(a) Apologies for Absence
(b) Announcements
To consider any announcements by:
(i) the Chairman of the Council;
(ii) the Leader of the Council; and
(iii) any other Cabinet Member.
(c) The Alan Ball Local History Award
The Council is the joint winner for 2010 of the Alan Ball Local History Award for the best work of local history produced under the auspices of a local authority. The award is made by the Library Services Trust, part of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.
The award is for The Life and Art of Octavius Dixie Deacon, a 52 page colour book by Chris Pond and Richard Morris. The Epping Forest District Museum purchased a number of sketchbooks by Deacon, an artist and publisher, who lived in Loughton from the 1870s until 1916. A joint project was agreed, whereby the Museum would digitise the sketches and paintings, make them available free to the Loughton and District Historical Society, who undertook to research Deacon’s life and work, and write a comprehensive introduction, and publish them in book form, at its own expense and at cost price.
The Chairman will invite Michael Saich from the Awarding Committee to say a few words about the award and invite him to make the formal presentation of the award to Councillor Ricki Gadsby, Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder, Tony O’Connor, the Council’s Museum Officer, and Chris Pond and Richard Morris from the Loughton and District Historical Society.
Minutes:
(a) Announcements by the Chairman of the Council
(i) Attendance at Events
The Chairman reported on his attendance at an information afternoon held at the recently extended Careline Centre at Parsonage Court, Rectory Lane, Loughton. He advised that the afternoon had celebrated the first anniversary since the completion of the extension and had presented an opportunity to bring members up to date with the range of services offered by Careline. He referred to the dedicated staff at the Centre.
The Chairman advised that on 1 October 2011 he had attended the Special Constabulary Muster Parade which recognised Special Constables who had done outstanding work within the community along with the officers that had recently been promoted. He reported that Special Constables volunteered their time for a minimum of 16 hours every four weeks and that the majority undertook this work in addition to a normal full day’s work.
The Chairman reported that he had enjoyed the King Harold Day held at Waltham Abbey on 8 October 2011. He advised that the event had been informative and had been well attended by the public.
The Chairman referred to his attendance at the Council’s Celebrating Success event at which presentations had been made to District Council staff who had achieved professional qualifications in a variety of work-related areas during the past 12 months.
The Chairman said that he had enjoyed the New Horizons Bowls Gala Day and he thanked officers in Community and Cultural Services for organising the event.
The Chairman stated that on 6 October 2011 Councillors and staff had participated in a white water rafting event held in aid of his charity. He advised that a DVD had been made of the event which was shown to the Council.
(ii) Floral Display
The Chairman announced that he intended to send the flowers from tonight’s meeting to Pelly Court, Hemnall Street, Epping.
(b) Announcements by the Leader of Council
The Leader advised that she had no announcements to make under this heading.
(c) Announcements by Portfolio Holders
(i) Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder
Councillor Gadsby, Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder, reported that in the early hours of 30 October 2011 the Epping Forest District Museum had been broken into. A number of display cases had been damaged and a number of items had been stolen. Some of the items had subsequently been recovered by the Police but others were still missing. Councillor Gadsby reported that the Museum had been closed on Monday and Tuesday of this week so that the damage could be repaired. She said that the Police were continuing to investigate the theft and that she could not give any further details at this stage. She stated that on completion of the investigation decisions would be made on whether there was a need for further improved security.
(d) The Alan Ball Local History Award
The Chairman announced that the Council had been the joint winner for 2010 of the Alan Ball Local History Award for the best work of local history produced under the auspices of a local authority. He reported that the award was made by the Library Services Trust, part of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.
The Chairman continued that the award had been for the life and art of Octavius Dixie Deacon, a 52 page colour book by Chris Pond and Richard Morris. The Chairman reported that the Epping Forest District Museum had purchased a number of sketch books by Deacon, an artist and publisher, who had lived in Loughton from the 1870s until 1916. A joint project had been agreed, whereby the Museum would digitise the sketches and paintings and make them available free to the Loughton and District Historical Society, who had undertaken to research Deacon’s life and work, and write a comprehensive introduction, and publish them in book form, at their own expense and at cost price.
The Chairman welcomed Michael Saich from the Awarding Committee and invited him to say a few words about the award. Mr Saich advised that Alan Ball had been a former Chief Librarian of the London Borough of Harrow and he had written a lot of local history publications. The object of the award was to encourage local authorities to produce items of local history of high standard. Mr Saich advised that Alan Ball had taken part in the judging and the award Committee had congratulated the Council on a well produced book and its collaboration with the local society.
The Chairman invited Chris Pond to address the meeting. Mr Pond referred to the current difficult times for local authorities and suggested that the project represented a good example of partnership working between a public authority and a local society. He advised that as a result of publication of the book, the work of Deacon had been made known to a wider audience and that as a result of locating further works it was possible that a second volume of the book would be published in the future.
The Chairman invited Mr Saich to make the formal presentation of the award to Councillor Gadsby, Leisure and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder and he invited them to join him together with Chris Pond and Tony O’Connor, the Council’s Museum Services Officer in the well of the Chamber for photographs.