Item 5a - newmarket.gov.uk · Item 5a Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held on Monday, 26th June 2017 Page 4 of 14 A point of order was made regarding the requirement for Cllrs

Item 5a

Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held on Monday, 26th

June 2017

Page 1 of 14

Minutes of the Meeting of the Newmarket Town Council

held on Monday 26th

June 2017 at 7.00 pm

at the Memorial Hall, High Street, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8JP

Attendance:

Councillor A Drummond (Town Mayor) Councillor P Hulbert

Councillor J Berry Councillor M Jefferys

Councillor J Clarke Councillor J Morrey

Councillor W Hirst Councillor R Nobbs

Councillor R Hood Councillor P Winter

Also Present: Hilary Gurner – Acting Town Clerk, Julie Ashton – Minute Assistant, Sara

Beckett – Assistant to Acting Town Clerk, Peter Cooper – LCS Ltd, Matthew Axton – West

Suffolk Environment & Environmental Health Officer, Noel Byrne – MD Bedford Lodge Hotel,

1 Member of the Press and 2 Members of the Public.

Minute

Action by

17/06/1 FIRE SAFETY BRIEFING AND ANNOUNCEMENT THAT

PROCEEDINGS MAY BE FILMED OR RECORDED

The Mayor opened the meeting and read out the Fire Safety Briefing and

the announcement that the meeting may be filmed or recorded.

17/06/2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – LGA 1972, Section 85(1) & (2)

Apologies were received from Cllrs Anderson, Hudson, O’Neill, Starkey,

Wadham and Wright. Cllr Appleby was absent.

17/06/3 DECLARATION OF MEMBER’S INTERESTS AND TO REMIND

COUNCILLORS OF THE NEED TO KEEP UP TO DATE THEIR

REGISTER OF MEMBER’S INTERESTS AND TO CONSIDER

ANY REQUESTS RECEIVED FOR MEMBERS DISPENSATION None noted.

17/06/4 TO RECEIVE AND CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE annual

TOWN COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 22ND

MAY

AND ANY MATTERS ARISING The Town Mayor presented the minutes of the Annual Town Council

meeting held on Monday 22nd

May 2017 and the following amendments

were made:

Page 2 – 17/05/5 – typo changed to read “signed”

Page 6 – 17/05/18.03 Resolved – Cllr Winter was removed from the list of

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members of the Leisure Services Committee

Subject to the amendments being made, the following was agreed:

17/06/4.01 Resolved

That the minutes of the Annual Town Council meeting held on

Monday 22td

May 2017 be adopted and signed as a correct record by

the Town Mayor.

There were no matters arising.

The Mayor proposed that item 33 be brought forward and the following

was agreed:

17/06/4.01 Resolved

That item 33 presentation on Air Quality Awareness be brought

forward.

17/06/5 PRESENTATION AIR QUALITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN BY

MATTHEW AXTON WS ENVIRONMENT & ENVIRONMENTAL

HEALTH OFFICER

Matthew gave a presentation on the air quality awareness campaign and

informed the Council that air pollution was on a downward trend partly

due to new vehicles with lower emissions. He had been contacted by

residents and Cllrs regarding concerns from idling taxi engines and

advised that FHDC had recently carried our enforcement action on taxi

drivers. They had also updated the taxi handbook to include the turning

off of engines when not in use. A letter had also been sent to emphasise

this policy. If residents see taxis with idling engines they should note the

licence number and report the incident to FHDC which would be

investigated. They were also looking to work with the BID Town Ranger

to gather local information on the issue.

The campaign was promoting electric cars which were cheaper to run and

do not require car tax and grants of up to £20,000 were available to

businesses to reduce carbon emissions. However on the down side there

was a limited range of electric car models with some not suitable for taxi

work and there was no rapid charge point in Newmarket at the moment.

Moving on, an electrical substation had been identified that would be

capable of providing a rapid charge for electric cars. However this

required funding of £30,000 to purchase a charging unit and for connection

but he was committed to taking this project forward. Other measures

included the re-design of the High Street for parking and bus stops and the

promotion of electric vehicles.

The Mayor thanked Matthew for the presentation and the following was

agreed:

17/06/5.01 Resolved

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That a vote of thanks be given to Matthew Axton for his work on

improving air quality in Newmarket and for his continued efforts.

17/06/6 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AN INVITATION TO MEMBERS OF

THE PUBLIC TO PUT QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS OF NOT

MORE THAN 3 MINUTES DURATION. NO RESOLUTIONS CAN

BE MADE BUT COUNCILLORS ARE VERY HAPPY FOR

MATTERS RELATING TO THE TOWN TO BE BROUGHT TO

THEIR ATTENTION

Noel Byrne spoke to item 23 regarding a request for funding to support a

Newmarket Festival Event that was being organised for mid-July. The

event had two objectives of increasing footfall in Town and to raise funds

to support local charities.

A resident spoke to an item that was not on the agenda regarding the

widening of Snailwell Road and other promised works. He advised that

residents had been pleased to have been consulted on this issue last year

but the last correspondence they had received was a letter dated 23rd

December 2016 from Cllr Millar, outlining the work to be completed.

Since then nothing had happened and there was no communication. He

advised that Cllr Millar had presented plans to the Transport Vision Group

but residents had not been invited.

The Mayor advised that Cllr Millar was the Chairman of the Newmarket

Transport and Cllr Hood agreed to speak with him and Suffolk Highways

in her capacity as a County Councillor.

Another resident spoke to item 34 regarding homelessness on the High

Street but noted that this had improved of late.

Two members of the Public left the meeting

The Mayor proposed that item 23 be brought forward and the following

was agreed:

17/06/6.01 Resolved

That item 23 be brought forward.

17/06/7 FUNDING REQUEST FROM NEWMARKET FESTIVAL

COMMITTEE

The Mayor proposed that the Council support the event with a grant of

£1,000 to support the marketing and promotion of the event and the

following was agreed:

17/06/7.01 Resolved

That a grant of £1,000 be given to support the marketing and

promotion of the Newmarket Festival Committee charity event to be

held in July 2017.

Noel thanked Members for their kind offer and left the meeting

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A point of order was made regarding the requirement for Cllrs to stand

when addressing full Council as per Standing Orders. The Mayor was

relaxed about the need to stand but it was put to the vote and the following

was agreed:

17/06/7.02 Resolved

That as per Standing Orders Members are required to stand when

addressing full Council.

17/06/8 TO CONSIDER AND ADOPT TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR

COUNCIL AND COMMITTEES

Members considered the Terms of Reference for Council and Committees

and the Mayor proposed that they be considered on block. The following

was agreed:

17/06/08.01 Resolved

That the Terms of Reference for Council be adopted.


That the Terms of Reference for the Community Services Committee

be adopted.

An amendment was proposed for the D&P Terms of Reference and the



That subject to amendments being made, the Terms of Reference for

the Development & Planning Committee be adopted.


That the Terms of Reference for the Leisure Services Committee be

adopted.


That the Terms of Reference for the Human Resources Committee be

adopted.


That the Terms of Reference for the Finance & Policy Committee be

adopted.

17/06/9 REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLORS

Cllr Hood advised that Cllr Millar was a Member of SCC Cabinet and was

in a better position to report on what was going on. However, she had

been receiving training and intended to produce a monthly report. She had

nothing further to add except to advise that a number of road

improvements had been carried out.

17/06/10 REPORT FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLORS

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None noted.

17/06/11 TO RECEIVE THE TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Mayor’s itinerary for May/June 2017 included the following:

31st May – Attended the NTC training day.

1st June – Sadly attended the funeral of Councillor Bill Sadler and

hosted a reception in the Memorial Hall which was well attended.

8th

June – Attended the Museum of the Year and hosted the judges

9th

June – Attended the “Ground Breaking” new hub for the Fire

and Police Station.

17/18th

June – Attended the Le Mans 24 hour race and met with

Ollie Jarvis at the driver’s parade and wished him good luck. Ollie

was placed 2nd

overall and 1st in the LMP2 class. Ollie is a local

lad from a Newmarket family and lived in Burwell. Well done

Ollie

17/06/12 TO RECEIVE THE REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FROM THE D&P COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD ON 5TH

AND

19TH

JUNE 2017

The Chairman of the Development & Planning Committee presented the

report and recommendations from the Development & Planning

Committee meetings held on 5th

and 19th

June 2017. There were no

recommendations.


FROM THE LEISURE SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETINGS

HELD ON 5TH

JUNE 2017

The Mayor presented the report and recommendations from the Leisure

Services Committee meeting held on 5th

June 2017.

17/06/13.01 Resolved (L/17/06/9.01 Recommendation)

That the Chairman confirms that the children’s entertainer holds

appropriate Liability insurance and a relevant CRB check.


That a booking system be set up for the Bill Tutte Memorial via the

Omega Booking System.


That the kind offer from Christine Pearce to run the tea dance be

accepted. That the Acting Town Clerk in consultation with the

Chairman be given delegated powers to agree the arrangements and

to reinstate the tea dance as soon as possible.


That Cllr Winter seeks confirmation that the bunting would be safe to

stay in place for another 3 months.

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That the Acting Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman be

given delegated powers to seek and accept a quote to repair the jet up

to the value of £500.00.


That Acting Town Clerk in consultation with the Cllr Morrey be given

delegated powers to seek quotes for an annual tree survey.


FROM THE COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING

HELD ON 12TH

JUNE 2017

The Mayor presented the report and recommendations from the

Community Services Committee meeting held on 12th

June 2017.

17/06/14.01 Resolved (C/17/06/8.01 Recommendation)

That subject to amendments being made, the terms of reference for

the Community Services Committee be received and adopted.

17/06/14.02 Resolved (C/17/04/10.01 Recommendation)

That the revised terms and conditions for the Cemetery charges and

Memorial benches be received and adopted. That the Exclusive Right

of Burial be reduced from 75 years to 50 years with immediate effect.

That the Charges be reviewed annually to bring all charges into line

with that of West Suffolk within 3 years.

17/06/14.03 (C/17/06/10.02 Recommendation)

That subject to confirmation, the quotes from Scripti for £950 and

£790 + VAT to archive all of the Newmarket Cemetery records be

accepted.


That the revised application form and policy for Memorial benches

around the Town be adopted.


That subject to the confirmation of the warranty and guarantee, the

quote from Allied for £3,396 to install a replacement boiler at the

Severals Pavilion be accepted.


That the budget saving of £27,607 for 2016/17 be carried forward to

the 2017/18 to cover the costs of the outside services agreement and

future projects.


That NTC purchase a replacement bench subject to the new terms and

conditions being agreed and that the bench be relocated.


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FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING

HELD ON 12TH

JUNE 2017

The Chairman of the Human Resources Committee presented the report

and recommendations from the Human Resources Committee meeting held

on 12th

June 2017.

17/06/15.01 (H/17/06/7.01 Recommendation)

That subject to amendments being made, the terms of reference for

the HR Committee be received and adopted.


That the following recommendations in the staffing review be

accepted:

1. That the overall staffing structure as set out in the report be

approved and adopted.

2. That the Town Council Manager establishes a Management

Team to include the Finance Manager and Events Manager and

that monthly team briefs be given to all staff be approved.

3. That the job descriptions/person specification for the Town

Council Manager (NTC 1) (Appendix 1)and conditions of service

set out in the report be approved.

4. That subject to Council adopting the overall staffing structure,

that the job descriptions/person specification for the Finance

Manager (NTC 2) (Appendix 2) and conditions of service set out

in the report be approved.


that the job descriptions/person specification for the Events

Manager (NTC 3) (Appendix 3) and conditions of service set out

in the report be approved.


that the job descriptions/person specification for the

Administrator (NTC 5) (Appendix 5) and conditions of service



that the job descriptions/person specification for the

Administrator (NTC 6) (Appendix 6) and conditions of service



that the job descriptions/person specification for the Town

Keeper (NTC 7) (Appendix 7) and conditions of service set out in

the report be approved.


that the job descriptions/person specification for the Caretaker

(NTC 8) (Appendix 8) and conditions of service set out in the

report be approved.

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10. That the arrangements for advertising posts be phased, phase 1

for posts NTC 1, NTC 2, NTC3, NTC5 and NTC 7. Phase 2 for

posts NTC 6 and NTC 8 as required.


That the revised Employee Handbook and Equality Policy Statement

(Appendix 1) be received and adopted.

It was noted that an interview panel would need to be set up comprising of

Members for the HR Committee and the aim would be to recommend

appointment to the posts at the full Council meeting in July.


FROM THE FINANCE & POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING

HELD ON 19TH

JUNE 2017

The Mayor presented the report and recommendations from the Finance &

Policy Committee meeting held on 19th

June 2017.

17/06/16.01 Resolved (F/17/06/7.01 Recommendation)

That subject to amendments being made, the Corporate Strategy be

adopted.

17/06/16.02 Resolved F/17/06/8.01 Recommendation)

That subject to amendments being made, the Terms of Reference for

the F&P Committee be adopted.


That subject to amendments being made, the Constitution for NTC be

adopted.


That the revised Publication Scheme be adopted.


That subject to amendments being made, the Information Guide be

adopted.


That subject to amendments being made, the Customer Care and

Complaints Policy be adopted.


That the Information and Data Protection Policy be adopted.

An amendment was proposed and the following was agreed:


That subject to amendments being made, the Volunteers Policy be

adopted.

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That the Vulnerable Adults Policy be adopted.

An amendment was proposed and the following was agreed:


That subject to amendments being made, the Quality Policy be

adopted.

All of the policies would be posted on the website for Cllrs and the Public

to access but paper copies would be provided in plastic wallets if

requested.

17/06/17 TO CONSIDER THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF PERIODS

1 AND 2 The income and expenditure for periods 1 (01/4/0217/ - 31/04/2017) and 2

(01/05/2017 – 30/05/2017) were considered and it was noted that there had

been some changes to the Ear Marked Reserves and the Acting Town

Clerk was asked to investigate and to report findings to the F&P

Committee. The following was agreed:


That subject to confirmation of the Ear Marked Reserves, the Income

and Expenditure for the periods 1 (01/04/2017 – 30/04/2017) and 2

(01/05/2017 – 31/05/2017) be received.

17/06/18 TO RECEIVE THE SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS FOR APPROVAL The schedule of payments for May 2017 were received and the following

was agreed:


That the schedule of payments for May 2017 be approved.

It was noted that the schedule of payments for April 2017 should also have

been presented and they would now go to the next F&P Committee

meeting.

17/06/19 TO CONSIDER A BUSINESS CONTINGENCY PLAN AND

EMERGENCY PLAN Members were advised that local councils had been asked to look at

Business Contingency and Emergency Plans following the Grenfell Tower

tragedy and a first phase on Civil Emergencies had been produced for

consideration. The second phase would involve the wider community and

would be developed over the coming months. The Emergency Planning

Officer would be happy to assist with the plan and to provide training.

The Business Contingency and Emergency Plans were considered and the



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That the Business Contingency and Emergency Plans be adopted.

17/06/20 TO CONSIDER A TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY Members were advised that funding would need to be found in the budget

for training for Cllrs and staff and that a training needs analysis would be

conducted via a questionnaire. The Training & Development Policy was

considered and the following was agreed:


That the Training & Development Policy be adopted.

17/06/21 TO CONSIDER THE 2016/17 INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT AND A

SUGGESTED RESPONSE. TO CONSIDER A RESPONSE TO THE

2015/16 INTERNAL AUDIT AND EXTERNAL AUDIT It was noted that the internal audit report had been more positive than that

of previous years and it acknowledged that the Council was moving

forward. The Action Plan was noted and the following was agreed:


That the 2016/17 Internal Audit Report and suggested response be

received. That the Action Plan be adopted.

17/06/21/.01 Resolved

That the response to both the 2015/16 External Audit and Internal

Audit reports be adopted.

17/06/22 TO COMPLETE THE ANNUAL RETURN FORM AND AGREE

THE STATEMENT OF GOVERNANCE (SECTION 1) The Acting Town Clerk read out the Statement of Governance questions

and responses for Section 1 and the following was agreed:


That the Statement of Governance (Section 1) be agreed.

The Mayor singed the Statement of Governance.

17/06/23 TO AGREE THE FINAL ACCOUNTS FOR 2016/17 AND SECTION

2 OF THE ANNUAL RETURN The final accounts for 2016/17 were received and it was noted that

Appendix A for Ear Marked Reserves was not available. The Acting

Town Clerk agreed to send this out to all Cllrs and the following was

agreed:


That subject to the receipt of Appendix A for Ear Marked Reserves,

the final accounts for 2016/17 be approved and that Section 2 of the

Annual Return be agreed.

The Mayor signed Section 2 of the Annual Return for 2016/2017.

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17/06/24 TO CONSIDER A CONTRIBUTION TO FOREST HEATH

DISTRICT COUNCIL TOWARD THE TOUR OF BRITAIN START Members considered the request from FHDC and some were against

supporting a larger Authority and that FHDC should be doing more to

support Newmarket within their district. A proposal was made to

contribute £2,000, a vote was taken and the following was agreed:


That subject to confirmation of available funds in the budget, NTC

contribute £2,000 to FHDC for the Tour of Britain Start in

Newmarket.

17/06/25 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON COUNCILLOR SURGERIES Members were advised that the next surgery would be held in the foyer of

the Memorial Hall on Saturday 2nd

September from 10:00 – 12:00 and

Members were invited to attend. A request for more advertising was

made.

17/06/26 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE WETHERBY RAIL

CROSSING Members were advised that Network Rail had welcomed the offer of using

the Memorial Hall for the next meeting and that Cllr Hulbert would be able

to speak at the meeting. A date for the next meeting was awaited.

17/06/27 TO RECEIVE REPORT(S) FROM TOWN COUNCILLORS

ELECTED AS REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES None noted.

17/06/28 WARD REPORT(S) FROM TOWN COUNCILLORS

Cllr Hulbert advised that service for No. 10A bus would be cancelled and

its services would be picked up by No. 12 every hour instead of every half

hour. He had requested a new time table but it was not yet available.

17/06/29 SUN LANE – CONCERNS REGARDING VEHICLE ACCESS

Members were advised that a meeting had been held with Guy Smith

regarding the closure of Palace Street to vehicles and it was noted that no

parking was allowed on Sun Lane. Any further comments on these issues

should be sent to Cllr Hood.

17/06/30 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM NNPSG

Members were advised that the following Members of the Group had been

elected:

Chairman - Cllr Hood

Vice Chairman – Cllr Jefferys

Secretary – Sara Beckett

17/06/31 TO APPROVE THE AMENDED TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR

THE NEWMARKET NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING

GROUP

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The amended Terms of Reference were received and the following was

agreed:


That the amended Terms of Reference for the Newmarket

Neighbourhood Plan be approved and adopted.

17/06/32 TO INVESTIGATE PROPOSED USE OF COACH HOUSE

PALACE STREET

Members were advised that the intention had always been to keep the

Coach House as part of the Museum and the Mayor would be meeting with

FHDC to discuss its future use by the community. Suggested uses

included, storage, a Tourist Information Centre and a Town Museum.

17/06/33 PALACE STREET AND RUTLAND HILL – TRANSPORT

MATTERS AND ASSOCIATED FUNDING

This item was debated in agenda item 29.

17/06/34 HOMELESS ON THE HIGH STREET – CLLR MILLAR TO

ADDRESS

Cllr Millar was not in attendance and the Mayor advised that FHDC had

taken full responsibility for homelessness in Newmarket. It was noted that

nothing had been done since the Mayor and Cllr Hood had tried to assist in

April and it was disappointing that months on, nothing had been achieved.

Rough sleepers had been using the Cemetery toilets, Scaltback School and

the bicycle sheds behind Barclays Bank. It was noted that they were now

being helped to find accommodation locally after rejecting offers to go to

areas outside of the Town.

17/06/35 TO CONSIDER CORRESPONDENCE

A thank you card from Cllr Janet Clerk for the reception following the

funeral of Cllr Bill Sadler.

A thank you letter from Rachel Wood – Music Festival

17/06/36 TO CONSIDER ESTIMATE FOR REMOVAL OF BUNTING AND

OLD LIGHTING SUPPORT WIRES

Members were advised that a request for the bunting to stay up for the

Carnival and Tour of Britain events had been received and that it would

make sense to delay taking it down along with the old support wires for the

Christmas lights. A new quote would be sought for all of the new and old

infrastructure work in the Autumn.

17/06/37 NEWMARKET FOOTBALL CLUB CAR PARKING

Members were advised Cllrs Hood and Morrey had met with the Football

Club who were willing to assist to resolve the parking issues including a

request to SCC to install double yellow lines.

17/06/38 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL

Monday 31st July 2017 at 7.00pm.

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17/06/39 ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA

Birdcage Walk – sleeping in parked vehicles

Homelessness on the High Street – Cllr Millar

Network Rail and the Wetherby Rail Crossing

17/06/40 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS & PUBLIC

With the vote being unanimous, it was:


To resolve that under the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act

1960, the public and press be excluded for the remainder of the

meeting because of the likely disclosure of private and confidential

information or staff matters.

The Press left the meeting.

17/06/41 TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE SERVICE LEVEL

AGREEMENT OF GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

The Mayor gave an update regarding the delay in signing the Service

Level Agreement and hoped that this would be signed by the end of the

week.

Members received an update on the number of job applicants for the

advertised posts. It was noted that there was not enough resource to cover

booked events and any new requests would need to be considered before

accepting them. Although this would impact on the revenue it was noted

that our reputation needed to be protected.

Earlier the Council had resolved the recommendation from the HR

Committee to do the recruitment in two phases but it was accepted that

there was now a need to recruit a Care Taker and Part Time 2nd

Assistant

and the following was agreed:


That all posts in the new staffing structure be recruited as soon as

possible including the posts for a Care Taker and 2nd

Administrator

and that agency staff be employed to cover booked events as and when

required.

Meeting closed at 9:38pm

Signed : __________________ Date : ____________________

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Documents

Item 5a - newmarket.gov.uk · Item 5a Minutes of the Town Council Meeting held on Monday, 26th June 2017 Page 4 of 14 A point of order was made regarding the requirement for Cllrs