Venue: Council Chamber, Mid Suffolk District Council Offices, High Street, Needham Market
Contact: Committee Services
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Apologies for absence Minutes: An apology for absence was received from Councillors Roy Barker, Julie Flatman, Jessica Fleming, Gary Green, Elizabeth Gibson-Harries, Derrick Haley, Matthew Hicks, Barry Humphreys MBE, Esther Jewson, Diana Kearsley, Wendy Marchant, Lesley Mayes, Dave Muller, Tim Passmore and Jane Storey. |
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To receive any declarations of pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests by Members Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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MC/17/9 Confirmation of the minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on 22 May 2017 PDF 246 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 22 May 2017 were confirmed as a correct record subject to an amendment to Minute 12 (g) Appointments to the Joint Gypsy and Traveller Steering Group, to read:
RESOLUTION
That Jessica Fleming, Kevin Welsby and Andrew Stringer be appointed to the Joint Gypsy and Traveller Steering Group |
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MC/17/10 Chairman's Announcements PDF 144 KB Minutes: The report was received. |
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MC/17/11 Leader's Announcements PDF 111 KB Minutes: The report was received.
Councillor Gowrley advised that Jonathan Stephenson, currently with Enfield Council and formerly with Ipswich Borough Council had been appointed as the new Strategic Director.
It was noted that Sue Cook, Corporate Director for Children and Adult Services had been appointed as Interim Chief Executive at Suffolk County Council.
In response to a Member’s question he confirmed that although the Secretary of State, at the LGA Conference, had indicated that the Government was open to devolution bids he did not think devolution was now an option fro Suffolk. |
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To receive notification of petitions in accordance with the Council's Procedure Rule In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, The Chief Executive will report the receipt of the following petition. There can be no debate or comment upon these matters at the Council meeting.
A petition signed by 460 residents was received regarding Applications 1432/17 and 1648/17 and Stradbroke Road (not yet active) in Fressingfield, asking that the above planning applications be rejected.
Minutes: A petition signed by 460 residents was received regarding Applications 1432/17 and 1648/17 and Stradbroke Road (not yet active) in Fressingfield, asking that the above planning applications be rejected.
In accordance with the Petition Scheme the petition had been dealt with as a Consultation Petition lodged in response to invitations for a representation in connection with planning applications 1432/17 and 1648/17.
The petition was noted. |
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Questions by the Public The Chairmen of Committees to answer any questions from the public of which notice has been given no later than midday three clear working days before the day of the meeting in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11. Minutes: None received. |
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Questions by Councillors The Chairman of the Council, the Chairman of Committees and Sub-Committees and Portfolio Holders to answer any questions on any matters in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affect the District of which due notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. Minutes: Councillor Matthissen put the following questions to the Cabinet Member for the Environment:
In view of the deteriorating contractor performance regarding brown bin and latterly also twin bin collections:
1. What action is being taken to restore the service to an acceptable level? Councillor Burn, Cabinet Member for the Environment responded:
While in general the level of service remains high we have experienced a period, between May and June, where service standards have dropped below the expected level. For information - Serco manage 19 domestic waste collection rounds, 4 garden waste rounds, 2 trade waste rounds, 2 bulky / delivery rounds, and a clinical and glass collection around, servicing in the region of 100,000 waste collections a week. There has been two main factors for the drop in level of service, these are: 1. Staff shortages, particularly drivers, and 2. Vehicle availability Serco have suffered from a high turnover of HGV drivers, the retention and recruitment of trained HGV drivers is an industry wide issue, Serco had been through a period with a high number of vacancies, they have now addressed this and have recruited more staff and agency drivers. Operational staffing levels are now back to normal levels. Serco management also seem to have also resolved the issues with their vehicle maintenance contractor. The pressure of maintaining the fleet of vehicles has been eased with hiring in of 2 additional vehicles while long term issues with vehicles are resolved. Officers raised the issue of poor performance with Serco at the beginning of May, writing to both the Managing Director and Regional Director. Performance review meetings were held in May and June and a further meeting is programmed in August. Some additional actions have also been undertaken: · Serco have also appointed a new contract supervisor within the last 2 weeks to help improve the day to day management that has impacted the service. · We have restructured the garden waste rounds in Mid-Suffolk earlier this year to rebalance the rounds due to the continued growth of the service and this has had a positive impact however we must continue to review the service as it continues to grow. · We will be undertaken a more fundamental review of all rounds later this year to ensure there is a better balance which will minimise potential issues. During the summer period, we experience a peak in demand on the garden waste service both in terms of the numbers of bins presented and the weight of waste the rounds have collect. On occasions this may result in areas at the end of some collection rounds not being collected on the correct day, however any outstanding work is cleared first thing the next morning. Throughout this period, we have continued to work with Serco both locally and raised our concerns at a senior level as explained. We continue to maintain a strong working relationship Serco and are working with them through the recent problems.
2. What penalties have been imposed on the contractor for failures?
Councillor ... view the full minutes text for item 59. |
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Recommendation from Cabinet PDF 175 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Housing Revenue Account Summary of the 30 Year Business and Financial Plan
Councillor Wilshaw, Cabinet Member for Housing introduced the report and recommendation from Cabinet. She said that under the self-financing regime introduced in 2011/12 stock holding authorities must have a 30 year business plan for how they would manage stock. There had been several changes recently that had affected the Authority’s previous Plan, for example the increase in Right to Buy and the changes introduced by the Welfare Reform Act, and the report provided a summary of the update position of the Business Plan. Following a considerable amount of work across a whole range of services the Plan would now enable financial security for the Council and would keep it below the debt cap for the foreseeable future, enabling use of that headroom for the delivery of additional homes.
Councillor Wilshaw moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Ekpenyong.
It was noted that there would be a six monthly review of the Plan to ensure it was still appropriate for the time.
Members fully supported the Business Plan but made the following comments:
More could have been included regarding empty homes, local housing companies, help-to-rent schemes for the self-employed, zero carbon standards for council houses.
A review of the de-sheltering of the Sheltered Housing Schemes was also requested to ensure that it had been successful.
By a unanimous vote
RESOLUTION
That the updated 30 year business and financial plan is approved |
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Recommendation from Joint Audit and Standards Committee PDF 585 KB Minutes: Councillor Morley, Joint Chairman of the Joint Audit and Standards Committee introduced the report. She said that there had been no changes requested to the report following its consideration at the Joint Audit and Standards Committee meeting on 17 July.
Councillor Morley moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Guthrie.
By a unanimous vote
RESOLUTION
That the Treasury Management activity for the year 2016/17 be noted. Further, that it be noted that performance was in line with the Prudential Indicators set for 2016/17 |
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MC/17/12 Consultation on the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan PDF 186 KB Cabinet Member for Planning – David Whybrow Additional documents: Minutes: The report was introduced by Councillor Whybrow, Cabinet Member for Planning. He said the Council needed to replace its current Local Plan and Focused Review with a new Plan that identified the up to date requirements of its communities, used contemporary information that provided evidence of those requirements and capacity to meet them and which provided a realistic prospect of delivering growth in a way which was proportionate, appropriate and measured. A considerable amount of work had been undertaken to update the evidence base, including the annual housing requirement, jobs forecast and town centre and retail requirements. Work continued on updating the position on heritage, leisure and infrastructure requirements. In consequence there was now a good understanding of the key issues that arose from meeting the growth requirements of the District. The new Joint Local Plan would complement the priorities of the Council and the objectives of the Joint Strategic Plan. Among the 79 questions in the Consultation Document were a number of issues on which the Council particularly wanted to engage with communities, including where it should distribute or concentrate growth over the next 20 years, the range and mix of homes and to develop a robust approach to ensuring appropriate infrastructure provision when development was implemented, hence the proposal for Infrastructure Management Policies. An extensive programme of consultation would commence in August to ensure that communities’ views on these issues were obtained.
Councillor Whybrow proposed the recommendations. Councillor Stringer seconded the motion and thanked the team for their work.
In response to Members’ questions Councillor Whybrow clarified that:
· the proposed timetable · the Local Plan weight in planning terms as it progressed · future briefings for Members / Member involvement
By a unanimous vote
RESOLVED 1
That the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan: Consultation Document (July 2017) appended to this report be approved. RESOLVED 2 That the Corporate Manager – Strategic Planning, in consultation with the Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, be authorised to make consequential amendments to the consultation document arising from: (i) the outcomes of the Sustainability Appraisal of the document, (ii) removal of drafting and technical errors and typing mistakes, and (iii) improvements to the layout of the document necessitated by printing requirements. RESOLVED 3 That consultation on the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan: Consultation Document (July 2017) be commenced |
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To note the action taken detailed in Paper MC/17/13 attached. Minutes: The report was noted. |
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Appointment of Councillors to Committees and Outside Bodies RECOMMENDED
That the following appointments are made to Committees and Outside Bodies:
Development Control Committee B Derek Osborne (replacing John Levantis)
Joint Audit and Standards Committee John Levantis (replacing Elizabeth Gibson-Harries)
Joint Gypsy and Traveller Steering Group Representative to be confirmed
Minutes: Councillor Gowrley advised Members that it was proposed to appoint Councillor Derrick Haley to the Joint Traveller and Gypsy Steering Group, together with those appointments detailed on the agenda.
By a unanimous vote
RESOLUTION
That the following appointments are made to Committees and Outside Bodies:
Development Control Committee B Derek Osborne (replacing John Levantis)
Joint Audit and Standards Committee John Levantis (replacing Elizabeth Gibson-Harries)
Joint Gypsy and Traveller Steering Group Councillor Derrick Haley
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MC/17/14 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Report PDF 123 KB Minutes: Councillor Rachel Eburne introduced the report.
She advised that a further meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been held earlier in the day when an excellent discussion had been held on the topics of homelessness, use of bed and breakfast accommodation and temporary accommodation. These topics would be followed up at a future meeting.
The Committee would be undertaking a scoping review of Voids at the August meeting and she advised any Member who wished to comment to contact a Member of the Committee.
The report was noted. |