Agenda and draft minutes

·              Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity held 20^th February, 2012.

·              Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity held 5^th March, 2012.

·              Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity held 19^th March, 2012.

For signature by the Cabinet Member.

(See White Book – Minutes presented to Council on18th April, 2012)

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meetings of the Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity held on 20^th February, 5^th and 19^th March, 2012. 

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the previous meetings of the Cabinet Member for Town Centres, Economic Growth and Prosperity be agreed as an accurate record for signature by the Chairman.

-        Stephen D Finley, Principal Engineer, to report.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Stephen Finley, Principal Engineer, which set out details of a petition from the residents on Pagenall Drive, requesting that the grassed verge areas be replaced with asphalt.

In response to the petition, a visit took place on 22nd March, 2012 to re-assess its condition of the verges and the rest of the highway.

In general the verges were in good condition.  There was some localised damage to the verges which would require repair and the surrounding highway looked in a good condition and relatively tidy.

Resolved:-  That the lead petitioner be informed that the replacement of the grassed verges areas with asphalt would not be undertaken.

-        Carolyn Barber, Ecology Development Officer, to report.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Carolyn Barber, Ecology Development Officer, which sought approval of an update on the list of Local Wildlife Sites in Rotherham.  The information formed part of the evidence base for the Local Development Framework and used in the determination of relevant planning applications.

During 2011 ten sites were proposed as either new candidate Local Wildlife Sites or as extensions to existing Local Wildlife Sites; site base data was collected where possible and the existing data held by the Rotherham Biological Records Centre was extracted.  The combined data for each site was then assessed against the Rotherham Local Wildlife Site selection criteria.  Of the ten sites, two demonstrated that they were of substantive nature conservation value by meeting at least one of the selection criteria.  It was now proposed that these be added to the existing Local Wildlife Site series.  The sites proposed for addition were:-

·              Candidate LWS122 – Treeton Colliery (ex spoil tip) [includes Well Lane Lagoons and Treeton Meadows], Treeton: qualified under selection criteria RI1c: Flowing water vascular plants, G2: Plant species for semi-natural neutral grassland, G2: Plant species for semi-natural calcareous grassland and G3: Plant species for semi-natural acid grassland.

·              Candidate LWS123 – Larch Plantation, Maltby: qualified under selection criteria W3: Vascular Indicator Plants of Neutral to Calcareous Woodland.

Asset Management had been consulted and confirmed that there was no objection to the proposed additional sites.  Larch Plantation was in the Council’s ownership and was included in the current development proposal for Maltby Lilly Hall School, which was granted conditionally on 28th February, 2012; minor tree removal was needed to create a safe pedestrian access to the school. The Council’s Ecologist has been involved in the development of the school proposals and there was not considered to be any impact on the Local Wildlife Site status as a result of the development.

Resolved:-  That the Rotherham Local Wildlife Site 2011 boundaries (as shown in Appendix 1 of this report) be approved.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Bruce Carter, Building Control Manager, which set out changes to fixed fees and charges for submission of Building Control applications.

The proposed revisions aimed to simplify and streamline the existing fee structure, as well as making some minor reductions in the most popular domestic categories, better reflecting the workload Building Control put into each application type.

A full breakdown was set out in detail as part of the report, but the main changes were summarised as:-

·              A base unit of £25/£50 (excluding VAT) had been adopted for the standard application format.

·              Regularisation Applications (Applications for building works previously undertaken without having had a Building Regulations Application) have been made on average 12% higher than regular Full Plans or Building Notice applications to cover additional administration work that these type of retrospective inspection works created.

In addition, it was proposed that a fee be charged for the reissuing of completion certificates when they have been lost or misplaced of which an administration fee of the sum of £25 be charged, to reflect the current costs to undertaking this additional work.

It was also proposed that the opportunity be taken too combine the two fees  payable upon deposit of the application, (raising the site inspection fee), and giving cash back (currently suggested £25) or a % discount.

Resolved:-  That the revised fees and charges, as set out in the report, be approved.

Further to Minute No. 44 of the Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning held on 23^rd April, 2012, consideration was given to an update on the Enviro-Crime enforcement activity within the Borough.  It detailed performance on a range of issues over the last two business years and an overview on how innovative methods of enforcement in deprived neighbourhoods had progressed and the established zero tolerance approach continuing to be used to ensure Rotherham was effectively tackling Enviro-Crime and other linked issues.

Further information was provided on the service reviews and associated team re-alignments, enforcement overview and the need for a zero tolerance approach,

Resolved:-  (1)  That the appraisal of enforcement activity be noted.

(2)  That the continuation of the current zero tolerance approach to Enviro-Crime enforcement irrespective of the location of the offence be reconfirmed.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended March 2006) (information relating to the legal proceedings).

Resolved, that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act (as amended March, 2006 (information relates to finance and business affairs).

-        Phil Gill, Leisure and Green Spaces Manager, to report.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Nick Barnes, Leisure and Green Spaces Principal Officer, which outlined the circumstances surrounding an encroachment onto land owned by Leisure and Green Spaces by a named person and sought approval to commence negotiations with the person involved to try to agree a price for the sale of the land to him.

Details about the land which had been encroached upon, its composition, the options for resolving the encroachment issue and the need for the Council to defend its title were considered at the meeting and a number of questions raised about planning matters were answered.

Resolved:-  (1)  That Legal Services be instructed to issue Court Proceedings as a matter of some urgency, to defend the Council’s title to the land in question, and to make whatever other provisions were needed to protect the Council’s interest and minimise risks.

(2)  That officers in Asset Management be instructed to commence negotiations with the named person to try to agree a price for the sale of approximately 1500 m² of land adjacent to the said property.

(3)   That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet Member on progress.