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 Anderson Planning and Infrastructure
Councillor Elliot Finance and Resources
Councillor Griffiths Housing
Councillor Williams Corporate and Contracted Services
Councillor Barrett Environmental Services
Councillor Banks Community and Regulatory Services
Decision:
4.1 By the Mayor:
The Mayor welcomed new Councillor Anne Foster and Councillor Simy Dhyani.
4.2 By
the Chief Executive:
The Chief Executive confirmed the results of the by elections on
Thursday 3rd February were as follows:
Berkhamsted West Ward: Anne Foster, Liberal Democrats
Berkhamsted Town Council West Ward: Anne Foster, Liberal Democrats
Boxmoor Ward: Simy Dhyani, Liberal Democrats
4.3 By the Group Leaders:
Councillor Williams
gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bassadone and
Chapman.
Councillor Tindall
gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Barry-Mears, McDowell,
Pringle and Townsend.
4.4 Council 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 welcomed new Councillor Anne Foster and Councillor Simy Dhyani.
4.2 By
the Chief Executive:
The Chief Executive confirmed the results of the by elections on
Thursday 3rd February were as follows:
Berkhamsted West Ward: Anne Foster, Liberal Democrats
Berkhamsted Town Council West Ward: Anne Foster, Liberal Democrats
Boxmoor Ward: Simy Dhyani, Liberal Democrats
4.3 By the Group Leaders:
Councillor Williams
gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bassadone and
Chapman.
Councillor Tindall
gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Barry-Mears, McDowell,
Pringle and Townsend.
4.4 Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:
Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council
The Leader had a couple of announcements:
Yesterday I circulated the response from the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable on the letter on violence against women and girls. I felt it was a comprehensive response and I hope members had had the chance to read it.
WH Smith in Hemel Hempstead town centre is closing. This houses the Post Office which makes the closure more disappointing. Contact is being made with the Chairman of the Post Office to seek provision of another facility in the town centre of Hemel Hempstead. The current facility closes on 31st May 2022.
Happy to take questions.
Questions
Councillor Tindall asked, in light of the Prime Ministers recent statement regarding living with Covid, what are we doing to protect our staff and visitors at the Forum.
The Leader responded that all government guidance was being followed and the advice of the Director of Public Health in Hertfordshire had been exemplary in his guidance which has often changed. We must continue to be cautious and responsible. The safety of staff, visitors and members continues to be paramount.
Councillor Symington queried why the DBC Code of Conduct differed from the LGA model. The Leader advised that without seeing both documents side by side he couldn’t advise of the variants, however there is no requirement to copy the code exactly. The Standards Committee agreed our interpretation of Declarations of Interest and it works.
Councillor Symington raised concern that we weren’t adopting best practice. The Leader said it was a very detailed question and couldn’t tell the differences without seeing the pages Councillor Symington was referring to. He didn’t feel the need to review the document every year unless there were legislative changes we needed to adopt. He felt our model was as good and sufficient for DBC.
Mayor Riddick confirmed that practices had taken place for many years were still being followed and there was no need to review these now just to match the model code of conduct.
Councillor Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Planning & Infrastructure
Councillor Anderson presented a report on Planning and Infrastructure:
The member briefing on the technical reports to the Local Plan is happening shortly. This will include a general update on the Local Plan.
There has been an increase in developers approaching ward members. Can I ask that members don’t be rude but equally don’t be too helpful. We need members to liaise with council officers.
Please continue to have patience with staffing levels. The Council is actively trying to recruit.
Hemel Gardens Community Project – the Local Journeys survey on transport options is currently out with details on the website. Please participate and spread the publicity of the survey.
Hemel Place – the next board meeting is due shortly. The 12 street art owls are out until 19th April and have been popular with children and families.
The South West Herts joint strategic plan for 2038-2050 is taking shape and will be agreed in the next month with the Regulation 18 consultation taking place in June.
The filming industry assistance data has been collected and the database is now available to the filming industry.
There have been 114 applications under the last round of ARG COVID grants. We need more people to apply.
I will be looking at increasing fibre broadband across the borough. Hoping to arrange a briefing for members for more information.
Questions
Councillor Allen asked, further to the written response of his question from the last meeting, can the Portfolio Holder advise of the Council’s response to the Network Rail Tender for a development partner as they state they received a warm pre-application response from the local Council. The Portfolio Holder advised that pre-application discussions were confidential but he will look into this and see what can be shared. Action.
Councillor Tindall followed on from Councillor Allen’s question and asked if would be possible to hold a briefing with the relevant ward councillors and those adjacent. The Portfolio Holder agreed.
Councillor Symington referred to the South West Herts Joint Strategic Plan and queried what impact this had with the Dacorum Borough Council Local Plan being on hold until 2023. The Portfolio Holder advised there wasn’t any impact because the South West Herts Joint Strategic Plan is for 2038-2050 and was still in early stages. He confirmed it was fine to proceed.
Councillor Hollinghurst suggested the number of homes was crucial and asked how we could plan for future development without having that information to hand. The Portfolio Holder felt they would have to agree to disagree on that point. He said it was so important to plan as much as we could, we work closely with our third parties to plan the infrastructure and even if some of it does seem like a backwards process that is how the system works.
Councillor Foster expressed frustration, and asked why an incomplete document had been put out to consultation. The Portfolio Holder felt that the members question had breached confidentially and therefore could not respond on those points.
Councillor Elliot, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources
Councillor Elliot presented a report on Finance and Resources:
FINANCE AND RESOURCES
Financial Services
The Finance service has been extremely busy during January and February following the release of the final local government finance settlement.
This has required a further assessment and review of the draft 22/23 budget proposals, followed by the final budget scrutiny and the production and presentation of the proposed 22/23 budget on this evening’s agenda.
The finance service is also working closely with our external Commercial experts to develop the basis of the Council’s future commercial strategy and commercial business case appraisals.
Commercial Assets and Property Development
Estates Team
The Estates Team have continued to work with Public Health England, the NHS, Herts County Council and other partners on the assessment and delivery of vaccine delivery sites, pop up testing/vaccination sites, and booster jab locations. The work in this area is expected to reduce significantly going forward, the experience of this joint working and the relationships created should assist the council going forward. The focus moving forward will be to make the best use of our operational assets as part of the wider Covid recovery plan.
Commercial Property Team
The performance of the commercial assets has remained strong, and income levels exceed budgeted expectations by circa 15%, and occupancy remains above 95%. This is a good indicator of how the local small independent businesses have progressed over the course of the pandemic. The Government’s Moratorium on debt collection is due to come to an end in March 2022 and it is unknown at this point in time what impact that will have upon the local business community and void levels.
Going forward the customer/business response to Covid Recovery will be key to income performance. The Government’s business rates relief support will continue in 2022 for the leisure and hospitality sectors.
Revenues and Benefits service
The Revenues service has been hard at work implementing several new government Covid Support policies for 21/22 and 22/23. These include; the implementation of the Omicron and Hospitality relief scheme 21/22, providing circa £800k of business rates relief to local businesses, the planning for the Council Tax based £150 Energy Rebate for 22/23, and the delivery of the final Covid Additional Relief Fund scheduled for March.
The revenues service have also supported the Economic development team to roll out the next phase of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), with this phase focusing on supporting those businesses that won’t receive the Omicron Relief grant but are involved in the hospitality and leisure supply chain sectors.
This team continues to play an important role in providing financial support to local residents and numbers of test and trace support applications increased exponentially during December and January to levels not seen before.
The Revenues service is working with the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities and software partners to ensure the issuing of the 2022/23 business Rates bills are on time and include the new reliefs for 2022/23.
Questions
Councillor Beauchamp questioned the expected payment date for those businesses that were eligible for the Hospitality and Leisure Grant. The Portfolio Holder confirmed the hospitality and leisure relief grants started the week commencing 7th February and is now nearing its conclusion. To date payments to 99 businesses have been made, totaling over £400,000 and the majority of the remaining payments will be paid next week.
Councillor England asked if the Portfolio Holder was concerned about inflation, and questioned if he would consider writing to The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to ask if some of the Test and Trace monies could be clawed back. The Portfolio Holder said he would not consider writing to the Chancellor with regards to inflation given other priorities he has to consider.
Councillor Hollinghurst expressed disappointment about the current Government. The Mayor said such comments were not appropriate for the Chamber.
Councillor Griffiths, Portfolio Holder for Housing
Councillor Griffiths presented a report on Housing:
TENANT & LEASEHOLDER SERVICES
· Two new income support officers recruited to provide support and advice for tenants that are experiencing difficulties with budgeting and paying their rent
· Rent collected to end of January achieved 99.4% and is an improvement on this time last year, which is positive in the current economic climate.
· Tenancy Management team are making good progress with the tenancy review visits and are identifying the need for some support or other intervention in 25% of visits
STRATEGIC HOUSING
· Senior Officer decision approved to vary arrangements for Afghan LES resettlement Scheme and to incorporate Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme households
· Third Afghan LES household matched and tenancy commenced for DBC property, fourth household expected to take up occupation of Registered Provider tenancy week commencing 28/2/2022
· Evaluation of Year 4 Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) and in liaison with Dept. Levelling Up Housing & Communities preparation for final submission for RSI Year 5 grant funding application, which currently enables delivery of Housing First/Street Outreach to deliver focused prevention initiatives.
PROPERTY & PLACE
· Gas servicing achieved 100% at the end of January
· Electrical testing programme continues with just over 98.4% of properties tested and the remaining properties are with the tenancy team, some at enforcement stage, as these have been hard to access
· Stock condition survey is underway and now gaining access to a greater number of properties after an initially slow start, due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
· The Council has been awarded £300K of Social Housing decarbonisation grant funding to carry out energy efficiency upgrades 4 blocks of flats.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
|
Martindale |
Defects period completed and properties handed over to Property & Place |
|
Magenta Court |
Defects period completed and properties handed over to Property & Place |
|
St Margaret’s Way |
Planning Approval achieved 16th Dec. Tender documents have been issued to select a Principal Contractor. Cabinet Report prepared to appropriate general fund land. |
|
Mountbatten View |
Appointment of Principal Contractor approved. Mobilising a start on site. |
|
Bingham Mews |
Final defects inspections carried out January 2022. Minor snagging works to be undertaken. |
|
Eastwick Row |
Start on site 21st February 2022 after a delay linked to obtaining approval from Herts CC flood authority |
|
Coniston Road |
On site progressing well. Completion due April 2022 Site visit for Leader, PH of Housing and local Councillors booed for 4th March |
|
Wilstone |
Appointment of Principal Contractor approved. Mobilising a start on site. Site demolished. |
|
Bulbourne |
Approval to purchase land approved at Sept Cabinet. Project ready to submit for Planning subject to Tring Town Council to agreeing Heads of Terms to sell the site to DBC. |
|
Marchmont |
Stage 2 design progressing. Resident consultation event held along with additional meeting with local Councillors. Planning application to be submitted early March. |
|
Cherry Bounce |
Stage 2 design completed. Preparing resident consultation event. |
|
Paradise Depot |
Planning application submitted. Tender documentation issued to demolish existing buildings. |
|
Garage Sites |
Demolition completed. Preparing contract documents and mobilising a start on site. |
|
Randall’s Ride |
Mobilising a start on site. Site due to be demolished March 2022. Homes England funding request formally submitted. |
|
Stoneycroft & Varney Rd |
Stage 2 design commenced. |
|
Aragon Close RSAP |
Planning approval achieved 2nd Dec. Contractor instructed. Mobilising start on site. CCTV instructed. Notice to quits served on Garages. |
Questions
Councillor Adeleke asked what plans were in place to help tenants that were likely to get into rent arrears due to rising living costs. The Portfolio Holder explained we had an experienced and caring team in the rents department and as long as residents talk to us we can assist them. She said there was always a potential for residents to get into arrears so they will continue what they have been doing for years and taking action.
Councillor Ransley said as a member of Tring Town Council they have not caused delays in the Bulbourne project. She said there had been delays with Legal, Government agencies, paperwork and decisions have changed but the Town Council had not caused the delays. The Portfolio Holder replied perhaps they could have a conversation outside of the meeting.
Councillor Freedman queried if we were legally able to stagger rent and service change increases throughout the year rather than one firm increase in order to assist our residents. The Portfolio Holder advised it hadn’t been looked at but she would need to investigate the legal ramifications. Action.
Councillor Williams, Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Contracted Services
Councillor Williams presented a report on Corporate and Contracted Services:
Thank you to the Elections Team for the work on the by-elections on 3rd February.
The Berkhamsted sports centre project is progressing. We have now moved to public consultation stage and we’ve already had over 400 responses.
Despite some slight delays the work at Highbarns is expected to complete at the end of the month.
Happy to take questions.
Questions
Councillor England noted there had been a report of a health and safety incident at the Everyone Active Sports Centre in St Albans, the same operator we have in Dacorum, and asked the Portfolio Holder for an update. The Portfolio Holder wasn’t aware of the incident but as it wasn’t in the borough it didn’t warrant any intervention. Councillor England asked for reassurance that such incidents wouldn’t be able to happen in Dacorum. The Portfolio Holder explained the operator had an exemplary safety record and if there was any incidents they would be investigated.
Councillor Freedman asked if the Portfolio Holder agreed that the Berkhamsted sports centre consultation falls short of encouraging and meaningful answers, and also seemed more resident focused. He asked if the Portfolio Holder would consider ad-hoc responses from businesses. The Portfolio Holder suggested the purpose of a consultation for a sports centre used by residents should be primarily aimed at residents. He said businesses could make contributions to the consultation if they wished to and he felt it was sufficient enough for anyone to make comments.
Councillor Symington said a few meetings ago she asked a question in relation to electric vehicle charging points and the Portfolio Holder had advised he was waiting for a response from UKPN. She asked if there was an update. The Portfolio Holder explained they had been in conversation with one operator and it had turned out not to be as it seemed so they had broadened that conversation out to a range of providers to look at options for all our car parks. He advised those conversations were ongoing and hoped a report would be produced to the relevant overview and scrutiny committee in the next cycle.
Councillor Barrett, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services
Councillor Barrett presented a report on Environmental Services:
Continuing to maintain services despite Covid restrictions. 15 members of staff off either with Covid or self-isolating at beginning of February. All but 2 back to work.
Christmas backlog all cleared by 11th January.
Refresher training being undertaken to all frontline staff (170). Difficult this year due to social distancing restrictions.
Plans underway for work on Splash Park opening in May. New contract awarded for maintenance.
HCC Agency agreement (tree and Grounds maintenance) expired and working on new contract.
In 2019/2020 our recycling percentage was 52.8% - putting us 63rd in the league tables. In 2020/2021 our recycling rate has risen to 54.5% - putting us 40Th in the league tables. So our percentage has gone up 1.7% and we have gone up 23 positions.
56 new street champions registered in January. Total of 576 registered and 316 with equipment.
654 residents came to the Council with their Christmas trees. With additional help from Scouts and Hospice of St Francis, a total of 6400 trees were chipped after Christmas.
Questions
Councillor England thanked the Trees and Woodlands Team for all their hard work in the cleanup of the recent storm. He then asked what was being done about the missing 200+ street champions who hadn’t collected their equipment. Cllr Barrett confirmed that emails were sent monthly to those who hadn’t collected equipment but as it was a voluntary scheme we can only encourage people to join. Councillor England advised he was happy to engage directly with those in his ward who haven’t collected equipment if that would help. Councillor Barrett replied he would need to confirm if personal data can be released to Councillor England for this. Action.
Councillor Symington referred to the commitment with Hertfordshire County Council for a cleaner Hertfordshire and queried if there was a formal agreement, and if so, how is it defined, is there specific KPIs. She used street cleaning and litter picking as examples. Councillor Barrett advised he wasn’t sure of a formal agreement and would need to come back to her on the KPI data. Action.
Councillor Birnie asked if the re-negotiations had taken place on the Tree Management arrangements. The Portfolio Holder advised that negotiations were in progress and there was a meeting programmed for next week on that topic.
Councillor Birnie said he was hopeful that those negotiations would lead to a more reasonable fee for the work we do. He sought assurance that was our aim. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that was the aspiration.
Councillor Banks, Portfolio Holder for Community and Regulatory Services
Councillor Banks presented a report on Community and Regulatory services:
ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY PROTECTION
Covid-19
Case numbers peaked and then slightly reduced settling at high numbers of infections throughout January in Dacorum. This is due to the Omicron variant which became the dominant variant in December throughout the UK. The Team are now focusing its attentions on Self Isolation, Workplace Outbreaks and working with Community Partnerships Teams to support the vaccination programme.
Public Space Protection Order and Littering Enforcement Pilot Contract
The PSPO (Dog control and Town Centre restrictions) /Littering Pilot Contract went live on the 1st November.
The pilot is a 12 month zero cost to the council pilot, to provide us with information on the best way to enforce littering and PSPO’s in future in Dacorum. This approach is one taken by numerous other Local Authorities to support enforcement teams with enforcement of PSPO’s and littering offences.
In January 446 tickets were issued (two were cancelled), 344 of these were for littering offences. The remaining were for breach of the Borough wide Dog Control PSPO or the Hemel Town Centre PSPO.
Members will be further updated on the progress of the pilot, as and when data is available from the service as part of the updates to Overview and Scrutiny Committee (SPAE).
Officer have been working with District Partners to ensure that all wards in the borough are visited frequently, at least monthly for areas of low littering and PSPO complaints.
Fly-Tipping Prosecution
Mr Ramzan pleaded guilty on 19th Jan to two counts of fly tipping in July 21. Evidence was collated on the Covert Cameras. The court sentenced the Defendant to a fine of £1,221, ordered the Defendant to pay a victim surcharge of £122 and the Council’s full costs of £1,664.71. Total of £3,007.71. This was publicised in both Hemel and Luton Press to act as a deterrent to others.
COMMUNITY
The Adventure Playgrounds re-opened for half term on 14th February. Although they have been closed for the general sessions over winter we still received over £9000 of income from hire of the 3g pitches, youth clubs and private hire. The Adventure Playgrounds and DBC Comms team have been promoting ‘Relax and vax’ sessions run in Hemel Hempstead and across Herts to help 12 to 18-year-olds who are nervous about having the vaccine. These sessions have specially trained vaccinators to help young people overcome worries like a fear of needles or other concerns to help reduce tension and support them through the process.
Questions
Councillor Adeleke advised that the Police website reports an increase in crime. He asked how closely the Council worked with the Police to keep crime under control and keep the Borough safe. The Portfolio Holder advised that during the lockdowns we actually saw a reduction in crime in all categories but now we are at the same level as 2019, prior to the pandemic. She advised the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) team worked closely with the Police and other relevant authorities to keep the Borough safe. An annual report is being prepared for 21/22 and will be shared with members and the public to highlight the work at the CSP. The date of that public meeting is yet to be set but will be publicized soon.
Councillor Guest referred to the refurbishment and reopening of the Northridge Way basketball courts. She asked how Hemel Storm, the local basketball team, will be involved in the reopening. The Portfolio Holder advised that the Coach of Hemel Storm was the one that first highlighted the state of the basketball courts and here we are now. She said they would be involved in any launch event or ribbon cutting once it has been scheduled in after the final markings have been finalised.
Councillor Wilkie thanked the team for their hard work with self-isolation visits. She then asked for the performance indicators for reducing litter versus fines, how do we know they’re working? The Portfolio Holder advised the whole idea of the pilot is to establish if the enforcement work is successful. Clean, Safe and Green have reported an improvement with litter and dog-fouling which is a good indication that the pilot is having a positive effect.
Councillor England asked if the Portfolio Holder agreed the reports of enforcement fine fraud and elderly individuals being bullied by district enforcement officers were worrying.
The Portfolio Holder advised there had been 3 reported scam incidents out of the 2000+ fixed penalty noticed issued and these incidents have been dealt with by the Police. Those cases were alarming and any further incidents should be reported to the Police. She explained there had been approximately 50 complaints of bullying by enforcement officers. The body-cam footage has been reviewed and not one of those complaints have been upheld. She had no doubt that the officers were qualified and were doing a professional job to keep the Borough clean and tidy.