Halstead Town Council

Membership:

                 Also in attendance         Mr M Murkin, Town Clerk
                                                       Mrs J Smith, Minute Clerk
                                                       Mr David Johnson (Public)
                                                        

270     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Mrs B Gage and Cllr H Messenger

271     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 or Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members and having taken appropriate advice (where necessary) before the meeting. Cllr Mrs J Pell declared Personal interest in item no. 6 - Tenderer known and Personal interest in Item no. 7 - Chairman of Friends of Halstead Public GardensCllr D Hume declared Personal interest in item no. 6- Tenderer known and Personal interest in item no. 8 - contractor known

272     PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Mr David Johnson thanked the council for their excellent work in the community and commended them for giving their time and efforts to the Town.
He said that he had viewed Town Council accounts for several years and noted the recent Financial Statement; he had two questions regarding this statement.
He asked about the medium to long term plans for the Queen's Hall as it has limited parking and access.  He noted that in recent times outgoings had exceeded receipts by increasing percentages and asked for Council's comments.
Town Clerk responded by saying that the building was of an age that requires constant maintenance and it is felt important that the Hall is kept in good condition.  He felt that there was no overspend and that very few public halls make a profit.
Cllr Mrs J Pell said that there were ambitions for the future of the Hall and the Town Council was exploring the possibility of partnerships in such ventures.  The Hall is an amenity for Halstead, a place for the public to hold private functions as well as various club meetings.  There were no plans to increase costs by significant margins to cover costs.
Cllr M Fincken said that various amenities in the Town were bought from Braintree District Council such as car parking and the Queen's Hall.  He said that some of these amenities were sources of revenue, and some were loss making and in balance there is no disadvantage to Halstead Council Tax payers.   Cllr M Fincken said that the Council was looking forward to developing all facilities in Halstead.
Mr David Johnson asked who would manage any new public facility in the Town and Cllr J Pell said that although a working partnership would be ideal, in practice the Town council would probably have to manage any new facility at first.
Cllr D Hume that said in the short term the Council accepted the costs for Queen's Hall and that no long term decisions had yet been made; in practice the decisions long term were not entirely in the hand of Halstead Town Council.
Mr Johnson said that he was impressed with the financial structure of Halstead Town Council.
Mr Johnson asked a secondary question about an item noted on 30^th November 2010 at £1750 for parties.  He said that he was aware of new advice from Central Government about breakdown of all costs over £500.00 and advice that this should be published on-line to give greater transparency; he asked if Halstead Town Council was yet at a point when this would be available in the Town.
Town Clerk said that a paper would be presented at the forthcoming Full Council Meeting on this subject. Cllr D Hume said that he had met with Town Clerk on this subject and felt that Council is well placed to produce the necessary reports.

273     MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 6^th January 2011 having been previously circulated, were approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman. 

274     PLANNING APPLICATIONS    
Town Clerk advised that there were no new planning applications and report on the following applications that had been given consideration was noted:
11/00072/FUL - 1 Sudbury Road, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2BA. Erection of a single dwelling with attached garaging and associated landscaping works - revised application following withdrawal of application no. 08/00326/FUL.
Members have seen the letter of objection and noted its comments.  Members Raised no further objections.
11/00078/FUL - 1 Portway Court, Halstead, Essex. CO9 2BP - erection of rear conservatory. 
Members raised no comments.
11/00108/FUL - Wade International Ltd., Third Avenue, Bluebridge Industrial Estate Halstead, Essex CO9 2SX - 46no. car parking spaces to the rear and side of premises and associated access road. 
Members raised no comments.

Report was moved.
D Hume noted that some applications were awaiting consultation, and Cllr Mrs J Pell noted that on several occasions plans were not placed on Braintree District Council's Planning web site until after Consultation Documents had been circulated.
Town Clerk advised that he has been investigating ways to enable Councillors to view plans in a larger format.  He said that if PDF files are downloaded they can then be viewed full-screen.  He is investigating purchase of a larger screen to be installed at Mill House - plans could then be printed on A3 paper in-house.
Cllr Mrs L Hilton suggested that perhaps plans could be printed to larger size by local Estate Agents, but this was not thought to be appropriate.

275.    CHRISTMAS  LIGHTS
Sealed bid Tenders were invited for a three year period but only one tender was received.  Some questions were raised about costs over the three year period, but it was pointed out that each year additional lights were added to displays. Cllr M Fincken proposed acceptance of the tender and this proposal was moved with three votes for the proposal with one abstention.
       

276.    EVENTS IN THE PUBLIC GARDENS
Cllr Mrs J Pell noted that the event on 12^th June - Harwich Royal British Legion Brass Band and picnic for the Great Poppy Party Weekend - has been arranged and paid for by Halstead Town Council in support of the Royal British Legion
Two other band events had been arranged  - on 7^th August and 21^st August and after a general discussion it was agreed that HTC would pay Licenses and the cost for both bands.  After looking at their accounts and establishing that there was enough money in the bank the Friends of Public Gardens may be able to make a donation.
Cllr M Fincken felt that it would be better for the Friends group to use funds for other permanent amenities in the Public Gardens - new signage, more plants, etc
Cllr Fincken asked that all events should be well-publicised all councilors agreed that a banner on the railings announcing that an event was forthcoming was a good idea.  The Chairman stated that this is in hand.
Report was noted

277.    SUMMER  HOLIDAY  ACTIVITIES
Report had been prepared on costs for events similar to the previous year but           Chairman felt that there should be different activities for this summer such as Jugglers, stilt walkers, mime artists, etc.  Chairman felt that not all the entertainments last year were  good value for money.
Cllr Fincken said that it would be necessary to book entertainments in the near future
Resolved that the Town Council would look into booking 6 different activities this year, and that if licenses were needed they could easily be obtained.

278.    YOUTH  COUNCIL
A verbal report was given by Cllr Mrs L Hilton on the Youth Council meeting held earlier that evening.    It was said that Officers had been elected, with the Chairman being Lauren James and Vice Chairman Sam Chumbley.
Youth Council is planning a Heritage week in mid-July ending with a show and films; Trinity Church had been suggested as a venue for this.  It was said that the Council is very enthusiastic and it was hoped that this would continue.
The draft Constitution had been ratified, and this will be put to Full Council at next meeting.
It was said that the Council are intending to visit Primary Schools to engage younger children and they plan litter picks and other events aimed at educating on recycling.
Cllr M Fincken said that two enthusiastic teachers were assisting the Youth Council and Members wished the Youth Council every success.

279.    EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS
The following resolution was carried:
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.

The meeting closed at   8.13 p.m.