Open Session:

There were several members of public present, some of whom wished to speak on agenda item 6.

Apologies

Prior to the meeting, the Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr N R G Clarke.

Declarations of Interest

There were none declared at this time – see minute C/4897 for declarations made during the meeting.

Present:

Cllr B H Terry (Town Mayor)
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr D Cole
Cllr L C Ford
Cllr J Heron
Cllr Mrs G O’Reilly
Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine
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
Mrs J Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk
District Cllr C Treleaven
District Cllr M Thierry
Student Advisor Rachel Giles
Student Advisor James Fullick

C/4892 Grant Aid

The Town Mayor presented a grant aid cheque for £750 to Mr Geoff Newsome of the New Forest Citizens Advice Bureau. Mr Newsome thanked the Council for this contribution and said that it would be put to good use, particularly as the Bureau’s services; giving advice and help to the citizens of Ringwood, were in increasing demand during this period of economic downturn.

C/4893 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 25th February 2009, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4894 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Steele presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 27th February 2009.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 27th February 2009 be received.

C/4895 Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 4th March 2009.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 4th March 2009 be received and the recommendation at OS/5065 be approved.

C/4896 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 18th March 2009.

F/4367 – it was noted that the date of the Festival meeting should read 9th March.
F/4378 – it was noted that this minute should be a recommendation to Council, and not a resolved item.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 18th February 2009, with the amendments above, be received and the recommendation at F/4378 be approved.

C/4897 Pocket Park

Cllr Mrs O’Reilly declared a personal and prejudicial interest as she lives near the park. She gave notice that she would leave the room after she had spoken on the subject.

Cllr Terry, Cllr Mrs Terry, Cllr Heron, Cllr Chard and Cllr Ford each declared a personal interest as they regarded Danny Cracknell as a friend.

The Town Mayor said that he had taken into consideration the views of local residents as a result of the Council’s decision to rename Pocket Park to the Danny Cracknell Park and therefore proposed the following Motion:

“That in the light of the representations made at Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee on 4th March 2009 and in order to preserve the reference to Pocket Park, I would like to move that the Council’s decision with respect of the naming of this and the adjoining area of land which was previously to be known as Danny Cracknell Park, be amended to The Danny Cracknell Pocket Park”.

The Motion was seconded by Cllr Heron.

Mrs Judge of Handley Court said it clear was from recent publicity that many Ringwood residents opposed the renaming. However, many had no knowledge of the change as the proposal had not been publicised. She said that no one was being disrespectful to Danny or his family and it was agreed that his name should be honoured for his good works in the town, but not by altering the name of a well established and loved area. She suggested that, as Danny’s aim had always been to look forward, the proposed new footpath in Pocket Park could be named Danny Cracknell Way, which sounded like a new start to an area he loved. She therefore asked the Council to reconsider renaming the aptly named Bickerley Pocket Park.

Richard Pierson, who had known Danny for over 40 years, said that Danny had been the main instigator in recruiting volunteers to do much of the work to create Pocket Park. He supported the Motion.

Di Cracknell said that she was chuffed to bits that the Council had decided to name the park after Danny last year. He had been evacuated to Deweys Lane and grew up in this area of Ringwood, and the family therefore felt that it was appropriate that this park be named in his honour.

District Cllr Thierry felt that it was important to create a lasting memorial to Danny Cracknell. He said that “pocket park” was a generic term for a small public park and was not a name given by the Council. In fact, there were millions of similarly called parks throughout the world. He gave the example of Dr Little Gardens having been named after another town honorary. He said that, if the Council approved the name, it would eventually appear on town maps and signs and, in the future, people would ask why and would discover a man who had given so much to the town and he would become an inspiration to many. He supported the Motion wholeheartedly.

Cllr Mrs O’ Reilly said that she represented 30 parishioners who objected to the renaming and was in receipt of 7 letters to this effect, which she handed to the Town Mayor. She said that residents would prefer a new project to be named in Danny’s honour and not an old one.

Cllr Mrs O’Reilly responded to questions from a member of the public and then, having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the matter, left the room.

Cllr Cole recalled when he and Danny had been first elected to the Council 20 years ago. At the time Pocket Park became available it was very overgrown and there was no money available to clear it. He and Danny approached local businesses and were given donations of gravel, trees and timber to help create a park for public use. He therefore supported the Motion.

Cllr Rippon-Swaine believed that, in view of the representations received, the Council should postpone the naming or renaming of the park to allow full public consultation to be carried out and to enable the Council to make a decision that had wholehearted support and would not divide opinion in the town. He therefore proposed an amendment to the Motion by the addition at the end of the words “but that a final decision be deferred for six months to allow full consultation to be carried out”. Cllr Mrs Woodifield seconded the amendment. Other members spoke against the amendment which, upon being put to the vote, was declared LOST.

Student Advisor James Fullick said that he was younger than the park and would like to look back in his old age to see that we have honoured inspirational people like Danny, who had set an example for others to follow. He had not met Danny but had heard so much good about him and thought the attitude of the objectors was an affront to humanity, to Danny and his family. It was wrong for a few residents to bicker about naming a park after someone who had done so much good for the town and others in need and he therefore thought the suggested name should be agreed.

Cllr Mrs Wiseman thought that perhaps the Council had made a mistake by not publicly announcing the intention to rename the park and said that this should be taken on board for future projects. Cllr Mrs Woodifield also felt that one of the main reasons for the objections was because residents had not been consulted.

Cllr Heron stated that Danny had not been worried about places, he had always said that it was people who counted. His family had been very important to him and it would upset him to see that this debate had distressed his family. He said that Danny had a connection to this area and, as it was only a few people who objected to the name change, it was entirely appropriate to honour a man who gave so much to the town in this way.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Town Mayor formally moved the Motion
“That in the light of the representations made at Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces Committee on 4th March 2009 and in order to preserve the reference to Pocket Park, I would like to move that the Council’s decision with respect of the naming of this and the adjoining area of land which was previously to be known as Danny Cracknell Park, be amended to The Danny Cracknell Pocket Park”, which upon being put to the vote was declared CARRIED with no member voting against.

Cllr Mrs O’Reilly rejoined the meeting.

C/4898 Communications to be Received

The Town Mayor reported the following:

1) The New Forest National Park had invited the Town Council to nominate two representatives to attend a meeting in order to take part in discussions about the National Park Plan. The meeting would be held on Thursday 16th April from 6.00pm-9.00pm at Brockenhurst Village Hall. It was noted that Cllr Heron would be chairing the meeting. Cllr Mrs Wiseman agreed to attend to represent the Council.

2) The Town Clerk would be away on holiday from Tuesday 31st March, returning to work on Monday 27th April.

3) There would be a formal presentation of cheques to the Town Council outside the Drop In Centre at Carvers at 5.00pm on Friday 27th March. Cheques would be received from Cllr Clarke, Cllr Heron and Cllr Rippon-Swaine for refurbishing the Drop In Centre and from Cllr Ford for a new seat on the Bickerley.

4) The official naming ceremony of The Danny Cracknell Pocket Park would be held at 11am on Saturday 18th April 2009.

C/4899 Reports from County and District Councillors

District Councillor Treleaven had submitted a written report, which was circulated to Members (Annex ‘A’). He was pleased to hear that the National Park Authority had in fact invited local members to join in discussions on the National Park Plan. He also reported that he had attended Citizenship Day at Ringwood School and noted that the students liked the town so much because of it is a friendly town, with a great sense of community.

District Councillor Heron reported on the launch of the Ringwood Loyalty Discount Scheme. He had attended the New Forest Business Partnership Question Time and the Employment, Health and Wellbeing Panel, which had received a presentation on the importance of exercise.

District Councillor Rippon-Swaine reported that the car parking clock scheme had been hugely successful, with over 45,000 sold in a year. He was pleased that revisions suggested by the Town Council had been incorporated into the District Council’s Community Planning guidance. He also reported that the District Council would be issuing a questionnaire to young people about the use of other modes of travel to school.

District Councillor Ford was pleased to report that the GIS Partnership between the District Council and town and parish councils was now progressing, thanks to the work of the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk. She said that this would be an important tool both for officers and members, who would be able to access the system from home.

C/4900 Forthcoming Meetings

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

RECEIVED AND ADOPTED