Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a BCP Councillor as Chair of the Shadow Council for the period up to 31 March 2026.

The Chair of BCP Council, Councillor Lesley Dedman, presided over agenda item 1 and sought nominations to the office of Chair of the Shadow Broadstone Town Council.

Councillor Peter Sidaway was nominated, seconded, and duly elected.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Peter Sidaway be elected to the office of Chair of the Shadow Broadstone Town Council.

Voting: Nem. Con.

To elect a Vice-Chair of the Shadow Council for the period up to 31 March 2026.

(Councillor Peter Sidaway in the Chair.)

Councillor Sidaway sought nominations to the office of Vice-Chair of the Shadow Broadstone Town Council.

Mr Jonathan Saunders was nominated, seconded, and duly elected.

RESOLVED: That Mr Jonathan Saunders be elected to the office of Vice-Chair of the Shadow Broadstone Town Council.

Voting: Nem. Con.

To receive any apologies for absence from Members of the Shadow Council.

All Members were confirmed as present.

Members are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

None.

Although the Shadow Council is not a meeting of the principal council, it would be appropriate to adopt meeting procedure rules similar to the meeting procedure rules which apply to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. An extracted version of the existing Part 4D Procedure Rules have been reproduced including the relevant provisions applicable to meetings of the Shadow Council.

It is RECOMMENDED that the Procedure Rules, as set out in the appended document, be adopted as the Meeting Procedure Rules for the Shadow Council.

Richard Jones, Head of Democratic Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Mr Jones advised that, although the Shadow Council was not a meeting of the principal council, it would be appropriate to adopt meeting procedure rules similar to the meeting procedure rules which apply to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

An extracted version of the existing Part 4D Procedure Rules was reproduced including the relevant provisions applicable to meetings of the Shadow Council, and the Shadow Council was asked to approve the Procedure Rules as set out, inclusive of an amendment to section 13.1 of the proposed Rules so that it read:

“13.1. A secret ballot will be held to elect the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Shadow Council, or any Shadow Member to any office or position where more than one person is nominated.”

Members queried whether meetings of the Broadstone Town Council would allow for public participation and whether procedure rules would be drafted to support such participation.

In response, it was confirmed that meetings of the new Broadstone Town Council would include an agenda item to allow for members of the public to address the Town Council. Appropriate Standing Orders would be drafted to support this public participation, with the standard model of Standing Orders for Parish and Town Councils likely to form the starting point for review by the Shadow Town Council ahead of formal adoption by the Town Council.  There would be no public participation at Shadow Town Council meetings.

Adoption of the proposed Procedure Rules, as amended, was moved, seconded and duly agreed.

RESOLVED: - that the Procedure Rules, as set out in the appended document, be adopted as the Meeting Procedure Rules for the Shadow Council inclusive of the amendment to point 13.1.

Voting: Nem. Con.

This report updates the Shadow Broadstone Town Council on progress towards establishing Broadstone Town Council ahead of its vesting date on 1 April 2026. Key milestones have been achieved, including the approval of the Reorganisation Order, confirmation of parish and ward boundaries, and commencement of recruitment for the Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer.

Several priority issues raised by councillors and stakeholders, such as asset transfers, allotment management, civic arrangements, election preparations, and neighbourhood forum transitions, are being addressed through a structured implementation plan. Statutory allotment sites within the new parish area will transfer to the Town Council, and applicable historic and civic ceremonial assets will be formally transferred before 31 March 2026.

Workstreams covering governance, finance, assets, staffing, elections, and communications are underway, supported by an officer working group. A proposed election timetable for 7 May 2026 has been published to support prospective candidates.

The report seeks nominations for an appointments panel of three to six shadow members, with delegated authority to complete the recruitment and appointment of the Town Clerk to avoid delay.

Richard Jones, Head of Democratic Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report updated the Shadow Broadstone Town Council on progress towards establishing Broadstone Town Council ahead of its vesting date on 1 April 2026. Key milestones had been achieved, including the approval of the Reorganisation Order, confirmation of parish and ward boundaries, and commencement of recruitment for the Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer.

Several priority issues raised by Councillors and stakeholders, such as asset transfers, allotment management, civic arrangements, election preparations, and neighbourhood forum transitions, were being addressed through a structured implementation plan. Statutory allotment sites within the new parish area would transfer to the Town Council, and historic and civic ceremonial assets were to be formally transferred before 31 March 2026.

Workstreams covering governance, finance, assets, staffing, elections, and communications were underway, supported by an officer working group. A proposed election timetable for 7 May 2026 had been published to support prospective candidates.

The report sought nominations for an appointments panel of three to six shadow members, with delegated authority to complete the recruitment and appointment of the Town Clerk to avoid delay.

Regarding the number of appointments to the recruitment panel, Members agreed the panel should comprise of 3, in order to avoid potential deadlock.

Voting: Nem. Con.

Nominations to the panel were sought, with the following Members nominated, seconded and duly elected: Councillor Peter Sidaway, Caroline Bliss and Jonathan Saunders.

Members sought further information on what was to happen upon sale of assets that were owned by the former Borough of Poole, e.g, the APR1 numberplate. It was suggested that a portion of any sales should be shared with Broadstone Town Council.

Officers advised that the APR1 numberplate was currently in the ownership of BCP Council and the matter required further review.

More generally, a percentage of asset revenue had been determined when setting the first year budgets. A further Reorgansiitons Order would be submitted which would set out in detail which assets were to be transferred between the three Town Councils

Members suggested that any motion to BCP Council relating to numberplate could be amended to include Broadstone. Members were reminded that when in use, the APR1 vehicle had carried Poole Mayors from Broadstone.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)  the Shadow Council establish a panel of 3 Shadow Council Members to serve on the Appointments Panel to shortlist, interview and appoint a Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer for Broadstone Town Council, these being: Councillor Peter Sidaway, Caroline Bliss and Jonathan Saunders.

(b)  the appointments panel be delegated authority to undertake all necessary activities in the recruitment process and to appoint the preferred candidate.

Voting: Nem. Con.