Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting

The minutes of the Joint Budget OSC (Finance and Resources) meeting held on 8^th December were confirmed by the Members present and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors E Collins, Fethney and Mills.

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.

None.

None.

None

None.

None.

The Portfolio Holder had nothing to add to the Asset Management Report.

D Skinner, Assistant Director for Finance and Resources introduced the Asset Management Report to Members. He mentioned that the Asset Management Strategy was originally produced by the consultants EC Harris in consultation with senior officers across the Council and submitted to Cabinet on 21 January 2014.

Councillor Birnie asked if it was correct that the Council has 19 Public Conveniences and they yield £150 per annum.

N Brown, Group Manager – Property and People said that he would get back to Members with the correct figure as he was unsure.

Councillor Birnie referred to the 23 woodlands, page 9 of 38 with zero income from them. Is there a policy in connection to this.

D Skinner said that it is not plantation, it was scrub with woodland.

Councillor Ashbourne commented on the clarity of the report and said that it was an excellent report with lots of detail. He referred to the housing development and regeneration opportunities and said that it would be useful to add it in accordance with a government plan.

Councillor Tindall referred to the 5.5 million net income from the housing developments. He asked if the new board would take into account the various trends and to not sell off for a quick profit.

D Skinner informed Members that they will be examining the income stream.

Councillor Barnes asked if there would be an update each year with regards to the market value.

D Skinner said that there were different methods they needed to comply with. He said that a lot of the properties were valued at depreciated costs. He explained that when the Council disposes of an asset they go for the real value.

Councillor Birnie asked if the management committee will be reporting to Cabinet in the future.

D Skinner confirmed that the Property Management Board will look at the process with regards to the action plans and all decisions will be made by the Director of Finance.

Councillor Silwal asked for clarification on the term “heritage”.

D Skinner explained that when a site is classed as a “heritage”, it will usually be to do with the nature and listing the valuation of the building.

Councillor Silwal asked the officer if the Council would be able to sell allotments for profit.

N Brown explained that the Council is not in a position to sell allotments due to the fact that they cannot sell the land that they are on and would struggle to get planning permission to build on that land.

Councillor Barnes asked the officers to explain why the cost of impact of Community Centres and Public Conveniences were listed at £2million.

D Skinner explained that they firstly look at the income stream and then at the capital receipt. He said that there is no market value for public conveniences at present.

Councillor Douris said that he was concerned with the two different valuations, “property sector” and “private sector”. He asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

None.