Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting of the council.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021 were agreed by the members present and then signed by the Mayor.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021 were agreed by the members present and then signed by the Mayor.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider questions (if any) by members of the public of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Assistant Director (Corporate and Contracted Services).

None.

None.

To receive announcements and business brought forward by the Mayor, Leader, and Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive.

4.1       By the Mayor:

4.2       By the Chief Executive:

4.3       By the Group Leaders:  Any apologies for absence

4.4       Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

Councillor Williams                       Leader of the Council

Councillor Williams                       Corporate and Contracted Services

Councillor Barrett                          Environmental Services

Councillor Banks                          Community and Regulatory Services

Councillor Anderson                     Planning and Infrastructure

Councillor Elliot                             Finance and Resources

Councillor Griffiths                        Housing

4.1       By the Mayor:

“I am delighted to tell Council that at this year’s Chartered Institute of Housing Annual Conference, our Group Manager for Strategic Housing, Natasha Beresford, won the national award for the Inspirational Colleague of the Year. This followed submissions from our staff as to the special contribution made by Natasha during what has been an extremely busy and stressful time for staff and our vulnerable residents. It is a tribute to Natasha in particular but also to staff who have kept services running so effectively in what has been a very trying time.

Fiona Williamson and Councillor Margaret Griffiths were also shortlisted at the awards.

On behalf of Members I would like to say Congratulations to Natasha and our Housing Team at Dacorum.”

4.2       By the Chief Executive:

None.

4.3       By the Group Leaders:

Councillor Griffiths gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Guest, Harden, Sutton and Williams.

Councillor Tindall gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Allen, Freedman, McDowell, Uttley and Woolner.

4.4       Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

(Full details are in the minutes under Announcements of the Leader and Cabinet).

4.1       By the Mayor:

“I am delighted to tell Council that at this year’s Chartered Institute of Housing Annual Conference, our Group Manager for Strategic Housing, Natasha Beresford, won the national award for the Inspirational Colleague of the Year. This followed submissions from our staff as to the special contribution made by Natasha during what has been an extremely busy and stressful time for staff and our vulnerable residents. It is a tribute to Natasha in particular but also to staff who have kept services running so effectively in what has been a very trying time.

Fiona Williamson and Councillor Margaret Griffiths were also shortlisted at the awards.

On behalf of Members I would like to say Congratulations to Natasha and our Housing Team at Dacorum.”

4.2       By the Chief Executive:

None.

4.3       By the Group Leaders:

Councillor Griffiths gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Guest, Harden, Sutton and Williams.

Councillor Tindall gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Allen, Freedman, McDowell, Uttley and Woolner.

4.4       Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council

The Deputy Leader, Councillor Griffiths, presented an update on behalf of The Leader:

In regards to the recent Olympics and Paralympics, I would like to congratulate Jess Stratton, a resident of Dacorum, for being selected to represent Team GB. Also congratulations to Max Whitlock, a Freeman of the Borough, who has also represented us very well and won another gold medal. Thank you and congratulations to them both. If members are aware of anyone else that represented our country at any event please let me know as we would like to celebrate their success also.

Happy to take questions.

Questions

There were no questions.

Councillor Williams, Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Contracted Services

The Deputy Leader, Councillor Griffiths, presented an update on behalf of The Leader:

I have an update on the Berkhamsted Sports Centre. The key work streams focusing on the facility, highways, sustainability, 3G pitches and the residential opportunities have all been developed and further workings are now happening with the members working group, Berkhamsted Town Council and Everyone Active. A report will be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and Cabinet in November with a project update.

Works are well underway with the access and movement project around the Water Gardens car park with completion targeted for early October.

Officers continue to monitor progress on the customer usage data for both our leisure centres which are seeing a positive increase since reopening in April. In early August this was up to 12,000 visits per week from nearly 8,000 in early April.

Happy to take questions.

Questions

Councillor Symington referred to the update on Berkhamsted Sports Centre. She asked, will you be consulting with the wider community about placing residential dwellings on the sports centre site.

The Portfolio Holder advised that nothing was set in stone yet. She said we had ideas and aspirations but everything would have to be consulted on.

There were no further questions.

Councillor Barrett,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The following Motion was proposed by Councillor England and seconded by Councillor Barrett:

Climate Emergency and COP26

1.  Dacorum Borough Council notes that the important Climate Summit COP26 is being held in Glasgow this November, with only eight years remaining of the ten that were available when the Climate Emergency was recognised and declared by this council.

2.  Council also notes that the local response to the Climate Emergency, while capable of undertaking many urgent and useful actions within its powers and capacity and able to energise local people and businesses, faces critical limitations in key areas for scaling-up change, such as:

• Sufficient and adequate workforce, trained and scaled for deployment to install Ground-Source and Air Source Heat Pumps and other innovative renewables and insulating technologies to reduce CO2 production in housing and other buildings
• Funding for the front-loaded costs of insulation schemes and conversion to renewables of present carbon-intensive systems used in Dacorum, both by the Council and by residents and businesses.

3.  These work-streams and others require urgent action by Government, to improve capacity for local authorities to draw on, particularly those authorities like Dacorum with large housing stock, who are required to insulate buildings, adopt non-fossil-fuel sources of heat and power, and to reduce or recycle waste products safely and efficiently.

4.  To ensure this council and others can undertake this critical work, local authorities need reassurance from Government that they can confidently prepare budgets knowing that that capacity will be available.

5.  Council agrees to ask the Portfolio-holder for Environment to write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Alok Sharma, President of COP26 to urge a commitment on spending and timing for an urgent and effective scheme of investment in workforce training, technological innovation and industry standards to allow local government to make urgent progress in meeting its challenges meaningfully in the financial year 22/23.       

A vote was held:

It was unanimously agreed,

and therefore the Motion was carried.

Proposed by Councillor Adrian England

Climate Emergency and COP26

1.  Dacorum Borough Council notes that the important Climate Summit COP26 is being held in Glasgow this November, with only eight years remaining of the ten that were available when the Climate Emergency was recognised and declared by this council.

2.  Council also notes that the local response to the Climate Emergency, while capable of undertaking many urgent and useful actions within its powers and capacity and able to energise local people and businesses, faces critical limitations in key areas for scaling-up change, such as:

• Sufficient and adequate workforce, trained and scaled for deployment to install Ground-Source and Air Source Heat Pumps and other innovative renewables and insulating technologies to reduce CO2 production in housing and other buildings
• Funding for the front-loaded costs of insulation schemes and conversion to renewables of present carbon-intensive systems used in Dacorum, both by the Council and by residents and businesses.

3.  These work-streams and others require urgent action by Government, to improve capacity for local authorities to draw on, particularly those authorities like Dacorum with large housing stock, who are required to insulate buildings, adopt non-fossil-fuel sources of heat and power, and to reduce or recycle waste products safely and efficiently.

4.  To ensure this council and others can undertake this critical work, local authorities need reassurance from Government that they can confidently prepare budgets knowing that that capacity will be available.

5.  Council agrees to ask the Portfolio-holder for Environment to write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Alok Sharma, President of COP26 to urge a commitment on spending and timing for an urgent and effective scheme of investment in workforce training, technological innovation and industry standards to allow local government to make urgent progress in meeting its challenges meaningfully in the financial year 22/23.       

Councillor Barrett seconded the Motion and thanked Councillor England for bringing the Motion to Council. He confirmed he was fully supportive of the content and was happy to write a letter as proposed. Further as a measure of the importance of the subject he would be asking the Leader of the Council to join him in signing the letter.

The Mayor invited the proposer, Councillor England, to speak on the Motion.

Councillor England: “The August 2021 report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) makes clear that we already face global temperatures in excess of anything our species has experienced.

“Since 1995, government representatives from around the world have gathered annually for the UN Climate Change Conference (often referred to as the Conference of the Parties, “the COP”)

At COP21, hosted in Paris, world leaders committed to a historic agreement to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 ? above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5 ?. They also agreed to step up efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to make finance flows consistent with a pathway  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider questions (if any) by members of the Council of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Assistant Director (Corporate and Contracted Services).

None.

None.

To consider any business referred from the previous meeting.

None.

None.

None.

None.

None.

None.

None.

None.

To consider any proposals for changes to committee membership.

The following changes to committee membership were agreed:

Ø  Councillor Ransley to replace Councillor Tindall on the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The following changes to committee membership were agreed:

Ø  Councillor Ransley to replace Councillor Tindall on the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To consider the following changes to committee dates:

Move Strategic Planning and Environment OSC from 20 October to 2 November.

The following changes to committee dates were agreed:

Ø  Move Strategic Planning and Environment OSC from 20 October to 2 November.

Ø  Schedule an Extraordinary Council meeting on Wednesday 6 October. 

The following changes to committee dates were agreed:

Ø  Move Strategic Planning and Environment OSC from 20 October to 2 November.

Ø  Schedule an Extraordinary Council meeting on Wednesday 6 October.