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Extra Meeting of Paddock Wood Town Council Minutes – 29th November 2021

Minutes Uploaded on January 11, 2022

PADDOCKWOOD TOWN COUNCIL

The Podmore Building, St Andrews Field, St Andrews Road

Paddock Wood, Kent, TN12 6HT

Telephone:  01892 837373

www.paddockwood-tc.gov.uk

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF PADDOCK WOOD TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 29th November 2021 in THE WINTER HALL,

ST ANDREWS CHURCH, MAIDSTONE ROAD AT 7 PM.

 

PRESENT:             Cllr M Flashman, in the Chair

Cllrs H Atkins, R. Atkins, T Bisdee, D. Boyle, S Hamilton, (after C79) D Kent, A. Mackie, R. Moon, M Ridger, D. Sargison, R. Turk, C. Williams,

 

IN ATTENDANCE:  Mrs N Reay, Town Clerk, Mrs C Reilly, Deputy Clerk, Mrs T Maxwell, Responsible Financial Officer

Borough Councillor M Bailey

Mr J White, Project Manager

Mrs D Haylett, TWBC Head of Facilities & Community Hubs

4 Residents

 

From Baxall Construction: Mr M Clarke, Mr G Tuthill

From Millerbourne Architects: Mr P Hudson, Ms C Wilkinson

 

Cllr Flashman proposed, Cllr Williams seconded:

That the order of the agenda should be changed to allow the presentation to be given prior to questions from members of the public.

CARRIED 10 in favour, 2 abstentions

 

C77    DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

C78    Cllr Flashman proposed, Cllr Boyle, seconded:

Representatives from Baxall Design Team and the Project Managers should be allowed to speak during the meeting and to remain for all relevant agenda items.

CARRIED unanimously

C79    COMMUNITY CENTRE

The planning decision notice for the community centre was issued by TWBC on 19th October 2021.

The Town Council also has borrowing permission for a loan of £1.9 m. The contract to build the community centre now needs to be placed. The final costs are detailed under C80. The board reviewed the paperwork at the meeting on 18th November 2021.

The following papers have been circulated to members both in electronic and paper format.

Risk and Opportunities Register – PADDOCK WOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE

Full Business Case

 

(Cllr Hamilton arrived)

 

Mr P Hudson & Ms C Wilkinson gave a presentation and overview of the project. A copy of the presentation can be found on the Town Council’s website

 

Mr Clarke said that Baxalls were pleased to be involved with the project as they had been based in Paddock Wood for 60 years and had local supply chains and employed a number of local staff. The Company had recently been made Net Zero Champions and this project showed what was possible. They hoped to be able to use the building as an example for future designs.

 

The Project Manager outlined the details from the Business Case and Financial details.

The presentation can be found on the council’s website.

https://paddockwood-tc.gov.uk/notices/community-centre-news/

 

The Chairman invited comments & questions from members of the public.

 

Borough Councillor Bailey read out a statement in support of the project.

 

The following points were raised:

The decision should not be made until after the public events scheduled for the January. The chairman of the working party advised that the purpose of the events was to update potential users and the public on the progress of the project.

Difficult to find the information on the website

Costs had risen substantially

Did the plan include a wicket suitable for hard ball cricket & upgrade to the pavilion? The PM advised that it did.

Concern was expressed about the potential for increased flooding and parking in Ringden Avenue. The resident was advised that the flood mitigation scheme planned for the site should improve the runoff and therefore reduce the flood risk to the properties in Ringden Avenue. The PM offered to speak with them to discuss the parking situation.

 

Members were invited to submit their comments and questions, which would be answered at the end.

 

Cllr R Atkins Why so few grants applied for? Why were costs increased? Increase/square metre.

The Council had not asked Baxalls to do the cricket square. Was not convinced by the air heat source pumps

Few grants are available for town councils as they can raise income via the Council tax. Those for which are available will be applied.

Project has increased its scope; original prices were based on internal costs – now include whole project

The air heat source pumps are used by KCC in schools and are the way forward. They do not work as well in old buildings but are efficient in new ones as built with modern construction methods Cheaper and more efficient than ground source pumps

Cllr H Atkins Why has the premium changed on the running costs? Where are the tables on the areas for the building?

Which community groups had been contacted – he was not aware of the any contact with the scouts

The PM would update the tables. The premium costs going forward have increased to make sure that going forward they are realistic

The clerk would check the records, but the Scouts had been contacted in the past

Cllr T Bisdee Was impressed by the eco credentials of the building

What happens to the water run off & what are the implications for the Council if the project fails

SUDS were being installed under the car park to hold the water. The water will then be released into the drainage system at a slower rate. The project is a design and build contract, so the risk is by the contractor. Work will not start until April to improve chances of the weather being dry. The cost for the pumps is £30k but is a pc sum so if not required could be returned. Little risk as being built on new land

 

 

Cllr D Boyle Thanked both the architect and QS for doing their best to keep the costs down, Impressed with the project  
 

Cllr S Hamilton

Thanked the architect for the presentation. This project is not approved of by residents, Not been heard by the Town Council’s planning committee. Concerned about impact on childminders and existing halls in the town. Birth rate is dropping, and all new schools have nursery attached.

What is the projected impact on the precept going forward if the interest rate rises?

Interest rate will be fixed when the loan is drawn down. At present the rate is low. The Town Council is set to receive an increased precept due to the construction of 1000 new houses.
Cllr D Kent Little grasscrete

Should be ground source pumps not air source pumps

How will the anchor tenant help with the costs if the council must subsidize them in the first place

See above re the pumps

The reason for the reduced grass crete is the allow the water to run off into the underground tank rather than soak into the ground, which would increase the risk of flooding.

There would be a tendering process regarding the anchor tenants

Cllr A Mackie Been involved in the project from the start and feel that Baxalls had done an excellent job  
Cllr R Moon PW been waiting 40 years for a new centre time to move forward.

Would there be batteries to store the power from the solar panels?

There will not be any batteries as not very efficient at present. Could be retro fitted in the future. Any excess power will be sold back to the grid so should cancel out any night-time use
Cllr D Sargison Is the building built high enough so it will not flood? Where will the surface water drain to Yes, and the water will drain away from the building into the SUDS going into the main drains
Cllr R Turk Why not starting until April The weather will be better and the lead in time for some materials is 30 weeks
Cllr C Williams Can only re-iterate that it will increase the use of the site as a community hub.  

 

 

Cllr Flashman proposed, Cllr Boyle seconded

Under section 1 (2) of the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 the following item should be exempt from the press and public due to commercial confidentiality.

CARRIED 9 in favour 4 against

 

C80    FINANCES

All financial information has been circulated to members for consideration and the Project Manager answered members questions.

 

 

C81    DECISION REQUIRED

 

Cllr Flashman proposed, Cllr Boyle seconded the following:

  1. That the Council agree to enter contract with Baxall for the delivery of the Community Centre
  2. That the Council agree to the creation of the charitable organisation to manage the facility and that the first long lease of the facility will be to this charitable entity to mitigate VAT costs associated with the build. The final memorandum and articles of the charitable body and the lease to come back to the town council for final approval.
  3. That the Council delegate authority to the RFO & the Town Clerk in consultation with the chairman over managing the cashflow of the project including short term use of reserves if necessary.
  4. That the Council give authority to the RFO & the Town Clerk in consultation with the chairman to draw down the public works board loan of up to £1.9M as and when required to deliver the project
  5. That the Council agree to delegate variations in the contract to the Town Clerk in consultation with the technical project manager, the CC Board and where appropriate the working party so long as the value of these changes are within the contingency value.

 

CARRIED 9 in favour (Cllrs Flashman, Williams, Mackie, Bisdee, Sargison, Boyle, Moon, Ridger, Turk)

4 against (Cllrs H Atkins, R, Atkins, D. Kent. S. Hamilton

 

C82    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on Monday 20th December 2021.

 

The meeting closed at 9.10

 

Cllr Boyle thanked the all the staff for their work on the project to date.

 

 

 

Paddock Wood Town Council