06 February 2018 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Community, Leisure & Recreation Committee held on 6 February 2018 at 6.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Cllrs P Cowell, N Dixon (Chairman), M Dyer, L Emery (Deputy Mayor), P Lambert and T Wyse (Town Mayor)
Officers:
G Hunt, Town Clerk
J Howells, Asset Manager
C Pinnells, Community Services Manager
A Oughton, Committee Services Officer

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs Butler (Personal), Champken-Woods (Holiday), Deacock (Business), Jones (Business) and Stiles (Unwell).

2. Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

There were no declarations of interest.

3. Public Participation and Public Questions

There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.

4. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Cllr Cowell entered the meeting during this item.

5. Budget Summary

Members received the budget summary up to 31 December 2017. A full set of the accounts were available for Members to view at the meeting.

6. Reports from Representatives on External Organisations

a) Cuttle Brook Management Committee
b) Thame Carnival Committee
c) Thame Football Partnership
d) Twinning Association
e) Thame Good Neighbour Scheme
f) Thame Town Cricket Club
g) Chinnor RFC
h) Music in the Park
i) Sinaia Friendship Association
j) Thame Museum Trust
k) Thame Remembers
l) Towersey Festival
m) Thame Music Festival
n) Thame Shed

The Reports from Representatives on External Organisations were noted with no additional comments.

7. Cricket Club Clubhouse Redevelopment

The Town Clerk and Asset Manager had provided a detailed report. The Town Clerk stated that this was a big, fast moving project. Since writing the report the Town Clerk provided the following update.

All four legal documents (including the SODC Grant agreement) were at the final stage and with the Town Council’s solicitor. The newsletter published by Sports Clubhouses & the Cricket Club had been included in the Town Council’s weekly newsletter. The ECB had still to formally confirm the grant and there had been further exchanges of information between the parties.

Issues with regard to health & safety had been addressed by Sports Clubhouses and Ridge & Co had carried out the first of their regular health & safety inspections today. The report confirmed a ‘well set up site’ with the biggest concern raised being the amount of mud on the road outside the site. There have also been issues with a contractor employed by the church having to use the same entrance due to the gate at the Barns Centre being closed off as a result of the development work. An alternative route for the gas connection was being investigated.

A meeting with immediate neighbours has been arranged for 13 February 2018, commencing at 4pm at the Barns Centre.

The Town Clerk stated that the project was taking a lot of his and the Asset Manager’s time but it was a big project on Town Council land which needed to be managed.

8. Sports in the Street Event

A request had been received for financial and operational support for the Sports in the Street event to be held in the High Street on Friday 29 June 2018. The event organiser was available in the public gallery to answer any questions.

Members agreed that this was a good community event and the Council were happy to support it both financially and operationally this year. The Town Council encouraged new events in the town and considered requests for seed funding positively. It was then the expectation that successful events be self-funded after one to two years support.

It was suggested that if funding for the 2019 event was needed the Event organiser should apply through this year’s Town Council’s Grant Award Scheme.

RESOLVED that:

i) Financial support of £1,500 be released from the 2017-18 Grants Budget and operational support requested be approved.

9. Outdoor Cinema

Mr Harry King and Ms Tailia Rand-Bell gave a presentation on their proposal to hold an outdoor cinema event and to request the closure of Elms Park to the public between the hours of 5pm and 1.30am on Friday 17, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 August 2018 to enable the event to take place.

Elms Park had been chosen as it was a central location to the town, easily secured and had been the venue for other successful community events. It was planned to close the southern entrance to the park with members of the public entering the event through the northern entrance on Park Street. The site layout had been planned to minimise noise and impact on residential dwellings surrounding the park and with safety and security in mind.

The screen would be supplied by Proscreen, a reputable company with a good track record, it would be inflatable and weather resistant, although windy conditions may present a problem. The films would be back projected onto the screen to avoid safety related problems with cabling. The food and drink vendors were all local businesses.

The target for ticket sales per evening was 350 with a maximum of 450. All tickets would be sold via the Cinema’s website prior to the event and scanned on entrance to the park. Coloured wrist bands would be issued on entrance to the park. Discount codes would be available to selected community groups and businesses.

The site would be cleaned and the toilets maintained before and after each event. A final decision on the security company would be made once permission to the use the park had been obtained. The company would be SIA approved and a safety and event management plan together with the appropriate risk assessments and supporting documents would be supplied.

The event will support the Red Kite Family Centre and Lord Williams’s School Young Carers and provide opportunities to work alongside local businesses.

A temporary event notice (TEN) application had been submitted to the District Council. The appropriate film licences will be obtained once the films had been decided. All alcohol and food licences will be held by the vendors in conjunction with the TEN licence. All the necessary insurance cover will be in place and held by either the vendors or organisers as appropriate.

Following the presentation Members congratulated Harry and Tailia on their presentation and a very well thought through new venture. Concerns were raised with regard to parking and what would happen in the event of bad weather.

Harry and Tailia reported that wherever possible people would be encouraged to walk to the event, Jayar Car Parts and Figaro’s Barbers in Park Street had been approached and agreed to their car parks (seven spaces) being used for disabled parking during the event.

The weather would be monitored before the event and if the ground became sodden vehicles would not move on site without a temporary road track in place. La Van will provide a marquee during the event that could shelter up to a 100 people if needed. Cancellation insurance will be in place to provide refunds if required. There may be the possibility that if it rains heavily on the first evening to offer people the opportunity to attend another screening on a different day.

RESOLVED that:

i) Permission to use Elms Park as the venue for an Outdoor Cinema Event for three days, closing off the area to the public from 5pm until 1.30am each evening be approved.

10. World War One – 2018 Commemorations

Town Council Officers had been working with local community groups and members of the public to co-ordinate ideas to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day in November. The Town Council website would provide a platform to advertise events.

Officers were also working on operational requirements for the Remembrance Service in the morning and joining in the national tribute, the Battles Over beacon lighting event, in the evening on 11 November 2018.

During discussions it was suggested that a temporary display screen is placed at the Memorial Gardens on 11 November 2018 to display the information in the Remembrance Service sheet, enable those attending to view the laying of the wreaths and to display the names and information of the servicemen obtained from investigations undertaken by the Thame Remembers Project. This would require additional funding to that already set aside in the budget.

RESOLVED that:

i) Further funding of £3,790 from the General Reserves, to enable a temporary large display screen at the Memorial Gardens specifically for the 2018 Service of Remembrance only, subject to permissions being obtained, be approved.

11. Town Fairs

The report provided an update on the progress of negotiations for a renewed three year fair agreement for 2018 through to 2020 with the Showmen’s Guild. The Town Clerk stated that since the report had been written a meeting date of 21 February 2018 had been agreed. The Town Clerk had requested that the Showmen’s Guild provide information in advance of the meeting to ensure maximum benefit.

12. Priest End Allotments to Burial Space

Members noted the report.

13. Open Spaces Working Group

The Town Clerk reported that as agreed at the Committee meeting held on 24 October 2017 he had responded to the public consultation for the proposed Public Space Protection Order. The police had also responded to the consultation with the same concerns. The Town Clerk had not received any feedback from the District Council.

Due to work schedules there had not been time to progress all the ideas identified by the Working Group. Additional litter bins had been installed on Southern Road Recreation Ground (SRRG). There had been reports on social media regarding the amount of litter in SRRG over last weekend. It has been suggested to Lord Williams’s School that they consider the impact of litter on the town as a subject for discussion by students at a future ‘off timetable day’.

As well as the work that had started on pavement and road alterations in Elms Road it had been noted that some development work had taken place on Elms Field itself. This may provide some hope that the trigger to release s106 monies related to the redevelopment of Elms Park may be moving a little closer although still a long way off.

14. Christmas Event

Members noted the report and considered the date of the Christmas event for 2018.

RESOLVED that:

i) The Christmas Light Switch-On event takes place on Friday 30 November 2018.

15. Prayer Week Facility

The seven churches in Thame were working together to organise a Prayer Week in the town to run from 13-20 May 2018. Members noted that an application seeking permission to place a site accommodation unit on Montesson Square had been submitted to the District Council.

16. Maintenance Report

Members noted the report.

The meeting concluded at 7.24pm

Signed …………………..
Chairman, 10 April 2018