Councillor S Roberts (Chair); Councillors D N Bebbington, P K Butterill, R Cartlidge, A Crawford, P A Hallett, M A Hollins, A C Johnson, A Moran, S J S Mottram, 

R Stafford and L T Wood     

 

Councillor J Hammond           Portfolio Holder for Local Environment 

Councillor S W Hogben

 

P Ancell            Executive Director, Environment and Development

P Burns             Business Development Manager, Direct Services 

D Marren          Executive Director, Direct Services

A Millington       Borough Planning Officer

D Moulson        Democratic Services Officer

R Lester            Planning Officer, Local Development Framework  

A Wenham       Chief Executive   

 

1.           APOLOGIES

 

At the request of the Chair, apologies for absence at Committee would in future be included on the agenda and noted in the Record of the Meeting.   

        

2.           DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

Councillor Bebbington declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 (Board Reports: Consultation War Memorial) on the basis that he was a former member of the Memorial Action Team.  Councillor Moran declared a personal interest by virtue of his position as a County Councillor and specifically in agenda item 8 (Crewe Rail Gateway Draft Development Brief).       

 

No other Member declared any personal or prejudicial interest in respect of any item of business on the agenda.          

 

3.           RECORD OF MEETING

 

AGREED: That the record of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2006 be approved as correct.         

 

4.           WHIPPING DECLARATIONS

 

In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.  No such declarations were made. 

 

5.           RESPONSES/REFERRALS FROM THE BOARD/COUNCIL

 

It was noted that there were no responses/referrals to report from the Board or Council.                      

6.           BOARD BUSINESS

 

The Committee considered three reports which would be considered by the Board at its meeting on 15^th June 2006 -   

 

·            War Memorial Consultation

 

Following the decision of the Board to suspend works relating to the War Memorial on Municipal Square (Decision No. 3, 5^th June 2006), proposals had been put forward to carry out a public consultation exercise using the Citizen's Panel (Platform) to establish the preferred location for the War Memorial The report had been marked "to follow" on the Board agenda issued on 6^th June 2006 but was tabled at the meeting.

 

The Chairman opened the discussion by making a statement.  He questioned the necessity of incurring the additional costs associated with a consultation exercise which would be borne by the Council Tax payers.    He referred the Committee to the findings of an Ombudsman complaint concerning the validity of the original consultation exercise which had subsequently been dismissed and stated that, in his view, the Board was acting unreasonably by opposing the findings of the Ombudsman.  He cautioned that, should the consultation go ahead, the resultant delay to the works would leave the Town Centre without its Memorial for the Remembrance Day service in November.

 

There was support for the Chairman's views amongst the Committee.  Some Members did not support further consultation and considered that it was unfair that the cost burden should be shared by all residents in the borough when the issue only affected those living in Crewe.  A Member also considered that as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had approved the application to relocate the Memorial, that decision should be accepted.    

 

Other Members however were of the view that the original decision to move the War Memorial had not taken into account the strength of public feeling and the proposal to re-consult would clarify the public's views on the matter.  It was considered that the Conservative Group was fulfilling an election pledge to consult the public on the matter.                                               

 

The Chief Executive addressed the meeting and commented that the debate had highlighted that it was in the best interests of the Council to achieve a final resolution to the matter at the earliest date.  He considered that if a consultation exercise was to be held, then it needed to be robust, not open to criticism and the result accepted by all parties. 

 

As there was no consensus of opinion amongst the Committee, the Chairman put forward a motion on which a vote was taken

 

 

·                    Best Value Performance Plan 

 

The Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP) was a statutory document which set out targets for the authority during the forthcoming year.  Following its consideration at Board, the BVPP would be submitted to Council for final approval.

 

The Executive Director Environment and Development drew Members' attention to three areas of interest in the plan; affordable housing, quality of service checklist for planning and vacancy rates for shop units. 

 

·                    Filling Of Vacant Posts 

 

The Chairman referred to the proposed policy on the filling of vacant posts.  He requested that, should the proposals be approved, regular reports be submitted to the Committee on those posts within the remit of Local Economy & Environment to allow Members to monitor any potential impact on services.

                                                                        

 

The Committee received the Board's Forward Plan for 28 June, 27 July, 7 September and 19 October 2006.        

 

8.           PERFORMANCE MONITORING                       

         

The Committee considered the performance management report which provided out-turn performance against statutory Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) and Local Performance Indicators (LPIs) for 2005/2006. 

 

The Executive Director Environment and Development acknowledged that there had been a decline in planning performance and confirmed that this had been as a result of staffing vacancies which had now been addressed.  Whilst government targets were being met, performance had fallen short of the Council's own targets and this was likely to impact on the amount of Planning Development Grant awarded to the Council.            

 

9.           CREWE RAIL GATEWAY DRAFT DEVELOPMENT BRIEF

 

The Committee received a presentation from Robert Lester (Planning Officer Local Development Framework) and the Borough Planning Officer which outlined the key elements of the Crewe Rail Gateway Development Brief.

 

9.1             Purpose of the Document

 

The draft development brief had been created to help shape and guide development in the vicinity of and including Crewe Rail Station.  The document, which had been published for consultation, would when approved form an appendix to the Local Development Framework and act as supplementary planning guidance for the area.  The consultation period was due to end on 21 June 2006.    

 

 

Four main sub-areas had been identified in the plan  

 

Ø      Mill Street/Pedley Street

Ø      Tommy's Lane

Ø      The Horse Landing

Ø      Rail Station Core

 

which proposed suitable development uses for each.  The document had been constructed in such a way that whilst each site could be developed independently, the entire area could be the subject of an overarching Masterplan. 

 

Design and architecture were considered to be of equal importance and it was intended that the guidance would encourage applications to come forward which would make a statement about the town and its aspirations.  It was intended that the document would also be used as a marketing and promotional tool. 

 

9.3        Next Steps

 

§         Consultation responses to be considered

§         Document to be adopted as supplementary planning guidance

§         Statement of consultation to be made

§         Statement of responsibility to be made

§         Final sustainability appraisal to be carried out      

 

The Committee was invited to comment on the document

 

A Member questioned whether it was possible to link the Railway Station and the Town Centre via Mill Street.  In response, the Committee noted that consideration was being given to the possibility of opening up an archway in the Railway Bridge at the bottom end of Mill Street to improve pedestrian access and provide a visible link to the Town Centre.

 

Various suggestions were put forward by Members relating to improving road links between the two sites (e.g. park and ride, bus links) which, officers confirmed were being considered.  It was noted that there was an existing bus service which ran from the Rail Station to the Town Centre but it was not promoted and there was no signage from the station for those alighting at Crewe to direct passengers to the service.          

 

The Committee supported the document's approach to design and architecture.  A Member commented that whilst most people's perception of Crewe was as a railway town, this was a unique opportunity for the borough to create its own "Angel of the North" and to promote Crewe as an area which encouraged iconic and interesting buildings. 

 

10.         WORK PROGRAMME 2006

 

 

For the benefit of new Members of the Committee, a list of topics to be considered by the Committee as a whole during 2006 was included on the agenda for information. 

 

 

The Committee was invited to appoint three Members to the following Task Groups:

 

a)         Waste Management Task Group               

            Appointed:     Councillors Butterill, Crawford and Mottram  

 

b)         Town Centre and Retail Economy Task Group

            Appointed:     Councillors Hallett, Roberts and Wood

 

c)         Town Centre's Car Parks Task Group

            Appointed:     Councillors Butterill, Moran and Stafford

 

As Affordable Housing was considered to be a cross-cutting issue, it was proposed that two Members of Performance & Overview Local Economy & Environment be appointed to the Task Group and that an invitation be extended to a Member of Performance & Overview Community Committee to sit on the Group.         

 

d)         Affordable Housing Task Group

            Appointed:     Councillors Hollins and Bebbington

 

11.         DATE OF NEXT MEETING

 

               Special meeting on 15^th June 2006 at 5pm.  

 

 

 

..............................  Chair