Neighbourhood Plan Minutes (Signed) 08-02-2021

Minutes of a Meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee held on Monday 8th February 2021 at 6:00 pm via Zoom

Attendance:
Councillor A Appleby (Chairman)                                       Councillor P Hulbert
Councillor J De’Ath                                                                Councillor M Jefferys
Councillor A Drummond                                                      Councillor T Kerby
Councillor R Hood                                                                 Councillor C O’Neill
P Winter Councillor K Yarrow

Also Present: D Baines – Town Clerk, J Ashton – Minute Assistant, Nick Patton – Jockey Club Estates, 1 Member of the Press and 6 Members of the Public.

N/21/02/1 Chairman to Announce that Proceedings May be Filmed or Recorded
The Chairman opened the meeting and announced that proceedings are being recorded and to advise that all participants will be muted by the host of the meeting who will unmute the individual the Chairman has invited to speak.

N/21/02/2 Apologies for Absence
None noted.

N/21/02/3 Declaration of Member’s Interests and to Remind Councillors of the Need to Keep up to Date Their Register of Member’s Interests and to Consider Any Requests Received for Members Dispensation
None noted.

N/21/02/4 To Receive and Confirm for Accuracy the Minutes of the Meeting Held on Monday 11th January 2021 and Any Matters Arising
Members received the minutes of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee Meeting held on Monday 11th January 2021 and the following amendments were made:

8th February 2021 Agenda – Item 4 the date it was noted that the correct date of the last meeting was 11th January 2021.

Page 2 – N/21/01/8 – Cycling & Public Transport (E4/E9) – was amended to read “SCC were due to resume work on the Transport Masterplan”.

Page 2 – N/21/01/8 – Public Realm & Associated Initiatives (F3/C3) – was amended to read “It was planned to replace 3 trees at Icewell Hill to prevent parking on the verge”.

Subject to the amendments being made, the following was agreed:

N/21/02/4.01 Resolved
That the minutes of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee meeting held on Monday 11th January 2021 be adopted and would be signed as a true record by the Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee after the meeting.

There were no matters arising.

N/21/02/5 Presentation by Jockey Club Estates
Nick Patton gave an update on the work to improve the horsewalks and crossings in Newmarket. The design of the walks and crossings were under review, along with plans to introduce generic signage to make them easier to recognise. Alternative road surfaces were being looked at as the rubber surface at Bury Road had failed due to the high impact of horse hooves on the crossing. Plans to improve St Mary’s Square and Rayes Lane will go to a full consultation. Improvements to the horse walk at St Mary’s Square were being looked at to remove the concrete and metal barrier and replace it with wooden fencing and put in hanging baskets.

West Suffolk were responsible for sweeping the crossings and he would chase this up following a complaint from a resident. He would also raise the tidying up of the Yellow Brick Road and offer to help clear the over growth.

They were also working on a woodland management plan and planned to plant 1400 trees to reduce their carbon footprint. He was keen to encourage use of the Heath by the public and thanked the residents of the Town for respecting the need to maintain the area as a place of work during the morning hours.

The Chairman asked for his thoughts on Queensbury Lodge and the main concern was ensuring that there were no crossings over the horsewalk at the rear of the property.

The Committee welcomed the plans to improve the walks and crossings and for the continued community work.

The Chairman thanked Nick for the update and he left the meeting.

N/21/02/6 Public Open Session
No members of the public wished to speak.

N/21/02/7 To Receive the Accounts for January 2021
The accounts for January 2021 were received and noted.

N/21/02/8 Community Actions Working Group
Cycling & Public Transport (E4/E9) – It was reported that the Newmarket Rail Group had the railway matters well in hand and the Working Group would continue to liaise with them.

The lockdown had reduced bus travel but this matter would still be progressed in the future. However, walking and cycling had increased and ways to encourage this to continue will be considered.

SCC Highways will be pursued regarding the Transport Masterplan for Newmarket.

Public Realm & Associated Initiatives (F3/C3) – A resident asked if the two trees outside of the Busy Bee shop would be felled. He was advised that they would not be felled but efforts would be made to get them pruned and to repair the damage to the pavement.

Parking Strategy (E10) – There were no matters to report. The Working Group Chairman was asked to consider the following:

• The traffic control strategy
• CPE in the All Saints area

SEND Provision (B3i) – There were no matters to report. The new positive approach by SCC had seen new facilities being introduced.

Yellow Brick Road (C7) – The offer from the Jockey Club Estates to help clear the mud on the cycle path following recent flooding was welcomed and enquiries would be made regarding responsibility for this work.

It was reported that there was a lot of rubbish in the Brook causing blockages however, it cannot be removed as the Brook is inaccessible.

Museum Working Group (A7)/ Local History Trail – It was reported that 2 meetings had been held in the last month. The consensus of the Group was to form a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which is a limited company regulated by the Charity Commission. The majority of the Working Group had volunteered to be initial trustees. The trustees involved with the CIO will continue to report progress to the Committee.

The work on the History trails will be deferred to Discover Newmarket who were also working on other trails. The Working Group would offer support and report progress to the Committee.

Volunteer Working Group – It was reported that litter picking was being organised however, other activities were restricted by the pandemic and would resume after lockdown.

Rubbish had also accumulated behind the fence on Academy land. The Mayor agreed to make enquiries.

Newmarket Market (A9) – It was noted that to make progress. proposals to improve the market would need to be submitted to West Suffolk to consider and the following was agreed:

N/21/02/8.01 Recommendation
That a Working Group be set up comprising of Cllrs De’Ath, Kerby, Hulbert, Drummond and Philippa Winter with a remit of considering alternatives for the Market.

N/21/02/9 Correspondence
None noted.

N/21/02/10 Date of Next Meeting
Monday 8th March 2021 via Zoom.

N/21/02/11 Items for Next Agenda
• Working Group reports
• Presentation from Flagship Housing
• Conservation Areas

Meeting closed at 6:48pm

Signed: By the Chairman                                             Date: 08/03/2021

 

Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation	Recommendation Wording
N/21/02/8.01 Recommendation	That a Working Group be set up comprising of Cllrs De’Ath, Kerby, Hulbert and Philippa Winter with a remit of considering alternatives for the Market.