Tiverton Town Council -

This report is taken from that given by Cllr N Davey at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting 

The Mayor, Councillor Neal Davey, informed the meeting that at the elections last May there had been some turnover of councillors. He thanked those who had stood down, including the previous mayor, Lester Crocker. Three positions on the council had been filled by cooption. He had been pleased to visit Newquay last year for the South West in Bloom presentations, in which Tiverton had once again been awarded Silver Gilt. He thanked Cllr Trump, the chairman of the Tiverton in Bloom Committee and her team for all their hard efforts in achieving this.

He felt that the relationship with the young people had grown during the year, and had been pleased that the High School Ambassadors had attended most council meetings. In addition to this he had enjoyed visiting a number of schools during his mayoral year. He thanked Cllr Wilson for all the effort he had put into the Snow Warden Scheme, and hoped that we would not need to use this facility this year! Cllr Paul Graham, chairman of the Allotments’ committee had worked hard with the officers to secure an additional site, which had very much reduced the waiting list. 

The New Hall continues to be well used and plans are well in hand to reduce the losses that have occured each year by more changes to staffing and by hopefully attracting more bookings. 

He went on to praise Cllr Griggs and her team for all their efforts in ensuring that Tiverton enjoys a fantastic Christmas lights display each year. Cllr Griggs was also responsible for the Traders Association, which was now operating very successfully. 

The council is working on a new website which will be launched later this year. 

He also thanked Cllr Rendle for her efforts with the Civic & Ceremonial Committee. 

 Planning Committee

The Planning Committee continues to meet on the first and third Monday in the month, except for Bank Holidays. There have been a variety of applications dealt with from an application for a new housing estate, down to applications to prune trees in a Conservation area. 

On a few occasions members of the public have attended meetings, but in the main not many people attend. The meetings have, on occasions, been attended by officers of Mid Devon District Council, who have been able to offer advice and guidance on a number of planning issues. 

Civic & Ceremonial Committee

The biggest challenge to this committee has been the need to adapt to the idea that in future the police are unable to support road closures for non national events. This requires the committee to ensure that road closure orders are obtained and that marshals are provided at every junction where the road is closed.

Allotment Committee

With the introduction of the new site the waiting list is now well down. At the present time there would seem to be little need for any additional sites, however this will be reviewed from time to time. One of the aspects being looked at is the need try and assist disabled people who wish to have an allotment garden.

Finance & General Purposes

The committee meets monthly to review the finances of the council. On the general purposes side of things this committee has been looking at ways of improving the management of the New Hall in Barrington Street. New staffing rosters will come into place in June which should reduce the expenditure considerably. On the other side the committee are looking at the way in which the facilities can be better marketed. All this should go a long way to bridging the gap between the annual loss and breaking even in the future.

Tiverton in Bloom

The committee are busy preparing for the 2012 season. Visits have been made to the nursery to see how the hanging baskets are coming along. Of course the South West  in Bloom competition is far more than just about flower displays, it’s about community involvement and taking pride in your local area.

The Chairman of this committee is therefore very keen to involve as many organisations and people as possible for the 2012 entry.

Christmas Lights

The general feeling was that the 2011 Christmas lights display was very good. There was a action packed evening for the switching on of the lights, and already plans are in hand for the 2012 switch on. The 2011 lights were the third year of the present Christmas Lights provider, and the contract will now go out to tender for the 2012-14 period. There is a great need to find more sponsorship to support the display in the town.

 Tiverton Town Council should shortly be permitted to use a new power that has come out of the Localism Act. This power, the full title of which is The Parish Councils (General Power of Competence) (Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012, will permit an eligible council to do anything that an individual person can do. This turns things on its head, for up until now a council has always had to check that it has the power to do something before it committed itself to doing it. Whilst the present Power of Well Being, adopted by the council recently, was similar, it did have restrictions, so therefore the new power will be far more flexible. The new power is referred to as the ‘power of first resort’. 

In order to be able to instigate the power a council needs to have at least two –thirds of its elected members elected, rather than co-opted, at the last election. The clerk must be a fully qualified clerk and have received the required training in the new conditions. 

It is hoped that the council will be able to resolve to introduce the power at its July Council meeting.