Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gary Grindal, Terry Hone, Lorna Kercher, David Levett and Sandra Lunn.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gary Grindal, Terry Hone, Lorna Kercher, David Levett and Sandra Lunn.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on the 6 December 2017.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 6 September 2017 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 6 September 2017 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

Members should notify the Chairman of other business which they wish to be discussed by the Committee at the end of the 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 Chairman will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

There was no other business notified.

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 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.

(1)       The Chairman welcomed those present at the meeting, especially those who had attended to give a presentation;

(2)       The Chairman advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(3)       The Chairman drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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.

(1)       The Chairman welcomed those present at the meeting, especially those who had attended to give a presentation;

(2)       The Chairman advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(3)       The Chairman drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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.

To receive a presentation from Chief Inspector Julie Wheatley and Sergeant Alan Clark, Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Sergeant Alan Clarke thanked the Chairman for the invitation to address the Committee.

The Chairman thanked Sergeant Clarke for his presentation.

Sergeant Alan Clarke thanked the Chairman for the invitation to address the Committee.

Sergeant Clarke advised that he would give a brief overview of crime figures and some information regarding the Safer Neighbourhood Team, the work undertaken in the last year and the challenges faced.

Safer Neighbour Team

The Safer Neighbourhood Team for Letchworth consisted of a Sergeant, 4 PCs and 4 PCSOs.

One PC had recently left the Team and a replacement was being sought.

Statistics

All Crime

·                North Hertfordshire was third safest in Hertfordshire, in terms of crime per 1,000 of population;

·                North Hertfordshire was a safe place to live, work and travel through;

·                North Herts had an increase in crime of 17 percent;

·                Hertfordshire had an increase in crime of 13.4 percent;

·                2,206 reports of crime in Letchworth, an increase of 13 percent.

Residential Burglary - Dwelling

·                70 reports in Letchworth, a decrease of 6 reports;

·                1 report of aggravated burglary;

·                North Herts and Hertfordshire had both experienced an increase in this area.

Residential Burglary – Non Dwelling

·                38 reports, an increase of 18 reports;

·                North Herts and Hertfordshire had both experienced an increase in this area.

Burglary – Business and Community

·                67 reports, an increase of 7 reports.

Motor Vehicle Crime

·                175 reports an increase of 19 reports;

·                Keyless entry and tools available on the internet such as master keys were a big contributing factor to the increase;

·                Transit vans had been targeted particularly;

·                The Police had held events such as tool marking with the aim of educating people about how they cold best protect their property.

Domestic Abuse

·                350 reports, an increase of 14 percent;

·                Domestic abuse covered a broad spectrum of abuse between family members including assaults and arguments;

·                The Police were actively encouraging people to report all cases of domestic abuse;

·                A specialist Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit was in operation.

Robbery

·                14 reports, a decrease of 3 reports.

Violence against the Person

·                717 reports, an increase of 20 percent;

·                243 of the above involved people with injuries

·                North Herts had an increase of 25 percent

·                Hertfordshire had an increase of 17 percent;

·                Covers anything from malicious communications to assault.

There were various reasons for the increases in crime reporting including:

·                There were more ways for the public to report crime than were previously available;

·                National Crime Reporting Standards required that every report was recorded.

Arson

·                20 reports;

·                The main offender was identified and was currently in secure accommodation awaiting sentencing.

Criminal Damage

·                314 reports, and increase of 44 reports;

·                This included graffiti;

·                It was important to report incidences so that Police resource could be directed efficiently.

Shoplifting

·                Increase of 12 reports

·                The Police worked very closely with local shops

·                An outcome rate of 41 percent had been achieved.

Anti-Social Behaviour

·                743 reports, a decrease of 102 reports’

·                The Police had worked closely with the NHDC and North Herts Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Officers to secure closure orders at various addresses’

·                The Police now had the power to issue Community Protection Notices, which had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

The Chairman reminded Members that Mr Dungate had made a presentation at the last meeting of this Committee regarding an application for grant funding.

The Committee had requested further information and that Mr Dungate return this evening.

The information had been received and rather than ask for a further presentation he would open the floor to Members to ask questions.

Mr Chris Dungate, Groundwork Hertfordshire, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to attend the Committee regarding the grant application and advised that he was happy to answer any questions.

The Chairman thanked Mr Dungate for his presentation.

The Chairman reminded Members that Mr Dungate had made a presentation at the last meeting of this Committee regarding an application for grant funding.

The Committee had requested further information and that Mr Dungate return this evening.

The information had been received and rather than ask for a further presentation he would open the floor to Members to ask questions.

Mr Chris Dungate, Groundwork Hertfordshire, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to attend the Committee regarding the grant application and advised that he was happy to answer any questions.

Members noted that the report quoted dates from January to March for the project and asked for clarification that the timing had been delayed.

Mr Dungate advised that he had not re-written the original application and confirmed that delivery of the project would be from a suitable date in the near future.

Members asked whether any underspend would be returned.

The Communities Officer advised that claiming back underspend had a cost relating to staff time, however, in all cases underspend of grant funding was claimed back, as long as the figure was above a certain threshold.

Mr Dungate advised that, if there was a small amount of monies left over, this would be spent on another project in the area.

The Chairman thanked Mr Dungate for his presentation.

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITIES OFFICER

To update  the Committee on the activities and actions of the Communities Officer, to advise on the current expenditure and balances of the delegated budgets and to consider applications for grant funding.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development and Visioning Budgets be noted;

(2)       That the actions taken by the Communities Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Letchworth Garden City be endorsed;

(3)       That, subject to any decisions of Council, any unspent funds remaining in the 2017/18 Discretionary Budget be carried forward to 2018/19;

(4)       That the Communities Officer be requested to present the list of potential sites for placement of cycle racks in Letchworth Town Centre to this Committee before a final decision is made.

REASON FOR DECISION:To keep Members of the Committee apprised of the latest developments in community activities in Letchworth Garden City.

The Communities Officer presented the report of the Communities Manager entitled Grants and Community Update and drew attention to the following:

Communities Team

The Communities Manager had been on sick leave for a number of months and his role had been covered by the Communities Officer and during that time a temporary Communities Officer had been in post. The Team had engaged on a 1 year contract a Communities Assistant and the part time Communities Assistant was retiring.

Youth Engagement Project

Work was continuing on this project to liaise with community organisations that provided youth provision in Letchworth. The next step would be to bring all of these organisations together to help them provide best quality service by working together, networking and sharing resources where necessary.

Cycle Rack Project

This project had been funded by Section 106 funding. Due to the regulations attached to this type of funding, it was sometimes difficult to find projects that Section 106 funds could be spent on resulting in many small sums being unspent for several years.

One of the ways that projects were identified was that the Communities Team were informed of a need by a community group.

The Communities Team held regular meeting with the Planning Department to discuss potential projects and identify any Section 106 funding that may be available.

In this case Transition Towns Letchworth and a number of schools had approached the Communities Team and advised that there was a need for more cycle racks around the Town.

This was discussed with the Planning Department, who identified several sums of Section 106 funding allocated to sustainable transport. The total of these funds was not sufficient to fund a large-scale project such as a cycle lane and the provision of cycle racks was considered a suitable project to utilise the funding.

This project supported sustainable transport in Letchworth by encouraging people to cycle on shorter journeys, which would lead to less traffic on the roads, and less parking issues.

The project was well underway with a two-tier cycle rack at the Leisure Centre, and several schools with cycle stands already provided.

The outstanding racks needed new bases, but these could not be completed until the weather improved.

Lordship Farm School should be added to the list of outstanding jobs.

They were continuing to work with Letchworth Garden City Heritage foundation and the County Council to identify sites around the Town Centre where cycle racks could be placed.

There would also be a cycle rack in the rear car park of the Council Offices and cycle hoops at the front of the building for public use.

Members were very concerned that there were no plans to discuss the locations for cycle rack around the Town Centre with this Committee.

Members were extremely concerned that the process followed of community groups talking to the Communities Team, who then discussed it with the Planning Department resulted in £100,000 being spent on this project.

It was suggested that, if Members and the community had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That grant funding of £2,968 be awarded to Groundwork Hertfordshire from the 2017/18 Discretionary Budget towards the cost of providing informal sessions for families to engage with the natural environment on Norton Common;

(2)       That, once the project is complete, the Communities Officer be requested to seek feedback from Groundwork Hertfordshire regarding how many took part and participants’ opinion on the value of the project to them

REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community.

Members expressed some concern that there were generally substantial overheads associated with projects run by agencies rather than by community groups and that more information regarding the detail of finances should be requested.

Members agreed that this particular project would be of benefit to the community and requested that, once the project was complete, feedback was sought regarding how many took part and participants’ opinion on the value of the project to them.

Mr Dungate informed Members that grant funding helped bring in funding from other organisations and that they had already secured funding from Tescos for projects in the area and were bidding for further funding that could extend the length of these courses.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That grant funding of £2,968 be awarded to Groundwork Hertfordshire from the 2017/18 Discretionary Budget towards the cost of providing informal sessions for families to engage with the natural environment on Norton Common;

(2)       That, once the project is complete, the Communities Officer be requested to seek feedback from Groundwork Hertfordshire regarding how many took part and participants’ opinion on the value of the project to them

REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community.

To receive a verbal presentation from Patricia Saunders, Letchworth BID Manager.

Mrs Patricia Saunders, Letchworth BID Manager, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding the issues and activities in Letchworth Town Centre.

The Chairman thanked Ms Saunders for her presentation and for the good wok that the BID undertook in Letchworth Town Centre.

Mrs Patricia Saunders, Letchworth BID Manager, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding the issues and activities in Letchworth Town Centre.

Mrs Saunders informed Members that she was the new BID Manager for Letchworth and had been in post for two months. Prior to this she had been the events co-ordinator for 18 months.

She was born in Hitchin and grew up in Letchworth, where she continued to live and her background was in communications, public relations and marketing.

The BID had recruited Nick Boris Toby as the new events co-ordinator, who had a wealth of experience in marketing and events on a national scale.

The BID was in the final year of is first term and had generated £600,000 in BID levy in these four years as well as £140,000 in additional funding and in kind benefits including grants from NHDC and £120,000 in direct funding by Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. This funding had been used to undertake the projects and activities identified by the BID business plan.

The original BID levy had been set at 1.5 percent of rateable value and bills for the coming year would be sent out shortly and they would include an insert explaining how the money had been spent in 2017/18 and the events and activities that had been funded.

BID events in the Town Centre had generated some £50,000 of income and these events included the Food and Drink Festival, Beer and World Food Festival and the Christmas Gala and Light Switch on.

The BID had provided a business support programme that included a mix of accredited and expert training programmes including food hygiene and social media courses.

80 businesses had been surveyed regarding a wide range of matters including parking, the results of which were shared with NHDC.

The Love Letchworth web site had been improved and updated and work was being undertaken on a more use friendly business directory, which would be launched shortly.

The BID had also contributed financially to events held in the Garden Square Shopping Centre.

The Bid had also:

·                Launched a new business awards programme;

·                Issued regular communication by email updates, newsletters and invitations to Letchworth Business Networking meetings;

·                Developed a tourist town centre map;

·                Continued to sponsor the Disabled Go website;

·                Provided “in kind” support to other events taking place in Letchworth Town Centre including the Letchworth Festival, Black History Day and the Chilli Festival;

·                Supported new shop openings;

·                Highlighted special events and activities taking place via the Love Letchworth social media platform.

Key events planned for the next year included:

·                Food and Drinks Festival

To be held on the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May including:

§    events, in collaboration with North Herts College, designed to showcase student skills;

§    kitchen demonstrations.

·                Vintage Festival

To be held at the end of July including:

§    everything from 1920s to 1950s;

§    entertainment;

§    traditional fun fair;

§    fashion shows;

§    vintage trail;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

To provide an annual update on the details of the current Section 106 agreements and Unilateral Undertakings within the wards/parishes in the area and provide an update on the relevant legislation.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the contents of the report entitled Section 106 and Unilateral Undertakings be noted;

(2)       That the Development and Conservation Manager be requested to continue to present a report regarding Section 106 and Unilateral Undertakings to the Area Committees on an annual basis and that the appendix to those reports note which funds are discretionary and which are for a specific project;

(3)       That other than where a contribution has been negotiated for a specific purpose or project, any proposal be reported to this Committee by the Communities Officer for comment and/or agreement prior to any commitment of funds;

(4)       That the Development and Conservation Manager be requested to draw up a list of all unallocated discretionary Section 106 funds available for the Letchworth area and that this list be circulated to all Members of the Committee by email.

REASON FOR DECISION:

(1)       To ensure that there is a robust system for negotiating and managing Section 106 and Unilateral Undertakings.

(2)       To ensure that this is kept under constant review and that the risk associated with this activity is managed in an appropriate manner.

The Development and Conservation Manager presented the report entitled Section 106 and Unilateral Undertakings and drew attention to the following;

On Monday the government published a draft new version of the National Planning Policy Framework which is now out for consultation.

This was a consultation document and it did not replace the current National Planning Policy Framework, which was published in 2012.

In general, having briefly looked at the new draft it was very similar to the existing NPPF but with more emphasis on the importance of housing delivery.

On the issue of planning obligations and Section 106 there was very little to report.

In terms of planning policies, the draft NPPF stated in paragraph 34 that:

“Plans, meaning Local Plans, should set out the contributions expected in association with particular sites and types of development. This should include setting out the levels and types of affordable housing provision required, along with other infrastructure (such as that needed for education, health, transport, green and digital infrastructure). Such policies should not make development unviable and should be supported by evidence to demonstrate this. Plans should also set out any circumstances in which further viability assessment may be required in determining individual applications.”

This was the only paragraph which referred to what should be put in the Local Plan regarding planning contributions.

Members should be aware that the current Supplementary Planning Document regarding Section 106 was 12 years old and this would be updated after the NHDC Local Plan had been though the examination.

In respect of development management decisions on individual planning applications the draft NPPF maintained the strict tests on the use of planning obligations set out in the existing NPPF and also set out in the report at Paragraph 8.1.1, which was that planning obligations should only be used when they are;

a) necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;

b) directly related to the development; and

c) fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

On the much publicised matter of stopping developers getting away with avoiding their obligations, particularly on affordable housing, in his view the NPPF was quite weak, particularly when you consider that Ministers have been stating that developers will now be forced to deliver the necessary infrastructure and obligations.

Paragraph 58 of the draft NPPF stated:

“Where proposals for development accord with all the relevant policies in an up-to-date development plan, no viability assessment should be required to accompany the application. Where a viability assessment is needed, it should reflect the recommended approach in national planning guidance, including standardised inputs, and should be made publicly available.”

This meant that developers would no longer be able to label viability tests as confidential.

It then referred to the National Planning Practice Guidance which included details of standardised viability appraisals. The idea behind this was to standardise how viability appraisals are calculated in order to try and de-mystify the process and prevent sharp practices whereby developers pull the wool over the eyes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To receive any oral reports from Members regarding Ward matters and Outside Organisations.

No Ward or Outside Organisation matters were discussed.

No Ward or Outside Organisation matters were discussed.