Agenda and minutes
PDF 578 KBVenue: The Ryland Centre, New Road, Bromsgrove B60 2JS
Contact: Jess Bayley
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
Election of Chairman Minutes: The Chairman opened the meeting by acknowledging that this was the first Council meeting to be held in person in over 12 months. Members were advised that arrangements had been made to ensure that the meeting was held in accordance with social distancing requirements and Government guidance in respect of holding meetings at a physical location.
It was proposed by Councillor K. J. May and seconded by Councillor A. Kent and
RESOLVED that Councillor R. J. Laight be elected Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.
Councillor Laight signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked Members of the Council for electing him to the Office of Chairman.
|
|
|
Election of Vice Chairman Minutes: It was proposed by Councillor K. J. May and seconded by Councillor M. Sherrey and
RESOLVED that Councillor A. J. B. Beaumont be elected Vice Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.
Councillor Beaumont signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked Members of the Council for electing him to the office of Vice Chairman.
|
|
|
To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors S. Colella, S. Douglas, and K. Van Der Plank.
|
|
|
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: During consideration of this item the Monitoring Officer confirmed that Members who had previously been appointed to the Artrix Holding Trust were permitted to speak and to vote in respect of nominations to replace Councillor H. Rone-Clarke on the trust and did not need to declare an interest.
|
|
|
Minutes of the Council meeting held on 21st April 2021 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Council held on Wednesday, 21st April 2021 were submitted.
During consideration of this item Councillor S. Robinson commented that at the previous meeting a proposal had been made that the length of time dedicated to consideration of questions should have been extended. A request was made for it to be noted that this had been proposed by Councillor R. Hunter.
RESOLVED that, subject to the amendment detailed in the preamble above, the minutes of the meeting of Council held on Wednesday, 21st April 2021 be approved.
|
|
|
To receive any announcements from the Chairman and/or Head of Paid Service Minutes: The Chairman and Head of Paid Service both confirmed that they had no announcements to make on this occasion.
|
|
|
To receive any announcements from the Leader Minutes: The Leader confirmed that she had no announcements to make on this occasion.
|
|
|
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman advised Members that there had been one urgent decision taken since the previous Council meeting in respect of public speaking rules at Council and Planning Committee meetings. However, he reminded Members that there was no debate in respect of this item at the meeting.
|
|
|
Appointments of Committees 2021/22 Additional documents:
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling Services presented a report detailing the political balance for the 2021/22 municipal year. Group leaders were urged to notify Democratic Services as soon as possible about their group’s nominations to the various Committees.
The recommendations in respect of the political balance and appointments to Committees for 2021/22 were proposed by Councillor G. Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.
RESOLVED that
1) for the ensuing Municipal Year, the Committees set out in the table in Appendix 1 of the report be appointed and that the representation of the different political groups on the Council on those Committees be as set out in that table until the next Annual Meeting of the Council, or until the next review of political representation under Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, whichever is the earlier;
2) Members be appointed to the Committees and as substitute members in accordance with nominations to be made by Group Leaders; and
3) the terms of reference for the Boards and Committees be confirmed.
|
|
|
Scheme of Delegations Additional documents: Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling Services presented the Officer Scheme of Delegations for Members’ consideration. Members were advised that the Council was required to review the content of the Scheme of Delegations on an annual basis and this occurred at the Annual Council meeting.
The recommendation was proposed by Councillor G. Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.
RESOLVED that
the current version of the Officer Scheme of Delegations is agreed.
|
|
|
Appointments to Outside Bodies To approve the extension of existing appointments to Outside Bodies pending consideration of a report at the next meeting of the full Council.
The exception to this is in respect of a vacancy on the Artrix Holding Trust, following Councillor H. Rone-Clarke’s resignation from the Holding Trust.
To consider nominations to fill the vacant position on the Artrix Holding Trust. A nomination has been received in respect of Councillor P. McDonald.
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling detailed proposals to extend the existing appointments to the outside bodies to the following meeting of Council. The exception to this was a requirement to appoint a Member to a vacant position on the Artrix Holding Trust, which had arisen following Councillor H. Rone-Clarke’s resignation from that body. A nomination had been received for Councillor P. McDonald to serve on the Artrix Holding Trust.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor G. Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.
RESOLVED that
1) that approval be given to the extension of existing appointments to Outside Bodies pending consideration of a report at the next ordinary meeting of the Council, subject to the following amendment;
2) Councillor P. McDonald be appointed to the Artrix Holding Trust.
|
|
|
Questions on Notice There will be a maximum of 15 minutes dedicated to consideration of Questions on Notice. There will be no supplementary questions.
Minutes: The Chairman advised that 2 questions were scheduled for consideration at the meeting. There would be no subsidiary questions.
Question submitted by Councillor K. Van Der Plank
“On 20th March a new ‘Welcome Back Fund’ was announced by Government to help boost the look and feel of high streets and prepare for the safe return of shoppers. I see from the government website that Bromsgrove have been allocated £88,668. Please can the leader tell me how this fund is going to be used and how we are going to make sure it reaches all of our high streets – especially those on the outskirts of our district, not just the main Bromsgrove town centre.”
The Leader responded by explaining that, due to the length of the response, a written answer would be provided to the question after the meeting. Members were also advised that the answer to the question would be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, as detailed below:
“The Welcome Back Fund (WBF) was an extension and re-brand of the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSSF). The fund would be active until March 2022 and the scope had been widened which would make it more straightforward to allocate funds for different activities and initiatives. The fund had also been doubled which meant that Bromsgrove District Council had been allocated £176,000.
The fund was being managed in Bromsgrove primarily by the Bromsgrove Centres Manager who had reached out to the Parish Councils in Bromsgrove Centres and would engage fully with them to develop a WBF Activity Plan to March 2022, including activities planned for Christmas 2021. The following were initial activities taking place or planned to take place whilst the WBF Activity Form was being finalised and agreed with colleagues and partners locally and then with the WBF Manager at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
· ‘Welcome Back’ banners were being installed spanning Bromsgrove High Street – these were designed by the communications team and the designs could be rolled out in many different forms. The intention was to utilise this branding in the other local centres as soon as possible. · A digital van drove around all the local centres on Saturday 24th April. The van showed various ‘welcome back’ slides alongside Bromsgrove District Council and Government messaging. This would happen again at several other dates over the following months. · ‘Welcome Back to BirdBox’ / ‘Perch safely’ signs were installed at the BirdBox in early May. The BirdBox would be a key site for welcome back events over the forthcoming summer months. o The first Welcome back event would take place in the form of a ‘soft’ re-launch of BirdBox on 21st and 22nd May and the WBF would be used to pay for the event and the low key activities. · Welcome Back Events combined with Street Theatre events were usually arranged via the Council’s events team. This would happen in Bromsgrove and Rubery, with the potential to be explored ... view the full minutes text for item 12\21 |
|
|
Motions on Notice The Motions that were deferred from the meeting of Council held on Wednesday 21st April 2021 will be considered at the next Council meeting due to take place in June.
The exception to this will be the Motion in respect of Waseley Hills Country Park, which group leaders have agreed will be referred initially for debate at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.
Minutes: The Chairman advised that the Motions that had been postponed from the meeting of Council held on 21st April 2021 would be considered at the following meeting of Council. The exception to this would be the Motion in respect of Waseley Hills Country Park, which in the first instance would be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for consideration, though might subsequently be referred on to Council for debate.
|
|