There were members of public present.

Present:

Cllr B H Terry (Town Mayor)
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D R Cole
Cllr D E Cracknell
Cllr M F Daly
Cllr L C Ford
Cllr J D Heron
Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine
Cllr M A Steele
Cllr Mrs J Terry
Cllr M H Thierry
Cllr M J Urwin
Cllr A C Wiseman

In Attendance:

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

C/4711 Apologies

All members were present.

C/4712 Declarations of Interest

There were none.

C/4713 Presentation of Grant Aid Cheques

The Town Mayor presented a grant aid cheque of £2,500 to Mr John Waddington, Chairman of the Trustees of Ringwood Meeting House Association, to support works relating to the Association’s bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for restoration of the Meeting House.

The Town Mayor also presented a grant aid cheque for £186 to Inspector Julie Fry to fund deployment of the Police Mobile Unit in Ringwood Market once a month for a period of one year.

C/4714 Police Report

Inspector Julie Fry explained the new structure of the Police in the area and said that Ringwood was staffed by a Safer Neighbourhood Team, comprised of one Sergeant, five PCs and two PCSOs, with the main aim of engaging with the community and targeting long term intervention in antisocial behaviour and criminal damage. She said that this Team was not intended to provide 24 hour cover 7 days a week for the town, but that 24 hour cover was provided by targeted patrol teams.

Current priorities for the Safer Neighbourhood Team were tackling antisocial behaviour and theft, and priority shifts were Friday and Saturday nights and Wednesday daytime. Carvers Recreation Ground had also been identified as a priority location. Progress was being made on antisocial behaviour and, where sufficient evidence had been gathered on individuals, Antisocial Behaviour Orders had been filed with the courts. Inspector Fry emphasised the importance of informing the Police of all incidents so that a file of evidence could be built up.

Inspector Fry updated members on the Shopwatch scheme, which the Police were trying to introduce in the town. To date 56 shops had signed a declaration of interest and intent to participate. The scheme worked very well in Lymington and it was hoped to mirror this in Ringwood.

In response to a question from Cllr Heron, Inspector Fry said that she was very comfortable with the work being carried out by the Safer Neighbourhood Team in the town. She said that although the number of officers had reduced from 8 to 5 since the reorganisation in January 2007, there had been no increase in the level of crime and several issues had been successfully tackled. She said that Ringwood had the right quantity of officers according to the level of demand.

Cllr Ford was concerned about 999 response times and reported that it had taken one hour for Police to arrive at the scene of a fight that week. Inspector Fry explained that 999 calls had to be graded in order of priority and if there were other more serious incidents in the area at the same time, this would affect deployment time. She said that nationally, over the last 20 years, demand on the Police had increased by about 800%, yet the number of officers had increased by only 8%. This had affected the way in which Police resources were deployed. It was also noted that, in some areas, legislation had disempowered Police so that they were no longer able to deal so effectively with some of the issues faced by the town today.

Cllr Wiseman was concerned about the public’s perception of how the Police were dealing with problems of antisocial behaviour at Carvers, as Officers appeared to be too friendly with the young people. She said that there was a need to communicate more effectively with residents in the area. Inspector Fry replied that it was very important for the Police to engage with the young people to establish why they were there and what they were doing. She said that a “Street Meet” was being organised to discuss the problems at Carvers and the community affected by this would be invited to be involved.

Following the last meeting when the issue of double parking in Kingsbury Lane had been raised, Cllr Cole thanked Inspector Fry for arranging for this problem to be resolved.

Some members commented on the low level of crime in the town in comparison to other areas of the country and said that it was only a small minority of people causing problems. It was felt that the work of the Police should be supported and that they should not be expected to provide answers for all the happenings in modern society.

C/4715  Minutes of Previous Meeting

C/4701: Cllr Thierry believed that there was an imbalance in the membership of the Council’s four main committees and felt that this was unfair on some members. He said that, not including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor who were ex officio members of all committees, the remaining 12 members should expect to sit on two committees each. However, one member was not on any committees, five were on only one committee, two were on two, three were on three and one member was on all four committees. He therefore proposed that, to reflect a fairer representation of councillors on the four main committees, the disposition of those four committees be recomposed immediately. There was no seconder for this proposal.

Cllr Thierry left the meeting at 7.50pm.

Cllr Urwin said that she did not feel that she had been unfairly treated and was happy to sit on only one committee, and had only requested a place on one committee.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 16th May 2007, having been circulated, were approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4716 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 16th and 25th May and 22nd June 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 16th and 25th May and 22nd June be received.

C/4717 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Daly presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meetings held on 16th and 23rd May and 13th June 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meetings held on 16th and 23rd May and 13th June 2007 be received and the recommendation at OS/4904 be adopted.

C/4718 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meetings held on 16th and 30th May and 20th June 2007.

F/4107: It was noted that the Council had been invited to nominate a “quasi” trustee to the Ringwood Meeting House Association. Cllr Heron expressed an interest in this role.

RESOLVED:
1) That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meetings held on 16th and 30th May and 20th June 2007, with the exception of F/4129, be received and the recommendations at F/4113, F/4114, F/4123 and F/4135 be adopted.

2) That Cllr Heron be appointed as a “quasi” trustee to Ringwood Meeting House Association.

C/4719 Town Plan Co-Ordinating Committee

Cllr Terry presented the minutes of the Town Plan Co-ordinating Committee held on 16th May 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Town Plan Co-ordinating Committee held on 16th May 2007 be received.

C/4720 Draft Final Accounts And Annual Return For The Year Ended 31st March 2007

Members considered the recommendation from Policy & Finance Committee (F/4129 refers).

RESOLVED:
1) That the actual income and expenditure accounts for 2006/07 and balance sheet as at 31st March 2007 be approved.

2) That the transfer from the General Reserve of £29,580.09 for 2006/07 be approved.

3) That the Annual Return for 2006/07 be approved.

C/4721 Communications To Be Received

The Town Mayor made the following announcements:

i) A letter of thanks had been received from Ringwood School for the Council’s sponsorship of achievement awards. The Council had sponsored awards for all age groups and the Head of Year Shield for Year 7. The Town Mayor would be attending the Year 7 Awards Evening on 5th July.

ii) All members were invited to attend an Exhibition of Fine Arts, Textiles, Photography and Graphics at Ringwood School from 6pm to 8pm on 4th July.

iii) Cllr Cracknell was congratulated on being named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

iv) The Area Operations Manager of the Post Office would be attending the next Full Council to explain recent changes in operations.

C/4722  Reports From County And District Councillors

County Councillor Clarke reported on meetings he had attended in the previous month. He recorded his concerns about the future of the New Forest Association of Local Councils and said there was a need to find a way forward, which may require the larger town councils to offer resources.

District Councillor Ford presented her report on activities she had been involved in as a District Councillor in the previous month.

District Councillor Rippon-Swaine reported that he had been appointed Vice Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Review Panel and was a member of the Planning Development Control Committee.

District Councillor Treleaven presented his report on activities he had been involved in as a District Councillor in the previous month. He reported that the New Forest National Park Authority was no longer working with the District Council on the Core Strategy. He also emphasised the importance of ensuring that work carried out through the Town Plan process informed both the Community Strategy and the Core Strategy.

District Councillor Cracknell reported that he had been appointed to the Leisure, Culture and Youth Matters Review Panel.

C/4723 Forthcoming Meetings

There being no further business, the Town Mayor closed the meeting at 8.30pm.