LOCAL ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
SCRUTINY
COMMITTEE
RECORD OF
MEETING HELD ON 20th NOVEMBER 2007
Present:
Councillor P A Hallett (Chairman);
Councillors R Cartlidge, A Crawford, K Healey,
S J S Mottram, S Roberts, R Stafford and L T Wood.
Officers in Attendance (for whole or
part):
T
Baldwin
Principal Accountant
K
Boughey
Climate Change Officer, Direct Services
P
Burns
Business Development Manager
L
Carr
Policy & Performance Officer
C
Griffies
Assistant Park Manager
K
Hercules
LSP Manager
A
Leah
Project Officer
S
Mantle
Principal Accountant
A
Millington
Borough Planning Officer
J Smith
Democratic Services Officer
C
Young
Senior Economic Development Officer
In Attendance (for whole or
part):
Councillor J Hammond
Apologies:
Councillors M Campbell, M A Hollins, A C
Johnson and R W Parker.
55. DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST
No Member declared any personal or
prejudicial interest in respect of any item of business on the
agenda.
56. RECORD OF
MEETING
AGREED: That the record of the meeting
held on 16th October 2007 be approved as correct.
57. 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.
58. RESPONSES FROM
THE BOARD
No comments were forwarded to the Board from
the Committee’s meeting on 16th October; therefore
there were no responses to report.
59. REFERRALS FROM
THE BOARD/COUNCIL
The Committee noted that there were no
responses/referrals from the Board/Council on this
occasion.
60.
FORWARD PLAN OF BOARD DECISIONS
The Committee received the Board’s Forward
Plan for 3rd January, 21st February and
6th March 2008.
61. LOCAL
AREA AGREEMENTS: 4TH BLOCK – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
ENTERPRISE
At its meeting on 16th October 2007
the Committee received a report setting the context for the
Cheshire Local Area Agreement (LAA) and changes to the LAA from
2008.
The Senior Economic Development Officer was in
attendance to present a further report which provided information
on how the Cheshire LAA 4th Block was managed, current
priority outcomes and results of the mid-year performance
reports.
The report included:
Management of the 4th Block
– Economic Development and Enterprise
The Economic Development and Enterprise block
built upon the Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance
Sub-Regional Economic Development Strategy. This strategy,
entitled ‘Investing in Success’ had been developed in conjunction
with Cheshire County Council, Cheshire District Councils,
Warrington Borough Council and an extensive range of public bodies
and the private sector. Chester City Council had co-ordinated
the process and priorities and outcomes were agreed in July
2006.
Current Priority Outcomes of the
4th Block
There were 3 key outcomes:
Key Outcome 6: Enjoy
Cheshire and its distinctiveness;
Key Outcome 10: Maintain an
entrepreneurial and diverse economy; and
Key Outcome 15: Increase the number of Cheshire
people achieving within the
workplace by reducing inactivity in workless
neighbourhoods and raising skills levels.
Performance Monitoring
The Communities of Cheshire Partnership had
agreed a process for performance management and the first half
yearly performance management report was presented to the
Partnership on the 1st November 2007. A copy of a
document, which illustrated the current status of the LAA priority
outcomes of the 4th block (as at 30th
September 2007), was distributed at the meeting.
New Arrangements for the LAA in
2008
Further details on the new arrangements for
LAA’s were included in the report. The Economic Development
and Enterprise block would be expanded to include environmental and
cultural issues.
Although the new LAA was not expected to
contain any major changes, LSPs and thematic groups were being
discussed current priorities, targets and
indicators. Members were invited to consider how their
priorities fit within the LAA structure.
Comments/Queries:
Key outcome 15.2 – Develop skills to meet the
needs of employers.
There was a lack of apprenticeships available
in the Borough and Members queried how this outcome would be
progressed.
The Jobs and Prosperity Panel had set up a
sub-group (Employers Engagement Group) to work on this outcome
and it was suggested that the Senior Economic Development
Officer provided a report on the work of this group for the
Committee once the group had become established.
AGREED: That the Senior Economic
Development Officer report on the work of the Employers Engagement
Group at a future Committee meeting.
62. BEST VALUE
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS – PROGRESS REPORT FOR QUARTER 2 –
2007-08
The Policy and Performance Officer was in
attendance to present her report which summarised the performance
activity of the Committee’s key basket of Performance Indicators
during the second quarter of the financial year 2007-2008 (up to
30th September 2008).
LP601a & b – Jobs Created
Members queried where the 130 jobs referred to
in the report had been created and raised concerns over the
imbalance between skilled and unskilled jobs. The Policy and
Performance Officer explained that she would obtain a breakdown on
the job types for the next quarter and would also liaise with
Economic Development to look at the provision of data for this
indicator.
LP606a, b & c – Retail Units
Members discussed the situation in respect of
vacant shops both in Crewe Town Centre and Nantwich Road. The
Borough Planning Officer explained that there was a need to
establish the natural level for vacant retail units. The Policy and
Performance Officer would ask the relevant Officers for further
information to be provided for the next quarter.
63. 2007-08 FINANCIAL
MONITORING REPORT – TO 30TH SEPTEMBER 2007
Representatives from Accountancy were in
attendance to present the Financial Monitoring Report for the
period 1st April 2007 to 30th September
2007.The report provided Members with information on actual
expenditure and income in the current financial year 2007/08 up
until 30 September, compared to profiled budgets and showed the
projected out-turn for the 2007/08 year.
64. RURAL
HOUSING
A new initiative had been put in place across
rural Cheshire to tackle the challenging task of providing
affordable housing. Two specialist Rural Housing Enablers had
been appointed to assist in the delivery of affordable
housing. Their role would be to raise awareness and promote
affordable housing in rural areas. They would co-ordinate a network
of individuals and organisations including Parish Councils,
Landowners, Planning Officers and Housing Associations with the
purpose of moving the process forward.
Bob Vass had been appointed as the Rural
Housing Enabler for East Cheshire which covered Congleton, Crewe
& Nantwich and Macclesfield. He would be attending a future
meeting of the Committee to provide more detailed information on
his role.
65. CREWE TOWN CENTRE
UPDATE
The Borough Planning Officer provided a brief
progress report on town centre matters covering the Compulsory
Purchase Order (CPO) and Section 106 Agreement associated with the
Modus development, new office accommodation and the development of
Market Square. It was noted that the CPO Inquiry would take place
between January and February 2008.
66. QUEEN’S PARK
RESTORATION PROJECT – PROGRESS REPORT
The Project Officer and the Borough Planning
Officer were in attendance at the meeting to provide an update on
the current position in respect of the Queen’s Park Restoration
Project. The report of the Project Officer provided the
details of the construction programme for the project.
The report covered the following areas:
1. Enabling Works Contract
(Dredging)
The dredging had been completed on time and
within budget. Settlement was not expected but if any occurred
during the winter period this would be rectified by the next
contractor.
Q : A query was raised on the
problem with oil in the lake.
A : The oil in the lake had
been caused by a break in the drains and this would be replaced as
part of the on-going works. A survey was being commissioned
on the current drainage system to ensure that any repairs and
maintenance issues were identified.
2. Planning Consents
A planning application had been submitted for
the construction of the bridges which would be followed by planning
applications for Fencing and Gates; and Engineering works
(comprising of final placement of clay sub-soil).
3. Bridge Construction Works Package
The major package of work would commence early
in 2008 and completion of the bridges was planned by August 2008
with the other works due for completion by November 2008.
The Chairman thanked the Project Officer for
submitted the detailed construction programme for the project and a
request was made for the programme be sent out with the agenda for
the Queen’s Park Stakeholder Group.
Members also discussed other ways of providing
information and updates on the project which included adding
information to the website and displays in the Access Shop and the
Queen’s Park Café. It was also suggested that it would be
informative if the design team made a presentation to the Committee
in relation to the project.
The Borough Planning Officer informed Members
of the current position in respect of the additional areas which
were not covered by the HLF funding:
1. Provision of
New Depot;
2. New
Pavilion;
3. Replacement
Bowls Pavilion; and
4. Internal Work
on the Lodges.
Capital Bids had been made for these items and
for those bids over £250k business cases were required. These
were being developed by Planning and Direct
Services. Examination of all external funding sources was also
being undertaken.
The Committee also discussed how to encourage
the involvement of young people and suggestions included getting
local schools involved with designs for the Play Area and bedding
displays.
The Project Officer commented that there was
support from Community Development to engage with young people on
this project and the role of the Junior Warden Group could be
reviewed to include this.
The Project Officer was thanked for the
detailed report to the Committee and for his continued work on the
project.
AGREED: That the
Project Design Team attend a future meeting of the LEE Scrutiny
Committee to make a presentation on the Queen’s Park Restoration
Project.
67. VACANCY PANEL
DECISIONS
The Committee received the report of the Human
Resources Manager and noted the decisions of the Vacancy Panel
which fall under the remit of the Committee.
68. WORK PROGRAMME
2007
68.1
Climate Change Task Group
The notes of the meeting held on
20th November 2007 had been submitted with the
agenda.
Councillor Cartlidge had been appointed as
the Chairperson for the group and provided a brief update on the
work of the group. The creation of a Climate Change Officer Group
was discussed and concern was expressed that the Task Group might
not be kept informed of all the relevant issues. A request was made
for the Officer Group met with them on a regular basis to ensure
that all the relevant information was communicated
effectively.
68.2 Town
Centres Task Group
It was agreed at the Committee Meeting on
16th October that a letter submitted by South Cheshire
Chamber in respect of car parking in Nantwich be referred to the
task group for further consideration. A meeting of the group had
not yet been arranged and Members queried when the Task Group would
meet.
The Business Development Manager was in
attendance and explained that he would liaise with the Economic
Development & Estates Manager to arrange a meeting in the near
future.
68.3 Waste
Management Task Group
There was nothing to report back from this
group.
69. DATE OF NEXT
MEETING
8th January 2007
……………………. Chair