Stourbridge Township Council meetings

EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF THE MEETING (318th Meeting) OF STOURBRIDGE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL HELD IN THE TOWN HALL STOURBRIDGE ON
THURSDAY 13th DECEMBER 2007 AT 7.15 P.M

PRESENT:
Stourbridge Township Council: Mrs E M D Scott (Chairman of the Council) in the Chair, Mr J B Shepherd (Vice-Chairman & Clerk to the Council), Mrs M Wakelam (Deputy Clerk to the Council), Mr B S Craddock, Mr A C Dawes, Mrs E E Fellows, Mr P J Miles, Mr D M Price, Mr B D Waller, Mrs G P Waller and Mr D I West.
Also present; Councillor Mrs J Collins, Mrs S Craddock, Mrs J Fellows, Mr C Hale, Mrs M Miles and Mrs K C Shepherd.

Our Chairman Mrs E M D Scott welcomed everyone to this our December ‘Christmas’ meeting.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION

Nothing was raised under this item.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from; Mr M D Fellows, Mrs P J Fellows, Miss A Green and Mr K C Jones.
Apologies were also received from; Ms L Blyth, PCSO G Else, Ms M James, Mr M Rose and Mrs Lynda Waltho MP.

POLICE MATTERS

Details of the PACT meetings currently arranged at this time were announced, liaison continues with Police Sergeant Osborne.

Item A; Recent letters to the Council from Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott-Lee and also from Ch Supt Nick Croft referred to the decision of the Council to support the issue of stab-vests to PCSO’s. In addition confirmation had now been received from UNISON that PCSO’s would prefer to be issued with this body protection. Members were reminded of the new national policy giving wider powers to PCSO’s; these would require the officers to operate even more in a front line manner. It is hoped that the Chief Constable will now review his existing policy and listen to the concerns of this Council and others.

Mr Jonathan Fox, press officer of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel (APAP) the national representatives of paramedics, has contacted our Council. Mr Fox, who is an operational paramedic, has asked that the Stourbridge Township Council support his efforts to obtain the issue of stab-vests for his members. These front line ambulance personnel, although usually first at the scene of incidents, have been unable to obtain this protective clothing. Mr J Shepherd asked that members should not only continue to support our PCSO’s, but should also support Mr Fox and his paramedic colleagues. Members unanimously agreed to do so.

Chief Superintendent Peter Monroe currently OCU Commander at Bloxwich (H2) has been appointed as the new OCU Commander for Dudley South (J2) with effect from 1st January 2008. Our Council will write to invite Mr Monroe to our future meetings.

Item B; The Crown Centre development which will have its effect upon a number of traffic and pedestrian issues is still a concern. The DMBC/Tesco/Modus discussions continue, all efforts to obtain information from local DMBC Councillors had been met with a negative result. However a direct approach to Modus by our Council resulted in a personal response from Mr Peter MacFarlane the Modus site Director. Members were informed of the planning and other difficulties experienced since the original plans had been announced by Modus. The introduction of Tesco considerations into the Modus/DMBC plans had resulted in further delays.
Mr MacFarlane will support our relocation moves to protect the Stourbridge Coat of Arms mosaic.

Item C; Concerns remain over the proposed development of the old Yorkshire Bank as a ‘lounge bar and restaurant’. Members spoke of the proposals as yet another threat to the Cumulative Impact Order. Similarly regarding the Picture House, here a 4am license is being proposed for the new Barbarella’s Club. It is thought that local residents will yet again experience problems.

CHAIRMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS

At Mrs Scott’s invitation Cllr Mrs J Collins spoke on the introduction of Stourbridge Radio now to broadcast locally on 102.5 FM. The Chairman asked Cllr Collins to congratulate Dr Paul Collins and his team; their efforts have had our support from the beginning.
Mrs Scott also spoke of the poor attendance by DMBC Councillors at local area meetings.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the 317th meeting of the Township Council held on Thursday 8th November 2007 were received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman Mrs E M D Scott accordingly.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

The Vice-Chairman’s bulletin gave details of communications sent and actions taken by the Council since our November meeting. Mr J Shepherd will provide copies of all relevant communications to members on request.

ITEMS RAISED UNDER STANDING ORDER NO 13 (Nothing was raised under this item)

MATTERS RELATING TO PERSONAL SERVICES (Nothing was raised under this item)

MATTERS RELATING TO TECHNICAL SERVICES

Item A; Mr B S Craddock had requested details of the safety and accident remedial work to be carried out in Racecourse Lane following the tragic double fatality. Mrs Lynda Waltho MP has again written to DMBC and will forward a copy of these details to us when a reply is received.

Item B; There was nothing further to report on building or redevelopment plans from the town centre areas.

Item C; No reports were received of any increase in drunken/disorderly behaviour in the town centre.

Litter; There had been no response to date to the enquiries made at the Birmingham central tickets agency by Ms M James to ascertain how many fixed penalty litter tickets have been issued in our area. Comparisons will be made with other areas when the figures are known. Mr C Hale is aware of similar fixed penalty ticket issues for litter questions being raised by Lynda Waltho MP.
As a result of our approaches to the distributors of local advertising posters and to DMBC, the offending posters at the site of The Ring Road Commemorative Stone have been removed. Clear instructions have been given by the distributors to their agents.

T.C. 2007/761 FINANCIAL, CIVIC AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATTERS

(a) The Chairman informed members that annual subscriptions are being collected.

(b) Stourbridge Area Committee Meetings; 7pm Monday 21st January and 7pm Monday 10th March 2008 both to be held at Hob Green Primary School.

(c) The Township Council will meet on Thursday 10th January, Thursday 14th February and Thursday 13th March 2008.

T.C. 2007/762 CHAIRMAN’S OTHER BUSINESS

The Chairman thanked members for their work and participation during the year and for their assistance and contributions in preparation of this our last meeting of 2007.

The Township Council rose at 8 p.m. Members and guests continued with our ‘annual Christmas gathering’

317th meeting
316th meeting
315th meeting
314th meeting
313th meeting
312th meeting
311th meeting
310th meeting

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