Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Moorgate Street, Rotherham. S60 2TH

Contact: Lewis South, Democratic Services Manager  Ext. 2050 Email: lewis.south@rotherham.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

48.

Council Minutes

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 15th September, 2010 be approved for signature by the Mayor.

 

Mover:-  Councillor Stone                               Seconder:-  Councillor Sharman

49.

Communications

Minutes:

(1) The Chief Executive submitted the following petitions which had been referred to the appropriate Directorate for consideration:-

 

·              From 51 residents of Shaftesbury House, Rotherham objecting to the increase in heating charges.

·              From 96 residents of Rawmarsh, requesting removal of barriers in Birchwood.

·              From 108 residents of Rotherham requesting the side gate remaining open at Meadowview School, Rotherham.

 

(2) The Chief Executive submitted apologies for absence from Councillors Burton, Donaldson, Havenhand, Hodgkiss, Hughes, Johnston, Parker, Rushforth, Sangster, Sharman, Sharp, Sims and Steele.

50.

Standards Committee

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee (Section B) (pages 8B to 11B) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Gilding                               Seconder:- Councillor Austen

51.

Cabinet Minutes

 

Rotherham Green Space Strategy (Minute No. C73) (Pages 57C  - 58C)

 

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet (Section C) (pages 37C to 63C) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Stone                                Seconder:- Councillor Smith

 

(Councillor Stone declared a prejudicial interest in Minute No. C82 on the grounds of being on the Magna Board and left the room whilst this minute was discussed)

52.

Delegated Powers Meetings

 

Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children – Pages 38D to 52D (Section D)

 

Community Development,  Equality and Young Peoples Issues – Pages 9E to 13E (Section E)

 

Culture, Lifestyle, Sport and Tourism – Pages 28F to 30F (Section F)

 

Regeneration and Environment – Pages 36G to 50G (Section G)

 

Adult Independence Health and Well Being – Pages 31H to 39H (Section H)

 

Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods – Pages 33J to 44J (Section J)

 

Resources and Commissioning – Pages 21K to 23K (Section K)

 

Town Centres– Pages 7L to 14L (Section L)

 

Deputy Leader and Organisational Change and Governance – Pages 3N to 9N (Section N)

 

 

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings Cabinet Members as listed below be adopted:-

 

·              Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children – Pages 38D to 52D (Section D).

 

·              Community Development,  Equality and Young Peoples Issues – Pages 9E to 13E (Section E).

 

·              Culture, Lifestyle, Sport and Tourism – Pages 28F to 30F (Section F).

 

·              Regeneration and Environment – Pages 36G to 50G (Section G).

 

·              Adult Independence Health and Well Being – Pages 31H to 39H (Section H).

 

·              Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods – Pages 33J to 44J (Section J).

 

·              Resources and Commissioning – Pages 21K to 23K (Section K).

 

·              Town Centres– Pages 7L to 14L (Section L).

 

·              Deputy Leader and Organisational Change and Governance – Pages 3N to 9N (Section N).

 

Mover:- Councillor Stone                                Seconder:- Councillor Smith

 

(Councillors Currie, Dodson, Falvey, License and Littleboy declared a personal interest in Minute No. D55 (Settlement of Final Account) on the grounds of being on the 2010 Rotherham Ltd. Board)

53.

Audit Committee

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Audit Committee (Section P) (pages 16P to 19P) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Kaye                                  Seconder: Councillor License

54.

Licensing Board

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Board (Section Q) (pages 11Q to 12Q) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Wootton                           Seconder:- Councillor Barron

55.

Licensing Committee

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Committee (Section R) (page 1R) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Wootton                           Seconder:- Councillor Barron

56.

Planning Board

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Planning Board (Section T) (pages 99T to 154T) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Pickering                           Seconder:- Councillor Dodson

57.

Questions to Cabinet Members

Minutes:

(1)  Councillor Cutts asked could the Cabinet Member please advise on the design capacity for the number of people to work in the new Municipal Building and confirm what arrangements were made for entering and exiting off Don Street regarding car parking?

 

Councillor Smith confirmed that the capacity of the building in terms of workstations was 1,322 (this was the figure after the incorporation of the Library).  The number of staff identified as moving in was 2,075, but this did not take account of the current staffing reviews.

 

In respect of car parking, vehicular access was off Don Street where there were 118 internal and 46 external car parking spaces. This access route had been approved as part of the planning consent, which included consultation with the Council’s Highways Section.

 

(2)  Councillor Middleton asked when the new Council building on Main Street was fully operational, which existing Council buildings would remain in use and for what purpose?

 

Councillor Smith explained that the Town Centre buildings proposed to be retained were:-

 

·              Town Hall - accommodating Council Chamber, Mayor's accommodation etc.

 

·              Eric Manns Building - operating as an extension to the democratic and Members facilities in the Town Hall.

 

·              Station Road - retained as corporate records storage.

 

·              Civic Theatre.

 

(3)  Councillor Gilding asked what was the total estimated cost of the A6021 Wickersley Road/Broom Road Accessibility  Improvements?

 

Councillor Smith reported that the total estimated cost of the A6021 Wickersley Road/Broom Road accessibility improvement scheme was £470k.

 

Funding for this scheme had been sought from the Local Transport Plan Strategic Fund, which funded significant Integrated Transport projects across South Yorkshire. Requests for funding from the Strategic Fund were assessed on their merits against all other requests for funding across South Yorkshire. Schemes were scored by the promoting authority and the Local Transport Plan Central Team and funding was then allocated to schemes on a priority basis, with those giving the most benefit receiving funding.

 

We have successfully received £141k from the Strategic Fund in 2010/11 for the Wickersley Route scheme, which aimed to improve accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users. The full scheme, included:-

 

·              The extension of the existing out of town bus lane on Wickersley Road on its approach to Stag Roundabout

·              The benchmarking of bus stops along the route including the partial infilling of a bus layby on Wickersley Road to provide buses with additional priority when exiting the stop on this key bus corridor.

·              The provision of Zebra crossing facilities on all arms of Stag Roundabout (currently only 1 arm has a Zebra crossing)

·              Pedestrian crossing and cycle lane improvements along other sections of Broom Road.

 

A bid for the remaining funding to complete the scheme would be made from next years Strategic Fund. At present the full implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review on the available funding for 2011/12 were still to be confirmed.

 

(4)  Councillor Thirlwall referred to a previous Council Meeting where Councillor Stone stated he had full confidence in the Right Honourable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

58.

Questions to Spokespersons

Minutes:

Councillor Thirlwall referred to Councillor Littleboy in the past supporting the decision to award a £15,000 bonus to the Chief Constable.  In view of the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Sir Norman Bettison, stating that Chief Constables are overpaid and of the pending budget cuts, did Councillor Littleboy still support the decision to award such a bonus?

 

Councillor Littleboy reported that he was unable to comment on the statement by Sir Norman Bettison as it was his personal view. 

 

The bonus scheme for top ranking Police Offices was introduced nationally and was available to all Police Authorities.

 

Its purpose was to formalise and strengthen the relationship between the Authority and the Chief Constable.  The Authority would agree personal objectives with the Chief Constable through performance management and bonus payments were only then made if the objectives were achieved.

 

The whole process was overseen externally by Her Majesty’s Police Inspectorate and the Government had already announced that the whole of the Police terms and conditions, including remuneration, was to undergo a review.

59.

Scrutiny Update

Minutes:

Councillor Whelbourn, Chairman of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee, welcomed the opportunity to update activities by Scrutiny over the past few months.

 

Reviews carried out by Scrutiny Members included:-

 

·              Corporate Parenting, leading to the establishment of the Corporate Parenting group and training for members on their role as a corporate parent.

·              School closure due to extreme weather. This review would be going onto Cabinet for their consideration with a view to influencing the way in which school closures were dealt with arising from our often difficult winter conditions.

·              Review of privately rented sector housing.

·              Review on climate change, leading to planned awareness raising in respect of Members.

·              Review of services linked to diabetes.

 

A review was also being undertaken of the scrutiny function with a view to ensuring that in this new and changing world Rotherham was best placed to challenge and hold to account the decision makers both within the Council and outside in the interests of the people of Rotherham. Sheffield University are working on this with us. 

 

In October the Regeneration Panel also held a themed meeting at Fusion Business Centre to look at the work of the Advanced Manufacturing Park.  The Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham was a joint venture between UK Coal and Yorkshire Forward and home to world class engineering and manufacturing firms such as Rolls Royce, Boeing and Castings Technology International.

 

In addition, given the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review Councils would be facing extremely tough choices about how to provide services. Local Government had had some of the biggest cuts in the public sector, which were a major influence on the work going forward in the new changing landscape.  As a Council there was a need to prioritise areas for expenditure and savings. All of this made the role of Scrutiny vital to ensure that the right decisions were made to fund those areas that matter to local people and to protect the most vulnerable.

 

The Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee last week examined in-depth the implications of the proposals for the merger of the Warden Service and the Care Enabler Service which shows that Rotherham had a strong scrutiny function providing robust challenge both internally and externally.

 

With the demise of the regulatory framework as we know it and the intention to introduce self and sector regulation, there was the potential for some gaps in terms of accountability. There would be a need for greater peer challenge. With this and other issues in mind Rotherham had been leading up across the region in establishing a regional scrutiny network. Local Government Yorkshire and the Humber (LGYH) were supporting this activity with a view to shared working across party political and geographical lines.

 

Scrutiny Members were, therefore, thanked for their continued hard work and commitment.

 

Resolved:-  That the update on the work of Scrutiny be noted.

(The Mayor authorised consideration of the following item in order to process the formal publication)

60.

BDR JOINT WASTE PLAN

Minutes:

Councillor Smith introduced the report in relation to the formal publication of the BDR Joint Waste Plan.

 

The Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (BDR) Joint Waste Plan had been developed by planning officers from the three authorities as part of the Local Development Framework, in order to provide policies to determine planning applications for waste management facilities.  This included facilities for the following waste types  Municipal, Commercial and Industrial, Construction and Demolition, Hazardous, and Agricultural. 

 

The BDR Joint Waste Plan was a formal Development Plan Document which had already been subject to statutory public consultation and other stages of consultation with public and private bodies, to assist in its development.  In addition to providing policies to inform the determination of planning applications, it also proposed to allocate four strategic sites of up to 5 hectares (12 acres), for the development of larger scale waste management centres and to encourage the co-location of similar facilities from the waste industry.

 

Resolved:- That the formal publication of the BDR Joint Waste Plan be approved.

 

Mover:- Councillor Smith                                Seconder:- Councillor Akhtar

 

(Councillors Cutts, Fenoughty, Gilding, Mannion, Middleton, Thirlwall and Turner abstained from this decision)