Full Council Minutes 2nd July 2008

AT A MEETING of HARWICH TOWN COUNCIL
held at LONG MEADOWS COMMUNITY CENTRE,
DOVERCOURT, HARWICH, ESSEX
on WEDNESDAY 2 nd JULY 2008 at 7.15pm
PRESENT
The Mayor Councillor D Rutson in the Chair
The Deputy Mayor Councillor J Brown
Councillors:
B Brown
P Burke
D McLeod
G Calver
R Callender
J Wares
A Colbourne
B Howlett
A Morrison from 7.20pm
Clerk to the Council Mrs E Novorol
Also present were one member of the press and one
member of the public.
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Gardner, Double, Tyrer, Payne and
Henderson
24/08 REPRESENTATIONS
FROM MEMBERS OF
THE PUBLIC
None
25/08 DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST
Cllr J Brown declared he is a member of the Licensing
Committee, Tendring District Council.
26/08 MAYOR’S
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor gave details of engagements undertaken since
the last meeting.
27/08 MINUTES RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting held on the
21 st May 2008 (previously circulated) be approved by the
Chairman and signed as a true record.
28/08 TELEPHONE BOX
ADJACENT TO TENNIS
COURTS,
DOVERCOURT
SEAFRONT
Further to minute 33/07, Cllr Calver advised members
that the telephone box (which has been out of order for
lengthy periods of time) adjacent to the tennis courts on
Dovercourt seafront is to be removed.
RESOLVED: to write to BT requesting that Harwich
Town Council is, in future, consulted when the removal
of a telephone box is considered.
29/08 FINANCE AND Cllr Wares presented the minutes of the meeting held on

GENERAL PURPOSES
COMMITTEES
10 th June 2008.
RESOLVED: that the minutes be adopted.
30/08 ENVIRONMENT AND
HIGHWAYS
COMMITTEE
Cllr Callender presented the minutes of the meeting held
on the 11 th June 2008.
RESOLVED: that the minutes be adopted.
Ref. Minute E10/08 – Cllr Calver reported that he has
spoken with Cllr Oxley, Portfolio holder for Leisure,
Tendring District Council and money will be available
for the play area at Mace Park. Cllr Oxley will arrange
for a site visit with all East Central Ward members of
Harwich Town Council to be invited.
31/08 BRIEF REPORT OF
MEMBERS
Cllr Wares reported that she attended the AGM of
Harwich and District Community Association.
Cllr B Brown advised members that the first weekend of
exhibition regarding the SS Yarmouth and the bi
centenary of the building of the Redoubt fort had gone
well. Cllr Brown also thanked those members who had
attended and Cllr Calver for his assistance with the press
release. Cllr Calver praised the Honorary Archivists for
their hard work and a vote of thanks to them was
recorded. Members were advised that the Merchant Navy
Association would, on a weekend closer to the
anniversary, be holding a service of remembrance
regarding the loss of SS Yarmouth.
Cllr J Brown gave details of the meeting of the
Conservation Panel which he had attended. Members
expressed sympathy at the news that Phil Hornby of
Tendring District Council is unwell and wished him a
speedy recovery.
Councillors also sent their best wishes to Bernie Sadler of
The Harwich Society on hearing of his illness.
Cllr J Brown reported on his attendance of the Crime
Prevention Panel meeting.
Cllr Howlett advised the meeting that Teen Talk is
working well although there could be financial problems
in the future. He also requested reports from committee
representatives who are not members of Harwich Town
Council.
32/08 ANNUAL ACCOUNTS a) The Annual Accounts 2007/2008 were considered
and it was RESOLVED: to adopt the accounts.
b) The Annual Return for the Year End March 2008
was noted. RESOLVED: to agree the Annual
Return.
c) The Internal Audit dated 10 th June 2008 was
noted.
d) RESOLVED: to agree the Annual Subscriptions as listed in Appendix ‘A’.
33/08 FINANCIAL UPDATE
AND RECORD OF
PAYMENTS
Payments and receipts, current balances, financial activity
against budgets and earmarked funds were noted.
RESOLVED: to authorise payments as listed in
Appendix ‘B’.
34/08 THE LICENSING ACT
2003
An application for Grant of a Premises Licence for Star
Coffee Shop, 184 High Street, Dovercourt was
considered. RESOLVED: to write to the District Council
advising that Harwich Town Council has strong
objections to this application as members believe it will
result in unacceptable noise and disruption to residents
living within the town centre.
35/08 BUCKINGHAM
PALACE GARDEN
PARTY
With reference to the EALC draw for a guest to attend a
Buckingham Palace garden party it was RESOLVED: to
nominate Mr Peter Brand in recognition of his past
service as Mayor of Harwich Town Council.
36/08 MILL LANE AND
EMPIRE ROAD AREA
Cllr Howlett advised members of the current situation
regarding clearing up of the area around Mill Lane and
Empire Road. RESOLVED: to write to Tendring District
Council requesting that immediate action is taken to clear
the area and that in future regular cleaning is carried out.
FURTHER RESOLVED: to advise Essex County
Council of concerns regarding the poor condition of
bricks on the Mill Lane side of the tunnel.
37/08 HARWICH AND
DISTRICT CRIME
PREVENTION PANEL
The Clerk advised that subject to the Local Government
Act 1972 and supporting case law, a council cannot
lawfully decide any matter not specified on the agenda.
The Chairman agreed to take the item and members
considered a request from the Crime Prevention Panel for
grant funding of £324 for a fiveaside
football
competition. RESOLVED: to place the item on the
agenda of the next meeting of the Finance and General
Purposes Committee and to advise that Harwich Town
Council is mindful to support the request subject to the
correct procedures of this Council.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.10 pm