Halstead Town Council

Membership:

Also in attendance:   Mr M C Murkin, Town Clerk, 
                                 Mrs J Smith, Minute Clerk

293.    APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Mrs J A Pell; Cllr Mrs H W Catley; Cllr M J Fincken; Cllr M Gage, Cllr Mrs B A Gage; Cllr Mrs K Little; Cllr H Messenger

293.    DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
To declare any ‘personal' or ‘personal and prejudicial' interests relating to items on the agenda having regard to paragraphs 7 to 11 inclusive of Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for  Members and having taken appropriate advice (where necessary) before the meeting.
Cllr G Howlett declared personal interest in Agenda Item 10, Colchester Road parking issues.  Letter writer is personal friend.
Cllr K Paisley declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 10, Colchester Road Parking Issues as Essex County Council employee is a relative.

294.    PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
There were no members of the public present.

295.    COMMITTEE MINUTES
Minutes of the Council meetings held on 18^th March 2010 and the Annual Town council meeting (AGM) held on 6^th May 2010 having been previously circulated were unanimously approved and adopted.

296.    COMMITTEE  MINUTES
(i) The minutes of Amenities Committee, minutes 213 - 220 of 13^th May 2010 having been previously circulated were unanimously approved and adopted.    
There were no recommendations from that Committee.

(ii) The minutes of Finance and General Purposes Committee, minutes 244-253 of 20^th May 2010 having been previously circulated were unanimously approved and adopted.
At this point Chairman said that he had been advised that, although the meeting was quorate, as fewer than half of members were present Members should be aware that there was an option to postpone the meeting until a             later date.  Members were advised that any postponed meeting must take place before the next scheduled meeting.  Discussions took place and on a vote it was decided to continue with the meeting and if necessary defer any points until next meeting.

297.    PLANNING  APPLICATIONS.
Cllr Mrs S Diver, Chair of Planning, took the Chair for this part of the meeting.
Report was noted.  Cllr Diver voiced concern that little feedback had been given regarding these             planning applications, and indeed others, since the new system had been adopted.  Cllr Diver felt that the new system had been given a fair trial and that is was now time to review the situation.
It was agreed that debate about planning applications at Council meetings was important and Councillors were concerned that the existing system is against the interest  of applicants as well as residents of Halstead.

Clerk was asked to begin discussions with Braintree District Planning Department about re-instating the former system.
It was agreed that this matter should be discussed again as soon as possible.

298.    MAYOR'S APPOINTMENT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Report not available.  Will be presented at next Full Council meeting.

299.    REVIEW OF STRUCTURE FOR COUNCIL BUSINESS.
Chairman stated that present system of Council committees had been discussed and it was agreed that it was not working well; he said that Cllr M Gage and Cllr M Fincken had both urged a change to the system, and Chairman invited discussion prior to a report on the way forward.
It was agreed that the present system invited repetition which was felt to be not the best use of time.  Members present felt that it would be more efficient to have fewer Committee meetings and a Full Council meeting more frequently.
It was recommended that a small sub-group be set up to discuss and make suggestions for change, and that a Special Full Council Meeting be called to discuss these suggestions.
It was agreed that this sub-group should consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Cllr M Fincken and one other.  Cllr K Paisley offered to stand and was duly elected.  It was felt that a ‘reserve' should also be appointed.
It was agreed that this sub-group should meet as soon as possible- Chairman and Vice Chairman to arrange. RESOLVED that a sub-group - Chairman, Vice Chairman, Cllr M Fincken and Cllr K Paisley - meet to discuss changes to Committee structure.

300.    WEBSITE
Councillors had asked for a Town Diary page to be added to the web-site and a quote of £50.00 had been given for this by existing Webmaster. 
The Webmaster had also suggested a review of the security, with some enhancement as required on the Halstead Town Council web site at a cost of £1300.
Discussion took place about events that should be listed on the Diary Page, and it was agreed that Officers need parameters about what to accept.
A sub-committee to be set up to decide on ground rules and present these to Officers.  Cllr S Diver and Cllr L Hilton agreed to look at the proposals and liaise with Officers and Clerk to find a protocol for acceptance.  It was agreed that Chairman should give a final decision on what would be acceptable.
RESOLVED that a sub-committee be set up to lay down ground rules for acceptance of Diary Events.
Cllr G. Howlett left the meeting at this point.

301.    COLCHESTER ROAD PARKING ISSUES
Letter had been received from resident of Colchester Road and a subsequent letter had been received from Essex County Council Highways Dept. asking for Council's thoughts on the issue.
Councillors viewed the map provided and discussions took place on the issue of cars parked across a driveway entrance.
A vote was taken on the proposal to support the resident who was asking for parking restrictions on either side of the entrance to his house which is also entrance to three other properties.
There were two votes for the proposal, with one abstention.
RESOLVED that Halstead Town Council will support the request for further parking restrictions in Colchester Road.
Cllr G Howlett rejoined the meeting at this point.

302.    ST ANDREW'S CHURCH WALL
Clerk advised the Council that Town Council is responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the two ‘closed' churchyards of St. Andrew's and Holy Trinity under Section 215 of the Local Government Act 1972.  It is stated that the Churchyard, including walls, which are often retaining walls, must be kept in decent order.  Photographs of St. Andrew's Church Wall, part of which is on the main A131 road, were shown and it was agreed that there is some deterioration in the fabric of the wall.
It was noted that any remedial work would cause some traffic difficulties, but after discussion it was felt that a survey was necessary on safety grounds.
RESOLVED that a survey should be arranged to advise on safety of the wall at St. Andrew's Churchyard.

303.    YOUTH  COUNCIL
Councillors were reminded that when Head of Ramsey College had attended a Council meeting in November there was a suggestion that a Youth Council be formed in Halstead.   It was agreed that this matter should
now be taken forward, although it would be a complicated issue to resolve.
It was thought that Cllr Mrs L Hilton, Cllr G Howlett  and Cllr M Fincken, who had liaised with Youth Workers regarding recent HYPE events, should form a sub-group to take the issue forward.  It was felt that a Youth Council could provide a valuable link between Youth Groups and the Town Council.
A sum of £250 for expenses in setting up the Youth Council was agreed.
RESOLVED that a sub-ground be formed to explore the possibility of forming a Youth Council in Halstead.

304.    TOWN  GUIDE
Councillors were reminded that the latest edition of the Halstead Town Guide was prepared in 2007 and therefore some items were out of date.  It was also suggested that other items could be added to enhance the information within the Guide.
In January 2009 the publishers of the Guide had visited Halstead to speak to existing advertisers but failed to gain sufficient orders to make further publication viable.  Another attempt had been made in January 2010, but with a similar outcome.  Clerk has discussed an option for Town Council to fund a revision of the Guide in a slightly different guise at an estimated cost of £1500.
Clerk said that no other quotes had been sought, and it was agreed that a lower offer should be made to the publisher.  It was said that the Guide was given to Estate Agents as well as to Tourist Information points in the district.
RESOLVED that Clerk should arrange publishing a new Town Guide part funded by Halstead Town Council up to a maximum of £1500.

305.    STANDING ORDERS AND FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
It was said that the last revision was in 2003 and our Auditors have recommended a revision.  It was agreed that this matter should be taken forward to the next meeting.

306.    EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS
The following resolution was proposed and seconded:
RESOLVED:  That pursuant to the provisions of section 1(2) of the Admission to Meetings Act 1960, in view of the next items to be conducted, the press and public to be excluded from the meeting.

Chairman closed the meeting at 8.40 pm