Pre-meeting Reports
17 May 2022
12. County Councillor
County Cllr
Haworth-Culf sent her apologies and a report had been previously circulated.
13. District Councillor
District Cllr Rainger
sent his apologies, District Cllr Daly and Cllr Cooper were in attendance and a
report had been previously circulated. District
Cllr Daly informed councillors that he had attended the stop Sizewell C March
held at the weekend which was well supported.
He also informed councillors that Theberton and
Eastbridge Parish Council Middleton cum Fordley Parish Council, Stop Sizewell C, Minsmere Levels Stakeholders Group and B1122 Action Group have
submitted a response to the Secretary of State’s Request for Information, 25th
April 2022 and he will send a copy of the report to the clerk to circulate to
councillors.
No questions were raised.
At a meeting of the LEISTON-cum-SIZEWELL
TOWN COUNCIL
held in the COMMUNITY
CENTRE, King Georges Avenue, Leiston, on
TUESDAY 17 May 2022 at 7.30pm
Councillor Mrs L Hill (in the Chair)
Councillor D Bailey
Councillor D Boast
Councillor T Cooper
Councillor D Dix
Councillor Mrs S M Geater
Councillor P Harle
Councillor T Hawkins
Councillor Mrs S Levermore
Councillor Ms M Woolf
As the Chairman, Cllr Last BEM, was not in attendance the Vice-Chairman,
Cllr Hill chaired the meeting.
15. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded
by Cllr Hawkins and agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 3 May 2022 be
signed as a true record.
16. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr Last BEM, Cllr Ginger, Cllr Corbett, Cllr Morsley and Cllr Kyle.
17. Chairman’s Communications
Cllr Hill read out the following report
on behalf of the Chairman:
Once
again, can I just thank Councillors for their continued support by electing
myself as Chairman of Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council for a further year,
which I feel honoured to perform the duties,
particularly during Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
I was very pleased to award the Chairman’s Cup before the Town Council
AGM to Sharon Cuthbert, which was well deserved for the commitment and
dedication given by Sharon to the Leiston Dementia Project and the Leiston Good
Neighbour Scheme.
On 11 April, Cllr Corbett and myself met with students from Oxford
Brookes to discuss the Sizewell C
Project and the challenges that face the town
and area should the proposal be given the go ahead.
On 28 April, I attended the Suffolk County Council Chairman’s Reception,
held in Felixstowe.
An event which also raised money for the Air Ambulance Charity.
On 6 May, It was “Shovel It Yourself” day and what a well supported
event by the public it turned out to be . The offer of free compost was well
accepted by the many residents that turned up with bags, wheelbarrows, wheelie
bins and trailers. I thank Cllrs Hill and Boast for accompanying myself to this
event and assisting with all the marshalling and vehicle movements. Also, I
thank the organisers and look forward to the next
one.
On 15 May, I attended the Aldeburgh Mayor’s Parade and Civic Service.
This included a procession from the Moot Hall, Church Service, followed by a reception.
Sunday 29 May is the day the Suffolk Festival Torch Relay comes to
Leiston for the Leiston leg of this countywide commemoration of the Queen’s
Platinum Jubilee. I thank councillors for nominating
myself to carry the Torch on this leg of it’s journey and am looking forward
to the ‘e’ Rickshaw ride. The route
starts at Leiston Cemetery at 1:50 pm approximately, calling at the Council
Chambers for a photo shoot then to Goldings Lane/Hayling’s Road junction via
the High Street and Kings Road. At this
point I will hand it over to the Coldfair Green
representative.
Finally, with Her Majesty, The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
fast approaching, I know we have a big weekend of events planned. Here in
Leiston it is a massive venture put together by the very hard working Leiston
Events Group. It is a celebration that the town can be very proud of, so I hope
the weather is kind and it is enjoyed by our residents and visitors alike.
18. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Hill for CLT,
Leiston Film Theatre item 13 and correspondence item 3, Cllr Cooper for
planning and correspondence items 1 and 2, Cllr Boast CLT, Cllr Levermore CLT,
Cllr Dix item 15a and Cllr Geater for item 15a.
19. Leiston
Together Update
Mrs Greengrass, Leiston Change Manager was in
attendance and a report had been previously circulated. Mrs Greengrass gave a brief update on items within the report. Town
signage will be finalised once the new council notice board has been
erected. The Visit Leiston Website is
work in progress, the new website will be launched in the Autumn. Mrs Greengrass is currently adding content to
the site and urged councillors to look at the website and let her know of any
additional information that could be added.
The Long Shop Museum have agreed to become a visitor information point
for the town along with the Film Theatre.
The Digital Trails launch will be on 30 May.
Cllr Levermore asked about any funding options
available for businesses to help them improve their digital profile. Mrs Greengrass will investigate.
Cllr Harle asked if other businesses had been approached about coming
to our town primarily a larger supermarket.
Mrs Greengrass confirmed she had been in contact with Lidl but had no
response. Cllr Boast confirmed he had
made contact with Lidl and received a response which he has forwarded on to
Richard Best, Leiston Regeneration Manager.
Mrs Greengrass will liaise with Mr Best to move this forward.
20. Net Zero Update
There has been a
slight delay in setting up the Net Zero Pledges, but it is hopeful these will
be up and running soon. The ‘Shovel It
Yourself’ event was well attended with over 90 people going along to get free
soil improver for their gardens. There
are several activities planned or the coming months including a cycling
activity/event being arranged by Suffolk County Council Active Travel.
21. CLT Trustee Board Report
Cllr Boast updated thus:
Phase One
Short report today, progress is
there to be seen with the Church square open and positively commented on.
The scaffold is up to support the
completion of the band stand roof,
The blinds have been hung in the
bifold doors and everything clearly demonstrating the high standard of work the
CLT provides. The borders, shrubs,
landscape plants have all become established presenting an inviting venue to
visit and enjoy.
June 11 is the official opening of
the Church Square, over 100 invites have been sent to those who have
sponsored/supported us, including Sammy Betson, Jim Florance and Barry Norman
co-founders of the CLT who started this whole project. The official opening will be performed by
Mark Murphy and Lesley Dolphin of BBC Radio Suffolk who will publicise it.
Phase Two
The work on phase two is now at a
much higher level, East Suffolk Council Officers, Modec’e
Architects and the Regeneration Manager all working behind the scenes to
develop the master plan. This is a major
development that will not be completed overnight, so very much a case of watch
this space.
The provisional date for CLT AGM is 7
July at 7pm.
22. Transport
Group Update
The Clerk advised that
there were no updates as no meetings had been held. The next scheduled meeting is 6 June but this
is likely to be postponed until after the SZC decision deadline.
23. Skatepark Redevelopment.
Councillors noted the previously
circulated report. After a brief discussion it was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by
Cllr Woolf and agreed to budget £100,000 to £130,000 from the CIL reserve
for the redevelopment of the skatepark.
It was then proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Woolf and agreed
to budget an additional £10,000 for skatepark lighting.
24. Grounds
Maintenance Meeting of 27 April 2022
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report.
25. Open
Spaces Walkaround of 11 April 2022
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report. After a
short discussion it was proposed by Cllr Boast, seconded by Cllr Geater and
agreed to retrospectively accept the quote from Fullers Fencing of £1643.40 to level
and widen the entrances to the Community Orchard due to the health and safety
issues around the entrance to the orchard.
26. Library Steering Group of 07 April 2022
Councillors noted the previously
circulated report.
27. Leiston
Film Theatre Working Party of 28 April 2022
Cllr Hill declared an
interest in this item and correspondence item 3. It was proposed by Cllr Geater, seconded by
Cllr Boast and agreed that Cllr Cooper would chair these two items. Cllr Hill left the room whilst this item was
discussed.
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report. After a
brief discussion it was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Dix and
agreed to fund £11,000 towards the new electronic winch system for Leiston Film
Theatre.
28. SZC Deed of
Obligation Working Party of 05 May 2022
Councillors noted the previously
circulated report.
29. Finance and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Cooper and agreed
that accounts paid since the last meeting of £56,280.48 be approved for payment.
b) CIL Report of 17 May 2022
Councillors noted the previously circulated report. The clerk advised with the amount of CIL
income we need to identify big projects for the town. After some discussion it was agreed the Clerk
will arrange a Community Centre Management Group meeting to look at
redeveloping the Community Centre. Other
projects could be discussed at the relevant committee meetings.
30. Planning Matters
a)
DC/22/1486/FUL - Two storey rear
extension - 10 Southfield Drive Leiston Suffolk IP16 4DP
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
b)
DC/22/1410/FUL – Single storey bedroom
extension - 126 High Street Leiston Suffolk IP16 4BZ
RECOMMEND
APPROVAL
Councillors were
concerned with the number of trees to be felled and felt this was not
acceptable just to make room for development
RECOMMEND
REFUSAL
31. County Matters
Nothing raised.
32. District Matters
Cllr Bailey asked for
an update regarding the large soakaway the Johnsons Farm Housing Development
site. Cllr Cooper confirmed that the
fence currently erected meets the current planning legislation.
Cllr Cooper gave an
update on footpath 8 behind Stocks Fairground, this is currently with ESC
planning enforcement and the SCC rights of way team who are looking at
dimensions and working out the definitive line.
33. Funding Requests
Cllr Cooper declared an interest in the Long
Shop Museum and RBL items and left the room whilst items 1 and 2 were
discussed.
Leiston Long Shop Museum
Councillors noted the request from
Leiston Long Shop Museum requesting the £20,000 we pledged to support their
MEND bid which was unsuccessful still be donated to help cover immediate
restoration work needed. After a brief
discussion it was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Woolf and agreed
to grant the £20,000 towards these costs from our CIL reserve.
The Royal British Legion Band
Leiston
Councillors noted the request from
The Royal British Legion Band Leiston to use Leiston Film Theatre free of
charge for their Festival of Remembrance on Wednesday 9 November. It was proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by
Cllr Harle and agreed to let them use the Film Theatre free of charge on this
date.
Cllr Hill declared an interest in
the following item and left the room whilst it was discussed. Cllr Cooper chaired this item.
Leiston Film Theatre Support Club
Councillors noted the letter from
Leiston Film Theatre Support Club requesting to use Leiston Film Theatre free
of charge on Wednesday 5 October as part of their 30th anniversary
celebrations. It was proposed by Cllr
Dix, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed to let them use the Film Theatre free of
charge on this date.
34. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr Cooper gave a brief update on the works
being undertaken on the field at the Waterloo Centre. After a short discussion it was agreed that
the Clerk would write a strongly worded letter to Suffolk County Council
voicing our concerns and arrange an urgent site meeting to discuss options.
Cllr Levermore informed councillors
that if they would like to take part in the Jubilee march pass or salute as a
dignitary to let her know.
The meeting finished at
9.08pm
Chair
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Dated ---------------------------------------------