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COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

22nd May 2006

PRESENT:

• Cllr R Morgan (Chairman)
• Cllrs. P. Burrows
• W Buskin
• R Farlow
• Mrs S Jones
• J Knight
• R Parry
• Mrs R Partridge-Hogbin
• J Pigott

APOLOGIES:

Cllrs Knight (sick), Meakin (holiday), Seward (holiday) Cllr Mrs M Rogers

IN ATTENDANCE:

Sgt D Sheldrake

QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

Mrs Cotterill requested Councillors to be aware of members of the public at meetings who may have difficulty in hearing proceedings.

Mrs Aedo of Trotters Café raised a number of issues with Sgt Sheldrake. He responded specifically by advising that Officers operated late night patrol comprising Officers from outside Seaton as well as local Officers. When reporting details of crimes he advised Mrs Aedo and other residents to use the phone facility outside the Station which ensures direct access to the alarms manager at Middlemoor, rather than seeking staff at the station who may be out on incidents. As far as response to the Radio Link was concerned, the system provided for users of the link to respond to each others’ calls in the event of the police being called to incidents out of the radio range.

40/06 TO ACCEPT AND APPROVE APOLOGIES

Apologies were accepted and approved.

41/06 WARD POLICE OFFICER REPORT

Sgt Sheldrake reported that since the previous meeting 21 crimes had been committed, 7 of which had been detected.

This compared with 27 crimes for the same period last year and 66 for 2004, indicating an emerging downward trend.

Sgt Sheldrake referred to staffing problems at Seaton police station but advised that a replacement front office member of staff was starting in June, and from October a number of PCSOs will be providing an increased presence on the streets.

Cllr Pigott asked about a matter concerning the local primary school children but Sgt Sheldrake replied that he was not privy to the information and could not respond.

There being no further questions for Sgt Sheldrake, he was thanked for his report and left the meeting.

No written reports had been received, but Cllr Burrows spoke on his report on matters from the District Council affecting the Town Council.

He referred to the complaint received on a planning application in Seaton Down Road which he would continue to follow up.

43/06 MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 th May 2006 were agreed and signed by the Chairman

44/06 COMMITTEE MINUTES

It was Resolved to receive and adopt the following Committee Minutes:

Cliff Field Gardens & Seaton in Bloom 3rd April 2006

45/06 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

46/06 TO RE-AFFIRM COUNCIL POLICY THAT THIS COUNCIL DOES NOT BRING PARTY POLITICS INTO ITS WORK (Chairman)

It was Resolved by 7 votes to 1 that party politics should not be brought into any work of the Council at any time.

47/06 TO DISCUSS THE CONDUCT OF COUNCILLORS WHEN SPEAKING TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC (Cllr Burrows)

Cllr Burrows referred to the last Planning meeting when he thought a member of the public had been spoken to rudely when asking to speak during the meeting. He said the Council was there to serve the community and should be encouraged to attend meetings. The Clerk referred to the facility to suspend Standing Orders to allow members of the public to speak during meetings if the committee agreed.

Members agreed it was important to encourage the public to attend meetings and should be welcomed.

48/06 TO PROPOSE THAT THE COUNCIL SEEKS CLARIFICATION OF THE CURRENT SITUATION REGARDING SEATON YOUTH CLUB AND ITS TRUSTEES (Cllr Morgan)

It was agreed that the Clerk write to the Trustees and ask for information on the current situation.

49/06 TO NOTE AND APPROVE THE MONTHLY SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

The monthly schedule of payments were noted and approved.

50/06 TO NOTE BUDGET AND BANK BALANCES TO DATE

Budget and bank balances to date were noted.

51/06 TO APPROVE ACCOUNTS FOR 2005/6

It was Resolved

to approve the accounts for 2005/6 which the Chairman and Clerk signed. It was further Resolved to approve the Statement of Assurance which the Chairman and Clerk signed.

52/06 TO NOTE INTERNAL AUDITOR’S REPORT

The Internal Auditor’s report was noted.

53/06 TO NOMINATE A COUNCILLOR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING ON THE CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS AND ENVIRONMENT ACT 2005

Cllr Burrows agreed to read and report back on the guide to the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

54/06 TO NOMINATE A COUNCILLOR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING ON LOCAL AUTHORITY BYELAWS IN ENGLAND

Cllr Farlow agreed to read and report back on the Discussion Paper – Local Authority Byelaws in England.

55/06 TO PROPOSE THAT STANDING ORDERS BE AMENDED TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE CLIFF FIELD GARDENS AND SEATON IN BLOOM CHAIRMAN, VICE CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE TO TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER OF EACH YEAR (Chairman)

It was so Resolved

56/06 TO CONSIDER IMPLICATIONS OF REMOVAL OF COOKING FACILITIES IN TOWN HALL

Members agreed that no facilities in the Town Hall should be lost and if the cooker had to be removed, it should be replaced. The Clerk advised that an electric cooker was likely to be preferable to gas.

57/06 TO CONSIDER ROLE OF COUNCILLORS IN ENSURING THAT RUBBISH IS CLEARED FOLLOWING STREET MARKETS OR SIMILAR IN THE TOWN

The Clerk advised that following a recent street market, complaints had been received from the street cleaner and from Streetscene, about the amount of rubbish left which was then attacked by seagulls. This resulted in an unreasonable additional workload for the street cleaner which he did not have the time to undertake.

Cllr Mrs Partridge-Hogbin replied that she had spoken to members of all organisations that held street fairs, and asked them to ensure they cleared all rubbish away.

Members undertook to make sure that the streets were left clean following any street markets organised by groups to which they belonged.

58/06 TO PROPOSE THAT A REQUEST BE MADE TO RESERVE ONE PARKING BAY FOR TIMED PARKING BETWEEN 9am – 6pm FOR THE USE OF CLIFF FIELD GARDENS (Cllr Farlow)

It was noted that the parking bays outside Cliff Field Gardens were primarily used by non-users of the Gardens. This made it difficult for those who wanted to use the Gardens who may have heavy picnic bags, etc., to unload. Members agreed that every effort should be made to encourage use of the Gardens.

Cllr Farlow proposed that the Cliff Field Gardens and Seaton in Bloom committee should seek ways of increasing use of the Gardens and of providing parking provision. Members unanimously agreed.

59/06 TO CONSIDER REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON PLAY PROVISION TO SUPPORT EDDC BID FOR PLAY MONEY

It was agreed that the Clerk should forward the following suggestions:

Indoor area for soft play for young children Wet pour surfacing at play areas

60/06 TO PROPOSE THAT THE OUTSTANDING BALANCE OF THE CHAIRMAN’S ALLOWANCE BE PAID TO Cllr BUSKIN (Cllr Buskin)

Cllr Buskin said he believed that he was entitled to any unspent money in the chairman’s account for the financial year 2005/6.

The Clerk referred to the letter sent to Cllr Buskin and copied to all Councillors last November, in which the use of the chairman’s account had been clarified: that it was two-fold, to reimburse expenses incurred in carrying out civic duties and to enable donations to be made to organisations whose functions the chairman or representative attended. She said Cllr Buskin had received £300 for which no receipts had been produced, no requests had been made by him for donations to be made to outside organisations and no duties had been carried out by Cllr Buskin since December 2005. The Clerk said the advice from EDDC was that to make a retrospective payment would be unusual. The latest DAPC newsletter also advised that any payments made from the chairman’s allowance should be backed up by receipts.

Cllr Burrows left the meeting.

There was no Seconder for the proposal.

61/06 TO PROPOSE THAT THE CLERK’S STATEMENT “THAT POLLING CARDS WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR THE FORTHCOMING LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTION” BE DISCUSSED (Cllr Buskin)

Cllr Buskin believed that the decision not to issue polling cards should have been taken by the Council and not by the Clerk. The Clerk replied that she had taken advice from EDDC who advised that this did not need to be a resolution of the Council. On their advice, she had spoken to Cllr Morgan as acting Chairman, and to two other Councillors. She said EDDC required an immediate decision, and the decision was taken on the grounds of budgetary constraints. Cllr Mrs Partridge-Hogbin reminded members that if postal votes were applied for, polling cards were automatically supplied.

Members agreed that the budget figure for this item needed to be increased for the next financial year.

62/06 TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF PLAYGROUND INSPECTION BY WPS

The Clerk asked Members whether they wished to have an additional playground inspection carried out by WPS as they had for the previous year. She advised, however, that it may be possible to enter into an agreement with EDDC to use the services of their Inspector.

It was Resolved that the Clerk seek information on entering into such an agreement with EDDC, and reconsider the WPS quote when costs were known.

63/06 CORRESPONDENCE

a) Mr Benfield – memorial seat at Cliff Field Gardens

Noted.

b) D Wright – Save Open Spaces

Noted

c) D Kelf – Labyrinth Exhibition

Noted

d) Seaton Wines - issues relating to The Square

It was agreed that the Clerk should

1. ask GPO to clean up the letter box;
2. ii) write to town centre organisations thanking them for their support in improving their premises and asking them to continue that effort ;
3. iii) include reference in the Best Shop competition notices;

e) EDDC – Road Closures

Cllr Mrs Partridge-Hogbin declared a personal interest, being a member of the organisations involved.

All road closure notices were noted.

The meeting closed at 9.35 pm, having commenced at 8.00 pm

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