Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are requested to ensure that they are familiar with the attached summary of the Remote/Partly Remote Meetings Protocol. The full Remote/Partly Remote Meetings Protocol has been published and is available here: https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/home/council-and-democracy/council-and-committee-meetings.

The Chair welcomed everyone to this virtual Council meeting that was being conducted with Members and Officers at various locations, communicating via audio/video and online. There was also the opportunity for the public and press to listen to and view proceedings.

The Chair invited the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer to explain how proceedings would work and to confirm that Members and Officers were in attendance.

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer undertook a roll call to ensure that all Members and Officers could hear and be heard and gave advice regarding the following:

The meeting was being streamed live onto You Tube and recorded via Zoom.

Extracts from the Remote/Partly Remote Meetings Protocol was included with the agenda and the full version was available on the Council’s website which included information regarding:

·                Live Streaming;

·                Noise Interference;

·                Rules of Debate:

·                Voting and

·                Part 2 Items.

Members were requested to ensure that they were familiar with the Protocol.

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer reminded Members that, due to a software update by Zoom, our usual voting procedure had been disrupted and would no longer work as required, therefore all voting would take place using raise hand function.

The Chair of the Council, Councillor Terry Tyler, started the meeting proper.

Audio Recording – 56 Seconds

The Chair welcomed everyone to this virtual Council meeting that was being conducted with Members and Officers at various locations, communicating via audio/video and online. There was also the opportunity for the public and press to listen to and view proceedings.

The Chair invited the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer to explain how proceedings would work and to confirm that Members and Officers were in attendance.

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer undertook a roll call to ensure that all Members and Officers could hear and be heard and gave advice regarding the following:

The meeting was being streamed live onto You Tube and recorded via Zoom.

Extracts from the Remote/Partly Remote Meetings Protocol was included with the agenda and the full version was available on the Council’s website which included information regarding:

·                Live Streaming;

·                Noise Interference;

·                Rules of Debate:

·                Voting and

·                Part 2 Items.

Members were requested to ensure that they were familiar with the Protocol.

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer reminded Members that, due to a software update by Zoom, our usual voting procedure had been disrupted and would no longer work as required, therefore all voting would take place using raise hand function.

The Chair of the Council, Councillor Terry Tyler, started the meeting proper.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jim McNally, Helen Oliver and Sean Prendergast.

It was notified that Councillors Keith Hoskin and Simon Harwood would be joining the meeting later.

Audio Recording – 56 Seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jim McNally, Helen Oliver and Sean Prendergast.

It was notified that Councillors Keith Hoskin and Simon Harwood would be joining the meeting later.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the following dates:

·                21 January 2021 and

·                11 February 2021.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 21 January 2021 and 11 February 2021 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair;

(2)       That, with the authorisation of the Chair, their electronic signature and initials be attached to the Minutes approved in (1) above.

Audio Recording – 6 Minutes 13 Seconds

Councillor Terry Tyler proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and upon being put to the vote it was:

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 21 January 2021 and 11 February 2021 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair;

(2)       That, with the authorisation of the Chair, their electronic signature and initials be attached to the Minutes approved in (1) above.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

The Chair advised that he had agreed to an urgent item of business to be considered in Part 2 regarding the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

Audio Recording – 7 Minutes 44 Seconds

The Chair advised that he had agreed to an urgent item of business to be considered in Part 2 regarding the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

Following the announcement that His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, had passed away, Council held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

Audio Recording – 8 Minutes

The Chair announced that following the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Flags in north Hertfordshire were being flown at half mast.

Following the sad news that the Principal Planning Officer, Richard Tiffin, had passed away on 20 January 2021, Council held a minute’s silence in his memory.

Councillors paid tribute to Richard.

Following the sad news that Chris Parker, a former Councillor, had passed away, Council held a minute’s silence in his memory.

Councillors paid tribute to Chris.

Audio Recording  - 9 Minutes 40 Seconds

The Chair advised that Members and Officers had been informed of the sudden passing of Richard Tiffin, Principal Planning Officer, on 20 January at the age of 57.

Richard was a long standing and well known friend and colleague to many, whether through his work first in planning policy and then development management, or his role with UNISON or at lunchtime football, he would be sorely missed.

The Planning department was inundated with messages of support from within and outside the authority which was a testament to Richard’s character and the professional and personal impact he had on those he met.

Richard started with NHDC on 10 July 1989, before taking a short break in early 1995 to take up a position as a lecturer at DeMontfort University, before then re-joining the Council.

His most recent role at NHDC was as Team Leader for the East Team in Development Management. He was an excellent line manager who supported his colleagues during challenging times and particularly over the last year when people needed extra support.

His contribution as a planning professional at NHDC was second to none in terms of his creative thinking, problem solving and encouragement and support to his colleagues. He would be sorely missed within his team and across the Council as a whole.

Our thoughts are with his wife Katharine and son Bradley.

The following Councillors paid further tribute to Richard:

·                Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb;

·                Councillor Michael Muir;

·                Councillor David Levett;

·                Councillor Paul Clark;

·                Councillor Gerald Morris.

Following the tributes Council held a minute’s silence in his memory

The following Councillors paid further tribute to Chris:

·                Councillor Judi Billing.

Following the tributes Council held a minute’s silence in his memory.

The Chair announced that Karen Pulham, Accounting Technician, had worked for North Herts District Council for 25 Years.

The Leader, Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb, extended his gratitude to Karen for her service to the Council.

It was:

RESOLVED that it be placed on record the Council’s sincere thanks and appreciation to Karen Pulham for her long and valuable service to Local Government.

Audio Recording – 21 Minutes 36 Seconds

The Chair announced that Karen Pulham, Accounting Technician, had worked for North Herts District Council for 25 Years.

Karen started at NHDC as a Word Processor Operator.

After a short while she was seconded to Accountancy to cover maternity leave and was successful in her application for an Assistant Management Accountant role, covering Performance, which included the very first Local Performance Plan, Council Tax and Fundamental Service Reviews.

The Team was later merged with Admin and became the Management Support Unit for Finance and Regulatory Services, covering a variety of work, including  HR for the directorate.

Being HR Officer for the directorate gave Karen the most contact with everyone in the council. 

In 2005, she took Maternity leave and while on Maternity Leave the MSU was centralised and Karen became the Technical Assistant to the Director of Finance, working closely with Norma Atlay until her retirement. 

Karen is now a valued member of the Controls, Risk and Performance Team in her role as Accounting Technician – Technical, and is responsible for a variety of areas including compliance and VAT.

The following Members paid tribute to Karen’s Service at North Herts District Council

·                Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb

Councillor Terry Tyler proposed,  Councillor Val Bryant seconded and upon being put to the vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That it be placed on record the Council’s sincere thanks and appreciation to Karen Pulham for her long and valuable service to Local Government.

Climate Emergency

The Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to achieving a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 and helping local people and businesses to reduce their own carbon emissions.

A Cabinet Panel on the Environment has been established to engage with local people on matters relating to the climate emergency and advise the council on how to achieve these climate change objectives. A Climate Change Implementation group of councillors and council officers meets regularly to produce plans and monitor progress. Actions taken or currently underway include switching to green energy, incentives for low emission taxis, expanding tree planting and working to cut food waste.

In addition the council is a member of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, working with other councils across Hertfordshire to reduce the county’s carbon emissions and climate impact.

The Council’s dedicated webpage on Climate Change includes details of the council’s climate change strategy, the work of the Cabinet Panel on the Environment and a monthly briefing on progress.

Declarations of Interest

Members are 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 Chair 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, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy this meeting was being audio recorded as well as filmed. The audio recordings would be available to view on Mod.gov and the film recording via the NHDC YouTube channel.

(2)       Members were reminded that this Council had declared a Climate Emergency. This was a serious decision and meant that, as this was an emergency, all of us, officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)       Members were reminded to make declarations of interest before an item, the detailed reminder about this and speaking rights was set out under Chair’s Announcements on the agenda.

(4)       The Chair reminded Members that the normal procedure rules in respect of debate and times to speak would apply:

No speeches may be made after the mover has moved a proposal and explained the purpose of it until the motion has been seconded.

When seconding a motion or amendment, a Member may reserve their speech until later in the debate.

In accordance with the Constitution please can Members ensure that no speech exceeds five minutes without the consent of the Chair.

(5)       The Chair advised that, if the meeting was still in progress at 9pm, he would call a comfort break at an appropriate place.

(6)       The Chair advised that the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation would be joining the meeting. However, they were unable to join until 8pm. Therefore, the order of business may need to be amended to ensure that the urgent item of business was heard as soon as the Heritage Foundation were available.

Audio Recording – 24 Minutes 35 Seconds

(1)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy this meeting was being audio recorded as well as filmed. The audio recordings would be available to view on Mod.gov and the film recording via the NHDC YouTube channel.

(2)       Members were reminded that this Council had declared a Climate Emergency. This was a serious decision and meant that, as this was an emergency, all of us, officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)       Members were reminded to make declarations of interest before an item, the detailed reminder about this and speaking rights was set out under Chair’s Announcements on the agenda.

(4)       The Chair reminded Members that the normal procedure rules in respect of debate and times to speak would apply:

No speeches may be made after the mover has moved a proposal and explained the purpose of it until the motion has been seconded.

When seconding a motion or amendment, a Member may reserve their speech until later in the debate.

In accordance with the Constitution please can Members ensure that no speech exceeds five minutes without the consent of the Chair.

(5)       The Chair advised that, if the meeting was still in progress at 9pm, he would call a comfort break at an appropriate place.

(6)       The Chair advised that the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation would be joining the meeting. However, they were unable to join until 8pm. Therefore, the order of business may need to be amended to ensure that the urgent item of business was heard as soon as the Heritage Foundation were available.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no public participation.

Audio Recording – 26 Minutes 50 Seconds

There was no public participation.

Any Items referred from other committees will be circulated as soon as they are available.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the LGA Model Code of Conduct be adopted with the following amendments:

(i)            Appendix B to include the replacement Table 1, which includes the NHDC definition of DPIs and links to guidance/ statutory instrument;

(ii)           Replacement of the Appendix C good practice recommendations with Appendix C grounds for a Dispensation;

(iii)          Definition of ‘room’ to include a footnote explanation that this includes ‘virtual meeting’ room and typographical changes to use the words: ‘Registrable’ and ‘behaviours’;

(2)       That the Code take effect from the day after the election poll in 2021 (7 May) or such day if the election is postponed, as the case may be;

(3)       That training on the new code be compulsory for all District Councillors during the 2021- 2022 municipal year.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure good governance within the Council, which is reflective of a national governance model.

Audio Recording – 26 Minutes 57 Seconds

The Chair of the Standards Committee, presented the item referred from the Standards Committee meeting held on 3 March 2021 regarding the Local Government Association (‘LGA’) Model Code of Conduct together with the following appendix:

·                North Herts District Council Code of Conduct for Councillors (and Voting / Non-Voting Co-Optees) based on the Local Government Association Model Code.

·                That the Standards Committee and the LGA had done a fantastic amount of work, helped by Independent Members;

·                There had been a mixed reaction across the Country to a common code of conduct;

·                There was wide support from Parish and Town Councils to take forward a the LGA code of conduct model in order to create uniformity;

·                The code was not a perfect model, however Members of the Standards Committee felt it was worth adopting;

·                It would be good to have a new code of conduct to start the new Civic year; and

·                Training for Members on the code would be undertaken in the new Civic year.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                Councillor Claire Strong;

·                Councillor David Levett; and

·                Councillor Michael Muir.

Points raised by Members included:

·                The importance of offering Code of Conduct Member training; and

·                The code would provide better consistency.

In response to a Member’s question regarding offering training to Parish Councils, the Chair of the Standards Committee advised that training could not be made compulsory. However, Parish Councils would be encouraged to complete training and advised on the importance of it.

It was proposed by Councillor Judi Billing, seconded by Councillor Ruth Brown and upon being put to the vote, was:

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the LGA Model Code of Conduct be adopted with the following amendments:

(i)            Appendix B to include the replacement Table 1, which includes the NHDC definition of DPIs and links to guidance/ statutory instrument;

(ii)           Replacement of the Appendix C good practice recommendations with Appendix C grounds for a Dispensation;

(iii)          Definition of ‘room’ to include a footnote explanation that this includes ‘virtual meeting’ room and typographical changes to use the words: ‘Registrable’ and ‘behaviours’;

(2)       That the Code take effect from the day after the election poll in 2021 (7 May) or such day if the election is postponed, as the case may be;

(3)       That training on the new code be compulsory for all District Councillors during the 2021- 2022 municipal year.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To ensure good governance within the Council, which is reflective of a national governance model.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio Recording – 34 Minutes 20 Seconds

Councillor Ian Mantle asked the reason that the item was in Part 2.

In response, the Service Director – Legal and Community/Monitoring Officer explained that the information was confidential to the organisation.

Councillor Terry Tyler proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded.

It was thus:

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

To receive a presentation from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

Councillor Terry Hone disclosed a Declarable Interest in that he was on the Board of Trustees at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. He advised that he would not take part in the item and left the ‘virtual’ room.

A presentation from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation was received.

NB: No audio or film recording was taken owing to the item being Part 2.

NB: The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer undertook a roll call to ensure all present could hear and be heard

Councillor Terry Hone disclosed a Declarable Interest in that he was on the Board of Trustees at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. He advised that he would not take part in the item and left the ‘virtual’ room.

Mr Graham Fisher and Mr Chris Pattison, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation gave a verbal presentation.

The following Members asked questions:

·                Councillor David Levett;

·                Councillor Ian Mantle;

·                Councillor Kay Tart;

·                Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb.

The Chair thanked Mr Fisher and Mr Pattison for their presentation.

Mr Fisher and Mr Pattison left the meeting.

REPORT OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

The Chair of the Council has agreed for this item to be considered as an Urgent Item of Business.

To receive a report regarding Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

Councillor Terry Hone disclosed a Declarable Interest in that he was on the Board of Trustees at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. He advised that he would not take part in the debate or vote and left the ‘virtual’ room.

RESOLVED: That a member working group consisting of the Group Leader of each political party and the Members of Letchworth Area Committee be delegated the power to consider and agree the Council’s response to the proposals of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure Council is able to respond to the consultation in a timely manner.

Audio Recording – 1 Hour 48 Minutes 14 Seconds

NB: No audio or film recording was taken regarding this Part 2 Item.

Councillor Terry Hone had previously disclosed a Declarable Interest in that he was on the Board of Trustees at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Fund. He had advised that he would not take part in the debate or vote and remained outside of the ‘virtual’ room.

The Managing Director presented the report entitles Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation together with the following appendices:

·                Appendix A - LGCHF Governor Report;

·                Appendix B - Initial assessment of the Code for the Foundation (June 2019).

The following Members asked questions and took part in the debate:

·                Councillor Richard Thake;

·                Councillor Paul Clark;

·                Councillor David Levett;

·                Councillor Sue Ngwala;

·                Councillor Judi Billing;

·                Councillor Ian Albert;

·                Councillor Daniel Allen.

Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb proposed, Councillor Gary Grindal seconded and it was:

RESOLVED: That a member working group consisting of the Group Leader of each political party and the Members of Letchworth Area Committee be delegated the power to consider and agree the Council’s response to the proposals of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure Council is able to respond to the consultation in a timely manner.

NB: The Chair announced that there would be a 10 minute break before the meeting returned to Part 1

Audio Recording – 1 Hour 48 Minutes 14 Seconds

NB: Council reconvened in Part 1 at 21:13.

NB: Councillor Faye Frost left the meeting at 21:14.

NB: The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Officer undertook a roll call to ensure that all present could hear and be heard..

For transparency the Part 2 vote was repeated and it was:

RESOLVED: That a member working group consisting of the Group Leader of each political party and the Members of Letchworth Area Committee be delegated the power to consider and agree the Council’s response to the proposals of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure Council is able to respond to the consultation in a timely manner.

To consider any questions submitted by Members of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11 (b).

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), three questions had been submitted by the deadline date for questions set out in the Council’s Constitution.

(A)      Union Flag to be flown outside all public buildings

Councillor David Levett to Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council).

(B)      Percentage increase of the County Council precept

Councillor Sue Ngwala to Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council).

(C)      Safety of women and girls in our communities

Councillor Clare Billing to Councillor Gary Grindal (Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health) and Councillor Judi Billing (Executive Member for Community Engagement).

Audio Recording – 1 Hour 45 Minutes 30 Seconds

In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), three questions had been submitted by the deadline date for questions set out in the Council’s Constitution.

(A)      Union Flag to be flown outside all public buildings

Councillor David Levett to Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council).

‘The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport recently announced that changes in legislation allow the Union Flag to be flown outside all public buildings every day as "a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us" and has called on local authorities to routinely fly the flag.

Could the Leader of the Council confirm it is the administrations intent to follow that request and fly the Union Flag outside all of its buildings where it has the ability to do so.’

Councillor Martin Stears-Handscomb responded as follows:

‘Thank you for your question. Our joint administration’s view is that this should be a matter for a cross party discussion following the elections and we hope a consensus achieved – having taken account of views from our communities.

Our current practise, that we inherited from the previous administration, is to fly the Union flag on special occasions and I believe personally that has served us well.  If we are to make a change, members of all parties and staff colleagues will have their views on this, and they should have the opportunity to express them.  When this was raised by a member of our staff at a staff briefing, some concerns were raised which should be considered. 

Of course, since this question was raised, His Royal Highness Prince Philip has died. As soon as we heard of his death, I was in touch with the Managing Director and things were already in train to fly the flag at half-mast on all our buildings as a mark of respect as we all would want.

In the same way we flew the flag at half-mast when we heard of the death of Captain Tom.

Flags are flown at other times when we have good reason. That’s how we do it at the moment. It seems to us that any change to that is best handled by a local discussion and not by Government imposition.’

As a welcoming and inclusive Council I know this is the way we would want to take this forward after the election’

NB: at 1 hour 42 minutes the Managing Director advised that there was a potential issue with the YouTube live streaming of the meeting. In accordance with the Remote/Partly Remote Meetings Protocol, the meeting was adjourned briefly whilst the matter was investigated/

NB: at 1 hour 53 minutes the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager confirmed that the live stream had not in fact been interrupted and the meeting could there for resume.

Councillor Judi Billing raised a point of order in that Questions from Members was not a debatable item. The Service Director- Legal and Community confirmed this.

(B)      Percentage increase of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106.

To consider any motions, due notice of which have been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.

(a)       Fly-tipping

A recorded vote was requested by Councillor Claire Strong, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.16 (e)

Following the recorded vote, it was:

RESOLVED:

That the Council notes:

1.         Fly-tipping increased in North Hertfordshire by 100% between 2013 and 2019. In the last year, the monthly average fly tips in our district have increased by an unprecedented 59% compared with 2019/2020. This is a situation mirrored nationally.

2.         The new powers the Labour and Liberal Democrat administration implemented in late 2019 to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to those not disposing of their waste responsibly, which have led to a record number of fines being issued by the council for fly tipping.

3.         The excellent work of NHDC officers in stepping up the effort to tackle fly-tipping even under the very difficult circumstances of the pandemic.

4.         The concerns raised by residents over the closure, and inconsistent operation, of the County Council’s waste and recycling centres during the pandemic, and the impact this has had on residents’ ability to dispose of household waste responsibly.

5.         The impact that fly-tipping has on the environment, and our rural and urban communities.

That the Council resolves:

1.         To review its fly-tipping and waste management policies and continue its work with the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership (HWP), the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group and relevant external stakeholders (such as landowners, contractors, the NFU and the Police & Crime Commissioner) to increase this council’s and our district’s resilience to this crime through a programme of effective communications and preventive and remedial actions.

2.         To conduct a further review of our bulky waste collection service to ensure it is well known by and accessible to the greatest number of residents, serving as an effective incentive against the use of unlicensed or unscrupulous waste collectors.

3.         To request that Hertfordshire County Council reaffirm that waste and recycling is an essential service by pledging not to close Household Waste Recycling Centres except where the law requires to do so or the safety of staff and visitors is being compromised

4.         The Council welcomes the changes already announced for changes at 3 major HWR sites in Hertfordshire  (including Stevenage)  and asks Hertfordshire County Council to review the opening hours of the Household Waste Recycling Centres in North Hertfordshire.

5.         To continue public information and engagement campaigns on the responsible disposal of waste and deterrence of all fly-tipping, including littering, to support our communities in doing the right thing.

6.         To ask Hertfordshire County Council to consider providing an amnesty for private landowners who can take the waste to a Waste and Recycling Centre, on recommendation from district council officers.

7.         NHDC promotes the funding available from the Police & Crime Commissioner and the advice and guidance to dealing with fly tipping on private land.

The recorded vote was as follows:

For:

Councillors: Ian Albert, David Barnard, John Bishop, Paul Clark, Sam Collins, George Davies, Morgan Derbyshire, Jean Green, Simon Harwood, Tony Hunter, Steve Jarvis, David Levett, Ian Moody, Gerald Morris, Michael Muir, Lisa  ...  view the full decision text for item 107.

Audio Recording – 2 Hours 6 Minutes

Three motions had been submitted, due notice of which had been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.

(a)       Fly-tipping

Councillor Sam North moved the altered motion which was seconded by Councillor Tom Tyson.

‘The Council notes:

1. Fly-tipping increased in North Hertfordshire by 100% between 2013 and 2019. In the last year, the monthly average fly tips in our district have increased by an unprecedented 59% compared with 2019/20201 . This is a situation mirrored nationally.

2. The new powers the Labour and Liberal Democrat administration implemented in late 2019 to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to those not disposing of their waste responsibly, which have led to a record number of fines being issued by the council for fly tipping.

3. The excellent work of NHDC officers in stepping up the effort to tackle fly-tipping even under the very difficult circumstances of the pandemic.

4. The concerns raised by residents over the closure, and inconsistent operation, of the County Council’s waste and recycling centres during the pandemic, and the impact this has had on residents’ ability to dispose of household waste responsibly.

5. The impact that fly-tipping has on the environment, and our rural and urban communities.

The Council resolves:

1. To continue to review its fly-tipping and waste management policies and work with relevant external stakeholders (such as landowners, contractors and the Police & Crime Commissioner) to increase this council’s and our district’s resilience to this crime through a programme of effective communications and preventive and remedial actions.

 2. To conduct a further review of our bulky waste collection service to ensure it is well known by and accessible to the greatest number of residents, serving as an effective incentive against the use of unlicensed or unscrupulous waste collectors.

3. To request that Hertfordshire County Council reaffirm that waste and recycling is an essential service by pledging not to close Household Waste Recycling Centres except in the direst public health emergency and undertaking to provide alternative solutions to residents and support districts and boroughs in dealing with the consequences of any such closure.

4. To ask Hertfordshire County Council to extend the opening hours of the Household Waste Recycling Centres in North Hertfordshire as it has done for other facilities in the county.

5. To continue public information and engagement campaigns on the responsible disposal of waste and deterrence of all fly-tipping, including littering, to support our communities in doing the right thing.

6. To ask Hertfordshire County Council to consider providing an amnesty for private landowners who can take the waste to a Waste and Recycling Centre, on recommendation from district council officers.’

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                Councillor David Barnard

Councillor David Levett proposed an amendment to the motion which was seconded by Councillor George Davies. The amendment was in relation to the resolutions only.

The amendment was as follows:

‘The Council Resolves to:

1.         To review its fly-tipping and waste management policies and continue its work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.