay Charlton, David Fisher, Stephen Holden, Eric Johnsen, Mark Robertson, Peter Shepherd, Martin Tomlinson.
In Attendance: Mrs Rosalind Bullimore (Clerk), Belper Express (Press) County Councillor Peter Makin, Sgt. Richard Booth and four members of the public.

2089. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
      Apologies for absence were received from Jackie Cox (Illness) and John Nelson (Licensing Meeting)
2090. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
      Councillors Deborah Biss, David Fisher and Eric Johnsen declared a prejudicial interest in item 13 Friends of Belper parks grant application and left the room whilst the item was discussed. Councillors Deborah Biss and Eric Johnsen declared a prejudicial interest in item 20 Milford Christmas lights and left the room whilst the item was discussed.
2091. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
      1. Members of the Public
         Mr Davis asked for information regarding the removal of a poster attached to the railings at the Memorial Gardens. When he started asking questions of a personal nature the Mayor asked him to be quiet. When Mr Davis continued to disrupt the meeting he was asked to leave the meeting by the Mayor when he refused the Mayor adjourned the meeting and the Mayor left the meeting room along with several members of the Council. Mr Davis agreed to leave the meeting when Sgt Booth asked him to leave. The meeting was reconvened 7.06pm.
      2. County Councillors
         Councillor Peter Makin thanked the Council for their participation the Christ Church Christmas Tree Festival. He told the Council there had been a road accident at the top of New Road and informed them that the damaged railings had been temporarily repaired.
      3. Police
         The Safer Neighbourhood Team handed out crime prevention information at the Christmas Food Festival. There is a shop lifting patrol team in Belper over the seasonal period one offender has been charged and has been imprisoned. Shed and vehicle break ins are still a problem the police are working on intelligence to catch the perpetrators and are continuing to raise public awareness.
2092. ORDER OF BUSINESS
      RESOLVED to agree to follow the order of business as set out on the agenda.
2093. TO DETERMINE WHETHER ANY ITEMS SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH THE PUBLIC EXCLUDED
      In accordance with Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, in view of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted, it was RESOLVED There were no items of a confidential nature which merited being taken with the public excluded.
2094. MINUTES OF A MEETING OF BELPER TOWN COUNCIL HELD 8 NOVEMBER 2011
      RESOLVED to agree as a true record Minutes 2066 - 2088 of the Council Meeting held 8 November 2011.
2095. MINUTES OF A QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD 21 NOVEMBER 2011
      RESOLVED to note the Minutes 14 - 22 of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee committee meeting held 21 November 2011.
2096. MINUTES OF A CAR PARK COMMITTEE MEETING HELD 29 NOVEMBER 2011
      RESOLVED to note Minutes 8 - 12 of the Car Park committee meeting held 29 November 2011 and to adopt their recommendations to install 3 planters and 6 speed ramps in the front section of Coppice car park. The project will be managed by Belper Town Council and financed by Derbyshire Constabulary, Amber Valley CSP and Belper Town Council.
2097. MINUTES OF A BELPER TOWN COUNCIL YOUTH FORUM MEETING HELD 2 DECEMBER 2011
      RESOLVED to note Minutes 1 - 5 of the belper Town Council Youth Forum meeting held 2 December 2011.
2098. MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
      Forthcoming events/Notices etc.
      • Thanked the Clerk for arranging a Christmas Tree for the Town Council to be part of the Christ Church Christmas Tree Festival.
      • The Remembrance Services were well attended by councillors.
      • The Christmas Switch On and the Christmas Food Festival were a success.
      • The Mayor has played the part of Santa for the Ladybirds Pre School at Pottery School.
      • There is a Concert in Aid of the Cottage Project and Strutt Community Centre on Saturday 17 December at St Peters Church.
      • The local MP, Borough Mayor and the Town Mayor are to attend a 50 Plus Forum meeting 16 December.
      • The Christmas Eve Carol Service will be led by father Michael Kirkham and other denominations will join in with some of the readings.
2099. FINANCE
      RESOLVED:
      To note and agree income and expenditure incurred in the months of October and November covering transactions of 6936 - 7080. Schedules are attached to these Minutes showing Income of £5,746.02 and Expenditure of £25,074.28.
2100. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
      1. RESOLVED to note the planning applications listed on the schedules dated 19 November 2011 - 13 December 2011
      2. RESOLVED to note the planning decisions listed on schedules dated 19 November 2011 - 13 December 2011.
2101. GRANT APPLICATIONS
      Councillors Biss, Fisher and Johnson left the room whilst this item was discussed.
      324 - Friends of Belper Parks
      RESOLVED to grant £1,092 to Friends of Belper River Gardens to purchase an interpretation board for the wildflower bed in the Coppice car park.
2102. OUTSIDE BODIES
      1. Supplementary Development Plan Councillor Anderson informed the Council that a team of external planners have been appointed by the Borough Council to help draw up the Supplementary Planning Document which, alongside existing planning policies, would form the basis for future planning decisions about the area, which is the home of the former Thornton's site and other vacant buildings. Members were asked to contact their constituents to ask them to register what they would like to see happen to the site.
      2. Belper North Mill Museum Trust Councillor Arnold reported that the Discovery Days were extremely successful however due to the bad weather conditions the Victorian Christmas did not seem as popular.
2103. COMPLAINTS SUB-COMMITTEE
      RESOLVED to approve the procedure for appointing a complaints sub committee, the Mayor, Leader and Deputy Mayor plus two members selected by the Clerk for their knowledge of the subject of complaint to form a committee for any adhoc meeting required.
2104. BRITAIN IN BLOOM
      RESOLVED to approve the cost of travel expenses and overnight accommodation for the Clerk and Councillor Nelson to attend the Britain in Bloom seminar.
2105. GRIT BIN REQUEST
      The Council considered a request for a grit bin to be installed at The Spinney RESOLVED agree to the installation of a grit bin providing that the householder agrees for the bin to be installed in front of their property and the residents either side agree.
2106. BELPER FARMER'S MARKET
      The Council considered the waiting list and the current traders on the Belper Farmers Market RESOLVED If there are enough traders interested Clerk to organise an additional Monthly Market. The additional Monthly Market to be held on the fourth Saturday in the month and to allow traders who do not meet the Farmers Market criteria including businesses from the town to trade at the market.
2107. GURKHA CAMPAIGN FOR PENSION PARITY
      RESOLVED to note members are invited to sign the e-petition to support the Gurkha campaign for pension parity.
2108. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
      Councillors Biss and Johnson left the room whilst this item was discussed.
      The Council considered a request from the Milford and Makeney Group for the Christmas Lights to be switched off overnight. RESOLVED the inconvenience that may be caused to the local resident who provides the electricity supply for the lights outways the cost of leaving the lights switched on during the night. Lights to remain lit for the remainder of the Christmas period and checked for any faults when they have been taken down.
2109. PROCTORS SPRING FUN FAIR
      The Council considered a request from Proctors Fun Fair Ltd for permission to hold a Fun Fair on a section of the Coppice car park for 3 nights in March or April. 2012. For the purpose of building and dismantling of the equipment a section of the car park will need to be closed from Sunday to Sunday. RESOLVED to grant permission for a Fun Fair to be held on the Coppice car park for 3 nights in March or April. 2012 on the same terms as 2010. There will be no rent charged provided that all the rides are charged at the reduced rate of £1.
2110. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
      RESOLVED To note the items for information included in the agenda and the schedule attached to these minutes.