There were several members of the public present (see attached notes).

Present:

Cllr D E Cracknell (Town Mayor)
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr Mrs B A Charlton
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D R Cole
Cllr M F Daly
Cllr C Ford
Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine
Cllr Mrs V A Sullivan
Cllr B H Terry
Cllr M H Thierry

In Attendance:

Terry Simpson, Town Clerk
Jo Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk

C/4531 Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr N W Light and Cllr N Wood.

C/4532 Declarations of Interest

There were none.

C/4533 Presentation of Grant Aid Cheques

Cllr Terry presented a cheque for £300 to Mr & Mrs Critchlow who run the Friday Night Drop-In at Belindas. Mrs Critchlow thanked the Council for its support and said that the grant would be a huge help and would cover the insurance for the next two years, thereby ensuring the continuation of the service.

The Mayor presented a cheque for £300 to a representative of Ringwood & Burley Band. It was noted that the grant would go a long way to helping the young people in the Band and it was hoped that more young people would be encouraged to join.

C/4534 Minutes of Previous Meetings

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 29th March 2006, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4535 Communications of the Mayor

The Mayor reported that he had recently visited Sandringham House, the Royal residence in Norfolk, and was delighted to see the Ringwood Silver Jubilee Plate on display.

C/4536 Questions of the Mayor

There were none.

C/4537 Reports from County and District Councillors

County Cllr N Clarke presented his written report (Annex ‘A’).

District Cllr J Heron reported that the District Council was in the process of carrying out a review of Employment Land, as part of the Local Development Framework, and this was now out for consultation with stakeholders. Full public consultation would begin in July.

District Cllr L C Ford reported that the CCTV report for March 2006 made for very interesting reading. She said there had been 23 occurrences in Ringwood during this period.

C/4538 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 31st March 2006.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 31st March 2006 be approved and adopted.

C/4539 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Daly presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 5th April 2006.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 5th April 2006 be approved and adopted.

C/4540 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Chambers presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 19th April 2006.

F/3923(ii): The Town Clerk reported that there were still three spaces available for members to attend the presentation on the Town Centres Strategy Study. He asked anyone interested to contact the Deputy Town Clerk.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 19th April 2006 be approved and adopted.

C/4541 Forthcoming Meetings

C/4542 Exclusion of Public and Press

RESOLVED: That under section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information. (Annex ‘B’).

C/4543 Mount Pleasant Lane

Members discussed correspondence that had been received from Mr Len Doyle of 9 Mount Pleasant Lane regarding the Council’s right of access over the lane.

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk meet with Mr Doyle to discuss the Council’s right of access over Mount Pleasant Lane.

The Town Mayor closed the meeting at 7.50pm.

Open Session

Two students from Ringwood School, Corrina Groves (also a member of the UK Youth Parliament) and Danielle Dix, spoke to members about what the young people would like to see in the town.  They highlighted the following points:

1. Cinema – many young people realised that it would not be viable to have a cinema in the town and felt that, even if there was one, it would be underused as they would prefer to travel to Bournemouth or Poole.
2. Transport – it was felt the bus links needed to be dramatically improved to enable young people to get to facilities that were not provided in the town, such as the cinema and shops.  The buses to Bournemouth were not regular enough and the last bus back was at 11pm.  Bus tickets also needed to be affordable.  It was suggested that the Cango/Dial-A-Ride buses could be put to use in the evenings for young people.  Perhaps a similar scheme to Southampton’s night bus could be introduced into the area.
3. Shops – many of the shops in the town are aimed at the older market and several of the independent shops, which had catered for young people, had been driven out of the town.  It was felt that Ringwood was no longer what it used to be, and that it could be any town now.
4. Carvers – facilities here are aimed at a young male audience.
5. Youth Shelter – would be welcomed.
6. Drop-in centre – the existing Friday Night Drop-In at Belindas was very popular but was not big enough.
7. Youth Club – was felt to be exclusive.
8. Divide between young and old people – it was suggested that a monthly forum be established to get a dialogue going between young and old.  Perhaps some councillors could sit on the School Council and some students could attend future Council meetings.
9. Workshops – it was suggested that workshops could be held over the summer (possibly at the school) for dance and sport, possibly with funding for specialist teachers.  Also, workshops could be run by students for students.
10. Communication – young people in the town feel isolation.  It is important to remember to communicate with them.  The District Council had held a very good event “Shout About” last year, but there had been no follow up to this since.

The Mayor thanked the students for their input and said that the issues raised would be considered as part of the healthcheck currently being carried out, in preparation for the development of a Town Plan.

Mr Ted Leigh, the landlord of the Railway Hotel in Hightown Road said the he had been trying to start up a cricket team and had been told that the booking fee for Carvers was £65.  He asked for this fee to be justified as, in comparison, Poole Park was £35 and Broadstone Recreation Ground was £23.  The Town Clerk explained that it took a lot of staff time to maintain the cricket square and the Council could not afford to run it at a loss.  It was also noted that the square was almost fully booked throughout the season, however, there was a pitch available at Bisterne, which may be more suitable.

Mr Crutcher said that, despite his requests at the last Full Council meeting, it appeared that no action had been taken to resolve the issue of cars parked unlawfully at the junction of Hightown Road and Nursery Road.  He said that every day that week he had seen vehicles parked on double yellow lines, some of which had been untaxed.  The Deputy Town Clerk said that this matter had been reported to the District Council on several occasions and she had been assured that patrols in the area would be increased.  Cllr Heron, the District Council Portfolio Holder with the responsibility for parking, said that he would follow this up.