To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.
Decision:
The Cabinet was addressed by Councillors Martin Stears-Handscomb and Simon Harwood in respect of Play Areas in Hitchin.
Minutes:
The Cabinet was addressed by Councillors Martin Stears-Handscomb and Simon Harwood in respect of Play Areas in Hitchin.
Councillor Stears-Handscomb advised that when the Hitchin Committee was consulted on the Play Area proposals in the Green Space Strategy in March 2017, councillors of all parties expressed their concerns. Whilst the Committee understood the financial constraints the Council was under, Members were aware, particularly at a time when childhood obesity was such an issue, how important these local play areas were to residents.
Councillor Stears-Handscomb stated that he and Councillor Harwood were tasked by the Hitchin Committee to investigate the feasibility of retaining play areas (identified for closure) in Hitchin. They were asked to think outside the box. They looked at two possibilities:
1. As Cabinet Members were aware, the Council had only reluctantly sought to close these play areas and had asked officers to investigate whether there were local groups who would be willing to take over managing the play areas and to support them. They held a very interesting and useful meeting with Councillor Gray and the relevant officers. It was clear that not only were the play areas marked as ‘Remove equipment & landscape back to green space’ under threat, but also those marked ‘Retain with limited investment’ in the medium term. Finding a group willing to take all these over would be in the interests of the Council – particularly as the cost per play area would go up, the fewer play areas maintained. Councillor Harwood investigated how a group could be enabled and encouraged to do this both practically and financially and reported back. The Committee welcomed their report in this area and were concerned that the possibility was well promoted.
2. They were conscious that they, as local councillors, knew their local play areas in a way that councillors from other areas did not. Urban play areas were different from rural play areas. Had Hitchin had a parish or town council, this would be the sort of facility that would be provided by that council. Was there a way that, despite being unparished, the residents of Hitchin could pay for and retain their play areas? The answer was yes there was (though with some caveats and complications). Special expenses could be declared which applied to unparished areas in the same way that parish precepts were added to council tax. Councillor Stears-Handscomb met with the former Strategic director of Finance, Policy & Governance and Head of Finance, Performance & Asset Management to discuss the possibility and reported back to the Committee earlier in the year. The Committee also agreed to pursue this option, hence the Committee asked Councillors Stears-Handscomb and Harwood to make this presentation to Cabinet at the earliest opportunity, although Councillor Stears-Handscomb said there were caveats and complications. In further e-mail correspondence with the Head of Finance, Performance & Asset Management, it became clear that Special Expenses could not simply apply to some play areas, but would mean all play areas, so if the possibility of using special expenses was pursued then this would apply to all play areas. An added complication was that some of the play areas were in a parished area (i.e. Royston). While there were ways round this, as Special Expenses came within the capping regime, the Council would save precept if Royston Town Council took the responsibility for the play area contract in their area.
On behalf of Hitchin Committee, Councillors Stears-Handscomb and Harwood requested that Cabinet noted their efforts to find a group to manage play areas in Hitchin and that Cabinet followed up the possibility of using Special Expenses to secure the future of play areas in the preparation of the estimates for future years.
The Chairman thanked Councillors Stears-Handscomb and Harwood for their presentation.
During a period of Members’ questions, Councillors Stears-Handscomb and Harwood clarified the following matters:
· Councillor Harwood understood that, if there were appropriately formed groups of residents then, as with any community group, they would be able to apply to the Area Committees for revenue grant funding to support their activities, dependent of course on them meeting the criteria set out in the Council’s Grants Policy. The capital expenditure was a different matter, although again if the group(s) was/were properly constituted there was the possibility that they may be eligible for financial assistance in this regard, as well;
· Councillor Harwood acknowledged the work of officers in encouraging groups to come forward to maintain the play areas, but understood that no such group had come forward in Hitchin, and he wondered whether the details had not been publicised as widely as possible in the town. In addition, he felt that there may well be some hesitancy amongst interested parties in the bureaucracy required to form themselves into legally constituted organisations;
· In respect of special expenses, Councillor Stears-Handscomb was clear that these could not be used simply to reverse a decision of the Council. However, he considered that special expenses could be used, if the Council so wished, to secure those play areas that were not under immediate threat, but for which there were no plans to replace the equipment once it had gone beyond its useful life;
· Councillor Stears-Handscomb added that the issue of fairness had also come into his thinking, as special expenses could be used to even out things that were done in the villages, but not done in urban areas.
The Chairman asked the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management for clarification of special expenses, as her understanding was that, should Hitchin ask for them and the request was granted, then Hitchin would receive a Council Tax increase, with Baldock, Letchworth Garden City and Royston receiving a commensurate Council Tax reduction, but that the Council’s overall Council Tax income would remain unchanged.
The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management stated that it was correct that special expenses did not create any additional resources, particularly as it would be proposed in future years to raise Council Tax at the Referendum capping level. If special expenses were applied to one area or a number of areas then they would need to be applied to all relevant areas (in this case to all areas which maintained play areas). In effect, the rural areas would see Council Tax decreases, and conversely the urban areas would see Council Tax increases.