Agenda item

The following written questions have been received:

Mr Clayton has submitted a written question to the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Assets, attached.

Mr Clayton has submitted a written question to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and City Deal, attached.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member (Health, Wellbeing and Leisure)

No questions were received.

Cabinet Member (Community Engagement, Social Justice and Wealth Building)

No questions were received.

Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets)

A member of the public, Mr Edward Clayton, asked the following question:

Sometime ago Morris Homes funded the Council to provide paths, linking their development of Wateringpool Lane, to paths on the Junction Nature Reserve, as part of a Section 106 agreement. Could the Cabinet Member give some indication as to when the work will begin, and how long it is expected to take?

The Cabinet Member gave the following response:

It is worth clarifying the funding received from the Wateringpool Lane development was for highways works and not for footpath improvements. As part of the Section 106 Agreement for the Morris Homes site there was an amount of £77,000 identified for Highways works which related to improvements along Brownedge Road/Lostock Lane junction together with new bus stops. This amount was received as requested on 20 April 2016. This funding has been allocated to Lancashire County Council but so far they have not claimed the amount for any works.

That said the footpath works, Mr Clayton is referring to, are part of the Council’s green links capital programme where a project to implement them is currently being developed.

Cabinet Member (Environment)

Councillor Ange Turner asks the Cabinet Member if the Council could put measures in place to prevent the misuse of fireworks near wildlife.

The Cabinet Member gave the following response:

It is almost impossible to enforce and monitor the misuse of fireworks but I agree that everyone needs to take more responsibility and I will liaise with officers on the promotion of a Council wide campaign on this issue.

Councillor David Howarth asked the Cabinet Member if she had seen a recent email that had been sent to all Members by Friends of the Earth relating to doubling tree coverage in the area by 2045.

The Cabinet Member responded to say that she had seen the email and had responded to inform Friends of the Earth about the 110,000 trees a global legacy project that the Council were currently undertaking. She urged all Members to do the same.

Cabinet Member (Planning, Regeneration and City Deal)

A member of the public Mr Edward Clayton, asked the following question:

Should a developer fail to comply with a legally binding Unilateral Undertaking, what remedies are available to the Local Authority?

This question related to the Wateringpool Lane development.

The Cabinet Member gave the following response:

In general terms rather than naming individual cases the Council would always seek to resolve the issue through negotiation with the developer in the first instance. If the negotiations prove unsuccessful then the Council would have recourse to the Courts to enforce compliance with any legal agreement. It is also worth highlighting that the developer may seek to vary a legal agreement where justified but ultimately this would be a decision of Planning Committee as to whether the variation is justified or not.

In terms of the position regarding the Morris Homes site at Wateringpool Lane, Officers have been working with this developer for some time to ensure that all requirements relating to the layout of the footpaths is completed. We understand that a delay has been experienced by the developer due to the need for a surface water fallout connection which needs to be installed and is currently awaiting an order. From liaison with the developer they are suggesting that this would be after Christmas due to issues with the recent wet weather. Officers are not happy with this delay and are currently assessing whether the delay is justified or not.