Open Session:

There was one member of public present.

Present:

Cllr L C Ford (Town Mayor)
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr N R G Clarke
Cllr D Cole
Cllr Mrs G O’Reilly
Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine
Cllr B H Terry
Cllr Mrs J Terry
Cllr Mrs A Wiseman
Cllr Mrs B Woodifield

In Attendance:

Mr T Simpson, Town Clerk
Ms C Perrens, Meetings Administrator
Ms C Strubbe, Hampshire County Council
Mr Christopher Williams, Hampshire County Council
District Cllr C Treleaven
District Cllr M Thierry
FS Kieran Bull, Town Mayor’s Cadet

Prior to the meeting starting, the Town Mayor introduced the new Town Mayor’s Cadet, Flight Sergeant Kieran Bull of 2515 Squadron Ringwood & Fordingbridge Air Training Corps. FS Bull would be acting as the Mayor’s escort and helper at public events throughout the year.

C/4942 Apologies

The Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr J Heron, Cllr M A Steele and Cllr Mrs M Urwin.

C/4943 Declarations of Interest

There were none declared at this time.

C/4944 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 24th June 2009, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/4945 Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Terry presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st July 2009.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st July 2009 be received.

C/4946 Policy & Finance Committee

In the absence of the Chairman, Vice Chairman Cllr Rippon-Swaine presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th July 2009.

He referred Members to Minute F/4437 – Health & Safety; as a result of the consultation with staff and Members, a number of amendments had been proposed to the text of the Health & Safety Policy.

Members considered on page 3, Section 3 – Employees’ Responsibilities, inserting the words “defective equipment or” after “any…” in “ii) All employees shall immediately report any unsafe practices or conditions to the relevant authority.” This was agreed. In the line “vii) Employees shall not adjust, move or otherwise tamper with any electrical equipment, machinery or air or water lines in a manner not within the scope of their duties, unless instructed to do so by a senior employee.”, members did not agree that the words “unless instructed to do so by a senior employee” should be deleted.

On p14, Section 33 – First Aid, Members agreed that the words ‘First Aiders’ should be changed to ‘suitably qualified persons” as the term First Aider implied someone who has received full first aid training. A risk assessment shows that it is only necessary for Town Council employees to receive Emergency First Aid Appointed Person training, which most staff have recently undertaken. It was also agreed that the words “one groundsperson and one person in the office” should be added to the end of the sentence “The Deputy Town Clerk will be responsible for ensuring that there are at least two suitably qualified persons on duty at any time”. The sentence “A first aid kit is also provided to all groundstaff to carry with them at all times” replaced the previous phrase which stated that first aid kits were kept in all vehicles.

RESOLVED:
1) That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th July 2009 be received;

and

2) That recommendations F/4432, and F/4437, with the Health & Safety Policy shown in Annex ‘A’, incorporating the above amendments, be approved.

C/4947 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 19th June and 17th July 2009.

He referred Members to Minute P/4679 - Inn on the Furlong Licence; the Committee had raised an objection to the application from Inn on the Furlong to extend its opening hours. However, subsequently, information had been received that the applicant had agreed a number of conditions with the Police and the Licensing Officer, including that the 01:00hrs closing would only be implemented up to ten times per annum.

As this mitigated Members’ concerns about noise disturbance and possible anti-social behaviour, he suggested that, with Members’ approval, the Town Clerk be authorised to withdraw the objection immediately. He also commented that it was vital in future for all the facts about a license application to be available.

The Town Clerk added that Cllr Steele had asked him to remind Members of the extra powers now available to the Local Authority and Police to revoke a licence if there are problems.

RESOLVED:
1) That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 19th June and 17th July 2009 be received;

and

2) That the Town Clerk be authorised to withdraw the objection to the application from Inn on the Furlong for variation of premises licence as detailed in Minute P/4679 - 17 July 2009; this action to be confirmed at the next Planning Committee Meeting on 14th August.

C/4948 Communications to be Received

The Town Mayor announced that the next Twinning Meeting would be held on Monday 10th August at 7pm in the Wedding Room of the Public Offices, 65 Christchurch Road.

C/4949 Southampton Road Environmental Improvements

The Town Mayor welcomed Christianne Strubbe, Principal Landscape Architect, Hampshire County Council, who was present to answer questions and present the response to the public consultation which had previously been circulated to Members (attached as Annex ‘B’). Ms Strubbe commented on the overwhelming support for the project from the public who responded, although there were a number of concerns and issues which needed to be addressed. She drew Members attention in particular to page 2 of the report which outlined all the areas of concern which would be carefully re-considered.

She addressed the questions raised at the Planning Committee Meeting of 17th July:-

a) Has sufficient consideration been given to the blind and partially sighted?
She had met with representatives of the Blind & Partially Sighted Group and they would continue to be consulted as the project developed.

b) How does the Shared Space work in practice elsewhere?
Examples can be found in Holland and Germany where the concept has been in use for 20-25 years. Many large supermarket car parks are similar to a shared space. There is an example at Lymington New Street. Cllr Rippon-Swaine also cited examples in Petersfield and Romsey.

c) It is not clear to everyone the direction of traffic using Southampton Road and if the road is to remain two-way, appropriate signage should be installed

d) If Southampton Road is to be made into a one-way street, a one-way sign is needed at Friday’s Cross
Cllr B Terry and other Members were very concerned about safety as it is not clear whether this road is one-way or two-way. She agreed with Members that signage should be clearer, but was concerned that closing the road or making it one-way would be detrimental to the cycling route there.

e) The report suggests that the Bus Company can veto the proposal to close Southampton Road to traffic. Is this correct and if so what legislation gives the Bus Company that power?
She commented that the Bus Company does have statutory rights and that negotiation would be necessary.

f) What is involved with the art work proposed?
Further details for artwork would be submitted at a later date and was subject to specific grant funding eg from the Arts’ Council.

g) Should the removal of the zebra crossing be dependent on the road being made ‘access only’?
She said it was not proposed that it would be removed at this stage.

h) The pavements could be widened if buses no longer turn down Southampton Road, which would be safer for pedestrians, wheelchairs etc.
This would be an improvement if it was possible.

The Town Mayor invited further questions. Cllr Mrs J Terry had received comments that people had not been aware of the public consultation, especially those without internet access. She would like a breakdown also of where the respondents live. Ms Strubbe commented that the consultation had been very widely advertised in the local press, through the exhibition in the empty shop in Southampton Road including at weekends/evenings, at the Library and at the Meeting House. She could provide a breakdown of respondents by postcode.

Cllr O’Reilly expressed concerns about the roots of any trees planted potentially affecting the main sewer below. Ms Strubbe commented that trenches are currently being dug to exactly locate services which need to be avoided.

Cllr Chard emphasised concern regarding the removal of the railings south of Mansfield Road, which might mean small children could run out into the road; this would be reviewed.

District Cllr Thierry paid tribute to the work of Ms Strubbe and the Steering Group, both on this project and on the previous improvements to the Market Place and High Street which were much appreciated. He wished to draw attention to two key issues: that to address concerns about blind people using the shared space, pimple bricks be put in place all around the area to allow them to identify between pavement and road; and that consideration be given to forcing traffic to stop before entering the shared space through traffic lights permanently on red until a vehicle arrived when they would go to amber and green.

Ms Strubbe asked Members to approve the response to the public consultation and the basic concept of the scheme with the proviso that further technical information would be sought to address the concerns raised. Detailed proposals would then be presented for approval.

The majority of Members voted in favour of both resolutions;

Cllr B Terry and Cllr Mrs Terry abstained on both 1) and 2) and Cllr Wiseman abstained on 2) below.

RESOLVED:
1) That the response to public consultation (attached as Annex ‘B’) be approved;

2) That the basic concept of the scheme be approved;

and
3) That the Technical Group and Steering Group reconsider all the issues and proposals raised in the consultation process and at this meeting, prior to final approval of the overall scheme.

C/4950 Reports from County and District Councillors

District Councillor Treleaven presented his written report (Annex ‘C’) and mentioned a trial scheme underway elsewhere in which a small budget was provided by county to parish/town councils for minor road repair works. It would be interesting to see how this worked out.

County Councillor Rippon-Swaine presented his written report (Annex ‘D’).

District Councillor Ford presented her written report (Annex ‘E’). She also commented on the emergency plans which have been undertaken by the District Council to cope with the effects of the swine flu pandemic, prioritising key services and functions.

C/4951 Forthcoming Meetings

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

RECEIVED AND ADOPTED
30th September 2009