TUNBRIDGE WELLS BOROUGH COUNCIL MINUTES of a meeting of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, duly convened and held at the Council Chamber, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1RS, at 6.30 pm on Wednesday, 23 July 2014 PRESENT: The Mayor Councillor Julian Stanyer (Chairman) Councillors Dr Basu, Backhouse, Barrington-King, Bulman, Chapelard, Mrs Cobbold, Mrs Crowhurst, Dawlings, Derrick, Elliott (Vice-Chairman), Gray, Dr Hall, Hastie, Hill, Hills, Horwood, Jamil, Jukes, March, Mrs Mayhew, McDermott, Munn, Neve, Noakes, Ms Palmer, Rogers, Rusbridge, Scholes, Scott, Sloan, Mrs Soyke, Mrs Thomas, Tompsett, Waldock, Wauchope, Ward, Weatherly, Webb, Weeden, Williams and Woodward IN ATTENDANCE: William Benson (Chief Executive), Wendy Newton-May (Democratic Services Officer) and John Scarborough (Head of Legal Partnership) APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FC15/14 Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Hall, Lewis, Patterson and Smith. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FC16/14 No declarations of interest were made at the meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS FC17/14 The Mayor made the following announcements: (a) Since his appointment, the Mayor had attended 44 engagements in 42 days and had opened a number of carnivals and fetes across the borough. (b) He had opened new housing developments at Ramslye and Culverden. (c) He had visited Skinner’s Kent Academy, Langton Green Primary School (where two brothers had organised a triathlon to raise £750 to buy new PE equipment), and Speldhurst Primary School (where two pupils had organised a whole year’s assemblies for their school). (d) The Royal Marines had been welcomed by the Mayor who had skied, sailed, cycled, canoed and run their way around Europe to raise £6 million for charities ministering to the needs of injured ex-servicemen from recent global conflicts. (e) The Secret Garden project at St. Barnabus’s school had been opened by the Mayor, a wonderful mural expressing the four seasons which had been produced by the pupils and the artist Jane Churchill. (f) A number of older residents had been visited in their care homes, to share a cream tea with and learn about their experiences and needs. (g) The Mayor had been invited to Southborough School of Dance and he attended the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists, which attracted young musicians from around the world. (h) He had also attended a number of AGMs and Garden Parties. (i) The Mayor mentioned that he had seen and admired projects aimed at those less fortunate, such as the Challenger Troup and K College Tri-angle Awards. (j) The Mayor had attended a number of events commemorating the brave men and women who died in both major wars. (k) He had met colleagues from across Kent sharing what was happening in other authorities and attending civic occasions. (l) The Mayor’s team won the bowls match against the Grove Bowling Club. (m) The Mayor reminded members of the reception for the Lord Mayor of Wiesbaden and Delegation to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Twinning Charter, which was taking place on Friday 25 July. (n) He also reminded members of the First World War commemorations in Calverely Grounds on 3 August at 2.30pm. (o) Members were advised that the Mayor now had a second granddaughter – born the previous day. The Mayor mentioned that he would not have been able to keep up the frenetic pace without the incredible help and support of Katie and Jerry and he publicly thanked them for making the year such a success. The Leader, Councillor Jukes, made the following announcements: (a) The demolition of the cinema site had commenced. He stated that he was pleased that the process had followed the legal route and not required compulsory purchase. He added that he thought petitions had made very little impact on the developer. (b) Members noted that, following the success of the recent Job’s Fair, employers had requested a further one. This would take place on 17 September at the Assembly Hall Theatre. Councillor Weatherly, Portfolio Holder for Communities and Wellbeing, reminded members of the Love Where We Live awards and encouraged nominations to be in by 1 August. THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS DATED 16 APRIL, 11 JUNE AND 2 JULY 2014 FC18/14 The minutes of the previous meetings dated 16 April, 11 June and 2 July 2014 were all approved as a correct record. QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FC19/14 There were no questions from members of the public. QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL FC20/14 There were no questions from members of the Council. CIVIC MEDALLION AWARD 2014 FC21/14 Councillor Rusbridge, Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder, presented a report advising members that he had submitted a nomination for consideration under the Civic Medallion Award Scheme for the Tunbridge Wells Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadet Unit, TS Brilliant. It was noted that the nomination had been considered by a working group of councillors before submission to Cabinet – who agreed to unanimously endorse the nomination. In moving the recommendation, Councillor Rusbridge provided a background of the long and meritorious service which TS Brilliant had achieved for the benefit of young people over the course of the last 75 years, attracting national and international praise and bringing great credit to the Borough. Councillor Rusbridge detailed the support given by TS Brilliant, including friendship visits to Wiesbaden for over 30 years and a visit to the Menin Gate and Wiesbaden again this weekend; representing Southborough during the anniversary of the signing of the Twinning; poppy appeals, participating in Remembrance Sunday parades, as well as garden parties and jubilees, and playing the bugle at Menin Gate. TS Brilliant had also been recognised in the Love Where We Live Awards and in 1998 they won the Canada Trophy for the best unit in the country. Members were advised that over 100 ex-cadets had now formed an ex-cadet band and had recently performed in Southborough’s Fun Day. Since 1995 over 3,000 young people had benefitted from joining TS Brilliant and the Mayor appointed a cadet every year. Councillor Jukes seconded the recommendation and reserved his right to speak. Councillor Neve spoke of his support for the nomination and added that he was encouraged at the number of young people that took part in TS Brilliant within the Borough. Councillor Webb agreed that the organisation fully deserved such an award and fully supported the nomination. Councillor Ms Hill stated that this was a wonderful opportunity for TS Brilliant and a worthy nomination as they did so much for Southborough and the Borough. Councillor Mrs Cobbold mentioned that she had fond memories of TS Brilliant attending many festivals and celebrations within the Borough and they truly deserved such recognition. In summing up, Councillor Jukes spoke of his great pleasure in endorsing this award to TS Brilliant and recommended that all youths within the Borough should be encouraged to join the organisation as it provided enjoyment as well as discipline. The Mayor then took a vote on the recommendation. VOTE UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED RESOLVED – That a civic medallion be awarded to TS Brilliant, as fitting recognition of the benefit it has brought to young people and for the credit it has brought to the Borough. REASON: The Civic Medallion Scheme was set up to award meritorious service by residents in the Borough, and is a formal recognition of the nominee’s contribution to the Borough over many years. COMMUNITY SAFETY PARTNERSHIP PLAN 2014/15 FC22/14 Councillor Barrington-King, Sustainability Portfolio Holder, presented the Community Safety Partnership Plan 2014/15, which detailed how the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) would meet its obligations in tackling priority crime and anti-social behaviour. He advised that the Partnership also had a duty to give “due regard” to the priorities of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Members noted that in the 2013/14 financial year, Tunbridge Wells was positioned in 1st 2nd or 3rd place in 12 of the 15 crime categories making it the safest place to live in Kent. Councillor Barrington-King invited members to visit the CSP office within the roof space of the Town Hall to meet all the different partners that staffed the multi-agency office. Councillor Derrick seconded the recommendation. Councillor Neve referred to one of the priorities regarding road safety, in particular the promotion of 20 mph zones around selected schools. He queried the milestones/targets column which stated ‘number of successful zones set up’ and felt that this was not a specific target, and did not include any timescales. Councillor Woodward agreed that the actions did not adequately illustrate the targets. In addition, Councillor Bulman stated that because the targets set out in the Plan were so vague it was difficult to make meaningful comments. In response to Councillor Neve, Councillor Scholes clarified that two zones had gone out to public consultation and would be completed in the October half term school holiday. He agreed that the targets should be set out clearly in the Plan. Councillor Derrick added that four zones in total had been investigated and the two that had been approved outside schools were St Barnabas and St Matthews. She considered this to be a very positive step forward and encouraged more schools to engage in the future. Councillor Sloan mentioned that, as the Partnership had a duty to give due regard to the priorities of the Police and Crime Commissioner, he would hope to see a greater police presence and visibility around the Borough. With regard to the CCTV, Councillor Mrs Mayhew questioned why the Council funded this provision when it was a joint aspiration shared between the agencies within the Partnership. Councillor Barrington-King thanked members for their valuable comments, which he would discuss with the Interim Community Safety Manager.