Agenda and minutes

It was RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Kelly-Wilson be elected as chair of the council for the year 2023-2024.

Cllr Kelly-Wilson made his declaration of acceptance of office before the council.

It was RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Richard Graham be elected vice-chair of the council for the year 2023-2024.

It was RESOLVED to note the apologies as listed above.  Cllr Wymer had submitted apologies for anticipated late arrival which were also noted.

(Under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, made under s30 (3) of the Localism Act, councillors are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting)

No declarations of interest were made.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting of the council be approved as a correct record.

To receive representations from members of the public on items on the agenda and to hear questions from members of the public about council business which may not be listed on the agenda.

Members of the public who wish to present  a spoken or written representation should contact the Clerk no later than 12 noon on the day before the day of the meeting in order to register to be heard.

The public speaking session will generally last no more than 15 minutes and individuals will be permitted to speak for a maximum of 3 minutes.

Requests to speak or ask questions will be dealt with in the order in which they have been received by the Clerk.

For more information or to register to speak please contact:

Delia Shephard

Town Clerk

01908 649469

clerk@bletchleyfennystratford-tc.gov.uk

Please be aware that meetings may be recorded including the representations made by members of the public.

There were no representations from members of the public.

Recommendations from the Employment Policy Committee will be discussed at agenda item

It was RESOLVED to note the minutes of the meeting and to deal with the recommendation at minute reference EMPC23-24/31 at the end of the meeting.

It was RESOLVED to note the draft minutes.  There were no recommendations for consideration.

It was RESOLVED to approve the existing scheme of delegations.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Finance and Governance Committee:

Cllr Eamonn O’ Rourke

Cllr Ethaniel Kelly-Wilson

Cllr Keith Ely

Cllr Richard Graham

Cllr Ron Haine

Cllr Sam Browne

Cllr Uche Osumili

which left three vacant seats on the committee.

It was RESOLVED that Cllr Ely be elected as chair of the committee and Cllr Browne as vice-chair of the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Environment and Planning Committee:

Cllr Andrew Palmer

Cllr Eamonn O’ Rourke

Cllr Ethaniel Kelly-Wilson

Cllr Ismail Hussein

Cllr Keith Ely

Cllr Richard Graham

Cllr Ron Haine

which left three vacant seats on the committee.

It was RESOLVED that Cllr Hussein be elected as chair of the committee and Cllr Haine as vice-chair of the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Community Committee:

Cllr Andrew Palmer

Cllr Ayesha Khanom

Cllr Ethaniel Kelly-Wilson

Cllr Liz Campbell

Cllr Mariee Wymer

Cllr Richard Graham

Cllr Sam Browne

Cllr Terry Stephens

which left two vacant seats on the committee.

It was RESOLVED that Cllr Stephens be elected as chair of the committee and Cllr Wymer as vice-chair of the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Appeals Committee:

Cllr Ayesha Khanom

Cllr Richard Graham

Cllr Sam Browne

which left two vacant seats on the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect Cllr Graham as chair of the committee and Cllr Khanom as vice-chair of the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Employment Policy Committee:

Cllr Ed Hume

Cllr Ethaniel Kelly-Wilson

Cllr Gavin Bedford

Cllr Keith Ely

Cllr Uche Osumili.

It was RESOLVED to elect Cllr Hume as chair of the committee and Cllr Bedford as vice-chair of the committee.

It was RESOLVED to elect the following members to the Clerk Performance Management Sub-committee:

Cllr Ed Hume

Cllr Ethaniel Kelly Wilson

Cllr Gavin Bedford.

It was RESOLVED to elect Cllr Hume as chair of the sub-committee and Cllr Bedford as vice-chair of the committee.

No changes proposed by officers to previously agreed document.

It was RESOLVED to approve and adopt existing Standing Orders.

This document was amended and approved by full council on 25 April 2023. No further changes are proposed by officers.

It was RESOLVED to approve and adopt existing Financial Regulations.

No changes proposed.

It was RESOLVED to review the existing adopted members’ code of conduct and the member officer protocol and to make no changes. 

It was RESOLVED to approve the continuing partnership arrangement which was managed by the Community Committee.

(Cllr Wymer joined the meeting.)

It was RESOLVED to approve the continuing partnership arrangement. The clerk noted that this was the final year of a three year agreement and members agreed that a review should be conducted before entering into any further agreement.

i       Milton Keynes Parishes Forum – 2 representatives required, (Cllr Stephens and the clerk are prepared to continue as representatives

ii      Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils – 2 representatives

iii     Lakes Estate Renewal Forum – 1 representative

iv     Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal – membership of the Town Deal Board is to be reviewed now that the programme is moving into the implementation phase of the TIP projects.  In view of this, it is suggested that no change is made to representation at the moment which would need to be agreed by the Town Deal Board in any event.

v      Salden Chase Sub-Committee – two representatives

vi     Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group – 5 representatives or more (Cllrs Hussein has recently taken over as chair)

It was RESOLVED to make the following arrangements for town council representation on outside bodies:

Organisation                                                 Representatives

Milton Keynes Parishes Forum                      Cllr Stephens and the clerk

BMKALC                                                         Cllr Hume and Cllr Kelly-Wilson

Lakes Estate Renewal Forum                        Cllr Hume and Cllr Wymer

Town Deal Board                                            Clerk

Salden Chase Sub-committee,                      No arrangement pending further

West Bletchley Council                                   enquiries by the clerk

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford                        Cllr Hussein

Neighbourhood Plan                                       Cllr Bedford

                                                                        Cllr Graham

                                                                        Cllr Kelly-Wilson

                                                                        Cllr Hume

                                                                        Cllr Wymer

It was RESOLVED to approve the summary asset register and inventory of land.

At the annual meeting on 24 May 2022, it was resolved that the recommendation of the Finance Committee on the that the Council enter into a three year agreement for insurance cover with Zurich Municipal; the renewal amount will be provided at the meeting.

It was RESOLVED to approve the town council’s existing arrangements for insurance in respect of all insurable risks including payment of the annual premium of £8,491.25 to Zurich Municipal for the general insurance policy for the year 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.  The Finance Manager drew attention to the increase in premium from the previous year (£7,668.07) which was accounted for by addition of content insurance for premises at Barton Road.

i       Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils (BMKALC) including NALC contribution

ii      Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC)

iii     The Allotment Association (formerly National Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners)

iv     National Association of British Markets (NABMA)

Previously the Town Council has resolved that it no longer wishes to be a member of Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils.

It was RESOLVED to approve the following subscriptions for the year

i       Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils (BMKALC) including NALC contribution   £2,947.90

ii      Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC)  £501.00

iii     The Allotment Association (formerly National Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) £55

iv     Following a recommendation from officers it was agreed to give the 12 months notice required to stop the annual subscription to National Association of British Markets (NABMA) which was not felt to be providing value for money but the subscription of £384.00 for the current year was approved.

Replacement policies for consideration and adoption

Members reviewed revised Freedom of Information Policy and Data Protection Policy which had been simplified, and updated in the light of changes to the town council’s website.

It was RESOLVED to approve and adopt the new policy documents with immediate effect.

Proposed changes are highlighted in red.  Policy was previously reviewed at last annual meeting 24 May 2022.

Members reviewed a revised policy on dealing with the press and media which incorporated the Civility and Respect policy addendum recommended by the Civility and Respect project.

It was RESOLVED to approve the revised policy and adopt it with immediate effect.

No changes proposed by officers to this policy which was previously approved on 24 May 2022.

Following review it was RESOLVED to approve the town council’s existing  complaints procedure with no changes.

No changes proposed, all policies previously adopted.

The town council’s employment policies and procedures were reviewed. No changes were proposed or made.

Calendar previously approved, meetings will be held at Newton Leys Pavilion.

It was RESOLVED to confirm the council’s calendar of meetings for the year 2023-2024 which had already been approved at an earlier meeting.

Members are reminded of previous statements from MKCC/MKDP that this building would be demolished as soon as practicable in order to improve the area and to prevent further criminal damage/anti-social behaviour.  Meanwhile a development brief for the Brunel Centre parcel of land is currently in preparation and this will be consulted upon in due course.

It was RESOLVED to support the prior approval for proposed demolition of the former Sainsbury’s site. 

The clerk noted that since the planning application had been placed on this agenda the town council had been notified that the city council would be preparing development briefs for Milton Keynes Development Partnership owned sites and  commencing the preparation of a development brief for the Brunel Centre and former Sainsbury’s store, Bletchley.  This development brief would outline high level principles and parameters to help inform more detailed subsequent proposals for this key gateway area of Bletchley.

The outline programme for preparation of the brief was:

1      May-June : Preparation of Draft Development Brief

2      July – August: 8-week formal consultation

3      August-September: amendments following formal consultation

4      Late September 2023 : Delegated Decision to approve Development Brief

The town council could expect be formally consulted on the Draft Development Brief during the above-mentioned formal consultation period. The clerk advised that she had already contacted MKCC on behalf of the town council to express concern that the formal consultation would be taking place during the summer holidays and that she would invite representation from MKCC to  the July town council meeting to enable members to understand and ask questions about the brief.

The budget summary to April 2023 details accurate figures, however, year-end accruals have not all reversed. The summary of the rolling capital program includes budget figures that will require reviewing at the Finance Committee on 20 June 2023.

The Finance Manager noted that at this stage in the year not all the accruals from the previous year had been reversed out of the accounts.

 It was RESOLVED to note the report.

It was RESOLVED to ratify the list of payments made or due to be made.

It was RESOLVED to allocate £2,500 from the Neighbourhood Plan earmarked reserve to be used by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group for planning consultancy fees to support planned meetings of the steering group and task force meetings. It was noted that, as required under the grant scheme  the town council had refunded to Locality any Neighbourhood Plan monies which were unspent in 2022-23.  As soon as the 2023-24 funding window opened a further application would be made for the grant funding.

It was RESOLVED to note the draft minutes of the annual meeting of electors held on 11 May 2023 along with copies of the presentation on the Town Deal and the questions and answers asked by residents.

The clerk drew attention to concerns raised by one member of the public about councillor attendance at meetings and failure to submit apologies which had been raised for the second time in two years. The chair noted that this issue had already been discussed at a recent meeting of the council.  It was suggested that the chair should write to individual councillors who did not attend or submit apologies reminding them of their obligations.

It was RESOLVED that members of the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted which was likely to include discussion of the personal circumstances of individual employees.

The chair of the Employment Policy Committee (Cllr Hume) gave a confidential presentation which included a reminder that the existing employee headcount was 11 employees, or 8.9 full time equivalent posts.  The annual payroll  for these employees including employer pension  and national insurance contributions had been budgeted at £477,019 for 2023-34 (excluding anticipated TUPE/recruitment for landscaping staff from September 2023).  However the current annual forecast for these costs was now £488,417.  This represented an overspend on budget of £11,398 caused by additional weekend cover costs, two increments not in the original budget and anticipated outcome of the ongoing negotiations on local government pay which seemed likely to exceed the 4.5% included in the original budget. 

Cllr Hume then explained the rationale for the creation of a new permanent full-time post of Support Services Officer  in the Support Services Team at a salary scale of spinal column points 16-19. This would increase the anticipated overspend to approximately £49,736. Following questions it was RESOLVED to approve the creation of the additional post which would be funded from reserves for 2023-24.