| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Baldock Community Centre, Simpson Drive, Baldock |
| PRESENT: | Councillor M.R.M. Muir(Vice-Chairman), Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor Marilyn Kirkland, Councillor I.J. Knighton and Councillor M.E. Weeks |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Tim Neill (Accountancy Manager) Andrew Mills (Service Manager - Grounds) John Robinson (Strategic Director of Customer Services) Ashley Hawkins (Community Development Officer) Susanne Gow (Committee and Member Services Officer) |
| ALSO PRESENT: | 3 members of the public (including 2 registered speakers) Cllr Mrs Lynda Needham (Leader of North Herts District Council) |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 37 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE The Chairman, Councillor Andrew Young, had tendered his apologies for this meeting and the Committee Meeting was therefore chaired by the Vice-Chairman, Councillor Michael Muir. |
Noted | ||
| 38 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 November 2011 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 39 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business raised at this meeting. |
Noted | ||
| 40 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman announced that in his role as a Herts County Councillor he had a £90,000 budget to spend on roads. Some had already been allocated but £27,000 remained which could be used for roads and pavements in Baldock. He asked Members to let him have nominations for locations that could benefit from these funds; (2) He welcomed Members of the Committee, the public and officers to the meeting; (3) The Chairman reminded Members that declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest and they were required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared. Members declaring a prejudicial interest were to leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item. He proposed that Declarations of Interest should be made at the start of each relevant item on the Agenda. |
Noted | ||
| 41 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were two items of public participation at the meeting as follows: a) Dangerous parking outside Weston School, Maiden Street, Weston Mrs Joan Franklin addressed the Committee, having previously sent a letter from the Chairman of Weston Parish Council. She appealed to all Members of the Baldock and District Committee, informing them that there was a minority of irresponsible and inconsiderate parents who parked on the zigzag hazard lines outside Weston School in order to accompany their children into the School and thus caused a danger to any motor vehicles entering the School, as well as those passing by. Other parents parked opposite the School entrance and the children then had to cross the road to get to school. This had resulted in several "near misses" when children had narrowly avoided being hit by passing traffic. Her concerns were: The safety of the schoolchildren The large number of cars dangerously parked dangerously and inconsiderately opposite the school, on the zigzag hazard lines outside the school and also close to the school gates The obstruction likely to be caused to delivery and emergency vehicles which adversely affects their entry to the school site. Mrs Franklin revealed that the School has sent out letters to the relevant parents and this matter has been brought to the attention of Oliver Heald MP, the local Police and the School Governors. She asked whether there was a method by which the thoughtless parking of some parents could be deterred, e.g. 15 metres of single yellow lines from the village side end of the driveway of Horseshoe Farm towards the village centre? This restriction should be from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday. The chosen remedy would need to be temporary, as the Board of Governors was considering the feasibility of moving the school to a new site in the village due to the current school's inadequacy, the access problems and other problems. The Ward Member for Weston and Sandon commented that the introduction of zigzag lines near the school entrance has meant that children now have to cross the road to enter the school. The Chairman thanked Mrs Franklin for her presentation and for her concern as well as for the comprehensive documentation she had handed to him. He promised to consult with the Police, the relevant Highways officers and District Councillor to see if a solution could be found to the problem. b) Brandles School in the Community Mr David Vickery, Head teacher at Brandles School thanked the Committee for allowing him to address them. He explained that 65% of the pupils at Brandles School are from local or nearby areas, while some come from farther afield, e.g. Luton. He explained that the School wanted to reach out to the community at large and in order to do this, would offer use of part of a plot of land behind Brandles School and the children's home, to local schools such as Knights Templar and the local Junior and Infants schools, for horticultural purposes. The pupils at Brandles School were using part of the plot in this way and were working for City and Guilds qualifications in Horticulture. This had been beneficial for the students at Brandles School as growing plants from seed helped them with life skills as well as education. Mr Vickery explained that the plot would be ploughed by a local farmer and new fences had just been put up. The School wanted to be part of the local community and was also offering the use of their new Food Tech Room to groups for classes etc. They would like to be part of the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games celebrations etc taking place in Baldock in 2012. The Chairman thanked Mr Vickery for his presentation and opened up the subject to Committee debate. A Member declared that he was impressed by the facilities at Brandles School and agreed that the school definitely suffered from a lack of exposure in the town. It was suggested that the school runs a stall at local markets and events in Baldock. They could also join the choirs and orchestras from the other schools in Baldock for the Rotary Club Christmas Event held every year. Mr Vickery was asked to write to the Vice-Chairman at the Baldock Bowls Club expressing an interest if Brandles School wanted to take part and he agreed to do this. |
Noted | ||
| 42 |
PRESENTATION BY PC NIC MUSTO, HERTFORDSHIRE CONSTABULARY Oral presentation PC Nic Musto introduced himself to the Baldock and District Committee as the new Co-ordinator Police Constable for Baldock district. He had swapped with the PC now co-ordinating Royston, after working in Royston for many years. PC Musto explained that Baldock Police Station had been closed for 7 months and due to budgetary constraints police stations throughout Hertfordshire were being sold off. It was deeply disappointing that Baldock now had no police station but operated from an office in Letchworth Police Station, which meant that going back and forth between Baldock and Letchworth several times per day just to enter information onto the computer in the office could waste up to two operational hours per day. A base, maybe a small office in Baldock, was needed and would save a lot of time, especially if it was a secure office in which statements could be taken. Hertfordshire Constabulary were currently collaborating with Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire Police to save costs and PC Musto considered that it was vital that the Police returned to Baldock on a permanent basis as soon as possible or they would be seen as "being able to cope", having managed for 7 months and the Baldock Police office would never happen PC Musto asked if the Committee would help with this community-funded project? He requested that Members of the Baldock and District Committee lobby the Police Authority to put pressure on Herts Constabulary to facilitate the setting up of a Police office in Baldock. The ultimate aim was community policing for the community, based in the community. The Chairman thanked PC Musto for attending the Committee Meeting and addressing the Committee, and opened the subject to discussion. Members' comments covered: the forthcoming meeting on 11 January on how the Baldock Community Centre could provide this facility; the Community Police team was the safest and most successful team in Hertfordshire; the local Member of Parliament should also be lobbied and asked for assistance; a local police office would be immensely reassuring to the general public and would give a much faster response time; accommodation must be found in the Baldock Community Centre. The Chairman once more thanked PC Musto for his presentation and informed him that the Committee has an annual presentation from Herts Constabulary in the form of an update on crime figures, etc. |
Noted | ||
| 43 |
CORPORATE BUSINESS PROCESS 2012-2013 (BUDGET SETTING) Report Appendix A Appendix 1 to Appendix A Appendix 2 to Appendix A Appendix 3 to Appendix A Appendix 4 to Appendix A Appendix 5 to Appendix A Appendix 6 to Appendix A The Accountancy Manager (AM) presented the report of the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance and explained that he was seeking the views of the Baldock and District Committee on the efficiency and investment proposals included in the Draft Budget for 2012/2013 which had been presented to Cabinet on 13 December 2011. The Chairman invited Members' comments and went through the Appendices in turn. No views were aired by Members on items on Appendices 1, 3, 5 and 6. The Committee commented as follows: Appendix 2 - E4 External Audit Fees: clarification was sought on the rebate received from the Audit Commission in 2011/2012. The AM confirmed that a £9,000 rebate had been received on the audit fees this year; - E5 Members: the general feeling was that it would be a pity to cut the budget for the Chairman's Civic Reception completely, as this would lose the ability to thank people for their work in the community. In addition, it was important to know what would replace it - it would be better to investigate how to save money on this event. Appendix 4 - Unfortunately the first page of this Appendix containing items C1 to C10 was missing, so the Accountancy Manager read out these items, which dealt mainly with Hitchin, Letchworth and Royston. The Committee had few comments to make on these items; - C6 and C7 Repairs: Members enquired as to whether these repairs were absolutely necessary at the moment; - C10, C11 and C12 IT: The Committee observed that the IT reserve should not be used simply because there are funds remaining, although it was acknowledged that the projects will only happen should a business case be approved; - C13 Replacement trees: the Committee enquired about the original species and size of trees compared to the trees replacing them. The Service Manager - Grounds explained that efforts were being made to stick to the original species, but due to underground service pipes it appeared that there was not sufficient soil to support the replacement trees and these had also failed. It was these replacement trees that were now having to be replaced. The Chairman congratulated the officers on the position of the Collection Fund and on an excellent report and confirmed with the AM that he had recorded the comments and views of the Baldock and District Committee on the Draft Budget Report. These would be included in the final report. RESOLVED: That the Baldock and District Committee provides its views and comments on the Draft 2012/2013 Budget, in particular the efficiency and investment proposals listed in Appendices 2, 3 and 4 to the Draft Budget Report. REASONS FOR DECISION: To ensure that all relevant factors are taken into consideration when arriving at the proposed Council Tax precept for 2012/2013. |
Agreed | ||
| 44 |
CEMETERY CAPACITY WITHIN BALDOCK Report The Service Manager - Grounds presented the report of the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services. He went through the background to the report which informed the Committee of the decisions of the Cabinet Meeting on 13 December 2011. He asked the Members to consider the recommendations from the same Cabinet Meeting that were specific to Baldock. The Committee was then directed to item 4.3 of the report, which referred to Baldock and the timings of when to divert burials to Wilbury Hills Cemetery. Members were advised that a group had been formed to investigate new alternatives to replace the cemeteries and consider the findings and they had requested a few months to examine appropriate land in the Baldock area. It was thought that approximately 6 months would be sufficient time to complete this task and compile a reasonable business case. However, demand for burials had fallen slightly (by approximately one burial a year in Baldock) across North Herts district. There were 10 years left for normal burial use in Baldock cemetery, but interment of cremated remains was 5 times as long for the same area if the Cemetery Policy was implemented. If a cremation wall was used, this time was extended even further. The Strategic Director of Customer Services advised that the Cabinet decision allowed the continuation of existing procedures until the group's business case was formed. He recommended that the Baldock and District Committee review this matter in 6 months' time and Members agreed with this, although they stated that they would like an indicative timescale from the group. The Chairman thanked the Service Manager - Grounds and the Strategic Director for their comprehensive presentation and clarification of the position on cemetery capacity in Baldock. RESOLVED: That the Baldock and District Committee provides its views and comments on the timing of the implementation of the Cemetery Policy in respect of Baldock to the Strategic Director. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that a consistent and highly valued burial service is delivered to the residents of North Hertfordshire in the future. |
Agreed | ||
| 45 |
CHAMPION NEWS AND FINANCE REPORT Report Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 The Community Development Officer (CDO) for Baldock and District presented the report of the Head of Policy and Community Services and updated his report as follows: Monthly Car Boot Sales It was clarified that the proposed monthly car boot sales would be held in the car parking area of Baldock High Street on the last Sunday of each month, starting from March 2012. Baldock Half Marathon The Committee were informed that the date of this race is now 18 March 2012 and appropriate arrangements have been made by the CDO. Pond Lane The CDO will update the Committee at the March Committee Meeting as to exactly which trees are diseased and have to be removed. Avenue Park Sports and Social Club The Chairman commented that a disabled lift/chair at this venue would be ideal as some members of Baldock Rotary Club were having great difficulty accessing the first floor function room for their weekly meetings. As a further matter of interest, the Chairman advised the Committee that Tesco had donated 20 food parcels just before Christmas for distribution to individuals and families in need. This had been done and he suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to the Manager of Tesco from the Baldock and District Committee. The Chairman then thanked the Community Development Officer for his hard work for the people of Baldock and the surrounding district. The CDO took the Committee through the budget spreadsheet, the Highways Work Programme, the Area Committee Work Programme and the Fast Track grants to be ratified (below). He detailed the Ward projects still awaiting funding documentation and informed Ward Councillors of the monies remaining in their budgets. FUNDING DECISIONS Fast Track Grants These were ratified as follows: an award in the sum of £150 to the Baldock Community Association from Baldock Town Members' Pre-allocated Town Projects Initiatives for the purchase of decorations and transport costs towards the Baldock Community Centre's Christmas Day event for local pensioners; an award of £103 from Baldock East Ward's 2011/2012 base budget for ;leaf clearance at Clothall Common. RESOLVED: 1) That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development Budgets be noted; 2) That the Committee acknowledges the recent Fast Track grant award of £150 to the Baldock Community Association for the purchase of decorations and for transport costs for the Baldock Community Centre Christmas Day event for the elderly; 3) That the Committee acknowledges the recent Fast Track grant award of £103 for the Clothall Common leaf clearance project. REASONS FOR DECISIONS: 1) To ensure that the Baldock and District Committee are kept informed of the work of the Community Development Officer; 2) This report is intended simply to inform Members of the financial resources available to the Committee. It draws attention to the current budgetary situation, assists in the effective financial management of the Baldock and District Committee's budget and ensures actions are performed within the Authority's Financial Regulations and the guidance in the grants procedure; 3) The awarding of financial assistance to voluntary organisations and the use of discretionary spending allows the Committee to further the aims and strategic priorities of the Council; 4) The allocation of funds will improve the services provided by local organisations and groups that are available and accessed by members of the community. |
Agreed | ||