At a virtual meeting of the LEISTON-cum-SIZEWELL TOWN
COUNCIL
held, via
Zoom, on TUESDAY 12 JANUARY 2021 at 7.30pm
Councillor J N Last BEM (in the Chair)
Councillor D Bailey
Councillor D Boast
Councillor T Cooper
Councillor Mrs N Corbett
Councillor D Dix
Councillor Mrs S M Geater (7.56pm)
Councillor C Ginger
Councillor P Harle
Councillor T Hawkins
Councillor Mrs L Hill
Councillor S Levermore
Councillor D Morsley
Councillor Ms M Woolf
140. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Levermore and
agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 1 December 2020 be signed as a true
record.
141. Apologies
Apologies
were received from Cllr O’Reilly and District Cllr TJ Haworth-Culf.
142. Chairman’s Communications
The Chairman updated
the meeting thus:
There is not too much
to report on since our previous Council meeting due to Christmas and the new year
breaks.
First of all I would
like just to welcome Caroline Rinder in the official capacity of Town Clerk
tonight.
On 8 December I sat in
on CLT’s virtual AGM meeting.
On 14 December, myself
and colleagues from the Transport Group, attended a further meeting with SCC
and EDF to discuss street plans and cycle path routes including options. An update on this will be given under item 6
of the Agenda tonight.
On 18 December, as
Councillors will know, despite the restrictions in place at the time we were
able to mark the occasion of our Town Clerk John Rayner’s retirement by
presenting him with some retirement gifts and a memory book. Hopefully later
this year we will be able to have a gathering in order to do the honours how we
would have liked it to happen.
Just before Christmas I
was pleased to write to Sharon Cuthbert, of the Leiston Good Neighbourhood
Scheme and to Smyth House Residential Home, congratulating them on the award
and recognition they received from the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk for their
outstanding efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Towards the end of the
year I heard of the passing of former Town Councillor Derek Girling who served
on the Council during the eighties. Derek was a well known
men’s hairdresser in the town and I pass on our condolences to his family and
friends.
I am pleased to see the
Covid-19 Vaccine Programme gets underway in Leiston this week at the Sizewell
Sports and Social Club, and would like to thank staff and the many volunteers
who are making that happen. We all recognise the work and tasks involved.
Finally, it was great
to see the efforts of volunteers, business and residents of the town in
brightening up the streets and houses over the darkest part of the year. I think that was very needed at the end of
2020. I thank Joanne Thain
our Leiston Change Manager and Cllr Corbett for their support on the Let the
Light in, initiative. I was more than pleased to thank everyone involved in
that on the Town Council Facebook page.
143. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Hill for CLT and Leiston Film Theatre,
Cllr Levermore for CLT, Cllr Corbett for item 15 letter 1, Cllr Boast for CLT,
Cllr Cooper for item 12.
144. Public Forum
Morag
McInnes, Project Manager at East Suffolk Council gave a presentation on the
Smart Towns Project, a new digital service for businesses within Leiston.
Cllr
Cooper raised concerns regarding security of the Wi-Fi for businesses. Mrs McInnes confirmed that the public Wi-Fi
will follow Government cybercrime guidelines and the friendly Wi-Fi scheme to
make it as safe as possible and advice given to both businesses and members of
the public.
Cllr
Levermore asked about the range of the Wi-Fi.
Mrs McInnes confirmed that one mode would provide a range of 20-30
metres and you build these up on a network to create a zone, which you could
expand overtime.
Cllr
Harle asked if the footfall data would be used to attract bigger and better
shops to the town. Mrs McInnes confirmed
that at present any data collected will be used initially to enhance the
businesses and town as is and enable the town to pitch events to fit the current
footfall. However, Mrs McInnes said that
overtime evidence led data could indeed be used for this purpose.
Cllr
Corbett asked if the data will be used to help inward investment for the town. Mrs McInnes confirmed that the data could be
used to up the profile of Leiston and help town marketing streams.
Cllr
Last raised concerns over the funding of the project and who would pick up the
cost after the initial two years. Mrs
McInnes said that it is hoped that after the two years town councils would see
the benefits of the scheme and be willing to cover costs within their precept
budget, there will however be an opt-out from the project after this period if
the Town Council feels it doesn’t add value to the town. Mrs McInnes also confirmed that she is still
sourcing more funding and support to keep any costs minimal.
Cllr
Boast asked Mrs McInnes if she was aware of the CLT. Mrs McInnes confirmed that she is aware of
the CLT and that she will be making contact to work alongside them once the
project is more advanced.
SCC
County
Cllr Rainger spoke about the national lockdown and reiterated that all the
services set up by SCC and ESC to aid people through the pandemic are still up
and running, he encouraged people to use the services available. County Cllr Rainger said SCC are still
working with EDF on concerns over Sizewell C, but recognised the work done so
far by EDF to help close the gaps on the missing links. County Cllr Rainger informed councillors that
‘2020 fund’ projects are now rolling out across the county. He confirmed that Lovers Lane had been
selected as a site for the air samplers project. County Cllr Rainger informed councillors
about the consultation for a new Streets Guide, which will assist designing
streets for new residential developments especially by promoting walking and
cycling. The consultation is now open
and closes on 10 February 2021, more details can be found on the SCC
website.
In
response to a question from Cllr Ginger, County Cllr Rainger confirmed that the
locality budget deadline is 25 March, but in order for applications
to be processed in time they would need to be submitted by the end of January. Cllr Harle asked about the drainage problem
on the ‘S’ bend towards Saxmundham. County Cllr Rainger confirmed that Highways
are aware, substantive work needs to be done in this area and they hope to have
this completed by May 2021. He is aware
that there has been a lot of public energy concerning this and a petition
raised attracting media attention, but said that it was the reports sent in
through the online highways reporting tool that progressed the works and
reiterated that people should use this to report all highway problems. Cllr Harle also asked County Cllr Rainger on
SCC views of the merger of the CAB.
County Cllr Rainger said they believed it to be a positive move and that
by merging them together services would be enhanced.
ESC
A
report had been previously circulated. Cllr
Harle asked why there are no local paper banks in the town anymore and asked about
the possibility of having small recycle points within the town for single items,
now that you have to book for the recycling centre. Cllr Cooper confirmed that there have been no
paper banks in the town for a number of years due to fire hazards and he will
enquire about the possibility of having smaller recycle points within the town.
145. EDF Transport Group
Cllr
Last gave a brief update on the meeting held on 14 December. Feedback was given to EDF and WSP regarding
the transport and cycle routes for them to review further. They are looking at the consultation strategy
they are going to use for members of the public. The next meeting is in February.
146. Leiston
Together update
Joanne Thain gave an overview of all the projects that she is
involved in. She has been and is
continuing to support local businesses in compiling business plans and project
plans, including ABC community radio that is due to start broadcasting in the
local area from Easter 2021. She advised
that as of yet there are no events scheduled for 2021 as the main focus at this
time is Covid19 recovery. Mrs Thain informed councillors that Barry Norman has now stood
down as independent chair of Leiston Together.
She advised that the voluntary post will be advertised this week with a
closing date of 29 January. Cllr Hill
asked for the Town Council to write a letter of thanks to Barry Norman for all
his hard work and support.
Cllr Corbett asked if
all this information is in the public domain.
Mrs Thain advised that all updates will be
posted on the Leiston together website after their meeting on 27 January.
147. Net Zero update
The Clerk gave a brief update to confirm
that 6 out of 12 homes that came forward for the pilot scheme have been surveyed. IHI (Insulation and Heating Installations Ltd)
will be contacting more residents shortly regarding accessing funding for
energy efficient home improvements. The
Clerk and Joanne Thain will be meeting with the Project
Team next week to get up to speed on the latest developments.
148. CLT Trustee Board Update
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report and no questions were raised.
149. Finance
and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Levermore and agreed
that accounts paid since the last meeting of £29,441.51 be approved for
payment.
150. Set the Precept
for 2021/22
Councillors noted the detailed report previously circulated. The Clerk explained that due to the Covid19
pandemic the tax base had reduced by 3%.
The tax base is effectively a summation of the equivalent number of Band
D properties expected to contribute Council Tax in the town over the next
year. As a general rule, each year we
have an increase in tax base which means the Band D figure is less for each
property due to more properties contributing.
However, because the tax base has reduced this year, the Band D figure
is higher for each property which means that if the same precept is demanded
this year (£305,000) then this will be an increase of 3% or 10p per week.
The Clerk
advised if councillors wished to keep to a 0% increase, which would be a precept
of £296,039, this could be supported by the Local Council Tax Support Grant
(£9,812) from East Suffolk Council. The
allocation of this grant has been calculated in proportion to the reductions in
the calculated tax base for the parish, resulting from the increased LCTRS
reliefs and the use of a reduced collection rate in the tax base calculation.
The Clerk
mentioned at the end of her report some further projects which could be pursued
in the coming year to which the CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) reserve is
available and no need to add to the precept.
The Clerk
informed councillors that Suffolk County Council were increasing their element
of the Council Tax by 4%, the Police by 6.7% and the District Council with no
increase.
After some discussion,
it was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed that due to
the unprecedented year, that Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council precept East
Suffolk Council for £296,039 for 2021/22, which is a 0% increase.
151. Planning Matters
a)
DC/20/4943/FUL
- New industrial unit to be used as a car body repair Business - Unit 7 Masterlord Industrial Estate Station Road Leiston Suffolk
IP16 4JD
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
REFERAL TO TREE OFFICER
It
was proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Geater to recommend refusal but
this was not carried. After further
discussion it was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Boast and agreed to
recommend approval. Councillors wished
to note in the response concerns regarding parking (deliveries) on the double
yellow lines outside the property which was a safety issue and felt the bin storage area at the front should be relocated so motorists can see when
coming out of Kings Road junction.
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
d)
DC/20/5075/FUL
– Side extension - 2 Garrett Crescent Leiston Suffolk IP16 4LB
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
e)
DC/20/5047/FUL
- Positioning of shipping containers for use as rented storage facility -
Unit 7 1A Masterlord Industrial Estate Station Road
Leiston Suffolk IP16 4JD
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
Councillors asked for consideration to be given to the traffic flow on
Abbey Road, the existing contamination on the site and environmental issues
with the close proximity to the new habitat area.
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
g)
DC/20/5262/FUL
- Change of use from vacant dental surgery (Class E) to education use
(Class F.1) (No external alterations to building) - Former Dental Surgery Crown
Street Leiston Suffolk IP16 4AX
Councillors
requested consideration be given to widen the
entrance to the site as it is quite narrow and on a steep slope.
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
h)
DC/20/5266/FUL
- Porch extension together with cladding of existing external brickwork
wall of original dwelling. - 55 Abbey Road Leiston Suffolk IP16 4RE
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
i)
DC/21/0011/FUL - Porch extension between house and garage - 35 Red House Lane Leiston
Suffolk IP16 4LQ
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
152. County Matters
Cllr Ginger asked about the primary
school pathway, County Cllr Rainger advised that he is still trying to progress
this with Highways.
During the above item, the time
reaching 10pm, it was proposed by Cllr Last, seconded by Cllr Cooper and agreed
that standing orders be suspended to allow business to continue for a further
10 minutes.
153. District Matters
Nothing raised.
154. Correspondence
a)
Woodbridge Round Table
Councillors
noted the request from Woodbridge and Framlingham Round Table and acknowledged
how thrilled the children where to see Santa in Leiston. It was proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by
Cllr Boast and agreed to grant £250.
155. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr Levermore raised concerns
regarding parking along Seaward Avenue and asked if the Town Council had
requested Flagship to put up no parking signage on the grass verges, she also
raised concerns about the state of the Sylvester Road carpark. The clerk advised all these issues have been
raised with Flagship and will chase.
Cllr Bailey asked if we
have received any enforcement reports for Leiston. District Cllr Cooper said that he will get a
report run specifically for Leiston and circulate.
Cllr Corbett raised
concerns with regards to public safety in regards to the untidiness of the
sites surrounding the Volunteer Public House, and the Crown. The Clerk advised as of yet she has not been
able to identify the owner of the Crown.
She will try to contact the letting agents regarding the Volunteer.
The meeting finished at
10.10pm
Chair
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Dated ---------------------------------------------