EARLEY TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a meeting of Earley Town Council held in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Radstock Lane, Earley, Berkshire on Wednesday, 28^th November 2007 which commenced at 7.45 pm.

Present

Chairman – Mayor Councillor N Jorgensen

Councillors J Armstrong, A Bradley, D Chopping, M Deegan (from 8.40), C Edmunds, W Gothard, G Hughes, Mrs P Jorgensen, S Khan, T Maher, K Miall, Mrs C Mitchell, N Preston, P Willis, G Woods.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs A Ames (ill health), Mrs L Chambers (holiday), T Chambers (holiday), Ms T Christidis, M Firmager (work), T Holton (WBC), Mrs J Lissaman (WBC).  Councillor M Deegan had tendered apologies for his lateness in arriving at the meeting due to work commitments.

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55.       MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of Earley Town Council held on 3^rd October 2007 were confirmed as a true record and, signed by the Chairman.

56.       MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS

56.1            Remembrance Day Service

The Mayor advised that he had attended the Remembrance Day Service at Earley St Peter’s Church, which had been very well supported, including a number of Members of the Town Council.

56.2            Celebrate Age Week

Councillor Jorgensen advised that he had attended an event at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre in support of Celebrate Age Week.

56.3      Fair Trade

            The Mayor suggested that, following a conversation with representatives from Wokingham Fair Trade Group at the Green Fair, he suggested that he should send a letter to the Group indicating that Earley Town Council supported the principles of Fair Trade within Earley and would like to see Fair Trade goods available in local shops, so that local residents could choose to buy them if they wished.  The suggestion was unanimously supported by Members present.

57.       TOWN COUNCIL COMMITTEES

57.1      Planning Committee

57.1.1      Meeting of 9^th October

The Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 9^th October 2007 were presented by the Committee Chairman, Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen.  A Member present drew attention to application number CON/2007/2331 in respect of a potential change of use of 3 Church Road.  It was suggested that the Town Council should support any future applications for change of use to an appropriate enterprise being carried out at this site, to ensure that the property was not left vacant.

Councillor D Chopping declared a personal interest in the above item and took no part in the discussions thereof or the decision thereon.

On the proposition of Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen, seconded by Councillor P Willis it was

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 9^th October 2007 (Minutes 78 - 88) be approved.

57.1.2      Meeting of 13^th November 2007

The Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 13^th November 2007 were presented by the Committee Vice-Chairman, Councillor G Woods.  Attention was drawn to a typographical error on page 1, where the surname of the Chairman of that meeting had been misspelt, by the omission of an “s” at the end.

On the proposition of Councillor G Woods, seconded by Councillor J Armstrong, it was

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 13^th November 2007 (Minutes 89-102) as amended, be approved.

57.2      Amenities & Leisure Committee

The Minutes of the meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee held on 24^th October 2007 were presented by the Committee Chairman, Councillor D Chopping.

Attention was drawn to a number of recommendations contained within the Minutes, relating to the annual review of fees and charges.  It was agreed that each of the recommendations should be considered individually.

In respect of the recommendation contained at Minute 45.1, Councillor D Chopping declared a personal interest in this item and took no part in the discussions thereof or the voting thereon.

With regard to the recommendation at Minute 45.5 an amendment to the recommendation,  proposed by Councillor C Edmunds, seconded by Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen that the fees for the 2008/09 Playclubs should be increased to the equivalent of the Retail Price Index, rounded to the nearest 5p, was carried.

With regard to the recommendation at Minute 45.7, a proposition by Councillor C Edmunds, seconded by Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen, that the sports pitch fees should be increased to the equivalent of the Retail Price Index, rounded to the nearest 5p, was lost.

On the proposition of Councillor D Chopping, seconded by Councillor S Khan, it was

RESOLVED that

1.         the fees for the 2008/09 Playclubs should be increased at the percentage equivalent to the Retail Price Index, rounded to the nearest 5p

2.         the Minutes of the meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee held on 24^th October 2007 be approved and the recommendations at Minute 45.1, 45.2, 45.3, 45.4, 45.5, 45.6 and 45.7 be adopted.

57.3      Policy & Resources Committee

In the absence of the Committee Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the Minutes of the Policy & Resources Committee meeting held on 7^th November 2007 were presented by Councillor C Edmunds.

Councillor G Hughes indicated that he had tendered his apologies for this meeting, due to a hospital appointment, but these had not been recorded.

Councillors’ attention was drawn to the recommendation contained at Minute 33.2 in respect of the Committee’s recommendations of donations to be paid.

Councillor N Preston declared a prejudicial interest in this item and took no part in the discussions thereof or the decision thereon.

Having declared an interest, Councillor Preston then sought the Chairman’s permission to ask a question, as a representative of Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church.  This permission was granted and Councillor Preston asked whether if new information, not previously supplied to the Committee with the original grant application, was made available, could the grant application from Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church be reconsidered by the Policy & Resources Committee.

In response, Councillor C Edmunds confirmed that if additional relevant information was made available to the Policy & Resources Committee in time for its next meeting, the Committee would reconsider the church’s application.

On the proposition of Councillor C Edmunds, seconded by Councillor a Bradley, it was

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 7^th November 2007 (Minutes 31-40) as amended, be approved and the recommendation at Minute 33.2 be adopted.

58.       REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES

58.1            Reports of Representatives

58.1.1      Wokingham Borough Sports Council 

Councillors’ attention was drawn to a written report submitted by Councillor M Firmager, which had been appended to the supplementary agenda for their consideration.

There was some confusion over the first paragraph of the report and the Town Clerk was requested to seek clarification.

58.2            Verbal Reports 

58.2.1      CResCent AGM

Councillor J Armstrong advised that he had attended the Annual General Meeting of the CResCent Community Association on 14^th November.  He was pleased to report that the facilities at the Centre were being used to the maximum, and the organisation appeared to be in a firm financial situation.

58.2.2      Wokingham Waterside Centre

Councillor D Chopping advised that he had, on behalf of the Town Council’s representative to this organisation, attended a recent meeting of the Trustees.  He reported that the Centre was in a stable financial position, and had a number of plans for the future but Councillor Chopping was of the view that some attention needed to be paid to the administration associated with the Centre.

59.       RADSTOCK LANE COMMUNITY CENTRE, REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF HOURS

Councillors were advised that this item had been placed on the agenda because there was no meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee before the proposed event.  Members were asked to consider a request from the Earley Radstock Social Club for a half hour extension of bar opening on Saturday 22^nd December to 11.30pm, for a Christmas dance.  Councillors were advised that the Head Teacher had not objected to the request.  It was

RESOLVED that subject to caretaker cover, the request be approved.

60.       MAIDEN PLACE COMMUNITY CENTRE , EXTENSION OF HOURS

Councillors were advised that this item had been placed on the agenda because there was no meeting of the Amenities & Leisure Committee before the proposed event.  Members were asked to consider a request from a potential hirer for extension of hall hire on Monday, 31^st December, to 1.00 am on 1^st January 2008 for a family New Year’s Eve party.  There was some concern that the request for use of the hall had been received relatively near to the event, and Councillors were advised that, at the current time, there was no certainty that a caretaker would be available.

The Town Clerk was asked to seek clarification from the Maiden Place Social Club as to their proposed closing time on New Year’s Eve, such that the time members left the club could be staggered to minimise disruption to local residents.  After further discussion on the proposition of Councillor Mrs P Jorgensen, seconded by M Deegan it was

RESOLVED that the request be approved subject to a caretaker being available and subject to:

·         The event should conclude and the hall be cleared by no later than 12.30am.

·         Any additional costs in obtaining caretaker cover be passed to the hirer.

·         The event should conclude not less than half an hour before the proposed closing time for the Social Club.

61.       COUNCILLORS' ATTENDANCES

Councillors noted the record of Members’ attendances for the period to 13^th November 2007 as appended to these minutes.

62.       BOROUGH PARISH CONFERENCE

            Councillor J Armstrong attended the Borough/Parish Conference on 10^th October and the             Minutes of that meeting were attached to the agenda for Councillors’ consideration.

Councillor Armstrong reported to the meeting that the format of the Borough Parish Conference had now changed, and that the event was made up almost entirely of information sessions, and he considered that such information was available from other sources.

Councillor Armstrong continued by expressing concern that the questions forwarded to the Conference by the Town Council had not actually been answered on 10^th October, but had been answered in a letter to the Town Clerk.

Councillors’ attention was drawn to the minutes of the Borough Parish Conference, and particularly to Section 8 dealing with the South East Plan and the possible housing allocations for Wokingham Borough.

After further discussion it was

RESOLVED that the Town Clerk be requested to respond to the Borough Council’s letter asking why the questions submitted by the Town Council, and the subsequent answers, had not been dealt with at the Conference.

63.       SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS

Councillors were asked to consider a Schedule of Meetings for 2008/2009 which had been appended to the agenda for their consideration.

It was

RESOLVED that the Schedule of Meetings, as appended to these minutes, be approved.

64.       ORDERS FOR PAYMENT

RESOLVED that the various accounts as set out in the list attached to these minutes (Vouchers 352–390) be paid in the sums as stated and details of the Imprest Account (Vouchers 135–157) be noted.

65.       PUBLICATIONS

It was noted that the following publications had been received and were available for perusal in the Council Offices:

66.       PRESS RELEASES

            It was  

            RESOLVED that the following items should received special press attention:-

·         The sports and skatepark facilities at Sol Joel Park which were available for hire.

·         The decision of the Council not to increase the majority of the hall hire fees.

·         The intention of the Mayor to write to the Wokingham Fair Trade Group indicating the Town Council’s support for Fair Trade products.

67.       TERMINATION OF MEETING

            The meeting was declared closed by the Chairman at 9.10pm.

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