FINANCE & RESOURCES
COMMITTEE
WARE TOWN COUNCIL
A meeting of the FINANCE AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE was held in the
Council Chamber, The Priory, Ware on Monday 25 March 2013 at 7.30pm
when the following business was transacted.
PRESENT
Councillors R Lester (in the Chair), M Pope, G Powell,
J Shropshire, J Wing and P Ballam
ATTENDING
Jill Rowlinson (Town Clerk);
Debra Edwards (Finance & Administration Manager)
Heather Farrelly (on behalf of WAGS)
Christopher Challis (on behalf of East of England
Ambulance Service, Ware CFR Group)
483. APOLOGIES
None
484. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
485. MINUTES
The Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee
held on 11 February 2013, copies having been issued, were approved
and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
486. REQUESTS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
i) East of England Ambulance Service,
Ware Community First Responder Group
A grant request had been received from the above asking for £1,000
towards equipment for Community First Responders in Ware.
The relevant documents had been circulated, reviewed and were noted.
Mr Christopher Challis who submitted the application was asked to
attend the meeting and presented his application.
It was RECOMMENDED:-
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 That the Council provides £1,020 to purchase a
Powerheart G3 AED Defibrillator which will be issued on
loan to the Ware CFR Group.
 That the Council looks into applying for a grant for the
above purchase from the British Heart Foundation.
487. ALLOTMENTS
The relevant documents had been circulated, reviewed and were noted.
i) To receive a report from Ware Allotments & Leisure Gardens
Society
Heather Farrelly attended and reported on behalf of the Ware
Allotments Society. The poor summer in 2012 had contributed
to members giving up their allotments and also to the fall in the
numbers of new requests for allotments. There had been
break-ins at the allotments and the fence at Holly Cross Road
was waiting for repair. It was confirmed by the Town Clerk that
the order for repair was in hand. The proposed site for further
allotments (land owned by GSK) was not considered ideal
due to there being no vehicle access, wildlife problems and poor
soil quality.
ii) To receive a report on lettings and vacancies
Waiting List for Warehouse Field (Widbury Hill)
Waiting List for Crosspath Field (King George Road)
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There are 17 prospective tenants on both waiting lists
The report on the Waiting list for Allotments was noted.
iii) To consider arrangements for the 2013 Best Kept
Allotment Competition
The Council considered the arrangements for the 2013 Best
Kept Allotment Competition.
It was RECOMMENDED: That the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chair of F&R and
Mr John Love be invited to Judge
 Initial inspection date agreed as Friday 14 June 2013
 Final Judging date agreed as Friday 21 June 2013
 Presentation on Thursday 25 July 2013
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iv) Progress report on additional allotments in Ware
Ms Farrelly expressed concern that the Broadmeads site would need
vehicle access, there may be contamination and that there were many
rabbits there. She questioned whether a new allotment site was still
necessary.
The Town Clerk reported that the first site (Broadmeads GSK)
if selected would be given vehicle access. An environmental report
would be obtained. The second site off Viaduct Road appeared to
be a secure site with no rabbit problem. It was felt this site would
have to be upgraded as it was at the entrance to the town.
It was considered there was no immediate need to take forward
the plans for new allotment sites due to the fall in requests.
488. FINANCIAL REPORT
The Financial reports for the period from 1 April 2012 to 31 January
2013 for Ware Town Council and the Priory Charity had been
circulated, reviewed and were noted.
It was RECOMMENDED: That the HP Agreement for the Tipper Truck be reviewed
and consideration be given to its running costs and
replacement.
489. MONITORED CCTV CHARGES 2013/14/15
The Committee was asked to note the increase in charges for 2014/15.
The relevant documents had been circulated, reviewed and were noted.
It was RECOMMENDED that alternatives to CCTV in Ware town
be investigated for the future in consultation with the Police.
490. NEW HOMES BONUS ALLOCATION
The Commitee was asked to consider the request by the Tourism,
Leisure & Amenities Committee for the sum of £3,000 to be allocated
from the New Homes Bonus for 2013/14 to the Mosaic project.
The relevant documents had been circulated, reviewed and were noted.
It was RECOMMENDED that the amount of up to a maximum of
£6,000 be allocated to the Mosaic project in line with the
recommendations to make a larger single mosaic.
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491. WARE PRIORY TRADING LIMITED
An application had been submitted for VAT registration and
a bank account would be opened shortly.
The format for the trading company accounts had been agreed
with the Priory Charity’s auditors and have been set up on
Edge. Accounts for Ware Priory Trading Ltd will be drawn up
manually from the Priory Charity records for 2012/13 and
separate accounts will be maintained for the year 2013/14.
The Progress report had been circulated, reviewed and was noted.
492. HEALTH AND SAFETY AND FIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS
The Progress report had been circulated, reviewed and was noted.
It was RECOMMENDED that the outstanding points be followed
up. It was noted that PAT tests are carried out annually.
The Town Clerk reported that a storage area for the gas canisters
was being constructed by Hamptons at Fletcher’s Lea.
493. DEVOLVED SERVICES
It had been agreed last year:  To approve in principle that the Clerk enter discussions with East Herts
Council regarding transfer of services
 To establish what funding would follow any service to be transferred
 That the following services be considered initially:- Town Cleaning
- Parks and Gardens
- Play Areas
- Flyposting
- Removal of Graffiti
The Town Council has been authorised to take on the legal power to remove
flyposted banners and posters as a supplementary service to that provided by
East Herts Council.
It was agreed that, as other Town Councils were interested in taking on
devolved services, that this should be raised at the regular meeting of East
Herts Town clerks with the Chief Executive of East Herts Council. These
discussions had not yet taken place but a meeting was due to take place on
27 March.
The Progress Report had been circulated, reviewed and was noted.
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494. ROOM HIRE
(A) Concessionary rate bookings
Room hire rates in general had not changed since July 2010. Now that
security costs have increased it was necessary to review these.
Commercial room hire rates would be discussed with Hamptons before
consideration by the Trustee of the Priory Charity. However, the main
issue following the increase in security costs was concessionary rate
bookings offered to charities and local organisations.
When these bookings took place during office hours there was
no security cost. However, evening bookings, particularly in
Fletcher’s Lea, now incurred a significant security cost and
it was not economical to take weekend bookings.
The Committee was asked to consider the following options:1. Increase the rate for all concessionary rate sessions
2. Introduce a higher price for evening and/or weekends and leave
daytime rates unchanged.
3. To review the way in which evening and weekend bookings are staffed.
It was RECOMMENDED: That rates for other local venues be obtained and
analysed.
 That the option of employing a caretaker for non security
evening work be investigated.
(B) Free usage of Fletcher’s Lea by East Herts Council
Further to point 425 in the Finance and Resources Committee
Minutes of the meeting dated 11 February 2013
It was RECOMMENDED that the Guidelines be amended as
follows 1. East Herts Council is entitled to use Fletcher’s Lea free
of charge for 6 sessions per calendar year
2. It is envisaged that such use will normally comprise a
morning session from 9am to 1pm or an afternoon session
from 1pm to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday and will not
include sessions for which the bar is open.
However the Council will give consideration to requests
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by East Herts Council to use Fletcher’s Lea free of charge
outside of these sessions (to include the use of the bar) on a
case by case basis. Such consideration will be given by
a sub-committee comprising the Town Clerk and the Chairman
of the Finances and Resources Committee (or the Vice
Chairman if the Chairman is unavailable)
3. Normal Terms and Conditions of Hire as contained in our Hire
Agreement will apply
4. This Agreement will end on 15 March 2023
495. ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13
The format of the Annual Report had been circulated, reviewed and was
noted.
It was RECOMMENDED: That columns in the Financial report be added for the
2012/13 Budget against the Actual Income and
Expenditure for 2012/13.
 That the headings on the Financial report be reviewed
and more information such as Grants paid and Utility
costs be added.
 That Exceptional items would be discussed in the
Mayor’s report.
 That the Annual Report be uploaded on the WTC
website and hard copies circulated to Ware Library and
displayed on Notice boards.
 A draft of the Financial report layout would be provided
to the Committee for review.
496. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
It was
RESOLVED that the Public and Press be excluded from the
meeting in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to
Meetings) Act 1960 as matters to be discussed under items 497
to 500 were considered to be confidential.
497. CATERING AGREEMENT
Cllr Lester gave a progress report.
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498. KIOSK
The Town Clerk had attempted to contact Ben Irvine to
discuss arrangements for 2013 and would follow up. Consideration
would be given to alternative arrangements.
499. PROPERTY MATTERS
Vacant Offices suites
The Committee was asked to consider a recommendation from the
Estate Surveyor following receipt of an offer for the lease at the Oriel
Room.
It was RECOMMENDED that the offer be accepted
subject to ratification by the Priory Charity Trustee on
15 April 2013.
The Town Clerk reported that there were difficulties letting the Tudor suite
due to the dark colour of the room. There were also issues with lack of
sound proofing between offices.
The Town Clerk and Finance & Administration Manager left the meeting
at 9.55pm.
500. STAFFING MATTERS
Town Clerk’s Annual Increment - Proposal to be put to
Full Council
501. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Monday 17 June 2013
502. CLOSE OF MEETING
The meeting closed at 10pm.
Chairman
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