Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1, Civic Offices, Merrial Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 2AG

Contact: Geoff Durham  01782 742222

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

An apology was received from Councillor Rout.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

To receive declarations of interest from Members  on items included in the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest stated.

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 76 KB

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2017 be agreed as a correct record.

 

(Members of the public were in attendance at the meeting in connection with the reports on Planning for Homes Consultation Document and Delegation for Neighbourhood Planning shown at items 6 and 7 on the agenda and it was agreed that the order of the agenda be changed to allow for these items to be brought forward and considered first.)

 

 

4.

FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT TO END OF QUARTER TWO pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(i)         That members note the contents of the attached report and agrees to the recommendation that the Council continues to monitor performance alongside the latest financial information for the same period.

 

(ii)        That members note and agree the changes to Appendix B – Performance.

 

 

Minutes:

 

A report was submitted to Cabinet which provided members with performance data set within a financial report to describe how the Council had performed during the second quarter of 2017/18.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, IT and Customer stated that wherever there were areas of underperformance an action plan to address the matter would be completed.

 

 

Resolved                        (i)         That members note the contents of the attached

report and agrees to the recommendation that the Council continues to monitor performance alongside the latest financial information for the same period.

 

(ii)        That members note and agree the changes to

Appendix B – Performance.

 

 

5.

FUTURE DELIVERY OF DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Decision:

(i)            That Cabinet approve the participation of the Council in the procurement of a new service to support independent living including the delivery of Disabled Facilities Grants in the Borough for the contract term referred to in the report unless otherwise agreed in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

 

(ii)          That following a competitive tendering process administered by Staffordshire County Council the Executive Director for Regeneration and Development in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning be authorised to agree the appointment of a contractor to deliver a service or to withdraw the Council from the process (reporting back to Members as appropriate in the event of any significant resourcing or service delivery issues arising from the latter).

 

(iii)         That officers be authorised to sign, if appropriate, a Partnership Agreement and a funding agreement with Staffordshire County Council and to take all the necessary and associated steps to facilitate delivery of the new service.

 

Minutes:

 

This report provided details of a proposed scheme to support independent living across Staffordshire which will include the delivery of Disabled Facilities Grants.  It also seeks approval to participate in the county wide procurement and appointment of an appropriate provider.

 

Resolved:           (i)         That Cabinet approve the participation of the

Council in the procurement of a new service to support independent living including the delivery of Disabled Facilities Grants in the Borough for the contract term referred to in the report unless otherwise agreed in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

 

(ii)           That following a competitive tendering process

administered by Staffordshire County Council the Executive Director for Regeneration and Development in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning be authorised to agree the appointment of a contractor to deliver a service or to withdraw the Council from the process (reporting back to Members as appropriate in the event of any significant resourcing or service delivery issues arising from the latter).

 

(iii)          That officers be authorised to sign, if appropriate, a

Partnership Agreement and a funding agreement with Staffordshire County Council and to take all the necessary and associated steps to facilitate delivery of the new service.

 

6.

UPDATE ON ASSET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND DELIVERY PLAN pdf icon PDF 75 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(i)            That Cabinet approves the updated Asset Management Strategy and Delivery Plan and agrees in principle to the disposal of the sites set out in Appendix 1, subject to the relevant consultations being carried out and the outcomes being reported back to Cabinet.

 

(ii)          That officers take the appropriate steps to protect the Councils interests in respect of all its land.

 

 

(iii)         That officers be authorised to take appropriate steps to achieve the principle of residential development of the subject sites prior to any disposal.

 

(iv)         That the Leader of the Council writes to the relevant Government Minister or Department to highlight the issues caused by undetermined applications for Village Green status and urging further legislative changes and/or guidance to achieve a better balance between the interests of land owners and other interested parties.

 

 

(v)           A copy of this letter to be sent to the 4 MPs serving the Borough asking them to raise this issue in Parliament.

 

 

Minutes:

 

A report was submitted to Cabinet which updated members on progress with delivery of the Approved Asset Management Strategy (AMS) and to approve the disposal of additional sites subject to consultation, these sites are not required to meet Open Spaces and Green Infrastructure purposes in accordance with the current Strategy.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, IT and Customer referred to the financial challenges which faced Local Government and which had resulted in the need to examine all areas of Council for assets to fund future programmes of investment.  Whilst significant progress had been made with securing receipts from land and property disposals, with the Council receiving approximately £4m over the last three years with the future potential for a further £575k, Village Green applications were outstanding in respect of six parcels of Council-owned land awaiting consideration by the County Council which created uncertainty from a strategic asset management perspective.

 

 

 

 

Resolved:     (i)         That Cabinet approves the updated Asset Management

Strategy and Delivery Plan and agrees in principle to the disposal of the sites set out in Appendix 1, subject to the relevant consultations being carried out and the outcomes being reported back to Cabinet.

 

(ii)          That officers take the appropriate steps to protect the Councils interests in respect of all its land.

 

 

(iii)         That officers be authorised to take appropriate steps to achieve the principle of residential development of the subject sites prior to any disposal.

 

(iv)         That the Leader of the Council writes to the relevant Government Minister or Department to highlight the issues caused by undetermined applications for Village Green status and urging further legislative changes and/or guidance to achieve a better balance between the interests of land owners and other interested parties. A copy of this letter to be sent to the 4 MPs serving the Borough asking them to raise this issue in Parliament.

 

 

7.

PLANNING FOR HOMES CONSULTATION DOCUMENT

Decision:

A report was submitted which provided Cabinet with the opportunity to respond to the Governments Consultation ‘Planning the right homes in the right places’

 

 

Resolved      (i)         That the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing be

authorised to agree the final consultation response with officers based upon the proforma attached at Appendix 1 and taking account of the additional representations received.

 

 

Minutes:

A report was submitted which provided Cabinet with the opportunity to respond to the Governments Consultation ‘Planning the right homes in the right places’

 

 

Resolved      (i)         That the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing be

authorised to agree the final consultation response with officers based upon the proforma attached at Appendix 1 and taking account of the additional representations received.

 

 

8.

DELEGATION FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Decision:

(i)            That all decisions (see Table1) involving any aspect of the statutory function relating to Neighbourhood Planning be delegated to the Executive Director, Regeneration and Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member responsible for the Planning and Housing Portfolio unless:

·        That stage of the Neighbourhood Planning process has resulted in significant public objection and/or the decision is likely to be significant in terms of its effect on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

·        The decision is considered to be a Key Decision because it is likely to be significant in terms of its effect on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

 

Then such decision shall be delegated to the Cabinet Member responsible for the Planning and Housing Portfolio.

 

Minutes:

 

A report was submitted to Cabinet to approve delegated decision making arrangements for Neighbourhood Planning to allow the Council to meet statutory timescales.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing noted that this item was deferred because a number of members had raised concerns.  Continuing, he explained that he had worked with officers to include an extra layer of consultation within the document to ensure that when a neighbourhood plan was submitted to the Borough Councils Planning Authority members of this council who represent a specific area would be consulted for comments. This would allow for transparency and help to address any issues or concerns.

 

Resolved:     (i)         That all decisions (see Table 1) involving any

aspect of the statutory function relating to Neighbourhood Planning be delegated to the Executive Director, Regeneration and Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member responsible for the Planning and Housing Portfolio unless:

 

·         That stage of the Neighbourhood Planning process has resulted in

significant public objection and/or the decision is likely to be significant in terms of its effect on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

 

·      The decision is considered to be a Key Decision because it is likely to be significant in terms of its effect on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

 

Then such decision shall be delegated to the Cabinet Member

responsible for the Planning and Housing Portfolio.

 

9.

URGENT BUSINESS

To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minutes:

There was no Urgent Business.