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Present

 

Members       

  • Cllr Steve Beatty
  • Cllr Dan Beauchamp (Deputy Mayor/Chairman)
  • Cllr Giles Cattermole
  • Cllr Sue Hendrie
  • Cllr Nigel Hughes
  • Cllr Michael Kidley
  • Cllr Rosslyn Lester
  • Cllr George Newcombe
  • Cllr Deborah Whelan

Officers:         

  • Michelle Taylor, Town Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer
  • Luke Whitcomb, Meetings Officer

Others:           

  • 9 members of the public
  • 0 members of the press

 

370/22     MEETING PROTOCOL

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised those present of the protocols that would be followed.

371/22     APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors Gibbon, Harris, Holder, Holford, Keats-Rohan and McGregor.

Councillor Sinkinson did not attend.

372/22     DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Councillor Lester declared an interest in item 11, Banking Hub / Cash Access, minuted as 380/22 below, and she absented herself during discussion of that matter.

No other interests were declared.

373/22     MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS

The Deputy Mayor reported that two new staff members had joined the Council’s team, Andrea Lockie, Finance Assistant (part-time), and Jo Emerson, Grants Officer (part-time).

He also reported on the erection of a new noticeboard in the Rest Garden which had been designed and created by local craftspeople and funded by the retailer Lidl as part of arts funding from Section 106 monies.

The Deputy Mayor also thanked the Council staff team for their organisation of Remembrance Sunday for which there had been a large turnout.

374/22     MINUTES

Councillor Whelan raised a number of issues concerning the balance and accuracy of Minute 336/22, Riverside – Clean Bathing Water Status, but they were not accepted by the majority of other Members.

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 17 October 2022 be approved as a correct record and the Chairman is authorised to sign them.

Councillor Cattermole challenged the accuracy of the resolution of Minute 357/22, Riverside/Wallingford Beach – Application for Clean Bathing Water Status, but his assertion was not accepted by the majority of other Members.

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Hendrie, and RESOLVED that the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Full Council held on 26 October 2022 be approved as a correct record and the Chairman is authorised to sign them.

375/22     ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING [see also Minute 389/22]

The Council reviewed progress on the actions agreed at the last meeting and ‘open’ actions from previous meetings.

The Chairman indicated that some of the items would be considered later in the ‘closed’ part of the meeting.

376/22     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr Mark Brett of Wallingford Eleven Fifty-Five spoke about the recent November 5th firework display, including a separate and successful low-noise display for children.  He thanked the Council for the use of the Kinecroft.

Ms Kate Wareing of the South Oxfordshire Housing Association (SOHA) spoke about their work in Wallingford and the need for genuinely affordable housing as part of the mix within the town.  She explained how SOHA’s properties were allocated.  Most of their new homes were funded using Section 106 monies.  A new development of retirement living homes, Francis Curtis Court, had opened.

Mr Tony Cowling of the voluntary group DraughtBusters spoke about their work which involved visits to home by volunteers to advise on draught-proofing.  The average cost of a visit per home was £25.  DraughtBusters received funding from a number of groups.

A member of the public spoke in favour of retaining the horse chestnut tree by the Coach and Horses Pub on the Kinecroft following the recent surveys.  See minute 390/22.

A member of the public thanked the Council’s Parks Team for their effective remedial work following the recent spate of graffiti.

A member of the public spoke about positive changes that had been made to the original proposal by Oxfordshire County Council as Highways Authority for the location of bus stops on the Reading Road, including to serve the new housing development, Winterbrook Meadows (Site E).

377/22     COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

No reports were received

378/22     EXTERNAL AUDIT/ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN (AGAR) FOR 2021-22

The Council NOTED the conclusion of the final accounts for 2021-22.

The only issue that had been pointed out was that the Town Council had published this for a slightly longer period than necessary.

The Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer was thanked for her work on this.

379/22     BILL SCHEDULES

The Council considered the bill schedules for August and September 2022.

It was proposed by Councillor Beatty, and seconded by Councillor Hughes, and RESOLVED that the bill schedule for August and September 2022 be approved

380/22     BANKING HUB/CASH ACCESS

Councillor Lester declared an interest in this item 11 and left the room.

The Council considered the suggestion made by several residents for the setting up of a banking hub in the light of continuing bank closures.  Wallingford had been identified as one of 12 communities in England where residents and local companies would struggle to get access to cash and satisfactory banking services.

The MP David Johnston had called a meeting to discuss this, including with representatives of the Open Finance Group.

It was proposed by Councillor Beatty, and seconded by Councillor Cattermole, and RESOLVED that the Council lends its high-level support to this initiative

Councillor Lester returned

381/22     GRANT AID – CITIZENS ADVICE OXFORDSHIRE & SOUTH VALE

The Council considered a grant application by Citizens Advice Oxfordshire & South Vale who were returning to Wallingford and would be operating out of the Baptist Church from January 2023.

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Whelan, and RESOLVED that a third of the budgeted annual grant amount (£2k) be awarded to reflect the actual timescales

382/22     COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY (CIL) SPENDING STRATEGY

Councillor Hughes circulated a proposed strategy paper and he was thanked for his work on this.

It was proposed by Councillor Hughes, and seconded by Councillor Newcombe, and RESOLVED that the proposed strategy be considered for approval at the December meeting of the Full Council by which time Members will be able to have absorbed the content

383/22     FLAG SCHEDULE

The Council NOTED the amendments made following the accession of King Charles III

It was proposed by Councillor Kidley, and seconded by Councillor Newcombe, and RESOLVED that the following be added to the schedule:

  • Pride Flag – supporting the LGBTQ+ community
  • Purple Flag – supporting people with disabilities
  • Royal British Legion
384/22     8A CASTLE STREET – LIGHTING

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Kidley, and RESOLVED that the lighting in 8A Castle Street be changed to LED following the quotation provided by the Council’s appointed contractors.

385/22     APPOINTMENTS

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Kidley, and RESOLVED that Ms Jackie Payne be appointed for a further period of 4 years to the Municipal Charities

386/22     WORKING PARTIES

It was proposed by Councillor Cattermole, and seconded by Councillor Whelan, and RESOLVED that instead of setting up additional working parties, twinning be covered by the Tourism & Economic Development Committee and Britain in Bloom by the Parks, Gardens, Allotments and Open Spaces Committee; and that broad support be given to a submission by Wallingford for Britain in Bloom, recognising however the significant amount of work that is involved

387/22     FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The following items were identified for future meetings:

  • CIL spending strategy
  • Banking hub / access to cash
  • Pedestrianisation of front area of Town Hall (rolling agenda item)
  • Liaison with Arts & Development Officer (Councillor Beatty)
  • Upgrade to consumer unit in Town Hall
  • Staff team building/volunteer days
  • Estates Portfolio Review
  • Renaming and reshuffling of Committees to establish the Estates Committee
  • Alderman Emeritus (to consider making new appointments)
  • Be Free Young Carers have withdrawn their original grant application and will be submitting a new application before the end of the 2022 calendar year
  • Civic and Ceremonial Working Party update
388/22     EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

It was proposed by Councillor Lester, and seconded by Councillor Kidley, and RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting due to the confidential nature of business to be transacted

389/22     ACTIONS AGREED AT PREVIOUS MEETING [confidential]

 

390/22            HORSE CHESTNUT TREE, COACH AND HORSES, KINECROFT [confidential]

 

391/22            SCAFFOLDING ON THE KINECROFT – LICENSING FEES

 

The meeting ended at 8.38 pm

 

Minutes of the meeting of the

Full Council held on

14 November 2022,

signed as a correct record                                                                 Chairman

 

 

2022-11-14 FC minutes PUBLIC