Full Council Minutes 7th August 2013
MINUTES of the Meeting of the HARWICH TOWN COUNCIL
held at
The 1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich
on Wednesday 7th August 2013 at 7.00pm
| Present: | Councillors Brown, Calver, Day, Flavell, Fowler, J Henderson, I Henderson, King, Morrison, Nicholson, Thurlow, Thompson and Todd |
| In the Chair: | Councillor McLeod |
| Clerk: | Mrs Lucy Ballard |
| Also present: | 2 members of the public and 1 member of the press |
| Prayers were said by Rev Peter Mann | |
| 044/13 | APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllrs C Powell and F Powell |
| 045/13 | DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS None |
| 046/13 | PUBLIC QUESTIONS Betty Holbrook asked if any measures were being taken to clear the pathways of weeds in various locations in Bathside. Cllr Todd said that it was primarily a County Council responsibility and there are priority areas but that works are set to commence at some point this month. It is about establishing which authority is responsible for which area of land. |
| 047/13 | MAYORS ANNOUNCEMENTS The Mayor gave an account of some of his engagements since the last meeting, which included attending various events of the Harwich Festival, opening the Salons 2 internet hub, the Children’s Carnival, attending the Sea Festival, welcoming cruise passengers and Ghanaian visitors at The Guildhall, and hosting a Strawberry Tea fundraiser. The deputy Mayor reported attending two events on behalf of the Mayor. |
| 048/13 | MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING RESOLVED: That the minutes and confidential minutes of the meeting of the Town Council held on 26th June 2013 (previously circulated) be approved by the Chairman and signed as a true record. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 3rd July 2013 (previously circulated) be approved by the Chairman and signed as a true record. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the minutes and confidential minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 17th July 2013 (previously circulated) be approved by the Chairman and signed as a true record. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 31st July 2013 (previously circulated) be approved by the Chairman and signed as a true record. |
| 049/13 | MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES • Cllr Todd reported that having attended a meeting of the MNWB, HTC had been applauded for the efforts made in providing the crew shuttle buses. • Cllr Calver expressed his disappointment about the meeting to which representatives from CHUFT/CCG were invited and raised concern that HTC’s efforts to keep Harwich maternity unit open would not be fruitful and it was RESOLVED: to express concerns to Bernard Jenkin MP and ask him to a meeting of the Council to discuss HTC’s concerns. |
| 050/13 | PRESENTATION OF PLAQUE TO FORMER COUNCILLOR The Mayor presented a Town plaque to Cllr Brown to accept on behalf of Ricky Callender who was unable to attend. Cllr Brown said a few words in respect of Ricky’s contribution and achievements during his time in office. |
| 051/13 | ADULT EDUCATION CENTRE Members welcomed Daniel Land, Marketing Officer for Adult Community Learning, who gave a brief presentation to raise awareness about the services and resources offered by the Harwich Adult Education Centre, which are available to members of the community. |
| 052/13 | TOWN TOURISM WORKING PARTY Cllr I Henderson provided an update to members on the latest actions of the working party. He asked the Mayor if he would hold a reception for all parties involved once the leaflets/brochures have been produced. |
| 053/13 | A120 Cllr McLeod raised ongoing issues with the A120 and in particular the poor road surface. He proposed to write to the necessary authorities to demand improvements to the road; copying to the other Tendring district parish councils local to the A120 and asking for their support by also writing to the authorities. RESOLVED: to write to various authorities (Essex County Highways) and local parish councils. |
| 054/13 | VESSELS ENTERING UK WATERS Cllr Todd confirmed he was waiting to hear from MEP Richard Howitt and would report back at the next meeting. |
| 055/13 | USE OF HTC ARCHIVED IMAGES Members considered a request from Cora Glassa of the Journeyer project to use images obtained from the HTC archives for use in a web based phone App that she is developing as part of an art project commissioned by ECC. RESOLVED: To grant access as requested. |
| 056/13 | HARWICH SAUSAGE FESTIVAL Cllr Calver briefed members on the forthcoming event on 9 November and proposed that the Mayor invite the chairs of other local parish/town councils to a small reception at The Guildhall prior to the commencement of the festival, at which they would be welcome to join him in watching the event. RESOLVED: To send invites to the chairs of all Tendring district parish councils. |
| 057/13 | BUOY AT GAS HOUSE CREEK Cllr Flavell briefed members on the proposals for siting a buoy at Gas House Creek, to welcome visitors to Harwich and asked for support from members to progress with the project and under the remit of the E&C Committee. RESOLVED: To progress project under the direction of the E&C Committee. |
| 058/13 | MAYFLOWER PIPE BAND Members considered a request from the band’s founder to use the Town Crest within the band’s logo. RESOLVED: to refuse on the grounds that it would be inappropriate to embed the crest within another image. |
| 059/13 | MINUTES OF THE LAST ENVIRONMENT & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting of the Environment & Community Committee held on 10th July 2013 (previously circulated) be received. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the confidential minutes of the meeting of the Environment & Community Committee held on 10th July 2013 (previously circulated) be received. |
| 060/13 | MINUTES OF LAST ALLOTMENTS COMMITTEE MEETING RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting of the Allotments Committee held on 8th July 2013 (previously circulated) be received. FURTHER RESOLVED: that the confidential minutes of the meeting of the Allotments Committee held on 8th July 2013 (previously circulated) be received. |
| 061/13 | ACCOUNTS Payments and receipts, current balances, financial activity against budgets and earmarked funds were noted. RESOLVED: to authorise payments as presented |
| 062/13 | BRIEF REPORT BY MEMBERS
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| 063/13 | CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED IN THE POST OR RAISED BY MEMBERS Cllr I Henderson reported having been in contact with Dick Madden, Cabinet member for Families and Children at ECC, about the loss of funding for BEST and whether the newly formed Families with Complex Needs group would be too high level to meet the needs of those previously using BEST. The issue is being investigated. |
| 064/13 | POLICE BRIEFING Inspector Willis updated members on the latest issues and challenges facing Harwich Police at present, and reported an increase in crime in comparison to 2012, but mentioned that this was considered low level and that serious crime remains very low. Antisocial behavior was on the decrease, whilst thefts were one of the main problems currently being experienced, with shoplifting on the increase. Referring to the recent incident at The Cabin, Inspector Willis said positive police work and excellent community support had assisted in providing a sense of relief to other retailers following a successful arrest. Other current issues included issuing a number of drug warrants and addressing the antisocial behavior in Deanes Close. Members thanked Insp. Willis for his attention to particular matters and asked questions in relation to the CCTV, the closure of the Basement and the numbers of PCSOs. Insp. Willis confirmed Harwich Police Station is staffed 24 hours and welcomed members independently reporting any criminal activity directly to him. |
| 065/13 | DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of Harwich Town Council will be held on Wednesday 18th September 2013 at The 1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich, at 7.00pm, or at the rise of the Town Planning Committee, whichever is the later. |
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.30pm.