NOTES ON THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF CAMELFORD TOWN COUNCIL 28 SEPTEMBER 2006
Present : Cllrs Finch (chair), Williams, Shaw, Clark, Ireland, Pierce, Crockford, B Jordan (clerk)
Apologies received from Cllrs Lush and Grills (holiday) and Cllrs Sanders and Elford (ill). Acceptance proposed by A Shaw, seconded M Williams, P Clark against, B Ireland abstained.
Declarations of interest – Item 5 AShaw, chairmain CDCDT, M Williams, trustee CDCDT. P Clark asked why Cllr Shaw had not declared a prejudicial interest in the distributor road as he would benefit from the value of his property increasing by some £30,000. A Shaw did not agree. J Finch said that she should declare an interest as well because it would relieve the traffic up Clease Road, but council had spoken to S Lloyd-Jones and if a proposal would benefit the whole community then no interests need be declared. P Clark said that it would blight 75 houses. A Shaw said he would declare a personal interest, also L Crockford and J Finch. B Ireland said that last meeting B Lush had been made to leave the meeting because of a prejudicial interest. J Finch said that Cllr Lush was not chucked out of the meeting, he had been advised. Other councillors said that it was a matter for individual councillors and the standards board. P Clark said ‘so you can make a statement to the standards board?’. He said he would like that minuted. L Crockford said she would like to declare a prejudicial interest.
Receive and approve minutes of 19 September 2006 – P Clark asked about a couple of things on the public participation – the letter from Frank Samuel. He asked for the spelling to be corrected, saying that ‘official documents should be correct’. He had not received a copy and it had been dated 12 September. B Jordan said he had not received it until 18 September. He added that he had taken advice from the Society of Local Council Clerks that nobody should be given a copy in case there is something inflammatory or defamatory and he had been advised that councillors should not be given copies of correspondence. P Clark said that he was happy to have it done one way or the other. Approval proposed by M Williams, seconded D Pierce, 4 in favour, P Clark, L Crockford, B Ireland abstained.
Distributor road – J Finch said that this was only to organise a meeting in that council would have to pay for a meeting room and the councillors would have to agree to pay for a room to meet with these people. It would not be public but with other parish councillors, Highways and South West Regional Authority. P Clark read a statement (attached) to which J Finch said that there were more than 700 names on the petition. P Clark asked what it had to do with council and J Finch replied that although the council had resolved to support it they had not been active in any way. P Clark said that according to government it had been put back by ten years. M Williams said that this agenda item (4) was to discuss the organisation of a meeting. P Clark said that many people’s properties would be blighted, but the problem could be solved by re-routing the roadway. J Finch said that planning permission was granted last year. P Clark said that government has said Camelford cannot have its distributor road and that we (Camelford) should be looking for another way which will relieve the problems. J Finch asked ‘so what is wrong with organising a meeting?’. P Clark said that according to the newspaper you (J Finch’s) idea is to get the distributor road back on the map. B Jordan said that perhaps that was his fault because he had used the term distributor road. Perhaps he should have used the term by-pass. B Ireland said that at the last meeting Cllr Lush had proposed a roundabout at Valley Truckle, but M Williams had said nothing should be done to impede the progress of the distributor road. J Finch said that the proposal had been that council write to Highways asking about the sign in Wadebridge and if there could be a roundabout at Valley Truckle. She added that whatever Cllr Williams’s personal opinion this letter has been written. B Ireland thought that council should try to stop the blight in the main street and that there had been signs directing heavy traffic around the town. J Finch said that that had only been during the summer. Letter from John Hough was read out. J Finch reiterated that this was agenda item was only to have a resolution to call a meeting of the surrounding parishes which can only be affected by what happens in the future, also the Atlantic Highway up to Bude. The proposal is to discuss if interested bodies would like to go forward and if the council is agreeable. It was just a resolution to call a meeting. A Shaw proposed that council formulate a meeting with local councils, County Council, District Councillor, NCDC and members of the SWRA to discuss the way forward with/without a distributor/relief road. M Williams seconded. B Ireland asked if it were in order for someone who had declared a prejudicial interest to make a proposal, A Shaw said he had declared a personal interest. M Williams seconded, 4 in favour, P Clark, B Ireland against, L Crockford abstained. D Pierce said he had inadvertently made a comment about Cllr Lush and had immediately apologised and he sought an apology from Cllr Clark. Cllr Clark declined to apologise.
EXEMPT INFORMATION
P Clark said he thought there was not enough information to decide whether it should be in secret or not. B Jordan said that anything to do with money or finance should be held ‘in committee’. P Clark said that councillors should know what it is about. B Ireland said he would be surprised if it had not already been discussed by the cabal. J Finch said she had read out a proposal and was looking for a seconder. P Clark said that surely it should be possible to inform councillors what it is about. J Finch said that that is what the discussion is going to be about. B Ireland said that he found this very strange – the rules or the reason for exclusion, and that council could have sent information out saying it was secret. P Clark said that Cllr Ireland and he were at a disadvantage because, unlike other councillors, they had no idea what this was about. Proposal to exclude press and public was passed by 4 in favour, B Ireland and P Clark against.
J Hough, before he left, asked the meeting that any proposed meeting to discuss the distributor road should be open to the public, even if they could not participate. J Finch agreed that this would be the case.
Members of the public left ……