Minutes of a meeting of MINUTES OF A MEETING OF STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN TOWN COUNCIL

Held on TUESDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2023 6.30PM at HELD IN THE CORONERS COURT, CIVIC CENTRE, NEW STREET, STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN

Present

In the chair The Town Mayor Councillor M C Freeman

Councillors T Berry, E Burnip, B Dawes, J Griffiths, P Harrison, B Jones, D Little, R Lloyd, N Martin, D Morris, C Rogers, T I Schmeising-Barnes, A Sutton, J Thomas and H Williams

Minutes

49. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Henderson and I Schmeising-Barnes.

50. MINUTES

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 11th July 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

51. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Berry declared an Disclosure Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in Agenda Item No. 9 – Heritage Inland Port Status and was granted a dispensation. Councillor Rogers declared an Other Disclosure Interest (ODI) in Agenda Item No. 9 – Heritage Inland Port Status as he is a board member of Stourport Forward. Councillor Dawes declared an ODI in Agenda Item No. 9 – Heritage Inland Port Status as she is the Council’s representative for Stourport Forward. Councillor T Schmeising-Barnes declared an ODI in Agenda item No. 18 – Civic Hall Working Group as he is a trustee of The Civic Group.

52. MAYORS COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor engagements were circulated and noted.Culture, Leisure, Arts and Community SafetyCulture, Leisure, Arts and Community Safety

53. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

One member of the public attended the meeting and addressed Council as follows: “I have received a letter, as a local resident of Lickhill Lodge from FullFibre regarding proposed installation of poles. I would welcome your thoughts. There are a lot of comments on social media and I have not come across anyone who has accepted these proposals. It quite surprising me that no one else had been in contact with the Council to ask to speak. I have also received a letter and a flyer through my door to set up a protest group. There are also concerns on the beech trees on the Lickhill estate. Is it all about cost? Lickhill is a nice estate and I have uninterrupted view of Stagborough Hill, I don’t want the poles. Bromsgrove and Redditch have the same scenario but I don’t know the outcome of that?” Some Members replied that they were aware of the installation of poles and were looking into it. A presentation was made to the Council a couple of years ago. Councillor Morris was thanked for taking this on board. Members continued to say that from a highway perspective they would be on property owned by the Government and it was legal. It was also commented that the beech trees would not be affected and the district council were looking to preserve them. The public speaker was thanked for attending the meeting and left at 18.47pm.

54. MOTIONS SUBMITTED UNDER STANDING ORDERS

No motions had been received in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders.

55. VERBAL PRESENTATION FROM HANNAH ESCOTT ON THE NEW BURLISH BIKE PARK, STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN

Hannah Escott had sent her apologies for the meeting. It was agreed that this agenda item would be added to the agenda for the Council meting on 3rd October 2023.

56. PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES OF 1ST AUGUST AND 29TH AUGUST 2023

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 1st August and 29th August were approved.

57. VERBAL UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR T BERRY ON THE TOWN’S HERITAGE INLAND PORT STATUS

Councillor Berry updated Council as follows: A celebration would be held on Saturday 9th September 2023 between the hours of 10am and 5pm at the basins. The Mayor would be attendance at 12 noon. Once the weekend was over, the group would look to see how it would progress this forward and a report would be bought back to Council. In response to a Member question, it was reported that there was a lot of thought that needed to be put in to the future and possibly an opportunity to link up with the High Street Focus group and Bridge Street.

58. VERBAL UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR H WILLIAMS ON LOCALISM

Councillor Williams advised Council that final paperwork for Elizabeth Mills Centre was being actioned. He also reported that a meeting had been held with the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts and Community Safety and officers of Wyre Forest District Council to discuss localism. It had been a positive meeting and discussions were centred around joint working for future events and better communication.

59. UPDATES FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES

Councillor Lloyd informed Council that Stourport Carnival had been very well attended and talks were underway for 2024. The Carnival Committee had signed up the Wyre Forest Community Lottery to raise funds. It was not known at this stage how much money had been raised. He referred Members to the Localism report on the Wyre Forest District Council Cabinet agenda for its meeting on 12th September 2023.

60. UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR MRS B DAWES ON SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

There was no update this meeting. However, Councillor Dawes reported she had been made aware of speeding concerns on Lickhill Road and Gilgal and would follow this up.

61. UPDATE FROM COUNCILLORS P HARRISON AND C ROGERS (STOURPORT WORCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL COUNCILLORS)

Councillor Rogers reported the unexpected death of Councillor Andy Roberts. Councillor Harrison advised that Worcestershire County Council were holding a Roadshow in Kidderminster on 20th September 2023. In response to a question, Councillor Rogers replied that the empty County building on Bewdley Road, Stourport had been boarded up due to security problems.

62. ACCOUNTS

The Town Clerk reported that Accounts for July was £78,916.43 and August totalling £55,428.86 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.

63. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Councillor Morris advised Council, for information purposes only, there had been a lot of public displeasure in works proposed by FullFibre regarding installation of poles around the town centre to build on the fibre optic network. He had prepared a bullet pointed document which was handed out to all Councillors.

64. EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

Decision: "Under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of "exempt information" as defined in paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

65. VERBAL UPDATE FROM TOWN CLERK ON 8A BRIDGE STREET, STOURPORT

The Town Clerk advised Council that at the Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC) Cabinet meeting held on 18th July 2023, the following decision had been made: ALLOCATED funding from the Evergreen Investment Fund to fund refurbishment of the first floor and funding from the Capital Innovation Fund, supported by borrowing, to fund refurbishment and adaption of the ground floor; and NOTED that inclusion of public toilets in the ground floor works would occur only if Stourport-on-Severn provides the funding for them. Council held a discussion and reported their disappointment in not being consulted more with regard to 8A Bridge Street, Stourport. Additional finance information was required to move forward. It was resolved that additional details were required on the site and future proposals for the Bridge Street Car Park. The Town Clerk was asked to contact WFDC asking for additional information. Councillor T Schmeising-Barnes left the meeting at this point, (7.26pm).

66. UPDATE FROM CHAIRMAN OF THE CIVIC HALL WORKING GROUP

Councillor Martin advised Council that representatives of the Civic Hall Working Group had held meetings with the trustees of the Civic Hall. A robust discussion took place and upon a vote, Council agreed the following resolution: Decision: The Civic Hall lease be granted to The Civic Group for a term of 3 years at an annual rent of £6,500 (inclusive of VAT) with a full rent review every year subject to looking at The Civic Group Accounts.

67. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

The meeting closed at 7.44pm