Town Councillors present: C. Barnes, L.E. Dowson, D.T. Gladding, I.S.E. Huddlestone (Chair), M. Huddleston, D. Rae, S. E. Rae, M. Williams.

Matters Arising:

Marsh Lane traffic problems - two speed-warning signs have been put up, one on each end of the lane. A letter from the police says they will shortly do traffic surveys.

Regeneration - Town Centre Partnership - there will be a meeting on Friday 27th at 3pm.

Town Hall windows - Town Clerk Susan Stevens said they are waiting for information from Graham Holland, photos are needed of the existing windows. The clock tower now has the staircase completed and the clock is working. The ceiling will be replaced this week. The flagpole is not yet usable, further work may be needed - the access ladder required is a costly item.

There will be a meeting next week about planning application 0637 for 14 houses between St George's Rd and Church Ln. Chair Cllr Ian Huddlestone expressed the hope that as many councillors as possible will turn up to listen and understand what is going on.

Planning Applications:

0719 for 8 dwellings off High St. Cllr Chris Barnes highlighted the concerns of residents that the area already has traffic problems, it is a narrow spot and there need to be enough parking spaces for every unit in the development. Cllr Lance Dowson said there are questions about conservation and wildlife habitat. The site will be below Spring Bank, but above High St - it may increase parking problems on Spring Bank as well. Cllr Martin Huddleston said parking is the main problem. The proposal tries to recreate Bankside, which the Town Council looked into some years ago. Since then, wildlife is more established, though only through the lack of anything going on at the site. Cllr Donald Rae wondered what grounds there would be for an objection. Houses have always been on the site. There is a question of whether 9 parking places is sufficient for 8 units. Could a smaller development be more appropriate? Chair Ian Huddlestone noted that there was no objection last time. Martin Huddleston described the cobbled path as a significant feature of the site - would it be affected? Ian Huddlestone said the development would have to take quite a bit of land. Cllr Sheila Rae was concerned about the visual impact of the car park being at a high level. They should ask for elevations of how it will look on the valley side.

0732 (resubmission of 0022) for 10 houses on land at Brookdale on Church Ln. Cllr Lance Dowson said there is a need to question the accuracy of the submission. Brookdale is shown inaccurately on the plans. The old 'Beech House' is now 'Thorndale'. On the application it describes the land as 'the garden of Beech House', but documents associated with the sale of Beech House and Thorndale do not show this land as the garden. As a greenfield site, there remains an injunction on the use of this land. The land always has been a greenfield site in living memory, and going back 100 years from local accounts. Cllr Chris Barnes thought that as the matter will be discussed at the meeting next Monday concerning application 0637, it should be left until then. Cllr Martin Huddleston asked if a planning officer would be present at this meeting - Susan replied that they have not asked for one. Lance queried whether the comments from this meeting will be in time for the consideration by the HPBC Development Control Committee meeting. It was proposed and seconded to leave the matter until Monday 30th Sept.

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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, DALC (Derbyshire Association of Local Councils) have to register schemes for data collection by Feb 2003. There have been problems in addressing this due to difficulties in accessing the Information Commissioners website. Cllr Donald Rae said that like the Health & Safety Policy it would only be a matter of adapting the document to fit.

Derek Brumhead has proposed the reinstatement of the footbridge over the Peak Forest Canal at the end of Victoria St. The bridge supports are still in place, however, on the Redmoor Ln side the land is privately owned. Martin Huddleston felt that they needed to get British Waterways more on board. Sheila Rae asked for confirmation that there is no commitment to expenditure at present - Chair Ian confirmed this.

Health and Safety. Cllr Donald Rae commended Stephen Lewis on his work. A qualified First-Aider was needed in the Town Hall. Lance Dowson said that if there are a number of people who need training, St John's Ambulance may run a course. Ian Huddlestone said they are looking for two First-Aiders in the parks department and one at the Town Hall. Sheila Rae felt they should just go ahead with the proposed individual training.

Cllr Dowson proposed that the Council record their congratulations to New Mills Bonfire Committee who have received commendation for their work over the years in raising money for charities.

Health & Safety Policy for Employees. Donald Rae noted that there are separate H & S policies for other areas of Council activity. Martin Huddleston voted to adopt the policy and thank Stephen Lewis.

Cllr Donald Rae described New Mills as a 'digital desert' - there being no broadband or cable (though there is cable in Charlesworth), no channel 5 or BBC digital, and Sky can also be a problem. BT have started to promote broadband and MP Tom Levitt has highlighted the matter. It would be useful to get local businesses to meet and try to press for broadband in the New Mills exchange area.

Chair Ian Huddlestone brought before the Council the matter of a Town Council website, concerning which he had approached Mr Beardwood. Lance Dowson described the newmillsweb.com community website as excellent, though some people confuse it as being a Town Council site. He thought that the Council should look into trying to support this site with a community funding application. Donald Rae agreed.

Cllr Sheila Rae asked if the signage has now gone up and whether this is exclusively for the Torrs and Walkway. Susan said there would be signs at Central Station and the Heritage Centre. Lance said the stone plaque for Torr Top is now ready. Ian aimed to get the regiment involved when it is unveiled.

Green Travel Plan for Magistrate's Court. Lance Dowson felt there to be a couple of gaps in this report. Certain verbal assurances were made, for example that a bus service would be paid for, but this is absent from the report. There are changes of orientation, instead of making positive methods, the report relies on others to take action. Cllr Sheila Rae said the bus service had been dropped as it was not made a condition of planning approval by the inspectorate. She felt the Council should continue to push for this shuttle bus to link to the trains, particularly Newtown Station. Lance said that at one time there was even talk of laying on a special bus to Glossop. Donald Rae said he shared Cllr Dowson's concerns - the report seems to be rather soft. It says that essential car users should have parking provision - rather than guarantee a parking space it should encourage the use of public transport.

Sheila Rae handed out a draft of a reply with comments the Town Council may like to make on the report. If there is a survey, who will pay? The Town Council should have a say in discussing the results of the survey. We should go back to say we want a shuttle bus with its benefits of links to trains and also benefits for the New Mills community, on these grounds it may attract a subsidy. A sum of money should be requested to be set aside to implement the results of the survey. Cllr Marion Williams asked if there is not already a bus to the train station. Sheila Rae replied that it rarely coincides with the trains. Lance noted that this problem came out in the inquiry. Martin Huddleston supported everything Sheila had said. Lance wondered if they need to tie them down on matters of improving safety of routes to and from the site. We should ask them to be more specific about this, we need to know more. Sheila agreed that there is a vagueness about the report. Lance summed it up as a need for more 'how, what, where, when'.

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At this point the public were asked to leave while the Council discussed financially sensitive matters.