Decisions

Cabinet Agreed:

1.     That the contract to construct 58 social rented units at Paradise Fields (Mountbatten View), Hemel Hempstead be awarded to Bugler Developments Ltd.

2.     That the contracts to construct 30 social rented units at Randall’s Ride, Hemel Hempstead be awarded to Bugler Developments Ltd.

3.     That delegated authority be approved to the Council’s Assistant Director (Corporate and Contracted Services) to execute and complete all legal agreements ancillary to the JCT Design & Build Contract 2016 and/or reasonably required to complete the Project, including (but not limited to):

a.     all professional appointments;

b.     collateral warranties; and

c.      Agreements under

S.38, & S.278, of the Highways Act 1980;

S.247, Part III of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

S.104 of the Water Industry Act 1991, and

S.50 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

Cabinet Agreed:

1.     To approve the acquisition of Land at Bulborne Road, Tring from the Housing Revenue account.

2.     To confirm that the areas of land at Marchmont Farm, Hemel Hempstead and part of Paradise Depot Hemel Hempstead shown edged red at Appendix B are no longer required for the development and commercial purposes for which they are currently held.

3.     To approve the appropriation of land edged red on the plans at pages 3 and 5 Appendix B pursuant to section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 for the planning purposes of facilitating redevelopment for residential use pursuant to section 226 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

4.     To authorise the Assistant Director of Finance to appropriate the sites known as Land at Marchmont Farm, Hemel Hempstead and Paradise Depot, Hemel Hempstead from planning purposes to housing purposes and to the Housing Revenue account following completion of the new build homes.

1.     RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: to Council the approval of the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2021/22 – 2025/26, including the recommendations at Section 2 of the Strategy.

1.     RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: that Council approve the revised HRA capital programme to move £4.63m slippage identified at Quarter 1 into financial year 2022/23 as detailed in Appendix C.

2.     RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: That Council approve a supplementary revenue budget of £590k in the Leisure budget, funded from the Economic Recovery Reserve, for financial support to the Council’s leisure provider Everyone Active.

1.    RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: to Council that the Statement of Common Ground (SoCG) underpinning the Joint Strategic Plan (JSP) as set out in Appendix 1 is approved.

2.    RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND: to Council that the Statement of Community Involvement for the Joint Strategic Plan (as set out in Appendix 2) is approved for consultation.

Members of the public were excluded as the committee moved to Part II

The forward plan was noted.

There were no referrals to Cabinet.

There was no public participation. 

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no apologies for absence.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2021 were agreed by Members present and signed by the Chair.

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.

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 membership were agreed:

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

None.

None.

None.

None.

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).

None.

There were no declarations of interest.

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