-

Present

Members:

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

Officers:

  • Karen Crowhurst, Locum Town Clerk
  • Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer

Others:

  • 5 member of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

225/24     MEETING PROTOCOL

The Mayor welcomed members of the public and outlined the protocols that needed to be followed in the conduct of the meeting.

226/24     APOLOGIES

Apologies were tabled from Town Councillors Holder, Holford, Hughes, Margarido and Pannett.

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Sandall, and RESOLVED that these apologies and the reasons for absence be received and accepted

The Council also received apologies from County Councillor Sudbury and District Councillor Barlow.

227/24     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No interests were declared.

228/24     MINUTES

It was proposed by Councillor Sandall, and seconded by Councillor Acreman, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the ordinary meeting of the Full Council held on 22 July 2024 and the Extraordinary meeting of the Full Council on 7 August 2024 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record

229/24     ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

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

The Council NOTED that the conservation work on the Wilding Andrew memorial cairn (approved in June 2024, Minute 99/24) had not yet been actioned because the ownership of the land and the asset was still being determined.  Neither belonged to the Town Council.  However, the Chairman explained that the ownership issues were being investigated by the Legal Department at Oxfordshire County Council.

230/24     MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor reported that he had been on holiday and involved in work training since the last meeting, but thanked those that had stepped in, particularly the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Holder, Councillor Charter, and the Locum Town Clerk.

231/24     TOWN CLERK’S REPORT

The Council received the Town Clerk’s Report which contained updates on events within the town, the feasibility review of options for The Regal which was underway and grant news.

232/24     COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

The Council received written reports from County Councillor Sudbury and District Councillor Keats-Rohan.

233/24     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

A member of the public addressed the Council on two matters regarding the 80th anniversary of the Wilding Andrew flight.  See Minutes 229/24 and 241/24.

234/24     REVISED NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

The Council received an update from the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group concerning the need for a referendum following the extensive work to revise the existing plan.

It was proposed by Councillor Harris, and seconded by Councillor Ebrahimjee, and RESOLVED that the Revised Neighbourhood Plan be submitted for examination and to a referendum.

The Council once again expressed thanks to the members of the Working Group.

235/24     CHRISTMAS MARKET

The Council considered a proposed service level agreement with The Artisan Uprising to run a market as part of the Christmas Fayre to ensure that the 2024 event went ahead successfully.

The Chairman gave a brief history of the Town Council’s involvement in the Christmas Fayre.  The historic commitment had been limited to the Christmas lights – which had been considerably extended over the past two years – and the Christmas tree in the Market Place.

It was proposed by Councillor Sandall, and seconded by Councillor Charter, and RESOLVED that the service level agreement for a market for the 2024 event be approved

236/24     COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY (CIL) APPLICATION – ST MARY-LE-MORE

The Council considered a request from the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Mary-le-More for the Town Council to support their application to the District Council for a CIL grant.  Members recognised that St Mary’s was used for many non-religious community activities.

It was proposed by Councillor Charter, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the Council’s support be given for this application to the District Council

The Council wished record that it would consider similar requests by other churches in Wallingford.

The Council had not yet determined their own priorities for CIL monies.

237/24     VOLUNTEER POLICY

The Council considered a proposed policy relating to volunteers.

It was proposed by Councillor M Hoskins, and seconded by Councillor Lester, and RESOLVED that the volunteer policy be approved, subject minor changes including an amplification of the references to data

238/24     9 ST MARTIN’S LEASE

The Council considered a proposed lease of 9 St Martin’s Street to TRAIN which had been prepared and reviewed by solicitors engaged by both parties.

It was proposed Councillor Sandall, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the lease be signed and affixed with the seal of the Town Council

239/24     WORKING GROUPS

The Council considered the institution and operation of council-owned groups classified as ‘working groups’ in the light of new guidance by the Locum Town Clerk.

‘Working groups’ were typically short-term, ‘task and finish’ groups which researched and examined options and made recommendations to their parent body, be that the Full Council or a committee or sub-committee.  They were unable to make decisions.

Their membership needed to comprise an odd number of councillors (a minimum of three) and could include non-councillors such as local stakeholders, experts and officers.  Non-councillors however could not vote.  Memberships needed to be approved by the Full Council and GDPR forms signed by non-councillors.

The chair/convenor was responsible for ensuring that agendas and meeting notes were created and supplied to the Town Council Office for storage.

An alternative to ‘working groups’ was ‘liaison councillors’ where an individual councillor was appointed to engage with local community groups and feedback to the Council on a specific issue.  The Locum Town Clerk would provide further detail on this option in due course.

It was proposed by Councillor Charter, and seconded by Councillor Sandall, and RESOLVED that the new policy on council-owned groups classified as council ‘working groups’ be approved

The Chairman requested that terms of reference and proposed memberships be provided to the Meetings Officer by the deadline for the next meeting of the Full Council.  Otherwise it would be assumed that there was no longer a need for that working group

It was proposed by Councillor Sandall, and seconded by Councillor Charter, and RESOLVED a working group to establish a Youth Council by July 2025 be approved comprising Councillors Beauchamp, Holford, Keats-Rohan, Margarido and Sandall (chair/convenor)

240/24     VARIATION OF AGENDA ORDER

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Acreman, and RESOLVED that Item 16(a), Royal Garden Party, be taken in closed session

241/24     CEREMONIAL ROBES

The Council considered whether ceremonial robes should be worn for the 80th anniversary service for Wilding Andrew on 8 September 2024.  This had apparently happened at the last significant anniversary in 2014.

It was proposed by Councillor J Hoskins, and seconded by Councillor Acreman, and RESOLVED that robes be worn by attending councillors at the Wilding Andrew service this year due to the significant anniversary

242/24     FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The following items were identified for future meetings:

  • Pedestrianisation of front area of Town Hall (Town Clerk and staff team leading)
  • Community emergency plan (The Mayor is leading)
  • The Regal (recurring item) (current stage: feasibility review of options) (Town Clerk and Head of Parks and Estates leading) (see Town Clerk’s Report for this month, Item 7)
  • IT contract, including training and policy regarding document repository (Town Clerk and staff team leading)
  • Honorary Freeman (proposed by Cllr Pannett)
  • Rental property portfolio management (Head of Parks and Estates leading)
  • Working Groups
  • Community transport scheme role (recommendation from the Personnel Committee)
243/24     EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It was proposed by Councillor Harris, and seconded by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted

 

The meeting ended at 8.56 pm.

Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 19 August 2024, signed as a correct record

 

Chairman

 

2024-08-19 FC minutes DRAFT PUBLIC