Harwich Town Council

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Finance Minutes 26th September 2011

MINUTES of the Meeting of the FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
held at The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich
on Monday 26th September 2011 commencing at 7pm

Present: Councillor Double in the Chair
Councillors Calver, Day, Gibbins, Thompson, Todd

Clerk: Mrs L Ballard

Also present: the Mayor, Councillor Brown and Deputy-Mayor, Councillor J Thurlow, Councillor D Flavell and 1 member of the public Mr Mark Stamford, Harwich resident, made reference to the grant application from the Mayflower Project and mentioned that in the previous 18 months he had made attempts to get the Council to maintain items within the Harwich conservation area, which had become neglected, including Heritage signposting, trees and seating along the promenade and signs highlighting the history of the town, but had been informed there was no funding for this. Mr Stamford asked members if there are sufficient funds to grant an application to the level of that required of the Mayflower Project, then why aren’t these funds being used in these other areas. Cllr Double explained that whilst he understood Mr Stamford’s concern, not all of the items raised were the responsibility of the Town Council and also that funds for grants are dealt with quite separately, under S.137 of the Local Government Act, and the council are tied to certain rules in this regard. Cllr Double confirmed that no applications for grant funding had been received to address these issues but that should there be in the future, and the applications meet the criteria for funding, they would be considered in the same manner as any other application.

F014/11 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllrs I Henderson.

F015/11 DECLARATIONOF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS
None.

F016/11 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Guildhall meeting held on 16th June 2011 (previously circulated) be approved by the Committee and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

F017/11 ST. NICHOLAS WELCOME COMMITTEE
Members discussed a request for grant funding as a contribution towards the cost of transporting St Nicholas to Harwich and providing sweets for children.
RESOLVED: to grant s.137 funding of £150.

F018/11 4TH DOVERCOURT SEA SCOUTS
Members discussed a request for grant funding as a contribution towards the cost of purchasing a larger (second-hand) dinghy to accommodate the increasing number of disabled young members.
RESOLVED: to grant s.137 funding of £500

F019/11 THE HARWICH MAYFLOWER PROJECT
Members discussed a request for grant funding as a contribution towards the cost of acquiring material capital equipment to commence construction of the replica Mayflower vessel.
RESOLVED: to invite representative(s) of The Harwich Mayflower Project to meet with Harwich Town Councillors and provide more information and elaborate on the application given that this is a large funding request.

F020/11 GUILDHALL DISABLED ACCESS
Councillor Double provided some background on the measures taken thus far in relation to securing disabled access to the Guildhall, and referenced a recent complaint from a member of the public in this regard. Cllr Double informed members of the proposed costs highlighted in a feasibility study which had been carried out, and the options for funding.
RESOLVED: for The Clerk, the Chair and Vice-chair to meet and make enquiries as to possible sources of funding. It was unanimously FURTHER RESOLVED: to recommend to Full Council to proceed, should suitable funding sources be identified.

F021/11 MATTERS RECEIVED IN POST
Councillor Double informed members of the requirement of successful applicants of grant funding to acknowledge receipt and confirmed receipt of letters from:

  • Upper Dovercourt Methodists Church
  • 1st/2nd Parkeston Scout Group
  • Harwich Shanty Festival
  • Monday and Tuesday Group

RESOLVED: for The Clerk to chase up an acknowledgement from the Royal British Legion Brass Band following a recent grant, since this was yet to be received.

F022/11 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee will be held on a date to be agreed, prior to the December Full Council meeting, at The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich at 7pm.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.40pm

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