-

Present

Members:

  • Cllr Mike Acreman
  • Cllr Steve Beatty
  • Cllr Dan Beauchamp (The Mayor/Chairman)
  • Cllr Ailsa Charter
  • Cllr Mahmood Ebrahimjee
  • Cllr Paul Gibbon
  • Cllr Marcus Harris
  • Cllr Susan Hendrie
  • Cllr Jacki Hoskins (except Minutes 236/23 and 245/23)
  • Cllr Mark Hoskins (except Minutes 236/23 and 245/23)
  • Cllr Nigel Hughes
  • Town & District Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan
  • Cllr Diana Margarido

Officers:         

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

Others:          

  • District Councillor James Barlow
  • 2 representatives of RAF Benson, Station Commander Group Captain Christian Royston-Airey and Flight Lieutenant Paul Hutton
  • 1 member of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

217/23     MEETING PROTOCOL

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

218/23     APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Town Councillors Holder, Holford and Lester, and County Councillor Sudbury.

219/23     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllrs J and M Hoskins declared interests in two items, minuted as 236/23 and 245/23 respectively below.

220/23     MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor reported on his recent visit to the twinned town of Luxueil-les-Bains with Councillor M. Hoskins and that work to repair the steps on Wallingford Bridge had finally been started.

The Mayor presented Councillor Harris with the framed engrossment recognising his service as Mayor for the Municipal Years of 2021-22 and 2022-23.

221/23     MINUTES

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 24 July 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

222/23     ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

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

A meeting to develop the public consultation for the proposed pedestrianisation of the front area of the Town Hall, was shortly to be held.

223/23     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

No members of the public chose to speak.

224/23     COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

District Councillors Barlow and Keats-Rohan gave brief updates on topical SODC (South Oxfordshire District Council) matters relating to Wallingford, including the current work on the next iteration of the Joint Local Plan (South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse), the development of SODC’s Strategic Plan for the period 2025-2029, a County Council-led public consultation on transport, a District Councillors’ local ‘meet and greet’ for residents and consultation with residents of Highcroft on a new public art installation.

County Councillor Sudbury was unable to attend the meeting, but had submitted some comments on the adoption of a 20 mph speed limit across Wallingford.  The District Councillors had also discussed this with Councillor Sudbury.  This would be discussed at the next meeting of the Full Council on 25 September 2023.

225/23     STRATEGY

The Council received a revised version of the ambition statements for the strategic document ‘Vision for Wallingford’.  This incorporated recent feedback and used a more collaborative tone of voice.  A further public consultation meeting was planned for 27 September 2023 using the Town Hall and there was also the likelihood of an online survey.

The document was aligned to the Wallingford Neighbourhood Plan which was currently being revised by the Town Council’s Working Group.

226/23     RAF BENSON

The Station Commander of RAF Benson, Group Captain Christian Royston-Airey, addressed the meeting, updating the Council on the activities of RAF Benson where 1600 service personnel and 2500 dependants were based.  The work included training operations and assignments in Brunei and Cyprus.

The base contributed significantly to the local economy.  At the same time, the Group Captain recognised the concerns of residents regarding low flying and night-flying, the latter happening inevitably later during the summer months; and he explained mitigation action to minimise the nuisance for local people, including the narrow flight corridors and other restrictions.

In answer to questions, the Group Captain described the significant and costly damage that could be caused to a helicopter by a bird strike involving the growing numbers of red kites in the local area and offered support to local parish councils, including Cholsey and Wallingford, who were actively discouraging residents from feeding the birds.

Members thanked Group Captain Royston-Airey for his service, and that of his fellow service personnel at the base.

227/23     BANNERS

The meeting considered a request by a member of the public for the Town Council to develop and make available banners for loan to local organisations.

The Council expressed support in principle for the loan of generic materials that could add colour to local events, but had reservations about the development of specialist banners (as envisaged in the request) that were likely to have limited use.

It was proposed by Councillor M. Hoskins, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that local groups be encouraged to apply for Section 137 funding if they wished to develop specialist banners and that the Tourism and Economic Development Committee consider further the loan of generic material and equipment for events organised by local groups, including the development of additional generic banners highlighting events

228/23     SPEEDING

The Full Council received an interim report from the Community Speedwatch Group which showed that speed limits were being regularly exceeded in several trouble-spots.

A full report on the results for July and August 2023 would be presented to the Full Council at their meeting in September.  Already a speed of 54 mph had been recorded in a 30 mph area, and the volunteers were receiving verbal abuse from some offending drivers.

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes, and seconded by Councillor Charter, and RESOLVED that the Town Council issue a public statement calling for civility and respect in the context of the Community Speedwatch’s work

229/23     WINTERBROOK MEADOWS, PARK

The Council considered the possible adoption of the “play park” within the new Winterbrook Meadows (Site E) housing development.  This would come to the Council at some point in the future as part of a Section 106 agreement.  The Council’s view was that adoption would be dependent on the necessary funds being provided to cover the costs of at least the early years of management.

230/23     THE TOWN HALL

The Town Clerk outlined the process that would need to be followed to apply for a Public Works Loan for the conservation of the Town Hall.  The process was longer than had originally been thought and planning permission would also be required.  There would need to be extensive pre-application consultations with the conservation team at South Oxfordshire District Council.

The next steps were for the Town Clerk to meet with neighbouring Town Clerks where they had recently secured or applied for a loan.  Progress depended on a full report from one of the four conservation architects who had expressed an interest in the project; funds had already been agreed for this.

231/23     TWINNING

It was proposed by Councillor Harris, and seconded by Councillor Hughes, and RESOLVED that the Town Council’s seal be applied to a letter of thanks to the Mayor of Luxeuil-les-Bains following the recent visit to France by the Mayor and Councillor M Hoskins

232/23     FLAG SCHEDULE

It was proposed by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and seconded by Councillor Margarido, and RESOLVED that the Luxeuil-les-Bain flag, which has been gifted to the Town Council, be flown on the twinning day, instead of the “tricolore”

233/23     RAFT RACE

The Council considered the funding for a Town Council raft which was being entered as part of the revived Town Raft Race.  The race was being now organised by the OX10 Community Group.

It was proposed by Councillor J. Hoskins, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the costs be met through donations from Members rather than from public funds, that a Town Council flag be used on the raft and that a broader discussion be held at a later date on what councillor activities can and cannot be funded in the way of engagement activity

234/23     INFORMATION BOARDS

It was proposed by Councillor Charter, and seconded by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and RESOLVED that confirmation be recorded of the receipt of £19,750 of Section 106 funding towards new artistic information boards in Wallingford and that assurance is given that the District Council’s conditions will be fully met

235/23     REMEMBRANCE MONTH

The Chairman explained that this item would now be considered at the next meeting.

Councillors J and M Hoskins declared an interest in the following item and left the meeting.

236/23     BILL SCHEDULE – JUNE 2023

It was proposed by Councillor Keats-Rohan, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the bill schedule for June 2023 be approved

Councillors J and M Hoskins re-joined the meeting.

237/23     COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY (CIL)

The meeting considered the process for allocating CIL monies for Town Council projects.

The Council confirmed that it would expect Town Council Working Groups to bring forward applications and that the same documentation would be expected as for an external group.

This topic was likely to need further discussion.

238/23     POLICIES

The Council considered the draft Media Relations and Social Media Policy.

Approval of the policy would be deferred to the September meeting of the Full Council pending further consideration of the extent of freedoms of individual councillors to post their own views on private and Council-owned social media accounts, as opposed to when Members were representing the Town Council as a corporate body on a particular initiative.

239/23     FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The following items were identified for future meetings:

  • Condition of Wallingford’s road (further update) (September 2023)
  • A presentation by the Wallingford Food Bank (October 2023)
  • A presentation by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau
  • Pedestrianisation of front area of Town Hall (on completion of public consultation)
  • Curfew Bell event review (once it has been considered by the Tourism and Economic Development Committee on 11 September 2023)
  • Community Emergency Plan (included in the Actions Log)
  • Red kites – nuisance issues (being discussed Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee on 4 September 2023 first)
  • Horse chestnut tree, Coach and Horses, Kinecroft – final decision (October 2023)
  • Tree portfolio (September 2023) (requested by Councillor Holder)
  • IT – replacing the server in the Town Council Office (September or October 2023)
  • Town Hall conservation project – agree next steps, following meeting with neighbouring Town Clerks
  • The Regal – following meeting of the Working Group in August 2023
  • Media Relations and Social Media Policy
  • Community Transport Scheme (Cllr M. Hoskins leading)
  • Community Speedwatch – results for July and August 2023
  • Remembrance Month (Cllr Beatty leading)
  • Broader discussion of what councillor engagement activities can/cannot be funded from public money
  • Neighbourhood Plan
  • Adoption of 20 mph speed limit across the town

240/23     EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes and seconded by Councillor Margarido, 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 9.42 pm

Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 21 August 2023, signed as a correct record

 

Chairman

 

 

2023-08-21 FC minutes DRAFT PUBLIC