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

Present:

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

In Attendance:

Mr T R Simpson, Town Clerk
Mrs J L Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk                      

The Deputy Mayor informed members that the Mayor was unwell and wished him well for a full and speedy recovery.

C/4618 Absence

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr D E Cracknell, Cllr L C Ford and Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine.

C/4619 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Thierry declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the Council Newsletter as it was being published in the Ringwood & Fordingbridge News, of which he was the owner.

C/4620 Word On The Street Project

Members received a presentation from Frances Bowen about the Word On The Street (WOTS) project, which was designed to assess the needs of young people in the town, aged between 11 and 15, who were NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training).  The project was carried out between January and July 2006 by volunteers, funded by a grant from the Local Network Fund and with support from Poulner Baptist Chapel and Hampshire County Youth Service. 

It had been identified that there was a need for these young people to have someone to talk to and from whom they could seek advice and support.  It was also proposed that all services on offer to young people locally should be united, making them better known and more accessible, perhaps by bringing them together under one roof in a multi-agency youth centre. 

The group was therefore trying to obtain funding for a full time detached youth worker to take on this role and to work with other organisations to this end.  Mrs Bowen concluded by asking for support from the Town Council for the project.

The Deputy Mayor thanked Mrs Bowen for her presentation and invited her to meet with the Town Plan Focus Group for Young People.

C/4621 Minutes of Previous Meetings

C/4612 – Cllr Thierry asked if the Council had approved the purchase and installation of a shelter for the taxi rank as he had read in a circular that the Council had agreed to this.  The Deputy Mayor replied that it had been discussed by the Transport and Accessibility Focus Group but no decisions had been made.

RESOLVED:   That the minutes of the Meeting held on 25th October 2006, having been circulated, were approved and signed as a correct record. 

C/4622 Communications to be Received

The Deputy Mayor reported the following:

1. Letter from Ringwood Carnival thanking the council for its support.  It was noted that a letter had been sent to the Chairman of the Carnival congratulating the Committee on the success of the 2006 Carnival.

2. Notification that John Parker was retiring after over 35 years service with New Forest District Council cleaning the streets of Ringwood.  It was agreed to send a letter of appreciation to Mr Parker for his dedication to his work over the years.

3. Response from the Chief Executive of New Forest District Council to the Mayor’s letter regarding the public toilets.  Cllr Thierry confirmed that the toilets would be refurbished by Easter 2007 but, due to the likely future development of this area, it would be a waste of public money to completely rebuild them at this stage.

Having declared a personal and prejudicial interest, Cllr Thierry left the room during discussion of the next item.

4. Notification that the first Council Newsletter would be printed in the next edition of the Ringwood and Fordingbridge News and that the next Ringwood’s Future Newsletter would be printed in the Christmas edition.  Both newsletters would be included on the Council’s website and members of the public would be able to complete the response forms online.

Cllr Thierry returned to the meeting.

C/4623 Presentation of Grant Aid Cheque

Cllr Thierry presented a cheque for £500 to a representative of King’s Church towards the cost of replacing their shed, PA and recording equipment and lectern damaged by fire.

C/4624 Questions of the Mayor

The Deputy Mayor responded to questions from Cllr Colonel Scriven relating to a taxi shelter in the Furlong car park, the Town Healthcheck, retail provision in the town, provision of a community hall, replacement public toilets, the powers of the District Council and lack of Town Council involvement in its decision making on matters affecting the town, revision of standing orders, Quality Council status and staff working hours.

In response to a question from Cllr Mrs Charlton, the Deputy Mayor indicated he was aware that, although the Hampshire Farmers Market would no longer be coming to the town, there would now be a monthly Organic and Fair Trade market.

C/4625 Reports from County and District Councillors

The Town Clerk reported that, following a decision by the Council at the last meeting not to include written statements by members as annexes to the minutes, reports from County and District Councillors would no longer be attached to the minutes.  He reported that guidance relating to the CILCA qualification he was undertaking stated that minutes should be brief and to the point, and following discussions with the Mayor only a very short summary of County and District councillors reports would be included in the minutes.  In accordance with the Council decision this would also apply to questions of the Mayor.  Arrangements would however be made to include councillors written statements and questions on the Council’s web site.

County Councillor N Clarke presented his report on activities as a County Councillor in the previous month.

District Councillor C Treleaven presented his report on activities as a District Councillor in the previous month.  He referred to Minute F/4007 of the Policy and Finance Committee relating to the release of developer’s contributions for facilities at Long Lane and asked if the Council still wished District Councillors to pursue this.  The Town Clerk replied that the issue had now been resolved and a report on the way forward would be presented to the next meeting of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee.

Cllr Thierry reported that the next meeting of the Ringwood Town Centre Steering Committee would be held in the Ringwood Public Offices at 10am on Thursday 4th January 2007, and that members of the public would be able to attend and speak during the public participation period.

C/4626 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Light presented the Minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee held on 1st November 2006.

RESOLVED:   That the Minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee held on 1st November 2006, be received.

C/4627 Town Plan Coordinating Committee

Cllr Terry presented the Minutes of the Town Plan Coordinating Committee held on 6th November 2006.

Cllr Mrs Sullivan said that there was no mention of the meeting places provided by the six churches in the town in any of the documents she had seen.  She therefore asked that these be included in the Healthcheck as they provided an important social facility.

T0049: Cllr Chambers asked that the use of computers for the Planning for Real exercise be reconsidered and that the original concept of 3D models be used, as he felt that members of the public would be able to better relate to this concept.

The Chairman of the Committee agreed to take both of these comments on board.

The Town Clerk asked members to let the office know of any groups that should be involved in the Healthcheck.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Town Plan Coordinating Committee held on 6th November 2006 be received.

C/4628 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 10th November 2006.

P/4400 – Cllr Mrs Sullivan reported that there may be funding available through the Walking & Cycling project for street lighting.  The Deputy Town Clerk replied that, through this project, the County Council had offered to contribute towards the funding of lighting the footpath across Carvers.  It was noted that the recommended Committee budget of £2,000 was to support bids for improved highways lighting.

At the request of Cllr Thierry, the Deputy Town Clerk gave members an update on the work of the Signage Project Group.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 10th November 2006 be received.

C/4629 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Chambers presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 22nd November 2006. 

F/4018: It was noted that Cllr Thierry wished to discuss this Minute and that, as it was a confidential item, it would need to be discussed in private session.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 22nd November 2006, with the exception of F/4018, be received and the recommendations at F/4008, F/4009, F/4011 and F/4015 be adopted.

C/4630 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 ‘A’).

C/4631 Working Hours

Members discussed the current situation with regard to staff overtime, which had resulted from additional activity generated by the Council, and noted that a revised budget would be presented to the Policy and Finance Committee at its next meeting.

RESOLVED: That the information be noted.

C/4632 Re-Admission of Public and Press

RESOLVED: That the public and the press be re-admitted to the meeting.

C/4633 Forthcoming Meetings