Agenda item

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.

 

The Chairman reported that three Motions on Notice had been submitted for the meeting.

 

Options for a Relief Road

 

The Council considered the following Motion on Notice submitted by Councillor R. Hunter:

 

“Council notes the loss of the proposed route for the western relief road as a result of planning permission being given for housing development. Council believes a detailed study into alternative options for a relief road is now urgently required in order that chronic traffic congestion can be addressed. Council further believes that Bromsgrove District Council should commission its own independent study, as part of the development of the next local plan and calls on officers to produce a business case for the Cabinet to consider within the next six months.”

 

In proposing the Motion Councillor Hunter referred to the increasing concern from residents in Bromsgrove about the level of congestion in the town.  Although some of this had been caused by temporary work on the roads, he considered it demonstrated a lack of resilience in the road infrastructure in the town.  He did not consider that anticipated modal shift to public transport and cycling would be achieved, for example as there was a lack of availability of public transport in Bromsgrove.  He suggested that new road infrastructure could be constructed in a more sustainable way than it might in the past and it was now an appropriate time to consider the options available to relieve traffic in the town centre to inform future debate.

 

The Motion was seconded by Councillor J. Robinson.

 

During debate on the Motion the view was expressed that the Strategic Transport Assessment would address this issue.  A separate report was not necessary as it would duplicate work being undertaken in the Assessment at taxpayers’ expense. 

 

Councillor P.M. McDonald proposed, and Councillor H.D.N. Rone-Clark seconded an amendment that consideration of the Motion be deferred until the outcome of the Strategic Transport Assessment was known. 

 

During consideration of the amendment, the view was expressed that the Assessment would not address the issues that the proposed study would consider, such as the viability of routes for a relief road.  The study was therefore needed to inform debate about the potential options available and deferral was not appropriate.

 

Another member referred to the Strategic Planning Steering Group meeting in November where members had been briefed about the Strategic Transport Assessment.  There would be the opportunity to attend future meetings about the modelling being used and to influence the content.  In their view this meant that a separate study was not needed.

 

A member expressed the view that the nature of transport would be changing over time and the most effective way to address future needs was to participate in the Strategic Transport Assessment rather than keep the possibility of a separate study by deferring discussion of it.

 

On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

 

During further consideration of the Motion, the view was expressed that a stand-alone report justifying a solution without looking at the bigger picture was unlikely to be successful.  Wider options should be part of the approach to take into account sustainable transport and public transport so that this was in place for consideration of future development sites. A member suggested that current works on the road infrastructure would not improve the traffic situation in Bromsgrove.  Residents on the west side of the town would still have to go through the centre to cross the town and this meant consideration should be given to a study which would give options for addressing this issue. 

 

In accordance with Procedure Rule 18.3 Councillor J. Robinson asked for a recorded name vote and votes were recorded as follows:

 

Members voting FOR the proposal to commission a study about a relief road:

 

Councillors S.M. Evans, R.J. Hunter, D.J. Nicholl, J.W. Robinson and S.A.  Robinson (5)

 

Members voting AGAINST the proposal:

 

Councillors S. Ammar, A. Bailes, S. Baxter, S.R. Colella, A.M. Dale, D.J.A Forsythe, E.M.S. Gray, D. Hopkins, C. Hotham, B. Kumar, M. Marshall, K.J. May, P.M. McDonald, S.T. Nock, S.R. Peters, H.D.N. Rone-Clarke, J.D. Stanley, K. Taylor, S.A. Webb and P.J. Whittaker (20)

 

Members ABSTAINING from the vote:

 

Cllr B.M. McEldowney (1)

 

(Councillor H. Jones left the room during consideration of the Motion and prior to the vote so was not included in the recorded vote).

 

On being put to the vote the Motion was declared lost.

 

Out of Hours Service

 

The Council considered the following Motion on Notice submitted by Councillor Stewart, which was proposed by Councillor Rone-Clark in his absence:

 

“Out of hour GP services play an important role in reducing the pressure on Accident and Emergency Departments.  Currently arrangements in Worcestershire mean that patients, a significant number being children or elderly, have to travel to Redditch, Worcester or Kidderminster for appointments.  Services are provided locally in smaller towns, namely Malvern and Evesham.  There is not an out of hours Primary Care Centre in Bromsgrove District.   Facilities at The Princess of Wales Hospital could be used to provide this service locally for Bromsgrove residents.

 

We therefore call upon the Leader of the Council to write to Hereford and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board to ask them to address this inequality of provision of care.”

 

In proposing the Motion, Councillor Rone-Clark referred to discussions at a recent Overview and Scrutiny meeting about the lack of accessible primary care for Bromsgrove residents.  He referred to primary care playing an important part in preventing the escalation of care and treatment needs. 

 

The Motion was seconded by Councillor B. Kumar.  He referred to the increase in the population in Bromsgrove, in particular an ageing population and the potential for long term illness which could be treated effectively in primary care.  The current difficulty patients experienced in accessing GP services meant they used the Out of Hours service by telephone and online (NHS 111) and were often referred from that to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.  This added travel issues and cost to the patient’s experience.  There were often delays in seeing health professionals at the hospital which compounded frailty issues.  There had been an out of hours service at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bromsgrove until the Covid pandemic, so the infrastructure was available. Councillor Kumar referred to a recent Health Overview and Scrutiny meeting at the County Council where the Chief Executive of the Integrated Care Board had reported that there would be new funding available for out of hours services.  He suggested that the Council should put together a case for the reintroduction of out of hours services in Bromsgrove. 

 

The Leader referred to excellent access to GP services in parts of the district but it was not consistent.  She supported the Motion and reported that the procurement of the Out of Hours Service was due to begin this year with the new contract starting in July 2025.

 

RESOLVEDthat

 

Out of hour GP services play an important role in reducing the pressure on Accident and Emergency Departments.  Currently arrangements in Worcestershire mean that patients, a significant number being children or elderly, have to travel to Redditch, Worcester or Kidderminster for appointments.  Services are provided locally in smaller towns, namely Malvern and Evesham.  There is not an out of hours Primary Care Centre in Bromsgrove District.   Facilities at The Princess of Wales Hospital could be used to provide this service locally for Bromsgrove residents.

 

We therefore call upon the Leader of the Council to write to Hereford and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board to ask them to address this inequality of provision of care.

 

Awareness of Private Sector Housing Support

 

The Council considered the following Motion on Notice submitted by Councillor J. Robinson:

 

“Bromsgrove District Council’s private sector housing team plays a vital role in protecting tenants from poor quality housing. However too many residents in need of help are unaware that the service exists.

 

Council resolves to run a full awareness campaign about the help available to those in substandard housing as soon as possible so nobody in our community is left to suffer in poor quality housing.”

 

Councillor Robinson proposed the Motion and referred to the excellent support that officers in the Private Sector Housing Team provided for residents and landlords of private sector housing and to Councillors who were dealing with such issues in their wards.  He suggested that although there were many good landlords, some did not ensure their properties were at an appropriate standard.  Many landlords and members of the public were not aware of the support available and a dedicated publicity campaign was necessary to encourage residents and landlords to approach the Team for help at an early stage. 

 

The Motion was seconded by Councillor S. Robinson.

 

Councillor M. Marshall proposed an amendment to the final sentence of the Motion, replacing the words ‘to run a full awareness campaign’ with ‘to build on the current awareness campaign’.  Help was already available and the Council had committed to extending work on its housing strategy as demonstrated by including additional resource in the budget for 2024/2025.

 

The amendment was seconded by Councillor S. Webb, who referred to an awareness campaign already being undertaken and details of the services available would be included in the information circulated with Council Tax bills.  She suggested that the Renters Reform Bill currently going through Parliament and expected to achieve Royal Assent in the Autumn would place additional enforcement duties on the Council, and it would be a suitable time to undertake an additional campaign of awareness for the Private Sector Housing Team and the services it would provide to both renters and landlords.

 

The amendment to the Motion was accepted by the proposer and became the substantive Motion.  

 

During consideration of the Motion members expressed their appreciation for the work carried out by the Private Sector Housing Team and noted that officers were working on a presentation for Councillors on housing services which would include details about the role of Bromsgrove District Housing Trust. The view was expressed that once the Renters Reform Bill became law then the Council could tailor the publicity campaign appropriately.  It was suggested however that if there was a delay in the Renters Reform Bill becoming law a full campaign should still go ahead.

 

RESOLVED that

 

Bromsgrove District Council’s private sector housing team plays a vital role in protecting tenants from poor quality housing. However too many residents in need of help are unaware that the service exists.

 

Council resolves to build on the current awareness campaign about the help available to those in substandard housing as soon as possible so nobody in our community is left to suffer in poor quality housing.