A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: https://zoom.us/j/96183837004

Contact: Emma Powley  01572 720991

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

There were none.

2.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND/OR HEAD OF THE PAID SERVICE

Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service introduced himself following his appointment as Chief Executive and welcomed Mr John Morely (Interim Director of Adult Services) and Ms Dawn Godfrey (Interim Director of Children’s Services) to the meeting, following their appointments.

3.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are required to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

4.

RECORD OF DECISIONS

To confirm the Record of Decisions made at the meeting of the Cabinet held on the 31st July 2020.

Minutes:

The record of decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on the 31st July 2020 were agreed as a true record.

5.

ITEMS RAISED BY SCRUTINY

To receive items raised by members of scrutiny which have been submitted to the Leader and Chief Executive (copying in Governance) by no later than 12 noon on Friday 14th August 2020.

Minutes:

The Leader informed Cabinet that he had received written representation from the Chair of the GIR Scrutiny Committee following their meeting held on the 13th August 2020. It was explained that these would be addressed by the relevant Cabinet Member at Item 7 – Statement of Community Involvement. The written representation would also be appended to the minutes and published on the Council’s website.

6.

COVID 19 UPDATE & APPROACH TO CONTINUED USE OF EMERGENCY POWERS - UPDATE pdf icon PDF 342 KB

Report No: 98/2020

Decision:

Cabinet noted the continued use of the Civil Emergency Delegation.

Minutes:

The Interim Chief Executive elaborated on the report and noted that since there was some speculation of there being a second wave of Covid over the winter period, it would be prudent to keep the emergency powers in place.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the continued use of the Civil Emergency Delegation be noted.

 

Reasons: It was agreed by Cabinet to review the emergency powers at every Cabinet meeting to ensure that the powers are still required. The emergency response remains in effect and the situation remains uncertain. Should circumstances become more challenging in the near future, there is a need for the emergency powers to be in place to allow for continued decision making under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation

7.

STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT pdf icon PDF 596 KB

Report No: 89/2020

(Key Decision)

Additional documents:

Decision:

a)    Cabinet considered all responses to the consultation undertaken on the draft revised Statement of Community Involvement.

 

b)    Cabinet adopted an amended revised Statement of Community Involvement as set out in Appendix 1 of this report.

Minutes:

Councillor G Brown, as the relevant Cabinet Member, elaborated on the report and explained that Cabinets’ approval was being sought to adopt an amended revised Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, which has taken into account the responses to the public consultation, set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

 

Councillor G Brown explained further that there had been a number of key issues had emerged in relation to the Consultation Document and this included the identification of a number of under-represented groups, a concern that some of the proposed changes to the SCI were not clearly articulated and how the Council would engage with those without access to internet. It was noted that the key points emerging from the consultation as summarised above had been taken into consideration and had been addressed in the proposed SCI set out in Appendix 1 of the report. It was further noted that the consultation on the SCI was optional and there was no statutory requirement to undertake the consultation.

 

Councillor G Brown thanked the GIR Scrutiny Committee for their comments and explained that it was the intention of Cabinet to write a postcard to every council tax payer and business payer in Rutland which would outline the various ways residents could respond to the consultation. It was further noted that the Council had used various channels of social media to communicate information as part of the consultation.

 

In response to a question asked, Councillor G Brown confirmed that he would consent to a small amendment the Statement of Community Involvement – Second Review – Section 3 (para 3.20) to include the words ‘including Citizens Advice Rutland’ as a key stakeholder with the numbering corrected in the report. He also confirmed that he would be happy for the Communications Strategy for consultation on the SCI to be shared with the Scrutiny Committees.

 

RESOLVED:

 

a)    That all responses to the consultation undertaken on the draft revised Statement of Community Involvement be considered.

 

b)    That an amended revised Statement of Community Involvement as set out in Appendix 1 of this report be adopted.

 

Reasons:

 

a)    The current SCI has been reviewed in order to update all elements of community engagement in the planning process with respect to statutory changes to planning regulations for policy making, neighbourhood planning and development management as well as to address issues related to Covid-19 restrictions.

 

b)    The SCI set out in Appendix 1 will provide the opportunity to maintain progress with the Local Plan in circumstances where there are limitations on access, movement and face to face contact which make the current provisions of the SCI impossible to implement for an uncertain period of time.

 

c)     The proposals are in line with recent guidance issued by the Government. The Covid-19 related changes to the SCI are temporary and the SCI will need to be reviewed again once current restrictions on movement and contact is lifted.

 

8.

ANNUAL REPORT ON TREASURY MANAGEMENT AND PRUDENTIAL INDICATORS 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 421 KB

Report No: 92/2020

Decision:

a)    Cabinet noted the actual 2019/20 prudential indicators within the report.

 

b)    Cabinet noted that the treasury management stewardship for 2019/20 was in compliance with the treasury management strategy

Minutes:

Councillor G Brown, as the relevant Cabinet Member, elaborated on the report and explained that it was an update report for noting. It was noted that the Council had made a return on investment of 0.95% compared to the LIBOR rate of 0.73% and it was reported that the Council had not undertaken any external borrowing in year and as such, had not breached the operational boundary for borrowing (£28m).

 

RESOLVED:

 

a)    That the actual 2019/20 prudential indicators within the report be noted

 

b)    That the treasury management stewardship for 2019/20 was in compliance with the treasury management strategy be noted.

 

Reasons: The report summarises treasury management performance in the year and meets the requirements set out (in section 6 of the report)

9.

OAKHAM ENTERPRISE PARK SITE INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES pdf icon PDF 371 KB

Report No: 96/2020

(Key Decision)

Decision:

1) Cabinet approved the additional revenue funds to pay for the Mothballing of Unit 5 Oakham Enterprise Park for the following as per the table in para 2.1

a) One-off costs £3,500

b) Annual Costs/Lost Income £48,600

 

2) Cabinet approved a new capital budget for the replacement of fencing to the derelict element of Oakham Enterprise Park with Timber Hoarding at a cost of £10,500

 

3) Cabinet approved the creation of new Capital Project for the provision of a new access entrance facility with supplementary mini roundabout at Oakham Enterprise Park (Gate One) at a cost of £68,000

Minutes:

Councillor G Brown, as the relevant Cabinet Member, explained that the Council as commercial landlord of Oakham Enterprise Park and were therefore, obliged to keep its premises in good or substantial repair and condition as stipulated by a combination of responsibilities laid down in legislation and local lease agreements. It was noted that as part of the improvements, it was being proposed that the entrance be re-modelled and widened which would enhance the overall aesthetic appearance of the park and also provide improved site access control whilst also meeting essential health and safety criteria.

 

Councillor G Brown reported that fifty percent of the site was in good condition and the other half needed work to be undertaken to improve the condition.

Councillor Hemsley commented that they were aware that there had been some concerns over the safety of the site, which would be improved with a new access entrance facility.

 

Councillor G Brown further noted that a project board was being established, the terms of reference to be agreed.

Cabinet welcomed the report and it was noted that the proposed alterations to the entrance of the site and improvements to the infrastructure would be a positive step forward.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1) That the additional revenue funds to pay for the Mothballing of Unit 5 Oakham Enterprise Park for the following as per the table in para 2.1 of the report be approved:

 

a) One-off costs £3,500

b) Annual Costs/Lost Income £48,600

 

2) That a new capital budget for the replacement of fencing to the derelict element of Oakham Enterprise Park with Timber Hoarding at a cost of £10,500 be approved.

 

3) That the creation of new Capital Project for the provision of a new access entrance facility with supplementary mini roundabout at Oakham Enterprise Park (Gate One) at a cost of £68,000 be approved.

 

 

Reasons: The Council is required by a variety of statutory and regulatory duties, primarily

· Health and Safety at Work Act etc.1974 and

· Landlord and Tenant Act 1954

 

To ensure that business premises are ‘well maintained, safe and healthy places for people to visit and work, so far as reasonably practicable’.

 

The use of Oakham Enterprise Park as a site for local employment and training now requires additional investment to ensure safe access/egress, security of redundant units and land is maintained to a satisfactory standard as defined by regulatory duty and local lease agreements.

 

An inability to maintain this asset in accordance with the above may result in reduced future lettings and an increased risk profile as tenants perceive adverse impact on their business and employees.

Proposed solutions that have been specified to remediate the challenges presented at Oakham Enterprise Park offer sustainable and resilient solutions that are suitable and sufficient and will not effectively sterilise future development opportunities.