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NOTES OF THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING HELD ON 9TH APRIL 2008
NOTES OF THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 9TH APRIL 2008, 7PM AT THE AVENUE CHURCH HALL, NEWTON ABBOT
PRESENT
REPRESENTING NEWTON ABBOT TOWN COUNCIL
Councillor K. Smith (Mayor) – In the Chair
Councillor D. Corney-Walker (Deputy Mayor)
Councillors Mrs C. Bunday
H.L.J. Cole
C. Davieson
Mrs A. Fry
D. Howe
Mrs G. Leeper
R. Leeper
K. Lewis
C. Parker
K. Purchase
A. Vizor
Mrs D. Watts
County Councillors 2 Councillors G. Hook
Mrs A. Fry
District Councillors 7 Councillors Mrs C. Bunday
D. Corney-Walker
Mrs A. Fry
G. Hook
Miss M. Jenkins
R. Leeper
K. Lewis
Members of the Public 13 (all Newton Abbot residents)
Representatives of the Press Matthew Hyde – Mid Devon Advertiser
Officers of Newton Abbot Town Council Mr P. Rowe – Town Clerk
Miss S. Scott – Office Administrator
Mrs Y. Brunton – Events Co-ordinator
1. APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors M. Hocking and Mrs S. Maddicott, together with apologies from the following representatives from outside organisations:
Flt. Lt. Rick Webb (ATC), Sue Gardner (Citizens Advice Bureau), Keith Walter (Shopmobility), Frank Toulcher (Royal British Legion) and a representative from Victim Support.
2. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE MAYOR – COUNCILLOR KEITH SMITH
The Mayor extended a warm welcome to all attendees and introduced his Chaplain, Edgar Daniel who proceeded to relay a few words of welcome to the Avenue Church and about the community activities of the Church.
The Mayor explained that it was impossible for him to draw out any single event during his Mayoral year as the best as he felt that his entire year had been a success.
He proceeded to pay thanks to his Chaplain, Edgar Daniel for such a wonderful Civic Service, from which he had gained a variety of useful contacts; to the residents of Newton Abbot for supporting the Charity Concert held in March 2008 and for giving him the chance to engage with a wide range of the community in through his Mayoral Engagements during the past twelve months.
The Mayor expressed his gratitude to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor David Corney-Walker for his resolute support throughout the course of the year.
The Mayor paid tribute to the outgoing Events Co-ordinator for all of her tremendous work carried out for the Town Council during her employment and made particular reference to the Victorian Evening, held in December 2007, and wished her all the best for the future.
The Mayor reported on what he felt were the major achievements for the town in 2007:
• The opening of the newly refurbished Indoor Market
• The continued pedestrianisation of Wolborough Street / Bank Street area
• The continued investment of Austins Department Store
The Mayor concluded his address by re-iterating his thanks to the residents of Newton Abbot for their support during his Mayoral year; he stated that his role as Mayor was the greatest honour that he could have been privileged to have held.
3. REPORTS BY VARIOUS ORGANISATIONS IN NEWTON ABBOT
Written reports were submitted by following organisations in Newton Abbot, and made reference to their activities throughout 2007:
Newton Abbot Shopmoblity
Teignbridge Citizens Advice Bureau
Teignbridge Victim Support
1322 Newton Abbot ATC Squadron
Newton Abbot Town Band
Representatives from the following organisations attended the meeting and spoke briefly on their activities over the past year:
Monica Sanders for Newton Abbot Autumn Club
The Autumn Club was the only senior citizens club in Newton Abbot and catered for a varying age range; the youngest member was 58 and the eldest 96!
Newton Abbot Town Council was thanked for its grant donation of £125.00, which had been used to obtain further speakers for the group.
Mrs Sanders referred to the programme of forthcoming meetings and made a plea for further speakers who could attend future gatherings of the club.
Ken Lewis for the Royal Naval Association
The RNA met at the Royal British Legion monthly and had acted as a charity for the past 52 years. The Newton Abbot branch boasted 24 Full members and 17 Associate members and linked with Newton Abbot Town Council in order to further its links with HMS Triumph.
Alister Macrea for Newton Abbot and District Society of Arts
The Society currently boasted a membership of 230 and made reference to the success of concerts held during 2007/2008, which comprised of approximately 2/3 members and 1/3 non members.
Mr Macrea thanked Newton Abbot Town Council on behalf of the Society for the £100.00 grant made to them during 2007.
The aim of the Society was to make concerts accessible for all members of the Newton Abbot community, in terms of location and cost.
Keith Smith for Cancer Research
Reference was made to funds raised by the branch throughout the previous twelve months, together with the appointment of a new Chair for the Association.
The Newton Abbot branch of Cancer Research was in the process of recruiting new members and a plea was made to encourage anyone who was interested to contact the Association for further details.
Mike Ryan for Newton Abbot Carnival Committee
The Chairman of Newton Abbot Carnival Committee explained that with the financial and administrative assistance they were planning to take over the management of the Carnival and all the events that were to lead up to it from the Newton Abbot Round Table.
Carnival week was to be a full week of events, which included a fun-run, a duck race, a darts tournament, a rock and roll dance evening; the Carnival itself and a jazz afternoon in Courtenay Park was planned as a finale on the Sunday after the Carnival.
It was stressed that the Newton Abbot Carnival Committee was a growing one and was actively recruiting for volunteers from all areas of the community.
4. NEWTON ABBOT & DISTRICT COMMUNITY PLAN
Councillor Ken Lewis reported on the progress made on the Newton Abbot & District Community Plan during the past twelve months.
The Community Plan was now finalised after 4 years of preparation and was launched on April 5th 2008 at Bearnes Voluntary Primary School, which had an excellent response from all areas of the community.
It was reported that a summary of the plan was available in various local locations such as Newton Abbot Town Council, the TIC and the Library and was a condensed version of the entire plan.
The public had been asked for their top 5 priorities for Newton Abbot and these included:
A community centre that encompassed the library, the Tourist Information Centre, the Museum and the Town Hall all under one roof in a central location to complement the existing Courtenay Centre on the outer part of the town.
More affordable housing within the town
A designated under-cover bus station in the centre of the town
Two further communications projects were hoped to be undertaken in the near future and an appeal was made for funding and the need for more public support to given to the work of the Management Group.
Councillor Lewis publicly thanked the residents of Newton Abbot for their input to date.
5. NEWTON ABBOT & GWR MUSEUM
The Museum Curator, Mrs Felicity Cole, reported on the great success of the Newfoundland exhibition during 2007 which was opened by Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
As part of the exhibition, a rope making demonstration took part in the Museum and 2 further demonstrations were organised for local schools.
Two well known Newfoundland folk singers visiting the UK were able to perform for an audience within the Museum.
The success of the current 2008 Bibbings exhibition was commented upon and the Curator explained that through two digital frames being installed in the Museum hundreds of Bibbings images were able to be displayed very effectively on a continual loop.
The Curator also explained that later on in 2008 it was planned to have demonstrations of ancient local crafts such as lace making to encourage further visitor numbers to the Museum.
The exhibition for 2009 was planned to be around the theme of the famous diver, John Lethbridge.
As part of this exhibition it was hoped that an archaeological dig working in partnership with Brixham Museum and local primary schools could be carried out in the area.
6. BUSINESS RAISED BY RESIDENTS
The following items were brought to the attention of the Meeting by residents:
Mr Mike Ryan raised issues on:
Rises in Council Tax for residents of Newton Abbot within the past two years
The use of the Town Council’s Bladon Foundation
The condition of a piece of land near to Newton Abbot Railway Station
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Town Clerk responded appropriately to each of the issues raised by Mr Ryan.
Mr Reg Wills raised issues on:
The addition of a soldier’s name to the Newton Abbot War Memorial
The Kingskerswell Bypass
It was decided not to revisit the request for the additional name onto the War Memorial and to retain the current procedure in place relating to the Kingskerswell Bypass.
Mr Barry Kaye raised issues regarding the Newton Abbot Post Office:
The location of the Newton Abbot Post Office at Costcutters was inappropriate
Queue times were excessive
Counter availability was limited
Space within the Costcutter store was inadequate
Access for the disabled was difficult
Mr Kaye requested that the Newton Abbot Town Council make representations on behalf of the residents of Newton Abbot to bodies such as Postwatch and Royal Mail Customer Services department in Barnsley.
It was agreed to re-visit this issue on behalf of the residents of Newton Abbot.
7. ANNUAL REPORT 2007/2008
The Town Clerk referred to the report distributed at the commencement of the meeting and reiterated the information that was included:
The current Membership of the Town Council
A summary of the activities of the Council during 2007/2008
A graphical summary of the Town Council’s accounts for the year ending 31st March 2007
The Town Clerk confirmed that the Annual Report was still a draft and was yet to be adopted by the Council.
8. CLOSING REMARKS BY THE MAYOR
The Mayor concluded the meeting by reiterating his gratitude to the residents of Newton Abbot for making his Mayoral year such a memorable one; welcomed the incoming Mayor, and thanked everyone for their attendance.