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.

Councillor A V Smith provided an update on the current situation in respect of recycling credits following notice being given to district councils by Leicestershire County Council that payment of recycling credits would cease from 1 April 2018.  She advised that Leicestershire County Council had now gone out to tender for contracts and the district council had made a bid to retain the recycling material generated by our residents.  She reiterated her belief that collecting recycling in a small separated way represented the best value for money for residents and was better for the environment.  She advised that evaluation of the bid was awaited and she looked forward to embarking on a positive working relationship with Leicestershire County Council if the bid was successful.  She stated that the outcome would be known in July and she would update Council in due course.

Councillor N Clarke thanked Councillor A V Smith for her announcement and for keeping all members informed.  He stated that the loss of recycling credits represented a significant financial loss and the loss of materials would be a double blow.  He added that he was pleased that a bid had been made and he looked forward to hearing the outcome.  He thanked officers for putting the bid together and expressed frustration and disappointment that Leicestershire County Council had not entered into negotiations on this matter.

Councillor T J Pendleton reported that officers had met with officials from HS2 Limited who had thanked them for the Council’s response.  He added that HS2 were continuing to process the concerns raised by the Council, which were emphasised, and he was pleased to report that a good working relationship had been established. 

Councillor T J Pendleton highlighted some of the achievements of the Planning and Building Control teams, in particular the submission of the Local Plan to the Secretary of State and the adoption of the planning design guide supplementary planning document.  He commended the outstanding planning department for a job well done in terms of delivering outcomes on applications within an 8 week window.  Councillor T J Pendleton also highlighted that the Council had won a regional Building Excellence award in conjunction with David Granger and Lychgate homes in the category ‘best change of use of an existing building of conversion’ for School House in Griffydam.  He congratulated the staff in the Planning department who were delivering these excellent results.  

Councillor S Sheahan commented that the campaign groups who had assisted the council with making its submission had helped a tremendous amount. 

Councillor J Legrys commented that the staff who were delivering needed to be congratulated.  He expressed confidence that the Local Plan would be approved, however felt it needed to be recognised that this would not be the end of the journey as a number of modifications would be required, some of which may be highly contentious.  He thanked the Planning Policy team for their work and looked forward to further meetings of the Local Plan Advisory Committee.

Councillor M Specht congratulated the staff in the Planning department for meeting local needs. 

Councillor R Blunt congratulated Councillor S Sheahan on becoming the Leader of the Labour Group.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor R Blunt announced the appointments and delegations of executive functions for the forthcoming municipal year as follows:

Deputy Leader and Community Services Portfolio Holder - Councillor Alison Smith

Housing Portfolio Holder - Councillor Roger Bayliss

Regeneration and Planning Portfolio Holder - Councillor Trevor Pendleton

Corporate Portfolio Holder - Councillor Nick Rushton

Business Portfolio Holder - Councillor Tony Gillard

As in previous years the Executive responsibilities were to be delegated to the Cabinet to take decisions collectively.

Councillor S Sheahan announced the Shadow Cabinet as follows:

Leader – Councillor S Sheahan

Deputy Leader – Councillor N Clarke

Housing – Councillor R Adams

Regeneration and Planning – Councillor J Legrys

Corporate – Councillor F Fenning

Business and Coalville Project lead – Councillor J Geary