Agenda and minutes

Venue: Function Room - Hinckley Rugby Club. View directions

Contact: Rebecca Owen, Democratic Services Manager on 01455255879 or email  rebecca.owen@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

47.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors C Allen, Boothby, Hodgkins and H Williams.

48.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 143 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23 February and 18 May 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor Bray, seconded by Councillor Bill and

 

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meetings held on 23 February and 18 May 2021 be approved as a correct record.

49.

Declarations of interest

To receive verbally from Members any disclosures which they are required to make in accordance with the Council's code of conduct or in pursuance of Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This is in addition to the need for such disclosure to be also given when the relevant matter is reached on the Agenda.

Minutes:

No interests were declared.

50.

Mayor's Communications

To receive such communications as the Mayor may decide to lay before the Council.

Minutes:

The Mayor reported that he had attended the Making A Difference awards which had taken place on zoom and he thanked all of those who had been recognised at the event for their hard work.

51.

Leader of the Council's Position Statement

The key item of business on the agenda tonight relates to a significant investment opportunity at MIRA Technology Park, which was discussed in detail at Scrutiny last night.

 

I have deliberately focussed this statement on a few key items as there is limited business on the agenda tonight.

 

Queen’s Speech

There were a number of key measures recently announced in the Queen’s Speech including planning, jobs, health, the environment, climate change and care reforms. I will ask officers to review the opportunities and implications for the Council on the emerging legislation on these proposals. I see key opportunities for the Council playing its part in leading locally on jobs and skills via its work through our local Employment and Skills Partnership, supporting the local health and wellbeing offer to our communities coordinating this via our local Health & Wellbeing Partnership and influencing change on climate change and environmental initiatives.

 

One of my biggest immediate concerns are the planning reforms. We have already seen unprecedented relaxations to permitted development rights. The proposals outlined in the Planning Bill plan to scrap S106 agreements in place of a national levy; introduce stripped back local plans to allow broad areas across our districts to be developed with little control by us; impose mandatory, centrally set housing targets, and to cap it all introduce a fast track system for so called ‘beautiful’ buildings!

 

These changes are all apparently in the name of increasing housing delivery and meeting the Government’s magic 300,000 a year new homes targets. We all know where the problem lies and it is not with our current system; its developers who get permission and are simply not delivering. The LGA has recently published analysis that just over 2.78 million new homes have been given the go-ahead by councils since 2010, but only 58% - just under 1.63million have been built. This means more than 1.1m homes that have been granted planning permission over the past 10 years in England still have not been built.

 

Safer Streets Bid

I am pleased to confirm that our community Safety Partnership, in conjunction with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, have secured £108,000 of Home Office Safer Streets Funding for the centre of Hinckley. This will focus on acquisitive crime with the four crime types being domestic violence, vehicle crime, theft from person and robbery. It will enable a range of initiatives including the installation of eight new CCTV cameras, two new ANPR cameras and support the radio link scheme in partnership with Hinckley BID. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Executive Lead, Michael Mullaney, and our officers for their work on this bid and in supporting our joint Community Safety Partnership with Blaby.

 

HBBC Local Plan

I can announce that the Council will be launching its consultation of its new Local Plan by the end of the month. The Plan will set out the vision and spatial planning strategy for the borough which will provide the framework for the future  ...  view the full agenda text for item 51.

Minutes:

In his position statement, the Leader of the Council referred to:

 

·         The Queen’s speech

·         Safer Streets bid

·         The Local Plan

·         Business support grants

·         Plans for a covid memorial

·         The levelling up fund bid

·         Sport in Desford having won the national Decentralised Energy Awards 2020/21.

52.

Motion proposed by Councillor R Allen and seconded by Councillor Findlay

“In recent years and particularly during the Coronavirus pandemic, it has become increasingly clear that access to high speed Superfast and Ultrafast broadband internet is a necessity, not a luxury.

 

However, the builders of new residential developments are given the choice as to what telecommunications infrastructure is put in place, including the increasingly outdated and insufficient ADSL copper cable structure. Examples of this practice include the Sketchley Brook estate in Burbage and the Bosworth Manor estate in Stoke Golding.

 

This motion proposes that this Council, further to the existing broadband condition on developers building over ten residential dwellings, seeks by way of amending its planning policies that developers of all new residential properties install the highest standard of telecommunications infrastructure possible.

 

At this time, the fastest technology is the Ultrafast, Gigabit compliant FTTP Fibre to the Property, this is the standard all new homeowners in this Borough should expect to be provided with. Embedding this within the Council’s planning policies as a ‘minimum’ standard will future proof any further technological advancements which residents should rightly benefit from.

 

This motion also calls for the Chief Executive of the Council to write to the following:

 

(a) The Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government asking that such a requirement be considered as part of the forthcoming governmental review of the planning system;

 

(b) The BT CEO Philip Jansen, highlighting the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, to encourage bringing forward the investment of full fibre broadband to these areas as soon as practically possible;

 

(c) The OpenReach CEO Clive Selley, to further highlight the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, with the aim of securing a delivery date for the fibre upgrades based upon BT’s recent announcement to invest a further £15bn in speeding up its rollout of full fibre.”

Minutes:

The following motion was moved by Councillor R Allen and seconded by Councillor Findlay:

 

“In recent years and particularly during the Coronavirus pandemic, it has become increasingly clear that access to high speed Superfast and Ultrafast broadband internet is a necessity, not a luxury.

 

However, the builders of new residential developments are given the choice as to what telecommunications infrastructure is put in place, including the increasingly outdated and insufficient ADSL copper cable structure. Examples of this practice include the Sketchley Brook estate in Burbage and the Bosworth Manor estate in Stoke Golding.

 

This motion proposes that this Council, further to the existing broadband condition on developers building over ten residential dwellings, seeks by way of amending its planning policies that developers of all new residential properties install the highest standard of telecommunications infrastructure possible.

 

At this time, the fastest technology is the Ultrafast, Gigabit compliant FTTP Fibre to the Property, this is the standard all new homeowners in this Borough should expect to be provided with. Embedding this within the Council’s planning policies as a ‘minimum’ standard will future proof any further technological advancements which residents should rightly benefit from.

 

This motion also calls for the Chief Executive of the Council to write to the following:

 

(a) The Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government asking that such a requirement be considered as part of the forthcoming governmental review of the planning system;

 

(b) The BT CEO Philip Jansen, highlighting the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, to encourage bringing forward the investment of full fibre broadband to these areas as soon as practically possible;

 

(c) The OpenReach CEO Clive Selley, to further highlight the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, with the aim of securing a delivery date for the fibre upgrades based upon BT’s recent announcement to invest a further £15bn in speeding up its rollout of full fibre.”

 

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED – the Chief Executive be asked to write to:

 

(i)            The Minister for Housing Communities and Local Government asking that requirements to install the highest standard of telecommunications infrastructure in all new residential properties be considered as part of the forthcoming governmental review of the planning system;

 

(ii)          The BT CEO Philip Jansen, highlighting the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, to encourage bringing forward the investment of full fibre broadband to these areas as soon as practically possible;

 

(iii)         The OpenReach CEO Clive Selley, to further highlight the examples of Sketchley Brook and Bosworth Manor, with the aim of securing a delivery date for the fibre upgrades based upon BT’s recent announcement to invest a further £15bn in speeding up its rollout of full fibre.”

53.

Matters from which the public may be excluded

To consider the passing of a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the public from the undermentioned item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 10 of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act.

Minutes:

On the motion of Councillor Hollick seconded by Councillor Bray, it was

 

RESOLVED – in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3, 5 and 10 of Part I of Schedule 12A of that Act.

54.

MIRA Enterprise Zone

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report about investment opportunities linked to MIRA Enterprise Zone and the potential for the development of a new carbon innovation hub and attracting major new inward investment attracting new high skilled jobs and apprenticeship opportunities to the borough.

 

Members noted and welcomed the amended resolution which had been prepared following comments of the Scrutiny Commission.

 

It was moved by Councillor Lynch, seconded by Councillor Bray and unanimously

 

RESOLVED – the recommendations within the report be approved.