At a virtual meeting of the LEISTON-cum-SIZEWELL TOWN COUNCIL
held, via
Zoom, on TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2020 at 7.30pm
Councillor J N Last BEM (as Acting Chair)
Councillor D Bailey
Councillor D Boast (joined the meeting at 7.49pm)
Councillor A M Cooper
Councillor D Dix
Councillor Mrs S M Geater
Councillor C Ginger (joined the meeting at 7.42pm)
Councillor P Harle
Councillor Mrs L Hill
Councillor Mrs S Levermore
Councillor D Morsley
Councillor S O’Reilly
Councillor Ms M Woolf
211. Minutes
Cllr Harle commented on minute 191 reporting that
Andy Osman, Head of Emergency Planning at SCC gave the incorrect spill time of
12 hours at his briefing. This is now
being investigated and Cllr Harle will advise on the outcome. It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Bailey and agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 3
March 2020 be signed as a true record.
212. Apologies
No
apologies were received.
213. Chairman’s Communications
Cllr Last, currently Acting Chairman
after Cllr Hill stepped down, thanked Cllr Hill for her excellent leadership of
the Council and outstanding commitment to the community and support to councillors
during her time as Chairman. He also
thanked Cllr Betson, who resigned from the Council on 4 June, for all her hard
work and commitment on all the projects she was involved in. A letter of thanks had been sent, with good
wishes for the future. The Chairman also
recognised the efforts of all the frontline workers in the Covid19 situation in
the community including the NHS, volunteers and the
Good Neighbourhood Scheme to name but a few.
Cllr Hill reported
on her last appointments as Chairman as follows:
On 1
April I took part in a Skype Dial-in Conference call for the Galloper Wind Farm
Fund 2020 panel meeting. The panel is advised by the Suffolk Coast & Heaths
AONB on which the objectives of the Fund are primarily based. We were pleased
to support five applications for funding which totalled nearly £11,000.
I had
accepted an invitation to attend Smyth House on 3 April on the occasion of Olive
Wilson’s 100th birthday. Due to Covid-19 restrictions I was unable
to visit but did send a card on behalf of the Council. Following a request from Smyth House I was
pleased to hear that many in the community had also sent cards.
214. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Last item 14 letter
3, Cllr Cooper for item 11 and item 14 letter 5, Cllr Hill for item 10 VE Day expenses and Leiston Film Theatre. Cllrs Harle, Woolf, Last, Hawkins for item 10
Hinkley expenses.
215. Public Forum
District
Cllr Bond was in attendance and a report had been previously circulated. Cllr Cooper commented on a resident’s
planning complaint in Andrew Close. A
response had been sent to him and is at a level 1 complaint. (All correspondence had been previously
circulated to LTC councillors for information).
County Cllr Rainger sent apologies and a report had been previously
circulated. No questions were raised by
the public.
216. Date for the AGM
After
a short discussion it was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr O’Reilly and agreed to hold the AGM on 16 June. Cllr Ginger against.
217. Leiston
Together Update
The Clerk reported no meetings had taken
place since March, but it is hoped the scheduled meeting in July will go ahead
via Zoom. The Clerk advised councillors
that Mrs Gibson had handed her notice in and is leaving in August. He is awaiting an update from Mrs Gibson on
the future role of Leiston Together.
218. CLT Trustee Board
Cllr Hill updated the
meeting on this item thus:
Since my last report to
Council on 3 March, the Community Land Trust have met on a number of occasions.
Our last round the table meeting was on 16 March and since Covid-19 regulations
were put in place we have continued with the work of the CLT and held virtual meetings
to report on progress.
With grants given by
our three District Councillors from their Enabling Budgets we have been able to
engage Gladwells Landscape Designers to undertake the initial design and plan,
together with costings for the United Church Garden and Thoroughfare Project.
With significant input from Trustees Simon Merrett and Jim Florance in
communicating with the Church and Gladwells an exciting potential plan and
video for the garden and thoroughfare has been produced. The CLT were impressed
with the proposals and sought the views of the Church before proceeding
further. I am pleased to report that the Church recently responded giving their
support to the design. The CLT are now in a position to share the proposals and
as part of this would like to give a presentation at a future meeting of the
Town Council. The next stage will be to secure funding to undertake the various
elements of the project.
Towards the end of March,
we learnt that although we had got through to the later stages of the grant
funding process, we had not been successful in our application to The Fore. You
will recall this money would have been used to cover the cost of an initial
plan and site survey for the major town centre project. Due to the current
situation, it has not been possible to obtain feedback as to why this bid was
not successful which might assist us with our next bid. Whilst this news was
disappointing, we are investigating other means of securing funding for this
work and will continue in our efforts. Tomorrow the CLT will be meeting with the
District Council to update them on progress and to discuss the way forward
regarding the town centre project including the need for a Project Manager and
advice on funding streams.
Progress has also been
made on the CLT’s website. A virtual meeting was held with the web designers
who gave a presentation on the layout, headings and
some of the content. The Trustees were very impressed with the website and are adding
further content.
Having had notice that
our Chairman Sammy Betson is to move away from the area, the Board are actively
looking to ensure continuity and are seeking new Trustees and a Chairman. An
approach is to be made to Community Action Suffolk who may be able to assist us
in this respect.
A newsletter advising
members of the all latest developments will be sent to
them shortly.
219. Visibility
at Victory Road and Park Hill
This
item was discussed at the Highways Committee in February with concerns over the
visibility splay coming out of Victory Road and whether to move the park
railings back at an expense of £1,100. Cllr
Cooper felt the railings did not cause visibility issues, it was the road sign
and electricity pole that obstructed the view.
Cllr Bailey felt the posters on the railings distracted motorists. After further discussion it was proposed by
Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Bailey and agreed to not
progress this any further.
220. Finance
and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Boast and agreed that accounts
paid since the last meeting of £132,225.59, be approved for payment. The Deputy Clerk advised that due to Covid19
payments had all been made via BACS and suggested this could be a more
efficient way of paying invoices in the future with the correct processes in place.
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded
by Cllr Morsley and agreed to investigate this further
and itemised on the AGM agenda.
221. Planning Matters
a)
DC/20/1915/FUL – Conversion of
former cannery/agricultural building to form a 3 bed dwelling at The Old Barn, Church Road, Leiston
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
b)
DC/20/1916/LBC – Listed Building Consent – Conversion of former
cannery/agricultural building to form a 3 bed dwelling
at The Old Barn, Church Road, Leiston
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
c)
DC/201917/FUL – Conversion of redundant barn to form a 4 bed dwelling at The Old Barn, Church Road, Leiston
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
d)
Sizewell C – DCO Update
The Clerk confirmed EDF had submitted the DCO at the end of
May and it would be very unlikely we hear anything until early July. Cllr Woolf informed
the meeting that she had attended a meeting with other parishes to discuss how
the SPR DCO, this and others coming along, could be adequately addressed in the
current situation. It was likely we would be asked to support future correspondence
in this regard.
222. County Matters
No questions were raised.
223. District Matters
Cllr Harle raised concerns
regarding speeding cars in Prospect Place.
Cllr Cooper advised Cllr Harle to contact the Police and Highways.
224. Correspondence
Funding Request from Age
UK Suffolk
Councillors
noted the request from Age UK Suffolk, asking for a donation towards their Emergency
Fundraising Appeal – Good Day Calls. It
was proposed by Cllr Boast, seconded by Cllr Geater
and agreed to grant £100.
Funding
Request from Magpas Air Ambulance
Councillors
noted the request from Magpas Air Ambulance, asking for a donation towards the
running costs of their charity. It was
proposed by Cllr Ginger, seconded by Cllr Harle and
agreed to grant £300.
Funding
Request from the Fire Fighters Charity
Cllr
Last declared an interest so Cllr O’Reilly took the Chair for this item. Councillors
noted the request from the Fire Fighters Charity, asking for a donation to support
their charity. It was proposed by Cllr
Dix, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed to grant £250.
225. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr
Bailey queried public access to the Aldehurst Farm habitat. The Clerk explained permission had been granted
for public access and the footpaths were open and he would circulate details. Cllr Boast asked about the access to Kenton
Hills and the Clerk confirmed talks were ongoing with EDF. Cllr Ginger commented on the traffic pinch
point at the White Horse. Cllr Geater felt since the traffic light upgrade,
traffic flow had improved. Cllr Boast
advised the speed sign on Abbey Road was not working and the Clerk would check
it and advised Cllr Levermore that there was not a suitable post to put the
speed sign on in Waterloo Avenue. Cllr Harle
commented that the skatepark lights were on from 3pm to 1am and asked if the
timer could be adjusted.
Further
to Cllr Betson’s resignation from the Council, Cllr Last advised that we will
not be able to fill the position until Government guidance allows us to hold an
election.
The meeting finished at 8.55pm.
Chair ---------------------------------------------
Dated ---------------------------------------------