Agenda, decisions and minutes

Council - Wednesday, 27th September, 2017 7.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, The Forum. View directions

Contact: Jim Doyle Ext 2222 

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting of the council

Decision:

The minutes of the meetings held on 12 July 2017 were agreed by the Members present and then signed by the Mayor.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on 12 July 2017 were agreed by the Members present and then signed by the Mayor.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest

Decision:

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Public Participation

To consider questions by members of the public of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Solicitor to the Council:

 

 

Decision:

Mr Lilley made a statement regarding garages in Spring Lane.

See minutes for full details. 

Minutes:

Mr Lilley made a statement:

As one of the long term residents in the area surrounding the garages in Spring Lane, I would like to put our collective views forward to the full council.

I was sorry and very concerned that the tenancy of my garage that I had held for many years was terminated in the spring of this year.

Re-occurring problems at the chicane between house number 210 on the east side of the road, and number 155 on the west side of Spring lane, are not only dangerous but cause significant problems for commercial and emergency vehicles alike.

Before the garage block was built, I along with other residents that were lucky to own a car at this time, parked on spring lane normally outside our own house without too much trouble. Unfortunately other drivers are not so thoughtful and have in the past parked in such a way after dark that there is insufficient room for a large car, lorry /fire engine to get through. Some yellow lines at opposite sides of the road at this chicane may go some way to relieving the situation ensuring that access for emergency and other large vehicles is available.

The results of a previous survey some years ago on parking provision at the Galley Hill end of Spring Lane carried out by a local resident, who was acting under the neighbourhood watch scheme was un-successful as some of the residents on the odd numbers side of Spring Lane were at this time considering having paved driveways installed, with a second car owned by the same household more often than not parked on the road outside the house in question or in some cases in the now defunct garages. Myself along with a number of others had a garage in the block now closed and had no need for any change.

There will most certainly be an increase in traffic in this already highly congested area of Spring Lane if or when the area is re-developed, therefore I would also like to raise the following points.

Since the garages have been closed to us former tenants the pathway and grass verge on the east side of Spring Lane (Spring Fields Side) at peak times has become the preferred parking area for up to nineteen cars and vans, unfortunately a large number are parked on the pavement, therefore children walking to school with or without parents are often forced to walk in the road putting lives at danger.

The importance of pedestrian safety in Spring Lane specifically from the Galley Hill end of Spring lane towards the garages for pedestrians is at times severely compromised due to the extensive pavement parking.

At times when there are no more spaces to park in Spring Lane there is indiscriminate parking on the hard standing on Galley Hill towards Boxted Road at the junction with Spring Lane causing a significant blind spot

We have some further proposals for your attention.

We would like  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Announcements

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 G Sutton                Planning and Regeneration

Councillor Marshall                 Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services

Councillor Elliot                       Finance & Resources

Councillor Mrs Griffiths           Housing

Councillor Harden                   Residents & Corporate Services

 

Decision:

1.         By the Mayor:

 

The Mayor said he was pleased to welcome the new Lord Lieutenant to the borough who would be visiting on Friday 29th September.

 

 

2.         By the Chief Executive:

 

There were no announcements from the Chief Executive.

 

3.         By the Group Leaders:

 

Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bassadone, Bateman, Matthews and Whitman.

 

Councillor Fisher gave apologies on behalf of Councillor Fethney.

 

4.         By the  Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

 

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

Minutes:

4.1       By the Mayor:

 

The Mayor said he was pleased to welcome the new Lord Lieutenant who would be visiting borough on Friday 29th September.

 

4.2       By the Chief Executive:

 

There were no announcements from the Chief Executive.

 

4.3       By the Group Leaders: 

 

Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bassadone, Bateman, Matthews and Whitman.

 

Councillor Fisher gave apologies on behalf of Councillor Fethney.

 

4.4.      Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:

 

Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership

 

The Leader had no announcements to make but was happy to take questions.

 

Councillor Tindall referred to the recent court ruling in London regarding the decision not to renew Uber’s taxi licence. He asked for an update on the council’s position.

 

The Leader said that Dacorum Borough Council do not license Uber. They are licensed elsewhere but can be hired in Dacorum. Some of the Uber taxis operating in Dacorum may be licensed by Transport for London so these could be affected. He said he did not believe that any local authorities that license Uber had made any decisions on granting of future licenses.

 

There were no further questions for the Leader.

 

Councillor G Sutton, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration had no announcements to make but hoped to provide an update on lots of on-going projects at the next meeting. He was happy to take questions.

 

There were no questions for the Portfolio Holder.

 

Councillor Marshall, Portfolio Holder for Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services

 

Members may recall that, in March, police came upon a van in Ledgemore Lane dumping builders’ rubble.  Alas the two individuals concerned ran off and have not been caught but the vehicle was seized by DBC working with the police. No one claimed ownership of the van and it was duly crushed. The Police & Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire works with local authorities across Hertfordshire on fly tipping and issued a press release on the subject a couple of days ago. The press release incorporates a YouTube video of the crushing entitled “Herts Fly Tippers Feeling Crushed”. The Portfolio Holder promised to email the link to members next day and recommended that members watch the video, which emphasises that it is a crime to fly tip and there are severe penalties.

 

Pleased that Bunkers Park, Canal Fields, Tring Memorial Garden and Chipperfield Common had their Green Flag awards renewed in July. Green Flags are given for meeting 8 criteria regarding sustainability, conservation & heritage, community involvement, sound management, marketing and being welcoming, safe, clean & well maintained. 

 

The additional garden waste subscription service now has 618 subscribers, which, with the additional green bins sold, has brought in an income of £34,450. 

 

Cupid Green has carried out a “schools recycling audit & improvement project”. Nearly all schools in DBC have been audited in this respect and, with the information obtained from the audit, each school will be given a pack with suggestions tailored to their particular needs.

 

Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Questions

To consider questions (if any) by members of the Council of which the appropriate notice has been given to the Solicitor to the Council.

Decision:

None.

Minutes:

None.

6.

Business from the last council meeting

To consider any business referred from the previous meeting

Decision:

None.

Minutes:

None.

7.

Cabinet referrals pdf icon PDF 75 KB

To consider the following referrals from Cabinet:

 

7.1  CA/076/17            25th July 2017             Flexible Homeless Support Funding

 

7.2  CA/077/17            25th July 2017             Creation of additional units in supported housing schemes and the upgrade of communal facilities

 

7.3  CA/078/17            25th July 2017             Business rate relief schemes

 

7.4  CA/079/17            25th July 2017             Financial regulations review

 

7.5  CA/080/17            25th July 2017             Medium Term Financial Strategy

           

 

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the following be approved:

 

25 July 2017

7.1  CA/076/17 FLEXIBLE HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT FUNDING

1.      The supplementary estimates for 2017/18 to establish budgets as detailed in the body of the Cabinet report and Table 1 & 2 (as amended pursuant to recommendation 1) be incorporated into budgets for 2018/19.

7.2       CA/077/17 CREATION OF ADDITIONAL UNITS IN SUPPORTED HOUSING SCHEMES AND THE UPGRADE OF COMMUNAL FACILITIES

1.    A supplementary capital estimate to create three new homes and refurbishment of communal areas at three Supported Housing sites. The details of the required supplementary estimate is in section 1 of the Part II appendix of the report to Cabinet.

 

7.3       CA/078/17 BUSINESS RATE RELIEF SCHEMES

 

  1. To introduce a Supporting Small Business rate relief scheme.
  2. To introduce a Support for Pubs rate relief scheme.
  3. Consultation with Herts County Council on option 3 of the cabinet report for the Revaluation Relief scheme, and that authority be delegated to the Assistant Director (Finance & Resources)  in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources to agree to introduce a scheme based on these principles after the County’s response is received.
  4. To introduce a 100% rural rate relief scheme.
  5. To introduce a Local Newspaper rate relief scheme.
  6. That authority be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources to agree the introduction of future discretionary rate relief schemes which are proposed,  fully funded and have detailed guidance provided by Government

 

7.4       CA/079/17 FINANCIAL REGULATIONS REVIEW

  1. The revised Financial Regulations as detailed in paragraphs 4 to 15 of the Cabinet report.

 

7.5       CA/080/17 MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY

 

1.    The revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2017/18 – 2021/22 be approved.

19th September 2017

7.6       CA/087/17 Q1 PERFORMANCE REPORT

 

1.    The revised capital programme to move slippage identified at Quarter 1 into financial year 2018/19 as detailed in Appendix C of the report to Cabinet.

 

2.    The supplementary budgets.. Details for these supplementary budgets are set out in the body of the report to Cabinet and have a net nil impact on the General Fund Working Balance:

·      Increase the Strategic Planning & Regeneration Employees budget by £60k

·      Increase use of the Dacorum Development reserve by £60k

·      Increase the Regulatory Services legal budget by £95k

·      Increase use of the Litigation reserve by £95k

 

3.    The supplementary Capital budget funded by grant for the Disabled Facilities Grants budget of £66k as per paragraph 9.3 of the report to Cabinet.

 

7.7       CA/088/17 TREASURY MANAGEMENT

 

The acceptance of the report on Treasury Management performance in 2016/17 and the Prudential Indicators for 2016/17 actuals.

 

7.8       CA/093/17 STAFF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

 

The changes to staff terms and conditions detailed in section 3 of the report to Cabinet and these changes be implemented subject to 30 days’ written notice.

Minutes:

That the following be approved:

 

25 July 2017

7.1       CA/076/17 FLEXIBLE HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT FUNDING

1.      The supplementary estimates for 2017/18 to establish budgets as detailed in the body of the Cabinet report and Table 1 & 2 (as amended pursuant to recommendation 1) be incorporated into budgets for 2018/19.

 

7.2       CA/077/17 CREATION OF ADDITIONAL UNITS IN SUPPORTED HOUSING SCHEMES AND THE UPGRADE OF COMMUNAL FACILITIES

1.    A supplementary capital estimate to create three new homes and refurbishment of communal areas at three Supported Housing sites. The details of the required supplementary estimate is in section 1 of the Part II appendix of the report to Cabinet.

 

7.3       CA/078/17 BUSINESS RATE RELIEF SCHEMES

 

  1. To introduce a Supporting Small Business rate relief scheme.
  2. To introduce a Support for Pubs rate relief scheme.
  3. Consultation with Herts County Council on option 3 of the cabinet report for the Revaluation Relief scheme, and that authority be delegated to the Assistant Director (Finance & Resources) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources to agree to introduce a scheme based on these principles after the County’s response is received.
  4. To introduce a 100% rural rate relief scheme.
  5. To introduce a Local Newspaper rate relief scheme.
  6. That authority be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources to agree the introduction of future discretionary rate relief schemes which are proposed,  fully funded and have detailed guidance provided by Government

 

7.4       CA/079/17 FINANCIAL REGULATIONS REVIEW

  1. The revised Financial Regulations as detailed in paragraphs 4 to 15 of the Cabinet report.

 

7.5       CA/080/17 MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY

 

1.    The revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2017/18 – 2021/22 be approved.

 

19th September 2017

7.6       CA/087/17 Q1 PERFORMANCE REPORT

 

1.    The revised capital programme to move slippage identified at Quarter 1 into financial year 2018/19 as detailed in Appendix C of the report to Cabinet.

 

2.    The supplementary budgets.. Details for these supplementary budgets are set out in the body of the report to Cabinet and have a net nil impact on the General Fund Working Balance:

·      Increase the Strategic Planning & Regeneration Employees budget by £60k

·      Increase use of the Dacorum Development reserve by £60k

·      Increase the Regulatory Services legal budget by £95k

·      Increase use of the Litigation reserve by £95k

 

3.    The supplementary Capital budget funded by grant for the Disabled Facilities Grants budget of £66k as per paragraph 9.3 of the report to Cabinet.

 

7.7       CA/088/17 TREASURY MANAGEMENT

 

The acceptance of the report on Treasury Management performance in 2016/17 and the Prudential Indicators for 2016/17 actuals.

 

7.8       CA/093/17 STAFF TERMS AND CONDITIONS


Councillor Tindall asked if the Leader would agree that there was a mistake on page 6 of the agenda – it should say carers not careers.

The Leader agreed. He said that he moved the recommendation and the failure of the unions to agree on redundancy pay have been discussed and they have given notice to the Council that they will be in formal dispute. The Leader said these changes gave a better  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Overview and Scrutiny referrals

None.

Decision:

There were no overview and scrutiny committee referrals.

Minutes:

There were no overview and scrutiny committee referrals.

9.

Changes to committee membership

To consider the following proposals for changes to committee membership:

 

Remove Councillor Graham Barrett from the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  

 

Decision:

The following changes to committee membership were agreed:

 

Councillor Mills to replace Councillor Barrett on the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Birnie to join the Health in Dacorum Committee which will increase the membership by one.

Minutes:

The following changes to committee membership were agreed:

 

Councillor Mills to replace Councillor Barrett on the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Birnie to join the Health in Dacorum Committee which will increase the membership by one.

10.

Change to committee dates

To consider the following proposals for changes to committee dates:

 

An additional meeting of the Health in Dacorum Committee has been scheduled for Tuesday 31 October 2017.

 

 

Decision:

The following changes to committee dates were agreed:

 

To add a meeting of the Health in Dacorum Committee on Tuesday 31st October.

Minutes:

The following changes to committee dates were agreed:

 

To add a meeting of the Health in Dacorum Committee on Tuesday 31st October.