Agenda item

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.

The Leader informed members about the legal action the Council was taking to protect a greenfield site on the edge of Coalville.  He advised that for the first time, the Council had applied to the High Court for a judicial review, seeking to challenge the planning inspector’s decision to overturn the Council’s refusal of the planning application for 180 houses on land off Greenhill Road, Coalville.  He explained that the Planning committee had refused this application in November, but following an appeal by the developer, the planning inspector had decided on 5 January to overturn the decision.  He felt that the district had taken its fair share of housing, and needed to fight to protect areas of attractive green space.  He added that Policy E22 was in place to protect key areas of the district and he did not agree that the inspector should ignore this policy.  He expressed support for the local community who were opposed to this development and added that the Council would do all in its power to overturn this decision. He stated that ward members would be kept informed and he would also provide updates at Council.

The Leader gave an update on the Coalville project, highlighting the new shop front on Martin and Co in the High Street.  He explained that this was the first business to benefit from the shop front improvement grant scheme, whereby the Council had provided 80% of the funding for the work to improve their shop front, creating a visually appealing frontage on the High Street.  He hoped that this would encourage the other 39 businesses in the town centre to take up the Council’s offer of grant funding.  He was pleased that 25 businesses were currently in discussions with the Council about this scheme.  The Leader also welcomed the official opening of the Royal Oak Court, which would take place in March.  The development would replace the derelict Pick and Shovel.  He stated that this was a major change for Coalville, as it would not only provide affordable homes for local people, but would also make Coalville more welcoming.  He added that he was proud that the Council was able to financially support the scheme, as it would not have taken place without this help.

Councillor M B Wyatt thanked the Leader on behalf of the residents of Castle Rock for supporting and instigating the judicial review. 

Councillor J Legrys stated that he felt the judicial review was a positive move forward.  He welcomed the progress on the town centre project, the opening of the Royal Oak Court and the shop front scheme.  He sought clarification on how much money was being invested into the shop front scheme, and how much funding business owners could access. 

Councillor R Blunt thanked members for their support.  He stated that business owners could access £250,000; however this would vary slightly depending upon the level of take up of the grants.  He added that he would not want funding to prevent the scheme moving forward should it prove popular.

Councillor A V Smith announced that the Council had won an award for the sixth year running at the annual Keep Britain Tidy awards, for the Council’s dog watch campaign, encouraging people to clean up after their dogs.  She added that for a small district council, we had done exceptionally well and were shortlisted alongside Manchester City Council and Northumberland County Council.  She congratulated the team on their success.

Councillor S McKendrick added her congratulations to the team on receiving this award. 

Councillor T J Pendleton gave an update on the Roxhill Rail Freight Interchange.  He made reference to the decision of the Secretary of State to permit the application following a public enquiry.  He added that whilst this was a ministerial decision, and notwithstanding public opinion, he wanted to be clear that the Council had supported the proposal because of the benefits it would bring, not only to North West Leicestershire, but also to the wider area. These benefits would include a new southern bypass for Kegworth, improvements to J24 and J24a of the M1, and improvements to the southbound carriageway of the M1.  He advised that the scheme would create an average of 688 jobs per year during construction and in excess of 7,200 jobs once operational.  He added that the scheme would provide a £300,000 community fund for the local parish councils to spend on improvements in their villages, which would be split equally between Castle Donington, Lockington and Hemington and Kegworth parish councils.  He stated that the Council would continue to play a pivotal role in working with the developer to ensure any conditions that needed to be discharged were done so quickly to enable work to commence.  He added that the Council would also have an important role in monitoring the construction phase to ensure all conditions were adhered to, and would be working closely with developers to establish a liaison committee in order that the impacts of the development could be closely monitored and any issues could be addressed at an early stage.  He concluded that the development of this site would not be without its impacts, however the benefits of the scheme were enormous, and he looked forward to realising these benefits. 

Councillor A V Smith expressed support for the announcement.  She felt the establishment of a liaison committee would be important to ensure the local voice could be heard as the construction and operation of this site proceeded.  She advised that there were well established liaison committees in the district for other large operations and she felt this should operate on a similar basis.  She added that she had approached the developers through officers, and they were fully supportive of the principle of establishing a liaison committee.  Therefore she looked forward to seeing progress on the site and continuing to engage with developers to maximise the benefits for the local area.

Councillor A C Saffell stated that he found himself in a difficult situation because virtually everyone who lived within a 5 mile radius of the site opposed the development.  He added that all three inspectors who attended the inquiry recommended that the Secretary of State refuse the application.  He stated that obviously, the site did not actually require a railway line, evidence suggested that nobody wanted a railway line at that location and it was not popular for freight.  He made reference to the number of unemployed people locally and suggested that local people would not benefit.