There were four members of the public present, two of whom wished to speak (see attached notes).

Present:

Cllr D E Cracknell (Town Mayor)
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr Mrs B Charlton
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D R Cole
Cllr N W Light
Cllr T Scriven
Cllr Mrs V A Sullivan
Cllr B H Terry
Cllr M H Thierry

In Attendance:

Terry Simpson, Town Clerk
Mrs L A Wickens, P A to the Town Clerk

The Mayor welcomed Councillor Terry Scriven, the new Member for the North Ward, to the Town Council.

C/4579 Absence

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllrs Ford, Daly and Rippon-Swaine.

C/4580 Declarations of Interest

There were none.

C/4581 Minutes of Previous Meetings

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 28th June 2006, having been circulated, were approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4582 Communications to be received

The Mayor announced the following:

(1) that he had recently been interviewed on Forest FM, a local radio station launched earlier this month, based in Verwood. The station carried community news and was keen to foster a good relationship with Ringwood. The Station Manager had intimated that he would be happy to provide the Town Council with a regular slot so that representatives could speak about the work of the Council and also any problems we are facing in the town.

Over the coming months we will be looking for items which will be of interest to Ringwood and district residents and for volunteers to go to the radio station and take part in a question and answer session. Any councillor who is interested should please let the office know so that the appropriate arrangements can be made. The Mayor indicated that he hoped that the representatives would use the time to explain the Council’s policies and proposals.

Cllr Scriven advised members that he had been invited to be interviewed by Forest FM next Wednesday 2nd August between 7 pm and 8 pm.

(2) having received a request from Ringwood School for the Town Council to sponsor an award at the School’s Presentation Evening, the Mayor was pleased to announce that the Town Council sponsorship of £60 had been used for the Ringwood School Radio and had been won by Ashley Humber and Stephen Loader for Year 7 and Alice Blincoe, Kieran Bull, Christopher Lewis and Antonia Maslin for Year 10.

(3) Peter Harper, Treasurer of Ringwood Disabled Swim Association had written thanking the Council for the grant of £100. He said that the Club really appreciated the Council’s help and support over the years.

(4) Clare Ellisdon, Statutory Fundraiser for Vitalise, had written to thank the Council for its grant of £50 which would make a difference to local disabled people who attend the subsidised breaks organised by Vitalise.

(5) The Town Council had now received copies of the drawings that it is proposed will be submitted for planning approval for the new clubhouse and changing rooms at the Junior School playing fields off Parsonage Barn Lane, The drawings are available for members’ inspection at the office.

(6) The Mayor reminded members that at the Policy & Finance Committee in June, the Committee agreed to support a bid for European Social Fund monies to enable a Mystery Shopper exercise to be undertaken in the town, subject to the Chamber of Trade’s support.

Cllr Cracknell was delighted to announce that the Chamber supported the proposal and the Town Council’s bid had been successful. He had placed a copy of a letter on the table that is in the process of being delivered to small independent retailers in the town centre. Ros Bowles had hand-delivered a large number and Councillor Mrs Charlton would be delivering to some more shops later this week.

What this means is that ten individual retailers in Ringwood will get the sort of professional support for their businesses which only the large businesses can normally afford. This is worth in excess of £5,000 and is designed to help them grow their businesses. This will be at no cost to them or the Council and in total the town will be getting over £50,000 worth of support from the European Social Fund.

The Mayor hoped that the shops selected, and no-one would ever be told which ones are selected, would make the very best of this wonderful windfall and that the outcome would help them for many years into the future.

C/4583 Questions of The Mayor

(1) The Mayor reported that the recent Ringwood Festival had been the best ever, thanks to the hard work of the small number of members on the committee. The Mayor particularly thanked Mrs Wickens for the work she had put in over the last few months and the Mayoress, Mrs Di Cracknell, presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

(2) Cllr Mrs Sullivan said she had read a report in the Forest Journal stating that consultation with the public would take place after the purchase of land at Long Lane. Cllr Mrs Sullivan enquired why consultation would not be taking place before the purchase of the land.

The Town Clerk reported on his discussions with the Press. Members would know that the Town Council had decided, as it already had an interest in the location, that Long Lane was a suitable site for the development of sports facilities. An extensive recreational audit had been carried out with local sports clubs over eighteen months ago and at that time, the Council had resolved to pursue the purchase of land at Long Lane in order to further its aim of providing improved sports facilities for the town.

Cllr Light reminded councillors that Ringwood had only 50% of its legal requirement of open space, as based on our population. The Town Council was seeking to meet its central government obligations.

Cllrs Clarke and Thierry emphasised that it was important for the Town Council to meet the demand for facilities and would be failing in its duty if it did not pursue the acquisition of this land.

The Mayor assured members that the town will be consulted.

(3) Cllr Cole enquired whether the NFDC Dog Wardens enforced the Bylaws regarding Dog Fouling on the Bickerley. The Town Clerk reminded members that the District Council had wanted to charge the Town Council several thousand pounds a year for a service which would only involve a very few visits to the town and the Town Council had declined the offer.

Cllr Thierry informed the meeting that under new legislation, The Clean Neighbourhood Act, which came into force on 6th April 2006, the Town Council could choose to take this function, or, for instance fly posting, on board and train members of staff to carry out the task on behalf of the Council.

Cllr Cole asked if the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee could look at the matter. Cllr Light agreed that it would be put on the September agenda of the Committee.

C/4584 Reports from County and District Councillors

County Councillor N Clarke submitted a report (Annex ‘A’), which was circulated to members.

Cllr Scriven enquired whether it could be confirmed that this area would not take the waste generated from London. Cllr Thierry, as NFDC Portfolio Holder for the Environment, confirmed that there were no plans for Hampshire to accept London’s waste and the County could not be forced to take it.

With regard to the toilets in the Furlong Car Park, Cllr Thierry confirmed that the refurbishment of the toilets had been deferred until a decision regarding possible development of this site in the corner of the car park had been made.

C/4585 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Light presented the Minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee held on 5th July 2006.

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

C/4586 Policy & Finance Committee

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

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 19th July 2006, including the recommendations at Min.F/3964 and F/3966 be approved and adopted.

C/4587 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 23rd June 2006.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 23rd June 2006 be approved and adopted.

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 21st July 2006.

Pl. App. 06/88163 - Cllr Mrs Sullivan enquired why the Committee had recommended permission for this application when the company involved had previously been refused permission to operate.

Cllr Clarke explained that it was a retrospective Planning Application which was not related to the observation Cllr Sullivan had made.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 21st July 2006 be approved and adopted.

C/4588 Proposed Motion by Cllr Mrs Charlton

Cllr Mrs Charlton had proposed the following motion: -

To debate in Council the need for an overall revision of signage within the town. In particular signs at the town’s approach points and in the main car park. These signs to direct people to the Market Place, High Street, Town Council, Library, Conveniences, Raptor and Reptile Centre etc.

• To establish a budget for these signs
• To have the work costed
• To set in motion any planning permissions necessary
• To establish a sub-committee if necessary

The Mayor advised members that the Town Plan Co-Ordinating Committee had already put arrangements in place that would provide a much more comprehensive investigation into signage in and around the town. These arrangements provided for an independent review and the Ringwood Chamber of Trade had been asked to nominate members to serve on the Working Party established to investigate and report back with recommendations.

The first meeting would be arranged as soon as the Chamber notified the office of the names of the non-councillors it wished to nominate to serve on the Working Party. A Press Release had also been issued inviting anyone interested in serving on the Working Party to contact the office.

Since we were already well ahead of the purpose of the Motion, the Mayor suggested that the Councillor considered withdrawing it as its reference to any committee would duplicate work already in hand.

After listening to the Mayor’s statement, Cllr Mrs Charlton withdrew the Motion.

Forthcoming Meetings

The Town Council is in recess during August.