Updated September 2011

Full Council Minutes December 2011

MINUTES of the Wrockwardine Wood & Trench Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 13th December 2011 at the Parish Council Centre, Church Road, Wrockwardine Wood at 7pm.

PRESENT: Cllr’s. C.F. Smith – Chair, L.T. Brayne – Vice Chair, D. Plant, Shirley Reynolds, Stephen Reynolds, J. Thompson, K. R. Watkins and S.A. Watkins.

IN ATTENDANCE: Five members of the public.

11/2178 Apologies for Absence

RESOLVED – to accept apologies from Cllr’s. K. Hanmer and M. Hanmer (car broken down) and Cllr. H Smith (illness).

11/2179 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest in any item specified in the agenda.

11/2180 Public Session

  1. A resident expressed concern that a gang of youths who they believed were from West View, were congregating in the bus shelter near Wade Road at 10pm one night. The resident said that the youths lit two fires, were drinking, urinating against a wall and have discarded twelve cans on the grass near the shelter.
    The resident said that the police were called but they could not find the offenders. A second resident said that they want the home shut down; they are not getting any satisfaction and asked why the home cannot be moved to a more suitable location. The resident said that the area has a lot of children going up and down the road to local schools so this is not the place for this facility. The resident pointed out that these incidences are happening several times a month.
    The Chair said that we will not be able to have the home closed down as it is run legally. The Chair said that he has spoken to Telford & Wrekin Council Anti-Social Behaviour Team about this matter and they are going to liaise with the police and the owners of the home and report back to us in due course. Cllr. Shirley Reynolds asked if the residents of the home are under a contract of behaviour.
    The Chair confirmed that they do sign a contract of behaviour which is why they are usually supervised, but the supervisors cannot have been there at the time.
    It was AGREED to write to Telford & Wrekin Council ASB Team and point out that this problem has gone on long enough and say that we need a permanent solution.
  2. A resident said that fly posters in the area, advertising a recent circus have not been taken down and we need to request that they are removed. The resident said that TWC have also left notices up regarding the road being resurfaced.
  3. A resident said that he has not seen any provision for the schools that are to move to Oakengates Leisure Centre site to maintain their speciality, i.e. the Sutherland School is a Business and Enterprise College and Wrockwardine Wood is an arts college. The Chair said that we will mention these concerns in our comments when we respond during the consultation process.
  4. A resident asked how long TWC have paid a monthly cost towards the Railfreight Terminal. The Chair said whilst TWC are seeking a new contractor this payment has to be made under the terms of the contract with Network Rail. The Chair said that MOD uses the junction at Haybridge once a month, which could only be taken out at considerable cost and would have to be reinstated once a new contractor was found which would involve further costs. The Chair said that a potential contractor has shown serious interest, but under current European Law it has to go out to contract.
  5. A resident said that he attended a Bus User Group Meeting where it was reported that there is a small amount of funding available to finance bus shelters where TWC and the Parish Council pay 50% each of the cost and we would need to access this funding quickly.

11/2181

The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 8th November 2011 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

11/2182 Correspondence

  1. Telford & Wrekin Council – Letter from Jim Collins regarding changes to secondary school provision. The letter is consulting on the proposal to build a new 1050 place Co-operative Academy for ages 11 – 16 on the Oakengates Leisure Centre Site to replace both the Sutherland School and Wrockwardine Wood Arts College. Comments are required by 23rd December.
  2. Telford & Wrekin Council – Letter from Shaun Davies regarding consultation on 2012/13 Highway Maintenance Schemes. Cllr. Davies says that TWC aim to allocate funding for highway and footpath maintenance on a needs basis, based on information gathered about the condition of roads and footpaths. In addition they also aim to take the views of communities into account to ensure that the programme reflects community priorities.
    Cllr. Davies says that they have developed a draft list of road and footpath maintenance schemes and in our area Trench Road is listed for carriageway maintenance. Under Footway Schemes – Broadway Avenue, Oakwood Drive, Pinewood Avenue, Richmond Avenue, Tenbury Drive and parts of Hortonwood are listed. If the Parish Council consider that other sites are in a worse condition than those proposed, Cllr Davies invites us to suggest alternative sites as part of this consultation process. Comments are required no later than 16th December.
  3. Telford & Wrekin Council – Scrutiny Management Board – Progress Report and Work Programme – Copies available from the Clerk.
  4. Telford & Wrekin Council – Telford & Wrekin Community Forum event on 15th December at Meeting Point House at 6pm. A Co-operative Community Forum to give the people of Telford and Wrekin a voice to help shape the future of the borough. The Forum will initially be set up to provide an independent platform for residents to give their views on the work of the independent Co-operative Commission that the Council launches in September. The Forum is open to everyone who lives or works in Telford.
  5. No Panic – Letter of thanks for recent grant.

Correspondence received after publication of the agenda:

  1. Telford & Wrekin Council - Press release regarding a Memorial that took place on 12th December to honour local Marine Damian Davies who grew up in Wrockwardine Wood. A a plaque was placed on a tree within Telford Town Park which forms part of the Remembrance Memorial. Marine Davies lost his life on 12th December 2008 while serving in Afghanistan.
  2. ALC – Membership Survey on the services provided by ALC.

Correspondence placed on the table

11/2183 Payments to be Issued

Each Member received a list of the expenditure transactions for December 2011. RESOLVED – that the expenditure transactions for December 2011 totalling £7,880.94 be approved. (Copy list attached to office Minutes)

11/2184 To receive and approve a Statement of Accounts for November 2011

A Statement of Accounts for November 2011 was tabled (copy attached to office Minutes). RESOLVED – to approve and accept the Statement of Accounts for November 2011.

11/2185 Any Items of Information or Items for the next Agenda.

  1. The Clerk was instructed to contact Telford & Wrekin Council urgently to ask them to put our Christmas lights up as soon as possible.
  2. Cllr. Brayne said that on visiting the Co-op at Oakengates he is experiencing problems parking in the designated disabled spaces because of taxis using them, although the taxi rank is only across the other side of the road. The Clerk was instructed to write to TWC about this matter.
  3. Cllr. John Thompson informed members that at the bus user group meeting Cllr. Brayne spoke about bus service 481 failing to call in at Lamb Corner. Cllr. Thompson said that the Arriva Manager is looking into this problem and urges people to note the date and times this is happening. Cllr Thompson said that senior residents new bus passes will be issued before March and they may be on a Smart Card System. Cllr. Thompson advised that in the New Year Holyhead Road at Ketley will be closed for two weeks to allow for sewerage works so the bus service will be detoured.
  4. The Clerk was instructed to contact Arriva to find out if elderly residents can use their bus passes for free travel from Telford to Wales.
  5. A resident expressed concern about problems that may be caused by the proposed traffic lights for St. Georges Road/Wrockwardine Wood Way and suggested that we need a review of all traffic lights along Wrockwardine Wood Way. It was AGREED to place this item on the agenda for the January meeting and to invite someone to attend from Telford & Wrekin Council.

11/2186 Date & Venue of the Next Meeting

The next Full Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday 10th January in the School Hall at 7pm.

The Meeting closed at 7.35pm and the Chair wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A view from the chapel