MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON ZOOM ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, 2020
Present: Couns Salton, East, Connor, Browne, Smith, Davies, Taylor and Brookfield, plus Mr Wayne Wild and Mr M Kelly, Darwen Deal.
1.Welcome and introduction: 2.Apologies: Coun., Entwistle and Slater.
3.Declaration of interests :
None.
4. Minutes of the last meeting:
These were agreed and will be signed off at the next physical meeting.
5. Darwen Deal
Mr Wayne Wild, chairman of the Darwen Deal board and Mr Martin Kelly from BWD council gave an update on current projects and progress. The deadline for the bid is January 29th and a bid writing consultant and architect have been employed. Coun Smith said people must bear in mind it is capital bids and not revenue which can be applied for. Match funding is also required in some cases. Discussions over a possible contribution by the town council to a project for Darwen Tower are still undergoing. Councillors would prefer to contribute to heritage projects which stand the test of time.
6. Public forum:
None
7. Mayor’s Update: .

Coun. Salton had attended Remembrance Day events and supported the youth zone at Meeting Places. She asked re the town crier and Coun. East said he had been in contact with him.
8. Deputy chairman’s update:
Coun East said the food bank is still ongoing. There is concern over the state of Belgrave graveyard. Coun. Smith said the graveyard is privately owned and the owner is willing for volunteers to go on site and clear up. Coun. East to look into the idea of setting up a Friends of Belgrave Graveyard. The town council is backing a scheme financially by BWD for a Christmas market and to encourage people to shop in Darwen. Also the town council is to pay for the railings around the library and this will take place in Spring and for two storage units, one for the town council and one for the medical centre for the storage of COVID vaccines, the medical centre unit will only be financed by the town council for this useage. BWD are to draw up licences and forward to the clerk. A survey of the mosaic at Hollins Grove Church has been undertaken and it was agreed the removal work would be too costly. Professional photograohs of the mosaic are to be taken and exhibited in the heritage centre and BWD’s conservation officer is looking to put a condition on any future planning application to ensure the mosaic is saved. Lloyds Trust is to pay for half the survey and the town council the other half.
Coun East said the Darwen Tower Fund is £607.37 p short of the £80,000 and he asked if the town council would make up the shortfall. He is to find out how much the town council has already given and agreed to give to the fund over the years.
9. Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods
Coun. Browne has received a letter from the group explaining the need for the de silting of the pond again. The town council has paid for this in the past and it comes under the responsibilities of BWD, who have no funding. Coun Smith said this would be the last request as the group is to buy a digger to enable them to do the work themselves. It was agreed that Coun Connor contact BWD to see if they will contribute half to the costs. It was also agreed to call a photo shoot to publicise the funding given by the town council to pay for the new gates at Bold Venture Park..
10. Finance
In -.£6,410 – Friends of Bold Venture Park, contributions towards new gates.
£720 – Piano Ltd for work on the waterfall at Bold Venture Park £75 – Poppy wreaths for VE and Remembrance Day
£715 – R Hay for salary and expenses.
£107.32 – R Hay pension.
£5,000 – BWD for shop in Darwen Christmas campaign £1,119.60 – BWD for storage unit.
£480 – PKF Littlejohn for annual audit.
£933.12 – BWD for storage unit.
£13,560 – Calibre Metalwork for Bold Venture Park gates.
£630 – The Mosaic Company for survey at Hollins Grove Church. £180 – Maintain It for delivery of school signs.
The audit had been completed and the only issue raised was the setting out of the precept figures in accordance with BWD’s methods.
11 Correspondence

A webinar on the electricity bill is to be held and was circulated to members.
12. Updates
Coun East and Coun Connor had met with Darren James of Darwen Live to discuss the 2021 planned event. The insurance company has said that unless the event is organised and all paperwork is done by the town council and not an outside committee, the event would not be insured. There was concern over whether the event would be able to go ahead in May or provisionally August because of the roll out of vaccines and the fact that the last people to receive the vaccines would be the event’s targeted audience. Financial implications of extra safety measures and crowd control were a concern too. It was agreed to seek the advice of public health and if there were concerns, that the event be cancelled in 2021 inorder to protect the public and tax payer’s money. This was agreed by all councillors, with Coun. Smith abstaining.
Coun East said Crown Paints is to pull out of the local awards to concentrate on a national scheme. He is to find out how much money is left in the pot before it is wound up.
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13. Any other business
None.
14. Date of next meeting