STN Editors Report on the Full Syston Town Council meeting held via Zoom on Tuesday 26th January 2021

The Full Council meeting was attended by 13 councillors (Cllrs) plus four staff and two County Councillors (Ccllrs). Three Cllrs gave their apologies for personal reasons. No members of the public were present.

The Chairman Cllr T. Barkley read the reflections and accepted no declarations of interest for anything on the agenda.

The following announcements were made: Syston Town Council (STC) had received a second ‘Covid support grant’ of £10K from Charnwood Borough Council (CBC) based on the first successful application.

The town manager had queried an email from Leicestershire County Council (LCC) detailing a Traffic Regulation Order for Necton Street, showing a no-waiting area from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 6pm. There was an area on the map marked with a red line which was not identified in the key on the map.

CBC Councillors had been briefed on the latest information regarding Covid infection rates in the Charnwood area. Syston East was listed as 7th highest within Charnwood, however, the rates were gradually beginning to plateau at the time of this meeting.

Trading Standards had discovered and halted the illicit production of eight thousand litres of fake Prosecco.

No Police report had been receive.

An application for a new Cllr had been received but the applicant was unable to attend this meeting so they had been asked to submit their CV and attend the February one.

County and Borough Cllrs Reports

Cllr T. Barkley gave a detailed report on the progress of the vaccination programme in Leicester(Shire) and Rutland. For his CBC report he talked about the grants available from CBC for both charities and local businesses.

Cllr S. Gerrard reported that she had asked former Town, Borough and County Cllr Dave Houseman MBE to do some carol singing and playing in the centre of Syston on Christmas Eve day. He agreed and using the restrictions at that time given by CBC, he entertained the shoppers, who welcomed it. During that time he collected £174 in donations which he presented to Syston and District Volunteer Centre.

Ccllr J. Poland reported on the rural pub grant from LCC which is a one-off payment of £1000 to support small village pubs which were unable to open their doors over the festive period.
He also gave a detailed report on LCC’s plans to boost the economy that has just been revealed.

Borough Cllr S. Bradshaw spoke about the Stay Home Save Lives campaign and the support for those in need through John Storer House and Charnwood Community Action, visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/CCA if you need help.
He also spoke about the recent Covid-19 Scams and the Cllrs surgeries which take place via Zoom on the 1st Saturday of the month.

Cllr K. Pacey had no report to give due to Covid-19 restrictions.

There was a discussion about the provision of more Dog Waste Bins across Syston. The dog/park warden had identified and recommended bins in the following areas: Winfield park at the Hobby Horse end of the park, Oxford Street, East Avenue at the top of Mostyn Avenue and Cross Street as there are currently no bins in these areas. An additional one in Deville Park and on Barkby Road. These were agreed and steps would be taken to arrange for the additional bins at Winfeild and Deville Parks plus the four new bins after consultation with CBC who empty the bins.

Due to Covid the Civic reception date which had been agreed for 14th May 2021 was moved to 29th October 2021.

All minutes were agreed.

There were no questions for the chairman.

The town manager gave an update to her report including: Additional documents requested by the FA for the Pavilion refurbishment funding bid had been submitted last week.

The next edition of Syston Topic was almost ready. Information about dog waste bins was already included but could be expanded upon.

£103 had been collected for the Christmas decorations at Barkby Road Cemetery Chapel over the Christmas period. They were now planning to decorate the Chapel for Valentine’s Day.

A structural safety assessment carried out on the STC shelters had recommended works amounting to circa £3,200 on the bus shelters. Further quotes would be obtained. LCC confirmed they were to be responsible for two bus shelters on Barkby Road.

In Bloom was likely to go ahead in some way in 2021, possibly with a smaller format and the judges working independently. The first meeting of the 2021 campaign was scheduled for 5th February.

The Deputy Town Manager gave her Update: Felling of two diseased trees in Central Park had been delayed due to bad weather, the ground was not yet firm enough for vehicle access.
The next tree panel meeting had been arranged for 5th February 2021.

Full reports and minutes for this meeting are available on the Syston Town Council website.

Council Operations During Covid-19 Pandemic Update
The current Tier Five restrictions had impacted on Council services in the following ways: Syston Town Council offices are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30 pm. The office manned by one Officer each day, as well as the Facilities Manager on site. This means that some telephone calls will be missed, please be patient if you are calling the office. Officers not in the office are homeworking and are able to access their emails.

Estates (parks) team are working as normal.

The public toilets on Melton Road and the disabled use toilet on Central Park, are open as usual with additional cleaning measures in place to help protect against the spread of Covid-19 virus. The toilets are temporarily closed during the time that our cleaner is sanitising the facilities.

Room hire at the Community Centre is not currently available apart from for mental health groups. Football pitch hire has been temporarily suspended as well as park hire.

Cemeteries are operating normally with restrictions on the number of mourners.

Council meetings are still operating each Tuesday evening at 7.30pm by Zoom; agendas are posted on noticeboards, Syston Town Council website and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. As Council meetings are public meetings, the log in details are printed on the agendas.

Monthly Councillor Surgeries take place on the first Saturday of each month, currently by Zoom. Our local County and Borough Councillors are in attendance to assist with queries relating to borough and county issues. The Town Manager was also attending the Councillor Surgeries to allow people the opportunity to raise any Syston Town Council specific concerns.

Fiona Henry, Editor.
For the official minutes of this and other Town Council Meetings please visit their website: www.systontc.org. You can attend any council meeting held via Zoom on Tuesday evenings 7.30pm. Details are posted across all Town Council notice boards.