Annual Town Meeting of Newmarket Electors Draft Minutes 18-05-2023

Attendance:
Cllr J Harvey, (Deputy Town Mayor), Cllrs Borda, Drummond, Hulbert, Jarvis, Jones, Kavanagh, McHugh, Nobbs, Perry and Yarrow.

From SCC: Cllr Drummond.

Also present: C Whitaker – Town Clerk, T Symonds – Deputy Town Clerk, C Argyroudi – Events Manager, J Ashton – Minute Assistant, 18 Members of the Public and 1 Member of the press.

Deputy Mayor, Cllr John Harvey, chaired the meeting in Cllr Winter’s absence.

1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllrs Clover, Crissall, Hood and Winter. Cllrs Berry and Starkey were absent.

Town Clerk read out the Fire Safety Notice and announced that the meeting was being recorded.

2. Introductions and Welcome From The Deputy Mayor, Cllr John Harvey
The Deputy Mayor opened the meeting and advised that the work of the Committees was displayed in the Hall and after some formalities, there would be an open session for questions.

3. To Receive the Minutes of the Annual Town Meeting held on 11th May 2022
The Deputy Mayor presented the minutes of the Annual Town Meeting held on 11th May 2022 and the following was agreed:

23/05/3.01 Resolved
That the minutes of the Annual Town Meeting held on 11th May 2022 be adopted and signed as a correct record by the Deputy Mayor.

4. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.

5. To Receive the Mayor’s Report
The Deputy Mayor read out a report from the Mayor as follows:

I would like to thank the staff for all their hard work and also the Councillors for their commitment and participation in meetings on a voluntary basis over this past year.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly welcome the newly-elected Town Councillors – some returning and some brand-new faces. We are all looking forward to working together on the various committees for the good of our town.

I was honoured to be elected as Mayor for a second term, and may I offer congratulations to Councillor Harvey who was elected to be Deputy Mayor for this year.

I’m very proud of what we have already managed to achieve – some details of which you will see displayed in the Hall, and going forward, I aim to continue this progress for the benefit of our community.

Thank you.

Open Session – Questions from Electors
Before general questions were invited, the groups who had received support from the Town Council were invited to say a few words.

Carol Eagles West Suffolk Citizens Advice Bureau which receives annual financial support from NTC
David Hall Director of Newmarket Charitable Foundation which received funding contributing to the Cost-of-Living Fund
Laura Nunnes Newmarket Community Nature Reserve (read on her behalf) which received funding to enable the purchase of Liability Cover for its members to plant in the community
Reverend Robert Otule and Robin Hardy All Saints Church which received funding towards the running of a Warm Space
Alan Shand Rotary Club, Newmarket, which received funding towards the annual Local Business Awards evening
Christine Byford Newmarket Brownies which received funding to enable the Brownies to visit the Pantomime
Louise Eatock Newmarket Community Arts (read on her behalf) which received funding towards the Rivers of Light Parade event in February

Questions were then invited from residents.

A resident raised concerns regarding SEND services in West Suffolk and, in particular, transition plans that are not being carried out from young person to adult services. SCC are failing to support children and young adults.

A resident asked if NTC had accepted the kind offer of 700 trees from a local business. The Deputy Mayor advised that the offer had been accepted in principal and the Jockey Club were helping with the planting scheme and on which low maintenance species to plant. Residents would be consulted on the planting plan when it becomes available.

A resident reported that a lot of people in Suffolk wanted to retain Matt Hancock as their MP. The deputy mayor advised that he had voluntarily stood down and there was nothing that NTC could do to change this.

The Mayor thanked residents for attending the meeting tonight.

The meeting closed at 7:05pm

Signed_____________________________________

Dated_____________________________________