FAR COTTON & DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL Thursday, 25 February 2021 PRESENT: Councillor Walker (Chair); Councillor Roberts (Deputy Chair); Councillors Davenport, T Eales B Markham and Larratt; Mr Mark Plowman. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE NONE RECEIVED 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST NONE 3. MINUTES RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 January 2021 were agreed as a true record. 4. LOGO FOR FAR COTTON AND DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL At the Chair’s invitation, the Clerk explained the proposal to run a competition for young people to design a logo for the Parish Council, this would give young people the opportunity to be involved in the formation of the council and would also raise awareness of the council with families throughout the area. All agreed that this was an excellent idea and following discussion it was… RESOLVED that it be delegated to the Clerk in consultation with Cllr Roberts and Cllr Larratt to launch a logo competition. 5. POLICE INFORMATION • To receive a police report for the local area. The Clerk displayed the police report as shown in appendix 1 and members noted the information. RESOLVED to note the report and thank PC Chris Bates for his time in preparing the report. • Police Liaison Representative: To appoint a police liaison representative to act as a single point of contact with Northamptonshire Police. Cllr Roberts nominated a resident who was interested in taking on the role. All agreed that it would be excellent for a resident to undertake the role. However, it was agreed that the matter should be decided after the election when the new councillors are in post. As an interim measure it was proposed that the Clerk take on the role until the Annual Meeting when the post could be reviewed again and hopefully taken on by a resident. It was agreed that the role should be advertised via the council’s website. Cllr Roberts was asked to extend the councils thanks to the resident for volunteering and it was hoped that they would volunteer in May when the post is reviewed. RESOLVED that Kate Houlihan, Interim Clerk be appointed as the police liaison representative and this would be reviewed at the Annual Meeting. 6. PLANNING MATTERS • Applications for consideration (if any) There were no applications received. 1 Far Cotton & Delapre Community Council Minutes - Thursday, 25 February 2021 7. TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RE-ORGANISATION ORDER AND SET-UP OF FAR COTTON AND DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL At the Chairs invitation the Clerk presented her report as shown in appendix 2. In particular the following items were discussed. The Clerk explained that there was still no firm information regarding the running costs for the allotments. Cllr Roberts expressed concern that this information was still not available and asked that this be prioritised, although it was recognised that it may not be possible to finalise this prior to the elections. The Clerk explained that the Council was likely to be awarded a grant of £6,744 from Northampton Borough Council (NBC), to support the set-up costs of the council, this was subject to final approval. The meeting was joined by Edwina Crowley; Corporate Asset Manager, NBC and a discussion regarding the future ownership and possible asset transfer of the “Rec Centre” took place. Ms. Crowley explained that she was here to assist the Community Council as they begin to consider any asset transfer. Ms Crowley confirmed that the building and land was owned by NBC and that they were four main leases in place for the building these being; • Community space • Library space (lease held by NCC) • Pharmacy • NHS Ms Crowley suggested that the two leases the Community Council may to wish to look at in more detail were for the Community and Library spaces and that these leases may offer the opportunity for office space for the council. Cllr Roberts stated that the community had been given a commitment that there was the possibility of a whole asset transfer, not just office space, to move forward the Community Council needed information on all the leases available, the costs, income generation and the length of the leases. Cllr Davenport, asked if there was any update regarding the library space? Ms. Crowley said that as the landlord on behalf of NBC she had not been approached by any party asking for all, or any part, of the library lease to be assigned to another party. It was noted that with the transition to a unitary authority, the landlord and tenant for the library space would be the same party. Cllr Roberts asked Ms. Crowley to confirm that the building hadn’t been sold. Ms. Crowley and Cllr Larratt confirmed that the building had not been sold. Cllr Larratt went on to say that NBC wanted to transfer assets to the community and that the matter would continue to be raised with the new West Northamptonshire Council. Ms Crowley closed by saying the “Rec Centre” was a good modern building that generates income, she would arrange for the Community Council to have information on all the leases, service charges and costs, so that they had the right information to consider the matter more fully. Cllr Larratt noted that under the reorganisation order there was a requirement for office space to be provided and that the council shouldn’t lose site of this whilst considering a whole asset transfer. 2 Far Cotton & Delapre Community Council Minutes - Thursday, 25 February 2021 RESOLVED a) to note the report and the ongoing considerations around asset transfers b) to resolve to open a bank account with Unity Trust Bank and that Cllr Roberts and Cllr Walker be appointed as signatories. c) to appoint NcALC as the council’s internal auditor, d) to appoint Smaller Authority Appointments Ltd as the external auditor, 8. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: TO CONSIDER HOW FAR COTTON AND DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL WILL MANAGE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT FUTURE MEETINGS. At the Chairs invitation the Clerk presented her report as shown in appendix 3. During discussion all agreed that it was important for the public to be able to participate in the meetings, and that they should be encouraged to raise any queries or issues at meetings. It was agreed that to properly manage the meeting it would be helpful to have an understanding of the number of people wanting to speak. It was also agreed that whilst meetings were being held virtually, for the security of all involved, it would be best not to give the zoom code out publicly, but to live stream the meetings. RESOLVED that Far Cotton and Delapre Community Council continue to live stream meetings and the zoom code is not available publicly. Anyone wishing to speak would be asked to register by 2pm on the day of the meeting and issued with the zoom code. These arrangements would be reviewed once Covid restrictions are lifted and the council can meet in person. 9. FAR COTTON AND DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL WEBSITE: TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE AND DEMONSTRATION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEBSITE FOR FAR COTTON AND DELAPRE COMMUNITY COUNCIL. The Clerk gave a demonstration of the website for the Community Council. All were happy with the progress to date. A number of questions were raised regarding the accessibility of the website and the Clerk will raise these matters with the website provider. RESOLVED to note the progress with developing a website for Far Cotton and Delapre Community Council. 10. PROMOTING CANDIDACY AT THE MAY 2021 ELECTIONS Members reviewed the report of the Clerk as shown in appendix 4. It was agreed that all promotional materials should be as inclusive as possible, to ensure that those without access social media and those with disabilities can access the information on candidacy. It was suggested that a simple template could be used to as an equalities impact assessment to ensure that all relevant matters are considered. Following discussion it was.. RESOLVED a) to note the report b) to launch the Far Cotton and Delapre Parish Community Council website c) to set up a Facebook page and Twitter account and that Facebook advertising is considered. d) to use resources from NcALC/NALC and other agencies/partners e) to distribute posters/leaflets as widely as possible whilst adhering to Covid restrictions 3 Far Cotton & Delapre Community Council Minutes - Thursday, 25 February 2021 f) to investigate the use of an equalities impact assessment to ensure best practice. 11. OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION ONLY The date of the next meeting was agreed as 18th March 2020 at 7pm 4 Far Cotton & Delapre Community Council Minutes - Thursday, 25 February 2021 Appendix 1 PC PCSO PCSO Northamptonshire Police Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team Mereway Fire & Police Station MEREWAY Northampton NN4 8BW Telephone: 101 Follow us on Twitter: @NptonPolice Like us on Facebook: NorthamptonPolice Wednesday 6th January 2021 Far Cotton and Delapre Council Police Report. Crime Figures – 2021. Burglary Burglary Non Criminal Vehicle Residential Businsess Damage Crime January 13 (5) 0 (2) 8 (15) 10 (15) February 10 (4) 0 (3) 9 (8) 17 (4) March April May June July August September October November December 5 Far Cotton & Delapre Community Council Minutes - Thursday, 25 February 2021 Appendix 2 A report on the set-up Far Cotton and Delapre Community Council and the implementation of the re-organisation order Recommendations: a) to note the report, b) to resolve to open a bank account with Unity Trust Bank, c) to appoint NcALC as the council’s internal auditor, d) to appoint Smaller Authority Appointments Ltd as the external auditor, 1.0 Background Information There are a number of items that the council needs to put in place in the coming weeks and months to ensure that council operates legally and effectively.