Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring disclosable interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is pecuniary or non-pecuniary.

Non-pecuniary interests were declared in relation to Item 6 – Marlborough Square Funding by Councillor Rushton as a member of the LLEP Board and Councillor Ashman who had submitted an application to be a member of the LLEP Board

These Members remained in the meeting for the debate and vote on this item.

No members of the public had requested to speak at the meeting.

Minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2020.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 3rd March 2020.

It was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2020be approved as a correct record.

Reason for decision:  To comply with the Constitution.

Report of the Strategic Director of Housing and Customer Services

Presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder

Councillor Bayliss presented the report to the Committee. He took Members through the report in detail and emphasised the challenges, all of which were set out in the report.

He explained that when he first saw this site a number of years ago, he saw a tired and underinvested property but there was no noise being made about this. Whilst this Council has a responsibility for the site, the dwellings themselves are the responsibility of the tenants, some of which were in a state of disrepair and incapable of being moved. One of the early considerations was to dispose of the site to a private operator, after a number of fire risk assessments. This was resisted at the time as Councillor Bayliss reported he had reservations about this and the way some operators work. It was then that work on the current proposal began; the history of which was set out in detail in the report. Councillor Bayliss advised that his personal preference was Option D but he was happy to support Option E as it finds favour with the residents, the scouts and the Scrutiny Committee. 

The Leader thanked Councillor Bayliss for his comprehensive report and took questions and comments from Members.  There were none.

The recommendations as set out on page 7 of the report were moved by Councillor Bayiss, seconded by Councillor Blunt and subsequently

RESOLVED THAT:

(1)       the comments received from Community Scrutiny Committee on 6 May 2020 be noted;

(2)       the proposal for the improvement of Appleby Magna Caravan Park, using option E as detailed in the report, and supported by the Community Scrutiny Committee, be approved;

(3)       authority be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the portfolio holder and the Section 151 Officer, to engage architectural, building and related services to allow the implementation of Option E.

Reason for decision: To allow the improvement work to the caravan site at Appleby Magna to be progressed, using the existing approved budget.

Report of the Strategic Director of Place

Presented by the Leader of the Council

The Leader presented the report.

He reminded Cabinet that the Marlborough Square project formed an important step for Coalville’s regeneration work and it implemented work from the Prince’s Foundation for Coalville going back to 2009.

The report sought approval to accept a grant from our Leicester and Leicestershire Economic Partnership (LLEP) and it provided an update on the progress being made to deliver the project, which the Leader believed to be even more important, given the current situation with COVID 19 and the need for our Council to support recovery.

The Leader stated that he had personally wanted to ensure that the highest quality project possible could be delivered for Coalville and the report set out how this had been achieved with the detailed design work; ensuring the aims could be balanced with the functioning of the highway network. A skilled team was being used to support this detailed design with quantity surveyors advising on the budget.

Once Highway approval, which was expected imminently, had been realised, officers would seek the necessary planning approvals and tender the works to obtain a fixed price.  The report, the Leader stated, set out how reserves had been allocated for the forecast cost but it was noted that a further report to Cabinet would seek final approval for the scheme and budget; at which time he would be in a position to confirm the start date.

The Leader invited questions and comments from Members. 

Councillor Gillard expressed his support for the recommendations as it demonstrated how the Council was working towards providing local jobs for local people. Councillor Ashman welcomed the report as being a step in the right direction for smartening up this part of Coalville and welcomed the support of private businesses. Councillor Woodman also welcomed the scheme, which saw a direct link to the improvements introduced by the Newmarket scheme.

The recommendations as set out on page 31 of the report were moved by Councillor Blunt, seconded by Councillor Gillard and subsequently

RESOLVED THAT:

(1)       authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Place to enter into the Grant Agreement to receive £360,000 from the Leicester and Leicestershire Economic Partnership for public realm work at Marlborough Square;

(2)       progress on the redesign and implementation of the project be noted;

(3)       the earmarked reserve for the acquisition and redevelopment of property in Coalville be retained in full, as set out in the report for the Marlborough Square project.

Reason for decision: Approval is required to reallocate an earmarked reserve and to accept the grant of £360,000 as there is a requirement to enter into a contract with the Leicester and Leicestershire Economic Partnership.

The officers consider that the press and public should be excluded during consideration of the following items in accordance with Section 100(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 as publicity would be likely to result in disclosure of exempt or confidential information.  Members are reminded that they must have regard to the public interest test and must consider, for each item, whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the item available.

It was moved, seconded and subsequently

RESOLVED THAT:

In pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that the business to be transacted involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Chairman explained that it was necessary to move into confidential session and he thanked those who had joined the meeting for their participation.

Reason for decision: To enable the consideration of exempt information.

Report of the Strategic Director of Place

Presented by the Leader of the Council

The Leader presented the report.

He referred to a letter of support from Councillor Angela Black and invited Councillor John Legrys to comment following his formal request to do so. 

The Leader invited Cabinet Members to make a comment or ask a question.

A summary of the Leader’s report and Member’s questions and comments are attached to these minutes as a confidential appendix.

The recommendation as set out on pages 44 and 45 of the report were moved by Councillor Blunt seconded by Councillor Rushton and subsequently

RESOLVED THAT:

The recommendations as set out on pages 44 and 45 of the report be approved.

Reason for decision:  To inform Cabinet of the content of the Coalville Future High Streets Fund full business case submission and outlining the requests for Council co-funding as set out in the recommendations.