Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor David Barnard.

Audio recording – 1 minute 12 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor David Barnard.

Councillors Lisa Nash, Sam North and Terry Tyler were absent.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 20 December 2022.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 20 December 2022 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 33 seconds

Councillor George Davies, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Claire Strong seconded and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 20 December 2022 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

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.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 26 seconds

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

(2)  The Chair advised that for the purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 30 seconds

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

(2)  The Chair advised that for the purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting.

To receive a verbal update from Hertfordshire Constabulary on their work in the Southern Rural area.

A verbal presentation was received from PS Guy Westwood and Inspector James Lant of Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 3 seconds

PS Guy Westwood from Hertfordshire Constabulary gave a verbal update and advised:

·         Priorities in the Southern Rural area were speeding, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour including unlawful drug usage in open spaces.

·         Crime numbers for this year ran from 1 April 2022 to 27 February 2023, in line with the dates provided in the update last year.

·         Hitchin Rural had seen all reported crimes decrease to 747 compared to 786 last year, North Hertfordshire had seen an increase to 5,959 from 5,550 previously and County overall had seen an increase to 69,552 from 67,702 last year.

·         Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo, Chesfield and Knebworth had seen a decrease in reported crimes. Kimpton and Codicote had seen an increase in reported crimes this year.

·         Hitchin Rural had seen an increase in residential burglaries to 35 from 32, North Hertfordshire had seen an increase to 183 from 176 and County overall had seen an increase to 2,282 from 2,248 last year.

·         Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo and Chesfield had seen a reduction in residential burglaries, while Kimpton, Knebworth and Codicote had seen an increase.

·         Some of the residential burglaries had been domestically related.

·         Rural areas had seen an increase in burglaries involving businesses and communities, with 19 cases from 10, North Hertfordshire had seen an increase to 138 cases from 94 and County had seen an increase to 1,139 from 992.

·         The Police were working closely with bordering forces as these crimes are likely caused by out of county criminals.

·         Hitchin Rural had seen a decrease in thefts from motor vehicles, with 31 incidents compared to 33 last year. North Hertfordshire had seen an increase to 271 from 235 and County had seen an increase to 3,768 from 3,438.

·         Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo, Chesfield and Knebworth had seen a decrease. Kimpton and Codicote had seen an increase.

·         Catalytic converters were the most common parts stolen and were normally shipped abroad.

·         Personal robbery levels had stayed the same in Hitchin Rural with 4 cases. North Hertfordshire had seen a decrease with 26 incidents compared to 30 and County overall had seen an increase to 548 incidents from 489.

·         Violence against Persons had decreased across Rural, North Hertfordshire and County overall. Kimpton had seen a slight increase

·         Criminal Damage had increased in Hitchin Rural to 83 incidents from 77 previously. North Hertfordshire incidents had increased to 736 from 620 and County had seen an increase to 6,632 from 6,623. Knebworth was the only ward to have seen a decrease in criminal damage.

·         Shoplifting had seen an increase across Hitchin Rural, North Hertfordshire and County-wide. Chesfield was the only ward to have seen an increase in shoplifting. Most of the reports had come from Budgen’s in Great Ashby.

·         Hate crime incidents had reduced across the Community safety partnership to 97 from 109.

·         Drug offences had reduced to 22 from 24. Chesfield and Codicote had seen an increase, Kimpton had remained the same with reductions in Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £2,635 to Breachwood Green JMI School PTFA towards a new spectator rail which will enclose the sports pitch as outlined in 8.1.1- 8.1.4.

RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £750 to Kimpton Folk Events to provide free entertainment at Kimpton Folk Festival on 1^st July 2023 subject to the receipt of an adequate safeguarding policy.

Audio recording – 42 minutes 38 seconds

The Chair invited Aimee Flack, Community Engagement Officer, to provide an update on budgets. Ms. Flack thanked the Chair, gave a verbal update and advised:

·         The 2022/23 base budget was £8,700 with £222 carried forward from 2021/22.

·         The grants awarded to date totalled £3,306, which left £5,616 available.

·         The grant applications for the meeting totalled £3,985, which if approved by Members, would leave £1,631 to be carried forward into 2023/24.

The Chair invited Kirsty Badman and Tighearnan Power, from Breachwood Green JMI School, to present. The grant applicants thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:

·         Breachwood JMI School had 83 pupils.

·         The school did not have a grass area due to its small size, and used the village recreation ground for PE lessons.

·         Using the recreation ground was not ideal, as it is used by the public as well as the school.

·         Pupils felt unsafe playing on the school’s concrete playground.

·         The allocation of a grant would be a boost for the school, as they were aiming to raise £24,085 altogether to go towards an artificial grass area and fencing.

·         The school had secured funding from local businesses, Christmas performances and raffle tickets.

·         The £2,485 asked for in the application would go towards spectator fencing.

Councillor Ralph Muncer thanked the applicants, and highlighted that play was important for children’s cognitive development. He commented that the County Council, Parish Council and Sports England may be able to help with funding.

Councillor Claire Strong commented that this was a long-term project, and was happy to propose the full amount.

Councillor Faye Frost thanked the applicants, and commented that it was hard to raise money for schools and to ask parents for more money. She was pleased that the money would be going into grassroots and the project had her support.

Councillor Ian Moody thanked the applicants and asked what size the football pitch would be.

Ms. Badham advised that the football pitch would fit within land spare at the school, with 45m of fencing surrounding it. She advised that Think Sport used the school’s facilities during the school breaks to run holiday camps, so this project would benefit the wider community too.

Councillor Moody asked the applicant what was the remaining project balance.

Ms. Badham advised that the project was short of £150.

Councillor Claire Strong proposed and Councillor Ralph Muncer seconded and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: £2,635 to Breachwood Green JMI School PTFA towards a new spectator rail which will enclose the sports pitch as outlined in 8.1.1- 8.1.4.

The Chair invited Steve Christopher from Kimpton Folk Events to present. Mr. Christopher thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:

·         Kimpton Folk events had been a registered charity since 2015.

·         The festival was run by volunteers with 5 trustees.

·         The key objective was to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education and appreciation of folk music.

·         The folk festival was the main event to reach this objective, however other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 126.

To provide the Committee with an update to ensure Members are kept informed of the work of the Community Engagement Team.

RESOLVED: That the Committee endorsed the actions taken by the Community Engagement team to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Southern Rural.

Audio recording – 102 minutes 47 seconds

The Chair invited Aimee Flack, Community Engagement Officer, to present. Ms. Flack thanked the Chair, gave a verbal update and advised:

·         The main updates were highlighted in the report.

·         The Community Engagement team were attending parish meetings to introduce the team and the introduction of a Parish Forum.

·         The North Hertfordshire Centre for Voluntary Service and Letchworth Heritage Foundation were being supported by a Community Conference titled ‘All about us’. The conference led on from a survey published last that aimed to find out what challenges community groups were facing.

·         Spiralling overheads, growing service demands, reduced income and increased pressures on funders were concerns for all survey respondents.

·         The conference would discuss survey themes and learn what support should be in place to support groups. Local funders would also be in attendance to share grant information.

·         The conference would take place on 23 March 2023 from 9:30-15:30.

·         Members were encouraged to invite groups from their wards to attend.

Following questions from Councillor Ralph Muncer, Ms. Flack advised:

·         There was no update on  the Area Committee survey for Members.

·         The Parish Councils were not invited by community engagement to the Meeting, however an email would be sent out about the recording.

Councillor George Davies proposed and Councillor Faye Frost seconded, and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee endorsed the actions taken by the Community Engagement team to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Southern Rural.

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

The following items were discussed in relation to Ward Matters and Outside Organisations:

·         Community Orchard, Wymondley

·         Luton Airport development

·         Codicote building progress

Audio recording – 106 minutes 18 seconds

The Chair advised that the Community Orchard in Wymondley held a Wassail this year as this was the first opening year post-COVID and the first year the orchard would bear fruit.

Councillor Ralph Muncer highlighted concern over reports that Luton Airport had submitted a development application to increase the passenger capacity to 32million passengers per annum. There was a public enquiry ongoing on the report, and advised that himself and colleagues would try to prevent the expansion.

Councillor Ian Moody thanked the Community Engagement Officer for attending Codicote Parish Council last month, and highlighted the positive feedback that had been received. He advised that building work was progressing well in Codicote.

Members thanked the Chair for his work in the civic year.

The Chair advised that this was the last Southern Rural meeting of the civic year, and his last meeting altogether. He thanked Officers for their help in facilitating meetings and Members for working in the best interests of the Area’s constituents.