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

17.

Minute's Silence - KARL BARTON AND MICHAEL HOGGARD

Minutes:

The Mayor referred to the recent deaths of ex-Councillors Karl Barton and Michael Hoggard.

 

Members of the Council stood in silence for a minute as a token of their respect.

18.

Minute's Silence - Utoeya/Oslo, Norway

Minutes:

The Mayor referred to the horrific incidents which left 76 people killed in twin attacks in Utoeya and Oslo in Norway.

 

Members of the Council stood in silence for a minute as a token of their respect.

 

A letter of condolence would be sent to the Mayor in Oslo expressing this Council’s deepest sympathy with the events and would be signed by the Mayor of Rotherham, the Leader of the Council and Leader of the Opposition.

19.

Council Minutes

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20th May, 2011 be approved for signature by the Mayor.

 

Mover:-  Councillor Stone                               Seconder:-  Councillor Akhtar

20.

Communications

Minutes:

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

 

·              From eighteen residents of Clifton, Rotherham regarding the current operation of the Resident’s Parking Scheme.

·              From eighty-one residents of Wickersley, Rotherham regarding anti-social behaviour on Greenwood Crescent, Wickersley.

·              From thirty two residents of Beechwood Lodge, Rotherham requesting relocation of a funfair.

·              From thirty-five residents of Wickersely regarding vehicular parking on Black Carr and Springfield Road, Wickersley.

 

(2) The Chief Executive submitted apologies for absence from Councillors Beck, Burton, Gosling, Kaye, Sharman and Swift

 

(3)  The Chief Executive reported the receipt of Councillor Turner’s resignation from the Improving Places Select Commission, the Planning Board and the Members’ Training and Development Panel.

21.

Questions from the Members of the Public

Minutes:

A member of the public asked how many domestic dwellings were intended for the planning applications sites at:-

 

1.      Westgate -  Riverside/Main Street/Baths

 

2.      Wellgate – Central Motor Company

 

and would these two developments be completed before the Green Belt LDF is commenced and what is the policy for other sites within the borough’s boundary before the Green Belt LDF is commenced?

 

The Leader explained that in 2004 planning permission was refused at appeal for redevelopment of land at Westgate for a mix of uses including retail and some residential use. As this application was in outline no details were given of the number of homes which would have been delivered if permission had been granted.

 

In 2006 planning permission was granted for redevelopment of land at Wellgate which would deliver 128 homes on the site. Development had not progressed due to the developer not considering the scheme viable in the current market. The Council now owned the site and was looking to develop a viable scheme for redevelopment.

 

In relation to these particular sites, both sites were within mixed use area in the current UDP. In the current Sites and Policies Issues and Options consultation the proposal was that the 'mixed use' menu be altered to allow residential use (bringing it in line with other permissions and aspirations for the area).

 

In relation to the wider Borough area a policy had been drafted in the draft Core Strategy (CS2 and CS3) which would prioritise the development of brownfield sites and this would assist so that wherever possible the Council could ensure that these sites were developed prior to greenfield sites.

 

In some circumstances development of greenfield housing sites may be more sustainable than brownfield housing sites. There were also some major issues with some sites such as the Westgate site where landownership was an issue that may hinder comprehensive development of the site in the short term.

 

In a supplementary question the member of the public was of the view that the policy could be interpreted differently, but was happy that brownfield sites would be given priority.

 

The Leader pointed out that if the Local Development Framework was not agreed, then the Government could determine which sites, regardless of whether they were green or brown, could be developed.

22.

Standards Committee

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee (Section B) (pages 1B to 7B) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Buckley                             Seconder:- Councillor Gilding

23.

Cabinet Minutes

 

Charging for Housing Act 2004 Enforcement (Minute No. C6) (Pages 4C to 6C)

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet (Section C) (pages 1C to 23C) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Stone                                Seconder:- Councillor Akhtar

 

(Councillors License and Turner declared personal interests in their associations with Rotherham Rugby Club when matters were discussed as part of the minutes.)

24.

Delegated Powers Meetings

 

Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children – Pages 1D to 12D (Section D)

 

Community Development,  Equality and Young Peoples Issues – Pages 1E to 12E (Section E)

 

Culture, Lifestyle, Sport and Tourism – Pages 1F to 7F (Section F)

 

Regeneration and Environment – Pages 1G to 18G (Section G)

 

Adult Independence Health and Well Being – Pages 1H to 15H (Section H)

Adult Social Care – Pages 16H – 19H (Section H)

 

Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods – Pages 1J to 11J (Section J)

 

Resources and Commissioning – Pages 1K to 11K (Section K)

 

Town Centres– Pages 1L to 4L (Section L)

 

Joint Meeting of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Environment and the Cabinet Member for Town Centres – Pages 1M – 2M (Section M)

 

Deputy Leader and Organisational Change and Governance – Page 1N (Section N)

 

Leader and Deputy Leader – Pages 1U – 7U (Section U)

 

Minutes:

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

 

·              Safeguarding and Developing Learning Opportunities for Children – Pages 1D to 12D (Section D)

 

·              Community Development,  Equality and Young Peoples Issues – Pages 1E to 12E (Section E)

 

·              Culture, Lifestyle, Sport and Tourism – Pages 1F to 7F (Section F)

 

·              Regeneration and Environment – Pages 1G to 18G (Section G)

 

·              Adult Independence Health and Wellbeing – Pages 1H to 15H (Section H)

·              Adult Social Care – Pages 16H – 19H (Section H)

 

·              Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods – Pages 1J to 11J (Section J)

 

·              Resources and Commissioning – Pages 1K to 11K (Section K)

 

·              Town Centres– Pages 1L to 4L (Section L)

 

·              Joint Meeting of the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Environment and the Cabinet Member for Town Centres – Pages 1M – 2M (Section M)

 

·              Deputy Leader and Organisational Change and Governance – Page 1N (Section N)

 

·              Leader and Deputy Leader – Pages 1U – 7U (Section U)

 

Mover:- Councillor Stone                                Seconder:- Councillor Akhtar

25.

Audit Committee

Minutes:

Resolved:- (1)  That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Audit Committee (Section P) (pages 1P to 10P) be adopted.

 

(2)  That the contents of the Audit Committee Annual Report 2010/11 be noted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Sangster                           Seconder:- Councillor Gilding

26.

Licensing Board

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Licensing Board (Section Q) (pages 1Q to 6Q) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Wootton                           Seconder:- Councillor Barron

27.

Planning Board

Minutes:

Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meetings of the Planning Board (Section T) (pages 1T to 19T) be adopted.

 

Mover:- Councillor Pickering                           Seconder:- Councillor Dodson

28.

Questions to Cabinet Members and Chairmen

Minutes:

(1)  Councillor Gilding asked could consideration be given to unannounced visits being made to Residential Care Homes by inspecting Councillors instead of the present arrangements?

 

The Leader confirmed that there were currently a number of means through which residential homes within Rotherham were inspected by Council staff.

 

·              Contract assurance practices include regular planned and unplanned visits to all services for the purpose of quality monitoring, contract concern investigation and during safeguarding investigations.  These visits were carried out by Contracting and Reviewing Officers (CARO’s)

 

·              The CAROs complete unannounced visits to all services periodically, the frequency of this depends on the level of risk/performance of the service.

 

·              Confidential staff surveys were completed which usually highlighted if a service was short staffed and this would be followed up by spot checks to the home.

 

·              Relatives frequently reported concerns by confidential survey or telephone which was followed up via safeguarding or contract concern procedures.

 

Home from Home – this was the local Quality Assurance scheme that provided additional and vital information about the quality of care provision from the customer’s perspective:-

 

·              Age UK complete a customer visit which lasts about half a day and included a relative group, resident group and a reality check of the building.

·              CARO’s complete their annual contract review.

·              Questionnaires were sent out to a selection of relatives and staff. These were collated by service quality and form part of the report.

·              Final report was produce along with their rating and displayed on our website.

 

It would not be appropriate for some of these inspections to be carried out by Councillors.  The Council had to protect its own legal interests and safeguard vulnerable adults by using professional expertise which was backed up by certain legislative requirements.

 

Elected Members did carry out some visits, to check the quality of a home’s environment and to be able talk to customers and staff informally to get their opinions and feedback.

 

The announced social services visits should be viewed as a positive experience for the service and provide an opportunity for residents and relatives to engage with Elected Members on an informal basis and the announced nature of these visits gave this opportunity.

 

(2)  Councillor Gilding asked now that Riverside House was nearing completion, could he have an answer to his unanswered question ‘What are the fitting-out costs of the building?’

 

The Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity reported that the value of the fit out was £9.5 million

 

(3)  Councillor Gilding asked why was the important decision as to the ‘Frankie and Benny’ application at the Parkgate Retail World left for an officer decision?

 

The Chairman of the Planning Board reported that the planning application referred to fell within the agreed category for delegated decisions made by officers. 

29.

Scrutiny Update

Minutes:

Councillor Whelbourn, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, welcomed the opportunity to give an update on activity following the implementation of the review of structures and functions which encompassed a new Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.  All the Select Commissions had met at least once and were getting to grips with a new way of working.  The main focus of this had been the developing work programme, which aimed to be more focused, both in terms of the subject matter and the ways in which reviews were conducted.  The Select Commissions were to meet every six weeks, but with an expectation that much of the work would take place between and outside of meetings and very often out of the Town Hall.

 

The work programme was shaping up for the Select Commissions as follows:-

 

Self Regulation was focusing on the budget, performance monitoring, return of Rotherham 2010 Ltd. to the Council and the return on investment within the Town Centre.

 

Health was focusing on the emerging health reform agenda and in particular the formation of the local Health and Wellbeing Board and its associated strategy.

 

Improving Places was to focus on neighbourhood working, sustainable housing and fuel poverty, rough sleeping and the Town Centre

 

Improving Lives was focusing on school governors, the Youth Service, Safeguarding, Adult Social Care, removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance and the implications of the Index of Multiple Deprivation and the JSNA on children and young people

 

The Management Board would be focusing on Police Reform, the impact of regeneration funds in Rotherham and a review of Polling Stations.  In addition they would be taking an overview of policy developments and consultations and the impact and implementation of the Localism Bill.

 

By way of summary, last year’s achievements included:

 

·              PE and Sport in Schools.

·              Regeneration through Business Centre and the AMP.

·              Private rented housing.

·              Adverse weather conditions.

·              Regional review of children’s cardiac services.

·              Lead on regional scrutiny programme.

 

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

30.

Membership Arrangements

Minutes:

Resolved:- That Councillor Smith be appointed to the Planning Board

 

Mover:- Councillor Stone                                Seconder:- Councillor Akhtar

31.

Children's Cardiac Services

Minutes:

Moved by Councillor Wyatt and seconded by Councillor Jack:-

 

“This Council recognises the expertise in Children’s Cardiac Services which has been built up by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) based at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).  LTHT also supports outreach clinics at Rotherham Foundation Trust (RFT) which are used by approximately 300 children each year.

 

The Council wishes to register its opposition and serious concerns at the potential loss of the Children’s Cardiac Unit in Leeds which would have a devastating impact on those children requiring the specialist services provided by the facility.

 

The Council resolves to work with all relevant stakeholders to campaign to retain specialist children’s cardiac surgery in the region and to inform the Secretary of State for Health of our views. “ 

 

The motion was put and carried and was adopted by the Council.