Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2024.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 10 July 2024 were confirmed and signed.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or personal interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct.  In making their decision councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  Further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to Joshua.kennedy@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 08:00am on Friday 24 January 2025.

When submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that:

·       You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.

·       A question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.

·       It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.

·       Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.

·       When submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g., the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder). 

·       Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting.

·       Questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda. 

·       All questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

There were no public questions.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To receive a report from the Senior Accountant.

The Senior Accountant presented the budget report, providing a summary of the details that were set out in the report. He explained that the report did not contain the most up-to-date figures for income from Fairfield Market, however these figures had since been sent over and the actual figures were slightly less than the estimated figures within the report. There had been no recent drawdowns to the Market Maintenance Reserve, which stood at £78,035.

The Head of Community and Public Protection explained that an update had been received from Ensors, who stated that there had been a 9% decline in market income from Fairfield Market.

In response to a question from one member the Head of Community and Public Protection stated that the footfall index showed the picture of markets nationally, however no benchmarking had been done to compare Dorchester markets with other markets in Dorset.

The panel noted the current projected outturn position for 2024/25 and approved the 2025/26 budget proposals.

To receive a verbal report from the Head of Community and Public Protection.

The Head of Community and Public Protection delivered a verbal update on Fairfield and Cornhill Markets. No information had been received for Cornhill market, however an update had been provided for Fairfield market. Trading income was down by 9% for Fairfield market, when compared to the previous year and the market operator stated that they were committed to work with the panel to ensure a smooth transition as their contract would come to an end in 2026.

The Chair assured the committee that the traders would be informed of any changes as the transition in the market operator took place over the next year.

To receive an update on the future operation of Fairfield and Cornhill Markets from the Head of Community and Public Protection.

The Head of Community and Public Protection provided a verbal update on the future operation of the markets. It was explained that the sub-group, that had been established at the last Panel meeting had explored the option of Dorchester Town Council taking over as the operator of the market, following the end of the current contract in 2026. Legal Services at Dorset Council had also provided advice on the legal agreement that would need to be drawn up. The general Heads of Terms were shown to members and it was explained that any details could be outlined within the sub-group meetings. The Town Clerk provided an initial timeline of events, which covered the transition in the market operator over the next 14 months.

The following responses were provided to members questions by the Head of Community and Public Protection and the Lawyer:

·       A lease of 7 years or more would require notification of the Land Registry, which is why an alternative legal agreement was being considered.

·       Financial arrangements between the two councils hadn’t been explored yet, but it was thought that they would follow a similar approach to the current financial split.

·       The contract would give the Town Council permission to run the market for a specified period of time and clauses could be included to allow the early closure of the agreement if both parties wished to do so.

·       A length of time for the contract hadn’t been decided upon yet.

·       The infrastructure liability of Dorset Council referred to the structures of the market, such as the walls, rather than the existing buildings on site.

One member raised a concern about the current condition of the buildings on site and whether Dorset Council and Dorchester Town Council would be taking on potential liabilities in older buildings, that required refurbishment or removal.

Proposed by Cllr Brown and seconded by Cllr Tarr.

Decision: That the panel recommend that a survey is commissioned of the operator’s structures on the site for consideration by the panel.

To receive a verbal update from the Dorchester Town Council Town Clerk.

The Town Clerk delivered a verbal update to members on the monthly artisan market and he noted that the operator had provided positive feedback on the level of visitors to the artisan market in Dorchester.

The panel noted the update.

To receive a verbal update from the Dorchester Town Council Town Clerk.

The Town Clerk provided a verbal update on the Car Boot Fund, which had been distributed by the Car Boot Panel in December 2024. The panel distributed awards totalling £12,000 and 44% of the applicants received the full grant that they applied for.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.