Deputy Mayor & Executive Member for Regeneration & Economic Development4 Feb 2010

INDIVIDUAL EXECUTIVE DECISION MAKING MEETING

The Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for

Regeneration and Economic Development

RECORD OF DECISION

An Individual Executive Decision-Making meeting was held on 4 February 2010.

PRESENT:

Councillor David Budd and P Sanderson

**OFFICIALS:

David Carruthers, Sally Childes, Susie Joscelyne, Jan Lewis and Paul Stephens

INTRODUCTION OF AN ARTICLE 4(2) DIRECTION IN LINTHORPE CONSERVATION AREA

The Director of Regeneration submitted a report that sought approval to confirm the introduction of an Article 4(2) Direction, in Linthorpe Conservation Area.

The report outlined that Linthorpe Conservation Area covered an extensive area of suburban Middlesbrough, south of the town centre. Developed from the 1860’s onwards it was based around Oxford Road, Cambridge Road and The Avenue. During the Victorian and Edwardian periods the area flourished with spacious tree lined roads of houses with many typical architectural features of the period.

The proposal to introduce an Article 4(2) Direction in Linthorpe Conservation Area followed a review of the Linthorpe Conservation Area Appraisal in 2006, and the expressed desire of residents to protect the character of the area. English Heritage stated that local authorities should ‘where necessary, make Article 4(2) Directions to control damaging cumulative change in conservation areas.’ Such orders were required where existing conservation area planning provisions were proving inadequate to control adverse changes in the area, which over a substantial period are undermining the overall character.

The report indicated that on 22 March 2006 the Executive approved a report on the Linthorpe Conservation Area Appraisal Review and Management Plan, recommending that further consultation be undertaken with residents who would be directly affected by an Article 4(2) Direction.

Although restrictions already existed in the Conservation Area, permitted development, including the removal of boundary walls and gateposts, and replacement of original timber windows with PVC-u windows, did not require planning permission. Over time alterations to these features have damaged the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. The Article 4(2) Direction removed some of these permitted development rights, and residents would require planning permission to make such alterations. The Direction would help the Council to control alterations, addressing issues of character erosion in the Conservation Area. A list of the permitted development rights that have been removed are detailed on the Statutory Notice in Appendix I of the report. There was no charge for a planning application resulting from the Article 4(2) Direction.

It was outlined that in August 2009, the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member of Regeneration and Economic Development gave approval for Legal Services to serve a temporary notice of the Article 4 (2) Direction, and the commencement of the statutory public consultation.

The report presented information relating to public consultation, outcomes from the public consultation and the next steps. Further details were outlined in the report.

ORDERED

  1. That the Article 4 (2) Direction, under the Town and Country Planning Act, for Linthorpe Conservation Area be confirmed before 21 February 2010.

REASONS

The decisions were supported by the following reasons:

  1. Without the Article 4(2) Direction, the Council cannot control small alterations which could have a negative impact on the character of the Conservation Area. There was a concern for the loss of character in Linthorpe Conservation Area shared by many residents, both within and outside of the Conservation Area.
  2. English Heritage was encouraging local authorities to ‘use the powers they already had to apply Article 4 Direction in conservation areas...’ Linthorpe Conservation Area was currently on the Conservation Areas at Risk Register. English Heritage suggested that conservation areas with Appraisals and Article 4 Directions were almost twice as likely to improve in the next three years as those without.
  3. Conservation areas helped to underpin community cohesion, and are the local heritage that local people pass on.

DRAFT LOCAL LIST OF BUILDINGS OF ARCHITECTURAL AND/OR HISTORIC INTEREST

The Director of Regeneration submitted a report that sought approval for a draft local list of buildings of local architectural and/or historic significance (know as Local List) and to carry out public consultation on the draft Local List, with the intention to report back to the Executive and adopt the document as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The report outlined that there were 126 listed buildings of national significance in Middlesbrough, which have been graded by English Heritage according to their level of significance as either Grade I, II* or II. Middlesbrough, however, also had a substantial number of buildings that were of local architectural and/or historic interest but were not of sufficient quality to merit inclusion on the national list. Some of these were significant local landmarks that the public has a strong emotional attachment to, and though sometimes much altered, has historic associations with individuals or events. These buildings were worthy of special consideration as they contributed to the distinctiveness of the town.

The report stated that a Local List could be used as a mechanism for acknowledging the importance of these locally significant buildings. Giving some status to these buildings was especially important for a town like Middlesbrough, which has a comparatively short history, and consequently had fewer conservation areas and nationally listed buildings than other towns.

The report detailed the policy content, the Local List criteria, development control implications and the next steps; further details were presented in the report.

A copy of the full draft list was available in the Members’ library.

ORDERED

  1. That the current draft Local List for the purpose of public consultation be approved.
  2. That the next stages of consultation and assessment as outlined in paragraph 17 of the report be approved.

The report stated that the revised Local List would be reported back to the Executive for approval on the basis for adoption as a Supplementary Planning Document.

REASONS

The decisions were supported by the following reasons:

  1. The Local List was intended to recognise buildings reflecting local architectural and historic interest, so that their distinctiveness could be taken into account when considering development proposals
  2. As local heritage was strongly associated with the citizens of a place, it was important that the residents, and other interested parties, were consulted prior to finalising the List; and,
  3. The adoption of the Local List as a Supplementary Planning Document would help in providing guidance to the Council when considering planning applications for alterations to, or demolition of, Local List buildings.

COUNCIL PERFORMANCE: QUARTER TWO 2009/2010

The Assistant Chief Executive presented a report that provided an overview of the Council’s performance at Quarter Two 2009/10.

The report stated that the 2009/2010 Strategic Plan set out the Council’s key performance targets (including the key improvement priorities for Middlesbrough identified in the Local Area Agreement 2008-2011) and the actions it planned to take during the year to contribute to the achievement of those targets.

The report summarised the Council’s performance against its key targets and planned improvements actions at the end of Quarter Two 2009/2010.

Full details of the progress were supplied in the full Quarter Two 2009/2010 performance report (available in the Members’ Library).

ORDERED

  1. That Council’s performance during Quarter Two be noted.

REASON

The decision was supported for the following reason:

To ensure that monitoring of the Council’s performance at both a member and senior officer level remained robust and aligned with the requirements of the national performance framework, in order to enable the effective delivery of the Council’s strategic priorities.

ANNAUL EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY REPORT

The Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Human Resources submitted the Council’s Annual Equality and Diversity report for consideration by the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development.

The report outlined that Middlesbrough Council was committed to promoting equality and diversity to ensure all residents, employees and partners should have fair and equal access to services and opportunities in every aspect of their lives. Equality and diversity requirements were embedded within the various inspection programmes used to assess the performance of the Council and it also had a number of statutory duties in relation to equality and diversity it was required to meet.

During 2009 the Council achieved Level 4 (out of 5) of the Equality Standard for Local Government. Work was currently underway to ensure the Council attained ‘excellence’ under the Equality Framework for Local Government, which had now replaced the Equality Standard. The Equality Framework assesses performance in five categories:

  • Knowing your communities and equality mapping
  • Place shaping, leadership, partnership and organisational commitment
  • Community engagement and satisfaction
  • Responsive services and customer care
  • Amodern and diverse workforce.

The Annual Equality and Diversity report (attached as Appendix 1) provided an overview of work being undertaken within the Council on equality and diversity within one, high-level summary document and sets out the outcomes achieved. The report would form one of the Council’s pieces of evidence to support its preparations for the achievement of ‘excellence’ level of the Equality Framework.

This report enabled the Council to state where it stands in relation to its internal processes for equality and diversity, reiterating its commitment to ensuring the Council is an organisation where:

  • no employee, job applicant or service user receives less favourable treatment because of their gender or transgender, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age
  • services meet the needs of our diverse communities
  • policies and procedures promote and monitor equality and diversity in Council employment and deal effectively with discrimination and harassment
  • any barriers that discourage access to employment or services were minimised or removed.

The annual Equality and Diversity report set out:

  • how equality and diversity had been embedded within the Council;
  • the performance measures that were in place to ensure the effectiveness of processes could be assessed;
  • progress achieved during 2009;
  • targets for 2010;
  • workforce date;
  • consultations undertaken in 2009, and
  • Equality Impact Assessments undertaken in 2009.

The report further stated that the Audit Committee had previously considered a draft report. The Committee endorsed the report and recommended that all Councillors be offered briefings on equality and diversity.

Ordered

  1. That the Council’s Annual Equality and Diversity report be approved and published.
  2. That the Audit Committee’s recommendation of equality and diversity training being offered to all members be endorsed.

REASON

To ensure good practice in relation to equality and diversity across the Council and to communicate the Council’s approach in this area to all stakeholders.

The decision will come into force after five working days following the day the decision was taken unless the decision becomes subject to the call-in procedure.

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