Open Session:

There were no members of public present.

Apologies

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

Declarations of Interest

There were none declared at this time.

Prior to the meeting the Mayor welcomed three Student Advisors: Rachel Giles, Bryannie Thurston and Henry Barker.

Present:

Cllr B H Terry (Town Mayor)
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D Cole
Cllr L C Ford
Cllr J Heron
Cllr Mrs G O’Reilly
Cllr M A Steele
Cllr Mrs J Terry
Cllr Mrs M Urwin
Cllr Mrs A Wiseman
Cllr Mrs B Woodifield

In Attendance:

Mr T Simpson, Town Clerk
Ms C Perrens, Meetings Administrator
District Cllr C Treleaven,
Ms R Giles (Student Advisor)
Mr H Barker (Student Advisor)
Ms B Thurston (Student Advisor)

C/4853 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 24 September 2008, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4854 Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 01 October 2008, including a recommendation to approve the responses to the New Forest National Park Authority’s Recreation Management Strategy consultation.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 01 October 2008 be received and the recommendation therein be approved.

C/4855 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 10 October 2008 including a recommendation to approve the responses to the New Forest National Park Authority’s Management Plan consultation. He noted that Cllr Chard had been omitted from the list of members in attendance and that the minute book had now been amended to include Cllr Chard in the list.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 10 October 2008 be received, and that the recommendation therein be approved.

C/4856 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15 October 2008.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15 October 2008 be received.

C/4857 Communications to be received

The Town Mayor reported the following:

1) That a letter had been received from Mr Desmond Swayne MP confirming that he would, as requested by the Town Council, attend the debate on the private Acts of Parliament relating to illegal street trading on 29 October 2008.

2) He thanked all the staff and volunteers involved with the Ringwood Carnival for their hard work and announced that £4,500 had been raised for charity.

3) That Cllr Clarke is standing for election to the Larger Local Councils’ Committee of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and he gave him the Council’s support for his nomination.

4) That letters of thanks for donations from the Town Council had been received from The British Liver Trust, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and New Forest Disability Information Service.

5) That he had been approached by a local landowner regarding ‘redundant’ farm land in the green belt with a plea that more be done to enable the development of such land for much needed social housing. Such a development would bring the benefit of environmental improvements to the Mill Stream.

6) That he had been approached by a national newspaper regarding the fact that Ringwood has the second highest surge in unemployment in the country. He had accompanied the reporter in visiting businesses and individuals affected by the recession and by redundancy. This had brought home the suffering of local people and businesses and the need for more housing and employment opportunities in Ringwood.

7) He announced that ex-councillor Mr Norman Light had resigned from the Festival Committee and thanked him for all his excellent work.

C/4858 Forest Forge Representative

Cllr Ford wished to stand down as a Forest Forge representative due to other commitments. Cllr Mrs Terry volunteered for this position and no other member wished to stand.

RESOLVED: That Cllr Mrs Terry be appointed as a representative on Forest Forge.

C/4859 Reports from County and District Councillors

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

Cllr Heron requested that Cllr Clarke ensure both the infant and upper school are involved when taking forward the issue of the traffic bollards / manikins mentioned in his report.

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

District Councillor Treleaven presented his written report (Annex ‘C’) and in particular drew members attention to item 4) regarding important information about how Road Closure Orders work.

The Mayor requested that the Town Council be involved in any future meetings with the Highways Agency regarding proposals for the A31 and Cllr Treleaven confirmed that there would be full consultation.

Cllr Chard was concerned that if a future speed limit of 50mph were brought in on the A31 it would not be effective without some form of enforcement and requested that District and County Councillors put forward this issue.

C/4860 Forthcoming Meetings

There being no further business, the Town Mayor closed the meeting at 7.45pm.

RECEIVED AND ADOPTED
26 November 2008