To receive Report No. 241/2018

Report No. 241/2018 was received, the purpose of which was to receive the final Report of the Oakham Town Task and Finish Group along with accompanying evidence which had been referred to Council following consideration at the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel on 15 November 2018 and seek agreement in principle to establish a Partnership Board (independent of the Council) to take forward the Town Centre work.

Mr Callaghan introduced and moved the recommendations in the report.  Mr Hemsley seconded the recommendations in the report.

During debate the following points were noted:

i.      Mr Dale, who had been a member of the Task and Finish Group, highlighted how the group had worked towards a common aim and the hard work that had been put into the final report over a period of months.  He asked Council to accept the report in a constructive way and recognise the achievement of putting together such a comprehensive paper;

ii.     Mr Conde was concerned that any investment in the County Town would not be at the expense of rural areas and villages;

iii.    Mr Conde also highlighted the importance of ensuring that any solutions to car parking payment systems should take account of the aging population in Rutland;

iv.   Miss Waller requested clarification on the level of initial funding.  This was confirmed by Mrs Briggs (Chief Executive) as the figure of £2000 initial funding as detailed in recommendation 4;

v.     Miss Waller did not think that it was appropriate for RCC to be members of the Partnership Group as that would risk the independence of the group, but that relevant Ward Members should attend as observers;

vi.   Mr Bird also felt that RCC should not be members and that the Group should be completely independent of the Council;

vii.  Mr Callaghan responded to the comments regarding membership and stressed that it was very important that RCC were members of the group, albeit with the same status as the other members.  RCC would have an important role to play, but would not lead or influence the group;

viii. Mr Baines credited the Task and Finish group for the enormous amount of work that had been done and felt there was a real sense of community involvement.  The Task and Finish Group Report (Appendix A) contained some achievable recommendations, others might need to be looked at in more detail;

ix.   Mr Gale was concerned that the timescales were very tight;

x.     Mr Hemsley confirmed in relation to the composition of the Partnership Group, that care had been taken not to be too prescriptive.  The Council was willing and had the expertise to set up the Partnership Group, but once it had been established the Council would cede any further responsibility.  He also confirmed that the aim was that the infrastructure for the group would be in place by May 2019 and that time should be taken to ensure this was right without losing the momentum to drive the work forward;

xi.   Mr Cross commended the report, however, he felt it was very important that the word “Centre” should be deleted from the report and that the focus should be on the market town as a whole;

xii.  Mr Callaghan confirmed that the use of the word “centre” had been debated by the Task and Finish Group and that they had agreed on a specific area for the main focus which was detailed on page 94 of the report, but that the impact on the wider area should also be considered when looking at any improvements.

Mr Conde proposed an amendment to motion 2) to remove the word “centre”.  This was seconded by Miss Waller.

Upon being put to the vote the AMENDMENT was DEFEATED.

Debate returned to the original motions.

RESOLVED

Council:

1)  THANKED the Task and Finish Group for its work and recommendations on the Town Centre

2)  AGREED in principle to establish a Partnership Board (independent of the Council) to take forward the Town Centre work subject to a future report following the consultation in recommendation 3

3)  DELEGATED authority to the Director of Place to consult the groups represented on the Task and Finish group to seek agreement to participate in a Partnership Board

4)  APPROVED initial funding of £2,000 for the Partnership Board

5)  NOTED the comments on potential deliverability of proposals (section 5 of Report No. 241/2018)

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The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow for members of the public to leave the Council Chamber.

Mr B Callaghan left the meeting and did not return.

The Chairman re-adjourned the meeting.

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