Meeting documents
Council
Thursday, 19th May, 2011 7.30 pm
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| Date: | Thursday, 7th April, 2011 | Time: | 7.30 pm | Place: | Council Chamber, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor David Levett (Chairman), Councillor M.E. Weeks (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Mrs A.G. Ashley, Councillor A. Bardett, Councillor David Billing, Councillor Judi Billing, Councillor John Bishop, Councillor Clare Body, Councillor John Booth, Councillor Tom Brindley, Councillor P.C.W. Burt, Councillor Dave Chambers, Councillor Paul Clark, Councillor Lisa Courts, Councillor Tricia Cowley, Councillor J.M. Cunningham, Councillor Bill Davidson, Councillor Lee Downie, Councillor Jane Gray, Councillor Paul Grimes, Councillor Gary Grindal, Councillor Fiona Hill, Councillor T.W. Hone, Councillor A.F. Hunter, Councillor R.E. Inwood, Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor Sal Jarvis, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor Joan Kirby, Councillor Marilyn Kirkland, Councillor I.J. Knighton, Councillor Paul Marment, Councillor Alan Millard, Councillor M.R.M. Muir, Councillor Elliot Needham, Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, Councillor Lawrence Oliver, Councillor Michael Paterson, Councillor Deepak Sangha, Councillor R.L. Shakespeare - Smith, Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong and Councillor R.A.C. Thake. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Chief Executive, Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, Strategic Director of Customer Services, Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise, Corporate Legal Manager, Democratic Services Manager and Committee and Member Services Manager. |
| ALSO PRESENT: | Alderman F.J. Smith; 2 members of the public. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 88 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D.J. Barnard, Bernard Lovewell, H.M. Marshall, D. Miller, Mike Rice and A.D. Young. |
Noted | ||
| 89 |
MINUTES Data/Council/201105191930/Agenda/Minutes It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 10 February 2011 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 90 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No additional business was presented for consideration by the Council. |
Noted | ||
| 91 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) Councillors not standing for re-election The Chairman thanked those existing Members who were not standing for re-election at the District Council Elections on 5 May 2011, namely Councillors Julian Cunningham, Paul Grimes and Howard Marshall. He paid particular tribute to Councillor Cunningham, his fellow Ward Member, for his contribution during his time as a councillor; and to Councillor Marshall, a former Chairman of the Council, who had served on many committees and outside organisations during his 12 years as a councillor. (2) Declarations of Interest The Chairman reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question. (3) Mobile Phones The Chairman asked all Members and Officers to ensure that their mobile phones were either switched off or left on "silent" for the duration of the meeting. (4) Item 10 - North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility The Chairman announced that there would no written report on this item, as there were no recommendations to consider at the present time. Instead, the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs would present a verbal report updating the Council on current events and a process for the way forward. |
Noted | ||
| 92 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION No items were presented for consideration by the Council under public participation. |
Noted | ||
| 93 |
ORGANISATIONAL RESTRUCTURING Report Appendix 1 Appendix A to Appendix 1 Appendix B to Appendix 1 The Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service presented a report seeking endorsement of the changes to the senior management arrangements for the Council, the approval of some consequential amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Employment Committee, clarification of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service's delegated authority, and information regarding the wider structural adjustments. The following appendix was submitted with the report: Appendix 1 - Report to Cabinet: 15 February 2011 - Organisational Restructuring. The Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service advised that Cabinet, at its meeting held on 15 February 2011, had supported the proposals in principle. Since then, staff consultation had been carried out, both with senior and lower graded employees affected by the revised structure. The proposed re-organisation had been developed in accordance with the eight general principles outlined in Paragraph 5.2 of Appendix 1 to the report. It was almost certain that there would be further structural changes in the near future, including the possibility of shared services in some areas. The Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service stated that the report also sought approval to a number of changes to the delegation arrangements, both for himself and the Employment Committee, to enable him to implement any decisions regarding dismissal or redundancy of Chief Officers, and to enable the Employment Committee to consider appeals by Chief Officers against such decisions. It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and, following debate, was RESOLVED: (1) That the revised Senior Management Structure, as set out in the report at Appendix 1, be approved; (2) That any decision regarding dismissal by way of redundancy, necessary in order to implement this restructure, be delegated to the Chief Executive and the Head of the Paid Service; (3) That the Chief Executive's delegations within the Scheme of Delegation be clarified by: (a) Adding a general delegation to make any necessary minor changes to terms and conditions; (b) Adding a specific reference to the delegation of authority to dismiss any officer, including Chief Officers, either by way of redundancy or any other appropriate use of the Council's staff related policies; (4) That the terms of reference of the Employment Committee be amended to include the following: "To consider appeals against decisions made by the Chief Executive relating to the dismissal by redundancy or otherwise of Chief Officers."; (5) That all reference to "Heads of Service" in the terms of reference for the Employment Committee be amended to read "Chief Officers". REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the proposals from the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service to be implemented, in order to put in place a revised organisational structure to meet the requirements of balancing the Council's budget. |
Agreed | Chief Executive |
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| 94 |
PRIORITIES FOR THE DISTRICT 2011/12 Report Appendix A The Portfolio Holder for Policy presented a report of the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance informing Members of the work carried out by the Corporate Plan Member Review Group and proposing that the document be re-named "Priorities for the District 2011/12". The following appendix was submitted with the report: Appendix A - Priorities for the District 2011/12. The Portfolio Holder for Policy explained that the Corporate Plan was to be replaced with the "Priorities for the District 2011/12" document. She thanked the Members of the Corporate Plan Review Group for their input into the document, acknowledging that there was likely to be a significant amount of emerging legislation which would impact on the District, and hence on the priorities set out in the document. At the current time, the three existing priorities of Town Centres, Green Issues and Sustainable Development would remain. A number of Members made comments regarding the regarding the document, which the Portfolio Holder for Policy noted. She advised the new document would contain a fewer number of high level actions under each heading, instead of a separate action plan document. Progress would be reported at six months and at year end. It was moved by Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong, seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, and following debate, was RESOLVED: That the Priorities for the District 2011/12, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be approved. REASON FOR DECISION: To have a suitable, high level strategic planning document in place as part of the formal policy framework for the Council. |
Agreed | Strategic Director of Finance/Policy & Governance, Head of Policy/Partnerships/Community Development |
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| 95 |
ANNUAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION Report The Monitoring Officer presented a report in respect of some recommended amendments to the Constitution as part of the annual review of Council's governance arrangements. She commented that the proposals, if approved, would take effect from the 2011/12 Civic Year. The Monitoring Officer stated that the report addressed the following issues: - Part A - The structure of Scrutiny and Sub-Committees - it was recommended that the Finance and Performance and Partnerships Scrutiny Sub-Committees be deleted, and the finance element of the work incorporated into a new Finance, Audit and Risk Committee; - Part B - Substitutes - it was recommended that these be permitted for the Overview and Scrutiny, Planning Control and Finance, Audit and Risk Committees only, although Council was requested to consider how it would wish to finalise any limit on the number of substitutes permitted; - Part C - A reminder that the Four Leader model would come into force at the Annual meeting of the Council on 19 May 2011; - Part D - A number of technical and procedural issues, which were outlined in the report. The Monitoring Officer advised of two additional recommendations, namely - That the terms of reference for Council and Cabinet be amended to explicitly state that these bodies were able to consider presentations from members of the public and community groups, in line with the terms of reference for the Area Committees; - That Standing Order 18 - Record of Attendance - be deleted. It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, that the recommendations in the report, in addition to the two extra recommendations proposed by the Monitoring Officer, be approved. As an amendment, it was moved by Councillor R.L. Shakespeare-Smith, and seconded by Councillor Tom Brindley, that Recommendations 9.3 and 9.4 in the report should be revised to read: "9.3 That it be noted that substitutes will only be permitted for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Planning Control Committee, Standards Committee, North Hertfordshire Highways Partnership Joint Member Panel, Joint Staff Consultative Committee and Council Tax Setting Committee; 9.4 That, for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Planning Control Committee, Standards Committee, North Hertfordshire Highways Partnership Joint Member Panel, Joint Staff Consultative Committee and Council Tax Setting Committee only, each political group shall be allowed to name a proportionate number of substitutes, the number being a maximum of 40% of the group's full committee members rounded up to the nearest whole number. Substitutes shall be appointed by Council at the start of the Civic Year and, for Planning Control Committee and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, must have received the same training as full members of these committees." Following debate, and upon being put to the vote, this amendment was carried. During the debate on the substantive motion, it was confirmed that the new Finance, Audit and Risk Committee would meet on at least five occasions during the Civic Year, with a membership of seven councillors. A number of Members expressed concern as to whether the frequency of meetings or size of the committee would be sufficient to deal with the business required. Upon the substantive motion being put to the vote, it was RESOLVED: (1) That it be noted that, subject to the National Model Constitution position first being clarified, a broader review of the Constitution be conducted in due course; (2) That the proposed Committee Structure for an Overview and Scrutiny Committee and a Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, as set out in Section 4A of the report, be approved; (3) That it be noted that substitutes will only be permitted for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Planning Control Committee, Standards Committee, North Hertfordshire Highways Partnership Joint Member Panel, Joint Staff Consultative Committee and Council Tax Setting Committee; (4) That, for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Planning Control Committee, Standards Committee, North Hertfordshire Highways Partnership Joint Member Panel, Joint Staff Consultative Committee and Council Tax Setting Committee only, each political group shall be allowed to name a proportionate number of substitutes, the number being a maximum of 40% of the group's full committee members rounded up to the nearest whole number. Substitutes shall be appointed by Council at the start of the Civic Year and, for Planning Control Committee and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, must have received the same training as full members of these committees; (5) That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive and Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and IT, to approve the drafting amendments referred to at Section 4D of the report; (6) That the terms of reference for Council and Cabinet be amended to explicitly state that these bodies were able to consider presentations from members of the public and community groups, in line with the terms of reference for the Area Committees; (7) That Standing Order 18 - Record of Attendance - be deleted; (8) That authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make all consequential changes to the Constitution that are required to record to reflect these decisions. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Council meets its statutory obligations and continues to improve its working practices. |
Agreed | Corporate Legal Manager |
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| 96 |
REMOVAL OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE ZONES Report Appendix A The Leader of the Council presented the report of the Head of Housing and Public Protection in respect of the adoption of a formal resolution removing the existing Hackney Carriage Zones. The following appendix was submitted with the report: Appendix A - Copy of public notice published in local newspapers and served on all Town and Parish Clerks. The Leader of the Council stated that Cabinet, at is meeting held on 7 December 2010, had approved a new Hackney Carriage and Licensing Policy, which included the removal of the existing historic hackney carriage zones. As from 4 April 2011, instead of being issued a hackney carriage licence for one particular zone, each hackney carriage would be issued with a licence to operate in each of the five zones, thus removing the current zoning restrictions. The Leader of the Council commented that, in order to fully implement the removal of zones, thereby allowing North Hertfordshire to be considered one single zone, with one table of fares and one table of fees, a formal resolution of Council was required. She confirmed that public notice of the Council's intention to remove zones had been published in the local press and supplied to all Town and Parish Councils in the District. Once adopted, the resolution would formalise the Policy adopted by Cabinet and would allow officers to implement the Policy in the most cost effective manner. It was moved by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, seconded by Councillor T.W. Hone, and RESOLVED: That North Hertfordshire District Council resolve, pursuant to Schedule 14, Part 2, Paragraph 25 of the Local Government Act 1972, that Section 171(4) of the Public Health Act 1875 shall apply throughout the District of North Hertfordshire with effect from 9 May 2011. REASON FOR DECISION: To give formal effect to the Policy adopted by Cabinet following a public consultation and allow for a more cost effective administrative process for hackney carriage and private hire licensing. |
Agreed | Head of Housing & Public Protection Service, Licensing & Enforcement Manager |
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| 97 |
NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY FACILITY The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs gave an oral update report on the North Hertfordshire Museum and Community Facility, which outlined the current position of the project; significant issues currently being addressed; and the provisional next steps. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs stated that, following the Council's decision on 11 November 2010 to proceed with the Hitchin Initiative sponsored ‘Community' proposal for Hitchin Town Hall and North Herts Museum, intensive work had been carried out to ensure that the tight deadlines for the Hitchin Initiative's application for financial support were met. Now that confirmation of the grant/loan award of £850,000 from ‘Community Builders' had been received, work had been focussed on preparing management and lease agreements before the end of March 2011 - a grant/loan condition. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs advised that the Hitchin Initiative had received confirmation of the award of a grant loan from the Community Builders Fund on 10 February 2011. Since that time, officers had been working with the Initiative to: - Clarify the grant/loan conditions with the Community Builders Fund and ensure that these were incorporated in to the overall agreement; - Draft a ‘development agreement' - a binding agreement containing the principal features of construction and payment arrangements, management arrangements and leases/agreements from NHDC and the Trust to Hitchin Initiative; and - Conclude further work on behalf of the Trust to ensure the development agreement was capable of meeting its and Charity Commission requirements. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs explained that, on 30 March 2011, the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had announced the creation of a new National Endowment Fund to provide a long-term framework for the distribution of the Community Builders financial support in which "The £70 million Community Builders Fund, previously owned by the Department of Communities and Local Government, is now an endowed fund - owned and administered by the Adventure Capital Fund. It supports neighbourhood-based, community-led organisations to become more sustainable through a mixture of loans, grants and business support. The fund is currently closed to new applications but the organisation expects it to reopen within a few months. The purpose of the endowment is to allow the Community Builders Fund to become fully established for the foreseeable future and to ensure stable and continued management. It will allow for greater efficiency and financial planning, increasing value for money all round. It also creates an evergreen fund where loan repayments are recycled back into the sector, as well as the prospect of growing the fund by topping up the original amount with money from other investors, foundations or even philanthropists." The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs stated that, although work had been in hand to meet the initial 31 March 2011 deadline to conclude a development agreement to satisfy Community Builders Fund's conditions, the creation of the new National Endowment Fund had limited Community Builders Fund's ability to progress queries on approved applications and, as a result, the 31 March 2011 deadline was amended on 30 March 2011. It is now understood that the National Endowment Fund would be issuing a revised timescale for concluding negotiations on grant/loan conditions. Until that time, no further substantive work on the development agreement was possible. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs commented that the Council had delegated authority to the Strategic Director Customer Services to negotiate arrangements with Hitchin Initiative on behalf of a number of community organisations. However, in two respects, the grant/loan conditions and the preferences of the local organisations would require further specific agreement from Council and the Trust. These were: - The ‘disposal' by way of long term lease to Hitchin Initiative of parts of Hitchin Town Hall not within the footprint of the Mountford Hall, currently in the ownership of NHDC and the Trust, to operate a café; and - The corporate structure and ‘community' representation on the proposed operating company Hitchin Town Hall Ltd - to ensure the long term interests of local people were adequately represented. In respect of the next steps, the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs advised that these were as follows: - Following receipt of confirmation of conditions from the National Endowment Fund, (the Adventure Capital Fund) officers would progress the development agreement; - As part of this, negotiations with Hitchin Town Hall Ltd to ensure the company structure and arrangements for community participation were acceptable would continue; - Reports to the Council and Trust to consider a final agreement would be prepared; and - Arrangements for the temporary closure of Hitchin Town Hall and the transfer of collections form Hitchin and Letchworth Museums would be put in place. The Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs stated the contents of the oral report would be circulated via the Members' Information Service and to stakeholder groups within the next week. |
Noted | ||
| 98 |
ITEM REFERRED FROM CABINET: 22 MARCH 2011 - ROYSTON CROSS DEVELOPMENT BRIEF Referral Appendix 1 Appendix 2 The Council considered the minute of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 22 March 2011, in respect of the Royston Cross Development Brief (Minute 113 refers). A copy of the report considered by the Cabinet was included with the agenda, as were the following appendices: Appendix 1 - Royston Cross Development Brief (February 2011), incorporating proposed amendments as prepared by officers; Appendix 2 - Royston Cross Development Brief Consultation Report. It was moved by Councillor Tom Brindley, seconded by Councillor Mrs L.A. Needham, and RESOLVED: (1) That the Royston Cross Development Brief, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted; (2) That, subject to the costs being met from within existing budgets, an in-depth traffic assessment be carried out to ensure that any planned alterations do not adversely affect other roads in Royston; (3) That the Head of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Transport and Enterprise, be authorised to agree any further typographical and textual amendments that do not alter the policy intent of the document, which are needed to be made to the Royston Cross Development Brief prior to its finalisation and publication. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Council to produce a Development Brief for the Cross area of Royston that provides an overall framework for guiding development and enhancement opportunities within the area in the future, and in doing so, contributes towards achieving the Council's strategic objectives and priorities for town centres. |
Agreed | Strategic Director of Planning/Housing & Enterprise, Planning Projects Manager |
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| 99 |
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS Report There were no Questions from Members. |
Noted | ||
| 100 |
NOTICE OF MOTIONS Report Kerbside Recycling of Plastics Due notice having been given in accordance with Standing Order 11.1, it was moved by Councillor David Billing, and seconded by Councillor Deepak Sangha, "That given the opportunities for shared services in the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership Agreement, recently approved by the Cabinet, a full report should be brought to the Cabinet on the feasibility of using such shared services to introduce as soon as possible a kerbside collection of recyclable plastics in North Hertfordshire, as is already done by eight of the Hertfordshire District and Borough Councils." Following a full debate, and upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried. |
Agreed | Strategic Director of Customer Services, Head of Leisure & Environmental Services, Service Manager - Waste Management |
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| Published on Monday, 9th May, 2011 |
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Start - 7.30pm End - 9.20pm |