Minutes of the Projects Committee held on Wednesday 25th July 2018 at 7pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Abergavenny
Present:
Chairman – Cllr T Konieczny (Deputy Mayor)
Cllr N Tatam
Cllr M Harris
Cllr T Thomas
Cllr L Van de Vyver
Cllr M Hickman
Cllr G Jones
Cllr D Simcock
Cllr M Groucutt
In attendance:
J Lee (Town Clerk)
| Apologies Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs S Dodd, F Morgan, P Simcock, T Davies. |
| Declarations of Interest None |
| Presentation by Sue Harrison and Diana Wallace from Plastics Free Abergavenny Plastic Free Abergavenny is part of Abergavenny Friends of the Earth. The Plastic Free Abergavenny campaign started in January and is based on the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Communities campaign. The campaign targets single use plastic. Plastic degrades with the recycling process and has limited reuse. MCC and the towns of Monmouth and Chepstow have signed up and Monmouth is expecting Plastic Free Accreditation in September. The Plastic Free Abergavenny group has undertaken considerable local engagement and they report that the public are very much behind the campaign to reduce single use plastic. They are aiming for December accreditation for Abergavenny. Having the support of the Town Council would significantly assist with achieving this accreditation. The campaign is based on 5 objectives – Local Governance, Local business, Plastic Free Allies, On the ground action and Local Resistance. Objective 1 focuses on the action that the local Council could take. The Council is being asked to pass a resolution to support the Plastic Free Abergavenny campaign, to phase out the Council’s use of single use plastic, to put forward a named contact from the Council and encouraging plastic free initiatives. Projects Committee agreed that this issue should be put on the September Council agenda with the recommendation that a resolution of support is passed. The MCC resolution wording will be sent by Sue to the Town Clerk for consideration. The Chair thanked Sue and Diana for their presentation. |
| Matters arising from the Action Table Outstanding actions: To chase up additional dog bin for Grofield ward – MCC has confirmed that this is on order Sanitary & nappy bins for the public toilets ordered, should be installed in a couple of weeks. It was agreed that a notice should be placed in the toilets stating that the Town Council funds the cleaning of the toilets and provision of bins. Town Clerk to arrange. Jan Baldwin, MCC has offered to visit the toilets with Cllr P Simcock to discuss any issues regarding cleaning and maintenance. The public survey regarding toilets is to be carried out in September, the Town Clerk will send around suggested dates asap |
| Refill Scheme for Abergavenny A report giving details of the national Refill Scheme which aims to reduce single-use plastic bottle pollution by promoting free tap water refill points was considered. The Town Council could champion the scheme for Abergavenny which would involve a small licence fee to be paid to allow Abergavenny to use the Refill brand and have bespoke stickers produced. A small working group would be set up of Councillors and other community based organisations. Cllr Konieczny proposed and Cllr Thomas seconded that the Council approves a Refill scheme for Abergavenny, vote unanimous and that Councillors D Simcock, Jones, M Harris and T Konieczny form part of the working group. |
| Award of funding from WG in relation to initial setting up of joint arrangements regarding LDP reviews A report giving details of the £5000 grant award from WG for setting up training for North Monmouthshire Town & Community Councils and interested community members on LDP reviews and how best to engage in the process was considered. The report requested acceptance of the grant and a representative for the Steering Group. Cllr Konieczny proposed accepting the grant, seconded by Cllr Thomas, vote unanimous with Cllrs D Simcock and Jones as the authorised signatories. It was suggested that Cllr P Simcock could be the rep on the North Monmouthshire Liaison Committee. The nomination is to be considered at Council on 12th September. |
| To consider further requests for additional dog waste bins Two requests have been received for dog bins to be installed at the stile Lower Byefield Lane car park and near the footpath from Old Barn Way along to Old Hereford Road. There was some discussion on reviewing the location of the current bins before agreeing to fund additional. However, Cllr Thomas proposed and Cllr Tatam seconded that these 2 additional bins are funded together with a commitment to the emptying. Vote carried, one against. A review of bins would be considered at a later date. Projects Committee has requested that Finance Committee explore an dog bins advertising scheme as a way of reducing the cost for Council. |
| Any Other Business The Abergavenny Chronicle is running a double page feature on Abergavenny in Bloom in next weeks’ paper together with advertising. They have asked if the Town Council would like to place an advert. It was agreed that an advert should be placed to a maximum of £100 stating that Abergavenny Town Council is proud to sponsor Abergavenny in Bloom and to thank participants. |
Meeting closed at 8.00pm
RECOMMENDATIONS
| That Council agrees to Abergavenny having a Refill Scheme, to fund the set up costs of £300 and set up a working group. | |
| To nominate a representative to be part of the Steering Group for the LDP training project. The Steering Group will prepare the project specification and monitor implementation and spend. | |
| To agree to purchase and commit to emptying costs for two additional dog waste bins at a total cost of £300 for the bins and an additional £390 each year for the emptying |
