2019 Town Council Minutes of Meetings

Minutes of a Meeting of Market Deeping Town Council Held on Wednesday 13th March 2019 at 7.30pm at the Town Hall, Market Deeping
 
Present:

Cllr Shelton (Chair)
Cllr Mrs Redshaw
Cllr Mrs Sked
Cllr Miss Collins
Cllr Gamble
Cllr Broughton
Cllr Miss Moran
Cllr Hanson
Cllr David
Cllr Brookes
 
Joshua Yarham, standing for SKDC, the Clerk and the deputy Clerk were also in attendance. Cllr Shelton welcomed everyone to the meeting and the Open Session commenced:

Joshua Yarham introduced himself to the council, spoke about his education and career and of his wish to serve the community as a district councillor.

Cllr Broughton advised members of the meetings he had attended for SKDC in the past month. There being no further business the public session was closed at 7.35pm.

154.    Chairman’s Welcome & Introductions

The Chairman welcomed the members to the meeting.

155.    Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Cllrs Lester, Stephenson and Neilson.

156.    Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011

Cllr Davis declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 10.

157.    Acceptance of minutes of the meeting held on the 13th February 2019.

It was proposed by Cllr Shelton, seconded by Cllr Gamble and RESOLVED unanimously to accept the notes of a meeting held on the 13th February 2019 as a true and accurate record. The Chairman duly signed the minutes.

158.    Reports: Including reports from Deepings First, District Neighbourhood Policing Panel, Travellers’ working party, Committees (Planning and Highways, Amenities and Open Spaces), the Clerk and the Mayor’s Diary

Deepings First

Cllr Shelton advised members that the completion of questionnaires by residents was well underway and consultants would then assess the evidence and say if further information is required.

District Neighbourhood Policing Panel

Cllr Mrs Sked advised members that there had been no meeting since the last Full Council meeting so there was nothing to report.

7.37    Cllr Baxter joined the meeting. He advised he would send his report to the clerk for circulation.  Travellers working party

Cllr Shelton provided members with a copy of the minutes of the last meeting.

Cllr Shelton then advised members that a committee meeting’s draft minutes formed the basis of the committee chair’s report and any relevant motions could accordingly be put to Full Council for discussion and voting on. The draft minutes of the committee meeting are then to be agreed at the following committee meeting.

Planning & Highways

Cllr Brookes advised members that at the last meeting there had been a significant attendance from members of the public regarding parking on the Stamford road, the planning application for the Old Coach house, and the closure of Cross Road. Cllr Mrs Redshaw advised that her meeting with the conservation officer had been postponed until 28th March.

Amenities and Open Spaces

The clerk had provided the minutes for the meeting of 16th January 2019 and Cllr Broughton advised members that the power cable to the electricity box on the John Eve field had now been installed. The oak and cherry
trees had also now been planted and protected with wire cages.

Clerks Report

The Clerk had issued members with a report prior to the meeting:

1.    The installation date for the electricity supply to the box on the John Eve field is 14th March 2019. Work has started on the digging of channels for cables. The clerk has contacted OPUS to arrange  a further electricity contract for the site.

2.    The clerks attended training on 4th March regarding the forthcoming local elections. Guidance on
purdah was provided for councillors’ information.

3.    The Town Meeting had successfully taken place on 5th March with 40 people in attendance. Issues from residents had been raised regarding drug taking, litter, and the reduced Delaine bus service.

4.    Pinder’s circus visited from 4th to 10th March. Clerks received a complaint regarding an unwanted
poster but this had been removed by the park keepers.

5.    The clerk is working on year end accounting requirements. Accounting information was passed to RBS (who provide the accounting package) for 9th March to enable them to visit on 2nd May to help produce the figures required for the Annual Governance Return.

6.    The clerks organised a Commonwealth Day service for Monday 11th March at 10am. The Rev
Dave Edden led the prayers.

7.    Cllr Davis had attended new councillor’s training in Dunholme and found it to be very helpful.

Mayors Diary

Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s Diary: up to 13th March 2019.

Cllr Shelton attended the following events:

Cllr Miss Collins did not attend any events
 
159.    Council Finances

a)    Income and expenditure by budget cost centre

Members had received a copy of the Council Finances and Omega report prior to the meeting. Cllr Shelton asked if there were any questions and there were none.

b)    Cash and bank assets

There were no questions

c)    Ear Marked reserves

The clerk explained that there would be a sum of approximately £65,000 remaining at year end if spending for months 11 and 12 remained consistent with previous months. It was agreed to delegate the allocation of this money to the Finance and Personnel committee.

d)    Review of direct debits

The clerk had provided a list of the direct debits held and it was agreed to retain the current providers

160.    Correspondence to be Noted and Resolved upon

Correspondence to be noted

Correspondence to be resolved upon:

Cllr Davis suggested that Calor funding could be considered for outdoor facilities such as oversized draughts or chess boards to be used for recreation for the local community.

The clerk then reminded members that the next meetings of the Planning and Highways committee and the Amenities and Open spaces committee would take place on 17th April due to committee chairs’ absence.

161.    For members to review the asset register

The clerk had noted some additions since the previous review. Cllrs had no further items to add.

162.    Accounts to be paid

It was proposed by Cllr Shelton, seconded by Cllr Gamble and RESOLVED unanimously that the Council should pay its bills.

See appendix A.

163.    For members to ratify the decisions made by the Amenities and Open Spaces committee regarding transfer of land from Persimmon:

Open space adjacent to Windsor Gardens

Councillor Davis had declared an interest in this item. However, he informed members that the residents’ management company had gone into liquidation and this would obviously cause issues with any transfer of land. After some discussion it was proposed by Cllr Shelton, seconded by Cllr Broughton and RESOLVED with one abstention that the council should proceed with the purchase of the allotment land and adjacent play area and approach Persimmon to ask if the offer for the Windsor Gardens open space is still valid.

164.    For members to consider and vote on a motion to instruct SKDC to issue a Heads of Terms agreement for the purchase of the Town Hall.

The clerk had issued members with the draft agreement produced by SKDC. It was proposed by Cllr Shelton, seconded by Cllr Broughton and RESOLVED unanimously to instruct SKDC to issue the agreement.
 
165.    For members to consider the Rotary’s request to erect a plain marble War Memorial cross in the Market Place

The clerk issued members with an image of the revised memorial being requested. Cllr Broughton advised members that the Rotary club had originally wanted the memorial to be placed in the Riverside Park and now wished it to be in the Market Place. There would be no cost to the council. Some members felt it would cause overcrowding of the area and reduce traffic visibility. Cllr Mrs Redshaw reminded members that approval would have to be sought from LCC as it was their land. It was then RESOLVED to support the Rotary in their request.

8.20 Cllr Baxter left the meeting

166.    For members to ratify the dates of

a)    The Christmas Market – 1st December 2019

b)    The Parish Walks – Tuesday 14th May and Tuesday 11th June 2019

The dates were agreed and Cllr Miss Moran informed members of an initiative by SKDC entitled ‘Celebrate your High Steet’ which would take place on Saturday 16th March, to include poets, a street artist and a scavenger hunt.

167.    For members to consider and discuss any points raised in the public session.

There were none.

168.    Forthcoming events: Civic Ball 6th April, Taylor’s Fair 25th-28th April, Civic Service 2nd June

It was also noted that the Saturday Market would start on Easter Saturday.

169.    Confidential/Personnel Matters: Consideration to go into Closed session to discuss: Update on the motion passed regarding the Locum clerk

It was proposed by Cllr Shelton, seconded by Cllr Broughton and RESOLVED unanimously to move into Closed Session to members of the press and public in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, for members to discuss items that contained information of a confidential nature: update on the motion passed regarding the locum clerk. It was then RESOLVED to come out of Closed Session.

The Chairman thanked all members for attending and declared the meeting closed at 8.31pm. The next scheduled meeting of Full Council will be held on Wednesday 10th April 2019, in the Town Hall, Market Deeping.