Minutes of the Sheringham Town Council Meeting Held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall

MINUTES OF THE SHERINGHAM TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, TOWN HALL, SHERINGHAM, ON TUESDAY 8 TH OCTOBER 2013, AT 7.30PM.

PRESENT: The Mayor – Cllr Douglas F Smith The Deputy Town Mayor – Cllr P Brooks Cllrs Ashcroft, Bush, Cox, Fields, Gooch, Hill, McGinn, A Smith, Stevens and Worboys. Dist Cllrs Oliver, Shepherd & Smith Deputy Town Clerk 2 Members of the Public EDP Representative

9187. TO RECEIVE AND CONSIDER APOLOGIES: Cllr Burns and Cty Cllr Hannah sent apologies.

9188. DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS RELATING TO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA: The Mayor declared an interest in Item 19, is known to the applicant. Cllr Cox declared a personal interest in Item 10d, as Honorary President of the Sheringham Society and stated he would discuss but not vote. Cllr Hill declared an interest in Item 19, as a work colleague of an applicant. Cllr Birtwell declared an interest in Item 19, is known to an applicant.

9189 TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS HELD ON 3 RD AND 17 TH SEPTEMBER, 2013: Cllr Cox asked for an amendment to Item 9190 line 6 to delete the sentence after 8th October. The Mayor stated he did in fact make the comments as minuted and therefore no amendments were made. Cllr McGinn PROPOSED acceptance of the Minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd September 2013, seconded by Cllr Fields. IT WAS AGREED. Cllr McGinn PROPOSED acceptance of the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17th September 2013, seconded by Cllr Ashcroft. IT WAS AGREED. Cllrs Cox and Gooch voted against acceptance of the Minutes of the 17th September 2013.

9190. ITEMS REQUIRING A RESOLUTION UNDER THE PUBLIC BODIES (ADMISSION TO MEETINGS ACT 1960) TO EXCLUDE THE PRESS AND PUBLIC UNDER SECTION 1C OF STANDING ORDERS: There were none on this occasion.

9191. TOWN MAYORS ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Mayor informed Members of the following: 7th August Judged Carnival talent show and participated in the Carnival Parade 8th August Attended Carnival Duck Race am, Sleepytime Train pm and took part in photo shoot for Sports Association after gaining final grant to complete the Muga pitch 9th August Opened St Peters Church Fete Sheringham Town Council Meeting 1st October 2013

11th August Awarded prizes for boating competition and welcomed Olympic Torch bearers to the torchlight procession 15th August Attended Sheringham Society Annual art exhibition at Masonic Hall 25th August Met with Julie Chalmers and Brian Hannah regarding setting up a Sheringham Youth Club 30th August Officially greeted by the Mayor of Muzillac in Brittany 7th Sept Attended 90th Birthday Party of Joan Wilkes at St Josephs Church Hall 9th Sept Attended Battle of Britain commemoration on Cromer sea front and service in Cromer Church 12th Sep Attended NNDC Chairman’s summer reception at Bayfield Hall 21st Sept Attended the opening of the new Lighthouse Church and presented prizes for the 40’s weekend 22nd Sept Mayors speech and took the salute at military parade for the 40’s weekend 26th Sept Attended the Civil Contingencies event at Oddfellows Hall 27th Sept Presented prizes at Sheringham in Bloom annual awards at St Andrews Church Hall 4th October Attended Reg Grimes funeral service at St Faiths and memorial service at the Masonic Hall

9192. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE ABOVE MINUTES: The Mayor informed members that North Norfolk District Council will be decommissioning the North Norfolk CCTV cameras on 31st March 2014, a letter from Duncan Ellis, Head of Assets and Leisure at NNDC, was circulated to Members. The five Town Councils who currently have surveillance cameras sited in their Towns have been given an initial 6 weeks to consider if they are interested in providing this service, if there is interest they are the given a further 6 weeks to formulate plans, whether done individually or collectively. The Deputy Mayor will head up a working party to investigate this matter, Cllrs McGinn and A Smith volunteered to sit on the working party. There will be a collective meeting with representatives of the five Towns week commencing 21st October. Any resolutions to be made with regard to the findings of the Working Party will be put to the November Full Council meeting.

9193. POLICE REPORT: There was no Police report on this occasion.

9194. ANY COUNTY / DISTRICT COUNCILLORS WISHING TO MAKE A REPORT: Dst Cllrs Oliver and Shepherd gave a report as follows: Further to our report last month would the Town Council consider requesting a “No HGV” sign on Woodland Rise following consultation with other residents along the road. We would be happy to carry out the consultation if the Town Council feels that would be helpful. Regarding Abbey Road we have sent off the money and we are awaiting the start date for the placing of the no access signs. We would be happy to carry out the consultation if the Town Council feels that would be helpful.

2 Sheringham Town Council Meeting 1st October 2013

NNDC have put in place a dog ban following a request from the Sheringham Sports Association. If it has not already happened I know NNDC were looking for the Town Council to provide sign posts for some of the signs to show the ban is in force. Finally we have been disturbed to hear that some of the new County Council’s proposed cuts involve removing a large amount of money for the Coasthopper and also the removal of £400,000 worth of funding from Libraries across Norfolk. We believe that both of these services are very valued by people in Sheringham and we hope the Town Council will make the views of Sheringham people known to the County Council. We will also be consulting our residents with a view to making their views known to the County Council. Cllr R Smith gave a report as follows: Cycling on Sheringham Promenade Over recent weeks I have been contacted by residents following an announcement in the North Norfolk News that cycling would be allowed on Cromer Promenade and other Promenades. Our Promenade is far narrower than Cromer’s and relaxing the ban would put pedestrians at risk. There has been a lot of confusion regarding the issues as signs have been covered up on Sheringham promenade. I was very concerned as this had been done without prior consultation and upon further investigation I have found that cycling on our Promenade is strictly prohibited by byelaws. Cllr Hannah and I have raised our concerns with officers and I have copied Duncan Ellis’ reply (found in Appendix 1) regarding a consultation. I will keep members informed when this consultation launches and would encourage you to comment on this. Mobile phone signal in North Norfolk The Eastern Daily Press have recently launched their Lets Get Connected campaign to build a picture of signal quality across Norfolk. The campaign seeks to influence phone operators to greatly improve the quality of service we receive. As we all know the signal in Sheringham is often dire so I would encourage members to submit their experiences and join the campaign. I will be submitting a motion at North Norfolk District Council’s Full Council asking the Council to back the campaign and to write to the major phone companies pressing the need for improvements to benefit residents, tourism and our local economy. More information on the campaign can be found here: www.edp24.co.uk/news/lets-get-connected

9195. TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON 3 RD SEPTEMBER AND 17 TH SEPTEMBER 2013: The Minutes having been previously circulated, Cllr McGinn PROPOSED acceptance of the Minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 3rd and 17th September, 2013, Cllr Cox seconded. IT WAS AGREED.

9196. RESOLUTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING FOR UP TO 15 MINUTES FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO SPEAK ON MATTERS RELATING TO BUSINESS BEING TRANSACTED AT THIS MEETING: Cllr COX PROPOSED adjourning the meeting prior to taking item 10(d), seconded by Cllr Hill. IT WAS AGREED. One Member of the Public spoke with regard to the request for financial help from Sheringham and District Society for repairs to the Henry Ramey Upcher shed roof. Cllr Cox PROPOSED reconvening the meeting, seconded by Cllr Stevens. IT WAS AGREED. Dst Cllrs Oliver and Smith left the meeting.

9197. FINANCE: (A) AUGUST INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FIGURES AGAINST THE BUDGET: Members were furnished with a copy of the August 2013 Income and Expenditure figures against the Budget, for information. Cllr Cox informed Members that with regard to the £481 overspend against the Putting Green under Special Items this money was payment for the repair works to the putting green shelter damaged by a bus and has since been reimbursed. (B) TO DISCUSS RECOMMENDATION FROM FINANCE OFFICERS RELATING TO PUBLIC WORKS LOAN BOARD APPLICATION: Cllr Cox informed members that five of the Finance Officers met on 1 st October to discuss the options available to the Town Council with regard to the PWLB loan application. Of the five options four Finance Officers recommend Option 1, to take the loan out now over 15 years and one Finance Officer wished to take option 4, not to take out the loan. A list of interest rates with estimated repayment costs had been tabled for information. An in depth debate took place regarding the best course of action with Cllr Cox giving a detailed explanation on the benefits of taking option 4. Cllr Cox PROPOSED that STC does not take the £100,000.00 and uses reserves and the precept over the next two years to purchase the new Community Centre, seconded by Cllr Ashcroft. A further lengthy debate took place with concerns expressed by Cllrs D Smith and McGinn at reducing reserves, leaving the Council with the inability to deal with unexpected financial expenditure. A recorded vote was taken with Cllrs Bush, Cox, Worboys and Ashcroft voting for the proposition and Cllrs Brooks, McGinn, Hill, Gooch, A Smith, Fields and Stevens voting against the proposition. Cllr Birtwell abstained. The proposition was lost. Cllr McGinn then PROPOSED that STC take the loan before the expiry date of 30th October 2013 and proceed with the loan of £100,000 repayable over 15 years, seconded by Cllr Gooch. A recorded vote was taken with Cllrs Brooks, McGinn, Hill, Gooch, Stevens, Worboys, Fields, Ashcroft, Birtwell and A Smith voted for the proposition and Cllrs Bush and Cox voted against the proposition. The proposition was carried.

(C) REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL HELP FROM SHERINGHAM AND DISTRICT SOCIETY TOWARDS REPAIRS ON THE HENRY RAMEY UPCHER SHED ROOF: Councillors were furnished with information from the Sheringham Society on the financial help needed in order to carry out repairs to the HRU shed roof. A member of the public had previously spoken to this item under public participation, giving a full explanation to the Council on the repairs needed and advising that quotes for the repair work have been obtained. A brief debate took place after which Cllr McGinn PROPOSED that STC support having the whole HRU shed roof repaired as suggested with STC paying for the repairs up to a maximum of £5,000 from capital reserves and to accept a donation of 50% of the cost from the Sheringham Society, seconded by Cllr Birtwell. IT WAS AGREED. Cllr Cox gave a full explanation on the HRU shed, the area, the appropriate materials and the best method of payment for repair work. (D) MOVEMENT OF MONEY FOR BUDGET OVERSPENDS: Cllr Cox PROPOSED that funds from Community Centre water rate budget are moved: £1,000 to Community Centre Electricity, £1,000 to Community Centre Gas and £1,500 to Community Centre Miscellaneous and that £200 is moved from Community Centre pay to Community Centre National Insurance, seconded by Cllr McGinn. IT WAS AGREED. (E) RECOMMENDATION TO ASK NNDC TO ACCEPT PRECEPT REQUEST EARLY 2014: Cllr Cox PROPOSED that STC write to NNDC and inform them that we will submit our Precept request at the end of February 2014, seconded by Cllr McGinn. The Mayor informed members that the request had to be in by the end of January 2014, however when the vote was taken the proposition was carried. (F) REPORT FROM EXTERNAL AUDITORS, MAZARS, FOR YEAR ENDING 31 ST MARCH 2013: The Deputy Clerk reported that the Annual Return for the 2012/13 financial year had been returned from Mazars with the external auditor advising that the return is in accordance with proper practices and no matters have come to their attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. On an advisory note, they draw to attention that STC’s standing orders currently include reference to the Code of Conduct (Wales). (G) INITIAL TRAINING FOR CLERKS AND COUNCILLORS: Nalc have advised that there will be two training sessions in Norwich for Councillors and Clerks, the dates being 15th and 22nd October. STC are not able to nominate any Councillors as unfortunately there are Committee meetings on both dates. (H) NORFOLK ALC AUTUMN SEMINAR AT SANDRINGHAM:

Nalc have arranged their autumn seminar for 7th November 2013 at Sandringham. No nominations to attend were received but the details will be available in the Clerk’s office.

(I) REQUEST FROM SHERINGHAM YOUTH ZONE FOR REDUCED HIRE CHARGES AT COMMUNITY CENTRE: A letter has been received from Sheringham Youth Zone asking to book the Community Centre on a Friday night from 6pm to 8pm, also a request has been made asking if the Town Council would consider a reduction to the hire fees. This matter was discussed after which Cllr McGinn PROPOSED that STC do not offer a concession on hire fees, seconded by Cllr Cox. IT WAS AGREED. Cty Cllr Hannah had suggested in his September report that it would be good for a Town Councillor to be involved with the new youth club and this matter was given due consideration after which Cllr Cox PROPOSED that STC write to Sheringham Youth Zone and ask if they would like a representative from STC on their Committee, seconded by Cllr Fields. IT WAS AGREED. Cllr McGinn volunteered to help with the constitution of the new youth club. (J) GRANT APPLICATIONS: (i) WATTON, DEREHAM AND HOLT CAB: An application for a grant has been received, Cllr McGinn so PROPOSED that STC award a grant under the 1989 LG & Housing Act , in the sum of £500, seconded by Cllr Cox. IT WAS AGREED. (ii) SHERINGHAM CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL: An application for a grant has been received, Cllr Cox PROPOSED that no grant is awarded as STC had previously decided not to make donations to any applications from new organisations, seconded by Cllr Stevens. IT WAS AGREED. The Mayor suggested the Community Centre hall is offered to the Christmas Tree Festival committee at no cost, with the Mayor hosting a quiz evening to be run by the Festival Committee to fund raise for the Festival. However it was agreed not to proceed with this suggestion. (K) ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT: The Accounts for Payment having been previously circulated, Cllr McGinn PROPOSED acceptance of the Schedule of Accounts in the sum of £17,613.65 inc vat, Cllr Cox seconded. IT WAS AGREED.

9198. TO RATIFY APPOINTMENT OF PERMANENT CARETAKER AND TEMPORARY ASSISTANT CARETAKER AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE: Cllr Brooks asked for the reasons for the recommendation to appoint the two new members of Staff and not the former staff. Cllr Fields responded that the Interview Panel felt the two successful applicants had more skills to bring to the job and would be more pro-active in running the Community Centre. Cllr Birtwell stated that when all Councillors had received a phone call to confirm their agreement to the

two new appointments, he had thought he was being informed rather than asked and showed concern that the correct protocol had not been followed. The Mayor advised that correct procedures had been confirmed by NALC and had been followed. Cllr McGinn advised that STC had to take on the two new staff at very short notice in order to enable the Centre to continue operating. Cllr McGinn PROPOSED that STC ratify the recommendation of the Interview Panel to appoint Mr C McCormack as permanent Caretaker, at 18 hours per week and with a three month probation period and Mr M Norman as Temporary Assistant Caretaker, at 12 hours per week for a period of six months, seconded by Cllr Cox. IT WAS AGREED.

9199. CLERKS REPORT:  Norfolk ALC Annual Report 2012/13 – The Diamond Jubilee and London Olympic Year.  The Mo Sheringham Museum – Autumn 2013 Newsletter.  Notice of NCC Road Traffic Order to create a crossing point to improve pedestrian safety at Station Road junction to New Road and junction of Augusta Street, Sheringham with effect from 14 th to 27th October 2013.  Notice of NCC Road Traffic Speed Restriction Order on the A149 Cromer Road to Construct New Accesses, Footway Re-Alignment, Carriageway Widening and Drainage Works with effect from 3rd to 10th October, 2013.  Receiving the Chamber of Trade Executive Committee Meeting held on 9th September 2013 – available in the Clerks office.  Received with September 2013 Edition of the Clerks and Councils Direct Magazine – available in the Clerks office.  A request has been received from The Mo Museum for a letter of support for their recent Heritage Lottery Fund application for funding. It was agreed the Clerk will send a letter of support from STC.

9200. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 5th November 2013.

The meeting closed at 9.30pm.