M I N U T E S  

Of the meeting of Lewes Town Council held on

Thursday, 21^st July 2011, in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Lewes at 7:30pm.

NB where a record of voting was requested, this is shown in the table appended to these Minutes.

PRESENT: Councillors:   S Catlin (Wischhusen); M Chartier (Deputy Mayor); J Daly; A Dean; I Eiloart; M Kent; P Kingham; D Lamport; L F Li; R Murray; S Murray; R O’Keeffe; A Price; R Rudkin; J Stockdale (Mayor);.
In attendance:   S Brigden (Town Clerk [TC]);  Mrs F Garth (Asst TC & Civic Officer); M Larkin (Mace Bearer); Mrs C Stocken (C’ttee Admin),
Observing:       Mrs J Dean (Receptionist/Administrator);  Ms V McLachlan (Finance Administration Officer); Miss J Sieber (work-experience trainee from the Council of Waldshut-Tiengen)
FC2011/32	The Chaplain, Rev Phillipp Hamilton-Manon, was unable to attend.
FC2011/33	QUESTION TIME:  Four members of the public were present.  No questions had been received, but the Mayor welcomed Mrs Maureen Messer, a former Mayor of Lewes, who had requested to speak regarding the decision made at the last meeting on the wearing of robes and traditional protocols at Council meetings. Mrs Messer voiced her strong disappointment at the decision to make the wearing of robes optional, and noted that the tradition had practical roots.  She spoke passionately on this matter and announced that other past Mayors and members of the public with whom she had spoken had declared their disappointment that the historic traditions of the Council of the ancient County town were being pushed aside for no apparent reason, and exhorted Members to focus upon working for the benefit of all residents in the town, not introspection. Asked whether public opinion was to be sought on this issue, the Mayor advised that the decision was to be reviewed by the Council in March 2012, and there were no plans to seek views from the public.
FC2011/34	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:  Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs J MacCleary, who had a family commitment; M Milner, a work commitment, and Dr M Turner, who was on holiday.
FC2011/35	MEMBERS’ DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:  There were none.
FC2011/36	MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS:  i]        The Council welcomed Miss Jacqueline Sieber, who was on a two-week work experience visit from the council of Lewes’ twin town of Waldshut-Tiengen. ii]      Members expressed their best wishes on Cllr Roger Murray’s birthday, that day.  iii]    The County association had, that afternoon, confirmed the Council’s accreditation as a Quality Parish  and provided an accreditation number, together with electronic versions of the “Q” logo for use in documents etc, and a protocol regarding its use.  A certificate was also to be issued and, following common practice, it was suggested that a small celebratory reception be held at which the President of the Surrey & Sussex Associations of Local Councils, the Earl of Lytton, would officially present this certificate to the Council.  These were often held for half an hour prior to a Council meeting.  This proposal was unanimously agreed. iv]    The forthcoming annual Bowls challenge match against the Lewes Bowling Green Society at the Castle bowls green had been changed to Saturday, 13th August, at 3pm and those Members who had accepted the challenge were asked to confirm their attendance to Mrs Garth. v]      A second public meeting regarding the site of the former St Anne’s school was to be held on Wednesday, 27th July 2011 at 7:30pm in the Town Hall Council Chamber.
FC2011/37	MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting held on 16th June 2011 were received and signed as an accurate record.
FC2011/38	WORKING PARTIES & OUTSIDE BODIES: Members were reminded that anyone who may have attended a meeting of any recognized outside body which had covered issues that deserved attention by the Council, should ensure that TC was aware of this before the meeting, and preferably before the agenda deadline.  Reports on all activities of the organization were not expected. i]    Current Working Parties and Remits: Members received report FC005/2011, which outlined the remits of committees, working parties and functional panels as at July 2011.  Following queries, the Town Clerk undertook to circulate by email a list of current appointments and confirmed that Cllr O’Keeffe was a member of the Finance Review Working Party.  Following a short discussion, it was resolved that: FC/2011/38.1  Report FC005/2011 is noted. (a copy of the report is in the minute book) ii]   St Anne’s Site Working Party 7th July 2011: The Minutes of this meeting were received and it was resolved that: FC/2011/38.2  Minutes of the St Anne’s Site Working Party meeting of 7th July 2011 are noted. (a copy of the report is in the minute book) iii]   Liaison meeting with Friends of Lewes 14th July 2011: The Minutes of the meeting (a copy of which is in the minute book) were received, and points arising from the discussions were highlighted.  Cllr Chartier briefly outlined the background to these liaison meetings and proposed that the Town Council should commit to the proposals arising, especially:        Item 2 interpretive plaques for historic buildings (although he suggested that perhaps this programme might be reconsidered at a later date, to ensure that appropriate exclusivity was reserved for only the most important buildings);        Item 3 refurbishment of the White Lion sign; it had been decided to wait no longer than a further six months for voluntary assistance in removing the sign, before accepting that cost would be incurred.        Item 6 Replacement of the chairs in the Lecture Room.  It was noted that this was an item that should be accorded priority by the Budget Working Party        Cllr Daly advised that the whereabouts of the missing parts of the “Russian Memorial” at St John’s sub-Castro Church (item 4) were known to him. Following a short discussion, it was resolved that: FC/2011/38.3  Lewes Town Council agrees the schedule of seven interpretive plaques for historic buildings, as listed and attached to the agenda for this meeting (a copy of which in the Minute book), at an estimated cost of approximately £1,300; to be funded from the earmarked reserve fund designated for that purpose (Reference P2; available balance £900), and drawing any additional requirement from the General Fund.
FC2011/39	CONSULTATIONS: The following consultations were all public surveys and Councillors could respond individually if they wished.  A corporate response would also be welcomed by the organizations concerned, and therefore a “progress chaser” for each was sought, to collect responses from colleagues and forward to TC for collation/editing. a)     Stanley Turner Ground:  Concern was voiced that the consultation was biased towards the Rugby Club whereas there were many other organizations using the Stanley Turner site which was held in trust and managed by Lewes District Council.  It was confirmed that the initiative by the Rugby Club was the latest in a series of plans to take-over the running of the Stanley Turner ground, stretching back over more than twenty years.  Concern was also expressed that the consultation was not more widespread throughout the town as the land had been gifted to the Town.  Some councillors were unaware of it.         Cllr Eiloart undertook to act as “progress chaser” for this consultation with a deadline of 29th July 2011 for any responses to be forwarded to TC.  The public consultation period had already passed, although further time had been agreed for the Town Council to respond. b)     East Sussex County Council – Phoenix Centre: Cllr O’Keeffe volunteered to collect responses from colleagues for this item with a deadline of return to TC by 23rd September 2011 to enable a corporate response to be submitted by the County Council’s deadline. c)     East and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services – potential merger: Cllrs O’Keeffe and S Murray were nominated to attend a meeting being held for stakeholder organizations in Maresfield on Monday, 12th September 2011.  Cllr S Murray volunteered to collect consultation responses with a deadline for return to TC of  23rd September 2011.
FC2011/40	YouthBank East Sussex GRANT INITIATIVE:  Councillors discussed a motion (NOM010/2011) (a copy is in the Minute Book) proposing that the Town Council supports development of a scheme whereby a local youth forum would be established in Lewes and given funds, from which to distribute small financial grants to applicants from their own age group.  The scheme would operate under the auspices of the East Sussex YouthBank (East Sussex County Council).  Cllr Murray emphasized the benefits that would flow from such a scheme to both the young people involved and their communities.  Following a short debate it was resolved that FC/2011/40.1 Lewes Town Council allocates the sum of £4,000 for the current financial year, to be funded from the General Fund balance, for disbursement by a Youth panel to be set up and administered by YouthBank East Sussex in collaboration with Lewes Town Council’s Grants Panel. FC/2011/40.2 A Working Party* is set up to agree details of operation of the scheme in Lewes and report back to Council with recommendations before final agreement to the initiative. *It was agreed that Cllrs Catlin (Wischusen); Chartier, Daly, Kent, Kingham, R Murray, S Murray, O’Keeffe, be nominated to the Working Party, to be chaired by Cllr R Murray in his capacity as Lead Member for Youth & Community matters.
FC2011/41	PELLS WILDFOWL NOTICE: A motion was presented (NOM011/2011) (a copy is in the Minute Book) proposing agreement to the installation of informative signage, at The Pells, offering advice on the feeding of wildfowl.  The proposed artwork was available for Members’ comments, and these were favourable. Following a short debate regarding the design of the sign it was resolved that FC/2011/41.1 Lewes Town Council agrees the graphic design proposals for signage at the Pells, as presented to the meeting, regarding appropriate feeding of wildfowl. FC/2011/41.2 A sum of £700 be agreed for the purchase and installation of an oak lectern-style board carrying replaceable illustrations, to be funded from the financial reserve earmarked for environmental enhancements at the Pell Lake (Ref R8 – available balance 2011/12 £11,929).
FC2011/42	AWARD SCHEME for COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE: A motion (NOM012/2011) (a copy is in the Minute Book) proposed that a working party be set up to consider the creation of a civic awards scheme, whereby a small number of individuals or organizations who had contributed something notable within the community, be honoured.  The working party would report to the September meeting of the Council if possible, to allow implementation for early 2012.  It was noted that a similar scheme existed under the auspices of the local Rotary charity, and care should be taken not to conflict with this.  There was general agreement that any LTC scheme should require “significant” merit to be eligible. Following a short debate it was resolved that  FC/2011/42.1 The Town Council resolves to set up a working party* to consider the case for establishing an annual “Lewes Awards for Community Enterprise (LACE)” Scheme to recognize the contribution of individuals or organizations to the life of the Town and to report back to the September meeting of the Council with recommendations and a draft scheme, with a view to announcing the first awards in March 2012 and presenting the awards at the Annual Town Meeting.  The working party should review schemes in place elsewhere and recommend a scheme for Lewes, together with a timetable for implementation. *Later agreed to comprise: Cllrs Kingham; Lamport; Murray (S); O’Keeffe; Price; Stockdale; Turner
FC2011/43	UPDATE ON MATTERS IN PROGRESS:  Members were advised of the following:- Members were advised: a)      New Internal Auditor: A suitable auditor has been identified and would be meeting with the Town Clerk by the end of August.  A recommendation would be brought to a future meeting of the Council. b)      Paddock Road Wall: A design was underway for two sections, one of which had collapsed and the other was dangerously unstable, and agreement had been reached with Lewes District Council to use the services of their engineer, Mr Gordon Stevenson, “at cost”.  Conservation Area Consent was required for any works to all intact sections and this was in-process. c)       Malling Community Centre: The Malling Community Association open day at the Centre was considered very successful, with new volunteers being recruited and new members signed to the association. The public questionnaire had been distributed in the area, and 198 hard-copy and 68 on-line responses had been received and were awaiting analysis.  A further liaison panel meeting, with the executive of the Community Association, would be convened following completion of that analysis. d)       Members Allowances:  Members allowances were to be paid during the following week for those Members who had not waived their entitlement.
FC2011/44	NOTICE OF ITEMS IN PROSPECT: Members were advised of the following events:- a)       An agenda item in the near future would be the appointment of an Internal Auditor. b)      The Traffic Issues Working Party was scheduled to meet in the Yarrow Room at 11:30am on Tuesday 26th July. c)       The Finance Working Party was scheduled to meet in the Yarrow Room at 4:00pm on Wednesday 27th July. d)      The Planning Committee would next meet on Tuesday 26th July and Tuesday 16th August, at 7pm in the Yarrow Room; e)       The next two Councillors’ drop-in surgeries were scheduled for Mondays 8th August. And 12th September.  Cllr R Murray would attend 8th August, and Cllr Dean the 12th September, with Cllr O’Keeffe attending both if possible. f)        The next Council meeting would be at 7:30pm, on Thursday 1st September, in the Council Chamber; and the deadline for agenda items to reach TC was noon on Monday 22nd August. NB Members were reminded that if they had attended meetings of any recognized outside bodies which had covered issues that deserved attention by Council, they should ensure that the Town Clerk was aware of this before the meeting; preferably before the agenda deadline.
There being no further business the Mayor closed the meeting and invited all present to join him in the Mayor’s Parlour for light refreshments.
The meeting ended at 9:00pm