A&E 07.01.10
PERSHORE TOWN COUNCIL
AMENITIES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
THURSDAY 7th January 2010
Minutes of a meeting of the Amenities and Environment Committee held on Thursday 7th
January 2010, at Pershore Town Hall, 34 High Street, Pershore commencing at 7.30pm.
Present:-
Cllr D Shaw (Chairman)
Cllr J Grantham MBE
Cllr D Hughes (non member)
Cllr P Merry
Cllr C Parsons MBE
Cllr T D G Rose
Cllr K E P Rowe
Cllr M Rowe
Cllr C Smith (non member)
Cllr C Tucker
Items referred by members of the public
There were no other members of the public present.
282. Apologies
Cllr Amphlett’s apologies were accepted as she was unwell, Cllr Palfrey’s apologies were accepted as
he was working and Cllr Wood’s apologies were accepted as she was away.
283. Declarations of Interest
Cllrs Parsons and Rose declared personal interests in agenda item 6, Allotments
284. Minutes
It was proposed by Cllr Merry, seconded by Cllr Parsons and RESOLVED that the minutes of the
meeting held 5th November be signed as a true record of the proceedings.
285. Matters of report from the minutes
a.
The Clerk advised members that the risk assessments at Avon Meadows had been completed
and a policy document was anticipated in the New Year.
b.
The Clerk advised that still no details of the proposed bat survey at the cemetery had been
received.
c.
The Clerk advised members that she had had no response to correspondence concerning bus
timetables nor had the invoice sent been paid. Cllr Shaw asked for copies of these documents so that
the matter could be raised at a forthcoming meeting. Cllr Parsons also asked that
Cllr Shaw suggest bus timetables be available on buses for distribution to travellers. Chairmans
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286. Transition Towns
Cllr Shaw advised members that a meeting was to be held on 25th January and it was hoped the article
in the Council Newsletter would have encouraged more people to attend. He also advised that Cllr Wood
and Mr Gooderham were to attend Transition Town training at Bishopswood shortly.
287. Allotments
The Clerk advised members that a public meeting had been arranged with Severn Trent and the
Environment Agency on 19th January as requested.
The Clerk also advised that an amended planning application for the defences had been submitted but it
was likely that, as the alternations were material, a new planning application would be requested by
Wychavon.
As the new planning application now indicates that no pumping stations are to be installed, members
were concerned that a public meeting was to be held without the opportunity for members to have
discussions with the Environment Agency and Severn Trent prior to the meeting. It was therefore agreed
that the Clerk try to arrange a meeting before 19th January with Severn Trent and the Environment
Agency for interested members and advise members accordingly.
288. Pershore Railway Station
The Clerk advised that there had been no further progress in this regard.
289. Pershore Hydropower
Cllr Tucker reported that a grant application for the hydropower project had been submitted although at
this stage it was too soon to know whether it would succeed. It was planned that, should the application
be successful, the Town Council would advance the funds to a new charitable trust set up to lend the
funds to the engineering company installing the turbine. Income received by way of repayment of the
loan would then be used for future projects to reduce the carbon footprint of the town. Cllr Merry asked
what financial information had been provided by the engineering company to ensure the viability of the
project and Cllr Tucker said that should the grant application succeed, a due diligence process would
need to be entered into before any contract was agreed. Cllr Rowe asked what responsibility the Town
Council would have if, part way through the project, the engineering company ran into financial
difficulties and Cllr Tucker advised that safeguards would be built into the contract when it was drawn
up.
Cllr Tucker advised members that the Council would be notified by 14 th January if they had progressed
to the short list and if they had, a site visit would be undertaken between 14 th and 22nd January and
some preparation would be required for this visit.
290. Heritage Landscapes
Cllr Shaw advised members of the details of a project to look at how landscapes are used in the creation
of local ideas of heritage and senses of place. The data obtained will be used to consider various ways
in which landscape can be used to help foster local senses of identity and all research will be carried out
between January and July 2010. Cllr Shaw agreed to give the details to any
interested members. Cllr Shaw had also drawn the information to the attention of Mr Chairmans
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Jim Burgin, from Wychavon D.C.
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291. Public Transport
Cllr Shaw advised members that a meeting was to be held on 3rd February and that the recently
completed transport questionnaire had proved to be most useful. He intended also attending the Youth
Council meeting the following week where public transport was an agenda item so that he could take
forward any of the Youth Council’s concerns.
292 Items for information
There were none.
293. Items for future agenda
Cherry Orchard Playing Field (Cllr Amphlett)
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20.12
Signed……………………………………………. Date……………………….
Chairman
Chairmans
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