Agenda item

Agenda item

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 Chairman invited the Leader and the Portfolio holders to make any announcements.

Councillor Blunt made the follow announcements.

A511 Corridor

Council was advised that the Leicestershire County Council’s A511 Coalville Growth Corridor Plans had been accepted for inclusion in the priority list for Government funding with a request for £42m. This scheme was one of eleven submitted in the Midlands for local road improvements. These plans would see improvements from the A42 junction at Ashby through to Junction 22 of the M1 motorway, including localised road widening and dualling and a new link road at Bardon. The total cost of the programme is £49m but £7m has been secured by the Council through Section 106 Agreements and involves both the County and the District working closely together on the details of the scheme. Councillor Blunt thanked Andrew Bridgen MP and local councillors both past and present from all parties who for many years have been lobbying for these improvements.

Future High Streets Fund   

Councillor Blunt advised that the Council had been successful in its expression of interest regarding access to the fund. An invitation had now been made to the Council to submit a full business case by January 2020 for up to £25m for improvements to the town. If successful, it would provide the opportunity to transform Coalville. The Council has been given the opportunity to apply for early funding for a sum in excess of £100k to assist the business case and to help make the bid as complete and robust as possible. Councillor Blunt acknowledged the achievement in getting this far given that only 100 towns from over 300 applications had been invited to the next stage, and the only town in Leicestershire to get this far. The improvements would include reconfiguration and improvements to the Belvoir Centre on which the Council is negotiating with the new owners, enhancement of green infrastructure, refurbishment of existing sites and the inclusion of a cinema and cycle and pedestrian routes. Ideas and input are welcomed and Councillor Blunt stressed the need for everyone to work together to help give the Council the best chance possible of receiving this funding. He encouraged all Coalville members to attend a special meeting on 10 October and advised that there would also be close liaison with the members of the Coalville Special Expenses Working Group, together with local business, residents and organisations.

Director Appointment

Councillor Blunt advised that the appointment for the new Director had been advertised nationally and stressed the importance of getting candidates with the right skills across the board to assist the Chief Executive and the Senior Management Team. The closing date for applications is 20 September followed by long listing interviews and two day assessments after shortlisting and confirmation by the Appointments Panel scheduled for 23 October 2019.

Planning Committee 

Council was reminded that last week saw the most controversial meeting of Planning Committee for some time when it considered the application in respect of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) at junction 11 of the M42. Whilst the decision was not what his residents wanted, they all saw the professional manner in which councillors and officers conducted themselves and nobody left the room complaining about how the application was handled. Work now needs to start on agreeing with JLR the best way forward.

Ivanhoe Line

Councillor Blunt advised that he was pleased to support the County Council and the Working Group in their lobbying in an attempt to see this line re-opened. The Council has agreed to support their feasibility study with a financial contribution of £5k. Councillor Blunt reported that he looked forward to working with these passionate individuals to help bring more sustainable transport links into the district.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Blunt for his announcements and invited questions and comments from the floor.

Councillors welcomed the announcements particularly regarding the work supporting the opening of the Ivanhoe line and the improvements to Coalville. However Councillor Legrys urged caution and expressed scepticism given previous efforts to do this and asked that some reassurance be given to local residents.

Councillor Wyatt sought reassurance that all local businesses, both large and small, would be consulted on the High Streets Funding Bid.

Councillor Eynon was also encouraged by the news and asked that data be gathered to help the feasibility study on the re-opening of the Ivanhoe line which would inform as to how many people would actually use it as she considered this would be very helpful to the bid which would be put together by Derby University.

The Chairman invited Councillor Blunt to respond to the comments made.

Councillor Blunt referred to the BBC walkabout earlier in the year where honest views and opinions were sought from local residents and was encouraged by these views which he hoped would allay the fears expressed by Councillor Legrys. He also confirmed that local businesses would be consulted on the Future High Streets Funding Bid as far as they could but he didn’t have the full details to hand but would be happy to discuss outside the meeting. 

Councillor Woodman made the follow announcements.

Green and Purple Flag Status

Councillor Woodman referred to the Green Flag status which had been awarded to Coalville Park and which recognised and rewarded the well managed parks and green spaces. He thanked all those who made this happen and commended the excellent work carried out by the District Council's Parks and ground maintenance team.

Councillor Woodman added that the journey of continuous improvement for Coalville Park continues. Working in partnership with the Friends of Coalville Park group, consideration is being given as to what improvements could be made using the Section 106 money reallocated to the area from Lillehammer Drive. Following consultation with residents and attendees at Picnic in the Park, the priority identified was improving the play equipment for a wider range of children. This was followed by improvements to the Community Garden and then extending the park into the field at the rear of the site. Consequently, the Friends group are now liaising with play equipment suppliers to work up costed plans, along with identifying external funding sources to further enhance the project, so proposals can be taken through the Coalville Special Expenses Working Party and Cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Woodman referred to the application for a full renewal of the Purple Flag accreditation for the Ashby de la Zouch night time economy which has been submitted by Ashby Town Council and supported by NWLDC.  A number of partners have contributed to the process eg Leicestershire Police, Safer North West Community Safety Partnership, Ashby Street Pastors, Ashby Pubwatch Scheme and many local businesses. 

 

Purple Flag is an accreditation for night time economy, similar to Blue Flag for beaches and Green Flag for parks.  It is awarded to towns which meet or surpass the standards of excellence for a varied lively evening experience and manage the evening economy well. The Ashby application showed good practices, high occupancy rates on retail and leisure premises, low crime figures, and a diverse, entertaining, safe enjoyable night out for the whole family.  Ashby de la Zouch has attractions and activities for all ages, budgets and tastes; it is safe, friendly, welcoming, clean, attractive and fun; easily accessible from local towns and on foot; is steeped in history, cultural, heritage attractions and has a fantastic choice of bars, restaurants, clubs, pubs and leisure facilities.

 

Two Purple Flag assessors visited Ashby de la Zouch on the evening of 10 August 2019 to see Ashby for themselves and meet people involved in the night time economy.  Councillor Woodman advised that he attended the evening to meet the assessors and support the application.  

 

The result is awaited in the new few weeks and he is hopeful of a good outcome.

 

Recycle more

 

Councillor Woodman advised that Monday 19 August saw the launch of the Council’s three year plan – “Recycle more…” to increase the district’s household recycling rate to 50%.

 

A series of seven roadshows have been held across the district with over 700 people attending and there was positive interest in the trial of a new recycling container system on wheels and a weekly collection of food waste.

 

Both trials are due to be taking place this autumn and are very much part of the plans to create a greener and sustainable district for everyone.

 

The Chairman thanked Councillor Woodman for his announcements and invited questions and comments from the floor.

Councillor Sheahan stated that a 3 page report on recycling had previously been considered at a Scrutiny Committee but when this matter was later considered by Cabinet, this was a much more detailed report. He asked therefore if a further and more detailed report could be submitted to a Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible. 

 

Councillor Eynon reiterated the point about scrutiny, particularly with regard to dry recycling. She was very encouraged about the initiatives being introduced but felt they required an element of challenge to make sure they were working as we would expect them to. 

 

Councillor Merrie encouraged the Friends of Coalville Park to make the improvements and referred to funding through the Mick George Community Fund. He added that very few applications had been made although Ellistown and Battleflat had taken advantage of the funding available and each application had been successful. At the last count it was estimated that approximately £2.5m was available for play parks and equipment. With regards to recycling he asked when the bins would be available for trialling.

 

Councillor Legrys congratulated the Council on its accreditation of the Green Flag status and praised the Chief Executive as, without her help, this would not have happened. He considered this to be great news for Coalville and strongly recommended that ward members seek this accreditation in their local areas. 

 

Councillor Wyatt expressed words of caution when considering future developments in Coalville Park as he did not want these to restrict the larger and very successful events taking place in the future.

 

The Chairman invited Councillor Woodman to respond to the comments made.

Councillor Woodman advised that the new containers would be rolled out later this month and the food trials towards the end of the year so it would be more appropriate to have scrutiny after these trials when there is some data to analyse and he agreed that we did not want to impose limitations on Coalville Park.