Minutes of the meeting of ARLESEY TOWN COUNCIL held in the Village Hall, Arlesey on Tuesday 2 February 2010 at 7pm.

PRESENT:

Cllrs:    H Harper (Chairman)                    Mrs C Harris

Mrs D Archer                               R Harris

D Beatham                                  C Howitt

I Dalgarno                                   M Rainbow

N Daniels                                    D West

Mrs H Frost                                 V Williams 

In attendance:

 Central Bedfordshire Councillor John Street                                                  

 2 members of the public

 Mrs E Hare (Clerk).                         

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Mrs L Bowskill, D Page, Central Bedfordshire Councillor Mrs Christina Turner and PC Steve Holbrook 

732 MEMBERS’ INTEREST

Agenda item 12 – Land at Stotfold Road

Cllr D Beatham disclosed a personal and prejudicial interest, as he is a director of the company owning the land.  Cllr Beatham left the meeting during the discussion on this matter.

No other declarations of personal or prejudicial interests were received.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

(a) Code of Conduct Training  

There will two Code of Conduct Training events to be held at Priory House on Thursday 25 March and Tuesday 27 April 2010, starting at 7pm.  The Bedfordshire Association of Town and Parish Councils will be working with Central Bedfordshire Council to provide training that will be most useful to councilors.  Both sessions will be based on the Code of Conduct for Parish and Town Councillors.  Please inform the Clerk if you will be interested in attending either or both sessions.

(b) R.A.V.E. Bus

The R.A.V.E. bus planned to visit Arlesey on 27 January 2010 was cancelled.  This was due to damage that was done to the bus over the Christmas period and it is now undergoing repairs.  A new date will be rescheduled in due course.

(c) Next Town and Parish Conference

A date for your diary, the next Town and Parish Conference for Central Bedfordshire will be held on 9 June 2010

There was no public participation. 

735 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Prior to the meeting Members received a copy of the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 5 January 2010.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Town Council held on 5 January 2010 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record.   

736 MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting  

737 POLICE - REPORT FROM THE LOCAL BEAT MANAGER

There was no report for the meeting from PC Steve Holbrook from the Safer Neighbourhood Team and he sent his apology for absence.   

738 REPORTS FROM CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES

Cllr John Street, Unitary Councillor for Central Bedfordshire Council reported: 

·         Civil Enforcement officers were monitoring the parking problems at Etonbury School when parents drop off and pick up their children from school

·         The current cost to Central Bedfordshire Council of providing home to school transport is in excess of £8 million per year.  As part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s overall aim to make the most effective use of the resources available, a review of the existing policy has been carried out.  This identified potential areas of savings through revisions to the Home to School Transport Policy. 

·         The Council is now consulting on proposals for changes to the Policy to take effect from 1 April 2010 and 1 September 2010 and responses must be returned by 12 February 2010.

·         Potholes that have appeared in the roads because of the bad weather will receive priority to be repaired, if they are reported to Highways

 Cllr Ian Dalgarno as a Unitary Councillor for Central Bedfordshire Council reported: 

·         Central Bedfordshire Highways will be taking legal action against the bus parked in the layby on the A507

·         At the last full Council meeting the quality of the Police reports was discussed and hopefully that will change soon

·         The LDF Site Allocations Consultation is running for 6 weeks

·         Due to one site being withdrawn, the Gypsy and Traveller Consultation has been postponed until proposals are brought forward for new sites

·         Due to the snow and ice Council is working with Highways to improve the gritting priorities across the County   

739 SCHOOL GOVERNOR REPORT

No meeting had taken place so there was no report.

(a) Budget Summary of Income and Expenditure – December 2009

Prior to the meeting Members received a copy of the budget summary of Income and Expenditure for December 2009

RESOLVED

that the Budget Summary for Month 9 – December 2009 be accepted

(b) Town Council Lighting Maintenance

The Chairman reported that the Clerk had queried the quotation received from Bedfordshire Highways because the number of columns did not match to the current inventory.  There had been no reply to her query before the meeting. 

It was proposed to contact another contractor to obtain a quotation before the next meeting.

RESOLVED

to obtain another quotation and follow up on the Bedfordshire Highways quotation to bring to the next meeting   

(c) Council Tax Base 2010/2011

A letter received from the Head of Revenues at Central Bedfordshire Council advised the Town Council that the Council tax base for the parish expressed as Band “D” equivalent is 1958.

RESOLVED

to note this information

741 PUBLIC OPEN SPACE – ST JOHNS ROAD DEVELOPMENT

The Chairman reported that the correspondence received from Technical and Development Services were asking the Town Council to adopt two public open space areas on the new St Johns Road development.  Council could decide to ask for a Commuted Sum for 10 or 15 years to cover the maintenance costs of these areas.  He said the Clerk was still waiting for more information so she could apportion the correct calculations.    

The Clerk explained how commuted sums are calculated to the areas being adopted. It is considered essential that, in general, commuted monies are “ring-fenced” and re-invested into the maintenance of the adopted areas.    

It was proposed that the calculations be brought to the next meeting for consideration.

RESOLVED

to consider 10 years commuted sum calculations for the public space areas being offered for adoption at the next meeting    

742 LAND AT STOTFOLD ROAD

The Chairman reported the Clerk had contacted the Town Council’s solicitor to ask if there was any progress on the land purchase.  The solicitor had heard nothing further on the matter.

RESOLVED

to note this information

743 RISK MANAGEMENT

The Chairman reported that the Risk Assessment and Management Policy 2009/2010 had been reviewed at the General Purpose & Finance Committee meeting held on 19 January 2010 (minute number 259) and it was recommended for approval at the next Town Council meeting.

RESOLVED

to approve the reviewed Risk Assessment and Management Policy as recommended by the General Purpose & Finance Committee

744 INTEGRATED STREET DESIGNS – PROMOTING CIVILITY

Cllr Hugh Harper gave a report on the Training Event that he attended on Friday 22 January 2010.   He said the seminar was of particular relevance to someone with Highway interests and provided them with the opportunity to learn about a new development in transport. The Development session was on the fundamental change taking place in the principles governing the designs of streets and spaces. Also discussed during the session was the safety aspect of controlled crossings.  He said Central Bedfordshire Council was looking at these proposals for the future.

RESOLVED

to note the information  

The Chairman reported that the ‘Consultation on Proposed Changes to the Home to School Transport Policy ‘is from 6 January to 12 February 2010.  All Members should have received a copy of the consultation with their agenda and therefore, could send in their own response. 

It was proposed that the Town Council should respond to the consultation supporting the proposals.

RESOLVED

to respond to the Consultation on proposed changes to the Home to School Transport Policy

746 GROUND STAFF

The Chairman reported that the advertisement for the Grounds Maintenance Person has been placed in the local newspaper and the Job Centre.  Several responses for an application pack have already been received.  He would meet with the Vice-Chairman Cllr Ian Dalgarno and the Clerk the week commencing 15 February 2010, to look at the applications in readiness for interviews to take place the following week.

RESOLVED

to note the progress report for the new staff member

747 MUGA

The Chairman said he had arranged a Working Party meeting and had invited people that used the MUGA.  The discussion was on what other amenities they would like to have at the MUGA.   Their main concerns were focussed more on improvement to the playing surface and the fencing.  The Chairman said another meeting would be arranged in a month’s time. 

It was proposed to improve these facilities before carrying out renovations to the building.

RESOLVED

that playing surfaces and fencing details are taken to the next Working Party meeting     

748 DOG FOULING

The Chairman read a letter to the meeting from a resident complaining about dog fouling on the playing fields.

Members agreed that dog fouling was difficult to control without penalising dog owners that did pick up their dog faeces.

It was proposed to put up larger notices and monitor the situation regularly.

RESOLVED

to put up larger notices explaining the health hazards to children when dog faeces are left on the recreational area grounds

749 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES

Members received reports from the following Committees:

Property Committee – 19 January 2010      

General Purpose & Finance – 19 January 2010              

RESOLVED

the above committee minutes be accepted and these would be approved and signed by the Chair of the committees at their next meeting 

750 REPRESENTATIVES’ REPORTS

Reports from the representatives of outside bodies:

The Chairman reported on: