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 Elliot Finance & Resources
Councillor Mrs Griffiths Housing
Councillor Harden Residents & Corporate Services
Councillor G Sutton Planning and Regeneration
Councillor Marshall Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services
Decision:
1. By the Mayor:
There were no announcements from the Mayor
2. By the Chief Executive:
Sally Marshall gave an update on the Flamstead Parish Council by election to be held on 23rd March 2017.
3. By the Group Leaders:
Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bateman Conway, Hearn, Mills, and Riddick.
Councillor Fisher gave apologises 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:
By the Mayor
None.
By the Chief Executive:
The Chief Executive declared that she had received notice of a vacancy at Flamstead Parish Council. The Chief Executive said she will know on Friday whether it will be a contested election or not.
By the Group Leaders:
Councillor Williams gave apologies on behalf of Councillors Bateman, Conway, S Hearn, Mills and Riddick.
Councillor Fisher gave apologies on behalf of Councillor Fethney.
Council Leader and Members of the Cabinet:
Councillor Williams, Leader of the Council and
Portfolio Holder for Community Leadership
The Leader had no announcements but was happy to take questions.
Councillor England said he had received an email from a resident asking why William Stephyns name had been removed and the building renamed Jellicoe House by Bank Court. As Stephyns was the first baliff of Hemel Hempstead, he felt it was an appalling decision.
Councillor Williams said the redevelopment was undertaken by Hightown so it would be more appropriate to direct the question to them. It might have been to signal the change from commercial to residential housing.
Councillor Guest asked the Leader about Dacorum Borough Council’s support for a new hospital. It is more imperative now as there are plans to release some of the current hospital land for housing. How can the council further publicise the public meeting to be held on 22nd March?
Councillor Williams said it has always been the case that the Trust has been looking at their presence on the site. The Council do not support the centring of services at Watford – it is widely accepted that a new site is needed but we do not feel the site at Watford provides a suitable condition or provision for residents. Regarding the meeting on 22nd March, I will endeavour to see how to use publicity – we can use the website and the screen in the foyer.
Councillor Tindall said the CCG had announced the desire to develop new facilities but this could be delayed if they want to use the current site. Could there be an arrangement with the Council for them to build facilities on the old Market Square?
Councillor Williams said there had been considerable discussions with the Trust and there is the possibility of a one public estate bid involving local health providers, County Council and DBC. There is reluctance to use the Market Square as it is a small site and we don’t want to encourage them to provide a small service.
Councillor Tindall asked on the progress on the Berkhamsted Car Park.
Councillor Williams said as it is subject to legal action he would make no further comment.
There were no more questions for the Leader.
Councillor Elliot, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources
Finance
The second round of draft budget proposals were presented to joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 7th February and were also presented to Cabinet on 14th February and are being considered by Council tonight after this robust and challenging process.
Revenue & Benefits
Audit Committee recently received reports giving the highest assurance opinion on the controls in place for managing Council Tax and also a very high assurance opinion on the controls for managing NNDR.
Commercial Assets & Property Development
Garages sales continue to realise capital receipt with one sale already completed this month and another due by the end of the month. The Civic Centre site has been secured and we continue to work on the decommissioning of the building.
Work is ongoing on a number of other sites to maximise capital receipt.
Commissioning, Procurement & Compliance
The Facilities Management contract continues to work well as we complete the snagging works in The Forum. The Café in The Forum has commenced trialling weekend opening due to the success of the initial opening period.
The team have supported the Voluntary Sector Commissioning Project and have recently concluded the awards for:
- Information, Advice and Advocacy
- Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector
- Reducing Social Isolation for people and carers
- Promoting healthy relationships
- Living Stable Lives
Questions & Answers
Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she was delighted to see that the Civic Centre was being decommissioned and hoped that the Council would be making the most of the maximum return of the material from the site.
The Portfolio Holder said officers were working with the demolition team to recycle materials.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Mrs Griffiths, Portfolio Holder for Housing
TPAS
accreditation
Following the submission of a self assessment against the 6 themes contained within the standard the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) have recently visited our offices to assess our tenant involvement services against their ‘engagement’ standard. This has involved interviews with people at different levels of the organisation, tenants, members of the Tenant and Leaseholder Committee and partner agencies, such as Osborne.
We are excitedly awaiting news of whether we have been recognised by TPAS as meeting their standard.
They have already asked members of the team to present at their National Practitioners Conference in July – so we are hopeful the outcome will be a positive one. If we achieve this accreditation this will recognise the work we have done over recent years to build an open, positive and constructive working relationship with our tenant population.
Water charges
There has recently been a court case where the London Borough of Southwark was taken to court by one of its tenants for failing to administer water charges in line with the Water Re-Sale Order 2006. As a result of this case we are considering how we should best respond. A report will be taken to Housing and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee in May and then onto Cabinet with proposals for the collection of water charges going forward. A further update will be provided to Council in May.
Year end
Tenants of our 10,200 properties and our 8,000 garages will be receiving a letter at the beginning of March advising them of their new rental charge for 2017/18. This letter will be combined with information about Housing Benefit entitlements where applicable – making it clear to tenants how much they need to pay.
The work we have been doing to de-pool rents and service charges means that there will be more information on the letters than normal – including details of the service charges for each individual flat block (including cleaning costs, lift maintenance, the lift sinking fund, window cleaning costs, electricity usage for communal areas and insurances costs).
A web page has been set up to assist with queries in relation to de-pooling – this can be found at www.dacorum.gov.uk/housing/current-tenant/rent
Strategic Housing
Strategic Housing have been focussing on developing back office procedures and policies to support key projects, currently due to the onset of severe cold weather focus has been on our No Second Night out Campaign. This has seen communications information via social media and posters across the community raising awareness of how to report rough sleeping and advising of facilities available. The service’s new No Second Night Out Policy was approved at OSC on 7 February and will shortly be presented to CMT and Cabinet, this key piece of work underpins our commitment to working towards the NPSS Gold Standard. Additionally increased commitment has been on working across corporate teams such as Legal and Residents Services to tackle ingrained rough sleeping issues, by using enforcement action.
Able house continues on site and is due to complete in April. This will provide 14 new Council homes. (The issue regarding bin lorry access has been resolved with the Councils green safe and clean team with the solution presented to DCC shortly).
Wood House contract has been awarded to Jarvis and they have completed the first stage ground conditions surveys with a full start on site in March.
Stationers Place, Apsley, build contract is also to be awarded to Jarvis with a start on start currently planned for March.
Swing Gate Lane in Berkhamsted will start on site in April with the contract awarded to Osborne homes via a competitive tender process. Martindale school site and the garage site developments are also progressing well.
Property and Place
Osborne - Total Asset Management.
The performance figures for January remain high and Osborne have been working with the Council to finalise the planned programmes to the end of the year.
In this financial year the contract has delivered New Windows to 205 homes, 296 front Doors to our elderly persons schemes, 349 Doors to individual homes, 284 Kitchens, 179 Bathrooms, 36 New roofs to blocks of flats and individual homes.
The programme for 2017-18 is due to be finalised and has incorporated some of the repairs trending to establish the roofing programme for the forthcoming year, which is a positive indication that the Total Asset Management approach is beginning to be effective. The Council continue to upgrade the thermal performance our most inefficient properties and plan to install External Wall Insulation at a further 60 homes across the borough in 2017-18”.
Osborne have delivered a further 43 community initiatives since the start of the year and have been supporting the Council to obtain TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) accreditation through the work they have undertaking involving Tenants throughout the contract.
Sun Realm - Gas Servicing and Installation
The servicing and installation contract continues to deliver consistently high levels of compliance, currently 99.95% with four overdue properties. All cases are in the legal process but two are proving challenging due a range of vulnerabilities and mental health issues of the tenants who are involved. Customer satisfaction with the service remains high.
New Lifts
Currently the lift stock condition information is being reviewed to establish the forward programme of replacements. The preliminary work is underway for the manufacture of a new lift at Phyllis Courtnage House, which is due to start on site in April.
Questions & Answers
Councillor Tindall asked the Portfolio Holder if ward councillors could receive a copy of the garage letters being sent to residents.
The Portfolio Holder said she would be happy to send these out. Obviously, they would be blank copies without residents’ details on.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Harden, Portfolio Holder for Residents and Corporate Services
People:
With new procedures in place sickness levels still remain around 25% lower than the previous year
Decommissioning process is well underway in the old Civic Centre, the innovation and improvement team are supporting the removal of furniture process.
With Get Set go Dacorum ending in the summer the Community Partnership team is currently working closely with the Herts Sports Partnership to place a Sport England bid to increase sport activity within the borough.
Resident services:
A week-long event (13th to 17th Feb) to raise awareness of the pedestrian nature of the Marlowes with specific concentration on preventing cycling and skate boarding in the pedestrian zone of the Marlowes was well received by the community – over 100 adults and young people were advised about the no cycling rule for the pedestrian area of the Marlowes, over 30 people were given verbal warnings and 3 Community Protection Warnings were issued to repeat offenders, including one business. These included motorcyclists who were driving on the pedestrian area to park.
A year-long injunction with a power of arrest was obtained against a person who was using threatening behaviour when begging in the town centre and rough sleeping despite having accommodation. Legal have confirmed that this can be disclosed as the order was made in an open court.
The second group of 12 young people has started the M-ask project at the Old Town Hall.
Verge Hardening programme saw 16 additional parking spaces completed in Sempill Road: Bennetts End during January and there are 5 further areas for additional parking in process which will be completed prior to 31st March 17 (Damask Green: Chaulden, Maddox Road: Adeyfield East, Waterside: Kings Langley, Cranford and Coverdale: Highfield).
Questions & Answers
Councillor England said he
enjoyed reading the Spring edition of the Dacorum digest but saw a
advert for Aylesbury bike tour. Does the Portfolio Holder agree
that Dacorum should be promoting events within the
borough?
The Portfolio Holder said the Dacorum Digest had various articles
and adverts in.
Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she was pleased to see the success of Get Set Go Dacorum and would it be possible to see the breakdown of the health and social benefits achieved by the scheme as this could possibly help with further funding.
The Portfolio Holder said that three years ago, the sports community did not think this project would go ahead. The success of the scheme is encouraging and Ben Russell the Get Set Go officer would be able to provide you with information. The Council are working with Hertfordshire Sports to develop a county wide bid.
Councillor Mahmood asked the Portfolio Holder if there were any plans to celebrate Hemel Hempstead’s 70th anniversary.
The Portfolio Holder said there was nothing in the budget but will look to the Leader to ask if anything can be done.
The Leader said he would have discussions with the Chief Executive.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor G Sutton, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regeneration
The land at the former Lucas
aerospace site, now owned by Aviva was considered by DCC on 2
February. The revised application proposed 8 new retail units with
a total floorspace of 12,503
sq m including one foodstore unit (small supermarket type); two food
and drink units with drive through facilities; and a new office
block. The application, under planning regulations, has to be
considered by the secretary of state for Communities and Local
Government first – provided it is not ‘called in’
by the sec of state, the Council can then issue the new planning
permission. This is an important development offering our residents
new shopping facilities and shows strong investment interest in
Hemel Hempstead. It is part of the ongoing regeneration and renewal
of Maylands Business Park
Work progresses well on site for this new extension to the MBC,
offering five new units for small businesses. The ground works and
foundations are now complete and we expect steel work to be
arriving on site next month and look forward to the framework of
the building going up subsequently. The project is due to complete
this summer. The MBC is a great success with all units
occupied and an active waiting list – the new development
will add to the growing success of our centre.
Questions & Answers
Councillor Douris said that at 3.30pm today as the Cabinet member for Hertfordshire Highways, the agreements were signed for the Featherbed Bridge and so the project can continue.
The Portfolio Holder gave his personal thanks to Councillor Douris for ensuring that the agreement is signed. He also gave a special thanks to his friend and previous colleague Brian Ayling who has worked tirelessly to make this a success.
Councillor England thanked the Portfolio Holder for responding to his previous questions at Council via email. How will the downgrading and outsourcing of the tourism service allow Dacorum to compete with other surrounding areas?
The Portfolio Holder said it will allow for wider and greater resources, it is early days yet but I am sure it will be a positive move.
Councillor England asked if the Portfolio Holder would agree that the reduction in resources is not consistent with the continuing level of service?
The Portfolio Holder said the whole service has been outsourced to Visit Britain and can see no negatives.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.
Councillor Marshall, Portfolio Holder for Environmental, Sustainability and Regulatory Services
The garden waste collections start the beginning of next month as does the garden waste subscription service – subject to Council’s decision tonight on the budget, the charge is £50 for each additional bin collected p.a. Additional bins can be brought at £25 per bin. There have been 90 subscriptions so far.
A41 litter pick by Clean Safe & Green started 6/2/17 on the Central Reservation, piggy backing on Ringway’s work, so DBC does not have to pay for road traffic management system to moderate the traffic. The verges, slip roads and junctions litter pick started this Monday 20th.
As part of the national Great British Spring Clean”, DBC is promoting litter picking by individuals and by groups during this month and March although Cupid Green encourages and actively supports litter picking throughout the year by providing bags & litter pick sticks, arranging to pick up the filled bags and providing advice to keep safe. So far 28 groups have signed up.
Questions and
Answers
Councillor Adeleke said that fly tipping has been in the national
news recently. Can the Portfolio Holder say what the scale of fly
tipping offences is in the Borough and what measures are in place
to tackle this problem?
The Portfolio Holder said she would respond to the question via email once she had the correct figures. When fly tipping is reported, investigations are started to try and find evidence of who dumped it and a prosecution is mounted. Recent government legislation has allowed councils to issue fixed penalty notices for less serious cases.
Councillor England said he was looking forward to taking part in the Great British Spring Clean. He had recently raised the issue of new litter bins in Adeyfield – when can we expect them to be installed?
The Portfolio Holder said not every bin would be replaced, only
those in need of replacement or in locations where a litter bin is
needed.
Councillor Birnie said that he had visited Community Action
Dacorum’s repair shed which is a
voluntary organisation. They have run out of space but they inform
me that a shed owned by Dacorum Borough Council is next to their
site sitting empty. Could there be some sort of arrangement to let
them use it?
The Portfolio Holder said she will make enquiries and thanked
Councillor Birnie for bringing it to her attention.
Councillor England referred back to his comments about the bins and said the litter bin on Adeyfield Road is falling apart.
The Portfolio Holder asked Councillor England to let her know the exact location and will follow it up.
Councillor Douris referred to the litter pick on the A41 and said that last year about 10 tonnes of rubbish was collected. The signs across the borough are welcome to encourage residents to take responsibility for their rubbish.
The Portfolio Holder thanked Councillor Douris for his comments and said it was important to continue to encourage residents to not drop litter.
There were no more questions for the Portfolio Holder.