Minutes of the Amenities Committee meeting
held on Thursday 5th August 2004 at 7:30pm
in the Annexe Thirsk & Sowerby Town Hall.
Page A0069
Present:
Cllrs S Hubbard (Chairman), D Adamson, J Jackson, R Mallett, A Morton, C Pack, K Reynard, F Roberts, J Watson, Ms C Thorpe ("Darlington and Stockton Times"), 1 member of the public and the clerk.
Apologies:
Cllr J Marshall (family illness), accepted.
Minutes:
Proposed approved Cllr Watson, seconded Cllr Pack, subject to one amendment, agreed.
Open Forum:
Proposed Cllr Mallett, seconded Cllr Adamson, that Standing Orders be suspended.
Mrs Dodds referred to the tree, which came down on The Holmes, saying there are some branches in the Beck; to be reported to the IDB. She also referred to another tree further along The Holmes where a branch is coming off and is resting on a second tree; a letter to be sent to John Bell. Mrs Dodds pointed out that the path to the picnic area is very overgrown; to be reported to the grasscutters.
Proposed Cllr Morton, seconded Cllr Roberts that Standing Orders be reinstated.
Matters Arising:
A0065 Long Street Enhancement; the clerk advised that the Exhibition had taken place. The Working Party is looking at the consultation comments and will be modifying the scheme appropriately.
A0066 Speeding on St James' Green; this had been discussed at the Area Committee for Hambleton and it had been agreed to reduce the speed limit to 30mph.
A0066 Grasscutting outside Rybeck Farm; letter sent to Mr Walker.
A0066 Stable on Marage Road; nothing further on this as yet - chasing letter sent.
A0066 Benches in Millgate car park/landscaping; nothing further on this as yet.
A0066 Grass verge outside Foxwynd; no reply from John Bell as yet.
A0066 Fencing around The Holmes; no reply from Sheena Spence as yet.
A0066 Play Area on edge of Castlegarth; awaiting reply from John Bell.
A0066 Storage of building materials/skip on St James' Green; no improvement. Eccles Heddon have sent a final letter advising that this must be removed within one month, i.e. by 16th August.
A0067 Todds Court; acknowledgement received.
A0067 White Mare roundabout; two letters under 'Correspondence'.
A0067 Grassed area at the end of Herriot Way; the clerk advised that she had looked at the area in question and there were no cars parked on it. Chris Amy had also inspected it twice and on one occasion there was a vehicle on the grass which appeared to be there whilst work was taking place at one of the houses. Agreed that a letter be sent to all the residents in that area asking them not to park on the grass.
A0067 East Thirsk Play Area; Chris Amy reminded about the estimate for treating the trees and also the swings currently in the Cemetery shed.
Page A0070
A0067 Branches on The Holmes; removed.
A0067 Painting of milestones; Cllr Roberts and the Clerk have checked and the milestone at Spa Farm has been painted.
A0067 Uncut grass at Fairfield; the clerk has identified the area in question and has written to Mr Walker.
A0067 Building on garage sites on Hambleton Estate; reply received from Broadacres advising that because of the severe shortage of affordable housing they have identified a number of garage sites on the Hambleton Estate where they are proposing to build houses. Two planning applications have been received which are to go to the planning meeting before the Town Council meeting. Cllr Roberts felt that if we receive any complaints from the tenants then we should take these up with Broadacres.
A0067 Todds Court - willow trees; letter sent to Broadacres.
A0067 Path from Ingramgate to the Little Green; letter sent to the County Council.
A0068 Slide at Johnson Close; all the steps have now been replaced.
A0068 Weeds in pavement; reply from Mike Roberts advising that the weed treatment programme has been completed. A second treatment will be carried out around September. Cllr Mallett advised that there are weeds alongside Newsham Road to the Athletics Club - the County Council to be informed.
Correspondence
NYCC; copy of a letter sent to Cllr Marshall re Sowerby Household Waste Recycling Centre. This points out that since the wheeliebins were introduced the amount of waste going to the Sowerby Recycling Centre has increased. Cllr Roberts expressed concern at the amount of bottles from pubs which go in the normal waste. Cllr Adamson advised that a lot of the glass used for such bottles is not easily recyclable in this country. Cllr Pack expressed the view that recycling is to be encouraged.
Jill Miller re White Mare Roundabout; Cllr Hubbard suggested that it be sprayed. Rotary have expressed interest and the businesses have expressed interest in sponsoring it. He suggested the businesses should take it on for six months.
Cllr Adamson had received a letter from Lionel Twiss re the roundabout. He would like a meeting with representatives of the Town Council and the County Council to look at the regulations, insurance cover etc. The meeting is to take place later this month and following that Mr Twiss will go back to Rotary. Cllr Mallett felt we should clear the roundabout whilst Rotary are making a decision on it and it was agreed that Chris Amy be asked to have it sprayed and cleared. Proposed Cllr Hubbard, seconded Cllr Mallett that a working party of the Greens Committee should liaise with Rotary and Jill Miller. A representative of the Town Council to meet with Lionel Twiss and report back to the next Amenities meeting.
NYCC; the clerk had reported on a complaint re a hedge growing over a footpath adjacent to the Old Sutton Road. Reply received from NYCC advising that it has not presented any safety concerns for pedestrians, but it is being monitored and, if necessary, will be cut back.
E-mail from Mike I'Anson re some further damage by the grasscutters to a tree on St. James' Green. A letter has been sent to Mr Walker.
Page A0071
To receive Reports
Carrs Field - Cllr Roberts advised that she wants to meet with the Carrs Field Trustees to see what works they are having done this year. When she has this information she will hold a meeting.
Central Areas - Referring to Mill Gardens, Cllr Hubbard reported that the planks on most of the seats have now been replaced. A new litter bin was purchased and is now in situ. It was mentioned that Mill Gardens is looking rather overgrown.
Proposed Cllr Adamson, seconded Cllr Watson that a meeting of the Chairs of the Burial Board and the three relevant Committees be held to look at the possibility of having a worker to do certain jobs, although he pointed out that it is not included in the budget for this year.
Christmas Festivities-Cllr Adamson advised that Wired are to provide us with a quote as they suggest a transformer is required to reduce the lights. Mr Woodhead to be asked if he will supply the tree (Cllr Jackson has already spoken to him about this) and Roger Hall to be asked if he will put it up and take it down.
Greens and Ingramgate - Cllr Mallet reported that they will be meeting within the next few days.
Millennium Green - Not met.
Open Areas - The clerk reported that Malcolm Burnett has repaired the fencing and gate at East Thirsk Play Area.
Town Development Working Party - Cllr Hubbard reported that he had received plans and costings for resurfacing the various alleyways. The costings are as follows:
Steads Yard £30.000
Roses Yard £28,500
TIC Yard £10,750
Bateman's Yard £ 7,750
Total £77,000
Other items of interest and information:
Cllr Adamson advised that Steve Quartermain had been having a demonstration of a machine, which, if it is purchased, could be used for cleaning the Market Place. It was pointed out that the gutters have not been cleaned for some time.
Cllr Jackson expressed the view that having a Town Council meeting and Amenities meeting does not work as was intended. He suggested, as an alternative, that all the items currently on Town Council and Amenities agendas be put on the agenda for the Town Council meeting and that if all the items are not covered at that meeting then the meeting be suspended and continued on the evening when it would normally have been Amenities. Cllr Adamson pointed out that if this were to be the case then there would only be one set of minutes. Proposed Cllr Roberts, seconded Cllr Mallett that this be an agenda item at the next meeting.
Page A0072
Report from Thirsk in Bloom:
Cllr Pack reported that the judging had taken place on 20th July and the results will be out on 7th September. The hanging baskets had been put up after last month's meeting. There was a very good feedback from the judges and they were impressed that it was done by volunteers. Cllr Hubbard thanked Thirsk in Bloom for their hard work and said how good the town is looking.
The meeting closed at 8.50pm.
Minutes of the Town Council meeting
held on Monday 16th August 2004 at 7:15pm
in the Annexe Thirsk & Sowerby Town Hall
Page P0095
Present:
Cllrs D Adamson (Chairman), J Jackson, R Mallett, J Marshall, A Morton, C Pack, F Roberts, A Robinson, Ms C Thorpe ("Darlington and Stockton Times") and the clerk
Apologies:
Cllrs S Hubbard (away), K Reynard, J Watson (family commitments), accepted.
Minutes:
Proposed approve Cllr Roberts, seconded Cllr Mallett, subject to one minor amendment on page P0094.
Police Report:
No representative of the Police present. Cllr Morton advised that Mrs Penson had asked some boys who were cycling between the bollards near the Coop not to do so as they were causing a nuisance to pedestrians. Cllr Robinson pointed out that there are no signs prohibiting cycling on the Market Place. It was agreed to seek guidance from the police.
Open Forum:
No members of the public present.
Matters Arising
P0091 Grasscutting alongside path to the White Bridge; a letter has been sent to Mr Walker asking him to cut this further back.
P0091 Emergency Plan; meeting held on 12th August. A meeting with various outside organisations is being arranged. Cllr Adamson pointed out that the video and CD received from the Environment Agency set out how to prepare an Emergency Plan.
Cllr Marshall joined the meeting.
P0091 Kerbing/seat base in the Garden of Rest; now done.
P0091 Safety issues in the cemetery; reply received from HDC giving details of how they deal with the stability of memorials in the three closed churchyards for which they are responsible. The clerk is to go to Northallerton Burial Board to look at the spreadsheet produced by Zurich. A further response from Bedale, Aiskew, Leeming Bar and Burrill Joint Burial Authority is awaited. Cllr Adamson said the Burial Board will need to discuss this issue.
P0092 Removal of swan necked lamppost; reply from Paul Gilmore enquiring where this was removed from. Cllr Adamson advised that it was Picks Lane.
P0093 Proposed Infrastructure Improvements to Thirsk and the surrounding area; reply from NYCC advising that they are not able to erect a bus shelter outside the railway station because of the narrowness of the pavements and the impact on visibility. They are investigating the possibility of putting a shelter in the station car park. Cllr Adamson pointed out that there is not enough parking at the station as it is and also that the bus and train times do not currently coincide.
Page P0096
P0093 Planning; the clerk advised that Maurice Cann will be coming to speak to the Town Council at its September meeting.
P0093 Cemetery Noticeboard; the clerk is in the process of obtaining some plasterboard.
P0094 Public toilets; letter sent to Steve Quartermain. The toilets in the Market Place and in Millgate have now been steam cleaned.
P0094 Street cleaning; reply received from Eric Kendall. He has taken up the matter with the Operational Services Manager who is to increase monitoring. They are looking at setting up a district wide street cleaning forum to look at ways in which different agencies can work together to improve the street scene. Cllr Pack advised that they have already set up a forum. Cllr Marshall had asked Steve Quartermain whether the street cleaner is paid for extra hours during the summer when there are more people in the town and on race days. Mr Quartermain had replied that this is one of the issues he will be looking at in his review. Cllr Robinson felt that the street cleaner does a very good job.
P0094 Bollards on Picks Lane; letter sent to Mike Roberts.
P0094 Surface of Station Road; reported to Mike Roberts.
P0094 Map on Sutton Bank; reply received from the North York Moors National Park Authority advising that the map in question is the Moorsbus route which does not service Thirsk. The out of hours board outside the Centre lists Thirsk and its amenities.
P0094 Wheeliebins on Westgate; letter sent to Mike Roberts.
P0094 Pumping station; Cllr Mallett advised that Yorkshire Water have turned off the source of the water which was leaking out.
Finance:
To approve accounts for payment:
Proposed Cllr Mallett, seconded Cllr Morton that the following accounts be approved for payment:
Kompan Ltd - Parts for slide at Johnson Close £188.18
M L Burnett - work to East Thirsk/Johnson Close/Mill Gardens
Fitting baton for curtain rail at the Museum £279.31
Npower - electricity for office £42.32
CE & CM Walker - Grasscutting £1,527.50
HDC - Rates, September 2004 £58.00
Julie Harron - Salary, August 2004 £260.00
Elaine Coulson - Salary, July 2004 £989.67
Inland Revenue - Tax/NI, July 2004 £555.29
M Dodds - watering for Thirsk in Bloom £125.00
Thirsk Garden Centre - plants for Thirsk in Bloom £107.41
Sakata Ornamentals - plants for Thirsk in Bloom £949.29
S2 Construction - Kerbing in Garden of Rest £1,956.85
Seat base in Garden of Rest £452.38
D J Mann - cleaning bus shelter windows/notice board
April, May, June, July £89.00
C Amy - weekly inspection/hedge cutting £242.80
Litter pick £200.00
Page P0097
Paid since last meeting
BT - Internet Line £78.06
Petty Cash £49.01
Thirsk School - Sponsorship of Maths and Computing College
Application £500.00
Income received since last meeting
HM Customs and Excise - Refund of VAT, Apr-June 2004 £1,372.34
Burial Board: Interments: £220.00
Rent of Cemetery Lodge £397.12
Bank Interest £69.92
To receive and approve the monthly balance sheet and budget report for July 2004
Received and approved.
To approve Applications for Exclusive Rights and Memorials
Proposed Cllr Mallett, seconded Cllr Robinson that the following applications for memorials be approved:
Elaine Lambert Plot No. VV 10 (west half)
Edna May Lambert Plot No. Z 63
To receive Correspondence:
Thirsk School - advising that they were successful in their bid to become a Specialist School in Maths and Computing and requesting sponsorship monies. In view of the timescale, the cheque for £500 was sent to them prior to the meeting.
The Churchwardens of St. Mary's Church re a presentation on 7th October. This is at the same time as the Amenities Committee meeting. Cllr Adamson advised that he will be attending.
Somerfield Stores re their application for a Transfer of the Justices' Licence to Tracy Dawn Henson, Steven Anthony McGowan and Suzanne Ineichen; Approved with the request that the applicants attend an appropriate training course.
NYCC enclosing an Order for the temporary road closure in the Market Place from 1400 hours on 3rd December to 1700 hours on 6th December.
BT advising that they are proposing to remove one payphone from the seven in Thirsk. Agreed that the plans be circulated prior to the September Town Council meeting.
Bow House, 'Herriot Country 2005 - Short Breaks Visitor Guide'. Proposed Cllr Roberts, seconded Cllr Jackson that once again this year we have a half page colour advertisement at a cost of £578 plus VAT. This was carried with five in favour and one abstention.
To receive Planning Committee Report:
Cllr Roberts advised that HDC have refused the application for a dwelling in Nicks Alley and the Planning Committee find this difficult to understand. The Planning Committee is opposed to the plans for the Alan Evans' site. Cllr Marshall referred to
Page P0098
the plans for the building on the garages on the Hambleton Estate. Cllr Roberts advised that we are asking for a site meeting to be held and for it to go to Committee.
Cllr Marshall felt it was necessary to look at the effect on the estate roads if the garages go. HDC to be asked to consult with the Town Council as a neighbour as one of the potential sites is next to East Thirsk Play Area and also to consult with the Millennium Green Committee.
To receive Burial Board Report:
Nothing to report. Cllr Adamson advised that a meeting is to be arranged shortly.
Reports:
a) County Council
Cllr Marshall referred to the Infrastructure Improvement plans for the County Council, pointing out that it is proposed to create a footpath across the grass on Stockton Road from the seat to the roadside. It was felt that this was unnecessary as people waiting for a bus would be unlikely to sit on the seat as it was too far away from the roadside and a path would further 'carve up' the grass verge. It was also pointed out that the new bus stop has been positioned outside the East Thirsk Community Association noticeboard, whereas at present people wait for the bus outside 42/44/46 Dowber Way. A letter to be sent to the County Council.
Cllr Marshall reported that County have said they will do something about the Blakey Lane bridge.
No further information re the possibility of a roundabout at the new Auction Mart. No progress re Sutton Bank.
b) District Council
Cllrs Marshall and Robinson had nothing to report.
To Receive Reports:
a) Representatives
Cllr Roberts reported on the TRI saying that David Potts, a Consultant, has started work on talking to a number of people in Thirsk. He will be coming up with ideas as to how to keep the Initiative going.
Cllr Roberts reported on the CAB, saying they are hoping to man Thirsk once a fortnight. Cllr Robinson referred to reports in the press of cut-backs and Cllr Roberts said the CAB are very short of funding. They rely on many different sources for funding.
Referring to the Millennium Green, Cllr Adamson said the middle of the Mosaic has been repaired. A meeting had been held on site to identify trees which need attention and thinning out.
Cllr Marshall reported that Thirsk Infant School Charity is trying to arrange a meeting with the Trustees.
Cllr Adamson reported on the East Thirsk Community Association saying it is going reasonably well. They are now without a Deputy Chairman, but they may have a new secretary.
Page P0099
b) Members
Cllr Marshall pointed out that there is a quantity of builders rubble, pipes etc in the river near Finkle Street - to be reported to the IDB. She also said there is an island of silt in the river near the Library car park. Cllr Adamson to look at the IDB rules.
Cllr Jackson referred to a suggestion he had made at Amenities regarding the meetings. He has now spoken to the YLCA who have said that it is possible to have two Council meetings in one month. Cllr Marshall pointed out that Amenity meetings were started to deal with Amenity matters as the Town Council agenda was so full. Cllr Roberts said that if the sub committees were to meet more often this would save time at Amenity meetings. Cllr Robinson suggested that we carry on having monthly Amenity meetings, but with reports from Committees. Proposed Cllr Mallett, seconded Cllr Adamson that the status quo be maintained, with the proviso that any committee which has not yet met does so before the next meeting. The motion was carried with five in favour.
Proposed Cllr Mallett, seconded Cllr Roberts that the public and press be excluded for some confidential items.