Agenda item

A report was submitted which provided an update to Members on the activities and decisions of the Cabinet, together with the Forward Plan.

 

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The Leader was asked if there was a plan to roll out more EV charging points in Council car parks.

 

King Street and Goose Street car parks had already had EV charging points installed.  The County Council had been asked to put forward a strategy on rolling out EV across the County.  The Strategy would be delivered later in the year and this would be followed by the seeking of a partner within the private sector to deliver it.

 

It was asked when the next tree planting phase would start and where they would be planted.

 

The next phase was already being considered by officers to decide which areas to bring forward.  A list had been presented to Cabinet and to Full Council in February and included many areas across the Borough.

 

In view of the tree planting, it was queried whether the Council had enough grounds staff to maintain the trees in the future.

 

The right species would be planted in the right places.  More trees would mean less grass cutting and therefore, the grass cutting staff could become more maintenance orientated.

 

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It was asked what evaluation processes had been put into place to ensure that residents were not encountering any negative experiences.

 

There was a One Council Board, run by elected members and there were regular meetings were held with the unions.  In addition, items were regularly taken to Cabinet and to the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee.

 

Reassurance was sought that residents would still be able to phone in and visit the Council as well as accessing the services online.

 

This was confirmed.

 

The Once Council Programme could be seen as the next phase of a previous corporate priority of the Administration which had been ‘Transforming Council Services to Achieve Excellence’.  The Leader was asked to join in congratulating the staff who had been involved in the One Council Programme.  

 

The Leader was asked if the public were being surveyed regarding the One Council Programme.

Customer feedback forms were available online for those using the new website and online services.

 

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The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Town Centres and Growth was asked why the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy had been updated.

 

The new Policy had been devised in conjunction with a scoring matrix, awarding points based on answers given on the application form.  This in turn would determine the amount of discretionary relief that could be awarded to ensure that all applications were treated equally. 

 

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The Deputy Mayor was asked, as Heritage Champion, if he would be working with the relevant Councillors to create the strategy.

 

Members would be able to interact in the programme as it progresses and through items going to Cabinet and Scrutiny.  If any members had any ideas or suggestions, they were advised to email or call the Deputy Mayor.

 

The Deputy Mayor was asked to consider doing something to commemorate  Sergeant Kite who had received the Military Medal three times during World War Two and whose memorial was outside of Castle House. Sergeant Kite had attended Hassell County Primary School as a child.

 

The Leader was asked if Kidsgrove would be included in the programme.

 

As the anniversary covered the whole Borough it must be ensured that Kidsgrove be involved in the celebrations and use venues such as the Victoria Hall for example.

 

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The Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing was asked how the new Police model would improve policing in the Borough.

 

Policing numbers had increased significantly across the County.  The number for Newcastle could not be confirmed at present as they were still looking at the structure.  However, Newcastle would, in addition to neighbourhood officers, have officers based at Newcastle who were previously classed as response.  The officers would be allocated to specific areas, therefore getting to know the area, individuals and problems.

 

Chief Inspector Owens had been invited to the Health, Wellbeing and Environment Scrutiny Committee to give an overview on 5^th September, 2022 and Members were invited to go along as spectators if they so wished.

The Head of Sustainable Environment Services and his team were congratulated for their work on recycling which had increased as the amount being sent to landfill had decreased.

 

In the Borough, recycling was now above fifty percent, residual waste was down by eleven percent and the landfill figure was three percent and falling.  In addition, care homes had recently been brought in to the weekly food waste collections increasing the collection to 100 tonnes per week which was all being put to good use.

 

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The proposed bus gate and any chargeable Clean Air Zone would not remove any carbon out of the atmosphere but move the problem to other areas.  It was therefore vital that the Council received support from its partners to ask if the numbers could be reappraised - in light of rising fuel prices taking cars off the roads and more electric vehicles being used.  In addition to reappraise the number of journeys, congestion and traffic pollution in the area.

 

It was understood that the area was now at a natural level of compliance and if the situation was not assessed, traffic would relocate, potentially going past schools.

 

Considering the amount of concern over the bus gate, the Leader was asked to consider establishing a cross-party sub-committee to scrutinise the final business case.

 

The Leader agreed with Members and stated that Red Industry lorries used Basford Bank en-route to Walleys Quarry and would be banned from doing so when the bus gate was operating.  Those lorries would re-route up Grange Lane, passing several schools.  Covid had changed travel patterns and this had possibly expanded the rush hour and could have led to the natural compliance which should be pressed further.  Local MP’s also needed to be involved.

 

There would be further scrutiny on the matter as it moved forward.  The Health, Wellbeing and Environment Scrutiny Party would be the correct place to set up a Working Group and asked the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee to take it on board.

 

The Leader was asked what could be done for local businesses on Basford Bank.

 

As the area was now reaching compliance there was a need to ensure that it would be kept there – and below.  The Council needed to look at behavioural change and possibly giving funding to businesses to switch to electric vehicles.  The Government were spending a large amount of money on this, therefore the Council could ask for funding to help to bring in more electric vehicles.

 

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There had been an omission of acknowledgement of Kidsgrove Town Council’s grant of £70,000 towards the project.

 

The Leader apologised for the omission but stated that all finances had been discussed in Cabinet meetings.

 

Clarification was sought from the Mayor regarding the opening date.  In the Mayor’s announcements the 27^th had been mentioned whereas the Sports Centre website stated the 25^th.

 

The main opening day would be Saturday 27^th.

 

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It was queried what had happened to the beacons that were lit for the Jubilee celebrations and whether they had gone to the Museum for future generations.

 

Confirmation was given that the beacon used at Apedale was now in the Museum for people to see.

 

Support was given for the renaming of the Astley Room to Queen Elizabeth II.  In addition, congratulations were given to everyone who had put on community events over the weekend of celebrations.

 

Discussions were underway with the County Council regarding the renaming of the room which could be tied in with the 850^th anniversary celebrations next year.

 

Resolved:     That the Statement of the Leader of the Council be received and

noted.

 

Watch the debate here