| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Hitchin Boys School, Grammar School Walk, Hitchin |
| PRESENT: | Councillor David Leal - Bennett (Chairman), Councillor Deborah Segalini (Vice-Chairman), Councilor Mrs A.G. Ashley, Councillor Judi Billing, Councillor Paul Clark, Councillor Simon Harwood, Councillor Joan Kirby, Councillor Bernard Lovewell, Councillor Frank Radcliffe, Councillor R.L. Shakespeare - Smith, Councillor Adrian Smith and Councillor R.A.C. Thake. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | John Robinson - Strategic Director of Customer Services Liz Green - Head of Policy and Community Services David Charlton - Senior Estates Surveyor Claire Morgan - Community Development Manager Nigel Schofield - Committee and Member Services Note: Councillor Paul Clark left the meeting at 9.10 p.m. and Councillor Judi Billing left the meeting at 10.00 p.m. |
| ALSO PRESENT: | At commencement 28 members of the public, including four registered speakers. |
| Meeting attachment |
Agenda |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 43 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE An apology for absence was received from Councillor Alan Millard. |
Noted | ||
| 44 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 22 July 2014 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman subject to two amendments: Minute 35 - Chairman's Announcements 3. second line - remove the word ‘standing' Minute 40 - Hitchin Town Centre - Options Paragraph 7 - Remove second sentence and replace with: Mr Hoskins stated that it would need a survey of local businesses to assess the demand for pedestrianisation in the High Street and at the moment it was not considered a priority in the BID process. |
Agreed | ||
| 45 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS There were no items of other business raised at the commencement of the meeting save that the Chairman announced that there would be two additional speakers at Agenda Item 5 - Public Participation which he had approved following the publication of the agenda. Viz. Charnwood Community Management Association and K Entertainers. |
Noted | ||
| 46 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS 1.The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked all who attended and spoke at Town Talk; 2. Minutes - 10 June 2014 Ref. Minute 23 (5) Page 10 Members will no doubt remember that it was suggested that there would be a presentation on the proposals for the new Westmill Community Centre at this meeting. There will be a presentation to the meeting scheduled for 2 December. 3. Churchgate Project Board - Cllr Judi Billing will be requested to provide an update from last meeting. Should it be necessary to move into Part 2 Conditions the Part 2 Resolution will be moved following the determination of the grant applications. 4.The Chairman advised that the Section 106 Report from the Planning Control and Conservation Manager would be presented at the meeting scheduled for 2 December. 5.Members were reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 7.4 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote. |
Noted | ||
| 47 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - HITCHIN TIDY UP Mrs Ellie Clarke of Hitchin Forum thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to advise the Committee on the community tidy up of Hitchin on 6 April this year which was a great success. 2014 was the third year in which local volunteers had given their free time to clear up litter and other detritus in Hitchin. Many local streets were ‘litter picked' as well as recreation grounds, play areas and local open areas such as Woodside and The Dell, near the Cricket Ground and Priory School pupils cleared Redhill Path. This year 15 sites were cleared by 60 volunteers equal to 135 working hours, 88 bags of rubbish plus much more that could not be bagged. As an example 23 bags were collected from the River Hiz and Walkway at Cadwell, 24 bags from Pinehill Field and at Ransoms - 25 bags. The Forum were very grateful for the assistance provided by NHDC: black bags, litter pickers, collection of rubbish. CMS leant waders, The Comet provided publicity and Keep Britain Tidy gave bags and tabards. Mrs Clarke advised the Committee that more sites were cleared in April than in the previous years which in turn meant that there were more sites for Veolia to collect from. As there were no recycling banks in Hitchin it was through the very kind nature of some of the volunteers that bags of such material was taken home for disposal in the purple and grey bins. Mrs Clarke stressed that part of the problem was the lack of litter bins and the consequential large amounts of litter e.g. near Benslow Bridge and next to the Dell. A welcome suggestion from the Town Centre Manager was the possibility of litter bin sponsorship by local businesses. Another problem was the unsightly litter on Hitchin's railway embankments, especially underneath the Benslow footbridge. There had been no response from First Capital Connect - subsequent to this presentation a Member advised that it was Network Rail who should be approached about litter clearance. Of particular concern due to the increasing amounts of litter collected at more sites was the request from Veolia to reduce the number of collection points to four or five (from 12) and Mrs Clarke requested that NHDC Officers should discuss this problem with Veolia and seek a resolution. Mrs Clarke concluded her presentation by introducing Lynne Maylin who advised the Committee that she would be co-ordinating the next Big Hitchin Tidy on Sunday 12 October 2014 between 10.00 and 12 noon and all volunteers would be most welcome. Further details could be obtained by email on litter@hitchinforum.org.uk or at the Forum website; www.hitchinforum.org,.uk. The Chairman thanked Mrs Clarke for the presentation and the Committee congratulated Hitchin Forum and the volunteers on the great effort mad to clear up litter in Hitchin. In response to an enquiry from a Member about assistance from Hitchin Scouts Mrs Clarke thought that this was a good proposal and should be followed up. From the audience the Strategic Director of Customer Services indicated to the Chairman that he would contact Veolia in order to seek an increase in the number of pick up points for 12 October. In response to another question about the use of different coloured bags to keep recycling items separate Mrs Clarke confirmed that every effort was made to keep recyclable materials apart. RESOLVED: (1)That Mrs Clarke be thanked for the presentation; (2)That all those involved in the tidy up campaign should be congratulated; (3)That the Strategic Director of Customer Services be requested to discuss with Veolia the request to increase the number of pick up points on the litter collection day of 12 October 2014. |
Noted | ||
| 48 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - RISE - SCHOOL WORKSHOPS Mr Keiran Murphy thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and that this was a thank you and a follow up to the grant awarded by the Hitchin Committee some two years ago. The RISE programme had been very successful and involved all of Year 9 at The Priory School and gave six times 1 hour sessions per student with a start and finish session and that many students cited ‘communications' as a very important issue. Many students considered that the programme was a worthwhile experience, many advised that they were now able to sit and reflect, their confidence was boosted and many would now ‘think outside of the box'. Mr Murphy was very pleased to advise the Committee that a Hertfordshire High Sherriff's award had made to the School for the RISE project. Mr Murphy advised the Committee that it was hoped to spread the RISE project into the other two Secondary Schools in Hitchin, namely Hitchin Girls and Hitchin Boys which totalled some 540 students for the year 2014-2015 over a period of four weeks at a student cost of £7.50. Mr Murphy hoped to submit a grant application in good time for next year. The Chairman thanked Mr Murphy for the presentation, there were no questions. RESOLVED: (1)That Mr Keiran Murphy be thanked for the presentation; (2)That the success of the RISE programme in 2013-2-014 be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 49 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - HITCHIN STROKE GROUP Upon enquiry by the Chairman the Community Development Officer confirmed that the representative of the Hitchin Stroke Group was unable to attend the meeting due to ill health in her immediate family. ]The Committee were in agreement that despite the lack of a presentation there should be consideration of financial support for the Hitchin Stroke Group in their charitable work. On behalf of the Committee the Chairman proposed and it was agreed that the Grant Application by the Hitchin Stroke Group should be considered at Agenda Item 13 - Community Update and Grant Applications. |
Agreed | ||
| 50 |
CHARNWOOD COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Mr B. Eddleston thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and confirmed that he was speaking as the Chairman of the Charnwood Community Management Association which was formed on 1 July 2014. The aims of the Association were to acquire and maintain Charnwood House - registered as a Community Asset - which he opined was an important and iconic building which should not be lost to the residents of Hitchin. Charnwood House was gifted to the former Hitchin Urban District Council with covenants (that were still extant) attached that required the building to be used for a library, museum or other public use. The Association considered that once Bancroft Hall was demolished upon the completion of the Hitchin Town Hall works there would be a shortage of facilities for local organisation and community groups in the centre of Hitchin. The Association also considered that the refurbished Town Hall would only be suitable for large groups whereas there was great demand in Hitchin for small rooms and small spaces for clubs and societies. Through the Locality Programme Mr Eddleston reminded the Committee that Community Groups were encouraged to come forward to take over and manage community buildings for residents and government funds were available to local groups such as the Charnwood Group to carry out feasibility studies. Mr Eddleston advised the Committee that an application had been made to the Social Investment Business for a grant (and approved) that would permit the Charnwood Association to convert to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and allow a survey of the buildings, prepare outline drawings and identify improvements to suit community needs. The award of this grant from SIB had a time limit and urged support for these proposals from the Hitchin Committee, NHDC and officers and Mr Eddlestone quoted from the NHDC Wesbsite. Mr Edleston referred to a meeting with officers in July 2014 in which officers had advised that the property had yet to be declared surplus to requirements by Cabinet and that any grant of access might be construed as favouring the Association. Mr Edleston opined that there was some urgency to make a site visit so that a business plan could be presented to Cabinet and Council which would provide another option for the future use of Charnwood House. Mr Edleston concluded his proposal by stating that the Association and NHDC could work well together using the provision of £150M in funds from the Power to Change concept and Charnwood House could be improved and make it a Community Hub for the benefit of all Hitchin residents. The Chairman thanked Mr Edleston for the presentation and the proposals made by the Charnwood Community Management Association. During a short discussion several Members expressed disappointment that access to Charnwood House by the Association had yet to be agreed. A Member enquired who might be able to have access to the facilities at Charnwood House should this property be transferred to the Association and Mr Edleston responded in that there would be many local groups using the community asset following the demolition of Bancroft Hall A Member suggested that Cabinet should be requested to assess very carefully this request to survey the property and that every effort should be made to allow access for a pre - feasibility study by the Charnwood Association. This suggestion had the support of the Members present and suggested that officers should make the necessary arrangements for a site visit. RESOLVED: That Mr Bernard Eddleston be thanked for the presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 51 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - K ENTERTAINERS Mrs Sheila Barden thanked the Chairman for the invitation to address the Committee and confirmed that the grant made previously had gone a long way to support their charitable work and the Christmas entertainment last year. Mrs Barden advised that entertainment this year would follow the same pattern as in Comedy and Singing with the provision of food, raffle prizes and transport to the venue. Additional funding would be used to pay for taxis from Care Homes, Sheltered Accommodation to the venue, with donations always gratefully received such as a further grant from the Hitchin Committee. The Chairman thanked Mrs Barden for the presentation. On behalf of the Committee the Chairman proposed that K Entertainers would need to submit a grant application before the next Area Committee meeting on 2 December 2014 to allow funding for the Christmas Entertainment. The Committee welcomed and supported this proposal in principle. It was confirmed that following receipt of such an application the grant application would considered as a matter of urgency subject to the proposal being approved by officers. Accordingly, under Delegated Authority, the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Hitchin Committee would be requested to process a grant application in sufficient time to make good use of such a grant before Christmas. It was suggested to Mrs Barden that a grant application should be made in good time and that it might be possible to approve a grant of up to £1000. A Member was pleased to advise Mrs Barden that another source of funding was the County Councillor Locality Budget and that there were three County Councillors representing Hitchin who could be approached for additional funding. The Member advised that the application process was straightforward with limited paperwork. RESOLVED: That Mrs Sheila Barden be thanked for the presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 52 |
HERTFORDSHIRE CONSTABULARY Sergeant Guy Westwood of Hertfordshire Constabulary thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and advised that there was a newly published police structure and confirmed that a new Chief Inspector would be arriving in the District soon. Unfortunately law enforcement in Hitchin and Hitchin Rural would be under greater strain as an officer had been transferred to Royston Police Station. Sergeant Westwood was pleased to advise that crime figures had fallen overall but there has been some increase in some categories as for example the stealing of mobile ‘phones had to be recorded as a theft. This change in the recoding of crime was amplified by the list of 18 categories within the crime outcomes framework read out by Sergeant Westwood ranging from Charged/Summoned, Cautions, Prosecution not in the public interest to time limit for prosecution had expired. Sergeant Westwood advised that in the eight months to 1 January to 1 September 2103 a total of 166 crimes were recorded and for the same period in 2014 176 crimes were recorded. For the same period there were 172 burglaries recorded in 2013 and 246 in 2014. There had been 16 and 12 robberies in the same two years, 102 and 109 criminal damage crimes in the two years, motor vehicle theft of 113 and 88 respectively and there had been an increase in petrol theft from garages which could lead to the requirement for payment in advance for fuel. Sergeant Westwood concluded his presentation by confirming that the policing priorities for Hitchin were: Retail Crime, burglary and theft of motor vehicles including parking and speeding infringements. The Chairman thanked Sergeant Westwood for the presentation and update on crime figures and detection and invited questions from the Committee. Members enquired about violent crimes recorded, the low number of police officers and the effect on crime detection, difficulties in contacting the police, especially in an emergency and frustration with the police answerphone service. Sergeant Westwood advised that it would be best to try the 101 number as a means of contacting the police. The Chairman commented that Members should try to establish an email contact with the police as he had found that this means of contact had proved to be worthwhile. A Member suggested that it would be very helpful to have published in the weekly MIS a list of police contact numbers for North Hertfordshire. Another Member questioned whether the constabulary were ready for the imminent influx of about 1000 offenders on probation and Sergeant Westwood advised that there was a ‘persistent offenders unit' within Hertfordshire. In response to another question on obstructive parking in front of resident driveways Sergeant Westwood stated that such reported obstructions could only be actioned if officers were available but if there was an unnecessary obstruction a ‘ticket' would be issued. RESOLVED: That Sergeant Guy Westwood be thanked for the presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 53 |
INFORMATION NOTE: NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY FACILITY AT HITCHIN TOWN HALL Information Note Declaration of Interest: The Chairman of the Hitchin Committee Councillor David Leal - Bennett advised that he had a Declarable Interest as he was a Director and Trustee of Hitchin Town Hall Limited and that he would leave the room for the duration of this item: Councillor Deborah Segalini advised the Committee that she would act as Chairman for this item. The Strategic Director of Customer Services (SD) referred the Committee to the Information Note and had no more to add subject to confirmation that the Local Planning Authority had approved the application for the Listed Building Consent on 14 August and that an extract from the Planning Decision Notice was presented in the General Update of this paper. The next meeting of the Planning Control Committee on 11 September 2014 would consider an application to discharge the Conditions that included details of the colours of some internal finishes. In response to a question the SD advised that the Architect had fully researched the proposed colour scheme and used guidance on historical colours for old and listed buildings. The SD commented that the delays in seeking approval for the Listed Building Consent plus the discharge of Condition 2 might extend the project time for the completion of the project. Upon enquiry by the Chairman there were no questions or comments. RESOLVED: That the contents of the Information Note be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 54 |
INFORMATION NOTE; CHURCHGATE AND ITS SURROUNDING AREA Infomation Note The Chairman advised the Committee that there was no officer present to present this Information Note and stated that the item of concern had to be the wording of Questions to Eversheds as to the legal position of the Council as to the possibility of working exclusively with one contractor or not. The Chairman was able to confirm that he had attended a briefing with the Monitoring Officer and the Chief Executive on this issue and that a list of questions had been sent to Eversheds. The Chairman advised that the legal opinion prepared by Counsel to Hammersmatch had been sent under Part 2 Conditions to all Members and was under consideration by the Monitoring Officer. A Member considered that it was good to have sight of the legal opinion prepared for Hammersmatch and that NHDC was taking advice on this legal opinion and that the Council could not proceed without such advice if there was to be only one contractor. The Member also opined that there could be no progress until a planning application was submitted to the Local Planning Authority. The Chairman advised that he requested sight of the questions prior to inspection by Eversheds on 1 September but this had not occurred and in fact the questions had now been sent to Eversheds. It was essential that the format and phrasing of the questions should be correct and he was not aware that the questions had been sent to another legal entity for inspection and he stated that it was very disappointing that Members of the Hitchin Committee had not been consulted in advance. The current representative of the Hitchin Committee to the Churchgate Project Board stated that she did not consider her role included legal matters but her role was to represent Hitchin. The Chairman stated that he was very disappointed that he and the Hitchin Committee had not had sight of the legal questions recently sent to Eversheds and consequently this Committee did not know what the questions were even though commercial sensitivity had been used as a reason for non-disclosure. RESOLVED: That the contents of the Information Note be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 55 |
GRANTS POLICY REVIEW Report The Head of Policy and Community Services (HP) advised the Committee that this report would be presented to all five NHDC Area Committees. The report outlined the Council's grant policy and detailed proposals for improvement that had arisen from relevant financial management and governance issues, internal audit and effectiveness of Area Committees with recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Task and Finish Group which were presented to Cabinet on 30 July 2013 (Minute 37 refers). In addition further recommendations had been made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the meeting held on 29 July 2014 (Minute 25 refers) which were reviewed by Cabinet at the meeting held on 5 August 2014 (Minute 34 refers). The HP referred the Committee to Paragraphs 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 and 7 for more details of the recommendations made by SIAS Internal Audit Review of Area Committee Grants the Task and Finish Group, The Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet regarding the Grants Policy and that at Appendix A the current Grants Policy (Draft) was printed in full and that at Appendix B the revised Grants application form was available for review. The HP confirmed that over many years certain practices had evolved over the allocation of grants and that Memoranda of Understanding had commuted into formal contracts such as Groundwork and Citizens Advice Bureau and the draft policy had been prepared in response to the comments made by other Committees as referenced above and incorporation or otherwise as finalised in the Policy as presented at Appendix A. The Chairman thanked the Head of Policy and Community Services for the updates and clarification of points raised by other Committees and invited comments and or questions from the Committee. A Member expressed reservations about the format of the Grant Application Form as it was very detailed and there were many questions to answer. The wording could be intimidating to the applicant and many applicants were small organisations who could find this form difficult to complete and consequently may decline to make a grant application. The form presented at Appendix A was very different to the grant form in this agenda and the Member stated that in his own experience stating a final cost was difficult to determine citing the application for the annual Walsworth Festival where final costs were always variable from year to year. The Member proposed that the term Estimated Cost should be used on the revised form. A Member was concerned about the removal of the fast tracking of grant applications (needed for small grant requests) - especially as there were only four scheduled meetings each Civic Year. The HP noted the concern and advised that urgent applications could be dealt with under delegated authority provided officers were satisfied with the details of the application and the Chairman stated that there needed to be consistency throughout the policy with the HP confirming that grants were not devolved to Members but it was the Committee as a body who currently approved grant applications. Another Member commented that it was good that the five Area Committees took a differing approach to the allocation of funds from the Discretionary Budget, and that there should be transparency and due process in the grant process. Grant forms did not need to be too detailed and funds should be made available to allow ‘things to happen' in Hitchin. As a County Member the paperwork for disbursement of the Locality Budget was much simpler and did not deter applicants. The Hitchin Committee had always adopted a flexible approach to grant awards and Ward Members worked well together. The HP advised that the grant forms presented at Appendices B and C in Agenda Item 13 were derived from the detailed form included with the Draft Policy and were almost identical to those currently used by applicants The HP accepted that there was a need to reduce the administration for a grant application and commented that every transaction was a cost to NHDC. A Member was concerned about the differing amounts allocated under Memoranda of Understanding and that these values should be reviewed. The Member enquired if there was any comparative data on MOUs or league tables of such data and awards. The HP advised the Committee that some £13K of the budget was assigned to MOUs and that the Committee could decide on the re-allocation of these funds or decide each year if the awards should continue. At present the MOUs were listed after Officer recommendation and that it was the remainder of the Discretionary Budget that had constraints. In response to a question on the use of unspent MOUs the HP stated that the funds remained in the overall budget. A Member emphasised the need for reduced administration and that small voluntary organisations such as K Entertainers should be encouraged to apply for grants and not be put off by the need to complete a detailed form. Comment was also made to whether there should be a distinction made between District Wide Grants and grants for say Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston and that standing grants should be reviewed each year with the expectation that there would not be much change year on year. Comment was also made that the Grant Award Matrix was in effect the policy document as this was the critical item that concerned those who were making a grant application and consequently the form should be simplified as much as possible. It was clear from the overall discussions and comments that the Committee were not minded to make a decision on the Draft Grants Policy as presented nor the Grant Application Form and that the Head of Policy and Community Services should be requested to take note of the comments and questions made by Members and present a revised Grants Policy and Grant Application Form to the next scheduled meeting of the Hitchin Committee to be held on 2 December 2014. RESOLVED: (1)That the updated advice provided to Area Committees in regard to their budgets, authority for decision making and delegations as currently afforded to these Committees by Cabinet in the Council' Constitution be noted; (2)That the outcome of the review of Memoranda of Understanding and proposals for future funding of key agencies would be reported to the meeting of Cabinet scheduled for 16 December 2014 be noted; (3)That the options for the splitting or not of Area Committee grant budgets and the proposals to replace ‘fast track' grant processing, including any preference on the definition of ‘urgency' of such funding be noted; (4)That the Committee were not minded to endorse the revised Grants Policy as presented in this report and that the Head of Policy and Community Services be requested to take note of and incorporate the comments raised by the Committee into a new Grants Policy e.g., Definition of Memoranda of Understanding and simplification of the grants application form; (5)That the Head of Policy and Community Services be requested to present a revised version of the Grants Policy Document - incorporating comments made- at the next scheduled meeting of the Hitchin Committee to be held on 2 December 2014. REASON FOR DECISION: To allow further consideration of the revised Grants Policy in light of comments made by the Committee. |
Agreed | ||
| 56 |
INFORMATION NOTE: NHDC ASSETS IN HITCHIN Report Appendix A Appendix B Councillor Richard Thake advised the Chairman that he had an interest in Garrison Court Garages but as this NHDC asset was not as yet to be disposed he did not consider that this would have at the moment have any bearing on the details within the Information Note. He confirmed that he would remain in the room for the duration of this item. The Senior Estates Surveyor (SES) presented the Information Note of the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management. The SES referred the Committee to Appendix A which gave the list of assets for all post code addresses in Hitchin and advised that the reference numbers next to each property were the Land Registry title numbers. Also, that each asset had been marked as to whether an asset was directly managed by NHDC e.g. a car park or a function on behalf of NHDC such as Hitchin Swim Centre. The SES stated that NHDC did not have any plans to dispose of the vast majority of the listed assets in Hitchin and the values stated were for accounting purposes and not an estimate of market value. The Committee noted that re-valuations were made under a five year rolling programme and based on replacement cost of existing use value. The SES confirmed that any proposals for asset disposal were reported to Cabinet in the first instance and if Cabinet agreed with the officer's recommendation the matter would be referred to the appropriate Area Committee for local comment. The SES advised that there were three specific properties in Hitchin listed in The Forward Plan for referral to Cabinet but the Committee should be aware that no decisions had been taken to dispose of any assets in Hitchin viz. Charnwood House, Thomas Bellamy House and Garrison Court Garages of which Charnwood house and Thomas Bellamy House were Community Assets and consequently if these assets were ever declared as surplus to requirements of the Council then local community groups would be invited to registered an interest and if necessary raise funds to acquire title. The Chairman thanked the Senior Estates Surveyor for the clarification on asset disposals in Hitchin and invited questions from the Committee. A Member enquired as to the status of Site 5555 - Jill Gray Place - Riverside Walkway. The SES advised that this was a walkway by the River Hiz that was constructed by the developer under the term of a Section 106 planning obligation and it had not yet transferred to the Council. The Jill Gray Place walkway was on the opposite side of the bank to the recent proposal to redevelopment of the former Hitchin Conservative Club. Under the terms of the planning obligations a river walkway may also be provided by the developer in due course at the Conservative Club site. With reference to Site 3605 - Bedford Road, Christchurch Car Park a Member requested that the asset list should indicate precisely the liability of the asset. During a short discussion it was agreed that the presentation of the Hitchin Asset List at Appendix A was very helpful and gave the Committee the opportunity to review NHDC assets at Ward level. RESOLVED: That the details in the Information Note be noted. |
Noted | ||
| 57 |
HITCHIN TOWN CENTRE MANAGER Introduction The Chairman advised the Committee that the Hitchin Town Centre Manager was unable to remain at the meeting to make his presentation and that Mr Hoskins would provide an update on events and activities in Hitchin at the Councillors Surgery on 6 September 2014 in Hitchin Market Place. |
Noted | ||
| 58 |
MEMBERS OF THE HITCHIN COMMITTEE APPOINTED AS NHDC REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES Introduction There were no updates from Councillors. |
Noted | ||
| 59 |
COMMUNITY UPDATE AND GRANT APPLICATIONS Report Appendix A.1 Appendix A.2 Appendix A.3 Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D The Community Development Officer (CDO) provided a brief summary of the reasons for the grant applications by Hitchin Stroke Group and NHCVS Furniture Link. Further to the grant made to CAYPOW at the meeting held on 22 July 2014 (Minute 37 (1) refers) the CDO advised that she had received details of: Outings, Daily Outdoor activities and Daily Indoor activities (at the Coffee Mill). Members were pleased to note that the grant of £660 had been put to good use for the benefit of young people on the Westmill Estate. The CDO reported that following a request for more financial information the Association of Traditional Shotokan Karate had withdrawn their grant application. Through the Chairman the CDO requested permission to transfer the unspent monies from the Discretionary Budget for 2013-2014 into the Discretionary Budget for 2014-2015; The Chairman sought agreement from the Committee which was unanimous. Regarding the Furniture Link grant application the Vice-Chairman proposed that the distribution of second hand and recycled furniture provided a very important role in the North Herts Community and that the need for reliable transport was critical. Accordingly Cllr Segalini proposed that the grant if agreed should be increased to £550. See Minute 61 below. A Member confirmed that the Black Squirrel Credit Union used Furniture Link and supported the grant towards the purchase of a replacement vehicle. For clarification the CDO requested agreement on the action to be taken should a grant application be received from K Entertainers. This was confirmed by the Committee as per Minute 51 and Minute 59 (6). RESOLVED: (1)That the actions taken by the Community Development Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being since the meetings of the Hitchin Committee held on 10 June 2014 and 2 September be noted; (2)That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development Budgets and Visioning Budgets as presented at Appendix A be noted; (3)That the details of the Hitchin Area Committee Work Programme and Highways Schemes as presented at Appendix D be noted; (4)That the Community Development Officer be requested to take the appropriate action to transfer the unspent monies from the Discretionary Budget for 2013-2014 into the Discretionary Budget for 2014-2015; (5)That the Community Development Officer be requested to meet with the Senior Estates Surveyor with a view to facilitate the proposals for the new Westmill Community Centre for presentation to the meeting on 2 December 2014 as per Chairman's announcements (Minute 46 (2) refers); (6)That the Community Development Officer be requested to contact a representative of K Entertainers to confirm if a grant application would be made and provide advice on the grant application procedures. REASON FOR DECISION: (1)To ensure that the Committee are kept informed of the work of the Community Development Officer, confirm allocation of funds and acknowledge the status of budgets; (2)To ensure that the procedure for receiving and monitoring highway schemes and highway issues was maintained. |
Agreed | ||
| 60 |
GRANT APPLICATION - HITCHIN STROKE GROUP RESOLVED: That a grant of £1,000 be awarded to the Hitchin Stroke Group as a contribution towards the essential costs of providing a service to individuals who had suffered a stroke including rehabilitation. REASON FOR DECISION: To support the local community in this vital service. |
Agreed | ||
| 61 |
GRANT APPLICATION - FURNITURE LINK Upon the request by Councillor Deborah Segalini to increase the amount of grant from the proposed £363 to £550 which was seconded and agreed unanimously it was: RESOLVED: That a grant of £550 be awarded to NHCVS - Furniture Link towards the costs of securing a good quality second hand van to collect and deliver donated furniture. REASON FOR DECISION: To support the local community in this vital service of providing furniture to those in need in North Hertfordshire. |
Agreed | ||