Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bessant, Boothby, Cook, Mrs Cope, Mr Cope, Ladkin and Wright.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2017.

On the motion of Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Morrell, it was

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2017 be approved and signed by the Mayor.

No interests were declared at this stage.

The Mayor referred to his recent visit to Herford to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of their town hall, his successful charity curry night the previous week, the Richard III commemoration and the fair trade event.

The Mayor presented a community award to Maria Crowie-McGrath who had raised money for defibrillators for Bagworth and Thornton.

It has only been a few weeks since we held our annual budget meeting and the agenda this evening has only a few items, but they are important.

Some of you may be aware that there is a county council election to be held in May and we are therefore required to approve some changes to locations of polling stations that officers will be running on the day of the election.

Secondly, members are asked to approve the evaluation and capping process for the Developing Communities Fund. An amount has been included in this year’s budget for these community based infrastructure projects and this is the final step in the creation of the process for this fund. I hope all members will support this proposal that will deliver fair funding for projects to communities across the borough.

I cannot ignore some of the comments about suggestions of on-street parking charges that have been discussed through social media and included in the local press. For the record, I believe it would be counter-productive to the work of this council in supporting local businesses and not helpful for the many shoppers who need just a short stay for their shopping.

We have shown through our purchase of the Castle car park that we are committed to better parking solutions and we should do more in the future to make life better for shoppers, businesses, their employees and local residents.

In presenting his position statement, the Leader referred to the items to be considered later in the meeting and to the recent press coverage about the county council bringing on-street parking charges to Hinckley, of which he stated he was not in support.

To receive for information only the minutes of the Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 8 February 2017.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Commission were received for information.

To seek approval of changes to some polling stations in advance of the elections on 4 May 2017.

Council received a report which proposed polling station changes for the forthcoming elections. During discussion, the following points were raised:

·         Change from Heathfield School to Heath Lane Academy: clarification was requested on how safeguarding would be managed with the school being open on polling day, and the access arrangements to the school were queried

·         Change from Dove Bank Primary School to Nailstone All Saints Church: the ward councillor supported this but expressed concern that he had been informed of the change by the parish clerk and not by officers.

It was agreed that members would be provided with a response to these outside of the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Surtees and

RESOLVED – the polling station changes be approved.

To seek approval of the delivery of the Developing Communities Fund, the eligibility of projects, the evaluation criteria and process.

This was considered by the Scrutiny Commission at its meeting on 8 February and an extract from the minutes of that meeting is attached.

A report was presented which sought approval of the delivery of the Developing Communities Fund, the eligibility of projects and the evaluation criteria and process.

During discussion, the following points were raised:

·         Some members expressed disappointment that there were community groups and facilities in Hinckley that would benefit from being able to access this fund, yet were not eligible as the fund was only available to the parished areas.

·         A member expressed concern that only those parishes subject to development were eligible and felt that this may disadvantage the smaller villages

·         It was requested that a briefing be arranged for clerks to explain the processes

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the short deadline and also the time limit on drawing down the funding

·         The significant funding received in the Hinckley area over recent years was raised, and many felt that this initiative went some way to rebalance investment in our communities

·         Assurance was sought and provided over flexibility on the tight deadlines which would be addressed through the delegation arrangements.

The fund was, however, generally welcomed for the parished areas.

At this juncture, advice was sought in relation to the need for those members who were also parish councillors to declare an interest in this item. As a result, Councillors Bray, Camamile, Crooks, Hall, Hollick, Lay, Lynch, Nickerson, O’Shea, Roberts, Rooney, Wallace and Williams declared a personal interest in this item.

It was moved by Councillor Morrell, seconded by Councillor Hall and

RESOLVED –

(i)            The Developing Communities Fund, eligibility of projects, the evaluation criteria and process be approved;

(ii)           The Director (Environment & Planning) in consultation with the Executive members for rural and urban communities be delegated to implement the fund.