Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Mrs Cornes, Cllr M Taylor, Cllr Plant, Cllr Boden, Cllr Mrs Simpson, Cllr Miss Walklate, Cllr Mrs Hailstones, Cllr Hailstones, Cllr Bannister and Cllr Mrs Astle.

There were no declarations of interest.

Letters were exchanged regarding the District Deal by the Leaders of Newcastle Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council.

The Leader of Newcastle Borough Council introduced Cllr Philip Atkins, Leader of Staffordshire County Council. Cllr Atkins stated that the District Deal had so far been signed by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and South Staffordshire Council and outlined the work that had so far been undertaken in conjunction with the City Council and District Councils including attracting top names to the area such as Jaguar Landrover. Cllr Atkins also highlighted the close working partnership that the Borough Council and the County Council had recently embarked upon regarding the redevelopment of the Ryecroft site.

Cllr Sweeney welcomed the deal and stated that partnership working was the way forward and thanked Cllr Snell and Cllr Atkins for the work done in achieving the signing of the deal.

Cllr Studd also thanked Cllr Atkins and all Members who had been involved in negotiations and stated that he looked forward to the redevelopment of the Ryecroft.

Letters were exchanged regarding the District Deal by the Leaders of Newcastle Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 12^th September 2012.

That the minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 12th September 2012 be agreed as a correct record.

Cllr David Loades and Cllr Mrs Burgess stated that they had been present at the previous meeting of Full Council even though this was not reflected in the minutes.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 12th September 2012 be agreed as a correct record.

That the minutes be noted.

Resolved:     That the minutes be noted.

That the minutes be noted.

Resolved:     That the minutes be noted.

The Mayor thanked everyone who had signed the petition to save the Staffordshires name and stated that he had received over 1300 signatures in total. The move to keep the name had now been agreed at regimental level and now had to be agreed by the War Office.

There would be a Fairtrade Christmas Fayre on Friday 7^th December and Saturday 8^th December in the Lancaster Buildings, Newcastle Town Centre.

The Mayors Carol Service would be held on 16^th December in St Mary’s Church, Betley at 6.30pm.

The Mayors Ball would be held on Friday 22^nd March and tickets would be available from January.

The Mayor also informed Members that there would be a concert on 20^th April by the Newcastle Male Voice Choir and that he was hoping to arrange a further two musical events in the near future.

The Mayor thanked everyone who had taken part in his sponsored walk and stated that the Mayoress had raised £800.

It was sadly announced that the son of former Councillor Mrs Freda Myatt had passed away and it was agreed that the Mayor would send condolences to Mrs Myatt and her daughter, former Councillor Miss Yvonne Burke.

To receive a statement by the Leader of the Council on the activities and decisions of Cabinet and items included on the Forward Plan.

That a written response be provided by the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Recycling regarding the Cabinet Panel

A question was raised regarding how many Community Centres would be closing as part of the Community Centre Review which had been discussed at the meeting of Cabinet held on 17^th October 2012. The Portfolio Holder for Stronger and Active Neighbourhoods had circulated a letter to all Members that he had recently submitted to the Sentinel regarding the Review. This topic was currently being considered by a Member Working Group which had been set up by the Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinating Committee.

A question was raised regarding progress towards the Kidsgrove Town Centre Partnership. The Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Town Centres had met with all Kidsgrove Members to help identify what the key issues were and who would be the key private sector workers required to help drive the initiative forward. Elements of best practice from the Newcastle Town Centre Partnership would also be incorporated and it was recognised that there was a great deal of potential in Kidsgrove that needed to be utilised.

The refurbishment of St Giles and St Georges was discussed and clarity was requested regarding the administrations visions for this area of the Town Centre taking into account that a new Aldi Store was due to open on the other side of the Town. The Leader confirmed that the issue had been considered by Scrutiny where many options had been discussed including the possible relocation of the Borough Museum to the site. Officers were currently carrying out soft market testing regarding what would be the best possible use of the site but the building itself was considered to be key and there was an overriding desire not to see it demolished. Third parties were being approached to gauge their interest in the site and building and Officers were looking into potential housing solutions for the building. Members welcomed the fact that third parties were again being approached regarding the building.

A question was raised in relation to the review of the integrated waste and recycling strategy regarding whether nominations for the Cabinet Panel had been received and when that panel would be meeting. The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Recycling confirmed that Group Leaders had been asked to provide nominations. A supplementary question was then raised regarding details of who had actually been nominated. The Portfolio Holder stated that the process was in hand and detailed would be released when the membership was finalised, details regarding how many members would sit on the panel from each party could be found in the report that went to Cabinet in October. The question was also raised as to why this approach to the review had been adopted and what status the Cabinet Panel would actually have. The Portfolio holder stated that she would provide a full written response to this question but that the aim was to look at different ways of providing recycling by 2016 and that the main role of the panel would be fact finding prior to submitting a report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Questions are to be submitted to the Mayor at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Any questions deemed urgent must be agreed by the Mayor before the meeting.

That written responses would be provided to the following supplementary questions:

Supplementary question from Cllr Mrs Shenton

Cllr Shenton raised a supplementary question regarding the timing of the Council meeting and queried whether in the future it could be moved to a Tuesday or Thursday in the same week.

The Leader stated that a written response would be provided to this question.

Supplementary Question from Cllr Loades

Cllr Loades requested information regarding the appointment of the Town Centre Manager and whether this could still go ahead if the Company had not yet been ratified.

A written response would be provided to this but the answer may also be covered in response to question 5.

Supplementary Question from Cllr Mrs Peers

Cllr Mrs Peers requested details regarding how much money had been contributed from Kidsgrove Town Council and other Parish Councils and whether all Town and Parish Councils had been asked to contribute to the Partnership.

A written answer would be provided.

Supplementary Question from Cllr Miss Mancey

Cllr Miss Mancey asked whether the Portfolio Holder thought the scheme could be viewed as a failure as no resident had yet been helped.

A written response would be provided.

1.         Question from Cllr Colin Eastwood

The Health Scrutiny Committee, along with I’m sure other members, are concerned about the shortage of funding in Social Care which will have a detrimental impact on other vital council services.  Will the Leader support the Local Government Association’s campaign ‘Show Us you Care’ to put pressure on the Coalition Government to provide adequate funding to support adult social care services.

Councillor Colin Eastwood (Wolstanton Ward) and Chair Newcastle Health Scrutiny Committee

I am happy to support the LGA’s campaign to put pressure on the Coalition Government to adequately resource adult social care. Although this is a function which falls squarely within the County Council’s purview, inadequate funding for ASC will have knock on effects to the services which we provide.

It would be helpful to me if the Health Scrutiny Committee could provide guidance on other actions that this council can do to support the work our County Council colleagues do with regards to ASC and correct resourcing.

Cllr Eastwood did not raise a supplementary question but stated that he was glad of the support from the Leader and that he would raise the concerns with the County Council Health Select Committee.

2.       Question from Cllr Mrs Shenton

Can I ask why once again we are holding our Council meeting on the same evening as the switching on of the Christmas Lights in the Town Centre?  Our local traders will be hoping that this year their till bells ring in the anticipation of a bright festive season, set against the current economic gloom.  Do the Mayor and the Leader agree that we as elected members should have been there to show our support, rather than run the risk of being branded as having a 'Bah, Humbug!' attitude to the people and businesses of Newcastle?

Councillor Elizabeth Shenton (Town Ward)

The date chosen for the switch on of the Christmas Lights was done so independently of the Council. As a result of our greater partnership working and through the Town Centre Partnership, it is hoped that greater dialogue with the organisers can prevent such clashes happening in the future.

Supplementary Question:

Cllr Shenton raised a supplementary question regarding the timing of the Council meeting and queried whether in the future it could be moved to a Tuesday or Thursday in the same week.

The Leader stated that a written response would be provided to this question and that any other supplementary would also receive a written response.

The Mayor thanked the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress for attending the switching on of the Christmas lights in his absence.

Question from Cllr Loades

Can the leader inform this Council, if the Community Investment type company for the Newcastle Town Centre is now registered officially with the recognized body and all directors listed and declared?

Councillor David Loades (Loggerheads and Whitmore Ward)

I can confirm that all of the documentation for the registration of the Community Interest Company with Companies house and the CIC Regulator has been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

That the action taken by officers in respect of the Ravens Park petition be noted.

That the existence of the petition be reported to both the Planning Committee and Council in the context of the results of the full public consultation exercise, which has been recently undertaken in relation to preparation of the Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan.

There were no further supplementary questions to those asked at the meeting held on 12^th September 2012.

A report was submitted to advise Members of action taken by Officers in respect of the petition submitted by the Ravens Park Resident Association in relation to the Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan.

Resolved:     (a)       That the action taken by officers in respect of the Ravens Park petition be noted.

                        (b)       That the existence of the petition be reported to both the Planning Committee and Council in the context of the results of the full public consultation exercise, which has been recently undertaken in relation to preparation of the Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan.

a)     Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinating Committee

b)     Transformation and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee

c)      Active and Cohesive Overview and Scrutiny Committee

d)     Cleaner, Greener and Safer Overview and Scrutiny Committee

e)     Economic Development and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee

f)        Health Scrutiny Committee.

That the updates be received.

Members received verbal updates from the Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees. The minutes from all the Committees were available for view on the internet.

Following the update from the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee, the Leader thanked him and other Members of the Committee and stated that Newcastle appeared to be leading the way in the County regarding the carrying out of local health scrutiny.

Resolved:     That the updates be received.

a)     Planning Committee

b)     Licensing Committee

c)      Public Protection Committee

That the updates be received

Verbal updates were received from the Chairs of the Statutory Committees.

The Portfolio Holder for Stronger and Active Neighbourhoods stated that he was very concerned regarding the amount of contaminated alcohol being found in the Borough and highlighted the need for close partnership working between the Council, Trading Standards and the Police.

The Chair of the Planning Committee thanked Planning Officers and Members of the Committee for their hard work and stated that it was unfortunate in the current economic climate that the number of applications for consideration was in decline.

The Chair of the Public Protection Committee confirmed that no response had been received from solicitors representing the Hackney Carriage Trade in relation to de limitation and that as such the removal of the limit was set to go ahead from 2^nd December 2012.

Resolved:     That the updates be received

That the current Challenge 21 policy be replaced by a Challenge 25 policy in the Gambling Policy for Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council.

That the revised Gambling Policy be agreed.

A report was submitted to advise Members of the recommended changes to the Gambling Policy as agreed by the Licensing Committee on 8^th November 2012.

Under section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 the Council has a statutory duty to review its Gambling statement set out in the Gambling Policy before the end of December 2012.

RESOLVED:   (a) That the current Challenge 21 policy be replaced by a Challenge 25 policy in the Gambling Policy for Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council.

(b) That the revised Gambling Policy be agreed.

That the new proposals were an improvement but that Members were still not satisfied with the treatment of the rural wards in Newcaslte Borough.

A report was submitted to inform Members of the revised Parliamentary Constituency proposals for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.

Members agreed that the new proposals were an improvement on the previous submissions of September 2012 but were still flawed and as such could not be supported. It was recognised that the Boundary Commissions had taken the views and representations of Members into consideration and that an attempt had been made to try and preserve the identity of the Borough but that the changes were still not to be approved. Further dissatisfaction was voiced regarding the treatment of the rural wards in the new proposals.

There was no desire to submit any further representations but Members agreed that any communication with the Boundary Commission should be signed by both the Council Leader and the Mayor.

Resolved:      That the new proposals were an improvement but that Members were still not satisfied with the treatment of the rural wards in Newcaslte Borough.

A notice of motion must reach the Chief Executive ten clear days before the relevant meeting of the Council.

There were no motions.

To receive from Members any petitions which they wish to present to the Council pursuant to Procedure Rule 18 in the Councils Constitution.

That the petition and the action taken by Officers be noted.

That the existence of the petition be reported to both the Planning Committee and Council in the context of the results of the full public consultation exercise, which has been recently undertaken in relation to preparation of the Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan.

A report was submitted to inform Members of the actions to be taken on a petition submitted by a group of local residents and users of Seabridge Community Centre in relation to the inclusion of the site of the Seabridge Centre in the Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment.

Resolved:     (a)       That the petition and the action taken by Officers be noted.

                        (b)       That the existence of the petition be reported to both the Planning Committee and Council in the context of the results of the full public consultation exercise, which has been recently undertaken in relation to preparation of the Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan.

To consider any communications which pursuant to Procedure Rule 7 are, in the opinion of the Mayor, of an urgent nature and to pass thereon such resolutions as may be  deemed necessary.

There was no urgent business.