Church Stretton Parish Council

Church Stretton Town Council

COMMITTEE REPORTS FOR 48th ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

(item 7 on Agenda) a) AMENITIES, FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

The year started following the merger of the two Committees – Amenities and Finance & General – into one committee, to save time, money and duplication. Working closely with the Town Clerk, the Committee is responsible for the management of the Council’s assets and amenities, including the office and Silvester Horne Institute, as well as all the exterior services. It establishes policy on administration and staff matters.

It is also responsible for financial matters and production of the Annual Budget in line with Council policy.

It has been a challenging year for finances. In 2012/13 the outdoor grant of £23,500 from Shropshire Council was withdrawn; and this year saw the Government Council Tax Support Grant cut by nearly £1,000. The Town Council pledged £10,000 to support the establishment of the Wellbeing Centre in Church Stretton.

Late notification by the Local Government Pension Fund stated that, following the triennial valuation, CSTC contribution would rise from 16.2% to 23.8%, effective 1st April 2014.

The proposed budget was further reviewed and it was possible to identify further savings. The budget requirement was calculated as £274,695. Of this, £15,497 would be contributed from the Government, resulting in the precept requirement of £259,198. Thus, Band D Council Tax would be £126.50 – an increase of £4.64 for the year (3.8% - ie 9 pence per week).

The part-night lighting programme, originally introduced on trial in 2012, has now been finally completed, encompassing all the ‘Strettons’. This final phase will further reduce our electricity costs by around £2,300 per year, as well as further carbon saving (and carbon tax for Shropshire Council).

The work has now finished on the Flood alleviation plan for Russells Meadow, together with the pitchworks. This has been funded by Sport England and Football Foundation.

In 2012, it had been thought desirable to install a permanent CCTV system in Church Stretton. This did not proceed, due to lack of funding, but it was decided to trial a small portable battery camera - battery powered, but lasts a year – very easy to install and move at short notice. The trial proved successful and, following advice from the Safer Neighbourhood team, it was decided to purchase four cameras for various locations. The total cost, including signage, cable tie, etc, was £1,079. This was met by a 60% contribution from the Local Joint Committee, with CSTC contributing the balance. Discussion had taken place recently between the Committee and supporters for a new skatepark. However, due principally to the prohibitive cost and lack of volunteers, it was decided that it was not practicable to proceed at this present time.

Grants totally £1,245 were made to local charities and organisations, in line with previous years.

Chairman, on behalf of the F&GP Committee March 2014 *************************************************************************** ************* b) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (EDC), incorporating the SHI Community Partnership (SHICP)

The Economic Development Committee has been active on a wide variety of fronts over the last year:  The market franchise has been renewed and efforts continue to increase the size of the market, which is why the option of possible re-location to a Lion Meadow car park is being actively pursued;  Small business grant scheme - all of the remaining monies from the Market Town Revitalisation Grant have now been allocated to local traders to improve their premises;  The Committee has sought to promote the town in a variety of ways: o Through the wide distribution of a jointly-funded Town Leaflet; o The erection of Gateway signs to the town; o Backing for the Stretton Medieval event celebrating 800 years of markets in Church Stretton; o The creation of a new Town Promotions budget to fund future initiatives jointly with the Chamber of Trade and the Area Tourism Group; o The hosting of an electric charge point for electric cars in collaboration with Stretton Climate Care.  The establishment with Shropshire Council of an all-inclusive Church Stretton Business Forum, for the first time bringing together local businesses, traders and home-workers to promote networking opportunities and shared initiatives;  Active campaigning to identify and promote alternative employment land sites in the SAMDev process at Spring Bank Farm and Laundry Bank, to ensure that the proposed industrial site at New House Farm on the slopes of Caer Caradoc does not gain approval;  The Committee has been represented on the ‘Local Commissioning Pilot’ Scheme in Church Stretton, which has focused on three areas – unemployment, social care, and streetscene services and enforcement. However, none of these work-schemes have been anything other than possibly overdue service re-design exercises; there has been no localised commissioning. With the publication of Shropshire Council’s draft Commissioning Strategy, there is the opportunity to press for meaningful devolution of commissioning or co-commissioning of appropriate local services, and to jointly review the building assets of both the Shropshire Council and Town Council, with a view to making the most cost-effective use of both. As Shropshire Council continues to make major budget cut-backs, it is ever more evident that towns will have to take on more responsibility for managing their own affairs. Given the united way in which the community has come together to overturn inappropriate housing and employment land proposals, I am confident that it will rise to the challenge of promoting its own sustainability. To that end, the Economic Development Committee will be leading on a review of the Town Plan, in the coming year, which will include a community consultation exercise to ensure collective ownership of the Plan. Chairman, on behalf of the EDC March 2014 *************************************************************************** *************

END OF COMMITTEE REPORTS Ref: CTTEEREP_2014