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To the Members of the Full Council

  • Cllr Mike Acreman
  • Cllr Stephen Holder
  • Cllr Steve Beatty
  • Cllr Claire Holford (Deputy Mayor)
  • Cllr Daniel Beauchamp (Mayor/Chairman)
  • Cllr Jacki Hoskins
  • Cllr Ailsa Charter
  • Cllr Mark Hoskins
  • Cllr Mahmood Ebrahimjee
  • Cllr Nigel Hughes
  • Cllr Paul Gibbon
  • Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan
  • Cllr Marcus Harris
  • Cllr Ros Lester
  • Cllr Susan Hendrie
  • Cllr Diana Margarido

 

15 November 2023

Dear Councillors

You are hereby summoned to attend the Full Council on Monday, 20 November 2023 at 7.00 pm in the Town Hall for the transaction of business as set out on the attached agenda.

Apologies for the meeting should be sent to the Meetings Officer, at meetings@wallingfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Michelle Taylor

Town Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer

 

AGENDA

1     Meeting protocol

The Mayor to explain the protocols to be followed for the meeting

2     Apologies

To receive apologies for the meeting

3     Declarations of interest

To receive and record declarations of interest

A councillor with voting rights who has a disclosable pecuniary interest or another interest as set out in our Council’s Standing Orders Code of Conduct (Item 13) in a matter being considered at a meeting is subject to statutory limitations or restrictions under code of conduct and their right to participate and vote on the matter.  Guidelines are available at the meeting and all councillors have received a copy prior to the meeting.

4     Mayor’s communications

The Mayor to update the Council on recent mayoral activity and any other news

5     Minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 23 October 2023 and authorise the Chairman to sign them (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

For the benefit of new councillors, the point at which minutes are approved as a correct record, they become a legal record.  WTC minutes comply with all best practice guidelines and meet all statutory requirements.  In the context of local councils, minutes are primarily a record of decisions, not a verbatim account of discussions.  Individual votes are only recorded by request.

6     Actions from previous meetings [public] [see also item 21]

To review progress on ‘open’ actions on publicly-discussed matters agreed at previous meetings (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT)

7     Public participation

To hear from members of the public on any matter on the agenda

We welcome members of the public at our meetings.  A total of 15 minutes has been set aside for this.  The maximum length for an individual contribution is at the discretion of the Chairman and may depend on the number of people who wish to speak.

Members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting should email Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer in advance at meetings@wallingfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

8     County and District Councillors’ Reports

To receive reports from County and District Councillors

EXTERNAL-FACING
9     Community services and facilities

(a)   Wallingford Library – to hear a short presentation by a County Council representative

(b)   Wallingford Municipal Charities – to appoint a trustee (not a representative) for a four-year term.  Mrs Pat Hayton’s current term comes to an end this month and she has indicated her willingness to continue.  Wallingford Municipal Charities supports Wallingford residents who are in financial need through gifts of non-cash items.  (RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

(c)    ‘Warm Hubs’ – to consider the ‘Warm Hubs’ (registered or not) available to residents over the winter months, and how these can best be promoted and supported, including endorsement of grant applications (RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

10     Environment and sustainability

(a)   Vegetation management – to consider and approve a new approach to  vegetation management, initially at the Castle site, through a partnership with the Earth Trust, as recommended by the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee on 6 November 2023  (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

(b)   Castle Motte – to consider and approve plans to renew and improve public access and presentation, as recommended by the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee on 6 November 2023  (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

(c)    Allotments – to adopt a new approach where half plots rather full plots are allocated as the default position going forwards, unless a convincing case can be made for a full plot, as recommended by the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee on 6 November 2023.  A recent review revealed that around 15% of full plots on the existing Fir Tree allotments were not being actively managed.  We presently have 37 people on the waiting list and we have reached out to these people (RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

(d)   Horse chestnut tree, Coach and Horses Pub, Kinecroft – to make a final decision on this tree, as trailed earlier in the year (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

11     Arts, culture and heritage

(a)   Murder Mystery Extravaganza (celebrating Agatha Christie) – to review the 2023 weekend and to determine the Council’s role and involvement in the 2024 event given Wallingford Museum’s long-standing involvement (RESOLUTION MAY BE REQUIRED)

(b)   Agatha Christie maquette – to confirm where it should go.  Previously, in September 2020, the Full Council agreed to give the maquette to Wallingford Museum on a permanent loan basis (Minute 290(ii)) (RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

12     Community engagement

(a)   2024 Annual Town Meeting – to consider the format and timing of this event which is a legal requirement (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

INTERNAL-FACING
13     Finance

(a)   Internal Audit – to receive the Internal Auditor’s report, review the effectiveness of the Internal Audit, and discuss and action any recommendations (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

14     Committees

(a)   Vacancies – to note that Councillor Gibbon is stepping down with immediate effect from the Finance and Properties Committee and the Tourism and Economic Development Committee (of which he is the Chair); and that there are also two current vacancies on the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee (RESOLUTION MAY BE REQUIRED)

15     Properties

(a)   Castle Lodge – to approve funding for new fencing and roofing (SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

(b)   Allotments – to approve costing for the gate and path (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT TO FOLLOW/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

16     HR

(a)   Employee Handbook – to approve the latest version of the Employee Handbook, as recommended by the Personnel Committee on 30 October 2023 (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT TO FOLLOW/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

17     Timetable of meetings

To approve the 2024 and 2025 timetables of meetings, as informed by guiding principles (SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

If and once approved, these dates will be placed in Members’ online diaries by the Meetings Officer.

18     Oxfordshire Councils Charter

To consider and respond to the proposed Oxfordshire Councils Charter which encourages greater partnership working between County, District, Town and Parish Councils, and to reflect on the effectiveness of current collaborative working between the County Councillor, District Councillors and Town Councillors representing Wallingford (SURVEY LINK PROVIDED BELOW/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

Oxfordshire Councils Charter | Let’s Talk Oxfordshire

The Town Council Office have requested the full consultation documents, but these had not been received at the time of the agenda’s publication.  Oxfordshire County Council are leading on this initiative.

19     Future agenda items

To identify agenda items for future meetings

The following items have already been identified or requested:

  • Pedestrianisation of front area of Town Hall (Action Log)
  • Community Emergency Plan (included in the Action Log) (The Mayor leading)
  • Legal matter [confidential] (potentially rolling item)
  • Procurement (Cllr Charter leading)
  • Policies (Cllr Charter leading)
  • Governance cycle (Cllr Charter leading)
CLOSED SESSION
20     Exclusion of press and public

To resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted (RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

21     Actions from previous meetings [confidential]

To review progress on ‘open’ actions relating to confidential matters agreed at previous meetings (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT)

22     Head of Parks and Estates [confidential]

To approve the revised profile for this role to enable recruitment to begin (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT TO FOLLOW/RESOLUTION REQUIRED)

23     Staffing budget [confidential]

To consider whether additional expenditure needs to be approved for temporary staff, beyond the amount approved at the last meeting (Minute 345/23) (RESOLUTION MAY BE REQUIRED)

24     Legal update [confidential]

To receive an update on a legal matter (SUPPORTING DOCUMENT/RESOLUTION MAY BE REQUIRED)

 

The quorum for the Full Council is 8

The next meeting of the Full Council will be held on Monday, 18 December 2023.   The Precept for 2024-2025 will be agreed at this meeting.  The summons and agenda papers will be issued by email on Wednesday, 13 December 2023.  Items for the agenda need to have been received by the Meetings Officer at meetings@wallingfordtowncouncil.gov.uk by 8 December 2023.

Distribution: Town Council website and Town Hall noticeboard

Non-confidential supporting papers (identified above) may be made available upon request.

We welcome members of the public at our meetings.  Any member of the public wishing to speak at the meeting should contact Luke Whitcomb, the Meetings Officer, in advance by emailing meetings@wallingfordtowncouncil.gov.uk