MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COASTAL AND AMENITIES COMMITTEE

Held on 12th November 2007

Present: Cllr Mrs M Rolls (In the Chair)

Cllrs A Howard G Gooding Mrs J Gooding P Jackson Mrs C Lewis Mrs M Morgan G Parkhurst Miss H Parkhurst E Rolls R B Shields, MBE C Tebbutt

Town Clerk

In Attendance: Cllrs B Dobbs, S Pratley and Mrs J Taylor

52. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllrs G Gooding and Mrs J Gooding declared personal interests in minute 55 due to a business relationship with one of the traders and minute 58 items 6 and 36 due to owning property on the High Street, Mablethorpe.

Cllrs G Gooding and Mrs J Gooding declared personal and prejudicial interests in minute 56 due to business interests in the town and minute 58 items 1, 8, 25, 30, 42 and 43, due to owning property on the High Street, Mablethorpe and left the meeting during consideration of these items.

Cllr G Gooding declared a personal interest in minute 56, minute 58 items 18, 19, 40 and 41, and minute 59 due to his membership of the District Council.

Cllr A Howard declared a personal interest in minute 56 and minute 58 items 18, 19, 39 and 40 due to his membership of the District Council and minute 58 item 33 due to his position on the governing body of the school.

Cllr P Jackson declared a personal interest in minute 58 item 33 due to his position on the governing body of the school.

Cllr S Pratley declared a personal interest in minute 55 due to living close to Queen’s Park.

Cllr G Parkhurst declared a personal interest in minute 58 items 19 and 41 due to his position on the Community Hall Committee.

53. MINUTES

(i) It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2007, having been previously circulated, be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(ii) Further to the Council’s reference back of the item at minute 49 –
Sutton-on-Sea Enhancement Scheme, a copy of the letter requesting support was circulated. It was noted that the request was for the Town Council to accept responsibility for the re-painting of the lamp columns following completion of the enhancement works. It was anticipated this would be at a cost of £1,000 - £1,200, the work to be carried out every 5 years. It was proposed and seconded that the original decision of the Committee be confirmed.

An amendment was proposed that the Town Council should take on responsibility for re-painting after the first 5 years. This was not seconded. A further amendment was proposed that the Town Council contribute £2,000 towards the scheme. This was not seconded.

Upon the original proposition being put to the vote, it was
Resolved: That the Town Council does not take responsibility for the future painting of the light columns on the High Street, Sutton-on-Sea.

54. ACRE GAP SUB-COMMITTEE

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Acre Gap Sub-committee held on 5 October 2007 and the recommendation at minute 3(vi) be received and supported.

Note: With reference to minute 3(iv), Cllr R B Shields, MBE reported that the area of land in question was owned by the District Council.

55. QUEEN’S PARK

The Committee considered the correspondence from the Queen’s Park traders which set out a number of proposals to develop and improve the park. It was considered that before any support could be given to the proposals, it was essential that the District Council provided the results of the feasibility study. Of particular importance was information on the water quality in the lake.

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That an officer from East Lindsey District Council be invited to a future meeting of this Committee to present the findings of the feasibility study on Queen’s Park.

56. SUMMER ILLUMINATIONS

The Town Clerk informed the Committee of a request received from East Lindsey District Council for a contribution of £10,000 towards the new illuminations.

Members raised a number of questions regarding the background to the request, the actual work being funded and whether future contributions would be sought. In the absence of any further information it was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That clarification be sought from East Lindsey District Council regarding any commitment made by the Town Council to support the work.

Note: Cllrs A Howard and R B Shields, MBE declared a personal interest in this item due to their membership of the District Council.

57. TRUSTHORPE ALLOTMENTS

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the allotment rent for 2008, to be set out in the lease with the Trusthorpe Allotment Gardens Association, be 17.55 per square metre.

58. ESTIMATES 2008/09

The Town Clerk presented the estimates of income and expenditure for this Committee for 2008/09. It was reported that since preparing the estimates details of the cost of producing a newsletter had been received. The original estimate could be reduced by £3,000 for the entry at item 27. This provided for a net expenditure for 2008/09 of £47,540.

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That the attached schedule of Estimates of Expenditure and Income for 2008/09, as amended, be recommended for approval by the Finance, Policy and Development Committee.

59. NEW DOG WASTE BINS

It was proposed, seconded and
Resolved: That new dog waste bins be installed at the following locations:

(i) Main Street, Trusthorpe, and
(ii) North Road, Trusthorpe.

60. MEMORIAL BENCH

The Committee considered a letter regarding a memorial bench which had been damaged beyond repair. It was requested that the Council replace the bench as it was in the Council’s care. The Town Clerk confirmed that the Council did not have the memorial benches insured due to the level of excess on the policy.

There was a discussion about the number and location of the benches, the liability for maintenance and the future policy for accepting donations. Following which it was proposed, seconded and
Resolved:
(i) That an existing Town Council bench be relocated to the colonnade, Sutton-on-Sea to replace the damaged memorial bench.

(ii) That consideration be given to adopting a policy for dealing with donations for memorial benches and other forms of memorials.

61. CLERK’S CORRESPONDENCE

(i) Correspondence from Mablethorpe Primary School setting out the cost of providing swimming sessions for the pupils.

(ii) Information on a Christmas Market to be held in the Community Hall, Stanley Avenue, Mablethorpe on Saturday 1 December 2007.

(iii) Details of the Lincolnshire Playing Fields Association Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 29 November 2007 at North Kesteven District Council Offices, Sleaford.

62. MATTERS FOR URGENT DISCUSSION

(i) Notification that the next series of high tides would be between 24 and 27 November 2007 when very high levels were predicted.

(ii) Notification that participation for the Christmas meal was below that required for exclusive use of the room and that consideration would be given to the arrangements.

(iii) Notification that a beach chalet had been set on fire.

(iv) Town Clerk to investigate responsibility for the bridge from Quebec Road to Camm’s Field which required some repairs and maintenance.