OPEN SESSION: There were no members of public present.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF RINGWOOD TOWN COUNCIL
Held on Wednesday 29th April 2009 at 7.00pm
Apologies Prior to the meeting, the Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr M A Steele.
Declarations of Interest There were none.
PRESENT: Cllr B H Terry (Town Mayor) Cllr P Chambers Cllr N J Chard Cllr N R G Clarke Cllr D Cole Cllr L C Ford Cllr J Heron Cllr Mrs G O’Reilly Cllr W S Rippon-Swaine Cllr Mrs J Terry Cllr Mrs M Urwin Cllr Mrs A Wiseman Cllr Mrs B Woodifield
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr T Simpson, Town Clerk Mrs J Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk Student Advisor James Fullick
C/4901 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 25th March 2009, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.
C/4902 PLANNING, TOWN & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Cllr Clarke presented the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 27th March 2009.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee meeting held on 27th March 2009 be received.
C/4903 RECREATION, LEISURE AND OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE
Cllr Chard presented the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st April 2009.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st April 2009 be received.
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Cllr Heron presented the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th April 2009.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Policy & Finance Committee meeting held on 15th April 2009 be received and the recommendation at F/4386 be approved.
C/4905 COMMUNICATIONS TO BE RECEIVED
The Town Mayor reported the following:
1) Following new guidelines issued in 2008 on the permitted use of red diesel by agricultural vehicles, there was doubt about the use of red diesel in the Council’s grass maintenance vehicles.
The Town Council drew this issue to the attention of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) with a view to the NALC taking steps to ensure that this Order does not apply to tractors, ride on mowers or similar equipment used by Town and Parish Councils.
The matter was also referred to Hampshire County Council and New Forest District Council with a view to those authorities seeking support for the motion from the Local Government Association. The District Council did not consider any action was necessary.
It was therefore interesting to note that, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), one local authority has now been contacted by Revenue and Customs to pay a significant sum in excess duty as a result of its tractors being dipped for red diesel. The LGA is requesting further information on the effect of the changed red diesel guidelines on local authorities.
2) A Certificate of Membership had been received from Community First New Forest.
3) He had attended the Ringwood and Fordingbridge Lions evening last Saturday and was delighted to have been presented with a cheque for £250 for the Mayor’s Charity.
C/4906 REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
District Councillor Rippon-Swaine reported on a meeting of the Southampton Road Environmental Improvements Steering Group. A public exhibition would be held in a vacant shop unit adjacent to the site where improvements were proposed (33A Southampton Road – previously Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture) on Wednesday 13th May between 10am and 8pm and Saturday 16th May between 10am and 1pm. Unfortunately, there was insufficient funding to improve the entire area, but it was hoped that works to improve the northern end would be carried out in early 2010.
District Councillor Ford had submitted a written report, which was circulated to Members (Annex ‘A’). She added that she was continuing to lobby for replacement toilets for the town.
County Councillor Clarke reported that he had attended a Members Briefing to discuss Local Area Agreement Performance Indicators relating to congestion and accessibility. He also reported that the County Council had been carrying out testing with regard to regulatory weights and measures and, in particular, checking fuel dispensers at supermarkets and weighing machines in hospitals. 2 Downloaded/Printed from the Ringwood Town Council Web Site www.ringwood.gov.uk
District Councillor Treleaven had submitted a written report, which was circulated to Members (Annex ‘B’).
C/4907 FORTHCOMING MEETINGS
Planning, Town & Environment 2.00pm Friday 24th April Town Assembly and Annual Meeting 7.00pm Wednesday 6th May at Greyfriars Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces 7.00pm Wednesday 13th May Policy & Finance 7.00pm Wednesday 20th May Planning, Town & Environment 2.00pm Friday 22nd May Full Council 7.00pm Wednesday 27th May
There being no further business, the Town Mayor closed the meeting at 7.17pm.
RECEIVED AND ADOPTED 6th May 2009
TOWN MAYOR
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Annex ‘B’
Ringwood Town Council Meeting 29th April 2009 – a Report from District Councillor Chris Treleaven
1) Public Examination of NFDC Core Strategy Preliminary Hearing with the DCLG-appointed Inspector (Michael Hetherington) was held on Thursday last. Judging by the number of lawyers and developers present, the contentious issues at this stage look to be:- a) Dibden Bay strategic port issue (again!) and b) how to include into the housing targets the historically large proportion of “windfall” sites. Formal proceedings scheduled for June 2nd-17th. Background papers, letters, representations etc are on NFDC website ref. “Core Strategy Public Examination”.
2) National Park Authority – Core Strategy/Management Plan – final version. NPA are conducting consultative working parties/group sessions as part of their preparations for the submission document. Last week saw the turn of the local District Ward Councillors to have their say and both Cllr Ford and I attended. The now familiar topics of ‘zoning’, employment and tourist opportunities, affordable housing, traffic management measures and horse-keeping were discussed from equally familiar standpoints. I did detect an air of compromise on some issues, but we will wait to see!
3) Southampton Road Improvements As your Council will be aware, the HCC Country Town Initiative programme is progressing to the draft plan stage. A public exhibition of the proposals will be displayed - with Officers present - in the former herbal medicine shop in Southampton Road on May 13th (10-8pm) and 16th (10-1pm).
4) Town Access Plan The first formal meeting of the Steering Group was held on 21st April (with Deputy Town Clerk, Cllr Wiseman and myself present with HCC and NFDC Officers). The first task was to agree which community facilities within the Town should be prioritised for ensuring safe and sustainable access for all groups of our residents, with emphasis on walking and cycling routes. Any programme of improvements would, in the main, be funded from Developers’ Contributions. In view of some recent adverse Planning Appeals, where Transport Contributions were deemed unnecessary because the need for schemes had not been adequately specified, it is particularly important that the Town Access Plan defines clear and justified improvements necessary for the welfare of our residents, businesses and visitors.
5) Furlong Car Park – tendency to flood in the SE area Many residents have complained that, following and during periods of heavy rain, the lower part of the car park sometimes floods. The whole park is serviced by soakaway drainage points, and a programme is now being undertaken progressively to clean these out. It should be pointed out that the cost of connecting these drains to the piped drainage system running within the Town would be prohibitive.
6) District Car Parks – feasibility of paying by phone Our Parking Manager is compiling a feasibility study for improving our parking service by offering the opportunity to pay parking charges by mobile phone in place of the pay & display ticket. Visits to neighbouring authorities who offer this facility suggest considerable advantages to users.
(crt24thMarch)