Decisions

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Environment & Economy Select Committee meeting held on 25 June 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair drew Members’ attention to the provisional date of 3 September 2019 for the Select Committee’s next meeting, at which it was hoped that consideration would be given to the provision of Post Office services in the Borough.  He asked Members to pencil in this date in their diaries/calendars.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stephen Booth and Jim Brown.

There were no declarations of interest.

None.

Not required.

None.

      The meeting had been convened to consider a Motion to confer the title Honorary Alderman on Mrs Ann Webb.

Councillor Sharon Taylor in moving the motion paid tribute to Ann Webb for her outstanding service to the town as a Councillor and that in her 29 years’ service she had not only represented the residents of the Longmeadow and Shephall Wards but also in championing the provision of social housing in the Town.

      Councillor Mrs Joan Lloyd formally seconded the Motion and stated that she wholeheartedly agreed with the comments made by Councillor Taylor.

     Councillor Phil Bibby CC, Leader of the Opposition and Councillor Robin Parker CC, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group both spoke in favour of the motion.

      It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that in accordance with the provisions of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council confers the title of Honorary Alderman on Mrs Ann Webb who had rendered over 29 years eminent service as a Councillor representing the people of the Town, particularly in the Longmeadow and Shephall Wards and in championing the provision of social housing in the Town.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Dave Cullen, Liz Harrington, Lizzy Kelly, Graham Lawrence and Lin Martin-Haugh, William Sarenden – Youth Mayor and Jen Matthews – Chair of the Youth Council.

There were no declarations of interest.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Dave Cullen, Liz Harrington, Lizzy Kelly, Graham Lawrence and Lin Martin-Haugh.

There were no declarations of interest.

At this juncture, the Mayor advised that he would be taking an urgent Part II report on the Appointment of the Chief Executive as the matter could not wait until the next meeting.

Council considered a report which had previously been presented to the Executive on 10 July 2019 in relation to the 4^th Quarter Capital Monitoring Report.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the budget of £1.5million for Registered Provider grants, in line with the reasoning in paragraph 4.3.4 of the report is approved.

The Council considered the Annual Scrutiny report which summarised the work undertaken throughout 2018/19 by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Select Committees, and which outlined the Work Programme for the three committees for 2019/20.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

1.         that the work undertaken by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Select Committees during 2018/19 is noted;

2.         that Members of the three Scrutiny Committees are commended for the work undertaken during the year;

3.         that the Scrutiny Officer, Stephen Weaver, be thanked for his work and support to the  Scrutiny function and the Scrutiny Members.

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 to 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by SI 2006 No. 88.

2.  That having considered the reasons for the following item being in Part II, it be determined that maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Council considered a report which had previously been presented to both the General Purposes Committee and the Executive, in relation to the Gambling Act 2005 – Statement of Gambling Principles.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles, as attached at Appendix A to the report is adopted.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Audit Committee meetings held on 19 March 2019 and 11 June 2019 are noted.

The Chair of the Community Select Committee gave an update on the work of the Committee. She advised that the main area of work for this year for the Committee related to access to the sport and leisure provision in the Town as the Council tried to encourage a healthier lifestyle. This scrutiny review would include a visit to Fairlands Lakes later in the summer to review the leisure provision at the lakes.

The Chair of the Environment and Economy Select Committee advised that the work programme for the Committee included Neighbourhood Centres, Post Office provision in the Town, a joint scrutiny with the Community Select Committee on Fairlands Valley Park and also monitoring the resolution on the climate change emergency.

It was RESOLVED that the updates are noted.

None received.

None received.

Council received five questions.  The responses to the five questions were circulated at the Meeting and are appended to the minutes.

A.           Question from Councillor Steven Booth

In response to a supplementary question from Cllr Booth, Cllr Broom advised that he would ensure a satisfactory response be sent to Cllr Booth.

B.           Question from Councillor Robin Parker

The Leader of the Council advised Cllr Parker that she would ask officers to look at the possibility of installing a traffic light timing system in the Council Chamber as soon as possible.

C.           Question from Councillor Graham Snell

Councillor Snell advised he would submit his supplementary question in writing after the meeting.

D.           Question from Councillor Tom Wren

In response to a supplementary question, Cllr John Gardner advised that if the funding was available the Council would plant as many replacement trees as possible. Tree felling was only used as a last resort.

E.           Question from Councillor Andy McGuinness

In response to a supplementary question, the Leader of the Council advised that the provision of refreshments before Council meetings was a welfare issue particularly for those Members coming to meetings straight from work. This was an issue that had previously been reviewed by Scrutiny but could be looked at again if Members were of the view it would be helpful.

The Leader of the Opposition expressed concern regarding the recent announcement that Waitrose would be closing the Stevenage Old Town store and asked the Leader of the Council whether consideration had been given to the ramifications for the Town.

In reply, the Leader of the Council agreed that she was extremely saddened to hear of the announcement of the closure and stated that it was a huge disappointment for Stevenage to lose such an established brand that had played a key role in the community over many years.  She agreed that this was a real concern for residents and businesses in the Old Town.

The Leader advised Council that she had requested an urgent meeting with Waitrose to understand their plans for the future of the site and to open dialogue regarding possible options to relocate the much valued Post Office within the High Street and whether there were options to have a ‘Little Waitrose’ store within the Town.  An update with the outcomes would be circulated to Members as soon as possible following the meeting.

The Leader advised that with 97 jobs potentially at risk, this was a time of real uncertainty for Waitrose staff and thoughts were with them at this unsettling time.

Council was informed that the Environment and Economy Select Committee would be scrutinising the provision of Post Offices within the Town as part of this year’s work programme and would also take this matter forward as part of that review.

Due to the change of venue for this meeting, Council then received updates from the Leader on the following urgent items only:

·         Monkswood Traffic Incident  - following the horrendous incident on Monkswood Way, the Leader thanked the paramedics, nursing and hospital staff who had worked hard to respond to the incident and said that the Council’s thoughts were with those who had suffered injury and trauma as a result.  The Leader advised that concerns had previously been raised by Councillors and residents with the Police and Herts County Council and regular contact had been made regarding enforcement of speed restrictions in the area.  Council was informed that the Leader was working with the Police to consider how these events could be stopped in Stevenage.  An interim injunction was being applied for and then a longer term solution would be worked on including making the case for additional police resourcing in Stevenage.  All Members agreed that there were questions that needed to be answered by the Police in relation to this incident.

·         Daneshill Building Disruption – the Leader reported that early the previous day flooding had been identified in Daneshill House into an area within the building which housed key electrical infrastructure.  As a result, a number of measures had been taken to stop the flow of water, shut down power in the location and ensure the safety of the building and those using it. Business continuity procedures had been operating during the incident. It was noted that Customer facing services were continuing to operate including the Customer Service Centre, Housing Options and Planning advice. Operational Services such as grounds maintenance, street cleansing and waste collection had been unaffected.

Council expressed their thanks to all staff involved, in particular Beverley Densham and Paul Ryder from the Council’s Facilities Team for their response to and management of the incident.

The Leader advised that the remainder of the updates would be circulated to Members following the meeting.

Councillor Robin Parker advised that he would defer his Motion until the next meeting of the Council.

None received

This item was withdrawn and would be presented to Members at a future All Member Briefing.

The Mayor informed the Council that due to the change in venue for this meeting he would be showing the film made by the pupils of Woolenwick School at the next meeting as part of the presentation on the Cultural Strategy.

The Mayor then informed the meeting that since the last meeting, he had undertaken a number of engagements in the town and referred to several highlights including attending a number of school leavers’ assemblies and the opening of Costco.

At this juncture, last year’s Mayor, Councillor Margaret Notley was invited to address the meeting. Cllr Notley was pleased to inform Council that the final figure for the amount raised for her Mayoral charities had increased to £15,804.24. She thanked all those who had supported the charities during her Mayoral Year.

It was RESOLVED

(i)            that the Minutes of the Annual Council meeting of 22 May 2019 are approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor subject to the following amendments;

Item 3 – paragraph 6, delete ‘similar sentiments to those expressed by the mover and seconder of the motion’.

Item 7 – Borough Council Elections 2019 – reference to ‘political parties’ in the third paragraph should be changed to ‘a political party’.

(ii)          that the Minutes of the Special Council meeting on 12 June 2019 are approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. 

The Network Rail (NR) and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) representatives gave presentations which provided updates on the Stevenage Turnback (5^th Platform) project, the Govia Thameslink Spring 2019 timetable and the wider works along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) in support of the King’s Cross remodelling project.

During the course of the presentations, the following matters were raised:

·           The NR representative confirmed that the Stevenage Turnback works were on schedule for completion in time for implementation within the Summer 2020 timetable;

·           A Member who was a regular commuter raised the safety issue of Platform 1 at Stevenage Railway Station, which she felt was dangerous due to its narrow width in places, especially during the crowded peak periods and with the additional trains to St. Pancras.  The GTR representative undertook to look into this issue;

·           The same Member commented that the new carriages contained less seats which meant that passengers joining trains at Stevenage during peak hours invariably had to stand for their journey.  The GTR representative explained that there were no plans for either additional trains or more trains to be of 12 carriage length, as the both the number of trains per hour and the size of the fleet were at maximum levels;

·           In terms of the service on the Hertford North line once the Stevenage turnback facility had been completed, the GTR representative confirmed that there would be two trains per hour throughout the day;

·           The Portfolio Holder for Economy, Enterprise & Transport commented that he had been in discussion with County Councillor Derrick Ashley (HCC Executive Member with responsibility for Public Transport matters), who shared Members’ concerns regarding the condition of Stevenage Railway Station.  Business leaders also felt that the Station was a very poor gateway to the town.  County Councillor Ashley would be pursuing the issue of potential improvements to the Station at a higher level;

·           A Member considered that, as well as the look of the Station, there were a number of practical issues that needed addressing, including the improved availability of the toilets and lifts (both of which were frequently closed); the robustness of the entrance/exit gates, which often broke down due to the volume of commuters during busy periods; and the number of empty shop units on the concourse.  The GTR representative appreciated the issues raised and advised that Gregg’s would shortly be opening one of those shop units;

·           In response to a Member’s question regarding the level of digital services on the ECML, the NR representative stated that there were currently no digital signals on the line.  The use of digital signals would be piloted between Moorgate and Drayton Park stations before being rolled out to the remainder of the ECML.  However, the current fleet of trains was digitally ready, and so there would be no need for a fleet upgrade once the signals had been upgraded;

·           In response to a further question, the GTR representative confirmed that once the Stevenage Turnback facility had been completed and the 5^th platform was operational, the journey times to and from Moorgate would not be drastically quicker, possibly a few minutes per journey;

·           A number of Members commented that the GTR service had been much more reliable since the Summer timetable had been introduced.

In terms of the widespread desire to improve the appearance of Stevenage Railway Station, the HCC Principal Engineer – Transport Policy & Monitoring commented that this was an issue that could be raised as part of the process when the Thameslink franchise was renewed (currently planned for 2021).

It was RESOLVED that the updates on the Stevenage Turnback (5^th Platform) project, the Govia Thameslink Spring 2019 timetable and the wider works along the East Coast Main Line in support of the King’s Cross remodelling project be noted.