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Present

Members

  • Cllr Mike Acreman
  • Cllr Dan Beauchamp (The Mayor/Chairman)
  • Cllr Ailsa Charter
  • Cllr Mahmood Ebrahimjee
  • Cllr Marcus Harris
  • Cllr Susan Hendrie
  • Cllr Stephen Holder
  • Cllr Jacki Hoskins
  • Cllr Mark Hoskins
  • Cllr Nigel Hughes
  • Cllr Ros Lester
  • Cllr Diana Margarido

Officers

  • Michelle Taylor, Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer
  • Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer
  • Jennifer Green, Engagement Manager
  • Jo Emmerson, Grants Officer

Others

  • District Councillor James Barlow
  • 3 members of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

461/23     MEETING PROTOCOL

The Mayor outlined the protocols that needed to be followed in the conduct of the meeting.

462/23     APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Town Councillor Holford and Town and District Councillor Keats-Rohan, and from County Councillor Sudbury.

463/23     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were none.

464/23     MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor indicated that he would report on items as the meeting progressed.

465/23     MINUTES

It was proposed by Councillor Charter, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 20 November 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

466/23     ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Council reviewed progress on ‘open’ actions agreed by previous meetings of the Full Council.

Councillor Holder requested the Action Log was reviewed in detail at the next meeting of the Full Council in January 2024.

467/23     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Two members of the public spoke later to the items minuted below as 475/23 and 471/23 respectively.

The first spoke asked about the 2024 Pancake Race, as he had been unable to raise the matter at the meeting of the Tourism and Economic Development Committee on 7 December which had been postponed.  The Mayor responded that work had already been initiated through a Town Council Working Group led by Councillor Ros Lester.  The date of the race was confirmed as 13 February 2024.

The second expressed concern at the lack of due process in relation to the creation of a new Jazz event in 2024.  She had not been able to find any resolution that the Town Council had passed in support of this, and yet the Town Council had been publicising the event in their external communications.  Councillor Acreman, who was the project lead, responded.  See Minute 471/23 below.

The Mayor conceded that there had been specific issues affecting the operation of the Tourism and Economic Committee over recent months.

The Mayor reminded Members that proposals could be brought straight to Full Council in the unusual event that a committee had been unable to meet.

468/23     COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

District Councillor Barlow drew attention to the new, draft Joint Local Plan (South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse) and how this worked alongside the Revised Neighbourhood Plan (see Minute 469/23).  He also reported on a series of national changes for postal and proxy voting and further work with the community on opening arrangements for the Riverside Pool.

In a written submission, District Councillor Keats-Rohan detailed recent grants made by individual ward councillors to local organisations.

In a written submission, County Council Sudbury commented on the recent County Council consultation of the widening of 20 mph speed limit zone in Wallingford and the Town Council’s and public concerns about the consultation process which had confused many.  The consulted plan had been approved, but was on hold pending further work to define the boundaries of the 20 mph zone.

469/23     REVISED NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

The Council reviewed the draft revised Neighbourhood Plan which was a substantial document.

The Mayor thanked members of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group – comprising Town Councillors and members of the public – for the extensive amount of detailed work they had undertaken and for the opportunities they had created for others to engage in the process along the way.

The Chairman encouraged Members who had further detailed comments to send them to Councillor Hendrie as soon as possible, but reminded Members that the Working Group had to abide by regulations and guidance as to what could and could not be included.

The next stage would be for the Revised Neighbourhood Plan, if approved, to go to the South Oxfordshire District Council for quality assurance by their Neighbourhood Plan Team, before moving to public consultation.  There were tight deadlines to be met to keep the Revised Plan on track to protect the town from inappropriate and unwelcome development.

It was proposed by Councillor Hendrie, and seconded by Councillor Harris, and RESOLVED that the Revised Neighbourhood Plan be approved

470/23     JAZZ EVENT 2024

The Council considered a proposal by Councillor Acreman for a jazz event in February 2024.  This had already started to be publicised in Town Council external communications.

Councillor Acreman, the project lead, made clear that this event was being ‘owned’ by Crowmarsh Jazz and therefore it belonged to a community body.  The Town Council were being asked to lend their support through branding and a small financial contribution towards event marketing.  He also made clear that the Town Council had not contributed financially so far to the event.  The District Council had however contributed to the event through a ‘Levelling Up’ grant, to which the Town Council had been given very short notice.

As indicated in Minute 467/23, a member of the public expressed concern that approval for the event had not followed due process.  Councillor Acreman conceded that this was true to some degree, although this was not a Town Council event.  He had raised the idea at the meeting of the Tourism and Economic Development Committee as one of a number of ideas in June 2023.

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Margarido, and RESOLVED that the Town Council lend its support to this community event run by Crowmarsh Jazz through branding and a financial contribution of up to £300 covering event marketing

471/23     ALLOTMENTS POLICY

This item would be considered at the next meeting of the Full Council in January 2024.

472/23     MURDER MYSTERY WEEKEND CELEBRATING AGATHA CHRISTIE

The Council considered the best way to progress the review of the 2023 event and to prepare for the 2024 weekend.

In accordance with Standing Order 7, sufficient Members had requested that the Council reverse the decision taken at the last meeting of the Full Council (Minute 418/23) which had asked for the Tourism and Economic Development Committee to undertake the review

The Mayor believed, given that time was of the essence, that a Working Group could proceed quicker than a formal committee and could beneficially involve relevant stakeholders from within the community.

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes, and seconded by Councillor Holder, and RESOLVED that a Working Group be formed to start the review and planning as soon as possible, reporting to the Tourism and Development Committee.

The Working Group would include Councillors Ebrahimjee, J Hoskins, M Hoskins and Margarido, former Town Councillor Paul Gibbon, Wallingford Museum, Wallingford Library and Jacqueline Bradney, as well as relevant Town Council Officers.

473/23     BUDGET FOR 2024-25

The Council reviewed the detailed budget for 2024-25.  This had been scrutinised at a recent meeting of the Finance and Properties Committee on 11 December 2023, who were recommending approval (Minute 451/23), and had been the subject of a special meeting of the Full Council on 13 November 2023.

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes, and seconded by Councillor J Hoskins, and RESOLVED that the budget for 2024-25 be approved showing a 8.56% increased equivalent to an additional £10.41 for a Band D household or £1.04 for each of the 10 months

The Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer was thanked for her detailed work on the budget.

474/23     CURFEW BELL

The Council considered a quotation for work (the installation of a chip) to ensure the Curfew Bell rang regularly at the historic time of 8.50 pm.

The Finance and Properties Committee had recommended approval (Minute 455/23).

The Engagement Manager confirmed that the Church of St Mary-le-More had been consulted about the time of 8.50 pm which had previously affected their hirers.

It was proposed by Councillor Harris, and seconded by Councillor Lester, and RESOLVED that the quotation of 30 November 2023 by Smith and Derby be approved.

475/23     WTC WORKING GROUPS

The Council reviewed the operation of its current Working Groups.

Terms of reference were still be awaited for Arts Grant, The Regal, Curfew Bell, Community and Remembrance 2024.

The Mayor advised that the scope of the D-Day Anniversary Working Group had been expanded to include all aspects of Remembrance in 2024, including Remembrance Sunday and the 80th anniversary of the Wilding Andrew crash.  Flt Lt Shane Huller, Lynda Atkins (representing the Royal British Legion) and the Reverend Kevin Beer would be involved.

476/23     FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The following items were identified for future meetings:

  • 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)
  • Policies (Town Clerk)
  • Governance cycle (Cllr Charter leading)
  • Alliance for the Reduction of Heritage Crime (Cllr Keats-Rohan leading)
  • Mooring fees – a presentation by an enforcement company (probably January 2024)
  • Communications strategy (Cllr Charter leading) (January 2024)
  • Allotments policy (Cllr Holder leading) (January 2024)
  • Consultation exercises in general, including OCC’s for the 20 mph speed limit zone
  • Action Log to be reviewed in detail (as requested by Cllr Holder)
  • Performance and Development Review Policy (for adoption, having been through Personnel Committee)
477/23     EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting due to the nature of the business to be transacted

 

The meeting ended at 9.16 pm

Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 20 December 2023, signed as a correct record

 

Chairman

 

2023-12-20 FC minutes DRAFT PUBLIC