Stourbridge Township Council - The Neighbourhood Council of Stourbridge established 1979

MINUTES OF THE 377th MEETING OF STOURBRIDGE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL
HELD IN THE TOWN HALL STOURBRIDGE ON THURSDAY 11th APRIL 2013 AT 7.15 P.M

PRESENT:
Stourbridge Township Council: Mr B S Craddock (Vice-Chairman), Mrs K C Shepherd (Clerk), Mrs M Wakelam (Deputy-Clerk), Mr A C Dawes, Miss A Green, Mr I J Hackett, Mrs J D Hackett, Mr P J Miles, Mr R S Owen, Mr D Pope, Mr P Shepherd and Ms S Turner.
Visitors: Mr D Adams, Sgt A George (Stourbridge Police) and Mr D Wesson.

Vice-Chairman, Mr B S Craddock opened the meeting and passed on apologies on behalf of Mrs E M D Scott, who is currently receiving treatment in Russell’s Hall Hospital. Members asked that best wishes be passed on to her for a speedy recovery and looked forward to seeing her at the May meeting.

T.C. 2013/1454 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION. Nothing was raised under this item.

T.C. 2013/1455 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
From members: Mrs E M D Scott (Chairman), Mrs E E Fellows, Mrs W E Packer, Mr D M Price and Mr D I West.
Also: Mrs K Dyas, Cllr C Elcock, Cllr C Hale, Cllr T Herbert, Ms M James MP, Cllr P Lowe, Cllr I Marrey, Cllr C Perks, Cllr H Rogers and Cllr B Sykes.

T.C. 2013/1456 POLICE MATTERS
Item A: Sgt A George presented members with the current crime figures, which continued to show an overall reduction. The only increase being, in Vehicle Crime – theft’s occurring in Norton, Wollaston and Stourbridge Town neighbourhoods. Drivers are reminded not to leave any items of value – Sat nav’s, laptops, mobile phones, work tools etc in vehicles. Local neighbourhood officers are checking parked cars and where such items are on view- speaking directly to the driver or knocking on their doors to warn owners of the potential danger.
The sergeant advised that, with springtime and the lighter nights, police officers will be using bicycles to travel around their neighbourhoods, thus increasing their presence as well as visibility to the general public.
Following on from the March meeting Sgt A Pugh had spoken to the Cross PH at Oldswinford about a barrier across the car park to prevent cars from taking a short cut from Glasshouse Hill to Hagley Road. No change has been made - Stourbridge Police will discuss the matter again with the management highlighting the dangers both to motorists and pedestrians on the footpath, road and car park.
Further to previous discussion with the police regarding the amount of glass and bottles abandoned in the High Street late at night Mr P Shepherd had taken several photo’s illustrating the problem which had been forwarded to Sgt. George. The worst area is at the top of the High Street, where there are several drinking establishments in close proximity. Sgt George will speak to all the venues concerned and stress that drinks should not be taken out of premises, even if the person is going outside for a cigarette, or phone call, and point out this is a condition of their license. Police officers do confiscate any drinks/bottles they see; the street pastors and taxi drivers also remind persons that the town is a “no alcohol zone”. Mr Shepherd suggested that many of the bottles are probably brought into the High Street from elsewhere, obtained from shops on route, as the alcohol is cheaper than in the bars. Perhaps more bins could be made available to dispose of bottles in, particularly around the entrances to the bars. Mr D Wesson, Manager of Street Cleansing for Dudley Council, outlined the street cleaning schedule for Stourbridge Town, whereby on a Sunday there is a litter pick/ removal between 6 and 10am. He also commented there seemed to be a higher amount of litter between the Ring Road and High Street by The Chequers PH and the pedestrian lights. Sgt George and Mr Wesson agreed to discuss this further and ways in which Dudley Council and Stourbridge Police could work together to minimise this problem.
Item B: Mrs K C Shepherd had reported a broken window at an Antiques shop in Oldswinford on Saturday 6th April evening and asked if items had been stolen or was it an act of vandalism? On calling the police helpline (101) she received a call back to confirm the shop had been identified and officers sent to attend immediately. Sgt George said he would provide an update to the outcome.

T.C. 2013/1457 CHAIRMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS.
Due to the Chairman’s absence there was nothing raised under this item.

T.C. 2013/1458 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the 376th meeting of the Stourbridge Township Council held on 14th March 2013 were received as a correct record and signed by Mr B S Craddock, Vice-Chairman.

T.C. 2013/1459 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES (There were no matters raised under this item).

T.C. 2013/1460 REPORT FROM THE CLERK TO THE COUNCIL
The Clerk circulated a copy ‘STC Clerks Notes/Updates’ to all members which provides an update about ongoing issues during the month and invited comments and any questions.
Mrs K C Shepherd thanked fellow members – Mr P J Miles, Mr A Dawes, Ms S Turner, Mr D Pope and (Co-optee!) Mrs M Miles for their excellent performance at the Fairtrade Quiz night, (we didn’t win but 4 out of 22 teams was a good effort) and we had an enjoyable evening too.
Fairtrade Stourbridge has offered to come to a Township Council meeting to provide an update on their current and future activities in Stourbridge. They attended a STC meeting 4/5 years ago when they were seeking Fairtrade status for Stourbridge and are now strong partners within the community. Members agreed that it would be interesting to see how they have progressed since their inception. Clerk to arrange a date with the Secretary.
A letter had been sent to Ms Paula Clark, chief executive at Russell’s Hall hospital in objection to the increase in parking charges. Following on from the discussion about parking at RH hospital, the Clerk is gathering further evidence and information to support our request that the whole parking issue at the hospital needs reviewing, please can members contact her with any specific issues that they know of/ experienced. E.g On visiting RH hospital on Sunday, only 2 out of the 4 pay machines were working and only 1 gave any change/WH Smiths was closed- sheer chaos.
The Clerk handed out information about SelectaDNA, a forensic marking fluid which can be used to protect and identify household and personal items as well as vehicles and electrical goods. Leaflets including contact details and an order form. The fluid is contained in an individually identifiable bottle which is traceable back to the owner.

T.C. 2013/1461 ITEMS RAISED UNDER STANDING ORDER NO 13 (There were no matters raised under this item).

T.C. 2013/1462 MATTERS RELATING TO PERSONAL SERVICES
There is a meeting of the Friends of Mary Stevens Park on Wednesday 24th April at 7.30pm at the Crystal Leisure Centre.
Mr D Wesson informed members that plans are already well underway for Stourbridge in Bloom, which will be judged on Thursday 11th July 2013. As Stourbridge Town has been going through an enormous amount of disruption for over 24 months, firstly the creation of Stourbridge Interchange and currently the redevelopment of the Crown Centre, it will be a great opportunity for the businesses, shops and local groups to come together and show how Stourbridge is emerging to become a vibrant community town. Mrs Wakelam commented about how splendid the flowers and greenery around the town always looked and praised not only the Council workers but also the volunteers who give up their own time to assist. Members of the Township Council offered to help in any way they could.

T.C. 2013/1463 MATTERS RELATING TO TECHNICAL SERVICES
Item A: Mr P J Miles raised an issue concerning the traffic lights at the Cross, Oldswinford and the need to have a right filter light for vehicles turning from Heath Lane onto Hagley Road. Due to the continual flow of traffic from Glasshouse Hill there is seldom a break to allow cars to turn right. The view of the oncoming traffic is further restricted by the traffic turning right towards Stourbridge and often the only opportunity for cars to turn right is, as the lights change, which allows 2/3 cars at a time. The queue of vehicles can often be some 8/10 at the busiest time of day. Members all agreed this is a problem, and the Clerk was asked to write to Dudley Council about our concerns and request they install a right filter in both directions from Heath Lane and Glasshouse Hill, which would also assist with the problem of cars using the Cross PH as a short cut to avoid the junction.
Item B: The Tesco presentation has been postponed until the May STC meeting (9th May) at their request.
Item C: Mr P Shepherd had noticed a sewage problem on the footpath outside the Bell Hotel early on Easter Monday. Following several phone calls the waste was cleaned by the management of the Bell later that morning Having spoken to Severn Trent and also the Bell Hotel, it transpires that there is an ongoing problem, a break in the pipe work between the Bell Hotel and the main sewer, which needs investigation as well as repair work and will involve digging up part of Bell Street. An assurance was given by Severn Trent that investigations would be carried out within 21 days from 4th April and they will continue to update the Clerk. Due to the nature of the issue, Dudley Council Environmental Health should also be informed of the potential environmental problems. There may be a further question as to who is responsible for leakage and repair work

T.C. 2013/1464 FINANCIAL, CIVIC AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATTERS
(a) Finance; current balance £681.74.
Finance Clerk advised that the accounts for 2012/13 have been prepared, date for audit to be arranged and accounts to be presented at the May (378) meeting.
(b) Stourbridge Community Forum’s to be held on 18th and 23rd April – see attached notes.
(c) Stourbridge Township Council will meet on Thursday 9th May and Thursday 13th June 2013.

T.C. 2013/1465 CHAIRMAN’S OTHER BUSINESS
Mrs Shepherd reminded members that John Moult, the Town Hall caretaker was due to retire at the end of April and tonight was the last time we would see him. A card was passed around for all members to sign.
The Vice-Chairman closed the meeting at 8.25pm.

Previous meeting minutes