Minutes:
(1) Councillor Vines asked how much money had Rotherham Council put in or committed to date from its conception into the failed Yorkshire Digital fibre networking fiasco?
The Deputy Leader reported that to date the Council had advanced £3.7 million, a repayable capital loan of £2 million drawn down in 2010/11 as part of the overall project funding agreement for the construction and deployment of the network, and a further £1.7 million since the network became operational in March, 2012. The funding advanced was proportionate to the Council’s stake in the Digital Region Project.
(2) Councillor Gilding asked for an update on the latest situation regarding the “Ministry of Food” Unit in All Saints’ Square, together with details of how much the scheme had cost the Council so far.
The Leader reported that Rotherham Borough Council was in active discussions with the Jamie Oliver Foundation and an existing Ministry of Food Centre provider and it was anticipated that the Rotherham operation would be re-opening in May, 2014, once all the necessary repairs and fitting of the building had taken place.
For the six years since 2008 until the end of this financial year the Council would have committed a total of approximately £205,000 to the service.
(3) Councillor Vines asked how much money RMBC had given out in loans over the last five years to Magna, Rotherham United Football Club, Rotherham Rugby Club and how much had been paid back to date and what interest rates were charged?
The Deputy Leader reported that loan transactions included in the last five years audited Statement of Accounts up to and including the 2012/13 financial year were as follows:-
Magna:-
In 2008/09 £200,000 was advanced and this was fully repaid in 2009/10.
In 2009/10 £150,000 was advanced and this was fully repaid in 2010/11.
In 2010/11 £150,000 was advanced and this was fully repaid in 2011/12.
£100,000 was advanced in 2011/12 and this was fully repaid in the financial year.
£250,000 was advanced in 2012/13 and this was fully repaid in the financial year.
All the loans were made at a commercial rate.
Rotherham United Football Club:-
In 2012/13 two loans, one of £2.8 million and one of just over £1.326 million were advanced to the football club.
The total of just over £4.126 million was advanced to facilitate the construction of the new Community Stadium.
The interest rate on both loans was at a commercial rate and a sum of £73,025 had been repaid as at 31st March, 2013, which was fully in line with the repayment schedule.
Rotherham Rugby Club:-
£55,000 was advanced and fully repaid in the 2008/09 financial year.
£55,000 was advanced and fully repaid in 2009/10.
£50,000 was advanced and fully repaid in 2010/11.
£50,000 was advanced and fully repaid in 2011/12.
£50,000 was advanced and fully repaid in 2012/13.
All the loans were made at a commercial rate.
(4) Councillor Gilding asked what were the results of the consultation regarding the proposed ‘Residents’ Parking Scheme’ in the Rotherham General Hospital area?
Councillor Smith stated that consultation results were not released into the public domain until a report on the consultation and associated recommendations were reported to his delegated powers meeting.
The results of the consultation regarding the proposed ‘Residents’ Parking Scheme’ around the Rotherham General Hospital were to be reported to his delegated powers meeting on the 3rd March, 2014. However, prior to this, a meeting was to be held with the Cabinet Member and all Ward Members representing the areas included in the proposed parking zones (Sitwell and Boston Castle Wards).
The meeting had been arranged for 31st January, 2014, so that the invited Ward Members would be able consider the outcome of the consultations giving them the opportunity to have their views included in the finalised report to be presented at the 3rd March, 2014 meeting.
(5) Councillor Vines asked how many fixed penalty fines/prosecutions had been issued in the last two years in the Eastwood area of Rotherham for fly tipping, dumping of household waste and furniture etc. and what was the cost to the rate payers of Rotherham for constantly cleaning up the Eastwood Area over the last two years?
Councillor R. Russell, reported, that in terms of the enforcement of environmental issues in Eastwood, over the business year to date there had been three hundred and sixteen cases investigated and, of these, eighty resulted in formal legal action including the service of Notices. In the last two years there had been eight prosecutions where the Magistrates’ Court had issued fines and costs against the guilty party.
The estimated cost of the cleansing resources deployed in the Eastwood area was £26,000 per annum.
To put this into context, in the same period that Eastwood received three hundred and sixteen waste related complaints, it was also reported that for the whole of the Rotherham Borough there had been three thousand, four hundred and thirteen cases, of which two hundred and fifty five had been investigated and of these sixty eight prosecutions.