Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  16 October 2018.

Minutes of the meetings held on 16 October 2018 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

Minutes of the meetings held on 16 October 2018 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies of absence.

There were no apologies of absence.

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]

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements and ask questions in accordance with the rules as to Public Participation.

There was no public participation. 

There was no public participation. 

There were no referrals to Cabinet

There were no referrals to Cabinet.

There were no referrals to Cabinet.

Councillor G Sutton asked for item 3 (Authority Monitoring Report) be removed.

The Forward Plan was noted and agreed.

Councillor G Sutton asked for item 3 (Authority Monitoring Report) be removed.

The Forward Plan was noted and agreed.

Decision

• A one off Increase to the Planning service budget of £90k to support the implementation of new and improved planning software.

• A one-off increase to the Adventure Playground service employees budget by £80k to support costs incurred of restructuring the service.

• An increase in the Neighbourhood Delivery employees budget by £80k to meet one off pension strain costs arising from the consolidation of the management team.

4. Approval of the virement detailed in Appendix D to realign New Build capital budgets to support the progress of new housing developments.

Corporate objectives

Delivery an efficient and modern council.

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer comments

Advice

Councillor Elliot introduced the item to members and said the report contains the current budget positions for the General Fund, the HRA and the capital programme. There was £2.8 million of slippage in 2019/20, £1.3 million of this was part of the Berkhamsted Multi-Storey Car Park which is due to begin in January 2019.

Councillor Birnie said if investment properties under paragraph 6.1 included shops.

Councillor Elliot confirmed it did.

Councillor Birnie asked about the management change reserve and asked how much this totalled.

J Deane said at the end of the financial year, it was forecast to be £1.2 million.

Voting

None.

Cabinet noted the content of the report.

Cabinet noted the conDecision

Cabinet noted the content of the report

Corporate objectives

Dacorum Delivers – Risk management is an essential part of ensuring that the Council meets all of its objectives

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer comments

Monitoring Officer:  

No comments to add to the report.

S.151 Officer

S.151 report, comments included in the body of the report.

Advice

Councillor Elliot introduced the report and said the risk scores remain unchanged and reflect the council’s current position. There are no material concerns.

J Deane said that a Q1 report would normally be considered earlier in the year but due the timing of meetings, this has not been possible. The Q2 risk report will be coming to Cabinet next month. He said that the council are looking to revise the strategic risk register and this is currently going through the process with the external auditors to approve them.

Councillor Birnie said the right to buy risk was highlighted and he asked if there was any further information about the lifting on the borrowing cap.

M Gaynor said the government had indicated in the Budget and in correspondence to councils that the borrowing cap would be lifted as of April 1^st 2019. The council have put in a bid for additional resources.

Councillor Williams said the lifting of the cap would have significant more opportunities than the effect of the right to buy scheme.

Voting

None.

tent of the report.

1.         That the Fire Safety Policy, as set out in the Appendix to the report, be approved and implemented.

2.         That the growing focus on the fire safety industry following the tragic Grenfell Tower incident and the Hackitt Report be noted and that a further report be made to Cabinet dependent on the legislative and guidance changes that may arise.

Decision

1.         That the Fire Safety Policy, as set out in the Appendix to the report, be approved and implemented.

2.         That the growing focus on the fire safety industry following the tragic Grenfell Tower incident and the Hackitt Report be noted and that a further report be made to Cabinet dependent on the legislative and guidance changes that may arise.

Corporate objectives

Clean Safe and enjoyable environment

·         Ensure the safety of all people living, working in or visiting properties owned by the housing service;

·         Ensure alignment and adherence to current legislation and government policy on fire safety; and

·         Provide an overview of our approach to ensuring fire safety within our properties.

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer comments

Monitoring Officer: 

Continual monitoring and review of the policy will be essential to ensure that the Council meets its statutory requirements and follows best practice.

Deputy S.151 Officer

The implementation of the fire safety policy is budgeted for and can be delivered within existing approved budgets.

Advice

Councillor Griffiths introduced the report and said it was a very important policy. The council have a good relationship with local fire services and do work with them and act on their advice.

F Williamson said this was a key area in the compliance team. There was an opportunity to look at structure within the team and replaced the Programme and Procurement Team Leader with a Compliance Team Leader. The current focus is to look at maintaining and strengthening compliance. There is now a fully staff team to oversee this fire safety policy and other policies.

Councillor Tindall referred to paragraphs 2.7 and 2.8 and asked if hoarding, especially paperwork, had been taken into consideration as this could be a serious fire hazard.

F Williamson said there are a number of methods to identify hoarders. The annual gas safety inspections are one way. A concern card will be submitted and the council then set up a tenancy management visit to work with the tenant to address the issue.

Councillor Marshall asked if the tenants and leaseholders committee had looked at this policy and asked how the new policy would be advertised.

R Lang said he thought it had been to the committee but would double check. There were several methods of engaging with tenants on this new policy – it is in the council’s best interests to publicise it widely

Councillor Harden said that the Anti-Social Behaviour Team also pick up on hoarder issues. He understood that nationally, there is work ongoing to look at categorising hoarding as a mental illness.

Voting

None.

1. That the Hemel Garden Communities Charter, with the proposed amendments as outlined in this report is endorsed.

2. That progress on submission on the Garden Communities Prospectus bid is noted.  

 Decision

1. That the Hemel Garden Communities Charter, with the proposed amendments as outlined in this report is endorsed.

2. That progress on submission on the Garden Communities Prospectus bid is noted.  

Corporate objectives

The proposals for major development at north and east Hemel Hempstead through the Hemel garden Communities proposals are wide-ranging and relate to all corporate objectives.

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer comments

Monitoring Officer:  

The report makes it clear that approval by Cabinet does not designate the land for development.  Formal designation can only be done through the Local Plan process once all statutory processes have been completed including full consultation on the proposals.  Approval of the draft plan will also need to be agreed by full Council at the relevant time.

Deputy S.151 Officer

No further comments to add.

Advice

Councillor G Sutton introduced the item. This report was for Cabinet to approve the Charter which had been submitted to the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) on 8 November. He thanked James Doe and his team for their hard work and professionalism.

J Doe said the site was split between DBC and St Albans District Council and the St Albans Local Plan is more advanced than Dacorum’s at the moment. They are publishing their plan for consultation in September and DBC are yet to decide on the draft plan. The proposal will be thoroughly tested through the rigor of the local plan process and the technical aspects will analyse its suitability. The council submitted their bid for funding last week, asking for £3.5 million over five years.

N Bateman said the bid covers a range of studies set out in the report. The majority of the bid regards staffing over this five year period.

Councillor Birnie asked if this bid was available to see.

J Doe said it wasn’t on the website as it is a long technical document but it is in the public domain so can be distributed to councillors.

Councillor Birnie asked about the request from the Crown Estate for the design element – does this cover both sides of the boundary.

J Doe said yes, it will help with the overall masterplan.

Councillor Williams said this was a joint bid with St Albans

Councillor Birnie asked about the CIL figures being used for a primary school in St Albans.

J Doe said there was a report going to SPAE OSC regarding the annual CIL figures. The council have no say on delivering schools through s.106 agreements. It is expected that the developer would provide funds for schools.

Councillor Harden said he welcomed the new country parks. He referred to page 87 and asked if SANGS was the official title or if they were not yet designated.

J Doe said it was to recognise this development will have a significant impact on the public’s use of the countryside

Councillor Harden asked to confirm if this area would need to be re-designated under the local plan.

J Doe said yes. The majority of  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA/120/18