Agenda and decisions

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of the Mayor Councillor Margaret Notley, Councillors Laurie Chester, Dave Cullen, James Fraser, Liz Harrington, Roni Hearn, Matthew Hurst, Sarah Mead, Sarah-Jane Potter and Ann Webb.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 18 December 2018 for signature by the Mayor.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 December 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Deputy Mayor.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Special meeting of Council held on 30 January 2019 for signature by the Mayor.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 30 January 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Deputy Mayor.

To receive any communications that the Mayor may wish to put before Council.

The Deputy Mayor informed the Council that he had undertaken a number of engagements since the last meeting including:

·         Attending an event regarding gambling addiction at the Citizens Advice Bureau with the Leader of the Council and the Bishop of St Albans to ;

·         A visit to Tracks, a thriving centre for children with autism and one of the Mayor’s charities this year to receive a cheque for £5,000 for the Charity;

·         Attending the Stevenage Rotary Awards.

At this juncture the Deputy Mayor invited Councillor John Gardner to speak.

Councillor John Gardner moved and Councillor Jackie Hollywell seconded that the order of business be varied by bringing forward Item 13 – Consultation Response, Gresley Park to be taken at this point.

Upon being put to the vote it was RESOLVED that Item 13 – Consultation Response, Gresley Park be taken immediately after this item.

Councillor Robin Parker then moved and Councillor Andy McGuinness seconded that the order of business also be varied by bringing forward Item 10B – Notice of Motion, Gresley Park to be taken at this point.

Upon being put to the vote it was lost.

The Main Debate concerns the setting of the 2019/20 Council Tax and the General Fund and Capital Budgets. The recommendations from the Executive are set out in each of the attached reports.

Reports 5A and 5B and Appendices attached.

The Main Debate related to item 5A and item 5B on the agenda.

The Leader then presented the 2019/2020 Budget and moved the Motion, recommendations of the Executive and the formal Council Tax Resolution that was circulated around the Chamber.

After a full debate, a recorded vote* was taken and it was RESOLVED:

1.         That the 2018/19 revised net expenditure on the General Fund of £10,063,500 is approved.

2.         That a final General Fund Budget for 2019/20 of £8,802,520 is approved for consultation purposes, with a contribution from balances of £48,446 and a Band D Council Tax of £210.57. This is reflected in the formal Council Tax Resolution 3 – 8 below.

3.            That the following are approved:

a.           the revised working revenue estimates for the year 2018/19 amounting to £10,063,500 and the revenue estimates for 2019/20 amounting to £8,802,520;

b.           the contribution from balances totalling £1,368,639 in 2018/19;

c.            the contribution from balances totalling £48,446 in 2019/20.

4.            That it is noted that at its meeting on 23 January 2019 the Executive calculated the amount of 27,329.9 Band D equivalent properties as its council tax base for the year 2019/20 in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended by Section 74 of the Localism Act 2011.

5.            That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2019/20 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as  amended by Section 74 of the Localism Act 2011:

Being the amounts given by multiplying the amount at 3d. above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with  ...  view the full decision text for item 5.

None.

None received.

None.

None received.

None.

None received.

In accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders, the Leader of the Opposition shall be given the opportunity to raise one matter relevant to the Borough that has arisen since the last meeting of the Council. The Leader of the Council shall then have the opportunity to advise the Council of matters relevant to the Borough that have arisen since the last meeting.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition asked about the Council’s aspirations to apply for Sustainable Travel Town Plan status.

In response the Leader of the Council replied that she was very keen for the Council to do this as significant progress had been made in the area of sustainable travel, including electric vehicle points, the cycleway network, and in trying to encourage people out of their cars. The excellent transport links into London also meant Stevenage was an ideal town where sustainable travel should be encouraged. The Leader urged the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in his role as Herts County Council Executive Member for Highways to talk to the County Council about this issue particularly in relation to bus services in the Town.

A.           To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor Sharon Taylor OBE CC:

‘That this Council notes that analysis of the 2018 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 34% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2017. Of the seats that were up for  election in 2018, 38% went to women, up just 3 percentage points on 2014 when these  seats were last contested; That across England, Labour has improved its representation since seats were last up for grabs, with 45% women compared with 40% in 2014, Liberal Democrat representation up from 34% to 36% whilst the Conservative Party saw a fall from 31% to 29% in the share of its councillors who are female; That as of the 2018 local elections, only 26 out of 119 Labour councils and only 33 out of 130 opposition Labour Groups are led by women; As of summer 2017, only 4% of councils in England and Wales have parental leave policies, according to research by the Fawcett Society; That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to start a family to remain as councillors; That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption leave to support those parents who choose to adopt.

Accordingly, this Council resolves to adopt the parental leave policy drafted by the LGA Labour Group’s Women’s Taskforce to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting; To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as appropriate; To notify the LGA Labour Group that this council has passed a motion at full council to adopt the parental leave policy.’

B.           To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor Robin Parker CC:

‘That Stevenage Borough Council notes its firm objections to the planning development known as Gresley Park.

It is regrettable that Pigeon Land  have submitted a planning application to East Herts District Council on what was once, and remained until very recently, a formerly designated and much used green belt site adjoining Stevenage. The application includes 618 homes, an 80 bed care home, 50 assisted living homes, a neighbourhood hub and a Travelling Showpersons’ site.

As a consultee, Stevenage Borough Council believes that the scheme will have a detrimental effect on many Stevenage residents and will place an unnecessary additional strain on the infrastructure and services of our town.

Major objections include:

1. The disruption to traffic flows of the three new junctions on Gresley Way;
2. Additional traffic congestion at junctions across the town;
3. Vastly underestimated predictions of traffic from the new development;
4. Increased noise and environmental pollution;
5. Additional demand on Stevenage secondary schools and GP surgeries without a clear plan nor suitable additional funds to tackle these  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

10A Parental Leave Policy for Members

After a full debate, including a request for the LGA Policy to be circulated to all Members of the Council, it was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

‘That this Council notes that analysis of the 2018 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 34% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2017. Of the seats that were up for  election in 2018, 38% went to women, up just 3 percentage points on 2014 when these  seats were last contested; That across England, Labour has improved its representation since seats were last up for grabs, with 45% women compared with 40% in 2014, Liberal Democrat representation up from 34% to 36% whilst the Conservative Party saw a fall from 31% to 29% in the share of its councillors who are female; That as of the 2018 local elections, only 26 out of 119 Labour councils and only 33 out of 130 opposition Labour Groups are led by women; As of summer 2017, only 4% of councils in England and Wales have parental leave policies, according to research by the Fawcett Society; That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to start a family to remain as councillors; That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption leave to support those parents who choose to adopt.

Accordingly, this Council resolves to adopt the parental leave policy drafted by the LGA Labour Group’s Women’s Taskforce to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting; To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as appropriate; To notify the LGA Labour Group that this council has passed a motion at full council to adopt the parental leave policy.’

10B  GRESLEY PARK, STEVENAGE

At this juncture, the Chief Executive advised the Council that the recommendations in the officer report at item 13 on this matter were approved earlier in the meeting and that as such, much of the content of this Motion was incompatible with that decision and therefore, as it stood, the Motion was now void and could not be moved.

A. Cllr. Robin Parker C.C.

‘Section 82 of the Environment Act 1995 provides that every local authority shall review the Air Quality within its area, at the present time and should also estimate what it will be in the future. In two tier local government areas like Hertfordshire, this duty sits with the District and Borough Councils. According to the HCC draft Air Quality Strategy page 9 [published as Appendix A of Item 7 in the Agenda for the HCC Highways and Environment Cabinet Panel meeting on 12.2.2019] there is no Air Quality/Air Pollution monitoring occurring in the Borough of Stevenage [source DEFRA, correct as at 21.12.2018].

(a)  Is this correct?

(b)  If so, why is SBC failing in this regard?’

B. Cllr. Andy McGuinness

‘Following the recycling bag trial, what are the Council’s plans going forward to meet both the Council’s recycling needs and the requirements of our residents?’

C. Cllr. Graham Snell

‘How many Parking Tickets have been issued during the last 12 months in the Borough for violations of the rules regarding the use of Blue Badges. In the answer, please show separate figures for:

(1)  Not showing the Badge;

(2)  Parking in the wrong place;

(3)  Staying  longer than allowed;

(4)  Any other issues.’

D. Cllr. Tom Wren

‘How many hours of council staff productivity have been lost this year due to downtime and performance issues of the SBC IT systems?’

Council received four questions.  Details of the responses given to the questions are summarised below.

A.        Question from Councillor R Parker

In response to a question regarding Air Quality, Councillor John Gardner advised that the Council was required to provide an annual report to Defra on air quality and at present SBC deployed 33 air quality monitoring devices around the Borough which were left in place for a minimum of a year to evaluate data trends. Defra encouraged a flexible approach to locating them and officers carry out a review of their deployment annually to assess whether an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) needed to be designated to achieve the health-based air quality objectives of an Air Quality Action Plan.

Stevenage did not currently have any AQMAs because we did not meet the thresholds.   Environmental Health officers were regularly involved in the identification of new sites to monitor; to consider whether any new development proposals were likely to have a detrimental effect on air quality or introduce populations to areas of poor air quality.

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Gardner agreed that an email be sent to Councillor Parker with further information on SBC air quality monitoring including an explanation of how to access the air quality data. 

B.        Question from Councillor A McGuinness

In response to a question regarding the recycling bag trial, Councillor Gardner advised that the recycling pilot concluded in January 2019.  Officers were currently finalising their analysis of the findings including feedback from participant surveys and resident focus groups.  Initial indications were positive. Officers were also liaising with Councillor Gardner in respect of the Government’s Resources &           Waste Strategy that was published recently.  Consideration was being given to the potential impacts for Stevenage and the future configuration of recycling and waste management services in the future.  Consultations were expected to be launched imminently by Government regarding draft proposals for Extended Responsibility for      producers to cover the total net cost of recycling or processing packaging from their   products and a Deposit Return Scheme for single use drinks containers.  Feedback was also expected to be sought on proposals to harmonise recycling arrangement across collection authorities including the possibility of non-chargable garden waste collection services to households with gardens and weekly separate food waste collections.

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Gardner agreed that the comments received from Councillor McGuinness would be incorporated into the work the Council was doing to determine options for the future.

C.        Question from Councillor G Snell

In response to a question regarding Blue Badge enforcement, Councillor Ralph Raynor advised that the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices was guided by clear legislation and requirements, with different forms of violation recorded under particular codes. 

In relation to violations of the rules related to Blue Badges, there was one particular PCN code (code 40) which  related to non-display of a Blue Badge or parking in the wrong place. 

Between 1 February 2018 and 31 January 2019, a total of 625 PCNs were issued  ...  view the full decision text for item 11.

To receive an update from the Chairs of each of the Scrutiny Committees on recent activities.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee thanked Members for their continued hard work and diligence in the work of the Committee.

The Chair of the Environment and Economy Select Committee advised that the Committee had been busy and active over a range of issues and invited Members to attend the meeting of the Select Committee on 28 February which would be discussing the Stevenage Rail Service update.

To consider an Officer report on the Stevenage Borough Council consultation response to East Herts Council regarding the Gresley Park planning application.

This item was brought forward on the agenda and taken immediately after the Mayoral Communications.

The Deputy Mayor asked the Interim Assistant Director (Planning and Regeneration) to introduce the report.

Following a full debate including contributions from the public gallery, it was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

1.              That East Hertfordshire District Council be advised that Stevenage Borough Council, whilst accepting that the principle of development in this location has already been established by Policy EOS1 of the East Herts District Plan (2018), expresses significant concerns with regard to a number of aspects of the proposed development.

2.              That  East Hertfordshire District Council be advised that prior to the determination of this application, further consideration should be given to the following areas, as outlined in the report :-

·                Affordable housing

·                Access and highways issues

·                Education provision

·                Health provision

·                Design and neighbourhood issues

·                Environmental concerns

·                Financial considerations. 

3.            That East Hertfordshire District Council be advised that the current noise impact assessment (report reference:- AC104941-2R0, Dec 2018) does not adequately cover the impact that increased traffic noise could potentially have on existing residents in Stevenage to the west of the application site and that therefore the applicant should be required to undertake a further noise assessment of the proposed development.

4.              That the report be submitted to EHDC as the corporate response of Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) to the current application. 

To consider an Officer report that recommends the approval of the Treasury Management Strategy 2019/20 including the Annual Investment Strategy and the prudential indicators. This report has been considered previously by Audit Committee and the Executive.

Report and Appendices attached.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

1.  That the Treasury Management Strategy as shown at Appendix A to the report is approved.

2.  That the draft prudential indicators for 2019/20 are approved.

3.  That it is noted that no changes are being proposed to treasury limits contained within the Council’s Treasury Management Policies.

4.   That the investment services provided to Queensway Properties LLP be noted.

To consider an officer report that recommends to Council a Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2019/20.

Report and Appendix attached.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2019/20 as set out in Appendix A to the report be approved.

To consider an officer report recommending the pay policy statement for the financial year 2019/20.

Report and Appendix attached.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED:

1.      That the Pay Policy Statement set out in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, and the Data Transparency Code 2015 attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved

2.      That the Pay Policy be placed on the Council’s website and that a notice of the policy be published in the next edition of Chronicle.

To note the draft Minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on 4 February 2019.

Minutes attached.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that the Draft Minutes of the Audit Committee of 4 February 2019 are noted.

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 paragraphs1 – 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 that:

1.            That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1-7 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 outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

To approve an appointment to the post of interim Chief Executive, Head of Paid Service, Electoral Registrations Officer and Returning Officer upon the recommendation of the Appointments Committee.

It was moved, seconded and RESOLVED that:

1.         the appointment of Matthew Partridge, with effect from 1 March 2019 be approved, as:

Electoral Registrations Officer

Returning Officer

2.         the appointment of Matthew Partridge, with effect from 8 April 2019 be approved, as:

Interim Chief Executive

Interim Head of the Paid Service