Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bradley, Clark, Mrs Mary Green, Michael Green, Higgins, Mullineaux, Otter, Pimblett and?Prynn.

Councillors Howarth, M Tomlinson, Watts and Yates declared personal interests in item 5(b) City Deal as county councillors. Councillor Martin declared a personal interest in items 5(b), 6, 9 and 15.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that:

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 May be approved as a correct record subject to Councillor Mrs D Gardner being recorded as 'in the chair' rather than Councillor Mrs?M Gardner.?

At the start of this item the Director of Planning and Housing gave a brief presentation on the City Deal proposals, the aim of which was to gain additional government support and assistance for a series of infrastructure investments that would help deliver development as proposed in the South Ribble Site Allocations Local Development Framework.

The Leader commended the reports of the meetings of Cabinet held on 12 June 2013 and 8 July 2013. The reports were seconded.

In relation to the Select Move Allocations Policy in the report of the Cabinet meeting of 12 June, Councillor Ms Bell commended the document for picking up a lot of anecdotal evidence. She was concerned however about the very high number of families or individuals on the waiting list wishing to live in South Ribble compared to the limited number of properties available and she suggested there should be a review of the social housing situation in the borough.

In relation to the City Deal in the report of the Cabinet meeting of 8 July, the Leader stressed that the figures contained in paragraph four were estimates from the county council rather than this council. The figure of ?15,000? related to homes and reference to ?bypass? in the first line on page 2 should in fact read ?bridge?.

Responding to an observation from Councillor Harrison that potential developers had been buying up as much land as possible, the Leader confirmed that details of the City Deal were in the public domain but reminded members that the deal was based on land that was already allocated in the Local Development Framework.

Councillor Titherington indicated his support for the Council?s expression of interest in the City Deal, given the estimated number of houses and jobs that the deal was likely to bring.

Councillor M Gardner said he welcomed the deal but pointed out that residents in his area had long opposed the development of Pickerings Farm due to inadequate existing infrastructure.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
1) the reports of the Cabinet meetings be noted, and
2) (i) the contents of the draft Select Move Common Allocations Policy be noted;
(ii) approval be given to enable the Select Move partnership to go to wider consultation with stakeholders and partners, and
(iii) authority be delegated to the Director of Planning and Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Housing, to amend the draft policy in the light of any representations made and to then implement the policy.
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Councillor Titherington presented the report of the Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 25 June 2013. The report was seconded.

Councillor Titherington was proud to confirm that this Council was the only district council selected to participate in the national NHS Health Check pilot commissioned by Public Health England and NHS Improving Quality.

He took the opportunity to encourage all members to attend the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 8 October when representatives from Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service and the Fire Brigades Union would attend to present proposed changes to emergency cover arrangements. He would arrange for the consultation document to be circulated to members after the Council meeting. Councillor Stettner observed that response times for some of the Western Parishes areas were significantly longer than the target response time.
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Councillor W Bennett presented the report of the Governance Committee meeting held on 26 June and commended officers for the clarity of the reports which had been under consideration. He was pleased that a number of one-off items had meant that a surplus of ?0.721 million could be transferred to general reserves. The report was seconded.

The Leader presented the report of the meeting held on 8 July and extended her thanks to the members and officers who had been involved in the Boundary Review so far. The report was seconded.

Councillor M Tomlinson echoed the Leader?s comments and made special mention of the extensive work by James Wallwork from Democratic Services in producing numerous maps. He said it had been inevitable that at this stage the groups would have to agree to disagree on some of the areas but he noted that there was no specific mention in the recommendation of the consensus to work along My Neighbourhood area boundaries. The Leader confirmed that this was certainly the intention.

RESOLVED that:
1. the revised warding arrangements for Western Parishes neighbourhood area as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (unanimous);
2. the revised warding arrangements for the two wards of Farington East and Farington West in the Central neighbourhood area as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (27 YES, 18 NO, 0 ABSTENTION);
3. i) the revised warding arrangements for the ward of Lostock Hall and Tardygate in the Central neighbourhood area and those wards in the Eastern neighbourhood area as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (23 YES, 19 NO, 3 ABSTENTION);
ii) the Labour Group reserve its right to submit its own proposals relating to the ward of Lostock Hall and Tardygate in the Central neighbourhood area and those wards in the Eastern neighbourhood area to the Local Government Boundary Commission;
4. i) the revised warding arrangements for the Penwortham neighbourhood area as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (26 YES, 19 NO, 0 ABSTENTION);
ii) the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups reserve their right to submit a joint alternative proposal for Penwortham neighbourhood area to the Local Government Boundary Commission;
5. the revised warding arrangements for the Leyland neighbourhood area ward of Moss Side as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (unanimous);
6. i) the remaining revised warding arrangements for Leyland neighbourhood area as proposed by the Conservative Group be the Council?s submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission (26 YES, 19 NO, 0 ABSTENTION);
ii) the Labour Group reserve its right to submit its own proposals for the remaining wards in the Leyland neighbourhood area to the Local Government Boundary Commission; and
7. the Chief Executive in consultation with the chairman of the Boundary Committee be authorised to finalise the Council?s submission for revised ward boundaries to the Local Government Boundary Commission by 5 August 2013 (27 YES, 18 NO, 0 ABSTENTION).
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The Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Housing, Councillor Hughes, presented the report which set out the proposed charging schedule for South Ribble. The proposed charging rates were in line with the recommendations of the independent examiner from the Planning Inspectorate. The report was seconded.

Councillors Foster and Martin expressed concern about the legislation referred to in the penultimate paragraph on page 2 of the report which required 25% of CIL generated in their area to be given over to Parish and Town Councils where a neighbourhood plan was in place and 15% where a plan was not in place. Councillor Foster enquired about the spending arrangements for non parished areas. He was concerned that monies generated from developments for example in Bamber Bridge, which was in great need of improvements to its infrastructure precisely because of developments taking place, might end up being spent in parished areas.

Councillor Hughes said he agreed completely with the sentiments expressed by Councillors Foster and Martin and he had already asked these questions himself. He stressed that parish councils would be strongly encouraged to see the bigger picture.

Councillor Forrest suggested that the new legislation was strong justification for creating additional parish and town councils.

In response to a question from Councillor C Tomlinson about the fact that apartments would attract a ?0 rate per square metre as opposed to ?65 per square metre for dwelling houses, Councillor Hughes confirmed that the Planning Inspectorate had made the ultimate decision on these figures even though the council had asked for more.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
The Charging Schedule as set out in the report be adopted with charging to commence from 1 September 2013.
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Councillor Robinson presented the report which had been considered at the Governance Committee meeting on 26 June 2013. He said that the report proposed a slight amendment to the call account strategy in the Investment Strategy to include reference to the Council?s new banker, Barclays, and its former banker, HSBC, and to the limits that applied to them. The report was seconded.

Councillor Foster confirmed that the Labour Group supported this change. He took the opportunity to commend the Council?s due diligence as ?second to none? in terms of its treasury management.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
The amendments to the Investment Strategy as per paragraph 11 of the report be approved.
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The Leader presented the report which had been welcomed by the Governance Committee at its meeting in June. The code confirmed the council?s ongoing commitment to the principles of good corporate governance and said she particularly welcomed the inclusion in it of reference to partnership working and the roles of Scrutiny and the Head of Internal Audit. The report was seconded.

RESOLVED (unanimously):
That the Local Code of Governance be adopted.
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Councillor Ms Bell asked the Leader for an update on the Council?s position on the Marsden Theatre in Worden Park. The Leader said she would be happy to report back when she could but things were currently in a state of flux with the Shaw Trust having recently moved in.

In response to an observation from Councillor Forrest about the amount of money spent by local authorities on litter collection, the Leader agreed that it was shameful that people still dropped so much litter. This Council worked hard to communicate educational anti-littering messages and would continue to do what it could to maintain residents? satisfaction with the cleanliness of the borough.

Councillor M Tomlinson congratulated members of the Leyland My Neighbourhood Forum for its efforts in dealing with litter in Leyland, in particular by organising a number of litter picks.
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Neighbourhoods and Street Scene

Councillor Heyworth urged the Council to erect signs warning of possible high water levels in the wood off Parkgate Drive. He understood that a lady had recently found herself trapped for a period of time in deep mud in the wood. He also referred to ongoing problems in Cricketers Brook.

A member of the public said that he had had occasion this week to contact the Environment Agency about domestic foul water coming from the culvert at Worden Lane. He had been informed that council officers were now looking into this. He asked the Council?s Building Control team to check that cross drainage did not occur. He urged the Council to erect signs in the children?s playground warning of the potential hazards of toxic waste.

In the absence of Councillor Mullineaux, Councillor Mrs Smith undertook to speak to officers after the meeting to ask them to look into the issues raised.

Finance and Resources

In response to a question from Councillor Martin about the Council?s sustainable procurement policies, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources said he did not know the policies by heart but was not aware of any complaints in this regard. He was sure that relevant officers would be happy to respond to any particular questions should Councillor Martin wish to contact them direct.

Regeneration, Leisure and Healthy Communities

In response to a question from Councillor Martin about possible changes to taxi licensing proposed by the Law Commission, Councillor P Smith said that the Council would no doubt respond to any future consultation but would implement whatever policy the government required.
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In response to a question from Councillor Martin about how members who were not General Licensing Committee members could get involved in the committee, Councillor Rainsbury explained that members were welcome to attend meetings and could, if appropriate, speak on behalf of applicants.

At Councillor Marsh?s request, Councillor M Gardner was pleased to provide further details of a visit that he had arranged for members to Springfield Fuels Ltd on the afternoon of Monday 19 August. All members would be welcome and were asked to advise Democratic Services by Friday 1 August whether they wished to attend.

In response to a question from Councillor Mrs Noblet, Councillor Ogilvie gave details of a successful scheme run by the county council in conjunction with One Connect to assist former armed services personnel to make the transition from military to civilian life. This involved ex services personnel working as mentors in secondary schools across the county. Councillor M Tomlinson praised the hard work of former County Councillor France in getting this scheme up and running.

In response to a question from Councillor Harrison about child poverty and the Children?s Trust, Councillor Mrs Noblet said she would be happy to follow this up if he let her have the question in writing.
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RESOLVED (unanimously):
That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item of business as it involved the discussion of information which was defined as exempt from publication under paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 ?Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))? and in which the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.
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The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Robinson, presented this report which concerned the Council's claim against the Icelandic bank, Landsbanki. He tabled an amended set of recommendations for consideration. The report was seconded. Councillor W Bennett confirmed that the report had been unanimously supported at a special meeting of the Governance Committee held on 22 July.

RESOLVED (unanimously):
That the amended recommendations, as tabled, be approved.
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