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Open Session:
There were several members of the public present.
Present:
Cllr D E Cracknell (Town Mayor)
Cllr N J Chard (Deputy Mayor)
Cllr Mrs B A Charlton
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr M F J Daly
Cllr C Ford
Cllr N W Light
Cllr Mrs V A Sullivan
Cllr N Wood
In Attendance:
Terry Simpson, Town Clerk
Jo Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk
C/4420 Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr P Chambers, Cllr D R Cole, Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine, Cllr B H Terry and Cllr M H Thierry.
C/4421 Declarations of Interest
There were none.
C/4422 Presentation of Grant Aid Cheques
Cllr Cracknell reminded members that the former Mayor had introduced an arrangement that provided for grant recipients to attend Council meetings to collect their grant cheques. He said that he was happy for this arrangement to continue. However, where the amount of the grant is less than £300, he would in future be giving recipients the opportunity to receive their cheques either by post or by attending Full Council.
Cllr Chard presented a cheque for £1000 to Mrs Parry of the Ringwood & District Community Association towards the purchase of a new minibus.
Cllr Light presented a cheque for £100 to Mr Bradford of the Ringwood Disabled Sports Association towards the running costs of the Association.
Cllr Ford presented a cheque for £200 to Mrs Bettle on behalf of Avon Valley Concerts towards a series of 5 classical music concerts.
C/4423 Presentation Crime and Disorder Reduction and Community Safety
Cllr Goff Beck, Portfolio Holder for Crime and Disorder at New Forest District Council gave members a presentation on the role of the Community Safety Partnership, the Community Safety Strategy which had emerged as a result of a Crime Audit undertaken in 2004 and the duty of town and parish councils under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
He said that the Community Safety Partnership is working together to reduce crime and disorder, lessen the fear of crime, and improve community awareness of crime and disorder and the effects of anti-social behaviour. The six priorities identified in the Community Safety Strategy are as follows:
Substance influenced crime
Antisocial behaviour
Crime against people
Crime against property
Vehicle collisions
Community reassurance and communication
He talked about the role of Community Beat Officers which was to get to know the local community, monitor local trends, inform the Task Command Group process by providing and encouraging evidence and take action. He emphasised that it was essential for local people to report all crime to the Police, no matter how insignificant it may appear.
He also talked about PRIME, which is a multi-agency solution to local issues and gave the example of stones being thrown from the pedestrian bridge across the A31 as one that had been solved by establishing a PRIME. Through this group, it was suggested that perhaps children were kicking stones as they walked across the bridge and the issue has now been resolved by the addition of a metal barrier along the base of the railings to prevent stones falling onto the road below.
Finally, he informed members that, under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, all relevant authorities (which includes town and parish councils) have a duty to assess the impact of all their functions and decisions on crime and disorder in the local area.
The Mayor thanked Cllr Beck for his presentation.
C/4424 Minutes of Previous Meetings
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 25th May 2005, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.
C/4425 Mayor's Announcements
The Mayor made the following announcements:
1) He hoped that members were aware and pleased that the new Post Office would open in Martins Newsagents on 11th July 2005. The branch in Morrisons would close at 1pm on 6th July, so there would be a short break during which customers could use the Post Office in Tesco Express at Poulner.
2) Following representation made by the Council about the retention of Fordingbridge Hospital, the Chief Executive of the New Forest Primary Care Trust had written to confirm that no changes would be made without a formal consultation process.
C/4426 Questions of the Mayor
Cllr Mrs Sullivan asked if anything could be done about the graffiti on the walls of Carvers Industrial Estate buildings facing onto Carvers Recreation Ground.
Cllr Wood suggested getting the young people involved by asking them to design and paint the wall. It was agreed to contact the District Council with regard to removing the existing graffiti and to speak to Ringwood School to see if students would be interested in painting the wall.
Cllr Ford asked if the Festival programme was available for distribution. Cllr Cracknell replied that it had been printed and was being distributed throughout the town. He gave an update on events and encouraged everyone to get their tickets for individual events from the Town Council, as they were going fast. He was also pleased to report that agreement had been given in principle for the use of land at Nouale Lane for a battle re-enactment and living history camp during the 2006 Festival.
C/4427 Reports From County and District Councillors
County Councillor N Clarke submitted a report (Annex `A'), which was circulated to members.
New Forest District Councillors
Cllr Ford said that she would be speaking to the Conservation Team about the fascia of the new bookmakers at 12-14 High Street, as she did not believe that this was acceptable in a conservation area.
Cllr Treleaven reported on the following:
Final modifications to the Local Plan had now been agreed.
The District Council was proposing a grant of £720 to the Ringwood Disabled Sports Association.
A proposal would be considered by Cabinet to extend the housing assistance policy for home improvement grants to include private housing.
Together with the Chairmen of Sopley and Hurn Parish Councils, and with the support of County Cllr Clarke, he would be objecting to proposals by Dorset County Council to replace the existing single lane Avon Causeway bridge with a dual lane bridge and would be seeking a more modest alternative.
C/4428 Planning, Town & Environment Committee
Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 27th May and 24th June 2005. He reported that a meeting had now been arranged for 20th July 2005 to consider issues in the Market Place (P/4203 refers). The Town Clerk added that he was trying to get either the District or County Council legal department to give a
definitive answer as to how far the market is entitled to encroach into the carriageway.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 27th May and 24th June 2005, be approved and adopted.
C/4429 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee
Cllr Light presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st June 2005.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st June 2005, be approved and adopted.
C/4430 Policy & Finance Committee
In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th June 2005.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th June 2005, be approved and adopted.
Forthcoming Meetings
| July 2005 |
| Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces |
7.00pm |
Wednesday 6th July |
Planning, Town & Environment |
2.05 pm |
Wednesday 20th July
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| Policy & Finance |
7.00pm |
Friday 22nd July
|
Full Council |
7.00pm |
Wednesday 27th July |
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.04pm.
Annex `A'
Hampshire County Council June 2005:
Report by County Councillor Nigel Clarke
Introduction:
I have attended my first Environment Policy & Review Committee where the Local transport Plan 2006 2011 (See Item 33) was discussed. A more realistic & targeted document than its predecessor, which was very aspirational but did not meet some fine hopes e.g. use of buses, cycling etc.
I have also been appointed to: The Red House Museum Joint Management Committee (Hampshire, Dorset & Christchurch);
South West Hampshire Enterprise Agency I have no papers on this commitment; &, lastly as HCC representative to the Forest Forge Theatre Company Ltd.
Other matters:
Item 1 |
South East Plan.....including options for district housing figures. |
24 November 2005 |
Item 3 |
Hampshire Minerals & Waste Issues & Options |
25 July 2005 |
Item 30 |
Passenger Transport Strategy |
25 July 2005 |
Item 33 |
Local transport Plan 2006 2011 |
21 July 2005 |
Item 36 |
Hampshire District Community Strategies |
May 2005 onwards |
Item 37 |
Local Partnership Community Safety Strategies 2005 2008
- Endorsement |
June to July 2005 |
I have attended a number of briefings to explain to me the scope & functions of various parts of the County organisation; still a lot to learn.
More importantly, two briefings were attended on Monday, 13 June, at Lyndhurst (briefing by CE of the New Forest PCT) & on Thursday, 23 July at Winchester (briefing by Medical Director of the Regional Health Authority). The theme from both is that they both have significant financial problems & that efforts to make savings will have far reaching
consequences.
At the same time proposals for a major Estate Rationalisation of Hampshire's Ambulance Service are still to be debated & approved by the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
Lastly, acting with Chris Treleaven & Philip Emmel (Chairman, Sopley Parish Council), we are objecting to proposals by DCC to replace the existing single lane bridge at the Avon Causeway (C137) with a dual lane bridge of mediocre design.
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