Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Trevor Johnson.

There were no declarations of interest stated.

To consider the Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th May 2020

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 May, 2020 be agreed as a correct record.

Resolved:     That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 May, 2020 be agreed as a correct record.

This item includes a supplementary report.

That the report be noted and the work being undertaken to recover from the pandemic be endorsed.

A report was submitted to Cabinet to inform upon actions being taken across the Council in response to the Coronavirus pandemic and to recover from its impacts.

The Leader stated that the last few weeks had been fully focussing upon recovery for the Council and the Borough’s economy and the continuation of helping vulnerable people to get through the crisis.

The report addressed the Council’s current position across five areas of the recovery plan.  Members’ attention was drawn to paragraph’s 2.1 to 2.20 which explained the work being carried out in each of those areas.

Reopening Safe, Successful Retail Areas:

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Efficiency, Councillor Stephen Sweeney advised that Friday and Saturday, 5^th and 6^th June had seen the soft reopening of the Market with 8 – 10 stalls being occupied.  This had been an encouraging start with social distancing measures being observed by everyone. 

The Leader advised that in addition to the measures being taken in Newcastle Town Centre, officers had also been to other areas in the Borough to put up advisory notices in respect of social distancing. Letters had also been sent to all retailers providing useful advice and web-links on how to reopen safely on 15^th June.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Heritage, Councillor Jill Waring advised that she had been working with officers in respect of the safe reopening of Kidsgrove Town Centre.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth, Councillor Paul Northcott stated that it was important to have town centres and surrounding businesses open and vibrant again.  Retailers and shoppers wanted reassurance that every provision was being made to help shops to reopen safely and that Personal Protection Equipment was being used where required.  Councillor Northcott acknowledged that a lot of work had been carried out by officers and the Council’s partners.  

The Leader endorsed Councillor Northcott’s comments and made reference to Staffordshire County Council Highways, one of the Council’s partners for their work in the recovery process and thanking them for what they were doing.

The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing, Councillor Helena Maxfield stated that shops being able to reopen safely and securely was a good way of looking forward and thanked the Council’s teams and partners who were involved in facilitating this.

The Leader echoed Councillor Maxfield’s comments and asked for thanks to be passed to officers working to reopen retail premises.

Supporting Health and Wellbeing: 

Councillor Maxfield stated that she could not praise the teams supporting health and wellbeing of Borough residents, highly enough.  They had worked with a full complement of staff throughout the crisis helping the homeless and rough sleepers, including sorting temporary accommodation for those in need.

This work would continue for many months after the virus had passed.

Councillor Maxfield thanked the J2 staff who had manned the helplines that had been set up by the Council and advised Members that a reduction in calls indicated that provision of the service had worked and would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

That the proposed Local Planning Enforcement Plan be approved for introduction and implementation in the Borough.

A report was submitted to Cabinet seeking the approval of an up to date Local Planning Enforcement Plan for the Council.

CouncillorNorthcott advised that it had been eleven years since the previous update and there had been a lot of changes during that time such as Community Protection Notices giving new powers to Local Authorities.  There would still be work to be done on the Plan to keep it up to date.

Members’ attention was drawn to paragraph 1.7 of the report which outlined the key sections of the Plan. The Plan, which was appended to the report, sets out the framework in detail.

Members would have a clear pathway of how the Council responded to enforcement matters and the Plan would send out a message to those who sought to breach Planning Regulations - that the Council would not tolerate such actions.

The Leader endorsed Councillor Northcott adding that some enforcement cases had been ongoing for many years and the Council needed an up to date Enforcement Plan that could continue to be updated regularly.    

CouncillorNorthcott stated that the Enforcement Protocol for Members was up and running and had received a positive reception from Members.  In addition, a weekly bulletin which was sent to Members gave them the opportunity to look at enforcement issues within their Ward.

Resolved:     That the proposed Local Planning Enforcement Plan be approved

for introduction and implementation in the Borough.    

That the Forward Plan be received.

Consideration was given to the Forward Plan which listed upcoming key decisions to be made by the Cabinet.

Resolved:     That the Forward Plan be received.

There was no Urgent Business.