MEETING OF STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN TOWN COUNCIL

Tuesday 4th February 2025 6.30pm

Venue: Mayor's parlour, Civic Centre, Stourport-on-Severn

Present

In the chair: The Town Mayor Councillor J Thomas

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

Minutes

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K Henderson and H Williams.

  1. MINUTES

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 7th January 2025 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

  1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Lloyd declared an Other Disclosable Interest in Agenda Item No. 7 (minute number 60 of the Planning Committee Meeting Minutes, Planning Application WF.24/0521/FUL). Councillor Lloyd was a Trustee of Burlish Bike Park, Kingsway, Stourport-on-Severn.

  1. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

There was no public question time.

  1. MAYORS COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayoral engagements were circulated and noted. The Mayor reminded members that he was holding an Evening of Gardening with Paul Cook and Reg Moule on 27th February 2025. A further fundraising event, a Cheese and Wine Tasting Evening, was being held on Saturday 8th March 2025 by the owners of Astley Vineyard, at Areley Kings Village Hall. The Mayor hoped that members would support him.

  1. MOTIONS SUBMITTED UNDER STANDING ORDERS

No motions had been received in accordance with Section 9 and 10 of the Council’s Standing Orders.

  1. PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES – 28TH JANUARY 2025

The Chairman of the Planning Committee informed Council of the planning application recommendations to be made to Wyre Forest District Council.  The minutes of the meeting held on 28th January 2025 were approved.

  1. PARKS COMMITTEE MINUTES - 20TH JANUARY 2025

It was resolved that the minutes of the Parks Committee held on 20th January 2025, and the resulting recommendations, be approved.

  1. FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES – 27TH JANUARY 2025

The Treasurer informed Council that the precept was recommended to be increased by 28%. This was due to increased staffing costs, a continued decline in the number of burials alongside increased maintenance costs of Town Council owned assets, such as the paddling pool.

The Treasurer urged members to note that whilst a 28% increase sounded significant, it equated to a £16 increase across the year for properties in Council Tax Band D. 

In response to a question, it was confirmed that the precept was still below current precepts set by Bewdley and Kidderminster.

It was resolved that the minutes and recommendations of the Finance Committee held on 27th January 2025 be approved.

  1. UPDATES FROM COUNCILLOR REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES

Councillor Little informed Council that a meeting of the Elizabeth Mills Centre took place during January 2025. Councillor Little was appointed Chairman during the meeting and confirmed that there had been an increase in future bookings, and the Centres finances were healthy.

Councillor Lloyd informed Council that Stourport Carnival Committee held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 27th January 2025. In 2025, Stourport Carnival would celebrate its 100th year, and the Committee were appealing to past Carnival Queens to take part in the celebrations. It was noted that senior Committee Members would be standing for their final year. Councillor Lloyd advised that he had offered to stand as Chair at the 2026 AGM. Members were also informed that a profit of £5,617 had been made at the carnival in 2024, with £3,700 having been donated to local charities. An additional donation of £600 had been made to sponsor a local golfer.

Councillor Berry advised Council that at a meeting of Stourport Forward during January 2025, they discussed a meeting scheduled with the National Lottery during March 2025. Gill Edwards would provide regular project reporting to the Board, regarding ongoing projects.

  1. Verbal update from THE Chairman of Stourport Future Working Party

The following updates were received from Councillor Griffiths:

  • Face to face sessions had been planned during March 2025 for local residents who had not engaged with the online survey. Online survey results would be shared during these sessions, and residents would have a further opportunity to provide feedback. The Committee had been working on a draft vision document that would be shared at the sessions.
  • Councillor Griffiths requested support from all members to run these sessions.
  • Councillor Griffiths had written to Councillor M Bayliss at Worcestershire County Council (WCC) to request the full traffic survey results.
  • The Committee expressed concern regarding the presentation of the online survey results on the Town Council website, and had taken action to address this.
  • Councillor Griffiths expressed thanks to Councillor Thomas for compiling the report covering survey responses.
  1. Verbal update from the town clerk on the riverside paddling pool

The Town Clerk advised that pressure testing of the paddling pool had taken place, and that a full report which detailed the cause of the leaks, was expected shortly. Members were advised that the report would be shared with the Finance Committee to make appropriate recommendations to Council, once available.

A question was raised about the cause of the leaks. The Town Clerk advised that the new surface fitted last year by the Councils contractors, Go Aqua, was not appropriate for the paddling pool. It was possible that the repairs issue had been present for a longer time, but only identified once the installation of the new surface had been completed.

A question was asked regarding the filtration system. The Town Clerk stated that a new pump had been fitted last year, and that a possible new filtration system had been identified but not yet discussed.

  1. UPDATE FROM COUNCILLOR C ROGERS ON SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

Councillor Rogers informed Council that a meeting had taken place on 16th January 2025 with senior leaders of North Worcestershire Police and the local Safer Neighbourhood Team regarding recent reports of anti-social behaviour, and the issue of homelessness along the High Street, Stourport-on-Severn.

Members were assured that whilst the Police were reluctant to criminalise young people, they had done everything within their powers to combat incidents of anti-social behaviour within Stourport-on-Severn.

Councillor Rogers advised that whilst the police had been aware of the homeless person who lived on the High Street, the person was on private land and so had been unable to act. Suitable action would be taken should circumstances change.

  1. UPDATE FROM COUNCILLORS P HARRISON AND C ROGERS (STOURPORT Worcestershire COUNTY COUNCIL COUNCILLORS)

Councillor Rogers informed Council that a decision regarding the possible delay of Worcestershire County Council (WCC) elections, following the publication of the Devolution White Paper for England, had been delayed until possibly 5th February 2025.

Councillor Martin raised the issue of traffic on Mitton Street, at the junction with Severn Road, Stourport-on-Severn. Councillor Martin had previously requested to meet with Councillor M Bayliss WCC to discuss the viability of a box junction at this location. Councillor Rogers agreed to write to Councillor Bayliss.

A member asked a question regarding development levy’s within Stourport-on-Severn, which appeared to be lower for Stourport-on-Severn compared to other local areas. Councillor Rogers resolved to provide a response.

  1. ACCOUNTS

The Town Clerk reported that Accounts for January 2025 totalling £48,802.12 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. 

  1. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

  1. 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.

  1. Verbal update from THE Chairman of localism working party

Councillor Berry provided an overview of the last meeting of the Localism Working Party.

Members urged Councillor Rogers to ensure Stourport-on-Severn was treated fairly, and that transparency across all areas was paramount during the decision-making process of devolution.

Following a robust discussion, it was agreed to recommend to Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC) that the Town Council would express an interest in all local assets in Stourport-on-Severn. This would include car parks and nature reserves. The Town Council agreed to request:

  • detailed site maps
  • information which pertained to listed leases
  • information related to the resources and expertise required to manage individual assets (and the potential for transferring WFDC resources to Stourport Town Council)

Furthermore, it was agreed that the Town Council would enquire about the possibility of the Town Council receiving a share of WFDC’s reserves for the benefit of local projects.  

  1. BRIDGE STREET CAR PARK, STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN

Councillor Berry raised the Bridge Street Car Park, Stourport-on-Severn, and the proposed removal of it from the Car Parking Order. Real concern was expressed about the possibility of boarding up the site (located in the middle of the Conservation area), were the car park order to be removed.

The Council recognised two options: do not remove from the car park order, or ensure whatever is used to block vehicular access (if it were removed from the order) would be appropriate for the location. The Council agreed to recommend these options to Wyre Forest District Council. 

Furthermore, following a discussion, it was agreed that Councillor Berry would draft a message with regard to future development of the site for social media and the Town Council website. This would be circulated to members prior to publication.

  1. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

Town Mayor

The meeting closed at 7.47pm.