Present:

Cllr Brian Terry (Chairman)
Cllr Nigel Clarke
Cllr Neville Chard
Cllr Christine Ford
Cllr Jacqui Terry
Frank Cloke
Damian Heywood
Jenny Newham
Brian Walters

In Attendance:

Terry Simpson, Town Clerk
Ros Bowles, Project Officer
Jo Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk

1. Apologies

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Danny Cracknell and Jon Grant.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

AGREED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2nd July 2007 be approved as a correct record.

3. Progress Report

The Project Officer referred to her Progress Report (Annex ‘A’) and said that most of the worksheets had been completed and the first draft of the Town Plan had now been prepared, with the exception of the Community and Social section. The results of the business survey had been analysed and were circulated for information. The accessibility audit had also now been completed and there was a need to assess this to see if the results would affect the content of the Town Plan.

It was noted that Waitrose had agreed to contribute towards the cost of producing the Town Plan and that the Project Officer would be approaching other companies within the town for support.

The group discussed land at Lynes Farm, which had been identified by the Economy Focus Group as being suitable for high tech and hotel development. It was made clear that if the Council wished to have an input into any future development on this site, then it should take the lead to secure a suitable development that was acceptable to the town. It was therefore suggested that contact be made with appropriate national commercial organisations to ascertain whether i) there was likely to be a commercial interest in the site and ii) development would be practical and feasible.

There was some discussion about the next stage of consultation and it was agreed that a press launch be held at the Town and Country Museum to launch the draft Town Plan and that this would be followed by a public exhibition at Trinity Church so that members of the Partnership could explain the content to the public. The full draft plan, with all appendices, would be published on the Council’s website. However, it was expected that a summary would be circulated to all households with details of where the additional information could be viewed. Local Parish Councils, agencies and voluntary groups and stakeholders would also be sent a copy and invited to respond.

AGREED TO RECOMMEND TO THE TOWN PLAN CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE:

1) That the report be noted;

2) That Waitrose’s offer of financial support for the production of the Town Plan be accepted;

3) That similar financial support be sought from other major commercial enterprises in the town;

4) That all financial support for the production of the Town Plan be acknowledged by the inclusion of logos on either the inside front cover or back cover of the document;

5) That quotations for production and printing be obtained for both the complete Town Plan and a summary;

6) That a press launch be held to launch the draft Town Plan, followed by a public exhibition after the draft has been circulated to all households;

and

7) That contact be made with appropriate national commercial organisations to ascertain whether the land off and accessed directly from the A31, known as Lynes Farm, would be an attractive proposition for a high tech, high value employment and hotel development and whether such development would be practical and feasible.

4. Town Plan

The Project Officer referred to the draft Town Plan (Annex ‘B’), which was the strategic plan. This would be accompanied by a separate implementation plan detailing projects, responsibilities and timetables and would be reviewed on a regular basis.

It was noted that there were many issues that overlapped between Focus Groups and it was therefore suggested that topic headings be used in place of Focus Group headings. This would avoid repetition and make the document more easily readable.

It was agreed that there was also a need to include a map of the parish and town centre and produce an executive summary. It was acknowledged that there were several editing changes still to be made and members of the group were asked to contact the Project Officer with any comments.

AGREED:

1) That the contents of the draft Town Plan be grouped under topic headings, rather than Focus Group headings.

5. Next Meeting

It was noted that the next meeting had been scheduled for 6pm on Monday 5th November 2007. However, if the draft Plan was completed in good time, there may be a need to have an earlier meeting.

Prior to the close of the meeting, members congratulated the Project Officer on the production on the first draft of the Town Plan.

The meeting closed at 7.25pm.