Meeting documents

Baldock and District Committee
Monday, 21st February, 2011 7.30 pm


Date:	Monday, 10th January, 2011	Time:	7.30 pm	Place:	Baldock Community Centre, Simpson Drive, Baldock

PRESENT:	M.E. Weeks (Chairman), Councillor A.D. Young (Vice-Chairman), Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor Marilyn Kirkland, Councillor I.J. Knighton and Councillor M.R.M. Muir
IN ATTENDANCE:	David Charlton (Senior Estates Surveyor) Liz Green (Head of Policy, Partnerships and Community Development) David Miley (Democratic Services Manager) Tim Neill (Accountancy Manager) Julie Williams (Electoral Services Manager) Susanne Gow (Committee and Member Services Officer).
ALSO PRESENT:	Twelve members of the public, including the registered speaker and the Press.

Item	Description/Resolution	Status	Action
PART I
47	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were no apologies for absence.	Noted
48	MINUTES Data/Baldock and District Committee/201102211930/Agenda/Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 December 2010 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman later.	Agreed
49	NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other business was put forward for discussion at this meeting of the Baldock and District Committee.	Noted
50	CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Baldock and District Committee in 2010, notably the Committee, the officers, the registered speaker, the Press and interested members of the public. He declared that he had used his discretion to rearrange the Agenda items. Item 8 Â¡V Land and Property Disposals: Baldock Town Hall would follow Item 5 Â¡V Public Participation. This would then be followed by Item 6 Â¡V Review of Polling Districts in Baldock and the last item taken would be Item 7 Â¡V Corporate Business Planning Â¡V 2011-2012 Budget Setting: Covering Note. The Chairman then reminded Members that declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest and they were required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared. Members declaring a prejudicial interest were to leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item. He proposed that Declarations of Interest should be made at the start of each relevant item on the Agenda.	Noted
51	PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Mr Chris Gomm, representing the Baldock Town Hall Group, thanked the Chairman and the Committee for giving him the opportunity to address them on the subject of the future of Baldock Town Hall. He distributed copies of his presentation to the Committee and officers and explained that the Baldock Town Hall Group consisted of several groups: the Baldock Arts Festival, the Baldock Town and District Partnership, the Baldock Museum and Local History Society, the Baldock Community Centre Association the Â¡Â¥Baldock MailÂ¡Â¦ and the Baldock Society. These organisations had representatives present at the Committee meeting and Dr Jennifer Gosling represented the residents of Baldock. Mr Gomm then explained that the Baldock Town Hall Group (BTHG) had four main requests to make to North Herts District Council (NHDC). These were: â€žX For Baldock Town Hall to be removed from the NHDC schedule of buildings being considered for disposal; â€žX For the BTHG to be given all the information they had requested from NHDC in November 2010, to enable the Group to seriously consider the viability of using Baldock Town Hall; â€žX For the BTHG to be allowed sufficient time to prepare a Business Plan for submission to NHDC; â€žX For the BTHG to be allowed the time to establish a self-sufficient community-run Town Hall. He went through the background and history of BTH and explained that the BTHG would, if their Business Plan showed up as a viable proposition, like to run the Town Hall for community use. He referred the Committee to the list of proposed activities which could be held in the refurbished Town Hall to benefit the community and also to generate income. It was pointed out that BTH was not a property with vacant possession, as the Baldock Museum still occupied several rooms there and it was planned that this continues as the Museum is an asset to Baldock. Mr Gomm reiterated that there was great concern among residents and the Baldock Groups that the Town Hall was on the Disposals List and the information for the leases, restrictions etc of the Town Hall had been requested from NHDC but had not, to date, been received. This information was required for the basis of the proposed Business Plan. He reminded the Committee that the results of the Survey held in 2006 had revealed that 90% of respondents had wanted the BTH kept. The Chairman thanked Mr Gomm for his presentation and opened the floor for the Members to ask questions. The Committee raised such points as the number of members in each of the organisations; discussed the uses to which the BTH could be put; the timescale needed for the Business Plan; the timeframe for BTH to become self-sufficient; whether BTH would be inherited in its current state or be refurbished to some extent (current state); the Group should be offered assistance from NHDC officers, as in the case of Hitchin Town Hall, although both cases were totally different. Mr Gomm thanked the Chairman and the Committee for giving him the chance to address them on this subject and summarised that the main area of assistance that NHDC could offer the Group was sufficient time to prepare a strong and professional Business Plan and provided that was a success, the time to bring the Town Hall into good enough repair to start bringing in revenue to self-regenerate the budget needed for its upkeep. The Group would also appreciate the assistance of any NHDC officers who would help with the Business Plan, advice on funding, etc. The Chairman then assured the BTHG that Cabinet would defer the disposal of assets until its meeting on 23 March 2011.	Noted
52	POLLING DISTRICT REVIEW Report Appendix A AAA Appendix A AAB Appendix A ABA Appendix A ABB Appendix A F1 Appendix A FA Appendix A FAA Appendix A FCC Appendix A FDD Appendix A FE Appendix A FS1 Appendix A FS2 Appendix A FX Appendix A FZ Appendix B The Democratic Services Manager presented the report of the Chief Executive and reminded the Committee that this was the 4-yearly review of all polling districts in North Hertfordshire. As a result, the current scheme had existed since 2007 and it was advised that the Wards stayed as they currently were. He declared that the recommendation was to reconfirm the polling districts for another 4 years and revealed that the Returning Officer was in the process of carrying out a review of the polling stations. Any comments made by the Committee would be taken away for inclusion in the review. Comments had already been made on the use of the Baldock Community Centre as a polling station and there was a proposal to locate a polling station in the Clothall area of Baldock East Ward, which would take some of the pressure off the Baldock Community Centre. The Chairman opened the Meeting to Committee debate and questions, some of which were: what advance publicity would be used to notify residents of this change (as well as newspaper advertisements and posters, each elector in Baldock East Ward would be notified by a personal letter); the suggestion that the Scout Hut was no longer used, and the voters using it were transferred to the polling station at the Baldock Community Centre (the DSM stated he would look at making this change for the District election on 5 May 2011); it was a good idea to locate a polling station in the Clothall area of Baldock East (Tapps Garden Centre is a viable alternative to using a portacabin in a school car park, as this cannot be done while the school is open for safety reasons); Clothall Village Hall will be used as a polling station if it is completed in time - they need to be informed of the deadline. The Chairman thanked the Democratic Services Manager and the Electoral Services Manager for attending the meeting to present the report and to clarify the situation on polling districts and polling stations. RESOLVED: 1) That the Baldock and District Committee agrees to establish polling districts as described in Appendix A for a further four-year period; 2) That the Baldock and District Committee comments upon the list of polling stations listed in Appendix B. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Council to review, alter and/or re-establish the polling districts within the North Herts District Council area as necessary.	Agreed
53	CORPORATE BUSINESS PLANNING - 2011-2012 BUDGET SETTING: COVERING NOTE Covering Note Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C The Accountancy Manager presented the report of the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management. He was accompanied to the Committee Meeting by the Head of Policy, Partnerships and Community Development and stated that he was happy to take any questions regarding the Covering Note from Members. The Chairman opened the Meeting to Members' debate and comments, and the comment was made that, together with other local authorities, Â£500 per annum is currently paid to the Luton Airport Conservation Committee - members were assured that this payment was not included in the proposed reductions; the need for savings is recognised but rural areas are often subject to financial cuts before the towns; could officers please look into the rural grants programme separately instead of being included in cuts "across the board"; recycling bring banks should either be sited in pairs or extra large ones should be provided, to enable collections to be more cost effective. RESOLVED: That the Baldock and District Committee, being partly rural, request that the savings are across the board and that officers ensure that the rural areas will not be disproportionately affected.	Agreed
54	LAND AND PROPERTY DISPOSALS - BALDOCK TOWN HALL Report Appendix A - plan Appendix B - letter The Senior Estates Surveyor presented the report of the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management. He explained that he was seeking the views of the Baldock and District Committee on the disposal of Baldock Town Hall (BTH) which was owned by North Herts District Council, in order to help fund the Council capital budgets. He explained that in the current economic climate there was less money available for funding and maintenance. He then explained that he did not have in his possession all the information requested by Mr Gomm and the Baldock Town Hall Group. Authority has not been given to grant a lease, so at this stage there has been no opportunity to have discussions about the terms of any lease on Baldock Town Hall. It was obviously better for NHDC if buildings could generate rental income. It was not viable for the Council to maintain or refurbish empty buildings. He advised the Group that Cabinet make the decisions on which properties and land sites would be selected for disposal and that when Cabinet considers the report on disposal Baldock Town Hall it may be possible for the Town Hall Group to request a chance to speak at the Cabinet meeting. They would need to contact the Committee clerk to find out more about this. The Chairman thanked the Senior Estates Surveyor for his address and opened the meeting to Members' questions and discussion. Points raised included: although this could well be near the end of opportunities for BTH, the BTHG was realistic to the large financial commitment required, was receptive to whatever the Council could offer, was willing to put in a significant amount of hard work and determined to put together a strong business case; BTH is not vacant, as the Baldock Museum uses rooms on its ground floor; the BTHG must appreciate that the Council is badly in need of funds and must be realistic in their expectations; NHDC are right to dispose of a property not in use and it was difficult to calculate a market rent on the BTH in its current state; the property could be disposed of by auction, private treaty negotiation or by tender. The Council does not have information on the likely costs to bring the building into good repair. The BTHG would need to seek their own professional advice which may include a building survey; the BTHG should be offered help from NHDC officers to form the business plan, as in the case of Hitchin Town Hall, although the situation with Baldock Town Hall is completely different from Hitchin's; Cabinet will make the final decision as to the most appropriate method of disposal; the empty building benefits nobody - an opportunity should be given to the BTHG to use the building. The Chairman asked the Senior Estates Surveyor if, assuming Baldock Town Hall received a â€˜stay of execution' for the BTHG to come up with a business plan, he would give them his support, despite having no details of a lease and this was answered in the affirmative. A Member commented that some idea of costs is required for a business plan and this plan must be very robust. Unlike Hitchin, there will not be a number of grants available bringing in large sums of money to refurbish the Town Hall, but the BTHG must be allowed sufficient time to compose the business plan and move on to the next step in saving BTH. One Member declared that Cabinet should be asked to give the BTHG at least 12 months to provide the business plan and move on and should then re-evaluate, as there needs to be a long enough lease to be viable for some of the options. This would cost NHDC nothing but allow the BTHG to put together the business plan. The Committee agreed with this. RESOLVED: 1) That the Baldock and District Committee requests NHDC officers to give every assistance to the Baldock Town Hall Group in formulating a business plan to save Baldock Town Hall from NHDC disposal; 2) That the Baldock and District Committee requests that Cabinet allow the Baldock Town Hall Group sufficient time, up to 12 months, to create the business plan and to reinstate Baldock Town Hall as a community asset; 3) That as part of the consultation process, the Baldock and District Committee have given their views on the proposed disposal of Baldock Town Hall to the Senior Estates Surveyor, to be included in the report to Cabinet on NHDC Land Disposals. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide financial receipts to help fund the 2011-2015 capital programme.	Agreed

Published on Tuesday, 1st February, 2011

9.05 p.m.