Council Minutes

Date:
Wednesday, 9th March, 2011
Time:
07.00 p.m.
Place:
Council Chamber, Town Hall, High Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1AU
 
Please note: all Minutes are subject to approval at the next Meeting

Attendance Details

Present:
The Worshipful the Mayor (Cllr Colin Leckonby); Cllr Hilary Aggio, Cllr Paul Baker, Cllr Jim Beall, Cllr Mrs Jennie Beaumont, Cllr Phillip Broughton, Cllr Mrs Ann Cains, Cllr Dick Cains, Cllr Julia Cherrett, Cllr Aidan Cockerill, Cllr David Coleman, Cllr Robert Cook, Cllr Mrs Eileen Craggs, Cllr Ian Dalgarno, Cllr Ken Dixon, Cllr Mick Eddy, Cllr John Fletcher, Cllr Mrs Suzanne Fletcher, Cllr Maurice Frankland, Cllr John Gardner, Cllr Robert Gibson, Cllr David Harrington, Cllr Miss Barbara Inman, Cllr Mohammed Javed, Cllr Paul Kirton, Cllr Terry Laing, Cllr Miss Tina Large, Cllr Alan Lewis, Cllr Ken Lupton, Cllr Mrs Ann McCoy, Cllr Mrs Kath Nelson, Cllr Steve Nelson, Cllr Bill Noble, Cllr Mrs Jean O'Donnell, Cllr Ross Patterson, Cllr Maurice Perry, Cllr Mrs Maureen Rigg, Cllr Roy Rix, Cllr Andrew Sherris, Cllr Steve Walmsley, Cllr Mrs Sylvia Walmsley, Cllr Mrs Mary Womphrey, Cllr Mick Womphrey, Cllr Bill Woodhead and Cllr Barry Woodhouse.
Officers:
N Schneider (CE); D E Bond, P K Bell (LD); P Dobson (DNS); J Danks, L King, A Kelly (R); J Humphreys (CESC).
In Attendance:
Members of the Public.
Apologies for absence:
Cllr Lynne Apedaile, Cllr Jackie Earl, Cllr Kevin Faulks, Cllr Jean Kirby, Cllr Liz Nesbitt, Cllr Fred Salt, Cllr Mike Smith and Cllr Mick Stoker.
Item Description Decision
Public
C
269/10		 COUNCILLOR FRED SALT
Preamble
 
C
270/10		 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Preamble
 
C
271/10		 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Preamble
 
C
272/10		 MINUTES
Preamble
 
C
273/10		 APPEALS & COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Sherris and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Appeals and Complaints Committee held on 15th December 2010 (Minute ACC 5/10 - ALC 10/10) be received.
C
274/10		 ARTS LEISURE & CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell, seconded by Councillor Sherris and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Arts, Leisure & Culture Select Committee held on 10th November 2010 (Minute ALC 24/10 - ALC 28/10) be confirmed.
C
275/10		 ARTS LEISURE & CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell, seconded by Councillor Sherris and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Arts, Leisure & Culture Select Committee held on 24th November 2010 (Minute ALC 29/10 - ALC 32/10) be confirmed.
C
276/10		 CABINET MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Lupton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Beaumont and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet held on 20th January 2011 (Minute CAB 136/10 - CAB 148/10) be confirmed or received as appropriate.
C
277/10		 CABINET MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Lupton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Beaumont and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet held on 17th February 2011 (Minute CAB 149/10 - CAB 160/10) be confirmed or received as appropriate.
C
278/10		 CABINET MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Lupton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Beaumont and RESOLVED that the minute of the Cabinet held on 24th February 2011 (Minute CAB 163/10) be confirmed.
C
279/10		 CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Eddy, seconded by Councillor Broughton and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Children and Young People Select Committee held on 15th December 2010 (Minute CYP 53/10 - CYP 59/10) be confirmed.
C
280/10		 CORPORATE, ADULT SERVICES & SOCIAL INCLUSION SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Rix, seconded by Councillor Mrs Fletcher and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Corporate, Adult Services & Social Inclusion Select Committee held on 21st December 2010 (Minute CAS 33/10 - CAS 36/10) be confirmed.
C
281/10		 EDUCATION SUPPORT PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Perry, seconded by Councillor Inman and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Education Support Panel held on 18th November 2010 (Minute ESP 1/10 - ESP 4/10) be received.
C
282/10		 EMPLOYEE APPEALS PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Rix, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employee Appeals Panel held on 20th January 2011 (Minute EAP 23/10 - EAP 25/10) be received.
C
283/10		 EMPLOYEE APPEALS PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Rix, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employee Appeals Panel held on 24th January 2011 (Minute EAP 26/10 - EAP 28/10) be received.
C
284/10		 ENVIRONMENT SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Rigg, seconded by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Environment Select Committee held on 24th November 2010 (Minute ENV 32/10 - ENV 35/10) be confirmed.
C
285/10		 ENVIRONMENT SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Rigg, seconded by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Environment Select Committee held on 1st December 2010 (Minute ENV 36/10 - ENV 37/10) be confirmed.
C
286/10		 EXECUTIVE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Miss Large and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive Scrutiny Committee held on 16th November 2010 (Minute EXC 23/10 - EXC 30/10) be received.
C
287/10		 EXECUTIVE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Miss Large and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive Scrutiny Committee held on 30th November 2010 (Minute EXC 31/10 - EXC 37/10) be received.
C
288/10		 EXECUTIVE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Miss Large and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive Scrutiny Committee held on 4th January 2011 (Minute EXC 38/10 - EXC 46/10) be received subject to the following correction:-

At page 831 minute EXC 43/10 as follows:-

Delete:-

"AGREED that the proposed changes to the scheme of delegation be agreed and incorporated into the Council’s Constitution."

And replace with:-

"Recommended to Council that the proposed changes to the scheme of delegation be agreed and incorporated into the Council’s Constitution."
C
289/10		 HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Cains, seconded by Councillor Cains and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health Select Committee held on 8th November 2010 (Minute H 39/10 - H 45/10) be confirmed.
C
290/10		 HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Cains, seconded by Councillor Cains and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health Select Committee held on 10th January 2011 (Minute H 46/10 - H 52/10) be confirmed.
C
291/10		 HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Cains, seconded by Councillor Cains and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health Select Committee held on 24th January 2011 (Minute H 53/10 - H 60/10) be confirmed.
C
292/10		 HOUSING & COMMUNITY SAFETY SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Cherrett, seconded by Councillor Gibson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Housing & Community Safety Select Committee held on 18th November 2010 (Minute HCS 35/10 - HCS 39/10) be confirmed.
C
293/10		 LICENSING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 16th December 2010 (Minute L 99/10 - L 104/10) be received.
C
294/10		 LICENSING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 11th January 2011 (Minute L 105/10 - L 107/10) be received.
C
295/10		 LICENSING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 21st January 2011 (Minute L 108/10 - L 110/10) be received.
C
296/10		 LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 4th January 2011 (Minute LSC 40/10 - LSC 44/10) be received.
C
297/10		 LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 10th January 2011 (Minute LSC 45/10 - LSC 47/10) be received.
C
298/10		 LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhead, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 13th January 2011 (Minute LSC 48/10 - LSC 50/10) be received.
C
299/10		 PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Rix, seconded by Councillor Gibson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 12th January 2011 (Minute P 88/10 - P 98/10) be received.
C
300/10		 REGENERATION & TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Perry, seconded by Councillor Cains and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Regeneration and Transport Select Committee held on 20th December 2010 (Minute RTS 59/10 - RTS 66/10) be confirmed.
C
301/10		 CLEVELAND FIRE AUTHORITY MINUTES
 The minutes of the Cleveland Fire Authority held on the 26th November 2010 were noted.
C
302/10		 CLEVELAND POLICE AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE MINUTES
 The minutes of the Cleveland Police Authority Executive held on the 29th September 2010 were noted.
C
303/10		 CLEVELAND POLICE AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE MINUTES
 The minutes of the Cleveland Police Authority Executive held on the 10th November 2010 were noted.
C
304/10		 LOCAL JOINT CONSULTATIVE PANEL MINUTES
 The minutes of the Local Joint Consultative Panel held on the 20th December 2010 were noted.
C
305/10		 MARKETS FORUM MINUTES
 The minutes of the Markets Forum held on the 8th December 2010 were noted.
C
306/10		 MEMBERS ADVISORY PANEL-NEW CONSTITUTION MINUTES
 The minutes of the Members Advisory Panel held on the 31st January 2011 were noted.
C
307/10		 MEMBERS ADVISORY PANEL-NEW CONSTITUTION MINUTES
 The minutes of the Members Advisory Panel held on the 28th February 2011 were approved.
C
308/10		 PARISH COUNCIL LIAISON FORUM MINUTES
 The minutes of the Parish Council Liaison Forum held on the 24th January 2011 were noted.
C
309/10		 STOCKTON HOME SAFETY ASSOCIATION MINUTES
 The minutes of the Stockton Home Safety Association held on the 7th September 2010 were noted.
C
310/10		 STOCKTON HOME SAFETY ASSOCIATION MINUTES
 The minutes of the Stockton Home Safety Association held on the 19th October 2010 were noted.
C
311/10		 MOTION TO COUNCIL
Preamble
 
C
312/10		 MOTION TO COUNCIL
Preamble
 
C
313/10		 MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME
Preamble
 
C
314/10		 FORWARD PLAN AND LEADERS STATEMENT
Preamble
 
7.00 pm - 8.30 pm

Preamble

ItemPreamble
C
269/10		Council sent best wishes to Councillor Fred Salt for a speedy recovery from his recent illness.
C
270/10		There were no interests declared.
C
271/10		The Director of Law and Democracy informed the Worshipful the Mayor that no Public Questions had been received.
C
272/10		The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 19th January, 2011 were signed by the Worshipful the Mayor as a correct record.
C
311/10		The following motion was submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.1. Moved by Councillor Mrs Fletcher, seconded by Councillor Mrs Rigg:-

"This Council acknowledges the trend towards increased numbers of gated communities within the Stockton Borough Council Area necessitating entry codes to access and leave.

Council recognises the practical difficulties this creates for delivery of mail and other communications. Council therefore requests that consideration be given to having a standard planning condition for such developments such that, unless the design makes it impossible, post boxes accessible from the exterior of the property will automatically be installed."

Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Rix that the motion be amended as follows:-

"This Council acknowledges the trend towards increased numbers of gated communities within the Stockton Borough Council Area necessitating entry codes to access and leave.

Council recognises the practical difficulties this creates for delivery of mail and other communications. Council therefore requests that the issue be considered by the Executive Scrutiny Committee or a Task Finish Group."

The amended motion was carried.
C
312/10		The following motion was submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.1. Moved by Councillor Nelson, seconded by Councillor Kirton:-

"This council objects to the compulsory introduction of police commissioners costing almost 100m pounds nationally a year at a time when cuts are being made to the numbers of police officers on our streets and police authorities are facing budget reductions of 20 percent or more over the next four years. This council urges local MPs to oppose these confusing, conflicting and costly proposals."

The motion was carried.
C
313/10		The following question was submitted by Councillor Eddy for response by the Leader of the Council:-

"Councillor Lupton, as Leader of Stockton Borough Council, will you please tell me the date the second instalment of £200,000 was paid to SBC by the preferred bidder for the former Saltergill School site?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"The Council has been awaiting consent from the Secretary of State to enable the final completion of the sale. This has now been obtained and we are currently finalising the completion which will result in the payment being received."

Councillor Eddy asked the following supplementary question:-

"Even as a relatively new Member I know we must satisfy our fiduciary responsibilties. Unless we know the amounts concerned how can we carry out our duties as a Member?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"As far as I am aware you have been made informed of the figures and until the sale is completed the figures can not be made public."


The following question was submitted by Councillor Eddy for response by the Leader of the Council:-

"Can the Leader of the Council tell me how many sales of land has SBC undertaken without public advertisement in the last 3 years?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"There have been 26 sales of land without public advertisement since January 2008. These sales are mainly for small pockets of land to adjoining landholders or sales to facilitate affordable housing or health development."

Councillor Eddy asked the following supplementary question:-

"Why were Members not asked about the sales of land?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"Consultation does take place with Ward Members. Also a procedure for sales of land is being produced now and will be finalised in the next few weeks."
C
314/10		The Leader of the Council gave his Forward Plan and Leaders Statement.

As this was the last Council before the election The Leader did not go into a lengthy report on the Forward Plan but he did commend to Members the Economic Climate report to be considered by Cabinet, which again showed some significant opportunities for economic growth within the Borough and would engender some optimism for the future.

The Leader had no doubt that there would be hardship for individuals and some communities in the coming months and years but the Leader did believe that the Council had developed robust policies which would mitigate the effects of the economic downturn on residents and would prepare the Council to take advantage of a recovery when it inevitably arrives.

Councillor Lupton reported that he had been privileged to be Leader of the authority and had taken a great deal of satisfaction from the way in which all Members had contributed to the success of the organisation but nothing would have been achieved without the magnificent support and advice Councillors had received from Council officers and staff.

The Council senior management team had changed significantly over the last few years but the Leader said without fear of contradiction that the Council had the best team in the region if not in the country. The Council may not have got everything right but when Members look back the Leader did think Members could have a sense of pride in the Council's achievements.

Two significant moments to the Leader over the last four years were the tragic loss of Allison Trainer who was such a great ambassador for her Ward and a champion for her residents and Jim Cooke an Alderman and Freeman of the Borough who gave long and distinguished service to the Council.

Finally, there were many Members at the meeting who for whatever reason, may not be coming back and it had always appeared to the Leader on these occasions that Members in that position received no recognition for their dedication and service to their community. So the Leader had prepared a short document that identified some of the achievements of the Council over the last four years, as a record for Members to keep, and hoped that Members would find it useful.

The Chamber had celebrated many announcements over the past 12 months which all Members could be proud of. And while Members face some of the most challenging times many Members would have experienced as Councillors, Members had remained focused on the plans for the future and the shared commitment to improving the Borough for all.

Working alongside the business community Members had played a key role in encouraging the growth of a new generation of major employers, particularly in the low-carbon and process sectors.

For example the Mayor announced the news that Nifco - a major manufacturer of car parts for Nissan - would start work on a new factory in the borough securing its future here and creating highly-skilled jobs.

This year alone the Council had supported £55m of investment, creating almost 2,000 jobs and safeguarding a further 790 - many from the high-tech, low-carbon industries which the Leader hoped would underpin the economy for the future.

At the other end of the spectrum the Council had continued the drive to increase the number of smaller businesses across our borough.

A very visible example of this was the new Enterprise Arcade which had opened in the former Burton's store shopping arcade in Stockton High Street giving 5 start-up firms the chance to start trading with no overheads for 6 months so they can gain a foothold before going it alone.

If Members had not already paid these new businesses a visit the Leader encouraged Members all to pop in and see how enthusiastic they are about their new ventures.

Overall in 2010, 172 new enterprises were launched across the borough - a 72% increase on the previous year.

Despite the challenging economic climate, the Council had pressed ahead with a number of major regeneration projects during the year that the Leader hoped would change the face of the Borough for the better.

Billingham Forum would open in the summer. Before then the £4m White Water Course at the Tees Barrage would open and become a European Centre for canoeing and water sports.

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