Present:

Cllr L C Ford (Town Mayor)
Cllr B H Terry (Deputy Town Mayor)
Cllr P Chambers
Cllr N J Chard
Cllr D Cole
Cllr J Heron
Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine
Cllr M A Steele
Cllr Mrs J Terry
Cllr Mrs A Wiseman
Cllr Mrs B Woodifield

In Attendance:

Mr T Simpson, Town Clerk
Ms C Perrens, Meetings Administrator
District Cllr C Treleaven

C/5008 Apologies

The Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Clarke, Cllr Urwin and Cllr O’Reilly.

C/5009 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Heron declared a personal interest in Planning, Town & Environment Recommendation P/4750, as he is a member of the New Forest National Park Authority Committee.

C/5010 Minutes of Previous Meeting

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 24th February 2010, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

C/5011 Presentation to Ellingham & Ringwood Rugby Club Under 7’s

The Town Mayor said she was delighted to present a Certificate of Merit to Ellingham & Ringwood Rugby Club Under 7’s for winning the Hampshire Tournament. The Town was extremely proud of the team for this achievement. A number of team members had come along to the Meeting, with their coach, to accept the Certificate. They were also presented with a Ringwood glass paperweight for their trophy cabinet and a box of ‘Celebrations’!

C/5012 Grant Aid

The Town Mayor presented a Grant Aid award of £700 to Karen Jeffries of Forest Forge Theatre Company. She praised the excellent work of the Theatre Company which benefits residents of all ages. Ms Jeffries thanked the Town Council for its continuing support and highlighted some exciting forthcoming projects.

C/5013 Planning, Town & Environment Committee

In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman Cllr Steele presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 24th February and 5th March 2010.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meetings held on 24th February and 5th March 2010 be received, and that the recommendation therein be approved.

C/5014 Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee

Cllr Brian Terry presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 3rd March 2010.

Cllr Rippon-Swaine commended everyone involved with the creation of mini-allotment plots, which the Town Clerk confirmed had led to a significant reduction in the waiting list. There had been good radio and TV coverage, and Cllr Terry said he had a further radio interview scheduled at 8am the following day. Cllr Terry congratulated staff member Christine Smith for her hard work in relation to the allotments. The Town Mayor referred to the Open Session, and the concerns raised by Mr Whitfield about increased threats to wildlife in Danny Cracknell Pocket Park. The Town Clerk reported that the County Council had agreed to put signs by the bridge encouraging responsible use of the area, and the wardens would be monitoring the situation.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 3rd March 2010 be received.

C/5015 Policy & Finance Committee

Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 17th March 2010.

With regard to Minute F/4553 Grit Bins, a response had been received from Hampshire County Council:

“With regard to the County Council indemnifying the Town Council against third party claims that may be made as a result of Town Council employees spreading grit, ordinarily this would be dealt with under your own public liability insurance arrangements. As the County Council has no contractual relationship between itself and your employees, and has no control over their day-to-day activities, that would have no vicarious liability in this regard.”

Members considered that, given this response, the resolution to not accept Grit Bins in the Town for use by the Town Council had been correct.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 17th March 2010 be received and the recommendation therein be approved.

C/5016 Communications to be Received

The Town Mayor reported on the following:

1. Members might be aware that Carvers Pavilion was recently vandalised with graffiti. They would be pleased to hear that the local Police had arranged for two of the offenders to re-paint the wall to cover it up on Wednesday 7th April. The third offender would be painting the walls of the toilets at the Pavilion on Monday 12th April, as these walls were also covered in graffiti.

2. Cllrs Clarke, Steele, Wiseman and O’Reilly, along with the Town Clerk, would be attending the Code of Conduct Training Course on 24th June. She strongly encouraged all Members to attend. She herself would now be attending on the 24th June as her previous choice of course date had been fully booked. Members were asked to contact office staff, as soon as possible, in order to secure a place.

3. Steve Simpson at Ringwood Town Football Club had congratulated the Town Council’s grounds staff on a fantastic job in maintaining the pitch and he had renewed the contract for another season.

4. Cllr Clarke had asked her to request whether anyone had a slide projector suitable for a Kodak S – AV2000 carousel which he could borrow for the next Ringwood Twinning Association event at the end of April, in order to show slides of Pont Audemer. Cllr Mrs Terry said she might be able to help.

5. Cllr Chard drew attention to the Ringwood Town Youth Football Club Under 12’s team which had won the Bournemouth Cup on 28th March. The Town Mayor congratulated the team and confirmed that a letter would be sent.

C/5017 Date of Town Assembly and Annual Meeting

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Town Mayor, be authorised to defer the Town Assembly and Annual Meeting to the date of the May Full Council Meeting (26th May) if the Prime Minister were to call a General Election for 6th May 2010.

C/5018 Reports from County and District Councillors

County Councillor Rippon-Swaine presented his written report (Annex ‘A’). Cllr Chard thanked Cllr Rippon-Swaine for the grant for Bisterne Sports Club, which was much appreciated.

District Councillor Treleaven presented his written report (Annex ‘B’). He drew particular attention to item 5) the Meeting House; a major Heritage Lottery Grant would enable this important building to become a resource centre for local history and add to the attractions in the heart of the Town.

District Councillor Heron commented on the appointment of the new Chief Executive for the New Forest National Park Authority; she was a rising star and an excellent choice for this post. He said that he had been liaising with the County Council regarding Hightown Road.

There were issues with the proposed cycleway which were being addressed, such as the trial into traffic calming measures, and working with local residents who were concerned about loss of parking. The access across Town Council land into Hightown Road had been put in place very quickly, without his knowledge. Some issues had been raised by the Junior School.

Cllr Wiseman also raised concerns about the safety of the new access and suggested warning signs were needed. Cllr Heron said these would be taken into consideration with other suggested improvements at the next Traffic Management Informal Local Members’ Liaison Meeting to be held on 20th April 2010.

District Councillor Ford commented on the issue of the closure of the Visitor Information Centre, which had been occupying most of her time. She had been involved in a number of meetings with senior officials at the District Council, along with District Cllr Thierry. They had also had a positive meeting with the Leader of New Forest District Council.

Many of the reasons given for closing the Centre had been unjustifiable. It was hoped that the Visitor Information Centre could at least be kept open until the end of this tourist season. She had also commented to NFDC on the automated answering service, which was frustrating for callers.

C/5019 Forthcoming Meetings

There being no further business, the Town Mayor closed the meeting at 7.50pm.

RECEIVED AND ADOPTED