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Earley Town Council |
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MINUTES OF MEETING OF EARLEY TOWN COUNCIL, HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 4TH APRIL 2007 WHICH COMMENCED AT 8.15PM
81. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the meeting of the Town Council held on 7th February 2007 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Mayor.
82. TOWN MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS
82.1 Wokingham District Mencap
The Mayor reported that he had attended the Annual General Meeting of the Wokingham District Mencap which had taken place on 29th March at the CResCent Centre.
82.2 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Reception
The Mayor advised that he had accepted an invitation to a reception, to be held at the Town Hall, Slough on Wednesday, 18th April, for this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service nominees.
82.3 A Draft Protocol for Improved Civic Communication
The Mayor drew attention to a letter which he had received from the Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council to which was attached a proposed Draft Protocol to improve communications between Town and Parish Councils and the Borough Council. It was felt that this was now even more essential since the granting of Borough status to the former Wokingham District Council, and the consequent creation of a mayoral position at the Borough.
82.4 Invitation to Charity Dinner Dance from Mayor of WBC
The Mayor gave details of a letter which he had received from the Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council inviting Councillors to attend a charity dinner dance to be held on 11th May at Sonning Golf Club the proceeds from which would go to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust. The cost was £42.50 per head and Councillors were asked to contact the Town Clerk if they wished to obtain tickets.
82.5 Hillside School
The Mayor reported that, accompanied by the Town Clerk, he attended at Hillside School to speak to classes on local government.
82.6 Wendy House Playgroup Easter Show
The Mayor reported that he had received an invitation to attend the Wendy House Pre-School Playgroup Easter Show, but had been unable to attend due to work commitments.
82.7 Mr Peter Dowdall and Mrs Sylvia Hall
The Mayor advised that, unfortunately, due to work commitments, he had been unable to attend either of the funerals which had taken place on Friday, 30th March.
With regard to the funeral of Mr Peter Dowdall, husband of a former chairman of the Town Council, the Mayor advised that he had been pleased to offer the use of the Council Chamber following the funeral.
82.8 Inaugural Dinner of the Borough Council
The Mayor advised that he had, together with other local District Councillors, attended the Inaugural Dinner for Wokingham Borough Council which had taken place recently at the Oracle Building in the Thames Valley Park.
82.9 Forthcoming Elections
The Mayor, on behalf of the Town Council and residents of Earley, thanked all those Town Councillors who were not standing for re-election at the forthcoming elections in May.
83. TOWN COUNCIL COMMITTEES
83.1 Planning Committee
83.1.1 Meeting of 13th February 2007
Before presenting the minutes of the meeting of 13th February, the Planning Committee Chairman, Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen, thanked all members of the Planning Committee for their work on behalf of the residents of Earley.
On the proposition of Mrs P Jorgensen, seconded by D Swindells it was
RESOLVED that the minute of the Planning Committee held on 13th February, 2007 (Minutes 123-133) be approved.
83.1.2 Meeting of 13th March 2007
On the proposition of Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen, seconded by Councillor J Armstrong, it was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 13th March 2007 (134-148) be approved.
83.2 Amenities & Leisure Committee
Before presenting the minutes of the meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee meeting, the Committee Chairman, Councillor N Jorgensen, thanked members of the Committee for their hard work.
On the proposition of Councillor N Jorgensen, seconded by Councillor M Firmager, it was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee held on 21st February 2007 (Minutes 69 – 79) be approved.
83.3 Policy & Resources Committee
The minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 21st March 2007 were presented by the Committee Vice Chairman, Councillor M Firmager. As with the other Committees, before presentation of the minutes, Councillor Firmager thanked Committee members for their efforts during the year.
On the proposition of M Firmager, seconded by Councillor C Edmunds it was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 21st March 2007 (Minutes 59 - 69) be approved.
84. REPRESENTATIVES TO OTHER BODIES
84.1 Wokingham District Sports Council Meeting – 5th March
Councillors received a written report submitted by Councillor T Holton, which had been circulated with the Supplementary Agenda.
85. DRAFT TOWN PLAN
Councillors were advised that Council staff required further guidance to assimilate the editing which had been undertaken by the Working Party, and Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen agreed to assist.
86. SERVICE TO EARLEY AWARDS
Councillors were advised that the Service to Earley Awards Panel had met prior to this meeting of Town Council and had proposed two recipients for the award in 2007. It was
RESOLVED that Mrs Barbara Reeves and Mr Chris Nunn should be the recipients of the Service to Earley Awards in 2007.
87. COMMUNITY POLICING AWARDS
Councillors were advised that Thames Valley Police had written to the Town Council concerning the competition that takes place each year for their Community Policing Awards. A letter from the Public Relations Officer at Thames Valley Police had been appended to the Agenda for Councillors’ consideration, together with a copy of the nomination form. It was
RESOLVED that a suggestion should be made to the Police that, had there been a category for the nomination of Traffic Wardens, then the Town Council would have proposed Bernie Smith.
88. PROPOSED CLOSURE OF RYEISH GREEN SCHOOL
Councillors were reminded that this matter had previously been discussed at Minute 73 of the Town Council, as a result of which, further specific questions had been communicated to the Local Education Authority.
Councillors were further advised that at its meeting on February 22nd, Wokingham District Council Decision Making Executive considered responses to the consultation that had been carried out by the Council on the proposed closure of Ryeish Green School. At that meeting Council Officers advised the Executive that none of the consultation responses offered persuasive new evidence to change the view that the School was not viable.
The Executive asked for a further period of consultation on the proposed closure. This was because it is believed it was such an important decision and that there had been a strong voice within the Ryeish Green School Community expressing how much they valued the school and would like it to remain open. The further consultation was to enable everyone with an interest to comment on the additional information contained within the new document.
In the further Consultation Brief the Borough Council had stressed that it was important to remember that no decision on the future of the school would be taken until the Executive had taken into account the comments from the initial and this further consultation. Members were advised that the deadline for submission of comments was 4th May 2007 and that the results from this further period of consultation would be considered by the Council’s Decision Making Executive on 31st May 2007. Copies of the new consultation document had been sent to all Members of the Town Council with the agenda.
Concern was raised by a Member that in a communication circulated by the Head Teacher of the School, the Town Council’s view on the proposed closure had been misrepresented. It was again confirmed that the Town Council had a neutral view on the future of the school, and that the comments made by the Town Council which had been quoted by the Head Teacher had been taken out of context. It was
RESOLVED that no further comment should be made.
89. APPOINTMENTS OF SCHOOL GOVERNORS
Councillors were advised that the Town Clerk had been notified of a number of vacancies for Governors at local schools, details of which had been appended to the Agenda for their consideration.
Members were requested to consider any nominations for any the vacancies and to advise the Town Clerk accordingly.
90. ORDERS FOR PAYMENT
RESOLVED that the various accounts as set out in the list attached to these minutes (Vouchers 601 – 640) be paid in the sums as stated and details of the Imprest Vouchers (Vouchers 282 – 293) be noted.
91. PUBLICATIONS
It was noted that the following publications had been received and were held in the Council Offices:
92. PRESS RELEASES
It was
RESOLVED that the following should receive special press attention:-
· The Mayor’s thanks to Councillors not seeking re-election in May for their service to the Town Council and to the Town as a whole, and particularly as some very long standing Members were retiring. · Details of the discussions with residents over the proposed BMX and skatepark at Riverside Park, which took place in the Town Forum prior to the Council meeting.
93. TERMINATION OF MEETING
The meeting was declared closed by the Chairman at 9.15pm.
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