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Present

Members       

  • Cllr Dan Beauchamp
  • Cllr Giles Cattermole
  • Cllr Marcus Harris (The Mayor) (Chairman)
  • Cllr Steve Holder
  • Cllr Nigel Hughes
  • Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan
  • Cllr Michael Kidley
  • Cllr Rosslyn Lester
  • Cllr Deborah Whelan

Officers

  • Michelle Taylor, Town Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer
  • Jennifer Green, Community, Business and Tourism Development Officer
  • Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer

Others

  • District Councillors George Levy, Sue Roberts and Jo Robb (SODC Thames Champion
  • Stephen Haywood, Thames21
  • Harriet Preedy, Senior Youth Worker, Oxfordshire County Council
  • 6 members of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

327/22     MEETING PROTOCOL

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, including those watching online as part of a test audience for the pilot ‘livestreaming’ of the meeting, and advised those present of the meeting protocols that would be followed.

328/22     APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors Beatty, Gibbon, Hendrie and Holford.

Councillors McGregor, Newcombe and Sinkinson did not attend.

329/22     DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

No interests were declared at this point in the meeting.

330/22     MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor reported on recent mayoral activity, including the selection of a Christmas tree for the Market Place and the trial broadcasting of Full Council meetings.

331/22     MINUTES

There was discussion around the accuracy of Minute 286/22 relating to the application for clean water bathing status at Wallingford beach.

It was proposed by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and seconded by Councillor Holder, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 26 September 2022 be approved as a correct record and the Chairman is authorised to sign them.

Councillors Harris, Holder, Keats-Rohan and Kidley voted in favour.

Councillors Beauchamp, Hughes and Lester abstained because they had not been present at the meeting,

Councillors Cattermole and Whelan voted against the approval of the minutes as a correct record.

332/22     ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING

The Council reviewed progress on the actions agreed at the last meeting and ‘open’ actions from previous meetings.

333/22     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr John Atkins, Chairman of Wallingford Sports Park, thanked the Town Council for their recent support in securing funding for the installation of LED lights at the sports ground.  He requested further support for an application to install a solar panel/battery.

Another member of the public indicated that he wished to speak on the County Council’s proposal for bus stops on the Reading Road which was a later agenda item.

334/22     COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

District Councillor Sue Roberts reported that there had been some recent confusion between the District and Town Councils on two matters: the application to the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for clean bathing water status and the Radnor Road open space improvements.

District Councillor Levy reported on the Radnor Road open space improvements, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies and the enforcement of parking charges at Goldsmith’s Lane Car Park, and also referred to the application for clean bathing water status.

Councillor Beauchamp restated the Town Council’s opposition to some of the car parking changes being introduced by the District Council, including charging on Sundays.

District Councillor Levy was thanked for his work and perseverance on the Radnor Road open space improvements.

335/22     TARGETED YOUTH WORK IN WALLINGFORD

Ms Harriet Preedy, Senior Youth Worker for Oxfordshire County Council, presented on her team’s recent targeted work in Wallingford, including with local schools, and highlighted the lack of provision for young people in Wallingford.  She praised the Town Council’s recent commitment to develop a programme of activities for young people for the summer of 2023.

336/22     RIVERSIDE – CLEAN BATHING WATER STATUS

Mr Steve Haywood of the charity Thames21 spoke on the survey work that his organisation and others had completed on the local stretch of the Thames and advocated a merged and unified application to Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).  He circulated a proposed and draft merged document and data appendix and highlighted the urgency of joint work given the imminent deadline of 31 October 2022.

District Councillor Jo Robb, SODC’s Thames Champion, also spoke on the desirability of a single application backed by SODC, the Town Council and other parties.  She made clear that SODC would not support the approach of agreeing a letter to cover two separate applications.

Councillors Cattermole and Whelan strongly objected to the proposal of a merged, single application being advocated by SODC and Thames21.

Referring to the Civility and Respect Pledge, to which the Town Council is a signatory, Councillor Holder described the language that Councillor Cattermole had used about others, including derogatory remarks about a named SODC Officer, as unacceptable and not in keeping with the expected standards of public office.  Councillor Holder apologised on behalf of Wallingford Town Council to the representatives of SODC who were present.

Councillor Cattermole left the meeting at 8.13 pm, stating that he believed that the Council was acting outside of its standing orders in trying to reverse a resolution it made in the previous six months.  This claim was contested.

Councillor Whelan left the meeting at 8.19 pm and the meeting then became inquorate and was consequently unable to make further resolutions and transact further business.

The meeting ended at 8.21 pm

 

Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 17 October 2022, signed as a correct record

 

 

Chairman

 

 

2022-10-17 FC minutes PUBLIC