Council Minutes

Date:
Wednesday, 19th October, 2011
Time:
07.00 p.m.
Place:
Main Hall, Education Centre, Junction Road, Norton, Stockton on Tees, TS20 1PR
 
Please note: all Minutes are subject to approval at the next Meeting

Attendance Details

Present:
The Worshipful the Mayor (Cllr Paul Baker); Cllr Mrs Lynne Apedaile, Cllr Derrick Brown, Cllr Mark Chatburn, Cllr Carol Clark, Cllr Michael Clark, Cllr David Coleman, Cllr Robert Cook, Cllr Nigel Cooke, Cllr Gillian Corr, Cllr Evaline Cunningham, Cllr Ian Dalgarno, Cllr Phillip Dennis, Cllr Ken Dixon, Cllr Kevin Faulks, Cllr John Gardner, Cllr Robert Gibson, Cllr David Harrington, Cllr Miss Barbara Inman, Cllr Mohammed Javed, Cllr Eileen Johnson, Cllr Elliot Kennedy, Cllr Jean Kirby, Cllr Paul Kirton, Cllr Terry Laing, Cllr Colin Leckonby, Cllr Alan Lewis, Cllr Ken Lupton, Cllr Ray McCall, Cllr Mrs Kath Nelson, Cllr Mrs Jean O'Donnell, Cllr Maurice Perry, Cllr Mrs Maureen Rigg, Cllr David Rose, Cllr Michael Smith, Cllr Norma Stephenson, Cllr Mick Stoker, Cllr Steve Walmsley, Cllr Mrs Sylvia Walmsley, Cllr David Wilburn, Cllr Norma Wilburn, 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 (R); J Humphreys (CESC).
In Attendance:
Mr and Mrs Beaumont, Mr and Mrs Cains, Mr and Mrs Fletcher, Mr Atkinson, Mrs Ann Hollingsworth and Members of the public.
Apologies for absence:
Cllr Jim Beall, Cllr Julia Cherrett, Cllr Mick Eddy, Cllr Ben Houchen, Cllr Tina Large, Cllr Ann McCoy, Cllr Steve Nelson, Cllr Ross Patterson, Cllr Andrew Sherris, Cllr Andrew Stephenson and Cllr Tracey Stott.
Item Description Decision
Public
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116/11		 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
 Councillor Mrs Cunningham declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 10 - Cabinet Minutes - CAB 67/11 as her husband was a sitting MP.

Councillor Dixon declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 10 - Cabinet Minutes - CAB 60/11, CAB 61/11 and CAB 62/11 as he had involvment with the Ingleby Barwick Free School application.

Councillor Harrington declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 10 - Cabinet Minutes - CAB 60/11, CAB 61/11 and CAB 62/11 as he had involvment with the Ingleby Barwick Free School application.

Councillor Gibson declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 9 - Cabinet Minutes - CAB 55/11 - Housing & Neighbourhood Partnership minutes as he was a member of the Tristar Board.

Councillor Gibson declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 10 - Cabinet Minutes - CAB 66/11 - Stockton Renaissance minutes as he was a member of Know How North East.

Councillor Mrs Wilburn declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 20 - Executive Scrutiny Committee minutes and agenda item 30 - Regeneration & Transport Select Committee minutes as she was a member of Know How North East.

Councillor Mrs Nelson declared a personal non prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 36 - motion to Council as she was a blue badge holder.
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117/11		 MINUTES
 The minutes of the special meeting held on 7th September, 2011 were signed by the Worshipful the Mayor as a correct record.
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118/11		 MINUTES
 The minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 7th September, 2011 were signed by the Worshipful the Mayor as a correct record.
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119/11		 PRESENTATION OF NORTHUMBRIA IN BLOOM AWARDS AND BRITAIN IN BLOOM AWARDS

Preamble
 
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120/11		 PRESENTATION OF HONORARY ALDERMAN STATUS
Preamble
 
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121/11		 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Preamble
 
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122/11		 APPEALS & COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Wilburn, seconded by Councillor Mrs Wilburn and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Appeals & Complaints Committee held on 20th July 2011 (Minute ACC 1/11 - ACC 4/11) be received.
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123/11		 ARTS LEISURE & CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell, seconded by Councillor Johnson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Arts, Leisure & Culture Select Committee held on 13th July 2011 (Minute ALC 8/11 - ALC 14/11) be confirmed.
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124/11		 AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Woodhouse, seconded by Councillor Brown and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Audit Committee held on 27th September 2011 (Minute A 15/11 - A 25/11) be received.
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125/11		 CABINET MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Cook, seconded by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet held on 8th September 2011 (Minute CAB 42/11 - CAB 57/11) be confirmed or received as appropriate.
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126/11		 CABINET MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Cook, seconded by Councillor Mrs O'Donnell and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet held on 6th October 2011 (Minute CAB 58/11 - CAB 68/11) be confirmed or received as appropriate.
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127/11		 CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Inman, seconded by Councillor Mrs Clark and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Children and Young People Select Committee held on 29th June 2011 (Minute CYP 6/11 - CYP 12/11) be confirmed.
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128/11		 CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Inman, seconded by Councillor Mrs Clark and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Children and Young People Select Committee held on 7th September 2011 (Minute CYP 13/11 - CYP 20/11) be confirmed.
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129/11		 CORPORATE, ADULT SERVICES & SOCIAL INCLUSION SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Stoker, seconded by Councillor Johnson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Corporate, Adult Services & Social Inclusion Select Committee held on 28th June 2011 (Minute CAS 7/11 - CAS 14/11) be confirmed.
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130/11		 CORPORATE, ADULT SERVICES & SOCIAL INCLUSION SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Stoker, seconded by Councillor Johnson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Corporate, Adult Services & Social Inclusion Select Committee held on 12th July 2011 (Minute CAS 15/11 - CAS 21/11) be confirmed.
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131/11		 EDUCATION SUPPORT PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Inman, seconded by Councillor Clark and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Education Support Panel held on 4th July 2011 (Minute EDU 1/11 - EDU 3/11) be received.
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132/11		 EMPLOYEE APPEALS PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Wilburn, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employee Appeals Panel held on 21st September 2011 (Minute EAP 1/11 - EAP 3/11) be received.
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133/11		 EMPLOYEE APPEALS PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Wilburn, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employee Appeals Panel held on 22nd September 2011 (Minute EAP 4/11 - EAP 6/11) be received.
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134/11		 EMPLOYEE APPEALS PANEL MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Mrs Wilburn, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Employee Appeals Panel held on 22nd September 2011 (Minute EAP 7/11 - EAP 9/11) be received.
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135/11		 ENVIRONMENT SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Cooke, seconded by Councillor Wilburn and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Environment Select Committee held on 18th July 2011 (Minute ENV 8/11 - ENV 13/11) be confirmed.
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136/11		 EXECUTIVE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Lupton, seconded by Councillor Apedaile and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive Scrutiny Committee held on 2nd August 2011 (Minute EXC 8/11 - EXC 18/11) be received.
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137/11		 HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Javed, seconded by Councillor Faulks and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health Select Committee held on 11th July 2011 (Minute H 8/11 - H 15/11) be confirmed.
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138/11		 HOUSING & COMMUNITY SAFETY SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Brown, seconded by Councillor Javed and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Housing & Community Safety Select Committee held on 21st July 2011 (Minute HCS 18/11 - HCS 26/11) be confirmed.
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139/11		 LICENSING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Kirton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 26th July 2011 (Minute L 14/11 - L 21/11) be received.
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140/11		 LICENSING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Kirton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 23rd August 2011 (Minute L 22/11 - L 27/11) be received.
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141/11		 LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Kirton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 18th August 2011 (Minute LSC 13/11 - LSC 15/11) be received.
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142/11		 LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Kirton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Nelson and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 22nd August 2011 (Minute LSC 16/11 - LSC 18/11) be received.
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143/11		 PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Kirby and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 10th August 2011 (Minute P 15/11 - P 18/11) be received.
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144/11		 PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Kirby and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 31st August 2011 (Minute P 19/11 - P 21/11) be received.
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145/11		 PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Gibson, seconded by Councillor Kirby and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 21st September 2011 (Minute P 22/11 - P 27/11) be received.
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146/11		 REGENERATION & TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Councillor Perry, seconded by Councillor Mrs Wilburn and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Regeneration and Transport Select Committee held on 18th July 2011 (Minute RTS 7/11 - RTS 10/11) be confirmed.
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147/11		 STANDARDS COMMITTEE MINUTES
 Moved by Mr F W Hayes, seconded by Councillor Dixon and RESOLVED that the minutes of the Standards Committee held on 23rd September 2011 (Minute S 11/11 - S 26/11) be received.
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148/11		 LOCAL JOINT CONSULTATIVE PANEL MINUTES
 The minutes of the Local Joint Consultative Panel held on the 27th June 2011 were noted.
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149/11		 LOCAL JOINT CONSULTATIVE PANEL MINUTES
 The minutes of the Local Joint Consultative Panel held on the 19th September 2011 were noted.
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150/11		 MEMBERS ADVISORY PANEL MINUTES
 The minutes of the Members Advisory Panel held on the 30th September 2011 were approved.
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151/11		 FAIRTRADE
Preamble
RESOLVED:-

1. That the Council reaffirms its commitment to:-

• promote awareness of Fairtrade issues and make publicity and educational information available to local people concerning the impact of unfair trade and the opportunities that Fairtrade provides to promote sustainable development.

• encourage the use of Fairtrade products when catering for Council meetings and functions.

• promote Fairtrade amongst local businesses, commercial and other organisations
and to

• support the work of the Fairtrade Steering Group and maintain the Borough’s Fairtrade status

2. That each member of the Council signs a copy of the above reaffirmation of commitment, which will be framed and displayed in Stockton Town Hall.
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152/11		 MOTION
Preamble
 
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153/11		 MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME
Preamble
 
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154/11		 FORWARD PLAN AND LEADERS STATEMENT
Preamble
 
7.00 pm - 8.30 pm

Preamble

ItemPreamble
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119/11		The Worshipful the Mayor informed Members of the results of the Britain in Bloom Awards.

Stockton on Tees had won overall in the Best City Category and were given the gold award.

The Worshipful the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for Environment congratulated the Care For Your Area team on their achievements and presented the awards to the members of the team who were in attendance at the meeting.
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120/11		On behalf of the Council, the Worshipful the Mayor conferred the title of Honorary Alderman on former Councillors Mrs Jennie Beaumont, Mrs Ann Cains, Mr John Fletcher and Mrs Suzanne Fletcher in recognition of their service to local government.
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121/11		The following question was submitted by Mr Keith Dewison for response by the Leader of the Council:-

"Can the Leader of the Council state how much it will cost to hold a legally binding referendum with the electorate of Stockton Borough on the subject of having an elected Mayor?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"The cost of holding a legally binding election with the electorate of Stockton Borough would be approximately £250K."

Keith Dewison asked the following supplementary question:-

"Given a choice, would this Council choose to hold a legally binding referendum with the electorate of Stockton Borough on the subject of having an elected Mayor or alternatively, would the Council prefer to be forced into a situation of having to hold a legally binding referendum on the subject of having an elected Mayor, by 5% of those on the electoral register of Stockton Borough signing a petition requesting the Council to do so?"

The Leader of the Council responded with:-

"Initial consultation with residents of the Borough in 2009 indicated a preference for a Council Leader this was reinforced by a consultation exercise in 2010 with all registered electors the majority of whom also expressed a preference for a Leader. A petition can be sought but in my opinion it would be a waste of £250k in a Council looking to save £26 million. Have other Councils with an elected Mayor achieved more than us, I would say no. We are one of the top performing Councils in the whole country."
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151/11		Members were presented with a report that looked at some of the activities the Council had been involved in since it resolved to support Fairtrade. The report also asked the Council and individual Members to pledge their commitment to the principles underlying Fairtrade, maintaining the Borough's Fairtrade status and the work of the Fairtrade Steering Group.

The Fairtrade campaign was created in the late 1980's to help farmers in the developing world ensure they received a fair price for their produce where fluctuating prices may not cover their cost of production.

The Fairtrade mark indicated that the item bearing it had been produced to a particular standard which involved the producers getting a fair return on their effort, including a Fairtrade premium to be spent on improvements decided on by the community. There were also rules about involving everyone in the decision making processes to ensure that the whole community benefitted from the trade. Fairtrade products had to be produced with minimum harm to the environment also.

In March 2006 the Council resolved as follows:-

Stockton Borough Council welcomes the Fairtrade campaign supported by national organisations such as Oxfam and Christian Aid and locally by the Youth Assembly and the Joint Trade Union Council and recognises the contribution that Fairtrade can make to the long term alleviation of world poverty.

The Council, as an important consumer and opinion leader, therefore resolves:-

• To promote awareness of Fairtrade issues and make publicity and educational information available to local people concerning the impact of unfair trade and the opportunities that Fairtrade provides to promote sustainable development.

• To encourage the use of Fairtrade products when catering for Council meetings and functions.

• To promote Fairtrade amongst local businesses, commercial and other organisations

• To allocate the responsibility for meeting the criteria to become a Fairtrade Borough to the Fairtrade Steering Group.

The resolution had cross party support and at the time most Members signed an A3 copy of the resolution which was framed and displayed at the Town Hall for a time.

Subsequently the Steering Group worked hard with residents and community groups to achieve the targets necessary to be granted Fairtrade status. In March 2007 notification was received that the necessary criteria had been met and Stockton was awarded Fairtrade Borough status.

Since that time the Steering Group had continued to promote Fairtrade and the following was a selection of related work, successes and activities that had taken place in the Borough:

• March 2008 - Newtown Resource Centre café (Gold Leaf Café) had one of their recipes accepted for publication in a new Fairtrade Recipe Book, edited by Sophie Grigson

• October 2008 - Successful Fairtrade Wine tasting event

• Feb/March 2009 - "Go Bananas Relay Event" won the runner up prize for the most innovative campaign in the country for Fairtrade Fortnight that year.

• March 2009 - Publication of the Stockton-on-Tees Fairtrade Directory, listing places where Fairtrade products are available in the borough.

• September 2009 - Successfully renewed Fairtrade Borough Status.

• March 2010 - Tea Dances across the borough held using Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits to give people a chance to sample them.

• Summer 2010 - St Cuthbert's Primary School became the first school in the Borough to achieve Fairtrade Status.

• Spring 2011 - Hundreds of people across the borough decorated Fairtrade cotton bunting as part of the national world record attempt on the longest length of hand made bunting. Stockton's was strung up on the Town Hall and made it into the Gazette and the Circuit. It then went down to London to be hung in Battersea Park with the rest of the world record beating attempt.

As well as this the Steering Group had undertaken numerous other smaller events to encourage more and more people to support Fairtrade.

It was over 5 years since Council had made the resolution, detailed above, and in that time a great deal of progress in this area had been made, not only within the Borough, but also nationally and internationally. There had been two Elections of the whole Council in that time and many new Members had joined the Authority. Given this it was now felt to be appropriate to ask Council to re-affirm its commitment to Fairtrade.

In addition, the Fairtrade Steering Group had highlighted the need to "show that there's a real commitment on the part of the Council to supporting Fairtrade". This could be through increased support of the Steering Group, more people willing to help in activities, encouraging people to try out and use Fairtrade products etc.

European Local Democracy week 10th - 16th October had, as its theme, Human Rights. Democratic Services would be working with the Fair Trade Steering Group to highlight the fact that the Council was a "Fair Trade" Borough. Many events were planned, including ones at Stockton Riverside College and the Queen's Campus of Durham University to promote Fair Trade to students.
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152/11		The following motion had been submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.1 by Councillor Lewis:-

"This council deplores the way in which some able bodied drivers abuse parking bays designated for disabled drivers in privately owned car parks such as Teesside Park and smaller shopping centres around the borough, especially those in front of catering outlets.

The council calls upon owners of such car parks to do all in their power to ensure that such parking spaces are available for the people who really need them - the holders of blue parking badges."

The motion was unanimously supported by Members.
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153/11		The Director of Law & Democracy informed the Worshipful the Mayor that no Member Questions had been received.
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154/11		The Leader of the Council gave his Forward Plan and Leaders Statement.

The Leader of the Council outlined the significant matters that would be considered at the next meeting of the Cabinet on 3rd November 2011 which included:-

- the EIT Review on the impact of the Early Intervention Grant
- policy on sexual entertainment venues
- the Asset Review
- Billingham town centre improvements

Due to the considerable public interest in the proposals for Stockton town centre, a special cabinet meeting had been arranged for early December 2011.

The Stockton Town Hall was continuing with its renovation.

To date Stockton had seen 44 businesses set up, expand or relocate in the town centre/riverside areas.

The Yarm parking study had been completed. It revealed interesting results with one headline being 4,000 visits daily to Yarm. The officers had been hoping to present the findings of this study to Yarm Town Council on Monday night at a meeting set up at the request of the Town Council but for some reason only two Town Councillors had attended. So with agreement of the Town Council Clerk this meeting was cancelled.

Across the town centres, the best businesses had just received the Town Centre Business Awards.

Because of the success of the 5 businesses in the Enterprise Arcade the Council was preparing to re-open this on Stockton High Street.
Stockton Enterprise Week would be held in November. Activities included talks, workshops, creative/digital showcase and Nifty Fifty Challenge, encouraging families to try business ideas.

With regard to the Transporter Bridge centenary, it was good to see High Clarence Primary School involved in Monday's celebration as was the only school in vicinity of bridge and used the bridge as a logo on their school uniform.

The first canoeists were now using the Whitewater Course.

Others items of interest were:-

- Priority School Building Programme bid had been submitted.
- Government approval had been given for Ingleby Barwick Free School to go to the next stage.
- Library/contact centre would open in November 2011.
- The Leader of the Council congratulated all the staff involved with the Borough of Stockton in retaining the Britain in Bloom crown.
- With the drop in temperatures, the Winter maintenance preparations were in full swing and the salt store full. The Council was ready to meet the winters weather challenges. It was the Council's intention to give all new Councillors the winter maintenance pack for their wards and any other Councillor who had mislaid their pack could also get a replacement pack. If the winter weather was prolonged as in the last two years, a Member seminar would be organised for all Members to brief them and keep them updated on salt stocks and how the council was coping.

  • Contact

  • Democratic Services

    Municipal Buildings
    Church Road
    Stockton-on-Tees
    TS18 1LD

  • 01642 526193 or 01642 528173

  • [email protected]

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