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

Apologies

The Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Cole, Cllr Daly and Cllr Rippon-Swaine.

Declarations of Interest

There were none.

Present:

Cllr B H Terry (Town Mayor)
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D E Cracknell
Cllr L C Ford
Cllr J D Heron
Cllr Mrs J Terry
Cllr M Steele
Cllr M J Urwin
Cllr A C Wiseman

In Attendance:

Mr T Simpson, Town Clerk
Mrs J Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk
District Councillor C Treleaven
Beth Scrivens, Student Adviser
Rachel Giles, Student Adviser
James Fullick, Student Adviser
Corrina Groves, Student Adviser

Cllr Cracknell, Chairman of the Festival Committee presented a cheque for £1,000 to Mr Jonathan Harvey of the Macmillan Cancer Trust and praised the wonderful work carried out in the local community by the organisation.

The Town Mayor presented a cheque for £100, which was accepted by Cllr Christine Ford on behalf of the Forest Forge Youth Theatre. She said that the Youth Theatre was hugely popular in the town and had waiting lists for all its groups. In addition, senior members performed at the annual Festival.

The Town Mayor welcomed Cllr Goff Beck, Portfolio Holder for Crime and Disorder and Stephanie Sutton, Community Safety Coordinator from New Forest District Council. Mrs Sutton gave a presentation on the Councils’ responsibilities and how the District and Town Council could work together to tackle crime and disorder issues.

It was noted that the Community Safety Partnership would be preparing Strategic Assessments, which would identify priorities based on crime data and information from the public. A Community Plan would then be produced, to cover a three-year period from 2008 to 2011, to outline how these priorities would be addressed. Currently, the priorities for Ringwood had been identified as domestic violence, criminal damage associated with antisocial behaviour, assault with injury and theft from vehicles. However, there was a need to ensure that these were the right priorities and this work could not be carried out in isolation from the community. As only 25% of some crimes and only 10% of other crimes were reported, there was a need to obtain additional information from local people. The work to be carried out would need to be intelligence led and based on evidence.

Other issues that the Community Safety Partnership were involved in included offering advice through the Crime Reduction Officer to reduce the potential for crime, encouraging understanding between young and old, speed reduction by use of Speed Indicator Devices and Speed Limit Reminders and intervention and parenting work to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Reference was also made to CADDIE (www.hantsiowcaddie.gov.uk) - a website available to the public showing local crime statistics.

C/4754 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26th September 2007, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4755 Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 3rd October 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 3rd October 2007 be received.

C/4756 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Steele presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 12th October 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 12th October 2007 be received.

Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 24th October 2007.

F/4176: Cllr Chambers queried the large increase in contribution towards the cost of CCTV in the town. The Town Clerk explained that this was because there had been no increase for five years.

F/4185: Cllr Mrs Wiseman asked what postcodes the Avon Advertiser would cover. The Town Clerk replied that three areas in BH24 relating to the town would be covered, but as he did not have the paperwork with him, he would need to provide full details after the meeting. However, for those areas of the town where the Avon Advertiser is not received, it may be possible to arrange for additional copies to be supplied on request.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 24th October 2007 be received.

The Town Mayor made the following announcements:

1) Following the Post Office Review, it had been announced that there were no closures planned for the Ringwood area.

2) The District Council would be consulting on the possibility of introducing a policy for the control of abandoned trolleys.

3) Hampshire Trading Standards Service, in association with Hampshire Constabulary, would be introducing a ‘no cold calling’ zone early in the New Year in the Cloughs Road and Poplar Way area. This would be aimed at protecting older people and reducing doorstep crime.

4) He explained that the consultation exercise on the possible development of the southwest corner of the Furlong Car Park had arisen as a result of Government directions that the District Council must ensure the continuing vitality and economic viability of town centres within the district. In order to meet its obligations the District Council had appointed specialist Consultants, not developers, who in turn made their recommendations to the District Council. The District Council then appointed a Distribution Company to deliver consultation leaflets to every household in the town. The Town Council was very concerned that the delivery agent’s performance appears to have been very poor. Town Council staff had kept a record of all incidents reported to them regarding those areas where it was claimed leaflets were not delivered, and had passed these details to the Head of Planning at the District Council.

He said that the Town Council had been accused of not consulting residents regarding the consultation. However, during the past 18 months many hundreds of hours had been spent consulting on the Town Plan, the results of which were completely unsolicited. Councillors had attended Resident Association meetings, open forum days outside the Visitor Centre and at the parade in Poulner, and various exhibition days had been organised throughout the town. Various articles had been printed in the local free newspaper, the Town Plan Co-ordinating Committee had become an integral part of Town Council function and there was information displayed on the Council’s website. Out of approximately 2,000 replies, 78% wished for a community facility of cinema and theatre venue and 49% defined the requirement for more shops. From the Love It Hate It consultation Members of the Town Council had respected residents’ wishes in supporting their opinions, and had done so by supporting Option 1 of the District Council consultation document.

He added that the Town Council was concerned about the infrastructure within the whole town and would be confronting this issue when an option had been chosen. The Council was also concerned about improving the economic viability of the existing shopping areas. He had therefore asked the District Council to include an item on the agenda for the next meeting of the Town Centre Steering Group meeting to be held on 15th November, so that this issue could be discussed.

District Councillor Ford presented her written report (Annex ‘A’).

County Councillor Clarke presented his written report (Annex ‘B’).

District Councillor Treleaven presented his written report (Annex ‘C’). He reported that a meeting of the Ringwood Town Centre Steering Group would be held on 15th November to consider the results of the consultation on the southwest corner of the Furlong Car Park. This meeting would be open to the public to attend. He also confirmed that there were no developers involved in the consultation. With regard to the ownership of the Furlong Car Park, it was the District Council’s legal opinion that it was held without restriction or covenant, other than normal planning permissions.

Cllr Cracknell left the meeting.

There being no further business, the Town Mayor closed the meeting at 8.00 pm.