Pre-meeting Reports
06 July 2021
65. County
Councillor
County Cllr Haworth-Culf
attended via Zoom and gave an update on her report, which was circulated prior
to the meeting. County Cllr
Haworth-Culf informed councillors that she would like to allocate £500 from her
locality budget towards a celebration for the Queens Platinum Jubilee, Cllr
Levermore confirmed that the Events Group already have plans in motion and this
money would be gratefully received.
Cllr Harle asked for an
update regarding footpath 8 that runs behind Stocks Fair. The Clerk informed Cllr Harle that ESC Planning
Enforcement Team are investigating the new fencing that has been installed
along with the Rights of Way Team on the encroachment of the footpath.
Cllr Levermore raised
issues with footpaths in the town not being cleared. County Cllr Haworth-Culf advised councillors
to continue to report them via the reporting tool and email her the reference
numbers so that she can chase.
Cllr Morsley asked if
we could schedule more regular cutting of the footpaths the Clerk confirmed we
can ask Norse to carry out additional cutting when required.
During the above item,
the time reaching 7.30pm, it was proposed by Cllr Ginger, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed that standing orders be suspended to allow the
public session to finish.
66. District Councillor
Cllr Cooper was not in
attendance but had circulated a report prior to the meeting. No questions were raised.
67. Public Forum
A resident raised her
concerns about the vandalism at Victory Road Recreation Ground over the
weekend. The Town Clerk informed the
resident that the Town Council are aware of the recent vandalism, all incidents
have been reported to the police and they will be carrying out extra patrols
within the area.
At a meeting of the
LEISTON-cum-SIZEWELL TOWN COUNCIL
held in the COMMUNITY
CENTRE, King Georges Avenue, Leiston, on
TUESDAY 06 JULY 2021 at
7.30pm and also via Zoom
Councillor J N Last BEM (in the Chair)
Councillor D Bailey
Councillor D Boast
Councillor Mrs N Corbett
Councillor D Dix
Councillor Mrs S M Geater
Councillor C Ginger
Councillor P Harle
Councillor T Hawkins (7.44pm)
Councillor Mrs L Hill
Councillor Mrs S Levermore
Councillor D Morsley (7.22pm)
Councillor Ms M Woolf
68. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded
by Cllr Boast and agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 09 June 2021 be
signed as a true record.
69. Apologies
Apologies
were received from Cllr Cooper.
70. Councillor
Co-option
Members were pleased to see
applications from four residents to fill the outstanding casual vacancy and
thanked them very much for their interest.
It was proposed by Cllr Morsley, seconded by Cllr Geater
and agreed that the vote take place via a secret paper ballot. A secret
paper ballot was then conducted and the outcome was
that Mr Peter Kyle was elected to join the Council for the remainder of this
term and, on reading a declaration of acceptance of office, joined the meeting
as councillor.
71. Chairman’s Communications
Councillors will know Suffolk Day
was on 21 June, and the lead up to that was a very active time. Creative
Leiston, Alde Valley Academy, the Long Shop Museum and others all contributing
to the day. The Town Centre was Yarn Bombed and the
Flags were flying. It all looked very good. Well done to everyone involved. Unfortunately, due to the torrential rain
experienced on the Friday morning, ahead of Suffolk Day, the preparation Litter
Pick organised by Access Community Trust and supported by the Town Council, had
to be cancelled, but a new date is to be arranged.
All Chairpersons of
Town and Parish Councils have been written to by the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk
regarding the Queens Platinum Jubilee next June. It is hoped the occasion will
be marked with a Suffolk Festival and I was duly asked to nominate a Champion
for Leiston to take the lead on the Festival in our
town. Knowing planning for the Leiston Big Weekend which will include the
Queens Platinum Jubilee is already underway, I have asked Cllr Levermore, and
she has agreed to take on the role of Champion for the Festival, as she will be
fully aware of the planning for Leiston through the Leiston Events Group. I am
sure Cllr Levermore will update councillors from time to time as we move
towards next June.
On 14 June, I
along with the Transport Group met with Suffolk County Council Highways and EDF
for further discussion on the Town Transport Strategy. Bullet points are included in councillor’s
information packs and the minutes will be available from the Clerk when they
are received from EDF. This is covered by Item 9 on this evening’s agenda.
On 21 June, I attended
along with the Clerk and Mr Rayner a Sizewell C Relevant Representation liaison
meeting. This will be an agenda item at the next meeting and a report will also
be available.
On 1 July, a very
pleasant evening, along with other councillors and office staff, it was good to
meet up with the Bailiffs’ and volunteers at Haylings
Pond, to view the recent work they had carried out and to listen to their future plans. Currently, they have funding applications in
for the work they would like to do in the future and depending on how
successful those bids might or might not be gave councillors an indication
of the level of support they might seek from the Town Council. The pond goes from strength to strength, with
membership well over 200, offering opportunities for all to be involved in angling. On behalf of the Town Council, I thank them
for all their efforts and hard work and encourage members to support this team
as and when we can.
It was disappointing to
once again hear of further vandalism at our parks.
This seems to be a reoccurring issue over the last couple of months.
Unfortunately, this becomes time consuming for the Clerk and office, as well as
the cost involved in repair or replacement. I thank the Clerk and office for
the swift response and ensuring there were no safety implications. The Police
have been informed.
72. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Boast for CLT and item 16a, Cllr Hill for
CLT, Leiston Film Theatre, Alde Valley, and item 20 Aldeburgh Theatre, Cllr
Levermore for CLT, Cllr Bailey for 16a, Cllr Harle for item 16a and Cllr Last
for SARS.
73. Leiston
Together Update
Joanne Thain gave a brief update on the
projects she has been working on including town signage, updating of the Visit
Leiston Website and the commissioning of photographs to be taken of residents
personal shopping experiences in the town, which will be used to help boost
economic development of the town. Mrs Thain thanked the Creative Leiston Group and local residents for their contributions towards Suffolk Day,
welcomed the press coverage this had brought which is all helping towards
boosting our profile as Destination Leiston.
74. Net Zero Update
Councillors noted the previously
circulated report. Cllr Hill had been
asked by a resident if there would be any support to have an electric car
charging point installed as they are looking to purchase an electric car. The Clerk will investigate.
75. CLT Trustee Board Report
Councillors noted the previously
circulated report. Cllr Boast gave a
further update thus:
Since the circulated report things
have moved on again, it has been a very busy period. Cyds and Detectorists have agreed on plans
for archaeological survey.
Agreement with Sizewell
apprentices on the final designs for the Church Square Arches.
The two open days at the
Leiston Long Shop Museum proved very productive both in increasing our
membership now to over 300 and giving us the opportunity to meet the public,
everyone we spoke to were supportive, some impatient wanting it done now. We received no negative voices. Senior Council officers Steve Gallant, Andrew
Reid and Graham Newman visited, were impressed and very supportive of our plans.
The Yarn bombing is
proving very popular as well as brightening the town, every shop/business we
visited were happy to display our poster and have collection tins/buckets – all
welcoming the CLT plans.
The meeting with Gladwells, Church Elders and Co-op was very constructive
covering major issues including the need to complete pre construction plans, the demolition
of the wall needing to meet health and safety and hygiene regulations to ensure
safety for staff and public, for access and egress of HGVs to site across the
Co-op car park, this will be considerable and the Co-op offered its full
cooperation. Action on progress being
very evident now.
Church Elders confirmed
legal documentation around the permissive walk way is all
agreed and awaiting signatures.
Gladwells stated we need to note
price increases as the quote is now over one year old, materials and staff
costs rising due to COVID, now nearing an additional £10,000 hence the request
for £40,000 from the Town Council.
Gladwells Landscapers also made
a special point that due to difficulties in obtaining some materials &
recruiting staff they are experiencing difficulties completing existing
contracts, they require a firm commitment from CLT for September start or they
will not be able to begin for over 12/18 months taking us well into 2022.
76. EDF
Transport Group Update
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report. Cllr
Bailey asked if consideration had been given to double yellow lining along the
length of Kings Road, Cllr Last said this has not been considered under this
proposal but would feed it back to the Transport Group. Councillors were concerned where funding for
this project would be coming from, Cllr Last confirmed that at this stage it is
unclear as SZC has yet to be given the go-ahead. If SZC is given the go-ahead, then the
Council will be seeking funding under the 106 agreement
for mitigation, but it is the Councils intention to proceed with the Town
Transport Strategy regardless of the Sizewell C outcome and funding will be sought
elsewhere. Cllr Hill stated that this
proposal is needed and that our Neighbourhood Plan highlighted traffic issues
within the town. Cllr Ginger asked what
would happen if the public didn’t want it.
Cllr Last confirmed the next stage of the process is public
consultation.
77. SZC
Consultation
Cllr Woolf proposed
some minor changes be made to the wording to emphasize our points more strongly
it was agreed she will liaise with the Clerk to action this. It was proposed by
Cllr Woolf, seconded by Cllr Morsley and agreed to submit
our response to the consultation once the wording amendments have been
made. The Clerk will circulate the
amended document to councillors.
78. SZC
PINS Hearings/Examination Update
Cllr Woolf gave a brief
on the last meeting. She informed councillors
that John Rayner had found the accompanied site visits to be very informative. Council
representation at the DCO 106 (Cllr Woolf), Transport and Traffic (Cllr Hill)
and Socio-Economic (Cllr Corbett) Issue Specific Hearings. Cllr Woolf attended the DCO 106 Issue
Specific Hearing today and reported to councillors that the format was very
different from previous hearings, she had to listen in for the full day as she
was not given a specific timeslot to speak.
Most interested parties were represented by Barristers. She was able to raise our point in brief and
will expand on this in our written representation. Based on this she said the Council may wish
to revise how we address the other two hearings. Cllr Corbett confirmed she is happy to attend
the Socio Economic hearing and Cllr Hill advised she would feel more
comfortable submitting a written representation and this was agreed. Cllr Corbett said it was encouraging to see
representation at todays hearing from Suffolk Police
and The Marine Management Organisation.
79. Chairman’s
Reception – 10 or 17 September 2021
Councillors noted the two
proposed dates for the Chairman’s Reception.
80. Highways
Committee 9 June
After a brief
discussion it was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Morsley
and agreed that no action be taken at present to resurface the footpath
alongside the primary school. It is part
of the cycling strategy proposals and should SZC not happen, it has been
included in the East Suffolk cycle strategy and would be put forward as one of
our main routes requiring an upgrade.
81. Waterloo
Centre Steering Group 10 June
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report.
82. Open Spaces Committee 15 June
It was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Corbett and agreed in
principal, to fund £400.00 to purchase additional
bulbs for the Community Orchard.
It was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Woolf
and agreed to request Norse to do a monthly litter pick of King Georges
Recreation Ground at a cost of £25.00 per visit. Cllr Corbett asked about having double bins
put in to promote recycling, the Clerk advised these will be installed as bins
need replacing.
After a brief discussion it was proposed by Cllr Morsley, seconded by
Cllr Levermore to purchase 4 wooden benches for the Community Orchard at a cost
of £2,000 (inc VAT) plus installation. Cllr Ginger asked for an amendment to this
proposal to purchase 2 benches instead of 4 and this was duly accepted by Cllr Morsley and it was agreed to purchase 2 wooden benches at a
cost of £1,000 (inc VAT) plus installation.
Cllr Corbett asked if we could consider engraving one bench and have it
as a friendship bench to commend a member of our community. It was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded
by Cllr Corbett and agreed, once permission has been
sought from the family, to have one bench engraved.
Councillors agreed on the following locations for Tommy to be voted on by
the public in the autumn newsletter: The Long Shop Museum Inside, The Long Shop
Museum Garden, War Memorial at St Margaret’s Church and wall mounted in the
High Street by ACECOM.
It was proposed by Cllr Ginger, seconded by Cllr Harle
and agreed to replace the goal posts at Farrow Close at a cost of £3,070
(excluding VAT).
83. Finance and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Levermore
and agreed that accounts paid since the last meeting of £33,139.31 be approved
for payment.
b) Budget Review and Finance Update
Members noted the report from the RFO with a full breakdown of the
budget to date and a thorough review of the earmarked reserves currently held.
It was proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Boast and agreed that the
report be accepted and that the earmarked reserves be retained as presented.
c) Consider Financial Risk Assessment for 2021/2022
Councillors noted the report previously circulated. It was proposed by
Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Corbett and agreed
that members accepted that a proper and thorough risk assessment had been
carried out covering all physical, financial and governance risks which the
Council could reasonably be expected to encounter and that appropriate measures
were in place to cover or reduce those risks where possible.
d) Consider Appointment of Internal Auditor
Councillors noted the report previously
circulated. It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Bailey and agreed that the checks and balances in use to
ensure propriety and accuracy of accounting for internal controls are
appropriate and the monthly statement of accounts is carried out to their
expectations and instructions and that Heelis and Lodge be appointed as
Internal Auditors to the Council for 2021/2022.
e) CCLA Investment Account
It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Geater
and agreed that the contact name on the account be
changed to the current Town Clerk and Mrs Rinder and Cllr Boast be added as an
additional signatories, with the removal of 2 previous signatories.
The meeting took a
break from 9.17pm to 9.23pm during which time Cllr Woolf submitted her
apologies and left the meeting.
84. Planning Matters
a) DC/21/2672/FUL – Rebuild outbuildings to provide granny annexe - 1 Gipsy
Lodge Abbey Lane Leiston Suffolk IP16 4TE
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
b)
DC/21/2827/FUL – Positioning of two storage container. Compound to contain bin and bicycle
store. Electric car charging point –
Unit 7 Masterlord Industrial Estate, Station Road,
Leiston, IP16 4JD
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
c)
DC/21/2824/FUL – Retrospective approval for rear extension – 26 Red
House Lane, Leiston, IP16 4LR
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
d)
DC/21/2825/FUL – Single story
rear extension – 26 Red House Lane, Leiston IP16 4LR
Bearing in mind the new rear
extension recently built Councillors felt this would be an overdevelopment of
the site.
RECOMMEND REFUSAL
e)
DC/21/2836/LBC - Addition
of 2no external wall mounted condensing units for air conditioning system – Leiston
Enterprise Centre, Eastlands Road, Leiston, IP16 4US
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
85. County Matters
Cllr Geater asked if
the residents in Westward Ho will be informed when resurfacing works will take
place as they didn’t take place when scheduled.
The Clerk will investigate.
86. District Matters
Cllr Harle asked for an
update regarding the dog bin on High Green, Mrs Kemp advised that ESC have
granted permission, the order has been placed and the resident updated.
87. Correspondence
Suffolk Accident Rescue
Service
Councillors noted the
request from SARS to support their running costs. It was
proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Harle and
agreed to grant £500.00.
Leiston Community Land
Trust
Councillors noted the
request from the CLT asking for a grant of £40,000 towards the town
regeneration project. After a brief
discussion it was proposed by Cllr Boast, seconded by Cllr Morsley
and agreed to grant £40,000 from our CIL reserve for this project. Cllr Ginger voted against this proposal.
Southwold and Aldeburgh
Theatre Ltd
Councillors noted the
request from Southwold and Aldeburgh Theatre Ltd asking for a grant towards
educational tickets for AVA students to attend a performance. It was proposed by Cllr Ginger, seconded by Cllr
Levermore and agreed to grant £480.00.
It was proposed by Cllr
Ginger, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed that, the time being
10pm, Standing Orders be suspended for 10 minutes to permit continuing
discussion of Council business.
88. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr Bailey asked if councillors could
be given a list of projects that are currently being considered for funding
from the CIL budget. The Clerk will put
together a list and circulate to councillors.
Cllr Harle asked if more flags could be purchased so they could be
continued along the length of the High Street to Barclays Bank. Cllr Levermore confirmed more flags have
already been ordered. Cllr Levermore
asked for an update regarding electric car charging points in the town. The Clerk confirmed the Co-op and Leisure
Centre are looking into providing their own and ESC are looking into providing
them in the High Street car park and at Sizewell Beach
car park.
The meeting finished at
10.10pm
Chair
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Dated ---------------------------------------------