Agenda and minutes

Reverend Martin Castle offered prayer.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Mr Cope, Mrs Cope, Hodgkins, O’Shea, Rooney, Wallace and Witherford.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2016.

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

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February be confirmed and signed by the Mayor.

(Councillor Bray was absent during voting on this item).

To be advised of any additional items of business which the Mayor decides by reason of special circumstances shall be taken as matters of urgency at this meeting. Items will be considered at the end of the agenda.

The Mayor had agreed to accept three items of urgent business which would be taken at the end of the published agenda.

No interests were declared at this stage.

The Mayor presented community awards to Bosworth in Bloom, Earl Shilton in Bloom and Friends of Hollycroft Park, in recognition of their work in the area.

Question from Councillor Nichols to the Executive member for Neighbourhood Services:

“At the beginning of March, I received my Council Tax Demand Notice and in with it was another piece of paper, headed Garden Waste Collection Service. Upon reading that document I was extremely shocked and amazed to see on page 2 a STEALTH INCREASE in charges, under the heading “What is the cost?”, the words “£24 per brown garden waste bin”.

1      Where was it stated in any of the documents issued to Councillors at the Budget Meeting of the Council, that the cost of a second Brown Bin would be going up to £24, or that the cost would be £24.00 per bin, and how can you justify a 60% rise in the cost of a second bin, from £15 to £24, when there are no additional transport costs or personnel costs, as the vehicle and men are already there collecting the first bin? The £24.00 charge equates to a 16.86% increase in the Borough Council’s Council Tax, so for both bins this equates to a 33.72% increase

2      Have you any figures to show the number of times in a year that the second bin is collected?   

3      In view of the above comments, will this Council now review the additional charge for the second Brown Bin and bring it back to a more affordable and representative cost and could  a report be brought to the next available Scrutiny Commission with :-

a)    The number of single Brown Garden Waste Bins issued to householders up to 1^st March 2016, since the original scheme began.

b)    The number of second Brown Bins issued in the same period.

c)    The number of single Brown Bins issued under the new charging scheme.

d)    The number of second Brown Bins issued under the new charging scheme.

e)    The expected cost of collecting the Brown Bins not paid for.

f)     The expected cost of storage, if any.

g)    The expected cost of disposal.”

Response from the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services:

“May I thank Cllr Nichols for his questions,

1.    I would refer him to Page 8 of the Scale of Fees and Charges 2016-17 agreed by Council on 18 February 2016 which details £24 per bin as a new charge. The costs of servicing additional bins either from the same or adjacent premises is not significantly different and is still very good value as demonstrated by the 20,881  households already signed up (6.4.16) for over 21,800 bins, including 913 households who have signed up for more than one bin.  One has even signed up for 7. Where other authorities have reduced charges for a second bin, the initial charge is often higher for example Rushcliffe BC at £30 along with higher district council tax charges than with this Council.  Many also charge the same for additional bins e.g. Harborough £40 for fewer collections per year.

2.   No details are collected relating to second bin emptying as it will depend  ...  view the full agenda text for item 475.

Question from Councillor Nichols to the Executive member for Neighbourhood Services:

“At the beginning of March, I received my Council Tax Demand Notice and in with it was another piece of paper, headed Garden Waste Collection Service. Upon reading that document I was extremely shocked and amazed to see on page 2 a STEALTH INCREASE in charges, under the heading “What is the cost?”, the words “£24 per brown garden waste bin”.

1      Where was it stated in any of the documents issued to Councillors at the Budget Meeting of the Council, that the cost of a second Brown Bin would be going up to £24, or that the cost would be £24.00 per bin, and how can you justify a 60% rise in the cost of a second bin, from £15 to £24, when there are no additional transport costs or personnel costs, as the vehicle and men are already there collecting the first bin? The £24.00 charge equates to a 16.86% increase in the Borough Council’s Council Tax, so for both bins this equates to a 33.72% increase

2      Have you any figures to show the number of times in a year that the second bin is collected?  

3      In view of the above comments, will this Council now review the additional charge for the second Brown Bin and bring it back to a more affordable and representative cost and could  a report be brought to the next available Scrutiny Commission with :-

a)    The number of single Brown Garden Waste Bins issued to householders up to 1^st March 2016, since the original scheme began.

b)    The number of second Brown Bins issued in the same period.

c)    The number of single Brown Bins issued under the new charging scheme.

d)    The number of second Brown Bins issued under the new charging scheme.

e)    The expected cost of collecting the Brown Bins not paid for.

f)     The expected cost of storage, if any.

g)    The expected cost of disposal.”

Response from the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services:

“May I thank Cllr Nichols for his questions,

1.    I would refer him to Page 8 of the Scale of Fees and Charges 2016-17 agreed by Council on 18 February 2016 which details £24 per bin as a new charge. The costs of servicing additional bins either from the same or adjacent premises is not significantly different and is still very good value as demonstrated by the 20,881  households already signed up (6.4.16) for over 21,800 bins, including 913 households who have signed up for more than one bin.  One has even signed up for 7. Where other authorities have reduced charges for a second bin, the initial charge is often higher for example Rushcliffe BC at £30 along with higher district council tax charges than with this Council.  Many also charge the same for additional bins e.g. Harborough £40 for fewer collections per year.

2.   No details are collected relating to second bin emptying as it will depend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 475.

At its budget meeting in February, this Administration approved a balanced budget for 2016/17 and set out an MTFS which will provide a balanced budget for the next four years. Because of our actions, this Council is now in much better shape than a year ago and can now concentrate on making further efficiency savings, and delivering improvements to our services.

Today we are putting before members a number of key papers, firstly we publish a strategy which sets out our priorities for rural communities. Secondly, we propose changes to planning fees and charges which will allow us to recover the cost of providing advice to our customers. We also propose a new schedule of meetings and changes which will see the Overview & Scrutiny function, Council and Executive meetings aligned in a better sequence. There is also a late paper to seek members’ support for our contribution towards the protection and resettlement of Syrian refugees.

This Administration has in the past few months made improvements to give members more information about evolving planning policy. Regular updates to planning committee on enforcements and major new developments are a help to members wanting to understand progress on key developments once approval has been granted. We have recently introduced a liaison group for a sensitive development in Earl Shilton. This comprises officers and members, working with the developer and the local community to deliver what has been approved. Introduced after the granting of permission and to continue during development, we will implement more of these as new developments come on stream.

Council’s draft response to Government’s consultation on possible changes to the planning system has been circulated to members today for comment prior to submission. In May we will be holding a planning for growth workshop for Parish Councils and members. We are also continuing to provide updates to members on policy developments and links with other authorities, through the planning policy forum. These are just some of the changes that are giving members better control over planning decisions and will give us better control over where new homes are built.

Regeneration continues in Hinckley with the Crescent seeing regular new additions, plans are in place to demolish and redevelop the old leisure centre site, and officers are investigating other sites in the Town Centre that would benefit from redevelopment.

In the next few weeks we shall see the opening of the new leisure centre, celebrate the 90^th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and commemorate St George’s Day. I also hope to be celebrating a Premier League title win for Leicester City, a club I have supported from the days of Keith Weller in his white tights, through all of the ups and downs of the years in between, and now into the Champions League.

In presenting his position statement, the Leader of the Council referred to the balanced budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy, improvements to information provision to members in relation to planning, events to commemorate the Queen’s 90^th Birthday, and the major developments in Hinckley.

To receive for information only the minutes of the Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 3 March 2016.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Commission were noted.

To inform members of the background to, and introduction of, the proposed rural strategy for the Borough. Council is asked to endorse and adopt the strategy.

The proposed rural strategy was presented to Council and welcomed by members. The importance of Neighbourhood Plans and working with parish councils was highlighted. It was moved by Councillor Morrell, seconded by Councillor Wright and

RESOLVED – the rural strategy be adopted.

To seek approval for the renewal of the lease for the Castle Street Car Park, Hinckley, for a further five years.

Consideration was given to the renewal of the lease for the Castle Street Car Park for five years. It was moved by Councillor Ladkin, seconded by Councillor Roberts and

RESOLVED –

(i)            the renewal of the lease for Castle Street Car Park from 1 May 2016 for five years for £15,500 per annum (increased by 1.5%pa) be approved;

(ii)           authority be delegated to the Chief Officer (Environmental Health) and the Estates and Asset Manager to approve the terms on which the lease is to be granted.

To propose a revised decision making structure and calendar of meetings for 2016/17. Council is asked to approve the revised structure, terms of reference for the Governance & Personnel Committee and Finance & Performance Scrutiny and the calendar of meetings to December 2017.

Members received a report which proposed revisions to the decision-making structure of the authority. Following a brief discussion, it was agreed that the item be deferred for consultation with senior members and with the Scrutiny Commission at its next meeting.

To recommend a new charging regime for planning pre-application advice.

Council received a report which proposed a new charging regime for pre-application advice. It was noted that charges must only cover costs. On the motion of Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Surtees, it was

RESOLVED – the new pre-application charging regime be approved.

To seek approval for calculation, publicising and setting of fees for chargeable building control work for 2016/17 to be delegated to the Chief Planning and Development Officer.

Consideration was given to a report on the setting of building control fees for 2016-17. The Leader advised that, in moving the report, he was proposing an amendment to the recommendation in that the setting of fees be delegated to the Executive members for Planning and for Finance, ICT & Asset Management in conjunction with the Deputy Chief Executive (Community Direction) and the Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Direction). It was noted that, from 2017/18, the building control fees would be presented to Council as part of the Scale of Fees & Charges.

It was noted that 70% of building control work was brought to the Council over external providers and that the proposed charges remained competitive. It was moved by Councillor Hall, seconded by Councillor Ward and

RESOLVED – Authority be delegated to the Executive member for Planning and the Executive member for Finance, ICT & Asset Management in conjunction with the Deputy Chief Executive (Community Direction) and the Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Direction) to set fees for chargeable building control work for the year to 31 March 2017.

To obtain Council approval to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme.

Council was asked to support participation in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme which, it was explained, would provide accommodation in the private rented sector for two families (up to ten persons) per year for the next five years. Members expressed the importance of recognising the difference between economic migrants and genuine refugees. It was moved by Councillor Boothby, seconded by Councillor Hall and

RESOLVED –

(i)            Participation in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (SVPR) be approved;

(ii)           The provision of two properties per year (10 people) in the private rented sector for the next five years, to support the SVPR, be approved;

(iii)          An initial supplementary income and expenditure budget of £85,200, financed from the Home Office, be approved;

(iv)         Authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive (Community Direction) to approve an additional increase in the income budget up to a maximum of £85,200 and matching expenditure budget up to a maximum of £85,200 financed from the Home Office, if there is additional demand for the scheme.