25 July 2017 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Community, Leisure & Recreation Committee held on 25 July 2017 at 6.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Cllrs N Champken-Woods, P Cowell, M Deacock, N Dixon (Chairman), M Dyer, L Emery (Deputy Mayor), C Jones, P Lambert, M Stiles (Deputy Chairman) 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 Cllr Butler (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 meetings held on 4 April 2017 and 9 May 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5. Budget Summary

Members received the budget summary up to 30 June 2017. The Town Clerk reported that some budget lines, previously not reported, had been added for completeness. Revenue lines with no budgets had been removed.

6. Reports from Representatives on External Organisations

a) Cuttle Brook Management Committee – Report noted. Cllr Jones added that a Kingfisher had been spotted on the Reserve earlier this evening.

b) Thame Carnival Committee – Report noted.

c) Thame Football Partnership – Report noted.

d) Twinning Association – Report noted.

e) Thame Good Neighbour Scheme – Report noted.

f) Thame Town Cricket Club – update received under item 10 of the agenda.

g) Chinnor RFC – The Town Clerk reported that a meeting had taken place with Doug Humphries (Chairman) and John Ashfield (President) at which proposals for new pitches and plans for the clubhouse were some of the topics discussed. The Club continues to progress.

h) Music in the Park – Report noted. Cllr Stiles added that she had given her apologies for the next committee meeting. It was understood that the committee had reached agreement on the wording of the constitution.

i) Sinaia Friendship Association – Report noted.

j) Thame Museum Trust – Report noted.

k) Thame Remembers – Report noted. Cllr Dyer added that the next trip would be closer to home, the Boer War Memorial at Abingdon barracks, date to be advised.

l) Towersey Festival – The Town Clerk reported that he had met with Simon Diegan, who is a resident on the new Taylor Wimpey development and also the nominated local representative for the Towersey Festival. Together with the Community Services Manager discussion took place on ways to improve signage between the Festival with the town centre and marshal requirements for Morris Dancing in the town centre.

m) Thame Music Festival – Report noted. Everyone was agreed that it was a fantastic event and Councillors extended their thanks to everyone involved with special thanks to the Community Services Manager.

n) Thame Shed – Report noted.

7. Town Fairs

The Safety Management Plan for the Town Fairs had been reviewed and additional precautions added to incorporate emergency evacuation locations outside of the road closure areas, extra barrier controls and a process for caring for vulnerable persons.

RESOLVED that:

i) The Safety Management Plan for the Town Fairs be approved.

8. Town Awards

Members noted that another successful Town Awards event had taken place in 2017. The Town Awards Panel had made some changes to the nomination form this year in order to gain further information on the nominee, this had worked well and provided a consistent level of information. Next year will be the 10th year that the Town Awards have been presented, this will provide an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the Awards and celebrate current and past Award winners.

9. Priest End Allotments to Burial Space

The report was noted. A meeting had taken place with the church, the existing hedge line would be retained with a small section of privet removed to allow access into the newly formed burial space. As the churchyard ground was higher there would be a sloped path with handrails. The land was expected to be consecrated in October and the first burials would take place in 2018.

10. Cricket Club Clubhouse Redevelopment

A lot had taken place since the last Committee meeting and the attached report provided an update on the progress. Following the call for tenders, three tenders had been received and were opened this morning. Ridge and Partners LLP will now evaluate each in detail.

RESOLVED that:

i) The Cricket Club Clubhouse Redevelopment Working Group be given delegated authority to enter into relevant contractual agreements on behalf of the Town Council as detailed in points 9 and 10 of the report.

11. Open Spaces Working Group

The Open Spaces Working Group (OSWG) met on 20 April 2017 and the notes of the meeting, together with a list of 24 ideas / initiatives, were emailed to Councillors. Members of the working group agreed that an educational approach should be taken to the problem of litter and dog fouling rather than enforcement which was the responsibility of the District Council.

It was agreed to check if CCTV can be used to assist prosecuting for dog fouling.

With regard to the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for Thame, nothing further had been received since the meeting with the District Council on 23 May 2017.

12. Shared Access Approach

Members noted that as agreed at the Full Council meeting on 20 June 2017, further email correspondence had taken place with Shared Access and subsequently circulated to Councillors. Shared Access had confirmed that the operators were unwilling to investigate alternative positioning for telecoms infrastructure at Southern Road Recreation Ground and would now pursue a streetworks solution in Thame. The attached press release had been widely publicised.

13. Farmers Market

It was noted that the Farmers Market no longer had an administration team. The Community Services Manager and the Market Town Co-ordinator were in discussions with the Farmers Market to help find a way forward.

14. Sport in the Street

The Town Centre Street Sports Event, part funded by the Town Council, had taken place on Friday 23 June 2017. It had been a very successful event, well attended and the feedback had been very positive.

15. Thame Town Music Festival

The first Town Music Festival, part funded by the Town Council, had taken place on Saturday 8 July 2017. A wide variety of live music was performed at numerous venues around the town, including the main stage in front of the Town Hall. The event was a great success, well attended and added to the vibrancy and vitality of the Town.

16. Maintenance Report

The Maintenance Report was noted. The Asset Manager added that a report had been received this morning that the planter on the Aylesbury Road had been damaged. Upon inspection it looked as though the damage had been caused by a road traffic accident. The extent of the damage meant that the planter would need to be replaced, the cost of which would be reclaimed through insurance, of the car driver if possible.

Members raised concerns regarding the recent increase in reports of anti-social behaviour / vandalism. The Asset Manager reported that there had been no significant increases in the number of incidents being reported from last year and that the Town Council continued to work closely with the police. One example being the reduction in the height of hedging at the Skate Park, on the request of the police, to allow easier observation from the road.

Last day of term and lighting provision at Southern Road Recreation Ground were also briefly discussed.

The meeting concluded at 6.59pm

Signed …………………….
Chairman, 24 October 2017