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

Chair Cllr Ian Huddlestone remarked on the 40th anniversary of the twinning arrangement with Alsfeld and the gift of a clock by the Alsfeld delegation here over the weekend. Cllr Chris Barnes described how enthusiastic the visit had made him regarding twinning, which the council should seek to further, particularly in the interests of children. The banner on the Town Hall had been made by New Mills school children.

Chair IH then read out a statement regarding the matter of the Magistrates' Court brought up at the Town Meeting of 29th May 2002:

A series of questions have been prepared for Counsel.

Cllr Chris Barnes felt that there was unfinished business after the Town Meeting, New Mills people were left uninformed. A statement to the press was incorrect. This should have been set right. He had spoken to DALC [Derbyshire Association of Local Councils], and been informed that the lady in question [one of ten signatories to the proposal for a poll] needed only to be on the electoral roll. Also the statement by a councilor at the Town Meeting that 50% of the electorate had to participate in the poll was misleading - the procedure is that a majority counts, regardless of turnout. Adrian Westbury [DALC] said that councils generally go along with the outcome of such referendums. Cllr Barnes asked if legal counsel had been appointed and who was paying. The Chair affirmed that counsel has been appointed and that the developers Babcock and Brown will pay.

Cllr Barnes continued by declaring that a meeting should have been called. He wanted to say that due to the misleading press statement an apology should be sent to Mr Armstrong and the lady concerned. The procedure had been done correctly. He was not happy at the way things have been conducted since the Town Meeting, matters needed putting on a better footing and dealing with more openly. At the Town Meeting it had been suggested that there should be a 15 minute interaction period before full council meetings, and he would like to see this done.

Chair IH then read out the 6 questions put to the leading Counsel:

Ian described this as a complicated matter. The questions address some of the matters raised by Cllr Barnes. All was done with the co-operation of TC solicitors. The Chair was not sure that councillors have the expertise to address decisions without the help of counsel. The statement to the press was not rescinded following the discovery that the lady in question was on the electoral register, as they decided to wait for answers to the questions above sent to counsel.

Cllr Liam Mycroft said he was not prepared to vote on the matter without counsel as there were binding consequences of legal action if they acted improperly. It was not a matter of party politics as he was against a court on this site. After advice from counsel there needed to be a proper debate of the matter.

He supported the involvement of people in council meetings. In the past there had been little public attendance of meetings, except where significant specific issues were involved. Standing orders would be needed regarding the procedures. He welcomed it as a positive development. Cllr Martin Huddleston felt there were quite a lot of issues to be looked at arising from the Town Meeting.

From the public audience Penny Simons asked if the answers from counsel will be made public and if the counsel is independent. Chair IH answered yes to both questions - Babcock and Brown were only to pay for the counsel. A meeting had been had with B&B and they will come back with plans. There are issues to do with access at front and back which need settling in any case.

Cllr Martin Huddleston said there was also the issue of whether to sell or lease the land at the rear. Chair IH indicated that more information was needed. Cllr Donald Rae said it was all very complex. Further questions could have been added to the list. All has to be made public, though a degree course may be needed to understand it.

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Matters arising from minutes: Work on the Town Hall flag pole should start on 17th July. Car park charging to be discussed at meeting on 15th July when Cllr Doughty present. Low Leighton Methodist Hall hired on Tue 9th July for public to view plans of Ollersett playing field development.

Cllr Chris Barnes enquired if there had been any reply about police consultation. Cllr Liam Mycroft said he used to chair a police consultative group for 3 years. The same three people turned up each time, and the group was a poor form of community consultation. It is important that the police come to the Town Council meetings to address issues. Cllr Marion Williams said police have come to the meetings for many years and have always been put to the front of the agenda, and it only took around 15 minutes of their time. Cllr Sheila Rae thought the Town Council were being offered quarterly meetings by the police. Chair Ian Huddlestone said this needed clarifying. Cllr Mycroft welcomed the consultative group. Cllr Rae felt the Town Council meetings offered a wider agenda than the consultation group. She wanted to see extension of CCTV discussed. Cllr Martin Huddleston felt previous arrangements were not satisfactory in that there was insufficient response to suggestions. Cllr Donald Rae said the police should be informed of what we expect. Cllr Barnes said the Council had been told there would be two beat bobbies, but it now transpired that one was off sick and the other not often available.

It was agreed to ask the police to come to the Council meetings every three months and to send them a list of issues which needed addressing. Cllr Sheila Rae suggested the issues of CCTV, burglaries on Hall St and High Hill Rd, and bobbies on the beat. Cllr Mycroft said there are occasionally teams of thieves giving a spate of thefts - these stop once the police catch the team. Similarly with drug dealers. It is important that the police tell the Council about such matters. Bobbies on the beat have been promised over the years but never fully materialse.

Planning Applications - 422 to 482 were either not objected to or regarded as matters for HPBC or DCC Highways to decide. Application 505 is a resubmission of 194 for garages at 18 Bridge St., and there was objection to this on traffic grounds. Regarding site visits, Cllr Mycroft said the Council could not comply with a directive to relate these to planning officers reports as they did not see these reports at the time when decisions had to be made.

The accounts were approved. Cllr Sheila Rae questioned the cost of cleaning bus shelters, how often were they cleaned? The figure was £100 / 2 months.

Regarding the replacement of Town Hall windows, Cllr Marion Williams said there had yet to be a valuation. Susan (Clerk) said they had not received the proper specification. DCC were unlikely to be able to do this until September, so alternative surveyors had been found, and one was coming on the 26th June. Chair determined to await the survey report.

There is a suggestion to resite the old crane from the Midland Goods Yard (currently in High Lea Park) at land off Church Rd. The Local History Society are involved.

On the issue of safety at the Millennium Walkway, Cllr Liam Mycroft said there would always be dangerous areas if treated stupidly. Chain-link fencing would look unimpressive, and idiots would find a way around. Signs were not a bad idea. The Chair said a bike had been thrown onto the rock face. Cllr Sheila Rae stated that Kinder Mountain Rescue have been involved in removing litter off the rockface. Cllr Martin Huddleston described it as a difficult problem, expert rock-climbers were OK and should not be excluded. Cllr Donald Rae said the two boys who had gone onto the rockface got over the wall at the viewpoint near the Heritage Centre. Chair IH said they should chase-up the ideas of signage and DCC assessment of the area.

Hope Valley Rail Letters. Good procedures and practices were needed for fire alarms. Regarding the station audit, the Town Council would like to be involved.

Buxton Opera House have asked to do two performances in the Town Hall. This was welcomed with enthusiasm by all councilors. Cllr Martin Huddleston described it as a brilliant idea, and that a Town Council meeting, which clashed with one suggested date, should be moved to accommodate the performance.

Requests for grant funds had been received from New Mills Junior Cricket Club and Kinder Children's Choir. Cllr Marion Williams said it was necessary to ask for a balance sheet. Cllr Martin Huddleston said this needed to be build-in to procedure, so that a balance sheet is always asked for when a request comes in rather that delaying the matter until a Council meeting. Regarding a question of fairness to other organisations wanting funds, the current policy is to deal with requests as they come in, but this could be changed if required. All applications could be invited in at one time. Cllr Donald Rae said he would be wanting to support the Kinder Children's Choir application, there are some budget figures in their letter, and an encouraging reply should be given.

Regarding the Parish Council Day, Cllrs Ian Huddlestone and Chris Barnes would represent the Council. A health and safety course at Ridge Danyers College was available for staff - Cllr Martin Huddleston asked who it was geared at. Chair IH resolved to get more information. Martin did not feel this needed a Council decision. A shorthand course of 90 hrs was agreed for Susan, subject to cost. A joking concern was expressed that the minutes might become too long, or that what councillors actually said might be reported instead of what they intended to say!

Chair Ian Huddlestone related two issues at the park on Whittle Rd. A dog had got its head stuck in a gap between a gate and the wall - Alf Steele would put a stump in to block this. Secondly, children were kicking a ball into a neighbours garden at the top end of the park and had made a hole in the fence to retrieve the ball. Cllr Martin Huddleston said Alf had been asked to get a quote for fencing. There had been some concerns about putting in goal posts during the park redevelopment ,as this might encourage football games.

Cllr Barnes said there were comments about litter in the town. Signs could be put up. Cllr Martin Huddleston said this had come up at an Action Point [?] meeting on the Torrs. Cllr Mycroft thought HPBC should be asked about current cleaning arrangements.

Members of public speaking at meetings - Chair IH asked how long should be allowed, at the start of meetings? Cllr Donald Rae suggested 15 mins. Cllr Mycroft felt people should give notice so that the time could be adjusted. Cllr Barnes felt there should be a 3 min limit. Susan indicated that speakers would not expect a reply. Cllr Barnes said the Chair could give a brief reply. Cllr Ian Huddlestone said the idea should be tried in full Council meetings and then extended to other committees. Cllr Barnes considered this opportunity would need publicising. All councillors voted in favour of the proposal.

Cllr Liam Mycroft suggested the idea of a Town Plan, like the Local Plan for HPBC, for the future development of New Mills. The Town Council were not by any stretch of the imagination the bastion of every good idea. People might have ideas for long-term developments. For example the church on Mellor Rd had come up with ideas - had the Council supported that in the best way?

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At this point the public were asked to leave while the Council discussed financially sensitive matters concerning tenders for the toilet refurbishment at High Lea Park.