HAWARDEN COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes of the MEETING of the STAFF AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held on 10 NOVEMBER 2008 PRESENT: Chair: Councillor R Small Vice-Chair: Councillor G Hardcastle Councillors: As per Council Meeting. Officers: Mr R N Barnes, Clerk & Financial Officer APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J P Edwards and Ms A M Halford DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: No declarations of interest were made by Members. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: IT WAS RESOLVED: that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 October 2008 be received as a true record and that they be signed by the Chair. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES: Trees – Ashlea Close, Mancot The Clerk advised that he had contacted the residents about the matter raised by the Chair of Committee and had subsequently written to Flintshire County Council to ask that as Landlords of the properties they take steps on behalf their tenants to have the trees attended to. Councillor Mrs G D Diskin said that she had been attempting to have this problem dealt with for some months but there appeared to be reluctance on the part of the Landowner to have any works carried out to the trees. POLICE MATTERS: The Chair welcomed the Community Beat Managers for Hawarden and Ewloe, Sandycroft and Mancot and Aston to the meeting and invited the Officers to update the Committee on any relevant matters. The following matters were reported:- • The parking problem raised at the Committee’s previous meeting at Mossley Court had now been dealt with. • The problem of antisocial behaviour in the Woodside Close area of Ewloe was worsening and it was suggested that there was a need for a CCTV system to be located in the complex to deter and assist in the apprehension of those responsible. Reference was made to the possible provision of a mobile CCTV - 78 - Chairman’s Signature _________________ camera which was able to be moved from site to site as required, the cost of which was approximately £4,000. It was noted that as this was a Flintshire County Council complex any on-site CCTV monitoring equipment should be the responsibility of the County Council. The Officers were advised that the Community Council had a CCTV monitoring system located in the Crown & Liver Public House which covered part of The Highway and the alleyway to Woodside Close, although there was some uncertainty as to how well this was being used following the recent changes of Licensees. It was suggested that a better use of this equipment might be made through its siting at Ewloe Post Office. Councillor Mrs Angell informed the Officers that Flintshire Victim Support and the Police had a joint arrangement for the temporary provision of cameras to cover incidents such as had been referred to and recommended that their availability be investigated. • There had been two incidents of violent disorder on The Highway in Ewloe which had resulted in serious injuries. • Halloween and Bonfire Nights had been much quieter than in previous years and in the case of Mancot this has been assisted by the holding of an organised party at Mancot Village Hall attended by over 90 young people. • The next Mancot Neighbourhood Policing Panel was taking place on 4 December 2008. • The complaint regarding speeding traffic in Courtland Drive, Aston had been monitored as requested. The Chair thanked the Officers for their attendance at the meeting. EWLOE WEIGHBRIDGE: The Chair welcomed Mr Adrian Stretch, Leader of VOSA’s High Risk Traffic Initiative to the meeting and invited Members to raise relevant matters concerning the operation of the Ewloe weighbridge site. Councillor Mrs Angell said that whilst she appreciated the necessity of having a Weighbridge Site and the important work which the Agency did she considered that the siting of the facility at Ewloe was inappropriate in that it was in the centre of the village and close to residential properties. Mr Stretch agreed that the site’s location was not ideal because of its close proximity to residential properties. He said that it had been intended that the weighbridge site would be relocated as part of the A494 widening programme but due to the decision not to proceed with the widening scheme that move had been shelved. - 79 - Chairman’s Signature _________________ Mr Stretch said that the Agency was mindful of the need to use the site sympathetically. He said they didn’t bring vehicles in and out of the site at school opening and closing times, endeavoured to keep refrigerated vehicles as far away from residential properties as possible and when bringing vehicles on to the site at night time did so as slowly and quietly as possible in order to cause the minimum of disruption. Mr Stretch conceded that the use of the weighbridge had increased significantly in the past two years and referred to the additional £24m which the Government had given to VOSA to tackle the problems of foreign traffic on Britain’s roads. In reply to questions raised Mr Stretch advised the following:- • The Agency was aware that some drivers with defective vehicles sought to avoid using the A55 and consequently VOSA set up at different locations at different times of the day in order to apprehend these vehicles. • Toilet facilities were available at the site for drivers. Any drivers found not to be using those facilities were warned that they faced possible prosecution. • There were an increased number of VOSA vehicles operating in the Ewloe area and this was due to the commencement of the High Risk Traffic Initiative. • Mr Stretch undertook to raise with his team the perception that their driving style was intimidating to ordinary motorists. In conclusion Mr Stretch confirmed that the Ewloe Weighbridge site was not ideal and that he would welcome a relocation to a more suitable site but until such time as that happened the Ewloe site would continue to operate at a high level because of the need to tackle the large volume of vehicles, particularly foreign ones which were not safe to be on the road. The Chair thanked Mr Stretch for his attendance at the meeting. ITEMS FOR MEMBERS’ PERUSAL: IT WAS RESOLVED: to note that the following documents had been available for Members’ perusal:- • Keep Well this Winter Campaign • Review of Community Council Election Results 2008 • Clwyd Community Health Council Annual Report 2007/2008 • Fire and Rescue National Framework for Wales 2000 - 2011 - 80 - Chairman’s Signature _________________ CLERK’S REPORT: The following matters were reported:- a) Mr D Heaton would be absent from work for a period of 6 – 8 weeks following an injury sustained in a motorcycle accident. b) A reply had been received from Flintshire County Council in connection with the signing of Industrial Estates and the A55, a copy of which had been circulated for Members’ information. IT WAS RESOLVED: that the report be received. MEMBERS’ INFORMATION ITEMS: There were none. - 81 - Chairman’s Signature _________________ .