There was one member of public present who wished to speak (see attached notes)

Present:

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

In Attendance:

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

C/4646 Apologies

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr B H Terry.

C/4647 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Thierry declared a personal interest in one of the questions to be asked by Cllr Colonel Scriven, as the owner of the Ringwood and Fordingbridge News.  As this was a question and answer session, with no debate, he stayed in the room during this item.

C/4648 Introduction to New Neighbourhood Police Team for the Town

The Town Mayor welcomed Inspector Julie Fry, who had recently taken over as Inspector for the town. She was accompanied by Sergeant Rick Gallagher and the two town centre beat officers.

Members raised the following issues, which required Police attention:

Cllr Daly was concerned about cars double parking in Kingsbury Lane. It was noted that Police officers had looked at this several times in the past but had not witnessed any obstruction. PC Caroline Warren reported that residents were now using cones to reserve parking and, on several occasions, she had removed these and informed residents that this was not permitted.

Cllr Ford asked about patrols in Anson Close, where youths were gathering in the evenings and causing disturbance to local residents. Sergeant Gallagher reported that, when this was first brought to their attention, he had tasked officers to visit the site and had confirmation that this had happened on at least 20 occasions. However, they would continue to visit the site and monitor the situation.

The Police accepted that, although they had addressed issues that had been passed on by the Town Council, they had not followed this up with any feedback. It was hoped that this could now be rectified by reporting back at future Council meetings.

Cllr Mrs Charlton asked if the Police would look again at the issue of vagrants gathering outside the Visitor Information Centre. Inspector Fry replied that there were several options available to them and they would work with other agencies to seek a solution.

Cllr Treleaven queried the best way for Neighbourhood Watch groups to contact the Police. It was noted that if civilians observe crimes in progress that could be life threatening or cause damage to property, they should contact 999. Alternatively, if they witnessed antisocial behaviour, they should phone 0845 045 45 45 or 101.

Cllr Mrs Sullivan asked how the Police dealt with patterns of incidents. Sergeant Gallagher replied that he had recently researched patterns of damage and said that there was an obvious route out of town on Friday and Saturday nights, down Southampton Road and the footpaths to Poulner. Officers were therefore directed to cover these routes when required.

A member of the public referred to a recent incident, which had been reported by phone on 999 and 0845 045 45 45. However, he was concerned that the information had not been received by local officers. Inspector Fry agreed to investigate this case.

Cllr Colonel Scriven said that he had attended Citizenship Day at Ringwood School last week and said that a number of children were concerned about their safety. He was also concerned about a recent incident of shoplifting in Tesco and the setting fire of bins in Poulner.

The Town Mayor thanked the Police for attending and hoped that a close working relationship could be developed with the new neighbourhood team.

C/4649 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd January 2007, having been circulated, were approved and signed as a correct record.

With the agreement of members, item 8 was taken next.

C/4649 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 5th January 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on 5th January be received.

Cllr Light presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee held on 10th January 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee held on 10th January 2007 be received.

C/4651 Town Plan Co-ordinating

Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Town Plan Co-ordinating Committee held on 15th January 2007.

Cllr Thierry commented that it was evident that good progress was being made and he believed that the town would reap the benefits of the work on the Town Plan.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Town Plan Co-ordinating Committee held on 15th January 2007 be received.

C/4652 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Chambers presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 24th January 2007.

F/4036: Cllr Thierry was delighted that the Committee had supported the reintroduction of Farmers Markets to the town and welcomed the fact that Southampton Road would be considered as a location. The Town Clerk said that a free and open discussion now needed to take place with the operators so that all options could be considered.

F/4043: The Town Clerk reported that the District Council had offered to up to £500 towards the cost of repairs to the millennium clock.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee held on 24th January 2007 be received and the recommendations at F/4041 and F/4042 be adopted.

C/4653 Communications to be Received

i) A letter had been received from the Head of Transport at Greater London Authority stating that the Mayor was sympathetic to the problems experienced by the Town Mayor on his recent visit to the homeless centre in London. However, he stated that parking enforcement did not come under his control. Notwithstanding this, a member of the Mayor’s press office had now arranged for the parking ticket to be withdrawn.

ii) Confirmation that the town had now achieved Fairtrade status. The Council was now looking for more people to become involved in the working party.

iii) A letter from the Salvation Army in London thanking all the residents of Ringwood who had contributed food and provisions, which should see them through the winter months.

iv) Information from the District Council regarding measures to be taken to eradicate the rat infestation in the area of the long stay car park. It was noted that shrubs and vegetation would be removed from the boundary of the long stay car parks and in the area of the toilets. It was hoped that these areas could be re-landscaped during the next planting season.

C/4654 Questions of the Town Mayor

The Town Mayor responded to three questions from Cllr Colonel Scriven, two on the subject of the Town Plan questionnaires and the third relating to questions he had asked at the previous Council meeting.

Question 1
Question 2
Question 3

C/4656 Reports from County and District Councillors

County Councillor Clarke reported on a meeting of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had considered the issue of care at the end of life.
(Full Report)

Cllr Mrs Sullivan added that she had attended a Patients Forum meeting, when gaps in care had been highlighted, particularly the lack of communication between hospitals and GPs.

District Councillor Ford presented her report on activities as a District Councillor in the previous month.
(Full Report)

District Councillor Treleaven presented his report on activities as a District Councillor in the previous month. He added that he had attended the Citizenship Day at Ringwood School and had been pleased with the positive attitude of the students. One that he had spoken to said he liked living in Ringwood because it was a friendly place where people would always speak to you in the street and neighbours helped each other.
(Full Report)

C/4657 Forthcoming Meetings