LOCAL ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
SCRUTINY
COMMITTEE
RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 7TH AUGUST 2007
Present:
Councillor P A Hallett (Chair);
Councillors M A Hollins, A C Johnson, S J S
Mottram, S Roberts and L T Wood
Officers in Attendance (for whole or
part):
P Ancell
Chief Executive
K
Boughey
Senior Enforcement Officer, Direct Services
P
Burns Business
Development Management, Direct Services
P Goodwin
Assistant Director, Accountancy and Audit
A Leah
Landscape Architect, Environment and Development
D
Marren
Executive Director, Direct Services
D Moulson
Democratic Services Officer
G Roberts
Economic Development and Estates Manager
In Attendance (for whole or
part):
Councillor J Hammond
Portfolio
Holder for Local Environment
Councillor S W Hogben
Apologies:
Councillors M Campbell, R Cartlidge, R W
Parker and R Stafford
11.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
No Member declared any personal or
prejudicial interest in respect of any item of business on the
agenda.
12.
RECORD OF MEETING
AGREED: That the record of the meeting
held on 29th May 2007 be approved as correct.
13.
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.
14.
RESPONSES FROM THE BOARD
14.1 Appointment
of Chairs to Performance and Overview (Scrutiny)
Committees
The Chairs of the three Scrutiny Committees
had, at Annual Council, been appointed from the same political
group which made up the Council’s Board. The Members had
requested that the following statement be brought to the attention
of the Board:
“That the Board be asked to note that the
majority of Performance and Overview (P&O) Local Economy and
Environment Committee Members had expressed their disappointment
and concern regarding the appointment of Conservative Chairs to the
P&O Committees as, in their opinion, it did not reflect the
spirit of scrutiny and went against convention, best practice and
legal
advice”.
The Board noted but did not comment on the
statement.
14.2 Provision of
Affordable Housing
The Committee made the following
recommendation to the Board which was duly
noted.
“The Board be asked to
note that the Committee supports the report but requests that
urgent progress be made on the issues identified”.
14.3 Wulvern
Housing – Governance Review
Proposals by Wulvern Housing to amend its
governance rules had not found favour with the Committee, which had
in response submitted the following recommendation to the
Board:
“The Committee urged the Board not to
agree to the proposal at this stage but enter into discussions with
Wulvern Housing and the community as a whole with regard to
appropriate representation on Wulvern Housing’s Board.”
The
Board’s Decision (12) was -
DECISION:
(A)
That, in the light of the comments made by the Performance
and Overview Committees, a decision on this matter be
deferred;
(B)
That the Performance and Overview Committee (Organisation)
be asked to review this matter;
(C)
That a representative of Wulvern Housing be asked to attend
the Performance and Overview Committee meeting to advise on the
issues involved; and
(D)
That the Performance and Overview Committee (Organisation)
be asked to make a recommendation to Board at the earliest meeting,
to inform Wulvern’s decision on its governance arrangements at its
Annual General Meeting on 13th September
2007.
A special meeting of Organisation Scrutiny
Committee was held on 25 June 2007 and a copy of the outcome from
the meeting was provided for Members.
15. REFERRALS
FROM THE BOARD/COUNCIL
The Committee noted that there were no
responses/referrals from the Board/Council on this
occasion.
16. RENAMING OF
PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE
On 13th June 2007, Council resolved
to rename the three Performance and Overview Committees with
immediate effect. Members noted that this Committee had
become Local Economy and Environment Scrutiny
Committee.
17. FORWARD PLAN
OF BOARD DECISIONS
The Committee received the Board’s Forward
Plan for 20 September and 15 November 2007.
17.1 Topics for
Consideration
Two reports were identified as areas of
interest for the Committee: i) Local Development Framework – Core
Strategy, issues and options; and ii) Public Art Strategy.
Members requested that both of these topics be brought forward for
consideration by the Committee.
In relation to public art, the Chair
referred to a presentation made at Council on 27 June 2007 which
had set out the background of the strategy. Reference had
been made to improving key roundabouts within the borough and the
Chair questioned whether the funding, which had been allocated to
this element was still available. In response, the Chief
Executive confirmed that a meeting was to be held imminently
between interest parties to move the matter forward.
17.2 Work
Programme
It was reported that of the two items
identified for inclusion on the agenda for July, the report on the
Civic Hall Car Park had been deferred and would be considered in
due course by the Town Centre Task Group. The presentation on
the LAA 4th Block Economic Development had been
postponed until October, however, the Chief Executive considered
that it would be in the best interest of the Committee to receive a
briefing as soon as possible. It was therefore
AGREED that a short briefing paper would be
submitted to the Committee in September following which a more
detail presentation would be made in
October.
18.
PROGRESS REPORT – QUEENS PARK
Restoration work on Queens Park was currently
underway but concern had been expressed by Councillors and members
of the public about the apparent delay in implementing the
project. The Committee had agreed at a previous meeting to
review progress and as a precursor to the meeting, Members had
undertaken a short walking tour of the Park to familiarise
themselves with works being carried out.
The Landscape Architect was in attendance at
the meeting to provide an update on the current position and
respond to Members questions:-
Dredging of the Lake
The contractor had commenced dredging, however
the process had taken longer than expected due to adverse weather
conditions and problems associated with disposal of the silt and
removal of oil deposits. It was noted that the source of the
oil contamination was currently being investigated to ensure there
was no re-occurrence.
Wildfowl
The RSPCA had been consulted to ensure that
suitable habitat for the waterfowl was maintained during the works
and it had confirmed that plans for retaining water pockets within
the lake would be acceptable.
Cycleway
To comply with the conditions of the Heritage
Lottery Funding (HLF) grant, a cycleway was to be provided within
the perimeter of the park. Cycling within the grounds was not
presently permitted and negotiations with the HLF would be
undertaken to confirm whether creating suitable routes in the
vicinity would meet its requirements.
Retention of Depot
The current maintenance depot was to be
demolished. Concern had been raised that doing so would
result in no security presence in the park and would reduce the
amount of time on site for employees forced to travel between the
park and Pyms Lane. It was not clear given the condition of
the structure whether restoration was possible and as no funding
had been allocated within the bid, consideration of how best to
manage the situation would be required.
Maintenance
A Member commented that it would not be
acceptable for the authority to restore the park without a
comprehensive maintenance plan being initiated, which would support
the need to retain the presence of a depot on site. If the
interior of the park was no longer appropriate as a location, it
was suggested that consideration be given to siting the facility on
Tipkinder. The Landscape Architect took on board the comments
made, confirming that a 10 year maintenance plan for the park would
be developed to maintain and enhance works carried out.
Lime Trees
The restoration work which sough to restore the
park to its original state, had required the removal of some trees
to open up the vistas and the replacement of others trees, in
particular those located along the main drive.
The specimen Lime Trees which had been planted
had been adversely affected by the weather resulting in irreparable
damage. The trees were to be replaced although additional
drainage works would be required to mitigate against the same
problem. Members requested that the removal works be
expedited.
Retaining Wall
Structural problems with the retaining wall had
been identified subsequent to the HLF submission. Funding was being
sought to allow remedial works to be carried out.
East/West Lodge
Restoration works would be required for both
the East and West Lodge to include rewiring and redecoration and
negotiations with regards to the tenancy of West Lodge were
progressing well.
Pathways
The pathways were to be repaired/edged and
reinstated along the original route once the heavy plant work had
been completed.
Bandstand/Shelters
The canopy of trees surrounding the Bandstand
had been pruned. The shelter currently located in the
Children’s playground was considered to be worthy of refurbishment
and would be relocated to a new location once works had been
completed.
Play Equipment
A Member had, during his mayoral year raised
funds specifically for the purchase of play equipment for the
disabled. Some monies remained to be spent and he suggested
that, if the funds could be used for this purpose, match funding
could then be sought from WREN.
The Landscape Architect was thanked for his
comprehensive
update.
19.
FINANCIAL OUT-TURN REPORT FOR 2006/2007
The Committee received the report of the
Executive Director, Treasury and Corporate Support which outlined
financial outturn for 2006/2007 compared with revised
budgets. The Assistant Director Accountancy and Audit
reported on the main variances under the planning, local economy
and environment portfolios.
20.
FINANCIAL MONITORING REPORT 2007/2008
The Committee received the report of the
Executive Director, Treasury and Corporate Support which provided
information in relation to actual expenditure and income in the
current financial year for the period 1 April to 30 June 2007,
compared with profiled budgets.
The Assistant Director drew Members’ attention
to paragraph 3.2 of the report which listed areas which would be
monitored during the year.
21.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
The report of the Policy and Performance
Officer provided out-turn performance information against BVPIs and
Local PIs for the period 1 April to 30 June 2007. Members
commented on the following -
LP601b – Number of jobs created
assisted by the Council’s role in Economic Development (Net of job
losses)
The target for this indicator was a net gain of
500 jobs by March 2008, a figure which had been exceeded in
previous years. The Economic Development and Estates Manager
cautioned that meeting the target this year would be a challenge
given the current economic climate and the fact that the majority
of available employment land had now been sold. Land
availability would also influence the Council’s capacity to retain
major employers within the town as companies sought to expand their
businesses or build new facilities to their own
specification.
The Chief Executive referred the Committee to
its earlier decision (17.1) in relation to the Local Development
Framework, stating that the issue of identifying employment land
could be addressed as part of the process.
A Member spoken of a business which had
transferred its business from Crewe with the loss of 200
jobs. He queried the level of assistance which had been
offered by the Council and whether such assistance had come too
late to prevent the relocation taking place.
(Note: At this point in the meeting,
Councillor Roberts declared a personal interest in this item as he
was employed by one of the businesses under
discussion.)
In response, the Economic Development and
Estates Manager confirmed that, if the Council became aware of an
imminent move, officers would approach the business to offer advice
and assistance but in some cases notification came too late.
The authority worked closely with partners such as the Chamber of
Commerce and Job Centre Plus to try and pre-empt such situations
but in any event, relevant information was gathered and analysed to
inform future actions.
(Note: In accordance with Procedure
Rule 26(2), Councillor Hogben spoke on this item with the
permission of the Committee.)
22.
CONSULTATION – PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) had published a consultation document in May 2007
seeking views on a proposed approach to new statutory rights of
application and appeal in connection with making changes to the
public rights of way network, as introduced by the Countryside and
Rights of Way Act 2000. To assist Members, an executive
summary had been drawn from the paper and was tabled at the
meeting, listing the 35 questions to which DEFRA was seeking a
response.
A Member, whom had considered the document in
some detail, provided the Committee with her own synopsis of the
proposals, stating that the paper had sought to reach a balance
between the right to roam and the protection of land owner
rights. Many of the suggestions were, in her view common
sense and she generally supported the document.
Given that the closing date for responses was
31 August 2007 and in light of the number of questions to be
considered, the Committee AGREED that any comments
on the proposals should be forwarded to the relevant officers to
inform the Council’s response.
23. TOWN
CENTRE UPDATE
This subject had been included on the agenda as
a standing item at the request of the Chairman. The Chief
Executive provided a brief progress report on town centre matters
covering the Development Agreement, Compulsory Purchase Order and
Section 106 Agreement associated with the Modus development, new
office accommodation, provision of CCTV and the development of
Market Square.
24.
VACANCY PANEL DECISIONS
The Committee received the report of the Human
Resources Manager and noted the decisions of the Vacancy Panel made
between 26 June and 23 July 2007.
25. WORK PROGRAMME 2007
25.1 Task Group
Update
Members had previously agreed that, where
possible, formal reports would be submitted for information to the
Committee on the work of the Task Groups. On this occasion
only the Affordable Housing Task Group had submitted such a
report.
25.1.1
Affordable Housing
From its inception in November 2006, the Task
Group had undertaken work on a number of issues in relation to
affordable housing; the findings from which had helped inform the
‘Provision of Affordable Housing’ report considered and approved by
the Board at its meeting on 31 May 2007. It was the view of
the Head of Housing therefore, that the remit set for the Group had
been achieved and unless the Committee wished to nominate other
areas for consideration, its work had concluded.
Whilst there was agreement that the remit of
the Group had been met, Members considered that the next stage
would be to monitor the progress of the policies introduced as a
result of the report and requested that half yearly reports be
provided to the Committee.
25.2 Climate
Change Task Group
Two members of Local Economy & Environment
had been appointed to sit on the Climate Change Task Group
(Councillors Cartlidge and Healey) and, following agreement of the
group’s terms of reference, an invitation had been extended to the
Community and Organisation Scrutiny Committees to appoint two from
amongst its membership to the Group.
It was reported that Councillor Griffiths had
been appointed from Community Scrutiny Committee but that
Organisation Scrutiny Committee had declined the
invitation.
26. DATE
OF NEXT MEETING
11 September 2007
……………………. Chair