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 of the ongoing work across the district to maintain high standards of design in new developments.  He referred to the recent visits undertaken by the design ambassadors to a number of sites across the district, and commented that high quality schemes in terms of design were being approved as a matter of course, which would leave a legacy the people of the district could be proud of.  He made reference to the DHL building and the Radisson Blu at East Midlands Airport, which was outstanding in design and a landmark building.  He also referred to the new Amazon building, the investment for which had been secured due to the Council’s can-do approach and business-like attitude, providing 500 permanent new jobs and up to 1,000 seasonal jobs in the district.  He added that the support from the Council would help to maximise the local employment benefit, and along with the development at Bardon Grange, the future for Coalville was far brighter than it had been for many years.

The Leader report that the Council was looking to invest over £1 million in conjunction with Ashby Town Council to enhance the area around Hood Park.  He advised that work would soon commence on a new car park for the town.  He added that the area around Hood Park would be improved and become the cultural and leisure quarter for the town. 

Councillor S Sheahan suggested that the Policy Development Group receives a report on the state of the district.  He commented that it would be encouraging if the Leader would support this and felt that it would be a useful time to do this exercise.

Councillor R Blunt responded that he felt scrutiny should play a role, however this was a matter for the Chairman of the Policy Development Group.

Councillor J G Coxon welcomed the news in respect of the cultural and leisure quarter for Ashby de la Zouch.  He thanked the Leader and the Chief Executive for their time and effort on this initiative and commented that the additional parking spaces would be a godsend.  He felt sure that the residents would appreciate the investment in the town.

Councillor N Smith commented on the improvements made in respect of the quality of new developments in the district during the time since he joined the Council.  He felt that new builds were tremendous and a credit to all.  He welcomed the announcement in respect of the cultural and leisure quarter and felt this would balance the town.

Councillor K Merrie outlined his experience liaising with Amazon, being the ward member for this large scale development.  He urged people not to be fearful of development, but to work with people to get the best for the community.

Councillor A C Saffell commented that house design has improved however there were issues on Spitfire Road with roads being too narrow and insufficient parking, which caused neighbour disputes. 

Councillor R Blunt thanked Councillor J G Coxon and Councillor N Smith for their positive comments.  He praised Councillor K Merrie for his dealings with Amazon, adding that he was a real credit who had demonstrated what could be achieved by working with developers.

Councillor A V Smith announced that the Council had been awarded a gold footprint for the fifth time for the way in which stray dogs were handled.  The award recognised the procedures which had been put in place.  She added that North West Leicestershire was one of only fifteen Councils to maintain such a service for five years.  She congratulated the officers who helped run this service.

Councillor S McKendrick added congratulations and thanks on behalf of the Labour Group to all those involved in achieving this award.

Councillor D J Stevenson commented that the Planning Committee should be proud and also should be shown some gratitude as they had had to face a lot of negativity.

Councillor N Smith and Councillor J Legrys echoed these comments.

Councillor T J Pendleton made reference to the report that was due to be considered at this meeting in respect of gypsies and travellers.  He explained that this report had been delayed following the new definition of traveller recently introduced by the government.  He referred to the needs assessment which was currently in progress across the county. Early indications showed that the need for new sites was much smaller than anticipated, and as such it had been decided not to publish a document which would almost immediately be out of date.  He explained that the revised needs assessment would be received in the next few weeks.  He stated that he intended to keep Council informed as this important document was progressed and he would ensure that the Local Plan inspector fully understood the reasons for pausing this document. 

Councillor J Legrys stated that he fully understood and supported the reasons for withdrawing this report.  He commented that changes were coming from the Government daily and he supported the Planning Policy Team.