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 R Blunt spoke in recognition of the end of an era for Moira fire station.  He noted that a number of Members had campaigned in support of the fire station, however it would sadly close on 31 July.  He wished to place on record his thanks to the on-call crew who had shown such commitment and dedication in serving the people of the District.

Councillor S Sheahan echoed Councillor R Blunt’s comments, adding that it was a great shame to see the fire station close.  He stated that it was only through the efforts of David Taylor and others that the date of closure had been extended until the premises were available at Castle Donington.  He added that premises had now been leased.  He expressed great sadness at the closure and reported that a service was being held at a local church on 29 July to commemorate the fire station.

On behalf of himself and Councillor A V Smith, Councillor T J Pendleton commented on the District Council’s contribution towards the Download Festival which was the largest event in the District and attracted 80,000 – 100,000 people each year.  He acknowledged that as with every event of this size and scale, there were impacts upon local communities, both positive and negative.  He stated that the District Council had invested a significant amount of resource into the planning of the event and he thanked all staff across the environmental health, community safety, stronger safer and waste teams for their contribution to the best ever Download Festival in terms of community impact.  He reported that this year had seen a huge 70% reduction in crime and disorder, which was in no small part due to the hard work of the community safety team led by Sarah Favell.  He reported that for the first time in his recollection, there had been no complaints received by the District or Parish Council in respect of noise, which was a testament to our officers’ work on pre-event planning and on-site noise management.  He stated that the aim was to repeat this next year, adding that work would continue with partners as there was always room for improvement.  He expressed thanks to all staff involved, commenting that their hard work had paid off.

Councillor T J Pendleton stated that since 2007, the Council had been investing in the quality of new developments and had employed an Urban Designer to help fulfil the Council’s vision that North West Leicestershire would be a place where people and businesses felt they belong and were proud to call home.  He added that this had led to much more well-considered developments being built.  He reminded Members that the Council had won the Urban Design Group’s first ever Urban Design Awards and were a leading authority on Built for Life.  He added that the standard of what was being built was improving all the time and was heading in the right direction.  He announced that in April the Council were awarded 2 design awards for developments in the District and had been personally commended by Nick Boles MP who had also visited the developments.

The Chairman advised Councillor T J Pendleton that he had spoken for 5 minutes in total.

Councillor N Clarke echoed the thanks to officers involved with the Download Festival.  He commented on the success of the event as there had been no complaints and a reduction in crime.  He added that this was a very important event for the District and he hoped this would continue.

Councillor J Legrys thanked the staff involved for their work and effort on the Download Festival and Picnic in the Park.  In respect of Built for Life he commented that no one could criticise the effort of the team on this project, however he felt it could be said that the standards did not go far enough in terms of the living space people were now receiving, and he felt it was a pity that this could not be put into the equation.  He concluded that the work had to be praised, however he would like to see far more rigorous investment in raising standards for future developments up to 2031.

Councillor A C Saffell echoed the congratulations to officers on the manner in which noise had been handled at the Download Festival.  He commented that the main stage never caused a problem, and the main issues usually arose with the fairground after officers had gone home.  He was particularly pleased that this had not occurred this year.  He added a note of caution for future years in that the wind direction would have carried any noise away from Castle Donington and the level of attendance was significantly reduced at approximately 50,000 people.  He referred to the upcoming Festivals in the District which usually caused more noise complaints.  He also reported that the Music in the Park event was taking place in Castle Donington on 3 July and was a free event.

The Chairman reminded Councillor A C Saffell to confine his comments to the subject of the announcement.

Councillor D De Lacy congratulated staff on the success of the Download Festival, and added that he looked forward to the same results at Strawberry Fields.  He also congratulated staff on the design awards for De Lacy Court in Castle Donington which was obviously well deserved.