TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2009

Present :-   Cllr C. Lofts (Chair), Cllr P. Allen, Cllr D. Bain, Cllr C. Dryden,

                 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 M. Blake, Cllr A. Maycock, Cllr A. Wardle

Cllr D. Dallyn – SNC

Cllr A. Wilby – SNC

2.    Declarations of Interest

None.

3.    Open to the Public

No members of the public were present.

4.    Town Mayor's Items

Cllr Lofts welcomed his Special Guests; winners of this year's Towcester in Bloom ‘Best Kept Garden Competition'. Sadly, Mr Springett, who was awarded 1st Place , was unable to attend. Certificates and gardening vouchers were presented to Mrs Milan of Nightingale Drive , who was awarded 2nd Place , and Mr Littlewood of Hunt Close who came 3rd .

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

31/7   Service at St Lawrence Church for the PSP Association

02/8   Guided walk at Farthinghoe Reserve for with the Towcester Wildlife Trust

19/8   Viewing of Bury Mount works

21/8   Private viewing of Caswell Technology Park

30/8   Party in the Park at the Saracen's Head

31/8   Towcester Produce Show & Town Mayor's Charity Event – Pond Dipping at Belle Baulk

10/9   Midsummer Music cheque presentations to charities

12/9   Town Mayor's Charity Event – Town Mayor's Town Trail

13/9   Town Mayor's Charity Event – Teddy Bear's Picnic

Cllr Lofts referred to forthcoming events:-

16/9   Town Mayor's Charity Golf Day, organised by Cllr Stanger

20/9   SNC Civic Service at St Lawrence Church – all welcome

17/10   Town Mayor's Tea Dance at the Town Hall

5.    Report back from :-

Barry Owen, Project Manager of Towcester Partnership

Barry referred to the list of current Partnership projects, forwarded to all TC members prior to the meeting. He gave an update on the following:-

Moat Lane – The works on Bury Mount are on schedule for completion at the end of October. The opening ceremony is planned to coincide with Remembrance Sunday on 8 th November.

Watermeadows – Plans for access, bridge and footpath are on schedule.

Shop Fronts and Upper Floors Space – Awaiting response from grant applications.

Towcester Information Leaflet – The leaflet will be updated to include the Museum and Bury Mount and a further before the next print run.

Sun, Moon & Stars – The Partnerships 5 proposals for the former Sun, Moon & Stars building in Blisworth will be discussed by SNC cabinet this evening.

St Lawrence Church – Discussions on how to maximise the space to provide a community venue are ongoing.

Museum – Discussions with the Museum Trust on ways to get the Museum open and generating revenue are ongoing. A decision should be reached within the next 2 months.

Youth Bus – The Youth Bus was delivered on 4th September. A subsidiary company, The South Northants Bus Co., has been created to run Youth Bus which will be operated on a part funded / part commercial basis. N.C.C. funded the purchase of the Bus and the 2 year contract for its operation is with S.N.C. The official launch of the Bus will take place on 9th October at Magdalen School after which the scheme will be rolled out across the district. The Partnership is currently holding discussions with new Youth Workers.

Cllr Lofts confirmed that representatives of the TC held a meeting with members of the

W. I. last week to discuss ways of improving the gateways and roundabouts at the entrance to the town. The W. I. will be contacting the Partnership on this issue.

Cllr Hart previously approached the Partnership with her idea for a Bandstand in the town. This was referred to in the Masterplan. Cllr Hart gave details of the Bandstand she had seen in Godalming which provides musical entertainment every weekend from May to September free of charge and is very well attended. The Partnership has obtained costings but a suitable location would need to be found. It was agreed to refer this item to the next Recreation/Leisure Committee Meeting on 21st September.

Cllr R. Bromwich, Northamptonshire County Council

Cllr Bromwich confirmed she recently attended a meeting with members of Northants County Council that have an Elderly Persons Care Home in their division to discuss the 5 options proposed to bring the Care Homes up to standard. A consultation is currently being carried out and the views of the TC would be welcomed as Ridgeway House in Towcester will be affected by the decision. Cllr Bromwich agreed to forward the consultation details to the Clerk as these had not been received.

In her new role as Vice-Chair of N.C.C., Cllr Bromwich sits on the Police Authority and has been looking at closed cases where a complaint has been received. She felt assured that in incidences where the Police had been unable to resolve a crime; the case would be referred to the scrutiny panel.

6.    Minutes of Meetings

Town Council                              13th July 2009

Page 09/07/086 was amended to show that Cllr Blake was present

Town Hall Committee                   20th July 2009

Page 09/07/091 paragraph 4 was amended to read:-

The committee had agreed to revisit the issue in the future in accordance with outline proposals for the development of Moat Lane particularly with the view of improving the front access.

Page 09/07/092 was amended to show that Cllr Allen seconded the proposal for the meeting to move into Closed Session.

Recreation / Leisure Committee    20th July 2009

Resources / Planning Committee  27th July 2009

Proposal

Cllr Linney proposed that the Minutes of Meetings, as amended, be signed by the Chairman as a true record;

seconded by Cllr Allen, all in favour.

7.    Matters Arising from the Minutes

There were no matters arising.

8.    Report back from the Chair of the :-

Resources / Planning Committee

Cllr Hart referred to the West Northamptonshire Emergent Joint Core Strategy Consultation. The Resources/Planning Committee had agreed for Cllr Hart and the Clerk to complete the consultation questionnaire on behalf of the Town Council.

Town Hall Committee

Cllr Allen confirmed that two Town Hall tenants would be vacating their office at the end of September. The double office above Bartram & Co. would undergo some redecoration and be re-carpeted prior to a new tenant occupying in mid October. Some enquiries have been received for the small 2 nd floor office and a progress update will be given at the next Town Hall Committee Meeting on 21st September.

Recreation / Leisure Committee

A meeting was held with representatives of the Environment Agency regarding the disposal of silt from works to Silverstone Brook. An agreement was reached with respect to where the silt can be deposited. The Sure-Start Children's Centre project is progressing with the TC requests being incorporated into the scheme. The building works are due to go out to tender in October.

Cemetery Committee

The tenders for works to the Cemetery Chapel went out in August. The Clerk has met with Paul Brown to discuss the submissions, in particular one tender that was substantially lower. Paul Brown has called in the contractor to meet with him and the Clerk for further discussions.

Allotment Working Group

Cllr Maycock had forwarded his apologies for the meeting. The Clerk confirmed there are currently 42 residents on the waiting list for an allotment plot. 1 plot has been taken back into the TC possession and will be split into 2 smaller plots. The Clerk has held several meetings with Andy Darcy of S.N.C. to discuss potential Cemetery / Allotment sites. He has suggested the TC now looks at areas for allotment use separately as there will be more potential sites for consideration.

9.    Annual Statement of Accounts 2008/09

The External Auditor, BDO Stoy Hayward, has requested the TC alter figures on its Annual Return to move £847.00 from Box 1 & 7 to Box 8 .

Proposal

Cllr Johns proposed that the TC alters the Annual Return for 2008/9 to move £847.00 from Box 1 & 7 to Box 8 in accordance with the request from the External Auditor;

seconded by Cllr Lynch, all in favour.

10.    Report back from Local Bodies

No reports back from Local Bodies.

Nominations for N.C.A.L.C. County Committee

Details from N.C.A.L.C. were forwarded to all members of the TC prior to the meeting. Cllr Linney has expressed his wish to stand down as the TC representative on NCALC as he has been unable to attend a number of its meetings. He stressed the importance of the TC being represented as N.C.A.L.C. is the umbrella organisation giving information and advice to all town and parish councils in Northamptonshire. Cllr Allen volunteered to represent the TC. The Clerk confirmed the AGM will be held on 14th October in Moulton Village Hall, Cllr Lofts requested that a vote of thanks be accorded to Cllr Linney.

11.    Masterplan for Towcester

         Future plans for the Town Council

Cllr Lofts referred to the Moat Lane development and S.N.C. plans to relocate to the new civic building. This presents an opportunity for the TC to consider its future at the Town Hall and whether it too would like to relocate to the civic building. The TC has previously discussed this issue but not reached any conclusion. Cllr Lofts stressed the importance of putting plans into place in advance. The Clerk suggested a small sub-committee be created to discuss this issue. Cllr Hart, Cllr Johns, Cllr Godwin, Cllr Lynch, Cllr Allen, Cllr Stanger and Cllr Lofts all volunteered. Cllr Lofts confirmed that he and the Clerk have arranged a meeting the Chief Executive of S.N.C. for the beginning of October.

12.    Correspondence

SNVB

Details of the SNVB Rural Reach at the Racecourse were forwarded to all members of the TC prior to the meeting. The event incorporates the SNVB Annual Review.

N.C.A.L.C.

The N.C.A.L.C. AGM will take place on 14th October 2009 . Details are available from the Clerk.

The Policy and Parliamentary Consultation – The document ‘Strengthening Local Democracy' is available from the Clerk.

South Northants Homes

Correspondence from SNH confirms its vacancy for an independent Board Member. The closing date for nominations is 25 th September.

N.C.C.

Correspondence from N.C.C. confirms its Highway Representative Annual Conference will take place on 9th December. Cllr Johns agreed to represent the Town Council.

The Northants 50+ Network newsletter is available from the Clerk

Northants Police

Correspondence from Northants Police details a distraction burglary that took place recently in Northampton . It reports how the Police with Trading Standards are working to combat doorstep crime. Posters supplied have been displayed on the Town Hall notice board.

A copy of the Local Policing Plan 2009-2012 is available from the Clerk.

St Lawrence Church

Details of the Parade Services from October to December 2009 are available from the Clerk.