COUNCIL MEETING
28TH
NOVEMBER 2007
PRESENT: The
Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor M R Jones;
Deputy Mayor, Councillor M A Martin;
Councillors T E Ankers, R A Bailey, W T Beard, J A Beech, D
Brickhill, D J Cannon, R Cartlidge, D H D Charlesworth, S Conquest,
H W Curran, W S Davies, R E Dodd, B H Dykes, B Evans, G Fenton, C
Goff, M Grant, G Griffiths, P A Hallett, J Hammond, J K Hatfield, K
Healey, S W Hogben, M A Hollins, J Jones, A C Johnson, Z S
Krizanac, J Lewis, W S McGinnis, A Moran, S J S Mottram, R W
Parker, S Roberts, M Roberts, B G Silvester, M J Simon, R Stafford,
D J Straine-Francis, C G Thorley, M J Weatherill, R Westwood
and L T Wood.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
104
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D N
Bebbington, J D Bratherton, M Campbell, A Crawford, J V Dwyer, E
Howell, R Jones, A Richardson, R Salmon, J I Stockton, C Waling and
J Wright.
MINUTES
105
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on
10th October 2007 be approved as a correct record and
signed by the Mayor.
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
106
It was reported that, on this occasion, no questions or petitions
had been received in accordance with Public Question Time Procedure
Rule No. 31(2).
MAYOR’S COMMUNICATIONS AND CIVIC
ACTIVITIES
107
Council received the Mayor’s communications and a resumé of civic
life in the Borough since the last meeting.
COMMITTEE OF FULL COUNCIL
108
RESOLVED: That the Council now sit as a Committee of Full
Council.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
109
Councillors D J Cannon, S W Hogben and S Z Krizanac each declared a
personal interest in agenda item No. 15 (Post Office Closures) on
the basis that they were regular users of the Nantwich Road Post
Office, Crewe.
No other Member made any declaration of
interest in any item of business on the agenda.
CONSIDERATION OF ANY SCRUTINY
COMMITTEE REPORTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
110
There were no reports or recommendations from the Scrutiny
Committees on this occasion.
NOTICE OF MOTION (MEMBER
DEVELOPMENT)
111
The Committee of Full Council was invited to consider a Notice of
Motion submitted by Councillor A Moran in accordance with Procedure
Rule No. 7(1).
“That this Council recognises both the
corporate and individual benefits which can be obtained from Member
Development and seeks to reaffirm its commitment to the North-West
Charter on Elected Member Development by the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding.”
A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding, for
signature by the Worshipful the Mayor, was submitted.
The Motion was put to the vote and was
carried.
REVENUE STRATEGY –
2007-2012
112
At its meeting held on 15th November 2007, the Board
considered the report of Councillor John Hatfield, Portfolio Holder
for Finance.
The report presented Members with amendments
to the Medium-Term Financial Strategy for 2007-2012 and set out the
financial impacts of delivery of the Council’s existing key policy
commitments in terms of revenue spending and the capacity to fund
these.
RECOMMENDED:
(a) That the up-dated Revenue Strategy
2007-2012 be approved;
(b)That the 2008/2009 budget preparations be
guided by the September retail prices increase and the medium-term
financial position by an allowance for inflation; and
(c) That proposals for savings and any
requests for growth be brought forward to enable examination of
alternative budget proposals, with the principle of sustainability
taken into account.
CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY -
2007-2012
113
At its meeting held on 15th November 2007, the Board
considered the report of Councillor John Hatfield, Portfolio Holder
for Finance.
The report contained details of the up-dated
Capital Strategy for 2007-2012 and included a review of the
resources allocated to existing projects which were underway, and
also to new proposals which had been scored and ranked using the
Council’s scoring framework.
RECOMMENDED:
(a) That the Capital Investment Strategy
2007-2012 be approved; and
(b) That the Capital Programme be amended
to include the changes recommended in the Strategy.
LICENSING ACT 2003 – STATEMENT OF
LICENSING POLICY
114
The Licensing Act 2003 had come into force in 2005 when the
licensing of the sale of alcohol had been transferred to the
Borough Council. At its meeting on 5th January
2005, Full Council approved a policy document known as the
“Statement of Licensing Policy”. Under the terms of the
Licensing Act, the Council was required to review and renew the
policy document at intervals of no more than three
years.
The Board had approved the revised draft
Policy for consultation at its meeting on 20th September
2007 and, following the consultation period had considered a
replacement Policy at its meeting held on 15th November
2007.
The report of Councillor John Dwyer, Portfolio
Holder for Safer Communities, as submitted to Board, was considered
by the Committee of Full Council, together with the revised
Statement of Licensing Policy.
RECOMMENDED: That the
Statement of Licensing Policy be approved.
TAX BASE FOR COUNCIL TAX AND DISCOUNT
FOR SECOND HOMES
115
At its meeting held on 15th November 2007, the Board
considered the report of Councillor John Hatfield, Portfolio Holder
for Finance.
The report contained details of the Council
Tax Base calculation for the forthcoming financial year, together
with the tax base for each parish and Nantwich Town Council.
It also provided information on the level of discount on second
homes for determination.
RECOMMENDED: That, subject to
Cheshire County Council continuing with the agreement on second
homes taxation-sharing –
(a) The discount for second homes
at 25% be approved;
(b) The Tax Base for the whole
Borough, as set out in Appendix A1 of the report submitted, be
approved;
(c) The Tax Base for
the parishes and Nantwich Town Council, as set out in Appendix A2
of the report submitted, be approved;
(d) That the Crime and
Disorder Reduction Partnership be asked to allocate a proportion of
the additional funding from the Second Homes Taxation-Sharing
Agreement with the County Council, to enable signage and
implementation of the Designated Public Places Order throughout the
Borough; and
(e) That in the event
of the agreement ceasing, the above be substituted with (A) 50%
discount; (B) Appendix B1 and (C), Appendix B2 respectively.
ASSET MANAGEMENT ACTION
PLAN
116
At its meeting held on 15th November 2007, the Board
considered the report of Councillor John Hatfield, Portfolio Holder
for Finance.
The report recommended actions to deliver the
Asset Management Plan (a draft of which had been approved by the
Board in July 2007) and included the outcomes of the asset
condition surveys, which gave reliable data to assist in planning
the future maintenance programme for the Council’s
buildings.
RECOMMENDED: That the Asset
Management Plan, together with Appendices 1 and 2 attached to the
report, be approved.
PARLIAMENTARY POLLING DISTRICTS AND
POLLING PLACES REVIEW
117
The Electoral Commission required the Council to conduct a review
of its Parliamentary Polling Districts and Polling Places. At
its meeting held on 20th September 2007, the Board had
approved the process for consultation and following that
consultation, considered the report of Councillor Margaret Simon,
Portfolio Holder for Customers, at its meeting held on
15th November 2007.
The Board recommended that Council resolve
–
“That the proposals, as detailed in the
report, be approved, subject to the following –
(a) That, in
respect of Polling District 1CA1, Option 8(b) as detailed in the
report be adopted; and
(b) That, in
respect of electors from Haughton and Spurstow, the Polling Place
be amended to Bunbury Jubilee Pavilion.”
(Note: Option 8(b) was “to merge the polling
district with 1FJ4 and to allocate the voters to Leighton Primary
School.”)
An amendment to the Motion was moved
–
“That the proposals, as detailed in the
report, be approved, subject to the following –
(a) That, in
respect of Polling District 1CA1, Option 8(c) as detailed in the
report be adopted; and
(b) That, in respect of
electors from Haughton and Spurstow, the Polling Place be amended
to Bunbury Jubilee Pavilion.”
(Note: Option 8(c) was “to site a mobile
polling station in the polling district”.)
Before the vote was taken, at least six
Members of the Borough Council requested that the vote on the
amendment be recorded to show whether each Member present voted for
or against the amendment to the Motion, or abstained from voting,
in accordance with Procedure Rule No. 18.
The recorded vote was as follows –
There Voted for the
Amendment
Deputy Mayor, Councillor M A Martin;
Councillors W T Beard, D J Cannon, R Cartlidge, S G Conquest, H W
Curran, B Evans, M Grant, S W Hogben, S Z Krizanac, M Roberts, S
Roberts, R Stafford, D J Straine-Francis, C G Thorley and L T
Wood.
There Voted Against the
Amendment
Councillors T E Ankers, R A Bailey, J A Beech,
D Brickhill, D H D Charlesworth, W S Davies, R E Dodd, B H Dykes, G
Fenton, C Goff, G Griffiths, P A Hallett, J Hammond, J K Hatfield,
K Healey, M A Hollins, A C Johnson, J Jones, J Lewis, S J S
Mottram, R W Parker, B G Silvester, M J Simon, M J Weatherill and R
Westwood.
There Abstained from
Voting
The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor M R
Jones; Councillors W S McGinnis and A Moran.
The Worshipful the Mayor announced the result
of the recorded vote: 16 Members voted for the amendment; 25
Members voted against the amendment, and 3 Members abstained from
voting. The amendment to the Motion having been lost, the
original Motion was put to the meeting.
The Motion, having been put to the
vote, was carried.
SCHEME OF DELEGATION – PLANNING
DECISIONS
118
The current Scheme of Delegation and decisions delegated to the
Borough Planning Officer had been approved at Council on
7th January 2004 and came into effect on 1st
March 2004. That scheme had been introduced as a response to
the Government’s Best Value target that 90% of decisions on
planning applications should be made by Officers.
Subsequent to that, the level of delegation
had increased, but the Council was still not meeting the
target; during the period April 2007 to September 2007, the
figure had been 87.1%. At its meeting held on 15th
November 2007, the Development Control Committee had considered the
report of the Development Control Manager which proposed amendments
to the Planning Scheme of Delegation and made a recommendation to
Council.
RECOMMENDED: That the amended
Scheme of Delegation (Option 2) as recommended by the Development
Control Committee (as amended at its meeting) and set out
in Appendix 1 attached to the report now submitted, be
approved.
POST OFFICE CLOSURES
119
The Government had announced proposed compulsory compensated
closure of up to 2,500 branches of Post Offices, with the
introduction of out-reach service points to mitigate the
impact. The Committee of Full Council considered the report
of the Executive Director (Treasury and Corporate Support) which
invited Members to debate the position and express their views to
inform the Council’s response to the consultation.
RECOMMENDED:
(a) That a politically balanced Advisory Group
be nominated to advise the Portfolio Holder (Customers);
(b) That
the Advisory Group comprise eight Members (4 Conservative, 2
Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat, 1 Independent);
(c) That Councillors M
J Simon (Portfolio Holder), W S Davies, G Fenton and M J Weatherill
be nominated from the Conservative Group;
(d) That Councillors S
W Hogben and D J Straine-Francis be nominated from the Labour
Group;
(e) That Councillor D
J Cannon be nominated from the Liberal Democrat Group;
(f) That
Councillor W S McGinnis be nominated from the Nantwich Independent
Group;
(g) That
consultation with local members and stakeholders about the
alternative out-reach options in Cholmondeley be arranged, so that
the preferred option could be strongly supported in the Council’s
response;
(h) That the Advisory Group review the
detailed data in relation to each of the criteria and identify
areas of agreement or concern to include in the formal consultation
response; and
(j) That delegated authority be granted to the
Portfolio Holder to formulate a response in consultation with the
Advisory Group by the 17th December 2007.
BOARD REPORT AND QUESTIONS TO THE
BOARD AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS
121
RESOLVED: That Full Council be now reconvened.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF
FULL COUNCIL
122
RESOLVED: That the recommendations of the Committee
of Full Council be approved and adopted.
……………………………………………Mayor