Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Coalville

Contact: Democratic Services  01530 454512

Items
No. Item

55.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K Merrie and P Purver.

56.

Declaration of Interests

Members are reminded that any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the code of conduct.  In particular, members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'pecuniary' or ‘non pecuniary'.

Minutes:

Councillor S McKendrick declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 10, Budget and Council Tax 2018/19, as a trustee of Moira Furnace.

 

During the debate Councillor F Fenning declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 10, Budget and Council Tax 2018/19, as a voluntary debt counsellor.

57.

Chairman's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

The Chairman stated that 2017 had been a sad year for many people in many ways and he referred to various tragedies which had occurred.  He felt that one should never be afraid to speak out against injustice.

 

The Chairman believed that the council was going to go from strength to strength with the Chief Executive at the helm.  He expressed pride in being associated with the council and felt that success needed to be publicised.

 

The Chairman made reference to the numerous functions he had attended in aid of various charities and he urged all members to attend his charity dinner on 6 April.

58.

Leader's and Portfolio Holders' Announcements

Members are reminded that under paragraph 11.1 of part 4 of the Constitution, questions can be asked of the Leader and Cabinet Members without notice about any matter contained in any address.  Questions shall be limited to five minutes in total for each announcement.

Minutes:

The Leader announced that on 16 January, Cabinet approved the next steps in our journey to deliver a new Marlborough Square in Coalville.  He stated that he was particularly pleased that the redesign had been drawn up alongside local businesses and organisations that use the square including the bus and taxi companies and unanimous support had been received.  He explained that the work formed part of the council’s Choose Coalville project, which aims to regenerate and build confidence in the town.  He added that this development saw North West Leicestershire District Council investing a further £1.1 million in the town.  He referred to the local desire to make Marlborough Square a great place so it could be a central point in the town and a place that people wanted to go to and enjoy.  He stated that the plans would remove the existing clutter and create a flexible space that could be used for many activities including outdoor markets and cultural events.  He reported that Leicestershire County Council had now been commissioned to carry out detailed design work which would lead to a public exhibition and any further refinement of the design proposal.  Once approved it would take up to six months to carry out the work, with the new square expected to be completed by winter 2018/19.

 

The Leader thanked all those involved in the Planning Peer Challenge Review which took place on 13– 15 February.  He advised that the written report was still awaited but members and officers had had the opportunity to hear face to face directly from the peer team at the end of the three day process.  He emphasised that the Peer Review had been invited in as a critical friend and as a key supporter in the council’s journey of continuous improvement.  He stated that the team had reminded us that many things were working well and we have a lot to build on including our high level of performance, our strategic joint working across the County on strategic growth and having a local plan adopted with a 5 year housing land supply.  He commented that the passion and commitment of ward members to support and make a difference in our communities had also been clearly seen by the Group.  However, several key recommendations were made at the briefing which would provide us with an opportunity to make improvements to our services. This would ensure that the customer experience and perception of planning and transparency of decision making can be of the highest standards. He gave his commitment to work jointly across political groups and with the Chief Executive to develop an action plan which would need to be owned and delivered jointly.

 

The Leader announced that the business rate pilot bid had not been successful, however it had been indicated that there would be a second round of pilots it was hoped that a future bid would be successful.

 

The Leader provided an update on the former bus station as Ashby Road.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

59.

Question and Answer Session

To receive questions from members of the public under procedure rule no.10.  The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask members of the Cabinet any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

Minutes:

There were no questions received.

60.

Questions from Councillors pdf icon PDF 41 KB

To receive members’ questions under procedure rule no.11.  The procedure rule provides that any member may ask the chairman of a board or group any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor J Legrys put the following question to Councillor A V Smith;

 

Mantle Lane Rail Bridge Coalville – Improvement to Environment

I refer to the response to my question to for council on 12 September 2017.

I am grateful the work carried out so far by the council’s environmental teams.

I would appreciate an update to the suggested improvements made by Cllr Smith on 12 September 2017
”. 

 

Councillor A V Smith gave the following response:

 

As you will be aware Mantle Lane Bridge and associated areas are the responsibility of Network Rail however, colleagues from our Environmental Protection Team and Street Cleansing Team continue with their effects to keep on top of the improvements to the environment of this area.  These teams actively carry out the following duties to sustain this approach as follows:-

 

Big Spring Clean

 

We are again joining in with this initiative on 3rd March 2018 and will include the same areas as last year.

 

Street Cleansing

 

Street cleansing attend the area regularly and sweep where they can including the areas where there are bird droppings, they also litter pick the steps.

                              

East Midlands Housing

 

Our Enforcement Team have visited residents and discussed issues regarding bin/boxes being left out, they have confirmed this have proved successful and closed the case.

 

Traffic Management

 

Street Cleansing take every opportunity to ‘jump on’ to road closures to cleanse where they wouldn’t normally be able to.

 

The teams will continue to work together and proactively in maintaining these improvements. I would also reiterate my offer made in my response of Sept 2017 regarding the Government’s Litter Innovation Fund available through DEFRA. We would be happy to offer support to you with an application if you decided you wanted to apply for a grant”.

 

As a supplementary question, Councillor J Legrys requested that action be taken to clear the vegetation that was growing around the bridge when work was being undertaken there on 3 March. 

 

Councillor A V Smith agreed that Mantle Lane Bridge was an ongoing problem and she could see no reason why the vegetation could not be cleared.  She emphasised the importance of improving the area as it was viewed as a gateway to the town, particularly with the planned improvements to Marlborough Square. 

 

Councillor R Adams put the following question to Councillor R D Bayliss:

 

For each of the years 2010/11 to 2016/17 please provide the number of NWLDC council houses sold under the right to buy, disposed of by other means, new build and acquisitions. Please also provide the latest projections for 2017/18 and for each year, show the net change to the housing stock.

 

Councillor R D Bayliss gave the following response:

 

Please find detailed in table 1 below the relevant figures as requested for the housing stock owned by NWLDC. Although the level of Right To Buys are largely outside the control of the Council, you will note that as part of the Council’s New Build programme at Linford  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

61.

Motions

To consider any motions on notice under procedure rule no. 12.

Minutes:

No motions were received.

62.

Petitions

To receive petitions in accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme. 

Minutes:

No petitions were received.

63.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 168 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 21 November 2017 and 23 January 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meetings held on 21 November 2017 and 23 January 2018.

 

Councillor S Sheahan referred to the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2017 and requested that his statement on page 19 be amended to read “he stated that the labour group had agreed to a free vote and this had not been an easy decision”.

 

Councillor M Specht referred to the observation he had made in the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2017 regarding the Local Plan and the alterations to the limits to development in Coleorton.  He reported that to date he had not received a response to his question. 

 

It was moved by Councillor V Richichi, seconded by Councillor J Clarke and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

Subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the meetings held on 21 November 2017 and 23 January 2018 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

64.

Budget and Council Tax 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 214 KB

Report of the Head of Finance

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members.  He highlighted the recommendation to freeze the council tax for the ninth consecutive year giving an average saving of £5 in 2018/19 to council tax payers and a total saving of over £150 since the freeze was first introduced in 2010.  He drew members’ attention to the Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members.  He highlighted the recommendation to freeze the council tax for the ninth consecutive year giving an average saving of £5 in 2018/19 to council tax payers and a total saving of over £150 since the freeze was first introduced in 2010.  He drew members’ attention to the projected surplus in the general fund budget of £299,000, the favourable movement in the council tax base and the significant increase in business rates income due to the high level of growth in the district.  He advised that nearly £3 million would be received in new homes bones due to the planning permissions granted.  He explained the proposal to start a self-sufficiency reserve, transferring £9,000 of existing general fund balances and committing to transfer surpluses arising from 2017/18 and 2018/19.  He added that the fair funding review would take place in 2021 and establishing a self-sufficiency reserve was a prudent measure in preparation for this.  He explained that council house rents would reduce by 1% in line with the government’s four-year rent reduction strategy.  He referred members to the draft budget summary at appendix 4a with a projected balance of £2.9 million being paid into the loan redemption reserve.  Council were asked to approve the Capital Programmes for 2019/20 – 2022/23 for indicative purposes only. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton moved the recommendations as set out in the report.  The motion was seconded by Councillor R Blunt who reserved his comments.

 

The Chairman referred to the amendments to the motion which had been circulated in the additional papers.  He invited Councillor A C Saffell to put forward his amendment.

 

Councillor A C Saffell spoke to his amendment and stated that as the staff budget was such a large proportion of the total budget, you would imagine that this would have reduced, however the council was employing more staff than ever before.  He felt that this was a shocking state of affairs and something needed to be done.  He added that his proposal was good practice in many private sector businesses and it invigorated the whole organisation.  He felt that it was time to implement similar measures with a new Chief Executive in post.  He expressed shock at the amount of money spent on staff and highlighted that reducing that figure by 20% would save £4 million.  He moved the recommendation as set out in the additional papers.

 

Councillor R Canny seconded the motion, expressing concerns about the amount and cost of agency staffing.   

 

Councillor S Sheahan commented that this was a disgraceful amendment and felt that it would be one of the worst business practices to put such pressure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Recorded Vote
TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
Amendment to the Budget Amendment Rejected
Amendment to the Budget Amendment Rejected
Substantive motion Motion Carried
  • View Recorded Vote for this item
  • 65.

    The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2018/19 and Prudential Indicators 2018/19 to 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 215 KB

    Report of the Head of Finance

    Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

    Minutes:

    Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members. 

     

    It was moved by Councillor N J Rushton, seconded by Councillor G Jones and

     

    RESOLVED THAT:

     

    The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2018/19, Prudential Indicators - revised 2017/18 and 2018/19 To 2020/21 and the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision Statement be approved.

    66.

    Notification of an urgent decision - business rates retention pilot bid pdf icon PDF 51 KB

    Report of the Chief Executive

    Presented by the Leader

    Minutes:

    Councillor R Blunt presented the report to members. 

     

    It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor A V Smith and

     

    RESOLVED THAT:

     

    The report be noted.