Minutes of Meetings
IVYBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Town Council of Ivybridge
held in the Town Hall, Ivybridge, on
Monday 2 June 2008 at 7pm
|
Present: |
Cllr A Wright (Town Mayor) | Cllr Mrs B Malin |
| Cllr Mrs E J Beeson | Cllr D Pickles | |
| Cllr T Bowden | Cllr Mrs K Pringle | |
| Cllr P Dredge | Cllr Mrs F Reeve | |
| Cllr D Gray-Taylor | Cllr M Vincent | |
| Cllr A Khong | Cllr R Wilson | |
| Cllr Mrs A Laity | ||
| In Attendance: | Cllr R Croad (County Councillor and District Councillor) |
| Cllr D May (District Councillor) | |
| Cllr M Saltern (District Councillor) | |
| Inspector P Chivers (Police Representative) | |
| 12 Members of the Public | |
| 1 member of the Press | |
| Mrs L Hughes (Town Clerk) | |
| Ms D Trower (Deputy Town Clerk) |
The Town Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting.
The Public Participation Session commenced at 7.01pm and finished at 7.15 pm
| 08/024 | APOLOGIES: Received from Cllr T Parsons and Cllr M Walker. |
| 08/025 | MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting of the Town Council held on 12 May 2008 (previously circulated) were received and adopted. It was noted however that due to confusion over the number of Members volunteering to serve on the Watermark Committee, the Committee would have exceeded its agreed complement of 7 Members; Cllr Parsons had subsequently agreed to step down from the Committee in favour of Cllr Bowden. The Town Mayor recorded a vote of thanks to Cllr Parsons for his co-operation. |
| 08/026 | PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE: The Minutes of the meetings held on 22 April 2008 and 6 May 2008 (previously circulated) were received and adopted. |
| 08/027 | PARKS & OPEN SPACES: PARKS & OPEN SPACES: The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2008 (previously circulated) were received and adopted. |
| 08/028 | PERSONNEL: The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 May 2008 (previously circulated) were received and adopted. |
| 08/029 | TOWN MAYOR’S AND DEPUTY TOWN MAYOR’S INTERESTS:
Consideration was given to a list of functions and
activities attended by the Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor
during the month of May 2008 (previously circulated). It was RESOLVED that this information be received and noted. |
| A short adjournment followed from 7.19pm to 7.44pm to allow questions, reports or representations from the District & County Councillors. | |
| 08/030 | W ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2007-08:
Consideration was given to the final accounts and supporting
documentation (previously circulated). It was RESOLVED that – (i) the Annual Accounts for 2007-08 be approved; (ii) the Annual Governance Statement be approved for signature. |
| 08/031 | POST OFFICE NETWORK CLOSURE PROGRAMME AND
REMOVAL OF BT PAYPHONES: Consideration was given to a
letter from Postwatch (plus a list of PO closures) and a
letter from BT regarding removal of BT payphones (both
documents previously circulated). The Town Mayor added that
a public meeting would be held on the evening of 3 June in
Ermington regarding the proposed closure of the village Post
Office. It was RESOLVED that – (i) the proposed removal of the payphone in Cole Lane be noted; (ii) support be offered to Ermington Parish Council if the decision was taken to fight the proposed PO closure. |
| 08/032 | TOWN CENTRE PARKING: Consideration
was given to a report (previously circulated) regarding
proposals for a review of parking in the Erme Court and
District Council car parks. The Town Mayor recorded a vote of thanks to Cllr M Saltern for the efforts he had put into this matter which had resulted in an innovative measure to help improve the economy of the town. It was RESOLVED to suspend standing orders to enable Cllr Saltern to speak on this matter. Cllr Saltern advised that the scheme to offer 2 hours of free parking between 10am and 2pm in District Council car parks in the town for a 5 month period would cost in the region of £35,000; additionally he reported that a proposal to provide some free car parking to all District residents would be coming before the Prosperity Group (chaired by Cllr Croad) on 22 July 2008; if the residents’ scheme was approved Cllr Saltern hoped that it would dovetail into the Ivybridge initiative when the latter concluded at the end of October 2008. The Town Mayor added that discussions were ongoing between the Town Council and the owners of the Erme Court car park regarding the reintroduction of an element of free car parking at this facility. It was RESOLVED that the above information be received and noted. |
| 08/033 | DEVON STRUCTURAL REVIEW:
Consideration was given to a letter (previously circulated)
from the Chief Executive of Plymouth City Council regarding
a possible joint meeting. It was RESOLVED that a meeting be organised to meet the tight timescale for the review. |
| 08/034 | NEW PROCEDURES FOR COUNCILLOR COMPLAINTS:
Consideration was given to a letter (previously circulated)
from the Deputy Monitoring Officer of South Hams District
Council. Cllr Dredge advised that training was currently
taking place to ensure that the procedure was effectively
implemented. It was RESOLVED that this information be received and noted. |
| 08/035 | NEW WASTE SERVICES LEAFLET AND CALENDAR:
Consideration was given to a letter (previously circulated)
from South Hams District Council regarding waste and
recycling services. It was RESOLVED that this information be received and noted. |
| 08/036 | UPDATE AND INFORMATION: Consideration
was given to a report outlining events and other information
(previously circulated). It was RESOLVED that this information be received and noted. |
The meeting closed at 8.05pm.
Signed …………………………………………. Date: 7 July 2008
Presiding Chairman
IVYBRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION: 7.01PM - 7.15PM
Report of the discussions during the adjournment of the Town Council Meeting held on Monday 2 June 2008
Police Matters
Crime Figures
Inspector Chivers advised crime figures for May 2007 compared with
May 2008; these were as follows -
| May 2007 May 2008 | |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 0 0 |
| Theft from Motor Vehicles | 3 2 |
| Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicles | 2 5 |
| Burglary Dwelling | 1 2 |
| Burglary Other | 2 0 |
| Theft / Fraud | 2 7 |
| Criminal Damage | 10 2 |
| Arson | 2 0 |
| Assaults | 9 7 |
| Drugs | 1 0 |
| Other | 4 0 |
| TOTALS | 36 25 |
Inspector Chivers gave brief details regarding the 2
burglaries from residential properties; one had taken place at a
multi-occupancy address where there had been little security in
place due to the current use of the building. The 2nd burglary had
taken place at a single occupancy property where an external door
had been left insecure; nothing was stolen although it appeared the
property had been searched; Inspector Chivers noted that “other
issues” might well have been involved in this case and would be
investigated by his officers.
Police Activity
Inspector Chivers advised that his officers had recently run a Drugs
Awareness Day which had attracted 60 visitors; some valuable
“signposting” work had been achieved.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition Operation (ANPR)
13 staff had taken part in this initiative which had uncovered
various minor offences (for example document offences) and 2
vehicles had been seized. Working alongside Customs & Excise,
checking for illegal use of red diesel had also taken place.
Park & Ride Car Park
15 Section 59 Notices had been issued which would result in seizure
of vehicles if they were to be driven again in a similar manner.
Endsleigh Roundabout
Officers had spent time on site reviewing lane discipline and
speaking with “offenders”.
Anti-Social Behaviour Complaints in The Spinney
Inspector Chivers noted that whilst these were reducing they were
unfortunately increasing in Victoria Park due to displacement.
Mobility Scooters
Following on from questions raised at previous meetings, Inspector
Chivers confirmed that mobility scooters were treated as
electrically assisted pedal cycles; however the Police would hope to
undertake some work in near future on the proper use of these
vehicles.
Parking in Paddock Drive
Mr Edwards of Paddock Drive raised his concern over the increasing
amount of parking (much of it inconsiderate) in this road and he
outlined a case of obstruction earlier in the day which had not only
caused real inconvenience to residents but had wasted a significant
amount of Police time. He believed that the “offenders” were not
local residents but people who worked in the town centre.
The Town Mayor advised Mr Edwards that the Town Council was aware
that there was an ongoing problem in this and other areas, and Cllr
Wright noted that a meeting was to be held the following week with
County Cllr R Croad in an attempt to identify ways of resolving
priority issues.
Road Safety
Mr Harris of Ash Grove submitted a list of “Road Safety” issues and
possible solutions to the meeting. The Town Mayor advised that Mr
Harris’ suggestions would be put to the next meeting of the Planning
& Infrastructure Committee; he added that Mr Harris would be welcome
to attend and comment during the public participation session for
this committee.
COUNTY COUNCIL AND DISTRICT COUNCIL REPORTS/QUESTIONS: 7.19PM TO
7.44 PM
Cllr R Croad
Funds from the Sale of Exeter Airport
Cllr Croad reminded Members that the airport had been sold by Devon
County Council to a private company in January 2007 with £48 million
having been realised from the sale. A capital fund was now being
offered by the County Council for community projects throughout
Devon. Cllr Croad advised that at present he had put in 2 bids, one
for £5k on behalf of Manor School and one, for a considerably larger
sum, on behalf of the town’s Scouts and Guides. Cllr Croad noted
that he was confident that the Manor School bid would be successful
since the school was one of very few specialist centres for Autism
and with its unit currently full it needed funding to extend its
facilities. He believed, however, that it would be unlikely that the
Scouts and Guides would be successful in obtaining their total bid
from the County Council but the possibility of matched funding from
the Government’s “My Space” programme could see them achieve their
goal of a new building in Ivybridge.
Cllr Croad requested that e/mail notifications be sent to him of any
other suitable Ivybridge projects for the capital fund within the
next 3 weeks.
Parking
Cllr Croad explained that a significant amount of work had taken
place within the County Council over the previous 18 months to
redraw every Road Traffic Regulation Order in Devon due to the
Police standing down from their responsibilities in this area. At
the same time a moratorium had been imposed on all new Orders unless
to address a high priority “life or death” situation. When Devon
County Council finally took charge of the Civil Enforcement of
Parking in the late Spring it was to find that the District Council
only had one Traffic Warden remaining at work; the District was
however now actively recruiting for Civil Enforcement Officers. Cllr
Croad noted that in the light of the above, there had been no
opportunity to progress any new Traffic Enforcement Orders for
Ivybridge in the past year and a half. He added, however, that he
would in any case not wish to see a tremendous proliferation of
double yellow lines in the town since he believed this was likely to
merely displace “offenders” and could also lead to other dangers.
Cllr Bowden highlighted to Cllr Croad local residents’ concerns over
the problems with obstructive parking in Paddock Drive and he added
that this road was the only means of access and egress for the whole
Paddocks estate. Cllr Bowden suggested that yellow lines in small
sections of the roadway could be helpful in dealing with the
problem. Cllr Croad commented that he was well aware of the
situation and would now attempt to organise an improvement programme
for this area over the next few months; as an initial step he would
ask the DCC Road Safety Officer to carry out a site inspection.
Cycle Path
Cllr Mrs K Pringle expressed her continuing concern over the safety
of pedestrians in the vicinity of the cycle path. Cllr Croad
responded that he too had been frustrated by the Road Safety
Officer’s view that an enhanced version of the current scheme would
be an acceptable compromise.
Cllr D May
South Hams Planning & Development Control Committee
Cllr D May advised that he was now Deputy Chairman of this
committee.
Cllr M Saltern
Western Road
Cllr Wilson outlined ongoing difficulties experienced by some
residents in Western Road with a right of access to the rear of
their properties. Whilst Cllr Saltern recommended that the residents
take advice from a solicitor, he undertook to investigate some of
the background to this complex situation.
Community Grant Fund Changes
Cllr Saltern advised that the Executive had now approved changes to
criteria for application to the fund – namely that projects could
now be considered which related to the District Council’s cross
cutting themes (for example climate change) rather than restricted
to the core priorities (affordable housing etc). Cllr Saltern was
pleased that this would effectively open up the fund to many more
local groups.
Support for Teenage Pregnancies
Cllr Saltern was also pleased to report that the Executive had also
agreed to support another matter of benefit to Ivybridge – namely a
proposed facility for up to 5 young women in Western Road.