Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A Bridges, J Bridges and J Coxon.

Councillor R Blunt declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 7 - Motions (1), as a landowner who could be affected by the proposed route of HS2.

Councillor C Large declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 7 - Motions (1), as an employee of Staunton Harold Estates and interests in land that may be affected by the proposed route of HS2.

Councillor C Meynell declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in item 7 - Motions (1), due to his association with Staunton Harold Estates, which could be affected by the proposed route of HS2.

Councillor S Sheahan declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 7 - Motions (1), as an owner of property which could be affected by the proposed route of HS2.

Councillors D Everitt and S Sheahan declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in item 10 - Budget and Council Tax 2013/14, as they both rented a garage from the Council.

Councillor N Clarke declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in item 10 - Budget and Council Tax 2013/14, being a close relative of a council tenant.

Councillor M Wyatt declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in item 10 - Budget and Council Tax 2013/14, as a business owner in Coalville.

During the debate, Councillor N Rushton advised that he would declare a disclosable pecuniary interest should reference be made to Coalville Market in item 10 - Budget and Council Tax 2013/14. It was not.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

- Peter Lewis, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, had recently opened a footpath at New Lount Nature Reserve. The footpath had been built with the support of Bardon Aggregates.

- Invitations to the Green Footprints Awards and Civic Dinner would be issued to Members shortly. The event would take place at the Radisson Blu on Tuesday, 26 April.

- On Friday, 22 February a charity concert had been held at the Lyric Rooms, Ashby de la Zouch. He thanked all Members who had attended. To date £192 had been raised for the Chairman's Charity. It was noted that the event could have been better attended, however a charity quiz was also taking place at the same time.

Councillor N Rushton reported that he had received a petition regarding access licences, which had been referred to the Petitions Officer for processing. He thanked all signatories of the petition.

There were no questions received.

Councillor S Sheahan put the following question to Councillor A Smith:

"Measham residents have made numerous complaints about an unpleasant smell in Measham over a period of several years. Last year the Council publicly acknowledged what many had suspected for some time, that the source was AB Produce. Will the Administration confirm they will pursue whatever means are necessary to ensure that officers of the Council are able to effectively tackle this environmental blight and secure agreement from AB Produce to take action to eliminate the smell from its operations?"

Councillor A Smith gave the following response:

"The Council is still actively progressing this case.

Since this is a live open case and in order not to prejudice any potential future action it is not considered appropriate to comment further on the detail of the officer investigation.

However, as a result of officers' communication with A B Produce, I can confirm that A B Produce have been unable to dig out the two full lagoons that are considered to be the predominant source of the odour under their Environment Agency consent. This is due to the weather conditions post harvest and the consent has now expired. Therefore A B Produce will apply for a new consent to dig out at the end of 2013 harvest.

A B Produce have confirmed that the lagoon levels have reduced and this should decrease the potential wind whip and odour problem. However, they will still commit to renew the tarpaulin cover on the lagoons in the interim to help to mitigate any odour before the harvest.

I can also confirm that A B Produce intend to submit a planning application which is due imminently. This will be to build a closed loop water treatment and recycling system and one of the benefits of the system will be elimination of odour".

As a supplementary question, Councillor S Sheahan expressed concern that consent would have to be applied for at the end of the 2013 harvest. He asked if this would mean that Measham residents would be facing another summer of foul smells and if the Portfolio Holder thought that was acceptable.

Councillor A Smith responded that unfortunately the smells had been an issue for everyone. She reported that there was a problem with the lagoons which needed to be dug out with heavy machinery. She added that the Council was in talks with A B Produce on a regular basis and they had confirmed that the lagoons would be covered with a tarpaulin which would hopefully stop the smell and reduce the effect of the wind. She stated that the Council was aware and on top of the situation, and would do all it could to resolve the matter. She added that a letter had been send to the Parish Council to give an update on the situation and it would be kept informed.

Having declared a pecuniary interest in motion (1) of this item, Councillors R Blunt, C Large and S Sheahan left the meeting during consideration of the motion and took no part in the discussion or voting thereon.

Councillor C Meynell also left the meeting during consideration of motion (1) and took no part in the discussion or voting thereon.

There were no petitions received.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2013.

It was moved by Councillor M Specht, seconded by Councillor G Jones and

Councillor N Rushton presented the report to Members, outlining the General Fund and Special Expenses revenue budgets for 2013/14 which included £11,000,000 net expenditure which enabled the Council to continue to deliver front line services without the need to increase Council Tax. He referred to the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2013/14 which was in accordance with the rent convergence policy introduced in 2002. He explained that this would result in an average rent increase of £3.76 per week in rent for tenants. He added that there would be heavy investment in home improvements and the Council would also be in a position to repay its HRA debt as agreed in the Housing Business Plan. He explained that garage rents would increase by 2.6% and there would be a 2.7% increase in service charges.

Councillor N Rushton outlined the proposals in the General Fund Capital Programme and the Coalville Special Expenses Programme for 2013/14. He referred to the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme and reported that the Council was on target for all properties to achieve decent homes status by 31 March 2015.

Councillor N Rushton stated that the budget built on progress made in achieving efficiencies and was a sound and sustainable budget. He thanked the Chief Executive and all staff who had been involved in preparing the budget and delivering services.

Councillor N Rushton moved the recommendations as outlined in the report. This was seconded by Councillor R Blunt.

Councillor P Hyde thanked all officers for their work on the budget in a time of economic difficulty and radical change in local government finance. He expressed disappointment and concern regarding the lack of support for communities and the cuts made in relation to a post in Street Action and Community Focus. He expressed concern that this would have a negative impact upon partnership working and liaison with Parish Councils. He referred to the new homes bonus and stated that communities should be consulted on how the money was spent. Councillor P Hyde stated that the growth of the Value for Money reserve was abhorrent and the General Fund reserve had also increased. He asked what had been achieved by this increase in reserves. He stated that there was no support for communities and he could not support the budget.

Councillor S Sheahan referred to council house rents and highlighted that this would be the first time a weekly rent of over £100 had been levied. He stated that the Council had a duty of care to provide affordable housing over balancing the books and should not be making a profit. He stated that this could be seen as a tax and could cause a revolt.

Councillor N Clarke stated that he would not support the budget. In particular he referred to the reduction in Community Focus officers and stated that this was a backward step.

Councillor J Legrys stated that he could not support the budget. He stated that the Street Action post should be filled as dog mess was a common issue that residents complained about. He stated that he had personal experience of litter picks and it was difficult work which should not be undertaken by volunteers when people were paying Council Tax. He referred to the amount spent on consultancy fees in recent years and felt that this money could have been used to fill front line posts. He stated that front line posts were being put at risk due to this mismanagement of finances. He expressed grave concerns that the funding from the new homes bonus was not being distributed to the Parish Councils which were being affected by developments.

Councillor T Neilson highlighted that the Treasury Management Strategy Statement referred to a defunct Committee. He also expressed concerns regarding the reduction in staffing in the Community Focus and Street Action teams and referred to the response of the Policy Development Group in relation to this matter as outlined in the report. He stated that Measham Parish Council believed that dog fouling had worsened recently and there was less support from the District Council due to a lack of staff. He added that the Community Focus officers had been invaluable in assisting to secure funding, and they were frequently called upon. He stated that deleting the post was a backward step and would not support communities in line with the Council's priorities. He stated that he did not agree with the budget and felt that Parish Councils should be supported by distributing the new homes bonus.

Councillor M Wyatt stated that he could not support the budget as there were problems with customer service and increases in rents could not be justified without major service improvements.

Councillor T Pendleton stated the administration had been left with a mess. He added that the opposition had offered no positive comment on the budget, nor had proposed any alternative.

At this point in the meeting the Chairman called for order.

Councillor T Pendleton stated that consultants were engaged where additional expertise was necessary. He added that the electorate were engaged with and this was done at nil cost when this was undertaken by developers. He stated vehemently that he took his duties as Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder seriously and discharged them to the best of his abilities. He referred to the vacant post in the Street Action team and reported that it had been vacant for some time with no negative impact.

Councillor L Spence referred to the difficult economic situation and the tough financial settlement received by the Council. He stated that the Conservatives were making a mess of the economy and the country was facing a triple dip recession. He added that national retail chains were closing and the country's triple A credit rating had been lost. He stated that front line services were being cut despite reserves being higher than last year. He added that the Community Focus and Street Action posts were desperately needed. He stated vehemently that he could not support the budget when front line services were being cut needlessly.

Councillor D Stevenson stated in the strongest terms that the opposition should put forward an alternative budget if they were opposed to the proposals.

Councillor R Bayliss expressed his objection to some of the points raised, especially in relation to housing matters. He stated that he did not feel that tenants were receiving a poor service. He added that the Council had a duty of care to provide decent homes to live in. He referred to the deplorable state of the housing stock over the past 30 years. He commended the budget which would ensure decent homes for the foreseeable future. He added that as part of the 30 year business plan, he aspired to see the return of the building of new council homes.

Councillor R Blunt commended the budget, particularly the 0% increase in Council Tax and the investment in infrastructure and housing improvements. He stated that he was proud of having prevented the housing stock transfer and of the progress on the decent homes standard. He stated that there could be no argument where no alternative budget was offered.

At this point in the meeting, the Chairman called for order.

Councillor N Rushton stated vehemently that he would not suffer criticism where no alternative was offered. He stated that the 0% Council Tax increase was what residents wanted and what they had voted for. He added that the reserves had increased as the risks had also increased. He urged Members to support the budget and reminded Members of their duty to set a budget.

Councillor N Rushton requested a recorded vote.

The Chairman put the motion to the vote. A recorded vote having been requested, the voting was as follows:

For the motion:
Councillors G Allman, R Bayliss, R Blunt, J Cotterill, T Gillard, R Holland, J Hoult, G Jones, C Large, C Meynell, T Pendleton, V Richichi, N Rushton, A Saffell, A Smith, N Smith, M Specht and D Stevenson (18).

Against the motion:
Councillors R Adams, N Clarke, P Clayfield, D De Lacy, D Everitt, J Geary, D Howe, P Hyde, R Johnson, J Legrys, L Massey, T Neilson, J Ruff, S Sheahan, L Spence, R Woodward and M Wyatt (17).

Abstentions:
None (0).

The motion was declared CARRIED.