Improving Your Town

Bodmin Town Council

Shire House

Mount Folly Square

BODMIN

PL31 2DQ

Phone: 01208 74159

Fax: 01208 264764

www.bodmin.gov.uk

P O’Callaghan TOWN CLERK

paul.ocallaghan@bodmin.gov.uk

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Q U A L I T Y T O W N C O U N C I L S T A T U S R E - A C C R E D I T E D F O R B O D M I N

B odmin Town Council is pleased to inform that it has been reaccredi-

ted with Quality Town Council status. The Quality Parish and Town Council S c h e m e w a s launched in 2003 following the Gov-ernment's Rural White Paper, 2000. The aim of the Scheme is to pro-vide benchmark minimum standards for parish and town councils.

The Council was awarded Quality Status in November 2004, which is a demonstration of the high standard that the Council has achieved across a wide range of criteria. The Scheme was amended in June 2008 to include additional tests to better reflect the increased professionalism of local councils. In order to achieve Quality Status,

parish and town councils must demonstrate that they have reached the standard required by passing a range of tests on electoral mandate, qualifications of the clerk, council meetings, communication and com-munity engagement, annual report, accounts, Code of Conduct, promot-ing local democracy and citizenship, terms and conditions and training. Bodmin Town Council has been reaccredited against this expanded range of criteria.

The Mayor, Councillor Bob Micek, commented, ‘I am extremely pleased that the Council has been reaccredited as a Quality Town Council which re-flects the Council’s high standards and is effec-tively a ‘kite mark’ demonstrating best practice in all areas of governance’.

Q U A L I T Y T O W N C O U N C I L S T A T U S

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3 0 Y E A R S O F T W I N N I N G

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D D A Y C O M M E M O -R A T I O N A N D P A -R A D E

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N E W W A L L F O R B E R R Y F I E L D S C E N T R E

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B E A C O N L O C A L N A T U R E R E S E R V E

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P C S C B U I L D I N G D E L A Y E D

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C L E A N C O R N W A L L W E E K 2 0 0 9

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W A S T E D I S P O S A L S A C K S

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A C C O M M O D A T I O N G U I D E 2 0 0 9

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M O N K E Y P U Z Z L E T R E E

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

B O D M I N T O W N C O U N C I L N E W S L E T T E R

Pictured below: Former Mayor, Councillor Lance Kennedy, is

presented with the Quality Status certificate by Councillor Sue

Swift, Chairman of the Cornwall Association of Local Councils at

their Annual Conference in Truro

on Saturday 7 February 2009

T he Mayor, Councillor Bob Micek, was very pleased to

welcome Mayor Monsieur Yo-hann Nedelec, the Mayor of Le Relecq Kerhuon to this year’s Mayor Choosing event and to host a Reception in the Shire Hall on the evening of Friday 22 May for the guests from our Twin Town in Brittany and the members of the French Twin-

ning Association.

The Formal Twinning Charter was signed in 1979 and it is extremely pleasing to see that the Twinning is as vibrant today as it was 30 years ago.

The Mayor has commented that ‘the Charter proposed that we should be able to enjoy so-cial, cultural and educational

opportunities with our twin town. It is evident that over the last 30 years we have achieved all of these goals. It is also clear that we have been suc-cessful in the formation of long lasting friendships between our residents. Who could have foreseen that from those early days in 1979 we would have maintained those strong links into the 21st century?’

Celebrat ing 30 Years of Twinning

Page 2 B O D M I N T O W N C O U N C I L N E W S L E T T E R S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

D Day Commemorat ion and Parade

New Cornish Wal l For Berr yf ie lds Community Centre

A s part of the post project landscaping associated with the construction of

the new Berryfields Community and Children’s Centre, Bodmin Town Council Parks staff carried out some improvement work to the stone wall in front of the building. Having cleared the vegetation from the stone wall, primarily to improve sight lines and the visual impact on the new Centre, an assessment was made regarding the condition of the wall.

Following an inspection of the wall, it was clear that root damage had occurred affecting its structural integrity in places. Given this information, it was decided that the best option was to significantly re-build the wall re-using the

existing stone where possible, supple-mented with local stone and materials.

This work was carried out by the Council’s in-house workforce and has received many complimentary comments from Members

of the Public and the Trustees of the build-ing.

The Town Council also provided a num-ber of low growing bulbs, such as Tulips and Narcissus Daffodils, which were planted in the top of the wall during a community event at the Centre on Sat-urday 28 March 2009.

The Town Council is now preparing to carry out the demolition of the former Community Centre, which will again involve the Council’s in-house work-force. This assistance will remove any financial implications that the Berry-fields and District Community Centre

Ltd would otherwise have to meet to se-cure this type of work being carried out by external contractors.

O n Sunday 14 June 2009, the Cornwall Branch of the Nor-

mandy Veterans Association will be parading and laying up their Stan-dard.

The Council very much hopes that the public will turn out in their num-bers to support this Commemoration as it is only because of the great ser-vice of these brave men and their colleagues in Normandy in 1944 that we can all enjoy the civil liberties that

we do today.

The Normandy Veterans Association commemorates all those men who fought from 6 June to 20 August 1944 to liberate Normandy from en-emy occupation; which was a pivotal campaign in the Second World War and a turning point in bringing peace to Europe.

The Parade will assemble in Priory Park, Bodmin at 2 p.m. on Sunday 14 June 2009. Following a short Service of Commemoration at the War Me-morial, the Veterans will parade to St Petroc’s Church Bodmin where the Standard will be laid up. The Lord Lieutenant, Lady Mary Holborrow will take the salute.

The Mayor, Councillor Bob Micek, commented ‘this will be a particularly poignant occasion and a chance for Civic Dignitaries from across the County to pay respects to these brave Veterans as it is likely that be-cause of their increasing frailty, the youngest members of the Associa-tion are approaching their mid-80s and some members are much older, that this will be their final parade’

B O D M I N T O W N C O U N C I L N E W S L E T T E R S P R I N G 2 0 0 9

A t the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Council on 22 January 2009,

Members spent a considerable time wrestling with the budget for the 2009/10 financial year.

In light of the present financial climate and the fact that the indicative costs of construction of the Priory Community Sup-port Centre building had risen dramatically from the time that the funding package was assembled, the Council made the reluctant decision that it could not afford to proceed with the construction of the building at the current time.

The project has been put ‘on hold’ for the time being, to allow for further considera-tion of various design elements, detailed value engineering and quantity surveyor revision of the associated costs. This has inevitably had implications for the time-constrained elements of grant funding and will mean that the Town Clerk and Respon-sible Finance Officer will need to revisit the whole funding package.

Whilst this is regrettable, the Council is sure that members of the public will under-

stand why it was not considered feasible to increase further the Town Council’s finan-cial commitment to the project as this would have led to a very significant in-crease in the Council Tax at a time when local taxpayers are experiencing consider-able financial hardship.

The Councillors and Senior Officers work-ing on this project were extremely disap-pointed by these developments, but the Council was left with no alternative given the dramatic increase in costs and impend-ing need to fix our budget for 2009/10.

This culminated in the very last minute decision to place the project on hold. How-ever, the Council remains confident that a suitable funding package can be assem-bled to build this much needed facility for Bodmin.

The Council remains very much committed to the realisation of this Project and Coun-cil staff are currently working with the de-sign team and quantity surveyors to look at various design and costing aspects of the project.

Construct ion of Pr ior y Community Suppor t Centre Delayed

♦ Dog Walk on the Beacon July 9 4-6pm

Enjoy a stroll around the Beacon and further a field with fellow

dog walkers. Leader: Coralie Barrow Contact 01208 262857

for more information. Meet at Bodmin Beacon Car park.

♦ Bugs & Beasties on the Beacon Aug 24 2-3.30pm

An afternoon Bug hunt and an opportunity to make your own

bug house. Leader: Coralie Barrow Contact 01208 262857 for

more information. Meet at Bodmin Beacon Car park. All ages

welcome.

♦ Dog Walk on the Beacon Sept 5 9-11am

Enjoy a stroll around the Beacon and further a field with fellow

dog walkers. Meet at Bodmin Beacon Car park. Leader: Deb-

bie Attwill. Contact 01208 262857 for more information.

Please wear sturdy shoes and bring dog poo bags.

♦ Bats and Moths Sep 18 start 9:00 pm

Join in the hunt for Bats and Moths on the Beacon. Meet at Bod-

min Beacon Car park. All ages welcome. Leader: David Attwell.

Contact 01208 262857 for more information. Please bring a

torch and warm clothing.

♦ Halloween lantern walk & story telling on the Beacon

Oct 30 6-8pm

Meet at Bodmin Beacon Car park. All ages welcome. Leader: Jo

Tagney. Contact 01208 262857 for more information. Parents to

accompany children. Please bring a torch and warm clothing.

♦ Fungus Foray Nov 1 2-4pm

Enjoy a stroll around the Beacon looking for fungi followed by a look at specimens collected from the surrounding area. Meet at Bodmin Beacon Car park. All ages welcome. Leader: Sharon Wor-thington. Contact 01208 262857 for more information. Please Book 01840 779084 (very popular).

Beacon Local Nature Reser ve - Events 2009

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For further details about Bodmin Town Council visit our website at:

www.bodmin.gov.uk

Bodmin Town Council

ST MARY’S WARD C R Bell

A J Coppin M J Griffiths

F M Hancock J Hartill

P Kerridge K W Stubbs

H G Vanderwolfe

ST PETROC’S WARD E T Denholm OBE, DL

M Denholm (Deputy Mayor) M E Dominey

A Duffin ** L G J Kennedy R J Micek - Mayor

R Solomons L A Spear

Should you wish to attend a Council-

lor’s Surgery, please contact Bodmin

Town Council Staff to make the nec-

essary arrangements: (01208) 74159

Waste Disposal Sacks Available from Council Offices

New Accommodation Guide

D o you have relatives coming to stay? Are you planning a wedding

locally? Or perhaps you fancy a quiet break on your own doorstep? Then con-tact the Visitor Infor-mation Centre for your free copy of the new Town and Moor A c c o m m o d a t i o n Guide including bed and breakfast, self-catering and camp-ing information. 01208 76616 / bod-mintic@visit.org.uk

B odmin Town Council Offices now stock Garden Waste Sacks for

grass cuttings which are removed by local waste services and recycled as compost.

You can obtain these sacks from the Council Office Reception on Mount Folly. Sacks cost 25 pence each or £5.00 for a bundle of 25.

C lean Cornwal l Week - 2009

Monkey Puzzle Tree - Priory Park

D uring April 2009 Clean Cornwall events were

held all across the County. Here at the Town Council, staff were pleased to assist with an organised litter pick that took place on 23 April 2009.

The Beacon Local Nature Re-serve was targeted by the team, as litter was uncovered during the boundary hedge maintenance works associated with the ongoing management of the Beacon. The team also concentrated their efforts on various housing estates including the Kinsman Estate and Treningle View.

Clean Cornwall is now a bi-annual event and the next, end of season

tree living on its own energy reserve. The Council is unfortunately left with little op-tion but to remove this tree from the Park.

The Council is however extremely pleased to inform that it will be replacing this tree with a young Monkey Puzzle specimen, so future generations can enjoy this species of tree in Priory Park. The young tree was grown from a seed collected from the exist-ing tree and the Council would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr E Walker, from Bristol, who very kindly propagated and donated the Monkey Puzzle tree to the town.

Councillor Michelle Griffiths, Chairman of the Council’s Properties Committee said, ‘it is very sad news about this tree but we are grateful to Mr Walker for providing the town with a young replacement Monkey Puzzle tree, as the Council is very keen to succes-sion plant for the enjoyment of future gen-erations.’

T he Town Council is extremely sad to announce that the Mon-

key Puzzle tree in the Priory Park is suffering from extensive bark and cambium death and the presence of a white fungal mycelium under the dead areas of bark indicates that the tree is under extensive attack from a honey fungus.

The trees in the Priory Park are regularly inspected as part of an Amenity Tree Survey that is carried out under a Service Level Agreement by Cornwall Council’s Environment and Heritage Department.

The recent inspection has identified that there is extensive bark death and bleed-ing which has affected 60-70% of the circumference of the stem and there is likely to be corresponding infection into the root system. The crown of the tree currently appears to be quite healthy, but advice indicates that this relates to the

events will be taking place during 19 to 27 September 2009 – do your bit for your Town, don’t drop it, bin it!

For further information on Clean Corn-wall week and to see how you can get involved, please visit the Clean Cornwall website www.cleancornwall.org

** Denotes Cornwall Councillor