Town Council Action Plan
The Town Council has recently begun to move forward with the production of it's first actions set out in the Action Plan below for 2016-21.
HATFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
(Twinned with Merksplas in Belgium)
ACTION PLAN 2016-2021
Contents: Page
Introduction
About Hatfield Town Council 1
Why produce an Action Plan? 1
Overview of the Town Council 1
The Council itself 2
Sites and responsibilities 2-3
Staffing 3
Financial information 3
Key Actions
Current 4
Future 5
Appendix 1 6
Appendix 2 7
Contact information 8
Introduction
About Hatfield Town Council
Hatfield Town Council was first established as a Parish Council in 1894. The Parish was very different then, being mainly a rural farming community. Following national growth in industry and house building the Council’s area changed dramatically in the next 50 years to become the large diverse Town Council area we see today.
The Parish Council became a Town Council in 1993, which enabled the Town to have its own Mayor- a tradition which has continued since.
The Hatfield Town Council area encompasses the 5 settlements of Hatfield, Dunscroft, Dunsville, Hatfield Woodhouse and Lindholme- all of which have very different local features and requirements. The Town Council is keen to balance the needs of all sectors of the local community and make improvements to benefit everyone.
The Town Council area has a population of around 17000, of which approximately 12000 are voters over 18. For administrative purposes the Town Council area is divided into four Wards—Hatfield, Hatfield Woodhouse (including Lindholme), Dunscroft and Dunsville which are represented by a total of 14 Town Councillors.
Why produce an Action Plan?
Like any business the Town Council needs to have a plan how to spend its income wisely and to the maximum benefit of residents. It will also help you, the local resident, to understand what the Council is doing and how.
The Action Plan for the next five years will help determine how the Town Council’s resources (both budgetary and staff) are allocated. This will enable a more planned and cohesive approach to how we deliver services and ensure local residents get value for money from their Town Council.
Hatfield Town Council strives to work for the community from within the community. It aims to continually improve the services it provides and make a difference to residents’ daily lives.
1
Overview of the Town Council
The Council Itself
As mentioned above, the Town Council is made up of 14 elected and co-opted Councillors. The current Councillors were elected and co-opted in mid-2015, and will serve until the next Town Council elections are held in May 2021.
A new Mayor, Deputy-Mayor and Leader of the Council are chosen by the Councillors in May every year.
The Town Council meets monthly (second Monday) in the Council Chamber at the Town Council Offices. These meetings are open to members of the public. There is an opportunity for members of the public to address the Council at the start of the meetings, however, they cannot then participate in the Councillors’ discussions later in the meetings. All decisions taken by the Town Council are voted on within such meetings, and it is only those decisions made by the whole Council which are legally binding- the Town Council can only make decisions as a single entity.
The Council also has 6 main sub-committees which each meet between 1 and 3 times a year- Policy and Resources, Burial and Recreation, Planning, Remembrance Day, Newsletter and Budget Committees. There are also others which meet on an ad-hoc basis as necessary, such as Personnel, Health and Safety and Appointments Committees. The Town Council also has a Councillor representative on a total of 15 other local and regional community groups.
In case you are not aware- Town Councillors do all this work on a voluntary basis, to work for the good of their local community. The Mayor does receive an allowance to meet any expenses involved in fulfilling Mayoral duties. The annual amount for 2016-17 is £750, but this total amount is rarely used.
Sites and Responsibilities
In this area there are 2 tiers of local government each with different responsibilities. Hatfield Town Council is the first, most local tier and has an important role to play in representing the interests of local residents and supporting the work of all the different groups within our community. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is the second tier and has the responsibility for services such as highways, housing, education, social services and street cleansing.
Within the Hatfield Town Council area we have nine recreation grounds which are owned by (or vested in) the Town Council and maintained by it. This includes large areas such as Jubilee Park and smaller green pockets such as Milcroft Recreation Ground and Dr Waters’ Gardens. (see appendix 1 for full details).
2
Sites and Responsibilities, cont.
The Town Council also own and operate Hatfield Cemetery. This is a small unconsecrated Cemetery with a Chapel on Cemetery Road at the edge of Hatfield and is run as both a community service and a business element of the Town Council.
The Town Council also maintains several roadside flower beds in its area and provides Christmas trees in public places throughout the area. It has provided an allotment site on the Abbey Fields recreation ground.
Overview of the Town Council
Staffing
At present, the Town Council has a staff of 6 people. 3 of these are office-based and 3 site-based. The Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer (Clare McRoy) manages the team, and is the legally appointed ‘proper officer’ for the Council who must carry out the functions required by law and issue all statutory notifications. She is supported in this role by the Deputy Town Clerk (Sharon Fletcher). The third member of the office team is our cleaner Kate- who keeps the building looking pristine.
The site staff are based at Hatfield Cemetery workshop and there is a Cemetery and Sites Supervisor (post vacant) and 2 further staff (Shaun and Anthony) who maintain the Cemetery and Recreation Grounds.
Financial Information
Income
The Town Council’s primary source of funding is the ‘precept’ which is the local tax levied by the Town Council and collected on its behalf by Doncaster Council as part of residents’ Council Tax bills. At present £44.01 per year (based on a Band D property) of each Hatfield Town Council area resident’s council tax contributes to this precept. This equates to 85 pence per week per Council Tax payer.
The budgeted income for 2016-17 is
£174,487 from Council Tax precept funding
£19,402 grant funding from Doncaster Council (set to reduce each year)
£31,000 estimated income from Cemetery fees.
Expenditure
The Town Council’s main items of expenditure are
General Town Council administration costs including staff costs
Maintenance of recreation grounds and Cemetery
Grant funding for community groups
Floral displays and Christmas trees (see appendix 2 for further budget information)
3
Key Actions
These are the things which the current Town Council would like to achieve during it’s time in office- that is during the 5 years until May 2021. The Town Council has had discussions on this and individual Councillors have been asked to provide ideas for actions and improvements. This is the part of the Action Plan which will be most closely monitored, and fully reviewed each year in January to ensure budgetary requirements are in place as necessary for the following year.
Current
At present the following projects are ongoing- having already been the subject of a Town Council decision to move forward:-
| Project | Location | Estimated cost | Completion by |
| Installation of outdoor fitness equipment | Jubilee Park and Station Road Recreation Ground | £15,000 | Under review |
| Listed Building essential repair works | Town Council Offices | £15-£20,000 | Under review |
| Replacement boiler & heating system | Cemetery House | £3,500 | Under review |
| Improvements to existing BMX track | Jubilee Park | est. £25,000 | Under review |
| Provision of Christmas lighting | Town Council area | £5,000 a year | Late 2019 |
| Facilitate a ‘Friends of’ group | Jubilee Park | Mainly officer time | 2017 |
| Investigate production of a Neighbourhood Plan | Partnership with other local community groups | Not yet known- substantial but may attract grant funding | 2018 |
| Install amplification and recording equipment | Council Chamber, Town Council Offices | £1,500 | 2018 |
| Improve access and security | Town Council recreation grounds | Not yet known | ongoing |
| Plant replacement trees for those removed | Dr Waters’ Gardens | £500 | Autumn 2017 |
4
Key Actions
Future
The following actions have been suggested by Councillors, and a final decision will be made in April each year as to which to progress at that time:-
| Project | Location | Estimated cost | Completion by |
| Refurbishment or replacement of Mayoral chain & purchase of Deputy-Mayor ribbon | Town Council area | £2,000-£5,000 | 2018 |
| Continue the replacement and improvement of play equipment | All Town Council recreation grounds | £2,000 a year | ongoing |
| Hold a community event, e.g picnic, sports day | Jubilee Park? | Not yet known | Under review |
| Provide a Christmas dinner for elderly residents who will be alone on Christmas Day | Community Centre(s) | Not yet known | Ongoing annually |
| Negotiate land for provision of a new play area | Lindholme | £15,000 | 2019 |
| Enhancement of floral decorations | Town Council area | £500 | Ongoing annually |
| Work with local prisons to help integrate prisoners back into a community | Town Council area | Staff and Councillor time | ongoing |
| Review the Town Council’s Committee structure and frequency of meetings | Town Council area | Staff time and additional meetings for Councillors | 2020 |
| Continue to work with volunteers to enhance existing maintenance work | Dr Waters’ Gardens | Staff time | ongoing |
Please see Appendix 2 for a table illustrating the categories of these planned improvements.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
Appendix 1
Town Council Recreation Grounds:-
· Jubilee Park and Fields, Cuckoo Lane, Hatfield
· Station Road recreation Ground, Dunscroft
· York Road Recreation Ground, Dunscroft
· Abbeyfields allotments and playing field, Dunscroft
· Grange Avenue Recreation Ground, Hatfield
· Mosscroft Recreation Ground, Hatfield Woodhouse
· Hatfield Woodhouse Village Hall field and playground
· Milcroft Crescent Recreation Ground, Hatfield
· Dr Waters’ Gardens, Station Road, Hatfield
Town Council Flower Bed locations:-
· Westfield Green, Hatfield
· Boat on Hatfields’ island, Ash Hill Road, Hatfield
· Abbey Gardens/ Abbey Green, Dunscroft
· Kinsbourne Green, Dunscroft
· Grange Avenue, Hatfield
6
Appendix 2
Categorisation of Hatfield Town Council current and future actions
| Infrastructure and assets | Community Improvements | Health and Wellbeing |
| Repairs to Grade 2 listed Town Council Offices and to Cemetery House heating system | Provision of Christmas lighting | Installation of outdoor fitness equipment |
| Install amplification and recording equipment in Council Chamber | Continue the replacement and improvement of play equipment | Improvements to existing BMX track |
| Refurbishment or replacement of Mayoral chain & purchase of Deputy-Mayor ribbon | Facilitate a ‘Friends of’ Jubilee Park group | Plant replacement trees for those removed in Dr Waters’ Gardens |
| Review the Town Council’s Committee structure and frequency of meetings | Investigate production of a Neighbourhood Plan | Provide a Christmas dinner for elderly residents who will otherwise be alone on Christmas Day |
| | Improve access and security on recreation grounds | Negotiate land for provision of a new Lindholme play area |
| | Hold a community event, e.g picnic, sports day | Work with local prisons to help integrate prisoners back into a community |
| | Enhancement of floral decorations | Continue to work with volunteers to enhance existing maintenance work |
7
Hatfield Town Council 2016
Hatfield Town Council strives to work for the community from within the community. It aims to continually improve the services it provides and make a difference to residents’ daily lives.
Council Offices, Cuckoo Lane, Hatfield,
Doncaster, DN7 6QE
Clare McRoy Tel 01302 840347
Town Clerk Fax 01302 840347
email: admin@hatfieldcouncil.co.uk
http://www.hatfieldtowncouncil-southyorkshire/
8
Council Offices, Cuckoo Lane, Hatfield,
Doncaster, DN7 6QE
Clare McRoy Tel 01302 840347
Town Clerk Fax 01302 840347
email: admin@hatfieldcouncil.co.uk
http://www.hatfieldtowncouncil-southyorkshire/
8