Agenda and draft minutes

To receive nomination and to elect a Committee Chair for the Mayoral Year 2022-23.

Cllr Fletcher opened the meeting as Chair of the Council and asked for nominations for Chair of the People and Places Committee.

Cllr Evans nominated himself, seconded by Cllr Kirton

The vote was unanimous.

It was resolved to elect Cllr Evans as Chair of the People and Places Committee.

To receive nomination to elect a Committee Deputy Chair for the Mayoral Year 2022-23.

The Chair, Cllr Evans, asked for nominations for Deputy Chair of the People and Places Committee.

Cllr Damon was nominated by Cllr Fletcher and seconded by Cllr Kirton.

The vote was unanimous.

It was resolved to elect Cllr Damon as Deputy Chair of the People and Places Committee.

Apologies was received and accepted from Cllrs Harkness and Jones. No apologies were received from Cllrs Atkin, James or Katsande.

No declarations of interest were received.

To receive questions from members of the public for a maximum of 10 minutes. (During this time of hybrid meetings any members of public who wish to speak/ask a question must email their request in by the Friday prior to the meeting.)

No requests to speak were received from members of the public.

To approve any unpaid invoices for payment, payments and late payments and to note budget details

Budgets

Councillors considered the budget reports for the committee.  It was explained that the remaining funds from the Armed Forces Covenant will be used for a book that will document the commemorations held in Monmouth for the World War One Centenary.

Concerns were also raised regarding the Dog Waste budget and whether it would be possible to reduce this budget. The Town Clerk confirmed that there is only one provider to dispose of the dog waste in the whole of Monmouthshire but there are ongoing talks with Monmouthshire County Council and other town and community councils to put this contract out for tender.  It was also noted that the budget will be difficult to reduce without reducing the number of dog waste bins in Monmouth.

It was requested that the Dog Waste budget be discussed as an item on a future Full Council meeting.

Cllr Garratt arrived at the meeting

The Town Clerk & Deputy RFO confirmed that the Queen’s Jubilee grant was still open for applications, with over £9,000 already granted for street parties and events held over the jubilee weekend.

The Town Clerk confirmed that due to the recent Peacocks fire it would be necessary to replace the damaged wire and bunting but this would need to be done once the building was confirmed as safe.

It was resolved to note the budget details.

To agree membership and Lead Councillor for the following working/ task and finish groups:

An overview of the Working Groups and Task and Finish Groups was given by the Town Clerk including an explanation of the difference between each type of group.

The following Members were confirmed as members of the current Working/ Task and Finish Groups and it was confirmed that members of public on the groups would be invited to remain:

It was resolved to defer this item as not all Councillors were present and the co-option process had not yet taken place.

It was resolved to defer this item as not all Councillors were present and the co-option process had not yet taken place.

It was resolved that Cllrs Kirton and Fletcher would be members of Plastic Free Monmouth.

It was resolved that Cllr Garratt would be a member of Active Travel, Pedestrian and Transport Working Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Evans would be a member of the Coach Parking Task and Finish Group.

It was resolved that Cllrs Damon and Garratt would be members of the Wye Bridge Pedestrian Footbridge Task and Finish Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Evans would be a member of the Agincourt Street Task and Finish Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Damon would be a member of the Cemetery Working Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Evans would be a member of the Hereford Road Task and Finish Group.

It was resolved that Cllrs Fletcher and Kirton would be members of the Bee Friendly Working Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Fletcher would be a member of the School Council Liaison Working Group.

It was resolved that Cllr Evans would be a member of the Agincourt Square Phone Box Task and Finish Group.

It was resolved to defer this item as not all Councillors were present and the co-option process had not yet taken place.

To consider the Action Summary and to provide any relevant updates.

The following updates were provided on the Action Summary:

20A Monnow Street: It was confirmed that this will be discussed at the next Planning Committee meeting and potentially a future Full Council meeting.

Wye Bridge Pedestrian Footbridge: It was noted that the footbridge is at the design stage but no further updated has been provided.

Cemetery Working Group: It was noted that progress had been made by the previous Council with budgets being set however Monmouthshire County Council were still waiting for a cost update on felling and landscaping in the cemetery itself. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would chase the relevant officer for an update.

Welsh Assembly Government Funding - Coach Parking Provision: It was noted that the signage for time restrictions was due to be installed but this has not yet been confirmed. Councillors felt that the issue is that there is no parking for tourist coaches to wait for their passengers after drop-off and consideration was given to locations that could be offered as a long term parking solution.

Hereford Road Parking:  It has been confirmed by MCC that double-yellow lines would be put on Hereford Road imminently.

Plastic Free Monmouth: It was agreed that the Town Clerk will get in touch with the member of the public who ran this group for more information. It was suggested that the Town Council could run an event on recycling and plastic pollution.

Christmas Lantern Parade: It was questioned whether the lanterns could be reused from last year’s theme. It was confirmed that improvements to the materials used have been made over the years to create less plastic waste and that there is a significant amount of materials left over from last year that can be used.

Policing in Monmouth: The Town Clerk explained that PCSOs would come into previous meetings and provide reports on their wards. The previous Council had significant concerns about the lack of policing in Monmouth and raised these with the Police Commissioner. The Town Clerk confirmed that she had recently been in touch with the new Community Support Officer and has set up a meeting to discuss working together.

It was suggested that Councillors could do a walk of their ward with the CSOs.

War Memorial: The Town Clerk confirmed that Ursell’s will be commencing repair and maintenance work the week starting 27^th June 2022. It was also confirmed that the first woman will be added to the memorial.

To agree any future items for discussion at the next People and Places meeting.

It was agreed that the following items would be discussed at the next meeting on the 11^th July 2022:

·         Dog Waste budget

·         Regular Cleaning of Monnow Bridge

·         Replacement Bunting

·         Confirmation of budget and date of Christmas Lantern Parade

To determine the content of any Press Releases that may be relevant.

Councillors were keen to stress the importance of ensuring that members of the public knew they were welcome to attend the meetings and discussed the possibility of highlighting this through a press release.

Discussion was also had regarding making the meetings more accessible generally but the Town Clerk advised that all Chairs are able to use their discretion to suspend Standing Orders for a member of public to speak and the Council is able to review the Standing Orders and make any necessary changes at the next Full Council meeting.  

To note the date for the next meeting is scheduled for Monday 11^th July 2022.

It was noted that the date of the next meeting is 11^th July 2022.