COPYRIGHT
The Annual Report of the Alford Town Council is printed in time for the Annual Public Meeting - normally held in March of each year. It is available at that meeting and in part in the Alford town Newsletter published in April following the meeting. It is also reproduced here in full.
ALFORD TOWN COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
SUMMARY
Since April 2008 the Town Council has been busy on your behalf and has continued with the many projects it is supporting.
The Mayor, Councillor Grant Allan, has represented the town on several occasions at Civic functions, and relinquished his chain of office on the 19th May at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council, which is where the Chairman/mayor is elected by Councillors. The new Chairman/ Mayor is Cllr Graham Hounslow and Vice-Chairman is Cllr Eric Cooper.
The members of the Alford Town Council are:
Councillor G. Allan; Councillor E. Cooper; Councillor C. Henderson; Councillor G. Hounslow; Councillor P. Milson; Councillor J. Johnson; Councillor T. Jarnell; Councillor P. Rawson; Councillor C. Carey; Councillor S. Devereux.
All can be contacted through the Town Clerk on 01507 463590.
CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE
In December 2008 the Town Clerk moved office from the upstairs to the downstairs at the Corn Exchange. The office had been refurbished following work done to the entrance to the Corn Exchange to make it disabled friendly. In April 2009 The Town Clerk of 7 years Jenny Cooper left to take up the role of Town Clerk for Mablethorpe and has been replaced by Linda Croft. Training by ELDC will commence shortly so that the new Town Clerk will be able to answer and deal with some limited ELDC functions – for instance she will be able to report problems with fly tipping, problems with refuse collections, deal with bus pass enquiries and take card payments for things such as bulky waste collection. The service will then be available each morning between 9am and 12 noon, as well as all day Tuesdays.
CORN EXCHANGE
Following long discussions with ELDC the Town Council finally took over management of the Corn Exchange in April 2009. Working with the District Council, the Town Council negotiated to enable it to complete a phased take-over lasting three years, but all bookings and billing is now done by the Town Council. If you want to book the Corn Exchange you must do so through the Town Clerk.
MEMORIAL PARK
Again the Town Council helped the Park Trustees in various ways, a donation towards gardening costs was given in summer 2008 and the Town Council has worked with the trustees and the police over vandalism issues, all of which were recorded on the CCTV equipment.
CCTV
Images from Alford are now viewed at the central control room at Skegness, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trained operators monitor Alford, Skegness, Horncastle, Louth, Mablethorpe and Chapel St Leonards and can summon police to any area. They can also zoom in and clearly record images of offenders for later use. Alford has several cameras around the town, and these are regularly updated to keep images clear. The Town Council owns the cameras in the town, and pays for their maintenance, insurance and replacement, and the District Council manages the central control room at Skegness.
DONATIONS
The Town Council has a limited budget for general donations, but also gives to organisations which benefit the town as a whole. During the last financial year donations were given to:
Memorial Park - £2000
Sports Hall - £500
Victim Support - £50
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (swimming) - £500
Alford Town Football Club (seniors) - £100
Lindsey blind Society - £50
TOWN EVENTS 2008
“Village of Year”
Despite giving it a really good go, the town did not progress further in the Calor Village of the Year event. The name “village of the year” is actually a trade mark and cannot be changed, although the organisers did acknowledge Alford is a Market Town and not a village. The organisers also admitted that Alford was its first Market Town regional winner. The town can still be proud that it achieved so much in only a short time, the Council has entered the competition three times in all, winning second in “Community Life” category at its first attempt and winning the Lincolnshire heat at its third. The day of the judging in April was fine, warm and sunny, there was a good market and judges came to visit the “Promote Alford Day” event in the Corn Exchange organised by the Town Council.
Promote Alford Day/Everybody Benefits
The annual Promote Alford Day was brought forward in 2008 to the day of the Village of the Year judging, to give the judges a flavour of what Alford has to offer. Again the Corn Exchange was full of businesses and community groups, charities and organisations all eager to show off their stands. The Everybody Benefits section was devoted to healthy living and fitness, with stands managed by the Sports Hall to encourage new users to join.
August Bank Holiday
The Town Council organised its annual Charity Market in the Market Place over the August Bank Holiday, but this year it was held on the Saturday only as the European Market had booked the space for the Sunday and Monday. However, the best weather was on the Saturday, when the Market Place was full with charity stalls. Along one side of the Market Place was a display of vintage tractors and cars, and later in the day three steam engines came accompanied by Alford Fire Engine to add interest. The road outside the Windmill Hotel was closed for safety and the Fire Engine was able to park there and feed the steam engines before they left later in the afternoon.
The European Market suffered with the damper weather on the Sunday and Monday, as did several other events planned over that weekend. The Craft Market was held in the grounds of the Manor House as usual, and there were art exhibitions and book stalls held throughout the town.
Christmas
The town did the Council proud with many businesses and organisations donating towards the cost of children’s gifts which Santa duly gave out from his grotto in the back of the Corn Exchange. The Council organised an all day market in the market place, but the weather and lack of customers forced some traders away early, which was a shame as they missed the crowds when Santa arrived drawn by firemen. Piped into the Corn Exchange by a lone piper, Santa was welcomed by the many children already in the hall taking advantage of face painting and balloon modelling.
TOWN CRIER
In June the Town Council endorsed Mike to be the town’s Crier, chosen through a competition organised by a local businessman. Mike can be seen around town on Tuesdays and Fridays and also at any event open to the public, he will also announce events, happenings, birthdays, weddings and christenings!! Again the Council had an excellent response to a plea for donations towards his expenses and the money raised will be ring fenced to pay for expenses only. Mick is now a member of the Guild of Town Criers. With Ron the Gnome, he is an excellent publicist for the town.
QUALITY COUNCIL
The Town Council was proud to be awarded Quality Status in 2008, the certificate being presented at the Annual Parish Meeting. Quality Status means the Council has proved to an outside body that it is competent, properly managed and is accountable. Gaining Quality Status is not an easy process – the panel looks for properly managed meetings that comply with local government law and legislation; accurate and properly audited accounts; all members upholding the statutory code of conduct. In addition the council has to show its commitment to working in partnership with other local authorities, something Alford Town Council is proud to have done for many years. The Council also has to show it is capable of delivering services to its community, again something Alford Council has done over the years starting with management of the public toilets, moving through the management of the twice weekly markets, providing customer service access point in conjunction with ELDC and latterly taking over the management of the Corn Exchange.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Town Council signed up to the National Code of Conduct and to the amendments to the Code which means all Councillors are bound by the code which outlines their behaviour as councillors. Councillors having an interest in an item being discussed must declare that interest and, if necessary, leave the room during the voting. Amendments to the Code are being forwarded all the time, and the latest consultation is looking at a code for employees.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Amendments to the Act have resulted in a list of items available under the Freedom of Information Act being published on the Town Council’s web site. A list will also be available on request. Any person requesting copies from the list must provide their name and address (which forms part of the items available) and payment must be made before copies are forwarded. Copies are not available “on demand”.
TOWN APPRAISAL
The long process of a parish plan (or in our case a Town Appraisal) is drawing to a close and displays at the parish meeting show progress. The questionnaires sent out last year have all been collated and analysed, the bulk of the analysing being done by East Lindsey who entered all the data into their system and produced the results. The Appraisal group then each took a section of the questionnaire and broke down the analysis into understandable format ready to be fed into the final document.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Throughout the year the Council has considered many planning applications, and passed comments on them, although this year the number of applications looked at by the Council, either in full council or by the Planning Committee, has fallen. The Town Council considers all valid planning applications, and the planners must take their comments into account. Members of the public are welcome to view planning applications at the Council Offices, it is helpful to bring with you any reference to help trace the application quicker. Only the current year’s applications are available – any applications decided over a year ago are available from ELDC or their web site.
NEWSLETTER
The Town Council produces a quarterly newsletter, available at outlets throughout the town. If you want copies please see the Town Clerk. Normally they are distributed to:
Post Office; Pitchers; Christian Community Church; Willows Restaurant; Magpies Nest; Alford Coop; St Wilfrids Church Office; Callabies and of course available from the Corn Exchange. The newsletter comes out January/April/July/October.
ALFORD COMMUNITY GROUP
The Alford Active Community Group has formed to collate all activities in the town, to give help and assistance to anyone wishing to organise anything and to produce a diary of events so that everyone knows what is going on and where. If you need to contact them speak to Cllr Johnson or Cllr Milson.
FLORAL DISPLAYS
Started by the then Cllr Paul Lane (who has since left the Town Council), the floral displays in the Market Place and around town attracted many positive comments. This year sponsors have been recruited to plant a tub or two for the town, so we hope to give you as good a display as last year.
WAR MEMORIAL
The Town Council has applied for grant funding, and is also raising funds itself for the refurbishment of the War Memorial. It is hoped this work will enable the lettering to be clearer once the lichen has been cleaned off. Unfortunately as it is a listed building we cannot touch up the lettering and re-cutting is also frowned on. If the War Memorials Trust does give grant aid, the conditions are quite strict and must be adhered to. The work is likely to take place during the summer 2009, when scaffolding will be erected around the memorial.
CONSERVATION AREA PROPOSALS
In 2008 a consultation document invited comments from members of the public as well as the Town Council on proposals to amend the town’s Conservation Area. The Town Council looked at the proposals in detail and made several comments and suggestions, all of which were passed back to the Consultants who were working for the District Council.
Since April 2008 the Town Council has been busy on your behalf and has continued with the many projects it is supporting.
The Mayor, Councillor Grant Allan, has represented the town on several occasions at Civic functions, and relinquished his chain of office on the 19th May at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council, which is where the Chairman/mayor is elected by Councillors. The new Chairman/ Mayor is Cllr Graham Hounslow and Vice-
The members of the Alford Town Council are:
Councillor G. Allan; Councillor E. Cooper; Councillor C. Henderson; Councillor G. Hounslow; Councillor P. Milson; Councillor J. Johnson; Councillor T. Jarnell; Councillor P. Rawson; Councillor C. Carey; Councillor S. Devereux.
All can be contacted through the Town Clerk on 01507 463590.
CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTRE
In December 2008 the Town Clerk moved office from the upstairs to the downstairs at the Corn Exchange. The office had been refurbished following work done to the entrance to the Corn Exchange to make it disabled friendly. In April 2009 The Town Clerk of 7 years Jenny Cooper left to take up the role of Town Clerk for Mablethorpe and has been replaced by Linda Croft. Training by ELDC will commence shortly so that the new Town Clerk will be able to answer and deal with some limited ELDC functions – for instance she will be able to report problems with fly tipping, problems with refuse collections, deal with bus pass enquiries and take card payments for things such as bulky waste collection. The service will then be available each morning between 9am and 12 noon, as well as all day Tuesdays.
CORN EXCHANGE
Following long discussions with ELDC the Town Council finally took over management of the Corn Exchange in April 2009. Working with the District Council, the Town Council negotiated to enable it to complete a phased take-
Again the Town Council helped the Park Trustees in various ways, a donation towards gardening costs was given in summer 2008 and the Town Council has worked with the trustees and the police over vandalism issues, all of which were recorded on the CCTV equipment.
CCTV
Images from Alford are now viewed at the central control room at Skegness, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trained operators monitor Alford, Skegness, Horncastle, Louth, Mablethorpe and Chapel St Leonards and can summon police to any area. They can also zoom in and clearly record images of offenders for later use. Alford has several cameras around the town, and these are regularly updated to keep images clear. The Town Council owns the cameras in the town, and pays for their maintenance, insurance and replacement, and the District Council manages the central control room at Skegness.
DONATIONS
The Town Council has a limited budget for general donations, but also gives to organisations which benefit the town as a whole. During the last financial year donations were given to:
Memorial Park -
“Village of Year”
Despite giving it a really good go, the town did not progress further in the Calor Village of the Year event. The name “village of the year” is actually a trade mark and cannot be changed, although the organisers did acknowledge Alford is a Market Town and not a village. The organisers also admitted that Alford was its first Market Town regional winner. The town can still be proud that it achieved so much in only a short time, the Council has entered the competition three times in all, winning second in “Community Life” category at its first attempt and winning the Lincolnshire heat at its third. The day of the judging in April was fine, warm and sunny, there was a good market and judges came to visit the “Promote Alford Day” event in the Corn Exchange organised by the Town Council.
Promote Alford Day/Everybody Benefits
The annual Promote Alford Day was brought forward in 2008 to the day of the Village of the Year judging, to give the judges a flavour of what Alford has to offer. Again the Corn Exchange was full of businesses and community groups, charities and organisations all eager to show off their stands. The Everybody Benefits section was devoted to healthy living and fitness, with stands managed by the Sports Hall to encourage new users to join.
August Bank Holiday
The Town Council organised its annual Charity Market in the Market Place over the August Bank Holiday, but this year it was held on the Saturday only as the European Market had booked the space for the Sunday and Monday. However, the best weather was on the Saturday, when the Market Place was full with charity stalls. Along one side of the Market Place was a display of vintage tractors and cars, and later in the day three steam engines came accompanied by Alford Fire Engine to add interest. The road outside the Windmill Hotel was closed for safety and the Fire Engine was able to park there and feed the steam engines before they left later in the afternoon.
The European Market suffered with the damper weather on the Sunday and Monday, as did several other events planned over that weekend. The Craft Market was held in the grounds of the Manor House as usual, and there were art exhibitions and book stalls held throughout the town.
Christmas
The town did the Council proud with many businesses and organisations donating towards the cost of children’s gifts which Santa duly gave out from his grotto in the back of the Corn Exchange. The Council organised an all day market in the market place, but the weather and lack of customers forced some traders away early, which was a shame as they missed the crowds when Santa arrived drawn by firemen. Piped into the Corn Exchange by a lone piper, Santa was welcomed by the many children already in the hall taking advantage of face painting and balloon modelling.
TOWN CRIER
In June the Town Council endorsed Mike to be the town’s Crier, chosen through a competition organised by a local businessman. Mike can be seen around town on Tuesdays and Fridays and also at any event open to the public, he will also announce events, happenings, birthdays, weddings and christenings!! Again the Council had an excellent response to a plea for donations towards his expenses and the money raised will be ring fenced to pay for expenses only. Mick is now a member of the Guild of Town Criers. With Ron the Gnome, he is an excellent publicist for the town.
QUALITY COUNCIL
The Town Council was proud to be awarded Quality Status in 2008, the certificate being presented at the Annual Parish Meeting. Quality Status means the Council has proved to an outside body that it is competent, properly managed and is accountable. Gaining Quality Status is not an easy process – the panel looks for properly managed meetings that comply with local government law and legislation; accurate and properly audited accounts; all members upholding the statutory code of conduct. In addition the council has to show its commitment to working in partnership with other local authorities, something Alford Town Council is proud to have done for many years. The Council also has to show it is capable of delivering services to its community, again something Alford Council has done over the years starting with management of the public toilets, moving through the management of the twice weekly markets, providing customer service access point in conjunction with ELDC and latterly taking over the management of the Corn Exchange.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Town Council signed up to the National Code of Conduct and to the amendments to the Code which means all Councillors are bound by the code which outlines their behaviour as councillors. Councillors having an interest in an item being discussed must declare that interest and, if necessary, leave the room during the voting. Amendments to the Code are being forwarded all the time, and the latest consultation is looking at a code for employees.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Amendments to the Act have resulted in a list of items available under the Freedom of Information Act being published on the Town Council’s web site. A list will also be available on request. Any person requesting copies from the list must provide their name and address (which forms part of the items available) and payment must be made before copies are forwarded. Copies are not available “on demand”.
TOWN APPRAISAL
The long process of a parish plan (or in our case a Town Appraisal) is drawing to a close and displays at the parish meeting show progress. The questionnaires sent out last year have all been collated and analysed, the bulk of the analysing being done by East Lindsey who entered all the data into their system and produced the results. The Appraisal group then each took a section of the questionnaire and broke down the analysis into understandable format ready to be fed into the final document.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Throughout the year the Council has considered many planning applications, and passed comments on them, although this year the number of applications looked at by the Council, either in full council or by the Planning Committee, has fallen. The Town Council considers all valid planning applications, and the planners must take their comments into account. Members of the public are welcome to view planning applications at the Council Offices, it is helpful to bring with you any reference to help trace the application quicker. Only the current year’s applications are available – any applications decided over a year ago are available from ELDC or their web site.
NEWSLETTER
The Town Council produces a quarterly newsletter, available at outlets throughout the town. If you want copies please see the Town Clerk. Normally they are distributed to:
Post Office; Pitchers; Christian Community Church; Willows Restaurant; Magpies Nest; Alford Coop; St Wilfrids Church Office; Callabies and of course available from the Corn Exchange. The newsletter comes out January/April/July/October.
ALFORD COMMUNITY GROUP
The Alford Active Community Group has formed to collate all activities in the town, to give help and assistance to anyone wishing to organise anything and to produce a diary of events so that everyone knows what is going on and where. If you need to contact them speak to Cllr Johnson or Cllr Milson.
FLORAL DISPLAYS
Started by the then Cllr Paul Lane (who has since left the Town Council), the floral displays in the Market Place and around town attracted many positive comments. This year sponsors have been recruited to plant a tub or two for the town, so we hope to give you as good a display as last year.
WAR MEMORIAL
The Town Council has applied for grant funding, and is also raising funds itself for the refurbishment of the War Memorial. It is hoped this work will enable the lettering to be clearer once the lichen has been cleaned off. Unfortunately as it is a listed building we cannot touch up the lettering and re-
In 2008 a consultation document invited comments from members of the public as well as the Town Council on proposals to amend the town’s Conservation Area. The Town Council looked at the proposals in detail and made several comments and suggestions, all of which were passed back to the Consultants who were working for the District Council.