At the start of the
meeting the Chairman led a minute's silence in respect of her Late Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II.
Pre-meeting Reports
04 October 2022
112. Richard Best,
Collaboration and Connecting Programme Manager at ESC and a small team from LDA
design were in attendance and gave a brief presentation on the Leiston Masterplan. The consultation for the Leiston Masterplan,
a concept design for Leiston Town Centre begins on 05 October and is due to end
in December 2022.
Cllr Last commented
that due to the short notice of the stakeholder event and Councillors not being
able to meet to discuss the Masterplan as a Town Council before this, any comments made at tomorrow’s event will be
individual and not reflective of Leiston Town Council with the exception of the
Transport Strategy which has already been endorsed by the Town Council.
Cllr Hill asked how
many stakeholders would be attending tomorrows event as she was concerned about
the short notice given. LDA confirmed there
are 18/19 signed up but reassured Councillors that 1-1 sessions can be arranged for those
unable to make this date.
Cllr Harle questioned
who would be paying for the cost of the Masterplan consultation. Richard Best confirmed ESC will be paying the
consultation fee. Cllr Harle also asked
if Leiston will have access to the same funds as Lowestoft had for their
regeneration project. Richard Best
clarified that after the Masterplan is signed off in December, ESC Regeneration
Team will identify defined projects, develop detailed business plans, look at strategic
need and apply for funding opportunities as they arise. The Masterplan will have a 10-15 year
delivery.
Cllr Levermore
commented on the importance of the Transport Strategy. LDA reassured Councillors this will be
considered as part of the Masterplan development.
Cllr Boast questioned
the geographical area included in the Masterplan. It was confirmed the area stretches from the
Waterloo Centre to the Community Centre and incorporates all the town centre
including the Doctors Surgery, Long Shop Museum, Post Office Square and Church
Square.
Cllr Cooper asked if
they were aware of Leiston Works Railway organisation. LDA confirmed yes, they are.
Cllr Corbett asked if
there had been any interaction with the SZC project team. Richard Best confirmed yes there has and they
will also be looking into any funding opportunities that arise through the Deed
of Obligation.
District Cllr Rainger
commented that Leiston CLT are excited by the Leiston Masterplan and very
supportive of the Masterplan concept
A resident questioned
if there was still a restriction on the amount of housing that can be built
within the town due to Sizewell. Cllr Last
and Cllr Cooper confirmed the emergency plan has been reviewed and there are no
longer any restrictions on house
building in Leiston due to Sizewell.
113. County Councillor
County Cllr
Haworth-Culf submitted apologies a report had been previously circulated.
114. District Councillor
District Cllr Rainger
and District Cllr Cooper were in attendance.
District Cllr Rainger spoke again of the ‘Ease the Squeeze’ initiative
which covers a number of wide-reaching projects to help support residents with
the rise in cost of living. Cllr Cooper will circulate the presentation for
this initiative to Councillors and Helen Greengrass will arrange for Nicole
Rickard, Head of Communities at ESC to come and present this to Councillors. Cllr Cooper urged Councillors to let ESC know
if they are aware of anyone who is struggling so that help can be sorted.
During the above item, the time reached
7.30pm. It was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by Cllr Harle and agreed,
Standing Orders be suspended to allow the public part of the meeting to be
completed.
Cllr Levermore asked if
there was a risk Leisure Centres would be opening for restricted hours due to
the rise in energy costs. District Cllr
Rainger commented that there is no intention at present to reduce opening hours,
they are conscious community spaces need to try and remain open.
Cllr Harle asked for an update on footpath 8 behind Stocks
Fairground. Cllr Cooper confirmed this
is still being investigated.
District Cllr Cooper informed Councillors the
East Suffolk Walking and Cycling Strategy is due to be adopted by ESC
tonight. East Anglia Three submitted
changes to their turbines these have been approved. A report will be circulated in due course.
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 04 October 2022
at 7.41pm
Councillor J Last (in the Chair)
Councillor D Bailey
Councillor D Boast
Councillor T Cooper
Councillor Mrs N Corbett
Councillor D Dix
Councillor Mrs S Geater
Councillor P Harle
Councillor T Hawkins
Councillor Mrs L Hill
Councillor P Kyle
Councillor Mrs S Levermore
Councillor D Morsley
116. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr
Hill, seconded by Cllr Boast and agreed that the minutes for the meeting of 06 September
2022 be signed as a true record.
117. Apologies
No apologies.
118. Chairman’s Communications
With the passing of the
late Queen Elizabeth II, there has been protocol to follow and events to
attend, so it has been a busy month. I thank the Town Clerk, Mrs
Everett-Spearing and Mrs Kemp for their assistance.
On 11 September I
attended the County Proclamation at the Town Hall, Ipswich and felt honoured in
representing Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council at this historic event. I returned with the Town Proclamation, which
I then delivered to a well-attended event in the Old Post Office Square,
Leiston.
On 12 September I went
along to the Waterloo Centre to present certificates and medals to 80 children
who had completed the Leiston Library Summer Reading Challenge. In total 120
children signed up for the challenge.
On 13 September along
with Councillors Hill and Corbett, and Mrs Kemp, I met the East Suffolk
District Council, Cemetery Manager on site to discuss a number of issues, which
has now been put into an action plan.
On 15 September I sat
in on a Town Regeneration Master Plan meeting.
On 17 September I
attended the County Commemoration and Thanksgiving Service for the Late Queen
Elizabeth II at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds. This was a very
moving occasion.
On 18 September I
attended the Commemoration and Thanksgiving Service for the late Queen
Elizabeth II at St Margaret’s Church, Leiston where I read a lesson. On the same evening, the eve of the late
Queen Elizabeth’s II funeral, I led the Moment for Reflection event held in the
Old Post Office, Leiston where a one-minute silence was observed by Councillors
and members of the public.
The 30 September was
the last day of service for Town Clerk, Caroline Rinder. Along with Councillors
and Town Council staff, a small gathering took place to make a presentation to
Caroline on her departure. I wished Caroline all the best for the future and
thanked her for her service and support to the Town Council. On the same day, we said goodbye to
Councillor Woolf who has decided to stand down as a Councillor and I thanked
her for her valuable contribution to the Town Council.
It was proposed by Cllr
Hill, seconded by Cllr Geater and agreed to minute a formal thank you to our
former Town Clerk Caroline Rinder for her service and support to the Town
Council over the past seven years.
119. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Dix for Leiston
Events Group, Cllr Hill for Leiston Film Theatre and CLT, Cllr Levermore for CLT and Leiston Film
Theatre, Cllr Cooper for items 10, 18, and all
correspondence, Cllr Geater for accounts item 17a, Cllr Boast for CLT and Cllr Kyle for Leiston Events Group.
120. Leiston
Together Update
Ms
Greengrass, Leiston Change Manager was in attendance and a report had been
previously circulated. Ms Greengrass gave a brief update on items
within the report. Ms Greengrass confirmed Leiston Together will continue
following her resignation, but her job role would not be filled. Funding for
Leiston Together is due to finish in December and ESC plan to review the
position of Leiston Together in consideration with the outcomes of the Leiston Masterplan.
Cllr
Levermore asked about having a second electric vehicle charge point within the
town centre. Ms Greengrass will raise
this as part of the Masterplan consultation.
121. CLT Trustee Board Report
Cllr Boast reported
thus:
Following the success
of the Church Square we are happy to report that we will be very much involved
with the production of the Leiston Masterplan.
We are very pleased to
welcome the continuing compliments of the Church Square, which are growing in
response to what is seen as the less desirable face of Leiston at present
visual at the traffic lights at the top of the High Street.
The initial conceptual design
from the CLT for the regeneration of the town centre is very much our vision
for raising the profile of future Leiston.
We see the Church Square as setting the tone and standard that Leiston
town deserves and will do all we can to maintain that standard throughout.
We also welcome any
input, ideas, thoughts and support for the Masterplan from Leiston residents,
after all it is their town.
122. Transport Group Update
Cllr Last reported the
Clerk has been trying to progress further meetings with both EDF and SCC but
nothing forthcoming at the moment.
123. Review of Council
Policies
This item was adjourned
to be read after item 17c as there was requirement for item 17c to be approved
to allow policy changes to be adopted.
124. Leiston Events Group
It was proposed by Cllr
Hill, seconded by Cllr Corbett and agreed to support Leiston Events Group
loaning £800 from their event fund to Leiston Long Shop Museum for the
Christmas Fair. The monies will be paid
back to the Leiston Events Group Fund after the accounts for the event have
been finalised.
125. CIL Report
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report. Mrs Kemp
informed Councillors that Mrs Everett-Spearing will be compiling a spreadsheet
detailing CIL income and expenditure including dates, this will be circulated
in due course. Ms Greengrass will
arrange a CIL meeting for all councillors and invite ESC to come along and
explain CIL in more detail.
126. Sizewell Beach Management Meeting of 08
September 2022
Councillors noted the
previously circulated report.
127. SZC Deed of Obligation Working Party of 25 August
Councillors
noted the previously circulated report.
128. Request for Volunteers
Councillor Hill
volunteered to be a representative on SSG, Cllr Morsley for the Deed of
Obligation Working Party, and Cllr Boast for the Neighbourhood Plan Review
Group. These were proposed by Cllr
Cooper, seconded by Cllr Levermore and agreed.
129. Cannington Parish Council Meeting of 29
September
Cllr Corbett reported
the meeting with Cannington Parish Council had been very informative. They confirmed the Town Council’s concerns
regarding transport, traffic, fly parking and accommodation. Locals find it
very difficult to park within the town.
There was reassurance that antisocial behaviour is not as bad as they
thought it would be, but this is thought to be because of the state-of-the-art
facilities they have on their site that we will not be getting here in Leiston. They commented EDF are quick to respond to
any issues. The Town Council need to express their concerns to SZC and be
ready. They suggested speaking to Stogursey as they are slightly nearer to Hinkley. A site visit to the area will be arranged for
early next year.
Cllr Cooper spoke about
the current sewerage surveys EDF are carrying out along Sizewell Road and Valley Road. Cllr Hill asked if we could raise with EDF the
reason for these surveys, Cllr Corbett will progress this and also question why
they did not respond to a resident's letter regarding nocturnal work on
bridleway 19.
130. Neighbourhood Plan Review Group of 27 September
Cllr Last reported Chris
Bowden from Navigus Planning was in attendance. They informed Chris Bowden the
Town Council had agreed to go ahead with the full review and to apply for
Government funding. The full minutes of
this meeting will be circulated in due course.
Cllr Cooper questioned if Chris Bowden made comment on the
Leiston Masterplan. Cllr Last confirmed Mr
Bowden is aware of this, and it is imperative the Neighbourhood Plan ties in
with the Masterplan.
131. Skatepark Working Group of 22 September
Mrs Kemp informed
Councillors that there had been 2 tenders submitted for the
skatepark upgrade works. The Skatepark
Working Group have reviewed both tenders and it was agreed that further clarification
on certain points is needed from both companies.
Further questions will now be sent to both companies and the tender process reopened for an
additional 3 weeks.
132. Finance and Personnel
a) Accounts for Payment
It was proposed by Cllr
Hill, seconded by Cllr Cooper and agreed that the accounts paid since the last
meeting of £34,849.18 be approved for payment.
Cllr Hill commented
that she preferred the new layout of the accounts sheet.
b)
Review of Film Theatre Admission Charges
It
was proposed by Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Morsley
and agreed to accept the Film Theatre Manager’s recommendation to maintain the
current admission prices and raise the senior discount age from 60 to 65 in
line with other venues both locally and nationally. Cllr Harle was against the proposition.
c)
Personnel Committee Report Recommendations
Members noted the recommendations of the
Personnel Committee from their meeting of 26 September regarding the wages and
salaries review. It was proposed by Cllr Boast, seconded by Cllr Kyle and
agreed that those recommendations be approved.
133. Council Policies
Members noted all the
extant Council Policies and the need to update point 1.8 of our Financial
Regulations within our Standing Orders to reflect the changes for RFO from
Clerk to Assets Officer. On a proposition from Cllr Cooper, seconded by Cllr Boast
it was agreed for the amendments to be made all policies to be endorsed for a
further year.
134. Planning Matters
a)
DC/22/3318/FUL - New parking bay and two bedroom, part two-storey dwelling
to the rear - 41 Waterloo Avenue Leiston Suffolk IP16 4HH
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
b)
DC/22/3356/FUL – Construction of a
single storey extension - 15 The Gables Leiston Suffolk IP16 4UZ
RECOMMEND REFUSAL
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
d)
DC/22/3699/FUL
– Removal of existing
prefab concrete garage. Single storey
extension to side of dwelling to form annex and auxiliary living – 70 Abbey
Road, Leiston, IP16 4RE
RECOMMEND APPROVAL
e)
DC/22/3749/TPO – A1 of TPO No. 17 / 1984
1no. Lime (A1 on plan) - Reduce in height from 22 metres to 17 metres - Leiston
Water Tower Goldings Lane Leiston IP16 4DY
REFER TO TREE
OFFICER
f)
DC/22/3660/FUL
- 3no. New Dwellings and
1no. Class E Commercial Unit. - 1 High Street Leiston Suffolk IP16 4EJ
Apply
for extension and adjourn until November meeting.
135. County Matters
Nothing raised.
136. District Matters
Nothing raised.
137. Correspondence
Premises Licence Variation Applications for Leiston
Newsagents and Engineers Arms
Councillors noted the premises licence
variation applications that have been submitted to East Suffolk Council from
Leiston Newsagents and Engineers Arms.
After a lengthy discussion it was proposed by Cllr Hill, seconded by
Cllr Boast and agreed to submit a letter to ESC outlining our concerns regarding
the change in times for both premises, especially the early mornings due to
concerns around: Protection of Children (children walking to school), Encouraging
Antisocial Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing and setting a precedence to other
businesses within the town.
Cllr Morsley, Cllr Kyle and Cllr
Hawkins abstained.
Letter from CLT regarding Leiston Local
Councillors noted the letter from Leiston CLT
regarding their concerns about the recent proliferation of advertising and
signage that has appeared at the former Black
Horse Public House, giving indication that the property is to be changed into a
convenience store with an associated ‘off sales’ facilities. After a brief discussion on a proposal by
Cllr Boast, seconded by Cllr Hill it was agreed to write a strongly worded
letter to ESC highlighting the Town Councils concerns regarding the signage and
advertisements which are not in keeping with the surrounding area. Cllr Cooper confirmed that ESC enforcement
officers are working on this. Cllr
Bailey asked if a licence is required regarding the recent pay to park scheme
which appears to have been set up in the carpark adjoining this premises. Cllr Cooper will investigate.
138. Questions to the Chairman
Cllr Hill informed Councillors of the
Warm Rooms Grant Scheme available under the Ease the Squeeze initiative. Under the scheme the Council can apply for a
grant of up to £2860 which needs to be applied for by midnight, 12
October. The idea is to create a warm
hub in the town where people can go to keep warm through the colder months. Councillors were very keen to pursue this
initiative and it was decided to apply for an extension for the grant application
to enable time for further consideration.
It is understood Leiston Long Shop Museum are investigating this
opportunity.
Cllr Levermore informed Councillors
of two upcoming planting and tidying sessions at Hayling’s Pond on 29 October
from 10am-12noon and the Community Orchard on 6 November from 10am-12noon. It would be good to see as many Councillors
attend as possible.
The meeting finished at
9.52 pm
Chair
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Dated ---------------------------------------------