MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL

Held on 5th March 2007

Present: Cllr B Dobbs, Town Mayor (In the Chair)

Cllrs Mrs R Bell, Mrs I Daw, Mrs R Dudley, G Gooding, Mrs J Gooding, A Howard, P Jackson, Mrs C Lewis, Mrs M Morgan, Miss H Parkhurst, P K Prince, E Rolls, Mrs M Rolls, R B Shields, MBE Mrs J Taylor

Town Clerk
1 member of the public

In Attendance: Mr M Rogers, Safety Officer, East Lindsey District Council.

Prior to the commencement of the meeting, Mrs P Pike led all those present in prayer.

65. FIRE SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Mayor introduced Mr M Rogers, Safety Officer with East Lindsey District Council, to the meeting. Mr Rogers had been invited to the meeting to give an explanation to members of their responsibilities in respect of fire safety following the coming into force of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order).

The Order requires the Council to appoint a Responsible Person. The person appointed has a degree of control of the areas occupied by the Council. The responsible person must also carry out a fire risk assessment.

In addition, there is a need for the production of a fire risk assessment of the areas within the building that are maintained by the town council.

Members expressed their concerns about there being no emergency fire escape, similar to the one provided for the adjacent children’s centre building.

It was noted that the whole building has passed its first national audit for fire safety procedures and that a first floor fire escape is not required.

The Mayor thanked Mr Rogers for his help and attendance.

Some members were still concerned that the building does not have a means of escape from the first floor. It was therefore proposed, seconded and
Resolved:

(i) In accordance with Standing Order 21(q) it was agreed to suspend Standing Orders,
(ii) That the Clerk be appointed as the Council’s Responsible Person and
(iii) That a representative from the Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service be invited to attend the next meeting of the Council.

66. MINUTES

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the minutes of the Council meeting held on 22nd January 2007, having been previously circulated, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

67. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Mrs C Lewis declared a personal and prejudicial interest in minute 72, payment to J W Atkinson due to being a friend of the Atkinson family.

Cllrs G Gooding, A Howard, P Jackson, Miss H Parkhurst and R B Shields, MBE each declared personal interests in minutes 65, 69 and 72, payment to East Lindsey District Council due to being members of East Lindsey District Council.

Cllr G Gooding declared a personal and prejudicial interest in minute 72, payment to Mablethorpe Tourism Forum due to being a member of the Forum.

Cllr A Howard declared a personal and prejudicial interest in minute 72, payments to Canon UK Ltd, Post Office Ltd and J W Atkinson due to his business interests in Mablethorpe.

68. MINUTES OF COMMITTEES

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the acts and proceedings of the following committee meetings be adopted:-

(i) Coastal and Amenities Committee 15th January 2007
(ii) General Purposes Committee 29th January 2007
(iii) Finance, Policy and Development Committee 13th February 2007
(iv) General Purposes Committee 19th February 2007
Note: Minute 103(iii) – Lincolnshire County Council has agreed to for the application for the proposed footpath order in respect of the footpath from Queensway to King George’s Field, Mablethorpe to be added to the priority list.
(v) Coastal and Amenities Committee 26th February 2007

69. LINCOLNSHIRE PATHFINDER

The Clerk referred to the Local Government White Paper “
and one of its key points about how local communities could be better supported, strengthened and given a bigger say in their affairs. The White Paper also includes a proposal for the establishment of unitary authorities in Shire counties. It was noted that some shire counties have been supportive of the establishment of unitary status whilst others, including Lincolnshire, see maintenance of a “two tier” system as the way forward.
The Lincolnshire Pathfinder bid has been submitted by the five district councils in Lincolnshire together with Lincolnshire County Council, Boston Borough Council and the City of Lincoln Council. All the councils have recognised the need for closer working, i.e. shared service provisions and the provision of a “one stop shop” for all public services in communities.

It was also noted that, to date, no decision has been made as to whether Lincolnshire will be chosen for a pathfinder but that the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils is supportive of the aims and objectives of the scheme.

Members felt that some of the issues are vague and were also concerned about the limited amount of time allowed for the Council to respond. They were particularly concerned that the Pathfinder refers to a two tier system when clearly the county functions on a three tier system.

Members were unsupportive of the proposal to introduce community champions, in particular the suggestion that they may have some budgetary controls/provisions within their respective wards/parishes. With limited reference to parish and town councils’ involvement, some members felt the Lincolnshire pathfinder is a deliberate attempt to avoid partnership working with the parishes.

It was therefore proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the Town Council looks for the recognition of its role in the governance of the town to be acknowledged in any pathfinder proposals being brought forward to meet the requirements of the Government White Paper on Local Government.

70. CLERK’S CORRESPONDENCE

(i) Reminder re meeting on the 19th March 2007 with East Lindsey District Council’s Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council concerning the proposal for major redevelopment in Mablethorpe.
(ii) Notice re attendance of the Clerk and Mayor at the East Lindsey Town and Parish Assembly on the 20th March 2007.

71. MAYOR’S COMMUNICATION

(i) Council Chamber furniture – the Mayor asked members to consider requesting East Lindsey District Council to approve the relocation of the old council chamber furniture into the new community room.

It was therefore proposed, seconded and
Resolved: To invoke Standing Order 21(q) in order to discuss this matter without further notice.

Some members felt the old furniture would give a better feel for the community room and add dignity to meetings. Other members felt the old furniture would look out of place in the new room.

After further discussion it was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That East Lindsey District Council be requested to approve the relocation of all the furniture in the old council chamber to the new community room.

(ii) Spring Ball – Reminder that the Ball is to be held on Saturday 10th March 2007. The Mayor stated that he hoped as many councillors as possible would attend.

72. ORDERS FOR PAYMENT

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the orders for payment, amounting in total to £14,595.79, be approved.