Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019 were agreed and then signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Adeleke, Arslan, Symington, Taylor and Townsend. 

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

None.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements or ask questions in accordance with the rules as to public participation

None.

None.

N Howcutt, M Brookes and B Trueman each gave presentations on their service areas. They then welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Tindall referred to the roll out of Universal Credit. He asked how confident we were that there would be a reduction in workload for the benefits service and if that was based on evidence from other councils. C Baker advised that the core workload for the benefits team had started to drop and had already reduced by 10-15%. He explained that for those people that were impacted by Universal Credit and unable to pay their rent, that impact was on the HRA rather than the General Fund so it was a separate issue. He reassured the committee that they will continue to monitor the issue closely.

The Chairman asked if the caravan storage facility was just for parking. N Howcutt confirmed it was but also offered additional services that others don’t. He said it was managed well by CCTV.

Councillor Chapman asked if there were other site locations in mind. N Howcutt said there were potential sites they could look at but the housing agenda was the priority and there were greater commercial returns to be made from some of the sites elsewhere. He added the reason this site was useful was due to its location near to Buncefield and the development restrictions in that area.

Councillor Tindall asked if there was an opportunity to improve the slope at the Old Town Hall if we’re improving the seating. N Howcutt said he would feedback on that. He then explained there were 3 aspects to look at when replacing the seating; one is making sure new seating meets health and safety standards, two is that we maximise space for revenue returns and thirdly looking at audience needs. 

The Chairman referred to the arches next to the Old Town Hall. He felt there was more potential there. N Howcutt said opportunities have come and gone over the years but at the moment it was being used for the new Old Town market and was developing well. Councillor Williams added that it would cost a huge amount for the work required as it was a listed building and wouldn’t be worth the return.

Councillor Tindall asked if there had been any progress with installing additional charging points in the Water Gardens car park. B Hosier advised that the infrastructure and upstands for the chargers had been installed and he was just waiting for the service provider to confirm when a surveyor will come to look at the Water Gardens North to view how and when the charge points will be installed.

Councillor Douris asked if the charging points would be on the ground floor of the Water Gardens. B Hosier explained that they would be looking at installing charging points on the ground floor first and some in the white zone on the upper deck, however it was dependent on getting energisation to those areas  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There were no changes to the work programme.