Minutes of a meeting of Stourport-on-Severn Town Council
Held on Tuesday 4 May 2021 6.00pm at Virtual Zoom meeting
Present
In the chair The Town Mayor - (Councillor D C Russell)
Councillors C Barnett, T Berry, B S Dawes, M C Freeman, J Griffiths, P Harrison, K Henderson, V Higgs, B Jones, D Little, R Lloyd, N Martin, C Rogers, D Sheppard, G M Talbot, J Thomas and H Williams.
Minutes
1. ELECTION OF THE TOWN MAYOR FOR THE YEAR 2021-22
a) Councillor D Little nominated Councillor D Russell to be appointed as the Town Mayor for 2021-22. Councillor K Henderson seconded the proposal and Councillor Russell was duly confirmed as Town Mayor.
b) Councillor Russell thanked Council for their support and confirmed his wife M Russell as Mayoress for the Mayoral Year 2021-22. He stated that his two charities would be Alzheimer’s Research UK and AMMF.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were no apologies for absence.
3. MINUTES
It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 9th March 2021 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
5. STATEMENT BY THE RETIRING MAYOR
Councillor Little proposed a vote of thanks to Councillor Henderson as retiring mayor and put on record that sincere gratitude should be given in what had been a very difficult year for Ken and his family but had carried on as Town Mayor. His daughter Julie had been the mayoress in memory of her mother and they were both thanked sincerely.
Councillor Henderson and his daughter were thanked by Councillors Higgs and Lloyd (on behalf of their parties) for the last two years in what had been an extremely difficult time and hoped he would continue to serve the community.
Councillor Henderson thanked Council for their comments, kindness and support in what had been an upsetting year and also to the Councillors that had stood in for him on mayoral duties. Despite all of this, a total of £4,000 had been raised for SARA and AMMF. In the year 2020/21, he had stood in as Mayor during the pandemic and although no events had been put on, he had managed to raise £2,500 for the AMMF.
Councillor Jones arrived at this point (6.12pm).
There was a round of applause for Councillor Henderson.
6. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY MAYOR FOR 2021-22
Councillor Henderson proposed Councillor Berry for Deputy Mayor, this was seconded by Councillor Little. Councillor Berry was duly confirmed as Deputy Mayor for the Mayoral Year 2021-22.
7. PAYMENT OF MAYORAL AND DEPUTY’S ALLOWANCES FOR 2021-22
It was resolved that no mayoral allowances would be paid for the first six months and be reviewed in November 2021.
8. MAYORS COMMUNICATIONS
The Mayor engagements were circulated and noted.
9 PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES OF 29TH MARCH AND 26TH APRIL 2021
The Chairman of the Planning Committee informed Council of the planning application recommendations to be made to the district council. The minutes of the meeting held on 29th March and 26th April 2021 were approved:
10. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO SERVE ON THE FOLLOWING OUTSIDE COMMITTEES
i) Parks Committee
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor D Little
Councillor R Lloyd
Councillor D Russell
Councillor G Talbot
ii) Grants Committee
Councillor K Henderson
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor N Martin
Councillor H Williams
iii) Finance Committee
The Mayor – Councillor D Russell
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor D Little
Councillor J Thomas
iv) Planning Committee
Councillor T Berry
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor D Little
Councillor R Lloyd
Appointment of Members to serve on the:-
(i) Town Centre Working Party
Councillor J Griffiths
Councillor D Little
Councillor D Sheppard
Councillor H Williams
ii) Appointments Panel
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor D Little
Councillor N Martin
Councillor C Rogers
iii) Civic Hall Partnership Group
Councillor J Griffiths
Councillor D Little
Councillor N Martin
iv) Stourport Forward Working Party
Councillor J Griffiths
Councillor N Martin
Councillor C Rogers
Councillor D Russell
Councillor D Sheppard
v) Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) Working Party
Councillor T Berry
Councillor J Griffiths
Councillor N Martin
Councillor D Russell
vi) Localism Working Party
Councillor T Berry
Councillor V Higgs
Councillor R Lloyd
Councillor H Williams
vii) COVID Working Party
Councillor C Barnett
Councillor B Dawes
Councillor J Griffiths
Councillor N Martin
11. AGREE THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO SERVE ON OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS
a) Stourport-on-Severn Civic Society - Councillor D Little
b) Areley Kings Village Hall Trust - Councillor B Jones and Councillor R Lloyd
c) The Church House Charitable Trust - Councillor K Henderson
d) Kidderminster and District Citizens´ Advice Bureau Management Committee - Councillor B Jones
e) Kidderminster and District Youth Trust - Councillor D Little
f) Wyre Forest District Youth Strategy Group - Councillor N Martin
g) Wilden Village Hall Management Committee - Councillor T Berry
h) Hartlebury Queen Elizabeth 1 Foundation (Appointment of Nominated Trustee) - Councillor H Williams
i) Elizabeth Mills Centre - The Mayor, Councillor D Russell and Councillor D Little
j) Stourport-on-Severn Carnival Society - Councillor D Little and Councillor N Martin
k) Stourport Forward (Now joint with Stourport Town Centre Forum) – Councillor C Rogers
l) Wyre Forest District Council Local Plans Review Panel - Councillor D Little and Councillor V Higgs
m) Worcestershire CALC (Area Meetings) – Councillor R Lloyd and Councillor H Williams
n) Worcestershire CALC Executive Committee - Councillor H Williams
12. TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS COMMENCEMENT TIME
A debated was held on the start time of future Council meetings. It was resolved that Council meetings would commence from 6.30pm.
13. DATES FOR THE 2021-22 TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS
It was resolved that the dates for the 2021-22 Town Council meetings would be as follows:
- Tuesday 8th June 2021
- Tuesday 13th July 2021
- Tuesday 7th September 2021
- Tuesday 5th October 2021
- Tuesday 9th November 2021
- Tuesday 7th December 2021
- Tuesday 11th January 2022
- Tuesday 8th February 2022
- Tuesday 8th March 2022
- Tuesday 12th April 2022
- Tuesday 10th May 2022
14. ANNUAL REVIEW OF STANDING ORDERS
It was resolved to adopt the Standing Orders.
15. UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR MRS B DAWES ON SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Councillor Dawes referred Members to the email that had been circulated earlier in the day which gave an update. She also stated that this information would be placed on the Town Council website.
16. UPDATE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE LOCALISM WORKING PARTY
The Chairman of the Localism Working Party updated Council as follows:
- The transfer of land at Lloyds Meadow and Foundry was almost complete.
- Waiting for completion on Britannia Gardens Play Area pending repairs to equipment.
- It was hoped that Stourport Community Centre would be handed to the Town Council once the lease expired on 10th June 2021.
- Agreement in principle had been agreed on the land at Elizabeth Mills Centre but details of the boundary wall were awaited.
- The Heads of Terms had been signed for the Riverside Paddling Pool.
The Chairman of the Localism Working Party, the Town Clerk and Staff were thanked for their work to date.
17. REINSTATEMENT OF THE TWINNING WORKING PARTY GROUP
It was resolved to put the Twinning Working Party Group on hold for three months.
18. WELCOME BACK FUND
The Town Clerk reported that a meeting had been arranged with Stourport Forward to ascertain whether they could work with the Town Council to obtain funding for Stourport. Council resolved that the Town Clerk should to go ahead with meetings.
18. ACCOUNTS
The Town Clerk reported that Accounts for March totalling £65,601.86 and April totalling £19,221.99 had been paid since the last meeting and it was RESOLVED that the report be noted and approved. A Schedule of the Accounts paid was appended at the end of these Minutes, in the Council’s Minute Book, and was available for general inspection.
19. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
None.
The meeting closed at 6.53pm