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Not surprisingly I did not get the information I requested within the 20 working days, which was by Tuesday 15th March 2011.
On the morning of Friday 18th March I sent Biggleswade Town Council an email.
By my calculation you are now well past the twentieth working day by which you should provided me with the information requested.
I will leave it until the end of today before I pursue any other action.
I received an email timed at 4.10pm to say the documents would be available for collection on Monday 21st March.
One document is the Minutes of the Property Committee held 23rd November 1999.
Present: Councillor Briars, Town Mayor (in the chair) Councillors Albone, Mrs Armstrong, Biernis, Brunt, Malyon, Rook, Skinner and the Town Clerk.
Also present were Councillors Vickers and Costley.
Apologies were received from Councillor Mrs Forbes.
There is a blank gap after "The following resolution was moved:"
The document then goes on to say:
The Clerk informed members that exchange on the Avenue Centre had been completed on 17th November 1999 for the agreed price.
General discussion took place on the possibility of a replacement community building and need to secure the monies received from the sale of the Avenue Centre.
Recommended that:
a) this council contact the District Valuer and ask him to re-open negotiations on the purchase of Kingdom Hall;
b) the monies received from the sale of the Avenue Centre be "ring fenced" for the provision of a new community building.
The other document I asked for, would have been between November 1999 and 31st March 2003, when £200,000 was designated in reserves for new office provision (the sale price of the Avenue Centre). There is no other £200,000 shown in the earmarked reserves. I have been provided with an extract of an agenda and minutes from April 2006 which shows the source of funds for the acquisition and refurbishment of the Magistrates' Court building. There are no amounts shown but the funding in priority order was :
1. Proceeds of Chestnut Avenue (this was sold for £171,000 in June 2006)
2. PWLB Loan
3. Proceeds Cemetery Lodge
4. Earmarked Reserve.
I will now have to go back again and ask the same question:
Can you provide me with a copy of the minutes which show the minuted decision (between November 1999 and 31st March 2003) which changed the designation of the £200,000 in reserves to New Office Provision?
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I have recently discovered that an amount of £200,000 is shown in the BTC accounts in the reserves for year ended 31st March 2003, and is shown as EMR (Ear Marked Reserve?) – New Office Provision.
On Tuesday 15th February 2011, I sent an email to the BiggleswadeTown Clerk asking:
1. Can you provide me with a copy of the minutes around the time of the sale in November 1999 that mentions anything about the sale and the purpose of the proceeds?
2. Can you provide me with a copy of the minutes which show the minuted decision (between November 1999 and 31st March 2003) which changed the designation of the £200,000 in reserves to New Office Provision?
If you consider this task too onerous, I am quite prepared to search for this information myself, if you would give me access to your archived minutes.
The 20 working days, by which time the information should be provided, will expire on Tuesday 15th March 2011.
The 20 working days, by which time the information should be provided, will expire on Tuesday 15th March 2011.
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I am given to believe that when BTC sold The Avenue Club, an undertaking was given, particularly to organisations using the Club premises, that the sale money would be ring fenced and be held towards meeting the cost of a town community centre. At The Town Assembly Meeting of 23rd May 2006, when Vic Brunt asked what had happened to the monies from the sale he was told by Councillor Vickers that it was no longer ring fenced !
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