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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, District Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City

Contact: Scrutiny Officer  Email: ScrutinyOfficer@north-herts.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

CHAIRMAN'S WELCOME

Decision:

·                The Chairman formally opened the Hearing and the Panel, along with Officers. were introduced.

·                The Chairman advised that the meeting would be audio recorded and made available on the NHDC website.

Minutes:

Audio recording – Session 1 - 27 seconds

 

·                The Chairman formally opened the Hearing and the Panel, along with Officers. were introduced.

·                The Chairman advised that the meeting would be audio recorded and made available on the NHDC website.

2.

HEARING PROCEDURE pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Decision:

·                The Chairman explained the format of the hearing and the purpose of the Panel.

Minutes:

Audio recording – Session 1 – 30 seconds

 

·                The Chairman explained  the format of the hearing and the purpose of the Panel.

3.

WITNESS STATEMENTS pdf icon PDF 44 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The following witnesses had been invited to attend Day 1 to  based on their written statement:

 

·                John Robinson;

·                Colin Dunham;

·                Chris Parker (Keep Hitchin Special)

·                Rosemary Read;

·                Ellie Clarke (Hitchin Forum) and Jane Arnold (Hitchin Society)

·                Steve Crowley.

Minutes:

The following witnesses had been invited to attend Day 1 to  based on their written statement:

 

·                John Robinson;

·                Colin Dunham;

·                Chris Parker (Keep Hitchin Special)

·                Rosemary Read;

·                Ellie Clarke (Hitchin Forum) and Jane Arnold (Hitchin Society)

·                Steve Crowley.

 

Audio recording – Session 1 –4 minutes  39 seconds

 

A.        Statement of John Robinson

 

The Chairman welcomed Mr Robinson, explained the format and purpose of the Panel

Mr Robinson gave a verbal presentation drawing attention to the following:

 

·                His former position at North Herts District Council.

·                Partnership relied on project partnership rather than a Development Agreement or any breaches;

·                There were elements within the written evidence that he concurred with and others that he objected to;

·                David Morgan’s written evidence was balanced and accurate;

·                It was clear that senior officers needed to be party to political decisions;

·                Throughout the Project political influence was significant;

·                Partnership should not be  a replacement for a legally binding contract or public consultation;

·                Community engagement had largely been the responsibility of  HTH Ltd;

·                There had been some aggressive behaviours experienced from HTH directors;

·                HTH Ltd had used various forms of media to circulate  misinformation, particularly regarding the control of finances;

·                Confidential information had also been circulated to those not entitled access

·                The Council had always been clear that there were limited funds for the project;

·                The Council mostly conducted its business within the public domain;

·                The involvement of HTH Finance was post his employment at the Council

·                Mr Robinson provided the Panel with additional documents that were circulated to the Panel, being:

A schematic to show the difficulty in managing community, political  and Council interests and concerns.

A plan showing that construction of the wall across the stage was always intended.

 

Questions to Mr Robinson were asked by the Panel.

John Richardson Questions:

 

·                How could the project have been better managed?

·                How he took on responsibility for project?

 

A summary of the response by John Robinson was as follows:

 

·                An effective Council relied on functioning political parties, in this case it was particularly difficult.

·                Took on responsibility for the project as the Corporate Director of Customer Services - following a restructure the project became part of the remit of that role. This project arose out of Best Value Reviews in 2005.

·                He had responsibility for managing the Hitchin Town Hall building and this was brought together with the museum review.

·                On leaving the Council’s employment the majority of the building work  had concluded .

·                Cabinet authorised the capital expenditure.

 

Councillor Helen Oliver questions:

 

·                Why did Council assume HTH Ltd was responsible for community engagement?

 

A summary of the response by John Robinson was as follows:

 

·                There had been several attempts to improve the management of Hitchin Town Hall.

·                A Community initiative came together

·                Hitchin Initiative, a locally based group, had better connections with public, which was helpful given the opposition to the council plans.

·                It seemed a good idea, considering the local opposition to the Council’s scheme.

·                HTH was a much-loved building, but was little used.

 

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Audio Recording of Meeting MP3 59 MB

Additional documents: