Pre-meeting Reports
01 June 2021
41. County
Councillor
County Cllr Haworth-Culf
was in attendance and gave an update on her report, which wasn’t received in
time to be circulated prior to the meeting but the Clerk will circulate
tomorrow. Cllr Harle asked for an update
regarding footpath 8 that runs behind Stocks Fair and said that he would like
to attend the site visit when it is carried out. The Clerk reminded Cllr Harle that a site
visit had already taken place and that the Rights of Way team are now trying to
make contact with Stocks Fair. County
Cllr Haworth-Culf will chase.
42. District Councillor
Cllr Cooper will
circulate a report to councillors this week.
Cllr Harle asked if there had been any resolution regarding the smoke
from the Masterlord Estate. Cllr Cooper confirmed
that Environmental Health have investigated this and it should now be
resolved.
43. Public Forum
Nothing was raised.
At a meeting of the
LEISTON-cum-SIZEWELL TOWN COUNCIL
held in the COMMUNITY
CENTRE, King Georges Avenue, Leiston, on
TUESDAY 01 JUNE 2021 at
7.30pm and also via Zoom
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 C Ginger
Councillor P Harle
Councillor T Hawkins
Councillor Mrs L Hill
Councillor Mrs S Levermore
Councillor D Morsley
Councillor Ms M Woolf
44. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded
by Cllr Boast and agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 18 May 2021 be
signed as a true record.
45. Apologies
Apologies
were received from Cllr Geater.
46. Chairman’s Communications
Its only two weeks since the last Town
Council meeting, so there is not too much in my communications this month.
Congratulations and
well down to Hannah and the Newsletter Working Group on another colourful and
informative edition of the Town Council Newsletter. I am sure when it falls on
doormats later this week it will be well received by our residents.
Local artist Chris
Newson has plans to plant 70,000 daffodil bulbs along the roadside between
Leiston and Saxmundham in the autumn. Of course if
that happens, the gateway to Leiston from that direction will be a picture in
the spring of 2022. Chris is seeking support from County, District and Town
Councils among others, so I would like to invite members to consider this when
it arises at a later date. Jo our Change Manager may wish to say something on
this in her update.
On 27 May, I visited
the Worry Tree and met Richard Corbett and his team. It was good to get an
understanding of the valuable work this group is performing in our community.
It was also clear to see from the attendees that meeting up was very important
to them.
On Friday 28 May, I
called in to see the East Suffolk Council’s, Give and Take for Greener Leiston
initiative which was being held in Leiston for the first time. It’s a good way
of contributing to a greener Leiston with ways to dispose of items surplus to
requirements and also for recycling and bringing items back into use. It is
hoped that this may become a regular event for Leiston.
Suffolk Day will soon
be with us again on 21 June, a few things are going on in the Town and I invite
some discussion on that under item 14 of tonight’s agenda.
47. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Boast for CLT, Cllr Hill for CLT, Leiston
Film Theatre, item 17c and item 20, Cllr Levermore for CLT and item 12 and Cllr
Cooper for item 17.
48. Leiston
Together Update
Joanne Thain gave a brief update on the projects she has been working on
the main focus being on enhancing the town centre including new maps, signage
and the Visit Leiston Website. She
reported that the Greener Leiston Give and Take day was very successful with
over 40 visitors and another has been scheduled for 21 June to coincide with
Suffolk Day. It is hoped this can become
a bi-monthly event run by the community she asked Councillors to let her know
if they would like to volunteer or if they know of any willing volunteers to
put them in contact with her.
49. Net Zero Update
The Clerk had no further updates
since the last meeting.
50. CLT Trustee Board Report
Cllr Boast updated thus:
The Leiston CLT has been making
enormous efforts to make the church square community garden a reality. As you know the milestones of consultation
and design have been reached and planning permission has been granted. Fundraising efforts are well underway and to
date £234,500 of the £330,000 target has been accounted for.
Last week we met with church leaders
to confirm their commitments and instructions went out to contractors to start
the bifold doors work, this will be the first visible evidence to the public of
our plans being actioned.
Other funding results have been
achieved by negotiating discounts, voluntary community contributions and
obtaining grant funding from public bodies, charitable organisations,
commercial companies and even some private individuals. The fundraising continues, with additional
grant applications being made whenever the opportunity arises; crowdfunding
sites have been set up and are being promoted.
At the Steam Up day at the Long Shop
last Sunday week we had a stall, meeting the public face to face for the first
time in months, many useful discussions led to an increase in membership and to
widen the knowledge of the CLT with visitors, but more importantly Leiston
people. It still surprises me the number
of people who say CLT who are they? We
intend to repeat this stall presence on Suffolk Day 21 June.
Other promotions include having 22
Sizewell Road yarn bombed, Leiston has been brightened up by the yarn bombing,
most shops involved. Buckets and posters
encouraging donations are also being accepted by shops to support the CLT but
unfortunately we are running out of time, as some of our grants are time
limited.
The landscapers, Gladwell’s have
made it clear that unless we instruct them soon the September slot they have
for the work will be gone, and they could not entertain starting the work until
well into 2022, by which time price increases are inevitable and some of our
grants will be lost.
The CLT have considered trying to
phase the project, but this will lead to additional cost. However, if we delay construction of the
bandstand and the purchase of street furniture our funding target is just
£30,000 short. With an additional grant
of £30,000 we could instruct Gladwell’s to start work in September at the best
possible price, and insure that the public infrastructure project goes ahead
with completion before Christmas, ready for use at Christmas.
If the Town Council could consider
making up this shortfall it would enable the project to progress, thus
providing the town with a massive boost for the community and an amenity that
will be appreciated and treasured by many.
For the next Town Council meeting,
the CLT intend to send a letter requesting an additional £30,000 which would
allow us to instruct contractors to make an immediate start and hope the Town
Council would welcome the fruition of the plans that have been in the public arena
for many months. The town deserves a
major boost.
Finally our AGM is confirmed as 20
July, 7.30pm at Leiston Community Centre (COVID-19 permitting).
51. Traffic and Transport Proposals – Special
Motion
Councillors noted the Special Motion
raised by 8 town councillors to reverse the resolution agreed for a referendum
on the second paragraph of minute 26 held on 18 May 2021. Cllr Cooper felt there was some
misunderstanding of the term referendum and confirmed that there is no
legislation to support a referendum of this nature. Cllr Bailey and Cllr Ginger raised concerns
regarding public consultations and stated we must take into consideration the
views and comments of our residents. Cllr
Cooper confirmed that it has always been the intention to hold public
consultations. Cllr Levermore clarified
that there has never been any intention of not going to public consultation and
that the Transport Group will be proud to share the plans they have been
working on with residents. Cllr Last
confirmed that public consultation will take place and the Clerk advised there
will be a special edition newsletter detailing the proposals delivered to all
residents. After a lengthy discussion it
was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Morsley and agreed (8 for, 4
against) that the original resolution for a referendum be reversed and public
consultations held.
52. EDF
Transport Group Update
Cllr Last reported
there had been no further updates since the last meeting. The minutes of the meeting held 17 May have
only just been received and the Clerk will circulate to councillors that have
requested them tomorrow.
53. ALS
Community Partnership Update
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report.
54. SZC
PINS Hearings/Examination Update
Cllr Woolf and Cllr Corbett
have completed the written answers to the examiners questions ready for
submission. Cllr Woolf reported that the
Local Impact Report is now available on the PINS website. Cllr Corbett confirmed that John Rayner has
agreed to accompany them on all site visits.
55. Update
from Leiston Events Group
Councillors noted the
update received from Leiston Events Group and their request for permission to
use the public spaces for their Christmas 2021 and Summer 2022 events and for funding
towards the cost of toilets for their Summer 2022 event. It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by
Cllr Bailey and agreed permission be given for the Events Group to use the town
public spaces for these events. A second
proposal was made by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed for funding
up to £800 be given towards the cost of toilets for their Summer 2022 event.
Cllr Levermore advised
councillors that the Events Group would be putting up the flags on 13 June in
the high street ready for Suffolk day on 21 June.
56. Casual
Vacancy
The Clerk informed councillors
an advert for the casual vacancy had been placed in the newsletter with a
deadline of 25 June, she advised councillors if they knew of anyone
interested to get them to contact her directly.
57. Suffolk
Day 21 June 2021
Cllr Last asked councillors
to support the various events being held in the town to mark Suffolk Day. He suggested the Town Council do a litter
pick and it was agreed that this would take place on Saturday 19 June, Cllr
Last will contact councillors in due course to finalise arrangements. Cllr Levermore will contact the
Brownies/Guides to see if they can help.
58. Leiston Town Bowls Club
Cllr Boast gave an update to councillors on the current position of Leiston
Town Bowls Club. He informed Councillors
that membership numbers are declining and if they did not get any new members
soon the club could face closure. An article promoting
the club has been placed in the Town Council Newsletter and Mrs Kemp will share
their Facebook page on the Town Council page.
Cllr Levermore also suggested Cllr Boast contact ABC radio to promote
the club.
59. Finance and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Hill and agreed that
accounts paid since the last meeting of £37,817.17 be approved for payment.
b) End of Year Internal Audit Report 2020/2021
Councillors noted the report from Mrs Heelis
regarding her inspection of the full annual accounts and that she had signed
her section of the Annual Statement. It
was proposed by Cllr Morsley, seconded by Cllr Levermore and agreed that the
Internal Auditors Report be accepted.
c) Annual Governance Statement for 2020/2021
It was proposed by Cllr Morsley, seconded by Cllr
Hill and agreed that all statements on the Annual Governance Statement could be
answered in the affirmative and that the Chairman be authorised to sign the
document on their behalf.
d) Annual Accounts for 2020/2021
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr
Levermore and agreed that the accounts for 2020/2021 be approved and that the
Chairman be authorised to sign the Annual Accounting Statement.
e) Allowances
The Clerk asked councillors to let her know via
email if they wished to take the allowance or not.
The meeting took a
break from 8.47pm to 8.52pm
60. Planning Matters
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
c)
DC/21/1166/FUL – Construction of 10no.
dwellings with associated access, infrastructure, garden sheds and landscaping
and demolition of garages – Land off South Close, Leiston, Suffolk
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
d)
DC/21/2504/LBC - Extensive repairs to a
Grade II Listed timber framed threshing barn – Upper Abbey Farm, Eastbridge Road, Leiston, IP16 4RQ
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
61. County Matters
Nothing raised.
62. District Matters
Cllr Harle asked for an
update regarding the dog bin on High Green, Mrs Kemp advised she is waiting for
permission from ESC.
63. Correspondence
Grant request from Alde Valley Academy
Councillors noted the
letter from Alde Valley Academy requesting a donation towards their presentation
evening. After a brief discussion it was
proposed by Cllr Morsley, seconded by Cllr Dix and agreed to grant £1000.00.
64. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr Hill was delighted to inform
councillors that Leiston Surgery PPG raised £8,500 through their COVID-19 vaccination
thankyou campaign. The surgery have used
some of the funds to purchase a new ECG machine, and the PPG are consulting
with staff to enhance their outside area and staff room. The PPG and surgery staff express their
thanks to everyone for all the numerous cards, messages, donations and support
they have received.
Cllr Ginger reported that a resident had
complained to him about the cemetery looking untidy. Cllr Last confirmed that areas of the
cemetery are being left to grow to enhance wildlife habitats and that signage
is in place informing residents.
Cllr Levermore asked if there were
any further updates regarding the vandalism at King Georges Park, the Clerk
advised it had been raised at the ASB meeting and the police would be doing
further sweeps of the area.
The meeting finished at
9.22pm
Chair
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Dated ---------------------------------------------