BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (COMMUNITY SERVICES) COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (COMMUNITY SERVICES) COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY, 24 JULY 2007
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PRESENT: Mr J A B Long – Chairman
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Mrs S P Clarke
Mr B D Hurren
Ms J A Jenkins
Mrs M O Munson |
Mr A F D W Osborne
Mr B Riley
Mr J R A Sayers
Mr D L Wood |
Mr M Newman was unable to be present.
Mr R W Thake, Member Champion for Children and Young People, attended the meeting for the items on the Youth Strategy, the Play Policy for Babergh and the Progress Report on Children and Young People, referred to in Minute Nos. 18, 24 and 25 below respectively, and spoke on the items with the consent of the Chairman.
Mr A J Hinton attended the meeting in order to present the Annual Report of the Development Committee referred to in Minute No. 20 below.
Mr N A Bennett attended the meeting for the item on Air Quality referred to in Minute No. 22 below, and spoke on the item with the consent of the Chairman
It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 5 a substitute was in attendance as follows:-
Ms J A Jenkins (substituting for Mr M Newman).
Mr B Riley declared a personal interest in the item referred to in Minute No. 19 relating to the South Suffolk Leisure Trust Annual Report 2006/07, by virtue of the fact that he is a member of the Hadleigh Swimming Pool Steering Committee. He also declared a personal interest in Minute No. 23 below relating to Dual Use Facilities, by virtue of the fact that he is a member of the Hadleigh High School Dual Use Sports Centre Management Committee.
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2007 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
None received.
None received.
The Head of Corporate Services and the Project and Programme Executive submitted a joint report (Paper G52) setting out a summary of actions achieved in 2006/07 in relation to the Youth Strategy, and recommending the adoption of an Action Plan for 2007/08.
Jill Barton Corporate Support Officer, Stephanie Lloyd, Community Development Officer (Leisure) and Justin Nicholl, Arts and Community Development Officer made a joint presentation (subsequently numbered Paper G79) highlighting what had been achieved in 2006/07 in relation to the Youth Strategy, and what was planned for the forthcoming year. Chris Rix, Dan Smith and Christina Sutton answered questions about BeActive (Leisure Inclusion), Community Achievement Awards and the Theatre Critics Project.
Members asked a number of questions, and thanked all those concerned for a very interesting presentation.
RESOLVED
(1) That the summary of youth strategy actions achieved in 2006/07 as set out in Appendix A to Paper G52, and the presentation set out in Paper G79 be noted.
(2) That the Youth Strategy Action Plan for 2007/08 be approved as set out in Appendix B to Paper G52.
The Head of Community Development presented a report (Paper G53) introducing the SSL Trust’s Annual Report for the year 2006/07.
Penny Arnold, SSL Chief Executive, made a PowerPoint presentation subsequently numbered Paper G80. She and Ian Brown, Chairman of the SSL Board, answered Members’ questions, and the following were among the points noted:-
- In its first year of trading the Trust had achieved a surplus of £77,000 against a target of £50,000. This was very encouraging, but overheads would increase over the coming year, so cost control would be extremely important. The Board was keen to increase pay to avoid staff turnover and this would put significant pressure on future budgets.
- The Trust had made a significant contribution towards the following Babergh priorities: promoting healthy living and reducing health inequalities; raising individual and community ambitions; and giving easy, convenient access to quality public services.
- The deterioration of ageing facilities at Hadleigh Swimming Pool created serious and constant maintenance problems. This was a serious concern for the Trust in managing the Pool.
- A common complaint from customers of the Leisure Centre in Sudbury was that they could not find a space to park and this discouraged them from using the Centre.
- A free carbon trust investigation was being carried out to assist the Trust in reducing its energy consumption. The Board’s Senior Management Team was asked to make the findings available to Babergh.
- Members expressed an interest in visiting the Kingfisher Leisure Centre and the Hadleigh Swimming Pool. Officers were asked to look into this possibility.
RESOLVED
That the contents of Paper G53 and presentation Paper G80 be noted.
The Chairman of the Development Committee presented the Annual Report of that Committee for 2006/07 (Paper G54). He, Nick Ward, Chief Planning Control Officer and Christine Thurlow, Development Control Manager, answered Members’ questions on the report, and the following were among the points noted:
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Officers were currently looking into ways of keeping applicants, town and parish councils informed about the progress of planning applications.
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The Council had agreed that Members of the Development Committee and their substitutes should attend at least four half-day training sessions on planning per year. Members were disappointed to note that two Development Committee Members and seven substitutes had failed to attend the requisite amount of training.
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Officers intended to review the procedures relating to planning application call-ins and site visits. It was suggested that part of a training session might be devoted to this subject.
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At the Council meeting on 26 June 2007, questions had been asked about the system for recording payments due under Section 106 Planning Obligations. As a result of similar questions raised at Development Committee on 13 June 2007, that Committee had resolved to ask the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee to carry out further scrutiny of the system and to ensure that relevant information was readily available to Members. An appropriate recommendation had therefore been included in the Annual Report of the Development Committee at paragraph 2.2.
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It was agreed that the table relating to Planning Contributions at Appendix 2 to Paper G54 should be expanded to include columns referring to monies paid and the parish(es) in which the monies had been spent.
RESOLVED
(1) That the Annual Report of the Development Committee for 2006/07 submitted as Paper G54 be noted.
(2) That the system for monitoring and tracking all payments due to the Council under Section 106 Planning Obligations be enhanced by the expansion of the table at Appendix 2 to Paper G54 to include columns referring to monies paid and the parish(es) in which the monies have been spent. Further that information on payments be readily available to all Members of the Counci
The Head of Corporate Services submitted a report (Paper G55) which provided details of the Committee’s anticipated work for the remainder of 2007/08, including items that may be the subject of call-in procedures. The following were among the points noted:
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It was hoped to bring a report on enforcement matters, including smoke-free legislation, to the meeting to be held on 4 September.
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The meeting to be held on 16 October coincided with the Suffolk Strategic Partnership’s conference on “Creating the Greenest County”. Mr Wood and Mr Hurren hoped to attend the conference, and would report back to the Committee.
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Further to the discussion on Section 106 Planning Obligations referred to in Minute No. 20 above, officers were asked to bring an up-dated report to the Committee at its meeting on 4 December.
RESOLVED
That the Work Plan submitted as Paper G55 be noted.
The Head of Natural and Built Environment reported that in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Act 1995 the Council was required to undertake three-yearly “Updating and Screening Assessments” of air quality across the District and to report annually on progress in implementing air quality management.
The 2006 annual Progress Report was now available and presented new monitoring results and identified new and permitted developments that might affect local air quality.
The main source of local pollution in the District arose from road traffic and the Council undertook routine monitoring of nitrogen dioxide, which was one of the main pollutants emitted from motor vehicles. Measurements and pollution modelling studies confirmed that nitrogen dioxide concentrations remained within the current air quality objectives across most of the District.
Monitoring along the A131 southern approach to Sudbury had identified elevated concentrations at two localised points, specifically the northern end of Cross Street and on the south side of Ballingdon Bridge. Additional, widespread monitoring was therefore being carried out in partnership with the County Council to determine whether there was a long-term problem, to better understand the reasons for the elevated concentrations at these specific locations and to define the spatial distribution of nitrogen dioxide levels along the road. The monitoring data would also enable the impact to be assessed of the road “build-out” at the southern end of Cross Street which had been constructed to prevent passing vehicles mounting the kerb and gave priority to southbound traffic. The results of this extended monitoring would be published in the Council’s next Progress Report in Spring 2008.
Of the remaining six “defined” pollutants no guidance levels had been exceeded, or were predicted to be exceeded. If the monitoring programme outlined above revealed a long-term problem with nitrogen dioxide concentrations on the A131 in Sudbury, then reassessment of particulate emissions from the road traffic would be required.
A copy of the report entitled “Air Quality in the Babergh District 2006 Annual Progress Report” (subsequently numbered Paper G88) was circulated at the meeting. This had been emailed to all Members of the Committee and the Members for Sudbury (South), and a copy had been placed in the Members’ Room.
Members expressed concern about the elevated concentrations in Cross Street and at Ballingdon Bridge, Sudbury. It was noted that the results of the further analysis would be available towards the end of 2007. Officers were requested to report back on this at the meeting scheduled for 5 February 2008.
RESOLVED
That the report as set out above be noted.
The meeting was adjourned for lunch at 1.15pm and resumed at 1.50pm when the following Members were present:-
Mr J A B Long – Chairman
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Mr B D Hurren
Ms J A Jenkins
Mrs M O Munson |
Mr B Riley
Mr J R A Sayers
Mr D L Wood |
The Project and Programme Executive presented a report (Paper G56) concerning management options for dual use facilities and the Quay Theatre, Sudbury. This related to an appraisal carried out by Lawrence Graham of the not-for-profit distribution organisation (NPDO) option for dual use facilities and the role of the Quay Theatre, a copy of which was appended to Paper G56.
It was noted that officers were recommending that the current arrangements for the management of dual use facilities should continue. However, if in the future the South Suffolk Leisure Trust were to decide that it wished to approach the schools involved and take over the management of the facilities, then the District Council would be willing to enter into discussions about this possibility.
In addition, Members noted that it was recommended that the Quay Theatre be encouraged to explore the possibility of increased joint working with the two local schools in respect of their dance, drama and theatre facilities. The next meeting of the Committee would take place at the Theatre, and Members would have an opportunity to discuss these issues with the Manager of the Theatre.
RESOLVED
(1) That the current arrangements for the management of dual use facilities be continued for the time being.
(2) That if in the future the South Suffolk Leisure Trust decides that it wishes to approach Cornard and Sudbury Upper Schools about taking over the management of the dual use facilities, then the District Council would be willing to enter into discussions about this possibility.
(3) That the Quay Theatre be encouraged to explore the possibility of increased joint working with Cornard and Sudbury Upper Schools in respect of their dance, drama and theatre facilities.
The Project and Programme Executive presented a note (Paper G57) about the formulation of a Play Strategy for Babergh. Members noted that a proposed Play Policy would be considered by the Strategy Committee at its meeting on 16 August 2007.
It was noted that often on new housing estates where funds from Section 106 Planning Obligations were set aside for play facilities, these were not provided until all the development was completed. However, in many cases it would be more beneficial for the facilities to be provided at an early stage of the development. It was suggested that this point should be included in the Play Policy.
RESOLVED
That the contents of Paper G57 be noted.
The Project and Programme Executive presented a report (Paper G58), updating Members on the Council’s contribution to the agenda for delivering better outcomes for children and young people.
RESOLVED
(1) That the contents of Paper G58 be noted.
(2) That a further progress report on children and young people be submitted to the Committee in July 2008.
The Head of Finance submitted a report (Paper G48) setting out proposals for 2007/08 relating to member working groups dealing with service and financial planning (SFP) and the Corporate Plan.
RESOLVED
(1) That two Members of each Overview and Scrutiny Committee be appointed to serve on the SFP Group, and that for 2007/08 Mr B D Hurren and Mr B Riley be appointed as the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee representatives on the Group.
(2) That one Member from each of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees serving on the SFP be invited to join the Corporate Plan Working Group, and that for 2007/08 Mr B D Hurren be appointed as the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee’s representative on the Group.
(3) That the Strategy Committee’s proposal that two Members of Strategy Committee serve on the SFP Group be endorsed.
(4) That the role and the activities of the SFP Group in relation to setting the 2008/09 Budget be approved as set out in paragraphs 4.10 and 4.11 of Paper G48.
Note: The Committee adjourned for refreshments between 11.35 a.m. and 11.55 a.m.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 2.45 p.m.
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Chairman
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