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RAUNDS TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes: 11 February 2020 Time 7.30pm.

PRESENT:

Cllr R Levell (Chair), Cllr L Wilkes, Cllr R Tyman, Cllr H Howell, Cllr D

Hughes, Cllr B Tirebuck, Cllr S Hughes (arrived item 562.19)

IN ATTENDANCE

Miss Kate Houlihan, Town Clerk, Minutes

Mrs Joanne Coduri, Assistant to the Clerk

Members of Raunds Community Library Trust

547.19 Apologies for absence

Cllr R Beattie, Cllr J Duff, Cllr O Curtis, Cllr S Hughes was attending another meeting and would join the meeting as soon as possible. RESOLVED to note the apologies.

548.19 Notification of requests from members of the public to address the meeting in compliance with adopted protocol. NONE RECEIVED

549.19 Notification of members questions in compliance with the

council’s standing orders. NONE RECEIVED

550.19 Declarations of Interest.

COUNCILLORS ARE REMINDED THAT IF THEY HAVE EITHER A DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST OR OTHER INTEREST IN ANY ITEM THEN THEY SHOULD DECLARE THE INTEREST AND LEAVE THE MEETING FOR THAT ITEM

NONE RECEIVED

551.19 Minutes: to confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held 15 January 2020. RESOLVED that subject to amendments the minutes of the Council meeting held on 15 January 2020 be confirmed as a true record.

552.19 Committee report: To receive the report of the Environment Leisure and Recreation Committee held on 21 January 2020 Cllr Wilkes presented the minutes (forming the report) of the Environment Leisure and Recreation Committee held on 21 January 2020. Cllr Wilkes noted the dates for Spring Litter Pick on 21st March 2020 and the Autumn Litter Pick and Bulb planting 26th September 2020.

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Cllr Wilkes drew members attention to the funding bid to the Community Facilities Fund and noted that the cost of the footpath for the Community Orchard was viable and that a bid would be submitted to East Northamptonshire Council. The minutes were received, and the resolutions and recommendations duly considered. RESOLVED that the report be approved, and the resolutions, of the Environment Leisure and Recreation Committee held on 21 January 2020 be agreed.

553.19 Committee report: To receive the report of the Events Committee held on 29 January 2020 Cllr Howell presented the minutes (forming the report) of the Events Committee held on 29 January 2020. Cllr Howell particularly drew members attention to the great response from local organisations to being involved in VE Day. A working party would now move the project forward. The minutes were received, and the resolutions and recommendations duly considered. RESOLVED that the report be approved, and the resolutions, of the Events Committee held on 29 January 2020 be agreed

554.19 Committee Report: To receive the report of the Planning Committee held on 30 January 2020 Cllr Levell presented the minutes (forming the report) of the Planning Committee held on 30 January 2020. The Clerk outlined the presentation that had been received from the developers of the B8 distribution warehouses at Warth Park. The minutes were received, and the resolutions and recommendations duly considered. RESOLVED that the report be approved, and the resolutions, of the Personnel Committee held on 30 January 2020 be agreed.

555.19 District Councillors Report

Cllr Wathen gave his report... He noted that the proposal for B8 development off Brick Kiln Road did not differ greatly from the previous applications. In fact, overall the 2 smaller units offered more floor space. He noted that there were now of smaller units at the front of the site offering mixed employment uses.

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Cllr Wathen noted the planning application to convert Kingswood House care home to residential dwellings had been deferred and the developer was required to submit a viability assessment. Cllr Wathen drew members attention to the proposed traffic arrangements for the new development at the bottom of Brick Kiln Road and the proposed change in priorities with North Street. It was agreed that the Town Council would ask for a meeting with Highways to discuss the matter and to understand the proposals. Cllr Wathen and Cllr Howell also drew members attention to guidance that had been received by the Planning Management Committee at ENC following an appeal…

“Members are advised an appeal decision has just been received (dated 24.01.20, four houses allowed at The Willows, Thrapston) that may have a bearing on the application of policy to housing proposals. Based on the evidence presented at the appeal, the Inspector concluded that the Council was only able to demonstrate a 4.28-year housing supply. Where Council’s cannot demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply (5YHLS), its policies concerning the supply of housing are rendered out of date. We (East Northamptonshire Council) may find it difficult to resist some new applications for housing in open countryside where they are on the edges of settlements. Different considerations can also apply where there is an adopted Neighbourhood Plan (NP) younger than 2-years old. Paragraph 14 of the NPPF allows any relevant NP policies concerning the location of housing to predominate and lowers the 5YHLS to only 3 years. Whilst the impact of the appeal on decision making needs to be further examined by officers, as an interim measure Members are advised - on all housing proposals - they will need to consider…if this approach is relevant to the decision.” East Northamptonshire Council

Cllr Howell and Cllr Wathen advised that this could make it very difficult

to refuse some applications for new housing across the district that

otherwise would have been refused.

East Northamptonshire Council would consider the methodology used

by the planning inspector in calculating the 5YHLS

RESOLVED to note the report

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Cllr Greenwood-Smith gave his report

He explained that the Enterprise Centre was currently 8 days behind

schedule following the storms, but it was expected that the developer

would be able to catch up on the program. Cllr Greenwood- Smith said

that he would arrange for members of the Town Council to visit the

marketing suite which was now in place.

Cllr Greenwood Smith explained that all was quiet with licensing at the

current time, but that at the annual licensing conference it was

apparent that ENC were conforming to all requirements.

Cllr Greenwood-Smith congratulated those members of the Town

Council who had been selected as candidates for election to the new

unitary authority. He noted that Raunds would need a strong voice as

the larger towns of Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough will form part

of the Unitary.

RESOLVED to note the report

556.19 County Councillors Report Cllr Hughes gave his report, he noted that the transfers for the Stanwick Lakes hydro scheme were imminent. He advised members that NCC had proposed that they were able to make a balanced budget. RESOLVED to note the report.

557.19 Mayor’s Report:

Cllr Levell advised that January was a quiet month. What follows is a summary of my activities.

17 January Tea with achievers at St Peter’s CE School

I attended a tea with the key achievers from last term. This was held in the principal’s office, and six children attended.

25 January Mayor of Raunds charity Burns Night dinner *

This event attracted over 100 guests and raised £2,500 for Prostate Cancer UK and Parkinson’s UK. In addition to 40 chains and their consorts attending, more than 50 people from Raunds were present.

27 January Holocaust Memorial Service in Huntingdon

I was pleased to support the Chairman of Huntingdonshire District at this short service in Pathfinder House. Candles were lit and hymns were sung.

27 January Holocaust Memorial Service in Peterborough

I was pleased to support the Mayor of Peterborough at this service in the parish church in Cathedral Square. It included readings and personal testimony from about a dozen people, many of whom were young, and including a refugee from Syria. This was followed by the Mayor laying a wreath at the Holocaust memorial tablet in the church grounds. The proceedings were reported on by TV news on both the BBC and ITV.

* Occasion where I was joined by the Mayoress, Mrs Magdalena Levell

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Cllr Levell noted that when he attended the achiever’s tea at St Peter’s he was struck by how excited children always were to see the Mayor. Cllr Levell also noted that the Burns Night Dinner had raised over £2,500 and he thanked all who had attended or supported with donations and raffle prizes. RESOLVED to note the report.

558.19 Raunds Carnival: To receive a request from Raunds Action Group for the use of Amos Lawrence playing field on 18 July 2020. Members reviewed the application from Raunds Action Group for the use of Amos Lawrence playing field on 18 July 2020. It was noted that all was in order. RESOLVED to approve the application. RAG will be asked to notify the office if there are any changes to the attractions listed.

559.19 Saxon Hall Working Party: To receive a report from the Saxon Hall working party. The Clerk presented the report from the Saxon Hall Working Party as shown in Appendix 1. The Clerk explained that the Full Council had approved the appointment of PhP architects in July 2019. The working party had subsequently worked with the architect to define all the user requirements and this had been presented to council in September 2019. The architect had subsequently worked with a Quantity Surveyor (QS) to develop a cost plan, it was to be noted that these were estimates and included a 10% contingency. The total costs as estimated by the QS were £338,000 + fees against a budget of £257,000. The working party had considered:

• Should be removed from the plan in order to reduce costs.

• Should any additional costs be met from a public works loan. The working party recommended that all works should be carried out and that any additional costs met from the council’s own reserves, but that regard should be given to the proposed costs of certain items. Following discussion, it was…

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RESOLVED that: a) All works included in the cost plan are carried, although

regard should be given to the proposed cost and specification of the commercial kitchen

b) That any additional costs should be met from the council’s own reserves and not through a public works loan

c) That the Finance and Policy Committee be asked to consider how to meet the expenditure from the council’s reserves.

560.19 Library Working Party: To receive a report from the Library Working

Party The Clerk gave a verbal report on the working party meeting. NCC hadn’t supplied the draft lease to the council’s solicitors until late January so progress was hampered by this. However, the Town Councils solicitor has reviewed the lease and raised a number of points. In turn the Town Council’s working party has reviewed the lease along with our solicitor’s comments in detail. A number of technical queries have been fed back to NCC via our solicitor, for example elements of the lease contradict the agreed heads of terms (e.g. structural alterations) We are now waiting for NCC’s property department to respond to the queries and we aren’t able to progress until these matters have been resolved. The Clerk noted that having spoken to colleagues across the county other town/parish councils were experiencing similar difficulties. RESOLVED to suspend standing orders Members of Raunds Community Library Trust spoke of the frustration of volunteers with the process, RCLT said they hoped the process could be completed by the end of the financial year. Members of the council explained that they were trying to protect the interests of the library group so that they were able to raise funds and that the permitted use of the building allowed them to hold events and allow concessions within the building. Members of RCLT said they understood that they would be able to do this, the Clerk advised that that had been the impression given by library services, but this wasn’t reflected in the lease. RESOLVED to re-instate standing orders RESOLVED to note the report and await further information from our solicitors.

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561.19 Raunds Town Council Business Plan: To agree a format for the business plan progress report and to agree a timescale for distribution to every household. Members reviewed the report of the Clerk as shown in Appendix 2 and following discussion it was… RESOLVED that

a) The Clerk will provide each committee Chairman with a

summary of the objectives from the business plan which

relate to their committee.

b) Each committee Chairman will then be asked to produce a

summary of their committee’s activity over this council’s

term of office, with a focus on achievements against the

business plan. The report is to be submitted to the Clerk by

the end of the month.

c) Production of the committee report will be aided by referring

to previous year’s annual reports which the clerk will supply.

d) The newsletter will be designed by the same person who

designed the annual report

e) That it be delegated to the Clerk in conjunction with members

of the working party to prepare and approve the newsletter.

562.19 Raunds Goes Green: To approve the purchase of a water refill station to be located on the Market Square. Members reviewed the report of the Clerk as shown in Appendix 3 and following discussion it was… RESOLVED to install the water refill station at a cost of £2,545.00 for the unit and £500 for installation. The unit will be added to the open spaces checklists and checked regularly. :

563.19 Shop Front Grants: To consider the introduction of a grant scheme for

improvements to shop fronts in Raunds

Members reviewed the report of the Clerk as shown in Appendix 4 and

following discussion it was…

RESOLVED that it is approved in principle to develop a scheme

and that it be passed to the Finance and Policy Committee to

develop a policy and make a recommendation to the Full Council.

564.19 Town Council Car Parks: To consider the management of car parking

in Town Council car parks and in particular the management of parking

at the Town Hall.

Members considered the issue of un-authorised vehicles parking at the

Town Hall, particularly in the evenings and overnight. This contravened

the council’s parking policy and inconvenienced councillors, staff and

tenants.

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A discussion was held about how best to enforce this and the Clerk

advised that she was waiting for further information from the Councils

solicitors.

Following discussion, it was…

RESOLVED that a report would be presented to the Finance and

Policy Committee

565.19 Payment Lists: To receive the payment lists

Members reviewed the payment lists as shown in appendix 5 and

following discussion it was...

RESOLVED to note the payment lists

There being no further business the meeting concluded at 21:06

Approved: ....………….…......………………...…….…..….. (Town Mayor) Meeting date: .…....................10 March 2020……....................(Council)

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Appendix 1: Meeting Notes Saxon Hall Working Party - 4 February 2020

Present: Cllr Wilkes, Cllr Howell, K Houlihan (Clerk) 1.0 Background Raunds Town Council is in receipt of s106 funds for improvements to Saxon Hall. These monies must be spent on improving Saxon Hall, the grounds and the link from Saxon Hall to Brook Street. A working party has been formed to move the project forward. In July 2019 it was delegated to the Clerk in association with the working party to:

▪ appoint an architect to design the new entrance area, office and kitchen space and that the architects submit a planning application for all internal works.

▪ the working party prioritise other internal works as funding allows. ▪ In addition, it is recommended that a budget of £5,000 is delegated to the Clerk in

consultation with the working party to cover the cost of architect’s fees (including the appointment of principal designer), planning fees and initial estimates from a quantity surveyor.

The working party had subsequently recommended to the Full Council that pHp architects were appointed. Following their appointment pHp have begun work on defining all requirements and working with a quantity surveyor to develop a budget cost plan. 2.0 Summary of Reserves Held

Reserves Held

RPC (Saxon Hall) £16,792

West End £65,000.

Darsdale £131,000.

RTC Reserves £44,279

TOTAL £257,243

3.0 Preliminary Cost Plan pHp have now submitted a budget cost plan (attached) and the working party reviewed the cost plan at their meeting, along with the following additional notes from the architect.

• The costs are based on the works being carried out as a “single contract”, as this is the only way to include for Contractors Preliminaries, Overheads and Profits, as well as the actual costs of the work. There is also a standard “risk/contingency” indicated. You will see the actual “building costs” are shown as £243,402.00 but when you add on the Contractors Prelims, etc. and the “risk”, the final costs to carry out the works in one contract would be £338,693.88. They have allowed for the costs based on a 16 week contract period. You can see the building costs of each separate element in the Cost Plan but if carried out separately would need separate Contractors costs added.

• All cost shown are exclusive of VAT.

• Please note the Inclusions and Exclusions listed on page 4.

• All items costed in detail are as listed on our previous drawings and divided into various sections of work.

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• The External Works costs are included as a number of Provisional Sums as these areas of work are still a bit “unknown” but are based on the list on our previously issued drawings.

• Section 4 covers the costs of the “Options” i.e. replacing the existing timber external windows and doors with new polyester powder coated aluminium windows and doors and replacing the existing timber fascias, soffits, etc. with new maintenance free through coloured cement board (rather than repairing and redecorating the windows, doors, fascias, soffits, etc. as included in the main costs).

• We must stress that at this stage the Cost Plan is a ‘budget’ based on the preliminary/basic information issued to CS2 and the risk/on costs indicated are very much variable, until such time as details of the final scope of the work is determined.

It was noted that the total estimated costs of works including contingencies was £338,694.00 +fees against available reserves of £257,243. 4.0 Recommendations Members of the working party considered the following options:

• Should works be removed from the plan in order to reduce costs

• Should any additional costs be met from a public works loan

Following consideration, it was... RESOLVED to recommend to the Full Council that:

a) All works included in the cost plan are carried, although regard should be given

to the proposed cost and specification of the commercial kitchen

b) That any additional costs should be met from the council’s own reserves and

not through a public works loan

c) That the Finance and Policy Committee be asked to consider how to meet the

expenditure from the council’s reserves.

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Appendix 2:

Summary: Review of progress against Business Plan and production of newsletter for residents

1.0 2.0

Background. In November 2019 it was agreed that Raunds Town Council would begin work on reviewing and

refreshing the business plan.

It was noted that the Vision questionnaire will naturally form part of the development of the new

business plan.

It was also agreed that a newsletter would be sent to residents reporting on progress against the

business plan over the last five years.

Preparation of Newsletter

It was agreed that a working party of Cllr D Hughes, Cllr Howell, Cllr S Hughes, Cllr Wilkes, Cllr

Beck and Cllr Levell would be formed to review the business plan and draft the newsletter.

It is important that the newsletter is prepared and distributed as soon as possible, and the following

is therefore proposed as a basis for the newsletter:

a) The Clerk will provide each committee Chairman with a summary of the objectives from the

business plan which relate to their committee.

b) Each committee Chairman will then be asked to produce a summary of their committee’s

activity over this councils term of office, with a focus on achievements against the business

plan.

c) Production of the committee report will be aided by referring to previous year’s annual

reports which the clerk will supply.

d) The newsletter will be designed by the same person who designed the annual report

e) That it be delegated to the Clerk in conjunction with members of the working party to

prepare and approve the newsletter.

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Appendix 3:

Summary: A report on installation of Water refill station.

1.0 2.0 3.0

Background Raunds Town Council has agreed to launch a Raunds Goes Green initiative. A reserve of £12,000 has been created to fund green initiatives within the town. A working party was formed and the working party agreed that the project should be launched in 2020 and a series of initiatives should be included as part of the launch, this would include a launch event where the council distributed re-usable cups/water bottles and hessian bags and a water refill station on the market square. Although the launch date has not yet been agreed, infrastructure items such as the refill station and electric car charging points are being put in place. As part of the Raunds Goes Green project it was agreed that a water refill station be installed on the Square. Water refill Station There is a global move to reduce wate and in particular single use plastic. As part of the go green initiative Raunds Town Council plans to promote the use of reusable drinks bottles. To support this a water refill station is being installed in the town. The Square has been chosen as the first site for this, partly due to its central location, but also as a mains water supply is already available thus substantially reducing installation costs. Other councils have been contacted who have introduced similar initiatives and the following unit and company has been recommended: https://www.miw.co.uk/our-range/water-coolers/outdoor-drinking-fountains/endura-ii-tm-outdoor-tubular-bottle-filling-station-4400bf

Costs of installing a refill station Costs Cost of unit:£2,545.00 Cost of Installation: £500 Recommendations

a) The water refill station be purchased and installed

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Appendix 4:

Summary: A report on the introduction of a grant scheme for improvements to shop fronts in Raunds.

1.0 2.0 3.0

Background Raunds Town Council has set a budget to support economic regeneration within the Town. Initiatives such as the Saturday Market are included within this. It is now proposed to support local business premises through the introduction of a grant scheme for improvements to shop fronts. Rushden Town Council operates a similar scheme and details of their scheme are attached for information. Other considerations The Town Council will firstly need to consider if they wish to operate such a scheme and then consider the criteria for the scheme including:

• The amount of grant to be offered

• If match funding is required

• If the grant is only applicable to retail premises or all business premises

• The area that the grant applies to. E.g. the whole of the town, or the primary and secondary retail areas as defined in the Neighbourhood Plan.

Recommendations That the Town Council agree in principle to such a scheme and that the Finance and Policy Committee be asked to develop a policy on the operation of the scheme.

Appendix 5:

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