Agenda and minutes
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To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C. A. Hotham and M. A. Sherrey. |
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Declarations of Interest To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 19th July 2017 were submitted.
In relation to Minute No. 30/17 it was noted that the Vice Chairman and not the Chairman had made the announcement in respect of the Certificates of Achievement presented at Bromsgrove Sporting Football Club.
In relation to Minute No. 36/17 it was noted that Members had requested that any additional information presented at meetings, in respect of the Portfolio Holders’ reports, should be provided to all Members prior to the Council meeting.
RESOLVED that subject to the preamble above the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 19th July 2017 be approved. |
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To receive any announcements from the Chairman and/or Head of Paid Service Minutes: The Chairman referred to the following:
· The Italian Night event being held on 11th October, in aid of her designated charity – there were still a number of places available.
· The Civic Service would be held on 8th October, all were welcome to attend.
· The Remembrance Day Service would be held on 13th November and further details would be sent out to Members in due course. |
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To receive any announcements from the Leader Minutes: The Leader had no announcements. |
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To receive comments, questions or petitions from members of the public A period of up to 15 minutes is allowed for members of the public to make a comment, ask questions or present petitions. Each member of the public has up to 3 minutes to do this. A councillor may also present a petition on behalf of a member of the public.
Minutes: There were no public comments, questions or petitions on this occasion.
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Audit Findings and Statement of Accounts 2016/17 To receive the recommendation from the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee held on 14th September 2017 on the Audit Findings and Statement of Accounts
(The reports have previously been circulated please bring them to the Council Meeting)
Additional documents: Minutes: The recommendations from the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee, in respect of the Audit Findings and Statement of Accounts for 2016/17 were proposed by Councillor M. J. A. Webb and seconded by Councillor B. T. Cooper.
Councillor Webb, as Chairman of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee, presented the report and Minutes of the Committee held on 14th September, when this report had been considered. Members were reminded that they had all been invited to attend that meeting. This was the second year that the Audit Findings and Statement of Accounts had been considered by this Committee and the Chairman expressed his disappointment that only Members of the Committee had been in attendance at that meeting.
During presentation of the Audit Findings and Statement of Accounts Councillor Webb highlighted that the accounts had been submitted a month early in preparation for the revised deadline for local authority accounts which would be brought forward in 2018/19. The accounts were unqualified, and Grant Thornton, the external auditors, had recognised that improvements had been made from the previous year although there was still work to be done. The areas which were highlighted for further improvement were already being addressed through the senior management team and it was confirmed that a new Financial Services Manager had been employed and would take up his post shortly and that arrangements had been made for a secondment from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to cover the forthcoming maternity leave of the Chief Accountant.
A qualified value for money conclusion would be issued by the external auditor. Again improvements had been made but these were not sufficient to enable an unqualified conclusion to be given. This was being addressed by the Executive Director, Finance and Resources in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling and regular reports would be received by the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee to monitor progress made.
During the following debate Members commented on a number of areas including:
· The seriousness of the position the Council was in and the areas which had been highlighted as needing further work. Particular attention was drawn to the poor quality of business plans. · The budgeting issues which had been raised, including calculation of savings and the need for these to be improved to ensure that this did not happen in the future. · The ongoing cost of Burcot Lane and the delay in its demolition. · Whilst Members recognised that improvements were being made these were not fast enough in light of the seriousness of the situation.
Councillor Cooper, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling, responded to a number of the points raised and reminded Members that there had been positive feedback from Grant Thornton at the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee meeting and that improvements had been made, although not sufficient. The problems had been acknowledged in July and actions taken to address these were already underway. Arrangements were being made for Heads of Services to meet with the Chief Executive, his Deputy and the Executive ... view the full minutes text for item 47\17 |
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Recommendation from the Licensing Committee To receive recommendations from the Licensing Committee held on 11th September 2017 on the Designation of Streets for the purposes of Street Trading.
Additional documents:
Minutes: The recommendations from the Licensing Committee in respect of the Street Trading - Designation of Streets were proposed by Councillor P. J. Whittaker and seconded by Councillor R. L. Dent.
Councillor Whittaker, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Cultural Services, Environmental Services and Regulatory Services, presented this report and explained that the recommendations had arisen following consideration of a report at the recent Licensing Committee which proposed to designate all streets in the District as consent streets for the purposes of controlling street trading. Due process had been followed as detailed in the supporting report, which had included a public consultation. It was noted that no responses had been received in respect of this.
Councillor C. M. McDonald proposed an amendment that the recommendations be deferred and this was seconded by Councillor P. M. McDonald.
In proposing the deferral Councillor C. M. McDonald requested that there be a time to reflect and for more detailed information to be provided before a decision was made, and to look at the historical reasons why the current areas were designated.
Councillor K. J. May, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, the Town Centre and Strategic Partnerships, responded that the rescinding of the designated streets was in order to have more flexibility on days when the current market was not held.
Councillor C. M. McDonald commented that as there had been no responses to the consultation, then it would appear unnecessary to rescind the current designations. She also questioned the legal status of the street market and requested clarification on this point. It was believed that the street market was covered by the Market Charter and therefore did not fall within the remit of the designation. Clarification on this point was requested from the Legal Team.
The Chairman agreed to a short adjournment to allow for legal clarification to be sought.
Following the adjournment it was confirmed that the current street market was covered by the Market Charter and as such was exempt from the legislation referred to in the report and supporting recommendations.
On putting the amendment to the vote the amendment was defeated.
Following a brief further debate it was
RESOLVED:
a) that the Council passes the following resolution “Bromsgrove District Council resolves to rescind all existing designations of streets under Schedule 4 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and designates all streets in the District (as existing at the time of the making of the resolution and in the future) as consent streets with effect from 1st December 2017”; and
b) that officers be authorised to advertise the passing of the resolution in accordance with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Local government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. |
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Business Rates Pooling Pilot Minutes: The recommendations in respect of the 100% Business Rate Pilot Pool were proposed by Councillor G. N. Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. J. May.
The Leader presented the report, which provided detail in respect of the potential opportunities to participate in a 100% Business Rate Pool Pilot. It was explained that the timescales for this were very short and that a decision needed to be made by 27th October 2017. The proposal was for a Worcestershire Wide Pilot Pool, whereby 100% of business rates would be retained. The Council had the option to remain a member of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s)Pool or to participate in the pilot. The pilot was dependant on all authorities in Worcestershire participating. Currently, Malvern, Redditch and Bromsgrove were not part of the Worcestershire pool, but had indicated that they were willing to join the pilot pool. The benefits of the new pool were highlighted within the report. The Leader advised that he had held discussions with the other Group Leaders and was grateful for their initial support in this matter and he acknowledged that if a joint decision could not be reached then a Special Council meeting would be convened to bring the matter back to Council.
Councillor S. J. Baxter thanked the Leader for being pro-active in discussing this matter in order to make the proceedings easier. She agreed that it was a complex subject and had appreciated the opportunity to discuss the potential implications in the final decision. The Section 151 Officer was given the opportunity to clarify that the Council also needed to decide by 27th October whether they wished to remain in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Pool, should the Worcestershire bid be unsuccessful. There was no other decision point within the process.
Councillor L. C. R. Mallett also thanked the Leader for the opportunity to discuss this matter prior to Council and advised that if the Council were able to improve on the current return for business rates then it was of benefit, but he also stressed that this was a complex issue which needed careful consideration and as such should be a decision made in consultation with all Group Leaders and not an officer decision. He was therefore in support of the recommendation and the option to hold a Special Council if necessary.
RESOLVED that the Council consider the information received to date on the potential opportunities to participate in a 100% Business Rate Pool Pilot covering Worcestershire and delegates the decision on the 2018/19 Business Rate Pool arrangements to the Executive Director Finance and Resources in agreement with the Group Leaders. In the event that a decision cannot be reached the matter will be reported to a Special Full Council in October 2017.
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To receive the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Board Minutes: Councillor L. C. R. Mallett, as the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, presented this report and in so doing highlighted that it had been a busy year for the Board. Particular input this year had been given from the two Working Groups. The Finance and Budget Working Group had fed its investigations into a number of areas and, following some early technical challenges the Measures Dashboard Working Group, chaired by Councillor S.A Webb, were now finally beginning to make some headway in looking at the various measures and overall performance of the Council and providing constructive feedback to the relevant officers. The creation of these working groups had allowed for a small number of Members of the Board to be able to look at areas in much more detail than had happened before and it was hoped that this work would continue.
Councillor Mallett also made reference to the task group work that had been carried out including completion of the Preventing Homelessness Task Group and work commencing on investigations of CCTV and the use of Social Media. The Board had also, for the first time carried out a piece of joint working with Redditch Borough Council, when Members from both Councils investigated the results of the staff survey.
Reference was also made to the sad passing of a former Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, Councillor Pete Lammas. He had been a well-respected Member who had contributed to Overview and Scrutiny for a number of years and would be missed.
Finally, Councillor Mallett thanked the Vice Chairman, all those Members who had served on the Board throughout the year and Senior Democratic Services Officers for their hard work.
The Leader also took the opportunity to give his thanks to the Overview and Scrutiny Board, as he had previously stated the work of the Finance and Budget Working Group in particular had been most useful and showed how scrutiny could work in a positive way. |
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Recommendations from the Cabinet To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6th September 2017 Minutes: Acquisition and Investment Strategy
The recommendations from Cabinet in respect of the Acquisition and Investment Strategy were proposed by Councillor K. J. May and seconded by Councillor G. N. Denaro.
Councillor May, as Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, the Town Centre and Strategic Partnerships, presented this report and in so doing highlighted that within the Council Plan economic development was a key driver for the regeneration of the District as a whole and for the Council to work towards achieving financial stability and income generation. This Strategy would provide a resource to promote economic development and a framework to ensure the resources were allocated prudently. It was confirmed that any acquisitions would be within Bromsgrove District’s boundaries to ensure that all benefits remained local.
Councillor Mallett proposed an amendment to recommendation (c) in that all business cases should be initially brought before a cross party panel of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for pre-scrutiny purposes before being referred on to Cabinet for a decision. On speaking to his amendment Councillor Mallett supported the proposal, which was a positive move for the Council but, highlighted the importance of any acquisitions being within the District and requested that if there should be any changes to the Strategy these should be brought back to the Chamber for further debate.
Councillor Baxter also spoke in support of the proposals and welcomed the innovative ways of helping our communities.
On being put to the vote the amendment was carried.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Acquisition and Investment Strategy be approved; (b) That the Executive Director of Finance and Resources together with the Head of Economic Development and Regeneration (North Worcestershire) be responsible for identifying suitable opportunities and developing the viability appraisal and business case for the Council; and (c) that all business case be brought before a panel of the Overview and Scrutiny Board before being referred to Cabinet for a decision.
Consultation responses to Wyre Forest District Council’s preferred option plan and the Worcestershire Rail Investment Strategy
The recommendations from Cabinet in respect of the consultation responses to Wyre Forest District Council’s preferred option plan and the Worcestershire Rail Investment Strategy were proposed by Councillor C. B. Taylor and seconded by Councillor K. J. May.
Councillor Taylor, as Portfolio Holder for Planning and Strategic Housing, introduced the report and explained that draft responses had been prepared due to the time constraints of the consultations.
In respect of the Wyre Forest District Council Plan he highlighted a number of areas of concern including the lack of detail in respect of Option A, where the sites referred to were positioned on main roads and the impact this would have on a number of areas in the District. It would appear, from the consultation that no consideration had been given to the impact of the sites outside of Wyre Forest District.
Councillor Taylor went on to highlight a number of areas within the Worcestershire Rail Investment Strategy, which whilst welcomed, were believed to be very ambitious. In ... view the full minutes text for item 51\17 |
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To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6th September 2017 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 6th September were received for information. The Leader suggested, and Council accepted, that the confidential minute detailed at item 18 of the agenda be included within these, as although the reports referred to were considered at both Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Board meetings in confidential session, there was nothing within this minute which warranted the need for restriction. |
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To receive and consider a report from the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item; no longer than 10 minutes for presentation of the report and then up to 3 minutes for each question to be put and answered.
Minutes: As Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling Services, Councillor B. T Cooper, who had been in the position for only 6 months, presented his annual report and in so doing highlighted a number of key areas:
· The work of the Finance Team - there were 27 members of the team with an overall split 37% to Bromsgrove and 63% to Redditch. This was due largely to the housing stock held by Redditch. · The accounts had been submitted early this year and reviewed by Grant Thornton. · It was acknowledged that budgeting needed to improve and steps were being taken to address this. · The work of the Finance and Budget Working Group had been a great success and Councillor Cooper was grateful to the Chairman and its Members for their support. · There had been difficulties in recruiting to a vacancy in ICT and this had been addressed through outsourcing to an external supplier. · Pressures on the Elections team following the calling of a General Election. · The Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services Team’s re-structure which had now been in place since 4th September and the introduction of a Commercialisation resource exclusively for Bromsgrove District Council. · The Deputy Chief Executive was thanked for her briefing in respect of the Emergency Plan, which was currently being reviewed.
Councillor Cooper responded to a number of questions raised by Members during the debate which followed his presentation, which included:
· The introduction of Universal Credit and the potential problems which this may bring. Councillor Cooper had held discussions with the relevant Head of Service, but would ask for further assurances that the necessary resources were in place to deal with the changes expected. · The audit of the Council’s accounts for 2016/17 and the areas of concern which had been raised by the external auditors. Councillor Cooper reiterated his earlier statement that it was acknowledged that there were areas which needed improvement and that these were being addressed. · In respect of the recent Elections, it was commented that there had been an issue with the signage at the Burcot Lane Polling Station and in respect of a Poll Clerk who had been a member of a campaign for a political group. Councillor Cooper was unaware of these issues and agreed to provide a response outside of the meeting. · The Council’s ability to pay its creditors in a timely manner. · In respect of the Emergency Plan it was suggested that schools should be fitted with sprinklers – Councillor Cooper responded that this was the responsibility of the County Council, rather than the District.
Councillor Cooper took the opportunity to thank all staff for their help and support since his appointment to the Portfolio. |
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Questions on Notice A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions. This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.
To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received. Minutes: Question submitted by Councillor M. Thompson
“The cuts to the police imposed by the Conservative government have been felt acutely throughout the country. The crime on estates in my ward, Rock Hill, has been well publicised. Fly-tipping, burglary, drug abuse, drug dealing and prostitution have all been reported over the past year. Indeed, the local papers recently reported the arrest of a man wielding a hammer smashing a resident's door in. I raised awareness of such crimes over a year ago, which were subsequently referred to Safer Bromsgrove. The only outcome of a report by Safer Bromsgrove resulted in a hedge being trimmed by one foot. Does the leader agree with me that such action is an insult to those suffering such crimes and, does he agree with me, that, with such a response, Safer Bromsgrove is not addressing real crime issues in Bromsgrove?”
The Leader responded that Safer Bromsgrove was a sub-group of the statutory Community Safety Partnership and Bromsgrove District Council was a responsible authority member. The Council had a duty to work with other partners to reduce crime, disorder and all associated issues to improve community safety for local residents. Safer Bromsgrove facilitated the local delivery of this partnership duty, bringing together all responsible authority agencies, groups and partners to look at community safety issues in the district.
Safer Bromsgrove received a referral to look at crime and community safety issues in the Rock Hill area following Councillor Thompson’s original request for CCTV in the Ward. Safer Bromsgrove’s Community Safety assessment focused on the areas specified by Councillor Thompson, namely Rock Hill main road, the alleyway through to Morris Walk opposite the Greyhound pub and the alleyway through to Austin Road lock-up garages.
Crime and anti-social behaviour data analysis and face-to-face consultation with residents was carried out at these locations to identify any community safety issues that partners could resolve. As a result of the Community Safety assessment of the area the following actions had been taken by Safer Bromsgrove partners.
· In consultation with residents, the hedge opposite Albert Road bordering the highway from Housman Close was trimmed by BDHT to increase natural surveillance of this alleyway. Residents stated that they wanted the hedge to remain as it provided a noise and sight barrier from the traffic on the highway. Following engagement with a particular resident whose property adjoined the alleyway to Morris Walk, the hedge at this point was reduced by 18 inches by BDHT along a distance corresponding with the frontage of the resident’s property. The resident supervised this reduction so that it met his requirements as a screen whilst allowing BDHT to open up the area to natural surveillance. · The same resident, in collaboration with his neighbour on the other side of the alleyway, removed or trimmed vegetation from their respective gardens to again open up surveillance of the alleyway. This included cutting down a large tree and hedgerow which had substantially improved lighting and natural surveillance. · In relation to this alleyway and the ... view the full minutes text for item 54\17 |
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A period of up to one hour is allocated to consider the motions on notice. This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.
Additional documents:
Minutes: New Homes Bonus
Members considered the following notice of motion submitted by Councillor P. M. McDonald:
“This Council immediately ceases the practice of double accounting, by charging £2,000 administration for the transfer of New Homes Bonus Grant of £27,000 from last year to this year’s account thus reducing the amount of monies available to the public. The Council is guilty of sharp practice which has no place in local government.”
The motion was proposed by Councillor P. M. McDonald and seconded by Councillor C. M. McDonald.
Councillor P. M. McDonald referred to the Cabinet minutes of 6th September when it was highlighted that £2,000 had been deducted from the New Homes Bonus Grants Scheme to cover the cost of administration and carrying forward funds from the previous year’s scheme.
Councillor S. A. Baxter, as Chairman of the NHB Community Grants Panel, responded that this was not sharp practice as had been indicated but that the officer had prepared a detailed schedule of time spent on administrating the scheme as a whole and this had been included in the earlier report which had reviewed the scheme and been considered by Cabinet earlier in the year. However, it was acknowledged that it might have been more appropriate to have deducted the charge from the overall New Homes Bonus funds as opposed to that for the Grant Scheme and this would be suggested for any future years.
The Leader agreed that with hindsight the administration cost should have been deducted from the overall grant funding and this would be the case in future. A brief further debate then took place.
On being put to the vote the Chairman declared the motion to be defeated.
Too Many Cars in Bromsgrove
Members considered the following notice of motion submitted by Councillor L. C. R. Mallett:
“Council notes that even Worcestershire County Council's (WCC) potentially flawed highways survey data from 2017 shows large uplifts in traffic volume over the past few years over historic levels.
Council further notes that on some roads especially on the west of town the actual observed growth is much higher than the previous projections from Worcestershire highways' now discredited models.
Council resolves to commission an urgent independent review of all WCC input into current development strategy and any local highways strategy, including the analysis and report around the need for a Western distributor road for Bromsgrove.”
The motion was proposed by Councillor L. C. R. Mallett and seconded by Councillor M. Thompson.
During presentation of his Notice of Motion Councillor Mallett highlighted the vast number of traffic surveys which had taken place and the impact of roadworks on these. He provided data on a number of areas, including:
· Dependence on car ownership across the District was very high (Bromsgrove is ranked sixteenth out of 326 English districts in the 2011 census for the availability of cars and vans for household use and tenth for the proportion of workers who chose to travel to their place of work by car). ... view the full minutes text for item 55\17 |
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