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Notes on the Camelford Town Council meeting 18 July 2006

 

Present : Cllrs J Finch, B Grills, B Lush, B Ireland, P Clark, D Pierce, A Shaw, M Williams, L Crockford, S Elford.  Clerk B Jordan

 

Before the meeting there was a brief discussion about ‘trustee’ status at Camelford Hall.  B Lush provided a document on how this status was determined. 

J Finch informed the meeting that Cllr J Sanders’ mother had died and that Cllr Sanders would be absent.  She suggested that the council might allow her leave not to attend forthcoming meetings for a while.

 

Public Participation – none.

  1. APOLOGIES – J Sanders, proposed by A Shaw, seconded J Finch, all in favour
  2. READ CONFIRM AND SIGN MINUTES OF 6 JULY 2006 – B Lush said that on item 16)2 he had asked for it to be recorded that he asked for legal information in writing.  He believed this was agreed.  B Jordan said it was on this agenda under 4)1.  B Lush said that he asked for it to be minuted that the council has legal information in writing.  He said ‘I want it minuted please’.  P Clark said he was unhappy about the public participation part of the minutes.  It gives an untrue picture and is actually incorrect.  B Grills said that the minutes were not as accurate as they should be, but she had not seen P Clark’s email.  P Clark said that there was no mention of the mayor leaving the room.  B Grills said that perhaps they could re-word it as it was felt appropriate.  B Jordan said that that should be in the form of a proposition.  B Ireland said that he was very unhappy about the emotive language.  It was not what happened – she accused the clerk of lying.  B Grills suggested that the wording of the minutes be changed to something like ‘the mayor suspended the meeting for 15 minutes and then I asked Mrs Baber to leave the meeting  … she refused after being asked for the second time.    B Lush asked if that was before or after the meeting was suspended.    B Grills – after.  B Jordan said that the best way would be to say that Mrs Baber read a letter and the mayor responded.    A Shaw said he didn’t know what meeting P Clark was at, but he had found it quite offensive, embarrassing and insulting..  P Clark said that he thought we should remove the word ‘hurled’.  ‘Made’ would be more accurate.  ‘Mrs Baber out of control – she didn’t seem out of control to me.  If we can remove hurled and out of control I would be happy.  It should be factual.’  J Finch said that it was how the rest of the council saw it.  J Finch said do we do what P Clark wants or B Grills or take the whole lot out.  A Shaw said that the minutes as they appear are an accurate record of what he remembered.   P Clark proposed that the descriptive words be removed and it should say that the mayor left.  Seconded B Lush. B Ireland, P Clark, B Lush in favour, J Finch, B Grills against, 5 abstentions.
  3. RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – B Ireland 20.ii, B Lush asked if this was a prejudicial interest – yes (B Ireland).  M Williams13.3 personal.
  4. ITEMS CARRIED FORWARD FROM THE LAST MEETING
    1. Parking on Town Trust Land – B Jordan said that regarding the letter from B Lush he had been in touch with CALC.  Sarah Mason has forwarded B Lush’s letter to CALC and we should have a reply by the next meeting.
    2. Pedestrian Crossing – S Elford said that the crossing by the Co-op is very dangerous and she nearly got caught there (by a vehicle).  She was very concerned about children and the elderly having to use the crossing when traffic wouldn’t stop.  J Finch said that the council had objected to it.  B Lush also objected.  J Finch had spoken to Paul Allen about it.  We can write to them again.  B Jordan said that he had been contacted by the traffic warden who reported that on Saturday there were several instances where cars coming from Wadebridge were refusing to stop and the police had been unable to clear that area.  He wants the clerk to talk to Oskar, but something is needed there.  D Pierce said that since the council had been against the crossing it was pushed through by NCDC and that and the new pedestrian scheme are not compatible.  It may be that the crossing has to be taken away.  J Finch said that it cost £20,000.  B Grills said that in view of the problems she thought it would be wise for the council to write a very strong letter to Cornwall County Council and say to them that we are having problems and they should be looking at it as an emergency.  J Finch said she did speak to them and say there were huge problems.  Traffic lights would solve it but the answer from CCC) was definitely no.  D Pierce said that he had proposed that they (CCC) kept a watching brief, but now we are writing to them because they have not monitored it enough.  J Finch said that it is not being monitored now and is getting busier and they must decide what to do.  B Grills proposed that we write again in the strongest terms.  Seconded by J Finch, all in favour.
    3. NCDC Street Cleaning – B Jordan said that he had contacted NCDC and Dougie was on holiday and the person who should have been doing this didn’t.  Dougie is back in Camelford a lot more now and it is cleaner.  They will monitor this regularly. 
    4. Clearing the river Camel at the bridge – still waiting for James Pemberton to come back from holiday.  They are waiting for everyone to get together next week.  It is getting a mess and it is now time to talk about Health and Safety.  J Finch had met James Pemberton – the area was cleared in July/August last year.  D Pierce said that it was time to play the environment card.
    5. Cale Briparc – maintenance contract  for the pay and display machines – minutes of 3 November 2005. J Finch said that in  November we decided to go for a five year contract.  A Shaw said that it was the most economical way, considering the damage at that time.  B Lush said that if a new council gets in it would then be obligated for another 4½ years.  M Williams said that the council cannot think that it has to make decisions on the basis that an incoming council might make different decisions.  Another council must make its own decision.  P Clark said that if you bind another council to a five year contract it would appear vindictive.  B Lush ‘can I ask councillors to speak through the chair’.  M Williams said that council has to make decisions based on the facts.  It cannot and should not try to second guess the incoming council.  P Clark asked to be told again about the difference between five and one years.  B Jordan - £432.30/machine/annum for one year, excluding VAT, £367/machine/annum for five years – about £70 per year cheaper per machine.  J Finch – you have to look at best value.  B Ireland asked if there was any break clause in the contract.  B Jordan said that standard terms and conditions would apply.  A Shaw said there should be a termination clause, and proposed that council continue with the November 2005 decision.  Seconded by M Williams, 7 in favour, B Lush, B Ireland and P Clark against.

5.     ONGOING ITEMS

1.     Chapel Street – no entry from A39 plus 3 speed humps with letter to be sent to all residents of Chapel Street.  B Grills asked if thee would be a plan.  J Finch said it will not be implemented until Spring/Summer 2007.  B Grills said that she was concerned where they are going to place the no entry signs.  B Lush asked if there would be a right turn at the bottom of Chapel Street.  J Finch said that that would remain, the main concern being traffic going up Chapel Street sometimes has to reverse onto the main road because of traffic coming down.

2.     Traffic Monitoring – covered.

3.     Brown Tourist Signs – nothing more.

4.     Camelford in Bloom –  (B Jordan ) letters have been sent out to judges and one of the judges may have a problem – can it be done on the next day.  B Grills said that initially it was done on the Show day because it was part of the Fun Week, but was sure that either way would not matter.  J Finch said there were some very nice boxes and tubs around the town.

5.     Trevia – B Jordan – telephone call from South West Water who was going to write, but letter not received for this meeting.  He will follow up at the end of the week.

6.     ANSWERS TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 20 JUNE – should that have been 6 July??

7.     QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

1.     How council makes decisions - already dealt with.

2.     Cllr Lush’s letter of 21 June about Town Trust parking – M Williams said that he had not read this at the last meeting, but would now like to ask two questions.

                                                              i.      What is meant by ‘this course of action’, and

                                                            ii.      Vendetta against the traders and one in particular.    B Lush read a statement relating to previous correspondence, including a confidential letter he had received from M Williams, and said that he was not answering any further questions on the letter.  M Williams – I am very sorry  but I am afraid I do not understand what you mean by vendetta against the traders and one in particular.  A Shaw said what concerned him was a letter about teamwork, that success requires teamwork and that he would like to ask the person who said that to consider his words.

8.     ITEMS REQUIRING A DECISION

1.     Stall at Camelford Show for Parks for People – B Jordan said the council was taking on people for doing the Parks for People application.  One of the items was having photographs at the Camelford Show.  D Pierce will lend his gazebo and the cost will be £16 for the stall and can the council give permission.  A Shaw said he thought it was a good promotional scheme.  B Lush asked if council had agreed to going ahead with this Parks for People project – have we made a formal application.  J Finch said that the council has sent a pre-application some time ago.  B Lush asked if council has agreed to going ahead.  B Jordan replied that the council had agreed to go ahead with the first stage.  J Finch said it would be subject to funding and it will be discussed later under item 20.iii (Parks for People interviews).  B Lush asked if it is subject to funding how can we agree to spending money on it now.  J Finch said that this had been agreed.  B Ireland asked that since we are going to show these pictures to Camelford should we not have a presentation to the council.  J Finch said that all we are doing is showing the park as it is now and looking for ideas to see what can be done with it.  B Ireland said that presumably you already have some ideas.  J Finch said that we need to get them from the people of Camelford and we can explain what we want to do.  B Ireland said that he did not seem to know much – he had seen a picture in the paper about the play area.  J Finch said that the whole application was to improve the park, pond, drainage, river bank, trees – a ten year project.  B Lush said that every time he brought the subject up he got a lot of abuse from   people who did not want change so he thought it a good thing to go to the public.  J Finch said ‘we cannot sit here and say we are going to do this, that and the other’.  M Williams said that the plan for the play area should certainly be part of this presentation, and he recalled that when they were looking at changing the entrance there was complaint.  Council must have vision.  P Clark said that he has heard a lot of complaints about the bandstand.  B Grills said that you cannot please all of the people all of the time.  This programme is potentially going to be of huge benefit to the town and the park and its upkeep.  To repair the river banks – if we do not stop the erosion we will lose the top part of the park.  D Pierce said that we may have to use our own funds otherwise, which we do not have.  The public will be invited to put stickers on as at the Easter Fair.  The same thing will happen at the Show – stickers put on by the public – we need feedback.  J Finch said that this grant is not just going to be one or two members of the council working – everybody has to get involved.  If we do not have the backing of other organisations in the town we might as well not bother.  B Lush said we must have the public with us – not only the river bank.  J Finch said it will be the leat, the weir, pruning – the play area will not be part of the Parks for People grant, but we do want to do that as well, and it will all be more sustainable.  £16 for an 8 ft frontage stall at the Show.  3 abstentions, P Clark, B Ireland, B Lush.

2.     CCTV at Enfield Park entrance – B Jordan said that before the last meeting he had checked the CCTV and there was an error – one of the hard drives was burnt out.  When that was dealt with it still did not work and it was found that a camera was not working.  Both have now been dealt with and it is in full working order. And the trees have been trimmed back.  The cost was £535 plus VAT, and if you take off the £50 call-out fee just within the emergency budget, but it did need doing.  Retrospective permission was sought – proposed by B Lush, seconded J Finch, 9 in favour.  B Ireland abstained.  B Grills thanked the clerk for dealing with this so promptly.

3.     Cornwall County Training Partnership – training session on Finance, 14 September for councillors and clerks at a cost of £40 per delegate.  J Finch said that the clerk had already completed part of the course. B Jordan said that he had done two of the workshops and had got a great deal from them and as we are setting the budget in October/November he thought some councillors should go into this.  B Ireland asked if this would be funded by the council.  B Jordan said the council can pay under present legislation.  D Pierce asked if the day included lunch.  J Finch – yes, and it also includes all background papers.  B Grills said that she was interested in attending other training days, 14 November and March 2007 and can we express an interest at this stage.  B Ireland to go on 14 September if the course is applicable.

4.     Lottery Funding – letter from Dan Rogerson MP about a day course on how councils can access lottery funds, on Friday 28 July at 10 am in Truro.  B Grills said the council should send the clerk who agreed to go and get relevant information.

5.     Council publish a quarterly newsletter – J Finch said that with the change in local government which is on the cards she thought we should consider looking at publishing a newsletter of our own, but at this time we should stick with the Forum newsletter.  B Grills asked that we leave this on the table.  B Lush said that we already have a glossy publication from NCDC, and with the Forum we have a voice already.  J Finch said that because local government is changing we will have to think about this and do something so that people know what is happening.  A Shaw said that as he recalled the Forum is for future events, not historical records.  J Finch added that it only covers Camelford.

9.     ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

1.     NALC, North Cornwall meeting, 26 July.  B Jordan said that the council pays membership and this is the AGM.  B Lush said that as council representative for this meeting he will be attending.  He was given the agenda.

2.     Minute No 2006/058/8.1, Training in Bodmin, 4 September.  J Finch and B Jordan to go.

10. APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS

The quarterly audit had been completed by Barkers, all in order.  Fee £66.  B Jordan explained item 5 as a mistake by Inland Revenue, now rectified.  Approval proposed by B Grills, seconded S Elford, all in favour.

11. RESOLUTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

None.

12. CORRESPONDENCE

Letter from Huw Huntley – the path at the top of Mill Lane has been cleared.  About the deputy mayor’s 999 call – information circulated to members from Huw but B Jordan felt that the contents of his letter were inflammatory and would not read it out in the presence of the press and public.    B Lush said that Huw Huntley had contacted him and wanted his letter read out.  He thinks that council should write to Huw and tell him that it was not read out. B Jordan said  information Huw had included came from the internet.

A letter was read out from the wife of a local serviceman who has been sent to Afghanistan asking if the council would agree to give items for the troops there.  B Grills asked if we could contact the Inner Wheel and the Rotary Club.  D Pierce said that having served in the military he thought that the government should be funding such items (for personal use) and continued that they are giving short shrift to the troops who should not be there in the first place.  The clerk offered to use the office as a collection point if needed.  M Williams’ little joke – if all the soldiers grow beards how will we tell them apart from the Taliban.

13. PLANNING APPLICATIONS

                                                              i.      No objections.

14. PLANNING APPROVAL NOTICES

                                                              i.      As agenda

15. PLANNING REFUSAL NOTICES

                                                              i.      None

16. COMMITTEE REPORTS

                                                              i.      None

17. REPORTS

1.     Camelford Town Forum – meeting 19 7 06

2.     CDCDT – meeting about the community plan in a fortnight

3.     Camelford Youth Club – B Lush reported that the county council leader is back from holiday.  M Williams said that the junior leader has reported that there is now a waiting list.  The club is to open two afternoons a week during the school holidays.  All is well.

4.     HERS – nothing

5.     Mayor’s report – J Finch had attended an excellent civic service at Torpoint.  The Town Band has issued a challenge – that she learn to play an instrument by 2 December and join the procession.

6.     Other reports – M Williams said that both the Primary and Secondary school heads are leaving.  Wendy Mason feels that the through school can go ahead, the first thing being the building of the primary school, though nothing is set in stone.  J Finch said that there will be a new vicar in place on 20 November, who will be based at St Teath.  On 30 July a window in St Thomas’s Church will be dedicated to Bob Stratfield.

18. NEWSLETTER AND CIRCULARS

None

19. ITEMS FOR 3 AUGUST MEETING

None

 

P Clark made his apology and left the meeting

B Ireland Made his apology and left the meeting having cited a prejudicial interest in Item (ii) below.

 

Press and public left the meeting

 

20. Exempt Information

                                     I.      Confirmation of minutes of the Council ‘In Committee’ 6 July

                                   II.      Court summons

                                III.      Parks for people interviews

 

END

Notes taken by Eddie McCormick and Clare Ireland

 

 

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