BASSETLAW DISTRICT COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting held on 24th September 2015 at Worksop Town Hall
Present: / Councillor G Jones (Chairman)Councillors / J R Anderson
H M Brand
D K Brett
HBurton
R B Carrington-Wilde
A Chambers
G Clarkson
M F T Critchley
C Entwistle
J Evans
S E Farncombe
S Fielding
G Freeman
M T Gray
K M Greaves
S A Greaves
D Hare
K H Isard
S Isard
J A Leigh / D J Merryweather
J W Ogle
D G Pidwell
J Potts
D R Pressley
ARhodes
H M Richards
M Richardson
J M Sanger
S Scotthorne
S E Shaw
J C Shephard
ASimpson
A K Smith
M Storey
K Sutton
T Taylor
A D Tromans
C Troop
J White
Officers in attendance: D Armiger, J Hamilton, M Hill, N Taylor, R Theakstone and S Wormald.
Also in attendance: John Pressley and Lee Towers – KPMG
(Members of the Worksop Junior Council, accompanied by teachers, were sat in the audience.)
(Meeting opened at 6.30pm.)
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, read out the fire alarm/evacuation procedure, and also enquired as to whether anyone wanted to film/record the meeting in accordance with legislation; however, this was not taken up even though there were several members of the public present.
25. APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B A Bowles, D Challinor, K Dukes, D B Foley, G A N Oxby, D Potts and M W Quigley.
26. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
(a) Members
There were no declarations of interest by Members on matters to be discussed at the meeting.
(b) Officers
There were no declarations of interest by officers on matters to be discussed at the meeting.
27. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 25TH JUNE 2015
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 25th June 2015 be approved.
28. COMMUNICATIONS
Chairman's Communications
The Chairman introduced members of the Worksop Junior Council who were in attendance, together with teachers and parents. Each of the 16 schools in the Worksop Family had nominated two representatives, and these had taken a Declaration of Office prior to the Council Meeting, and had received a certificate and badge. She particularly thanked Mr Phil Abbott, Head of Priory School, who had helped significantly to progress this initiative, and commented that the students had been “fandabidozi!”
Chief Executive's Communications
The Chief Executive had two announcements:
Firstly, the ‘Best Bar None’ awards had recently taken place in Bassetlaw with many licensed premises in the District being accredited following a rigorous process. He thanked officers involved and also Members of the Licensing Committee for attending these awards.
Secondly, with regard to the Council’s priority to provide Quality Housing in the District, The Canch in Worksop and Kings’ Park in Retford have both been awarded Green Flag status once again. The Public Space Protection Order in respect of Dog Control came into force on 1st September and enables action to be taken against those who commit offences with regard to littering and dog-fouling. To date, 25 Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued and 14 offenders have been prosecuted.
Leader’s Update
The Leader updated Members on two issues:
Firstly, the current situation regarding the Syrian refugee crisis. Local authorities are engaged in talks and wish to play their part in the most appropriate way. However, there is a lack of clarity from the Government on its policy, which appears to be “on the back foot” and which is impacting on local authorities and the work of community groups in this regard. Partners and local authorities have three issues: accommodation, support networks and funding. The Council has its own obligations to Council tenants and the homeless in the District. There could be legal challenges if private sector accommodation is given to refugee families. Although he is aware that many people have offered to house refugees in their own homes, besides actual fostering, it is doubtful that this will be permitted. Other options are being explored. Such people will require a support network, including legal, health, education, children’s services, safeguarding, etc. It is expected that they will be provided for in our cities and major conurbations. With regard to funding, the Government’s policy is to divert such from the International Aid budget for one year only. This is not acceptable and the Government should be providing greater certainty if passporting to the local authorities. It won’t help the situation if the Council cannot do the job properly. Further conversations will be taking place tomorrow so that, hopefully, a co-ordinated response can be achieved. People can, of course, direct any monetary donations via the Red Cross and Save the Children Fund.
Secondly, an update on the current situation with regard to Devolution. Following the General Election, the Government announced its Devolution plans for local government. Authorities must work together to make a deal with the Government for funding and power, which will lead to growth and inward investment. The Sheffield City Region (SCR) and the D2N2 partnership are two such deals which are currently being worked up. He disagreed with the Government on a lot of things but agrees that local authorities should be working together. He is proud of the Council’s collaborative working which could bring in millions of pounds of inward investment – without doubt, huge strides have been made and much more will hopefully be achieved. There are meetings being held with officers, councillors, civil servants and Ministers, and Bassetlaw is at the forefront of the agenda. There is a cross party development group, and the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council gave a briefing to Members recently which was well attended. He thanked John Mothersole for the information he gave on SCR and D2N2. Negotiations are underway and it’s going to be a challenge but local authorities should have the flexibility to build on their work with partners. The Council will be working for the strongest Devolution deal possible for Bassetlaw. However, Government demands are clear and robust, and local authorities must “act together”. If there is no directly elected Mayor, then there will be no deal which will lead to problems for local authorities; this is acknowledged and understood. To secure funding, the Council must undergo an assessment for the size of the prize. The introduction of a mayor will be a challenge but a mayor will not replace the role and duties of councillors. Reports will be presented to Members, and the Chief Executive of Newark and Sherwood District Council will also be briefing Members on the D2N2 proposals in the near future.
29. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
There were no questions by the public of which notice had been given in accordance with Rules of Procedure Number 10.
30. QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS
Three questions were asked by Members in accordance with Rules of Procedure Number 11.
From Councillor S E Farncombe:
“What role does the Leader think that the Worksop Junior Council can have in the activities of the District Council?”
Response by Councillor S A Greaves, Leader of the Council:
The Leader thanked the Worksop Junior Council for attending and compared their role to that of the District Council. He feels that they can help in a number of ways:
· It is appropriate for the Worksop Junior Council and others to help hold the Council to account.
· It can assist with policy development, thereby ensuring that the Council has the right priorities.
· It can table questions to full Council on the work of the Council.
· It can also table motions to Council through councillors.
He felt that it is very important for the Worksop Junior Council to be able to have an input into the future of Worksop and Bassetlaw. With regard to future plans for the area, for example the place and the facilities, the Worksop Junior Council is well placed to help steer any conversations. By working together, the whole community can be represented. He was looking forward to working with the Worksop Junior Council over the coming year, and he thanked them for their time and commitment.
(There was no supplementary question.)
(Members of the Worksop Junior Council, their parents and teachers, left the meeting at this point. The Chairman thanked them for their attendance.)
From Councillor M Richardson:
“Can the Cabinet Member for Regeneration please clarify the outline plan for empty shops in Worksop town centre, also including the Priory Centre?”
Response by Councillor J White, Cabinet Member for Regeneration:
“On 14th July, I presented a report to Cabinet on the Worksop Town Centre Intervention Strategy. This followed on from the consultation event we held in March and the work we have done with the Prince’s Regeneration Trust. We recognize that we need a healthy, vibrant town centre to help enable economic growth in the area. We need to be attractive to both future employers looking to site their business here and to future home buyers.
The report identified four main areas of the town centre that require intervention:
· The lower Bridge Street and Bridge Place shopping area.
· Upper Bridge Street pedestrian area.
· Canal Road/Kilton Terrace industrial area.
· The Canch and Priory Church area recreational area.
Our key over-arching aims of the Strategy are to:
· Strengthen the town centre as a vibrant retail, leisure, entertainment, cultural and business tourism destination for residents and visitors.
· Grow the town centre as a place to do business by creating a creative industries hub.
· Create a choice of high quality homes within and around the town centre.
· Improve the quality of buildings, especially the focal buildings, streets and spaces, and their maintenance and management.
· Provide convenient access to the town centre by all modes of travel and enable easier pedestrian movement.
· Enhance the town’s historic assets and the conservation area.
· Improve the perception of Worksop as a service and retail destination.
Work in the lower Bridge Street/Bridge Place shopping area will be centred around the Priory Centre, lower Bridge Street and the Bridge Place pedestrian area. Our aim is to:
· Improve the quality and size of the retail units.
· Increase the range of shops.
· Reduce the number of empty shops.
· Create an attractive environment.
The bus station move to Queen Street has been identified by the owners of the Priory Centre as a risk because there could be a potential loss of footfall into the Centre. We are therefore working closely with them to try to counter this. They would like to create some larger units to attract some larger retail providers and they have very recently secured Burger King as a tenant. This is to be welcomed. It is good news for Worksop because it will no doubt increase footfall in the area and benefit other retail providers. The existence of food outlets such as Burger King are one of the considerations of the big name retail providers when they are looking for new arenas to set up business.
I do encourage you to go back and read the report because of the precise detail and information that it contains but I’m pleased to report that we are also bidding for funds from the Townscape Heritage Initiative which is the Heritage Lottery’s grant-giving programme for the repair and regeneration of the historic environment in towns and cities.
This bid is being targeted for the top of Bridge Street as it will enhance and improve our conservation assets at the top end of town and will help make that area a much more attractive and welcoming place to shop and participate in leisure activities. If successful, work will begin in 2017 and I am looking forward to Worksop becoming more attractive to future visitors, shoppers, retailers, restauranteurs and bar owners.
I would like to add that we also held a similar consultation event in Retford in March this year and we have also been working with the Prince’s Regeneration Trust to help develop an intervention strategy for the town. What I am conscious of is that we have quite a number of very active new Members in Retford who did not participate in the consultation event, and I want to ensure that your views are heard before a plan for Retford is drawn up.”
(There was no supplementary question.)
From Councillor T Taylor:
Councillor Taylor thanked the Leader for his earlier commentary on Devolution.
“In the Retford Times on 10th September 2015, referencing recent devolution bids, the Leader said: ‘We will be as bold and ambitious as possible and if the law needs to be changed to achieve this, so be it.’ Could Councillor Greaves explain what he meant by this statement.?”
Response by Councillor S A Greaves, Leader of the Council:
The Leader of the Council apologised for the rather lengthy preamble and explained that the Cities and Devolution Bill is working its way through Parliament and contains proposals which will give more power to combined authorities than that which is currently permitted. This will depend upon the law being changed to permit local authorities to work together; this will give them powers to drive inward investment to improve the local economy. This will range from housing projects to major transport projects, but can only be given to combined authorities. If the law doesn’t change then local authorities won’t be able to do as much as they like.
Supplementary Question from Councillor T Taylor: