Agenda and decisions

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sarah-Jane McDonough and Sarah Mead.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 11 November 2019 and 25 November 2019.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 11 November 2019 and 25 November 2019 be approved as correct records for signature by the Chair.

In relation to Minute 2 of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 November 2019, it was confirmed that the Assistant Director (Planning and Regulatory) had circulated a briefing note to Members on the status of cycleways in Stevenage.

To consider the following Part I Decisions of the Executive taken on 16 December 2019.

Executive                                                                                                      Page No.

Agenda

Item

2          Minutes of the Executive – 20 November 2019                                     5

3          Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Select               13

            Committees

4          Co-operative Neighbourhoods                                                              31

5          Community Centres Review                                                                  51

6          Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)                                                     79

7          Hertfordshire Growth Board Memorandum of Understanding         127

8          Developing a Town Fund Deal                                                            141

9          Corporate Performance Quarter Two                                                 171

10        Council Tax Base 2020/21                                                                  209

11        Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Medium Term Financial             215

            Strategy (2019/20 – 2023/24) and HRA Business Plan Review

12        Draft Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Rent Setting               239

            2020/21

Notice of Decisions to follow

PLEASE BRING YOUR AGENDA AND REPORTS FOR THE EXECUTIVE MEETING HELD ON 16 DECEMBER 2019

The Committee considered the decisions of the following matters arising from the Executive meeting held on 16 December 2019:

Minutes of the Executive – 20 November 2019

Noted.

Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny and Select Committees

Noted.

Co-operative Neighbourhoods

In reply to a series of Members’ questions, officers commented:

·      The pre-2017 County Division boundaries were chosen as the 6 neighbourhood areas as they were more synchronised with the existing SBC ward boundaries;

·      The St. Nicholas / Martins Wood prototype neighbourhood area was selected as some initial community engagement work and neighbourhood investment had already taken place or was being planned in the area as a consequence of the results of the most recent Residents’ Survey;

·      The bringing together of teams across the organisation would enable issues to be tackled in a more streamlined and co-ordinated manner, with clear accountability within services for each area and engagement with local residents to build community capacity;

·      Community Wealth Building (CWB) aimed to focus on social value, in endeavouring to “lock in” investment for local communities within those communities.   CWB would be the subject of the Main Debate item at the 29 January 2020 Council meeting;

·      CWB would increase the amount of money re-circulated within the local economy; and

The Committee felt that the roles of Members within the Co-operative Neighbourhood Management programme could perhaps form the topic for a future All-Member Seminar.

Community Centres Review

In response to Members’ questions, the Assistant Director (Communities and Neighbourhoods) advised:

·      There would be potential additional capital costs for any additional community centre floorspace, but these would be unknown until any required works were scoped.  However, there was provision in the Council’s Capital Strategy for a new Community Centre associated with the Kenilworth redevelopment;

·      There was no list of which community centres would be hubs and which would be spokes.  The principle of the hub and spoke model had been approved by the Executive, and further detailed work would be carried out in the 2020/21 Financial Year;

·      The emphasis would be on providing a sustainable future model of community centre provision, both for existing and any proposed new centres.  Community centres would not be considered in isolation, but rather as part of the Asset Management Strategy;

·      Consideration would be given to the location of the hub community centres, in terms of accessibility from all parts of each hub and spoke area;

·      In order to provide a level of sustainability, a balance would need to be struck between commercial and community based activities offered by each community centre;

·      There was no expectation that Community Associations would be asked to divert from their defined geographical focus, although the hub and spoke model could provide an opportunity for them to operate as touchdown points for SBC staff and partner organisations in providing an outreach service to residents; and

·      It was clarified that the additional Executive recommendation regarding the political neutrality of groups using the centres would not affect their use by local Members in conducting their regular Ward surgeries.

In  ...  view the full decision text for item 3.

None.

None.

To consider any Part I business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.

To consider the following motions:

1.         That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.         That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

It was RESOLVED:

1.      That, under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.      That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

To approve as a correct record the Part II Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25 November 2019.

It was RESOLVED that the Part II Minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 25 November 2019 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

To consider the Part II decisions of the Executive taken on 16 December 2019.

Executive                                                                                                      Page No.

Agenda

Item

15        Part II Minutes – Executive – 20 November 2019                          259

Notice of Decisions to follow

PLEASE BRING YOUR AGENDA AND REPORTS FOR THE EXECUTIVE MEETING HELD ON 16 DECEMBER 2019

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered and noted the Part II Minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 20 November 2019.

None.

None.

To consider any Part II business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.