AMPTHILL TOWN COUNCIL

REPORT OF PARKS AND OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE MEETING

held in the Council Chamber at the Council Offices, 66 Dunstable Street, Ampthill on

Wednesday 7^th April 2010 at 7.30 pm

Present: Cllrs Mrs M Wilson (Chairman), Mrs S Bacon, Mrs P Foster, P Eversley, Mrs P Foster, R Holden, G Pascal,  R Tebbutt, Mrs M Wright and the Clerk.

Report 05/2009

1. 1.                  To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr P Duckett (another commitment, R A D Chappell (unwell) and G Summerfield (another engagement at Central Bedfordshire Council).

1. 2.                  To receive and record declarations of personal interest

Cllr P Eversley declared an interest in the item concerning additional flower baskets as he is providing some for shop keepers himself.

1. 3.                  To receive and record declarations of prejudicial interest

There were no prejudicial interests declared.

1. 4.                  Period of Public Participation.

There were no requests to speak.

Matters arising from previous minutes for information and note only. (see Clerk’s Report)

1. 5.                  Ampthill Football Club meeting (see minute no 12)

            The meeting will be scheduled for Wednesday 9^th June 2010.

1. 6.                  To receive reports for the following meetings:

• Dog Walking Group meeting held on 29^th March 2010.
• Ampthill Park Management Advisory Group meeting of 15^th February 2010.

Recommended the reports be noted.

1. 7.                  To consider for approval any recommendations contained in the above reports.

Dog Walking Group  

After discussion it was:

Recommended that the Doggie Day Out event is allowed to be held at no charge subject to all conditions laid down for public events and hire of the Park being met. The event must remain cost neutral to the Town Council.

Ampthill Park Management Advisory Group

After discussion it was:

Recommended that Gary Quilter takes control of the agenda for this meeting after the one scheduled for 10^th May has taken place.

1. 8.                  To receive reports from the following organisations:

• Kings Arms Garden 2009.

A concern was raised that the Garden is not very well used and there are no signs advertising it.

• Coopers Hill Nature Reserve 2009

Recommended the reports be noted.

1. 9.                  To discuss the impact the Town Council’s resolution to hold back on any buildings will have on the Tractor Shed extension and for any new toilet block in the Park. The Tractor shed extension was primarily to meet the Town Council’s duty to employees under the Workplace (Health, Safety and welfare) Regulations 1992) A toilet block would be to reinstate public toilet facilities in the Park. Cllr R Tebbutt.

Cllr Tebbutt advised that his main concern was the lack of facilities the Park Staff are given and in his opinion it is imperative that the extension to the tractor shed with rest and washroom facilities is vital to meet the Town Council’s obligations to its staff.

The Clerk advised that at the moment Barry Wright has been told to stop any work on buildings in the park and he has not progressed any further than informal discussions with Planning Officers on the plans for the extension to the Tractor Shed.

Cllr Mrs M Wright declared a prejudicial interest as her husband is the architect. 

Cllr Holden advised that as the resolution taken at the Town Council meeting stated that all buildings should be halted, this Committee cannot place another recommendation to negate this resolution.

A suggestion was made that this matter is mentioned at the Extra Ordinary Town Council meeting to be held on 28^th April when the whole matter of a community hall and Town Council facilities are to be discussed.

It was then:

Recommended that an agenda item be placed for the meeting on 28^th to highlight the current projects on hold and the funds that would need to be earmarked. The plans for the extension to the Tractor Shed are to be displayed at the meeting.

1. 10.              To consider a review of the Corporate Community Strategy Plan relating to Parks, Burial Ground, Allotments and Open Spaces to identify progress and the issues the Parks Open Space and Burial Ground Committee should be focussing on during 2010/2011.

Cllr R Tebbutt.

Cllr Tebbutt advised that the Corporate Community Strategy plan needs evaluating and had prepared a sheet as appended to these minutes.

Recommended that Gary Quilter be asked to carry out the evaluation and to come back to the Committee with recommendations for future aims and objectives.

1. 11.              To consider as part of the above review asking the Park Development Manager and the Clerk to investigate the income and revenue costs of the Committees responsibilities including the apportioning of staff to be under different budget headings to show true refection of expenditure and running costs. Cllr R Tebbutt

The Clerk advised that she understood where Cllr Tebbutt was coming from however this would require a time and motion study for every park staff member to be carried out on a daily basis. This would increase ongoing workloads on both office and park staffs as the way in which the new payroll and new accounting system is set up means that salaries will not automatically be transferred over to the accounts package and manual journals will have to be made.

An alternative way forward is that each park staff member could have an approximate percentage transferred across at the end of six months to reflect time spent in service heads.

A lengthy discussion took place with the idea being thought to be too onerous on office staff’s time and a similar evaluation of jobs having already been carried out by Baikie Wood Consultancy Ltd a few years ago.

There was no further action recommended.

1. 12.              To consider a request from two shopkeepers to hire a further two flower baskets.

Cllr Eversley advised that he would be supplying five fresh flower baskets which will free up some of the replica baskets to be placed elsewhere in the Town Centre.

Allotments

1. 13.              To consider the jetting of the old pipe at Everitt’s Field allotment site.

Following the large amount of work necessary on the pipe work in Everitt’s Field allotment last year it would be prudent to keep other pipelines free of debris by regular jetting.

Recommended that Vicki Francis be asked to obtain a cost for the jetting that can then be considered at the Town Council meeting on 21^st April.

1. 14.              To carry out a review of allotment rents – Cllr R Tebbutt

Cllr Tebbutt provided Members with a list of comparative prices of allotment sites both in nearby towns and villages and in the Peterborough area ranging from £1 per pole here in Ampthill to £15 per pole in Naphill, the national average is £12 per pole.

Members discussed this matter and it was:

                        Recommended that:

Allotment Holders be advised in September 2011 that rents will rise to £2 per pole and £10 per 5 pole pitch in September 2012. The money will then be shown in 2013 as rents are paid in arrears.

1. 15.              Correspondence

• Play Ranger figures for February half term 14 children        5 adults. (cold and wet)
• CABE Space – Research Summary – Urban Green Nation: Building the evidence base.  * This item is available from the Clerk.
• Notice from Marcus Bellett Travis of Trees Project Ltd,

An E-mail has been received to advise that there is no immediate work necessary on the veteran trees after his recent visit to the Park.  He has also been given a grant to do research on oak decline and plans to do detailed surveying at the park for free this year, work will be started tomorrow.

1. 16.              “That in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted relating to staff and financial matters, it is advisable in the public interest that the public and press be temporarily excluded and that they are instructed to withdraw”
2. 17.              Park staffing matters.

This minute is appended for Members only.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.13pm.

CHAIRMAN                                                              DATED