TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2009

Present:             Cllr C. Lofts (Chair), Cllr P. Allen, Cllr M. Blake, Cllr J. Godwin, Cllr J. Hart,

                            Cllr M. Johns, Cllr D. Linney, Cllr J. Lynch, Cllr C. Stanger, Cllr H. Wright,

                            Cllr D. Yates

1.           Apologies for Absence

Cllr C. Dryden, Cllr A. Maycock, Cllr A. Wardle

2.           Declarations of Interest

None.

3.           Open to the Public

Representatives of the Towcester Evening W. I. and Mr Michael Barnett of the Bus Users UK Group were in attendance to discuss Item 10 on the agenda – X88 Northampton to Oxford Bus Services.  Mr John Ellerby from N.C.C. Transport Department and Cllr Rosemary Bromwich were also in attendance to answer questions on this issue.

Members of the TC agreed to bring item 10 forward.

Michael Barnett advised the bus operator (Stagecoach) has decided that the service from Northampton to Oxford is not commercially viable.  N.C.C. has looked into whether it is able to subsidise the withdrawn service and with Oxfordshire County Council has come to an arrangement to provide a reduced service.  The Stagecoach service from Northampton now terminates at Silverstone where passengers pick up a Walters Bus for the remainder of the journey to Oxford.  Residents unhappy with the reduced service need to forward their objections to N. C. C., however, on the basis of its current budget deficit it is unlikely that further funding will be made available.

A copy of correspondence from Mrs Sue Hamilton, Towcester Evening W.I., was forwarded to all members prior to the meeting.  Her primary concerns were:-

Lack of consultation; the change to services was only discovered a few days prior to taking effect.

Increased fares; a return ticket from Towcester to Oxford has increased from £9.50 per day to over £15 and no through ticket is available to cover both bus companies.

Passengers are left waiting in Silverstone with no shelter for the second bus.

The quality of the Walters low-floor coaches is very poor.

Sue added that the reduction in service is contrary to the Government’s directive to reduce travel by car and encourage more people to take public transport.  Further changes are due from December which will add a further 6 villages to the route meaning that many passengers will be unable to reach their destination on time.

John Ellerby confirmed N. C. C. was advised by Stagecoach that it was only prepared to run the hourly service from Northampton to Silverstone.  Tenders were sought for the Silverstone to Oxford route which was awarded to Walters having consulted Oxfordshire C. C.    The change to the service was due to take effect from December but was brought forward.  He conceded that the information to passengers on the interim services from October to December was inadequate and apologised for this.  The issue of through fares needs to be resolved with the Office of Fair Trading; Walters will accept season tickets for the X88 route until the end of November. 

Cllr Bromwich referred to the lack of consultation; leaflets should have been put on the seats of the coaches every day throughout the consultation period.  She apologised that

N. C. C. had not been efficient in this regard. 

John Ellerby advised that letters of consultation were sent out to local Councils in February 2009 confirming the contract was going out to tender and asked for comments on the services.  N. C. C. could not advise that Stagecoach no longer wished to run the X88 service beyond Silverstone as this would breach its confidentiality agreement.

Members of the Council agreed that the letter was vague and did not infer that services would be changed.  Cllr Blake queried why passengers were only notified of the change to services on 26th October if the consultation period ended on 31st March. 

Cllr Lynch was appalled that N. C. C. had not discussed the changes with the TC prior to their implementation.  He is astonished that N. C. C. can have a Local Transport Plan that states it will improve bus services in rural areas and will promote the advantages of bus travel.  He is deeply suspicious of what has happened with this service and why a major operator like Stagecoach cannot run the service but Walters can.  He suggested that Stagecoach be asked to reveal the data used to decide that the service was not commercially viable.  Cllr Hart supported these comments; commercial viability should not be the only consideration, passengers should have been consulted.  Cllr Johns also supported the comments made by Cllr Lynch, particularly on the Local Transport Plan.  Cllr Allen questioned whether any negotiation with Stagecoach had taken place as it may have been possible for them to continue the service to Brackley; a much more suitable change-over point.  He added that a system like this, operating with no through fares would be a joke anywhere else in Europe. 

Members of the TC agreed that the Clerk will summarise the points made at this evening’s meeting in a letter to the Head of Transport at Northamptonshire County Council, referring particularly to its Local Transport Plan.

On a separate matter, Cllr Bromwich confirmed that the broken speed cushions on Pomfret Road, Towcester will be removed in February 2010.

4.           Town Mayor’s Items

Cllr Lofts gave details of events he has recently attended:-

17/10     Town Mayor’s Charity Tea Dance

23/10     Launch of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

25/10     Opening of the Garden of Remembrance at St Lawrence Church

30/10     South Northamptonshire Leisure Trust opening of the astro-turf pitch at

              Towcester Centre for Leisure

02/11     SNC Retail Study Consultation

07/11     Inauguration of Paul Knight the new Senior Pastor for Tove Valley Baptist Fellowship

08/11     Remembrance Service at St Lawrence Church

09/11     Meeting at Vision Youth Café

Cllr Lofts confirmed his forthcoming charity events:-

13/11     Murder Mystery Dinner at the Saracen’s Head Hotel

20/11     Town Mayor’s Quiz

11/12     Towcester Rock Vision at the Community Centre

5.           Report back from:-

Cllr D. Dallyn, Northamptonshire County Council

Cllr Dallyn confirmed that SNC is in the process of preparing its own transport strategy; the draft will be put to Cabinet in December.

She has been asked by Cllr Wilby to confirm the Towcester Partnership will be holding a Civic Dinner in the Town Hall on Friday 18th December.  All members of the TC will receive an invitation to attend.

Cllr Dallyn referred to the application for change of use at Unit 1, 7 Swinneyford Road.  The District Councillors on Brook Ward wrote out to nearby residents to garner their opinion on the application and received a 67 responses (equating to 14%).  One-third of responses favoured the change of use but there were many objections to the application which will be forwarded the responsible planning officer.

Cllr Hart advised the TC has already made its observations to the application and only objections with relevant planning considerations would be taken note of.  Issues relating to environmental health will be assessed by SNC own officers.

6.           Minutes of Meetings

Resources/Planning Committee                 12th October 2009

Town Council                                                   12th October 2009

Recreation/Leisure Committee                    19th October 2009

Cemetery Committee                                     26th October 2009

Resources/Planning Committee                 26th October 2009

Proposal

Cllr Linney proposed that the Minutes of Meetings be signed off by the Chair as a true record;

seconded by Cllr Wright; all in favour.

7.           Matters Arising from the Minutes

Page 09/10/128

The Clerk confirmed the application for a public works loan for the works to the Cemetery Chapel has been submitted.

The Clerk has received confirmation from N. C. C. that the TC application to adopt the telephone box in Caldecote has been received.

The Clerk advised that the last Cemetery Committee meeting was not quorate; the next meeting scheduled for 23rd November is the last opportunity for the committee to set its own budget.

8.           Report back from the Chair of:-

Resources/Planning Committee

Cllr Hart confirmed the change of name from The Pomfret Arms to Rockin’ Horse.  Details on the application for change of use at 120 Watling Street to café/restaurant are available from the Clerk.  The officers of SNC have recommended the application be refused.

Town Hall Committee

Cllr Allen had nothing to report.

Recreation/Leisure Committee

The Clerk confirmed her meeting tomorrow with Michael Robinson from Sure-Start.  As the boiler at the Community Centre is irreparable the Clerk will ask if the heating works can be brought forward.

Correspondence from the Environment Agency on the collapsed outfall structure will be referred to the next committee meeting as will be correspondence concerning the Pocket Park.

The new item of play equipment on the Recreation Ground was installed and vandalised in its first week.  South Northants Homes has offered a contribution of £1200.00 towards the equipment.

The Clerk has not received a reply from SNC regarding the TC relinquish responsibility for Moat Lane Toilets and will follow this matter up.

Cemetery Committee

Nothing to report; the last committee meeting was not quorate.

Allotment Working Group

Cllr Maycock had forwarded his apologies for the meeting.

9.           South Northamptonshire Retail Study

A copy of the retail study by Chase & Partners was forwarded to all members of the TC prior to the meeting.  The consultants carried out a survey of 1,000 residents who were asked detailed questions on their shopping habits.  It was found:-

People of Towcester purchase their groceries in Towcester to a larger extent than those in towns of a similar size.  Approximately 70% of those asked shop for groceries in the Co-op, Waitrose and Tesco.  The consultants consider that Towcester has sufficient supermarket provision and would not need to increase its offer even taking account of the proposed expansion but  needs to build up a more attractive retail/leisure offering.

Cllr Allen commented that some of the small independent shops that have come into the town recently are doing very well.

Cllr Lofts suggested it would be useful to acknowledge the findings of the analysis as it reinforces what we know about Towcester.  He asked members to feed back their comments for the Clerk to form a response. 

10.         X88 Northampton to Oxford Bus Services

This item was moved forward on the agenda.

11.         Report back from Local Bodies

Cllr Hart confirmed letters have been sent to retailers/residents of the town centre to invite them to participate in this year’s Christmas tree scheme.  The trees will be put up week commencing 23rd November.

12.         Correspondence

South Northamptonshire Council

a)           State of District’s Economy Report – the Clerk will email out the website link

b)           Trade Recycling Scheme – details of the free recycling scheme for businesses in

              the town is available from the Clerk.

N. H. S.

a)           Delivering the Future – members of the TC interested in attending the seminar

              on 17th November should notify the Clerk

b)           Annual Report for 2008/09 – a copy of the report is available from the Clerk.

South Northants Homes

Major Works Briefing Paper – details the works to be carried out during October/November in Baden Powell Crescent, Brackley Road, Caernarvon Close and Willis Way.

Northampton & District Citizen’s Advice Bureau

Annual Report 2008/09 – a copy of the report is available from the Clerk

NCALC

Update September/October 2009 – a copy is available from the Clerk