14 April 2015 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Community, Leisure & Recreation Committee held on 14 April 2015 at 7.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Cllrs D Bretherton, N Champken-Woods (Chairman), A Dite, N Dixon (Deputy Mayor), M Dyer, L Emery, P Lambert, D Laver, M Stiles (Deputy Chairman) and
T Wyse.
Officers
G Hunt, Town Clerk
J Howells, Asset Manager
A Oughton, Committee Services Officer
C Pinnells, Community Services Manager

1 Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Matelot Green (Business).

2 Declarations of Interest

Cllrs Bretherton and Dyer declared an interest in Item 10: Youth Memorial and Item 14: Historic Signage as trustees of the Youth Memorial Trust and the Museum Trust. Cllrs Bretherton and Dyer did not take part in discussion of the two items.

3 Public Participation

There were no applications to address the Committee.

4 Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2015 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5 Budget Summary

Members received the budget summary up to 28 February 2015. 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 – Cllr Laver reported that the draft Management Plan had been sent to the Town Council and was available to download from the Cuttle Brook website. The volunteers had been working with the Environment Agency and the River Thame project to analyse the quality of the water in the Brook. Eight species of fish had been identified and the quality of water was considered reasonable.

The new boardwalk was now complete, the increased width allowed for wheelchair and pushchair access and included a turning point. An invitation had been received from the Council to give a presentation at the Annual Town Meeting on 5 May 2015 which had been accepted. A number of activities for younger children had been organised for the summer and volunteers were looking forward to meeting the Town Clerk at the site visit in July.

b) Carnival Committee – Cllr Emery reported that the Carnival would support two charities this year – the Skatepark project and Rosie’s Rainbow. There would be a pre-Carnival video competition. Sue Martin Downhill, Carnival organiser still needed to find a compere for the event. The next Committee meeting was scheduled for 24 April 2015.

c) Football Partnership – Cllr Dyer reported that the Football Partnership continue to exercise better financial control. As a result the club had been able to reinvest in the facilities with a complete redecoration and planned to install a pump during the closed season to enable better irrigation of the external pitches. Part of the cost of the pump was being funded by the First Team’s prize money from their FA Cup run. Additionally there would be a ‘club corridor’ where photos, honours and statistics of all teams would be displayed in an effort to improve the ‘club feel’ and encourage more usage of the bar from parents and other members.

Aylesbury United FC would be using Meadow View Park for all of their home fixtures over the next two seasons which would bring in extra income of £25,000 per annum. Recent changes in the rules now enabled the Partnership to apply for CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club) status with HMRC which would bring major financial benefits through business rate relief, eligibility to register for Gift Aid and reduction in fees for Sky TV.

d) Twinning Association – Cllr Emery reported that a record number of visitors from Montesson would visit Thame over the weekend 8-10 May. Accommodation was proving a slight problem due to the large number of visitors. A visit to Stowe was one of the events scheduled for the weekend.

e) Thame Sinaia Friendship Association – Cllr Bretherton reported that a framed montage of pictures of the Town had been sent to the museum in Sinaia to form part of their exhibits. Cllr Bretherton formally presented a replica of the montage to the Council to display in the Town Hall. A group from Thame were due to visit Sinaia later in the year. A request was made to Officers to investigate the location of the Sinaia Agreement.

f) Cricket Club – Cllr Champken-Woods reported that a meeting was due to be arranged between the Town Clerk and members of the Cricket Club to take forward the provision of a new pavilion.

g) Chinnor RFC – Cllr Bretherton had nothing to report.

h) Red Kite Childrens Centre – Cllr Stiles reported the Centre continued to be an asset to the community and had just undergone an OFSTED inspection.

i) Music in the Park – Cllr Champken-Woods reported that the Committee had met on Monday and everything was on track for 3 May. There would be a full programme including the headline act – Slyde. Tickets were on sale at various locations around the Town, including the Information Centre and online.

j) Thame Remembers – Cllr Dyer reported that a presentation on the project had been given to each year group at Lord Williams’s School. Each presentation had finished with a member of the Sixth Form, dressed in First World War uniform reciting a poem from that period. The presentations had been well received with good feedback from members of staff.

Several crosses had been delivered. Over the next few weeks a new mapping feature would be available on the website showing where crosses had been placed and those still to be delivered. The battlefield tour in October just had a few places remaining. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had contacted the project with reference to the research that had been undertaken.
k) Thame Museum Trust – Cllr Emery reported that expenditure was in line with budget and income above budget. A presentation had been received for the visual improvement of the Tudor room project. The next step would be to apply for funding. Thame Remembers presentations to Lord Williams’s had been well received and there was a school trip to the Normandy beaches this summer during which two crosses would be delivered.

7 Work Programme

The Work Programme had been produced by the previous Town Clerk and moving forward would be used as a working document by the Town Clerk in consultation with the Committee and Management team. All dates reported in the Work Programme were aspirational rather than firm. Various comments on the Work Programme were noted.

8 Flagpole

The existing flagpoles on the exterior of the Town Hall were removed to enable the building renovation works to be undertaken. Consideration was given to the installation of a flagpole in the pavement outside the Town Hall. This would be removed during the September Fair and during the lead up to Christmas so as not to obstruct the Christmas Tree.

RESOLVED that:

i) A flagpole be installed in the pavement outside the Town Hall be approved.

ii) A recommendation be made to Full Council that £1,807.90 be released from the Capital Rolling Fund.

9 Wood Chipper

Currently green waste is removed from site and stored on land adjacent to the Skate Park to await disposal. Members considered the purchase of a wood chipper to enable green waste from tree, shrub and hedge work to be chipped on site and deposited back or stored for use elsewhere

RESOLVED that:

i) The purchase of a Greenmech Arborist 150-26 wood chipper for use by the Maintenance Team be approved.

ii) A recommendation be made to Full Council that £12,898.75 be released from the Capital Rolling Fund to purchase the wood chipper and £1,650.00 be released from the General Reserves Fund to remove the existing waste.

10 Youth Memorial

The Council had received a letter from the Thame Youth Memorial Trust requesting permission to install an information point within the Thame Youth Memorial. The information point would provide contacts for counselling and related services.

RESOLVED that:

i) The installation of an information point within the Thame Youth Memorial subject to no objection from the District Conservation Officer be approved.

11 Thame Carnival

The Carnival Committee had requested event support, as undertaken by the Maintenance Team in previous years. A list of agreed tasks had been discussed. It was agreed that the Carnival was a good community event and should be supported.

RESOLVED that:

i) A recommendation be made to Full Council to support the event and that associated salary expenditure up to £335 be released from Revenue Funds.

12 Skate Park

The Skate Park group had applied to the Inspired Facilities Fund for a grant towards the refurbishment of the Skate Park. It was anticipated that the outcome of this application would be announced in May. Funding had been received and/or promised from the Lions, Rotary and the Chill Out Fund. A meeting had taken place with Wheelscape which had resulted in some minor tweaks to the design to reduce cost but would not require amendment to the planning permission already granted.

13 Town Awards

The original trophy presented to winners of the Town Awards had been discontinued by the manufacturers. The proposed new trophy had been chosen in discussion with members of the Town Awards Panel.

RESOLVED that:

i) The new Town Award trophy as identified in the attached report be approved.

14 Historic Signage

It was agreed that signage commemorating the Thame Urban District Council Extension of Waterworks and Filtration Plant be placed on long term loan with the Thame Museum.

RESOLVED that:

i) A recommendation be made to Full Council that the Thame Urban District Council Extension of Waterworks and Installation of Filtration Plant 25 March 1933 signage is placed on long term loan with the Thame Museum.

15 Town Crier

Members agreed that certain events in the Town were enhanced by the presence of a Town Crier and that further investigation into the appointment of a Town Crier should take place. A report would be brought to Committee for consideration.

16 Maintenance Report

Members congratulated the Maintenance Team on their hard work.

The meeting concluded at 8.27pm

Signed ………………………….
Chairman, 14 July 2015