AMENITIES & LEISURE COMMITTEE

Minutes of a meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee held in the Council Chamber at the Council Offices, Radstock Lane, Earley, Reading on Wednesday, 24 th May 2006 at 7.45 p.m.

Present
Chairman – Councillor N Jorgenson

Councillors T J Chambers, Mrs F Rolls, C Rowden and Mrs E Spratling.

Also in attendance: Councillors M M Ahmed (from 7.55pm) and D Swindells.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A T Bradley (District Council meeting), T A Holton (District Council meeting) Mrs F Lumber (Illness) and Mrs C Swindells.

1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Members noted that a correction to the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 nd March 2006 had been made in respect of a spelling error at Minute 84 and, accordingly, the amended Minutes were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

RESOLVED that Councillor T J Chambers be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Amenities & Leisure Committee for the ensuing Municipal Year.

3. APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES & WORKING PARTIES

Consideration was given to the appointment of Sub-Committees and Working Parties for the ensuing year.  Members noted that the Meadow Park Working Party had not met during the past year and the Playclubs Working Party had not needed to be re-constituted. 

Accordingly it was

RESOLVED that

1. the Meadow Park and Playclubs Working Parties only be re-constituted if the need arises.

2. the following be appointed:-

Culver Lane Allotment Working Party – Councillors D D Chopping, N Jorgensen, Mrs E Spratling and Mrs C Swindells together with a co-opted member nominated by the Horticultural Society.

Sol Joel Park Sub-Committee – Councillors D D Chopping, C J W Edmunds, M J Firmager, T A Holton, Mrs J Lissaman and Mrs E Spratling.

Local Nature Reserve Advisory Group – Councillors T J Chambers, N Jorgensen and Mrs F M Rolls.

Mays Lane Cemetery Working Party – Councillors A T Bradley, M J Firmager, Mrs J Lissaman, Mrs F M Rolls and C Rowden.

4. PLAY CLUBS

The Committee noted that the Easter Playclub held at Radstock Lane Community Centre was extremely successful and the attendance figures were listed below:-

NB: the maximum number accepted into the Play Club was 32 per session.

It was further noted that there had been an unannounced visit to the Playclub by an OFSTED Inspector and the results of that inspection were satisfactory.  Application forms for the Summer Playclub were due to be sent out.

5. MAIDEN ERLEGH PARK LOCAL NATURE RESERVE

5.1 Water Bailiff Applications

Consideration was given to the appointments of Water Bailiffs for 2006/07.

RESOLVED that the following Water Bailiffs be appointed:-

Mr S Barnbrook
Mr T Gough
Mr M Melhuish
Mr T Morris
Mr D Sandon
Mr S Tegg

5.2 Honorariums

Consideration was given to the payment of Honorariums to Water Bailiffs for 2006/07.  Last year, the Council had paid £90 for those Bailiffs who had attended in excess of ten Working Parties. Other Bailiffs received a pro rata payment if they had completed a minimum of five Working Parties.

In response to a question from a Member, the Head Bailiff informed the Committee that five of the existing Bailiffs had attended in excess of ten working parties.  However, Mr Sandon had only recently been appointed on a trial basis as a replacement for Mr D Haller and, therefore, had only been able to attend seven working parties.

RESOLVED that

1. a payment of £45 be approved for Mr Sandon

2. a payment of £90 be approved for the remaining Honorary Bailiffs.

Members were reminded that, at Minute 87.2 of the last meeting of this Committee, dates for the Juniors (under 17s) and Adults Angling Competitions were recorded but, at that time, the dates for the Charity Match, the SEB Competition and the Ambulance Service had not been set.  Members were further reminded that it had been resolved at that meeting that the charity to be supported this year would be the Berkshire Air Ambulance.

Consideration was given to a suggestion that the Charity match should be held in memory of the late Keith Robinson who was a keen angler and had been a permit holder for many years. Consideration was, also, given to the proposed list of dates as follows:

RESOLVED that

1. matches be arranged as outlined above

2. the Charity match be held in remembrance of the late Keith Robinson

5.4 Complimentary Fishing Permits

Members were reminded that there had been occasions in the past when complimentary permits had been issued, usually in recognition of past services as a Bailiff.

RESOLVED that a complimentary permit be issued to Mr Alan Hughes.

6. SOL JOEL PARK

6.1 Revised Plans

Further to Minute 86 of the last meeting of this Committee, consideration was given to a copy of revised plans, based upon the recommendations of the Sub-Committee meeting of 1 st March 2006.

The new scheme utilised the majority of the roof space, although certain areas identified on the first floor were below a two-metre high headroom and, therefore, could not be availed as useable space. The garage/store area had a fully vaulted ceiling to enable large tractors to utilise the space if necessary. The design allowed for the "Club Room" to have a fully vaulted ceiling and Velux type roof lights could be included. Also incorporated in the design was a balcony to the "Club Room" and provision for a cricket score board immediately above the French doors and windows to the balcony.

In response to a question from a Member in respect of the District Council's previous concerns regarding the visual impact of the building in relation to Earley St. Peter's Church, the Deputy Town Clerk informed the meeting that the main apex of the roof had been considerably lowered and only the clock tower remained at a similar height.

RESOLVED that

1.         The general design of the pavilion be agreed in principle and discussion of the details of the revised plans be referred to the Sol Joel Park Sub-Committee for further consideration.

2. the Sub-Committee be requested to consider methods of funding for the construction of the building.

6.2        Picnic-in the-Park Event

Members were informed that the Churches Together in Earley & East Reading would be holding a “Picnic in the Park” event from 2.00 to 4.00pm on Sunday June 4 th .  It was anticipated that attendance would be in the region of two to five hundred but the event appeared to be well organised, insurance cover had been obtained and the Town Council would receive a rental of £200.

In response to concern regarding car parking at the event and, also, the effect that the event would have on neighbouring properties in respect of noise, particularly from music, the Committee noted that the Churches Together had been informed that no vehicles would be permitted to park on the grass.

RESOLVED that the Churches Together in Earley & East Reading be requested to organise a leaflet drop to neighbouring properties regarding possible noise and, also, to arrange for vehicles to utilise car parking facilities at Earley St. Peter's Church Hall, Earley St. Peter's School and Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church.

7. CULVER LANE ALLOTMENTS

7.1 Best Allotment Competition

Following the appointment of the Culver Lane Allotment Working Party earlier in the meeting, Members were requested to appoint the Working Party, together with the previous recipient of the award, as judges for the 2006 competition.

The Committee was of the opinion that it would be more prudent to carry out the inspections at regular intervals as opposed to the previous years when they were carried out on an ad hoc basis.

RESOLVED that the request be approved and the Working Party be requested to proceed with organising dates for the inspection and judging of the allotments at regular intervals.

8. FINANCIAL REVIEW

8.1Cemeteries

Members were reminded that, at Minute 88.1 of the last meeting of this Committee, it was resolved that a comparison with charges made in other nearby Cemeteries be made and that these be monitored. The appropriate comparative figures for Reading Borough and Wokingham District Cemeteries and Crematorium were attached to the Agenda for the information of Members.

It had been further resolved to consider how to make provision for long term running costs and to seek advice from Cemetery Industry bodies. Letters had been sent to the ICCM and ABA and replies were awaited.

Members noted that the ratio between charges for Earley residents and other residents was comparatively less than the ratios used by the other Cemeteries and, accordingly, it was suggested that the Town Council charges for other residents should be substantially increased.  It was further suggested that the Exclusive Right of Burial period could be extended to 75 years at an additional cost.

RESOLVED that

1.         consideration of the burial fees and provision for long term running costs be referred to the Mays Lane Cemetery Working Party

2.         enquiries be made with the other Cemeteries to ascertain whether their charges included the cost of grave digging.

8.2 Sol Joel Park

Members were reminded that the Town Council managed the Park under a Lease arrangement from Reading Borough Council. The Lease was signed in 2001 and the facilities comprised of a children's play area, multi-sports areas, a skateboard facility and a large field which could be used for football and cricket. There was also a Pavilion on the site.

Members were further reminded that the condition of the Pavilion gave cause for concern, but there were long-term plans for its redevelopment.

In the financial year 1 st April 2005 to 31 st March 2006, the income and expenditure was as follows:

Expenditure

Income

Members noted that there were no Local Authority Rates to be paid on the Park, because the District Council had exempted sports pavilions from rating.

The major overhead was wages but, if taken out of the equation, the other running costs were mostly met by the income from fees and from various sub-contracts that the park staff undertook, largely for schools and other Parish Councils .

The income for 2005/06 included the Skate Park contribution from Wokingham District Council, which was treated as an unbudgeted windfall. The money would be paid in the current financial year for the first phase of the refurbishment of the Skate Park, as shown in the capital item below.

No expenditure was incurred on play equipment maintenance because a planned capital programme, with a budget of £12,500, had been approved for 2006/07.     

Provisions made in the capital budget were shown in the table below.

Capital Items

Some Members were of the opinion that the cost of maintenance to the Sports pitches should be covered by the income from Fees and, also, consideration should be given to the cost of wages being funded from the income in the long term.

RESOLVED that the Town Clerk be requested to clarify the reason why the income from School contracts was less than the Budget estimate.

9. PUBLICATIONS

The Committee noted that no publications had been received.

10. ONGOING MATTERS

With regard to Maiden Place Community Centre, the Committee noted that the Town Council's Planning Committee had considered the Planning Application and had raised concerns with the District Council on parking and unneighbourly grounds.  The District Council's decision was still awaited.

11. PRESS RELEASES

RESOLVED that the item relating to the Playclub should receive emphasis.

12. CONFIDENTIAL MATTER

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of a confidential matter relating to the Burial Provision.

13. TERMINATION OF MEETING

The meeting was declared closed by the Chairman at 8.39pm.