Agenda and minutes

Venue: Princes Theatre - Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1SE. View directions

Contact: Ian Ford  01255 686584

Link: Audio Recording - 10 September 2019

Items
No. Item

47.

Apologies for Absence

The Council is asked to note any apologies for absence received from Members.

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Morrison, Turner, White and Wiggins.

 

48.

Minutes of the Last Meeting of the Council pdf icon PDF 177 KB

The Council is asked to approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the Council Meeting held on Tuesday 6 August 2019.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 6 August 2019 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

 

49.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.

 

50.

Announcements by the Chairman of the Council

The Council is asked to note any announcements made by the Chairman of the Council.

Minutes:

The Chairman of the Council (Councillor Land) updated Council on:-

 

(1)       Nomination period for the Pride of Tendring Awards;

(2)       Member visits to Harwich and Manningtree; and

(3)       Project working with Years 5 and 6 at Primary Schools to provide a workshop on citizenship and cultural values.

 

 

51.

Announcements by the Chief Executive

The Council is asked to note any announcements made by the Chief Executive.

 

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.

 

52.

Statements by the Leader of the Council

The Council is asked to note any statements made by the Leader of the Council. 

Councillors may then ask questions of the Leader on his statements.

 

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) made the following statements:

 

(1)       Housing Infrastructure Fund Success

 

“Members will be aware of the recent Government announcement that £100million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will be spent in the District to support delivery of the Tendring / Colchester Garden Community. This is a spectacular achievement for the District and the largest single investment in Tendring for a generation or more.

This funding will provide a link road between the A120 and A133 and a rapid transit scheme to alleviate congestion in the area.

 

I have supported the Garden Communities project from the outset purely because of the “infrastructure first” approach. We have all seen far too many large new housing developments that have simply placed an unacceptable burden on existing infrastructure, causing misery for existing residents as well as creating a new community that is fundamentally flawed from the outset.

 

This Council, through its unanimous approval of Section 1 of the Local Plan, signalled its clear intent to Government that we want to do things differently and the timing of this announcement so soon after our decision is no coincidence. It demonstrates that the Government is as determined as we are to see the success of Garden Communities.

 

I would like to acknowledge the key role that Essex County Council played leading in the submission of the bid to Government, as well as our other partners Braintree and Colchester district councils, and to thank the Officers involved in securing this major, transformational investment for Tendring.”

 

(2)       Clacton Town Centre

 

“I am pleased to also let Members know that the Council’s bid to the Government’s High Street Futures Fund for Clacton Town Centre has been also been successful.

 

£150,000 has been allocated to the Council to assist in preparing a detailed business case as a bid for significant grant funding next year which could be in the region of £10-15m.

 

That is an excellent future prospect which we will work hard to achieve but I know our residents and businesses want to see positive action now in order to tackle current problems as well as planning for the future.

 

I am therefore pleased that Cabinet on Friday will consider an ambitious vision and programme for change to position Clacton by 2030 as a thriving place for residents and visitors. Alongside this will be a ‘Plan of Action’ which outlines short, medium and long-term interventions along with £250,000 from the Council’s regeneration budgets as a starting point for delivery.

 

Short-term actions proposed - which could be carried out before any potential Government funding - include improved access and more parking, creating a performance area in the town square, and groundwork for future schemes such as a commercial property study and a review of licensing policies.

 

I would like to thank all those involved in developing the bid, including the Clacton Town Centre Working Party where partners and businesses came together to develop proposals aimed at ensuring a vibrant and successful future for Clacton.”  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

53.

Statements by Members of the Cabinet

The Council is asked to note any statements made by Members of the Cabinet (Portfolio Holders).

Councillors may then ask questions of the Portfolio Holders on their statements.

 

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism (Councillor Porter) made a statement referencing the success of the recent Clacton Air Show.

 

Following an intervention by Councillor Calver, there was a minute’s silence observed in tribute to the members of the public who had lost their lives in an incident on Clacton seafront earlier in the summer.

 

 

54.

Petitions to Council

The Council will consider any petition(s) received in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Council.

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

No Petitions had been submitted in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Council on this occasion.

 

55.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.1 pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public can ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

 

The Chairman shall determine the number of questions to be tabled at a particular meeting in order to limit the time for questions and answers to 21 minutes.

 

There are two such Questions on this occasion.

Minutes:

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public could ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

 

The following questions had been received, on notice, from members of the public:

 

Question One

 

From Tom Howard to Councillor Talbot, Environment and Public Space Portfolio Holder:

 

“As the portfolio holder for the Environment and Open Spaces should be aware, there is a high level of discontent amongst the residents of Tendring regarding the collection of refuse, recycling and garden waste. 

 

Since the recent service changes, the service provided by Veolia on behalf of Tendring District Council has been nothing short of shambolic and implementing penalty charges would seem in order, as would public acknowledgement of the problems and the implementation of an appropriate action plan to bring the service on track.

 

In the case of the garden waste collection service, this is an add-on paid for service equating to a service charge of £2 per contracted collection. Where these collections have been repeatedly missed, the Council is in breach of its contract with its residents for this paid for service, and the Council should be refunding residents pro rata for the missed collections and services not rendered.

 

Please will the Portfolio Holder advise what action he is taking regarding the above?”

 

Councillor Talbot replied to the question as follows:

 

“The new waste and recycling service was rolled out over a 10 week period, which finished on the 16th August. During this period over 58,000 Wheelie Bins have been delivered to properties all across the District by our contractors JETT, with properties receiving their bin going live on to the new service the following week.

 

For the vast majority of households this initial phase of receiving their bin went without incident, with the bin delivered on the prescribed week as advertised on the Council website along with their collection calendar and food caddy liners. With the missed bin delivery list running at just under 1000 bins which equates to 1.72% of all bins delivered, these missed bins were mostly re-delivered during the initial 10 weeks, additional to this the contractors were back for the week (2nd to 6th September) mopping up the last of the reported missed bin deliveries.

 

As the delivery of the bins was over a 10 week period the new service was being provided alongside the existing service, with both the new and old service routes changing every week as more and more bins were delivered to residents. With this has been disruption to the collection service and whilst the vast majority of households has again been a seamless transition Officers continue to work closely with Veolia as a priority towards the affected residents to capture the isolated households which have experienced repeated missed collections, ensuring that these properties are highlighted to the collection crews who are all learning their new collection rounds.

 

With any service change of this magnitude, disruption is unfortunately to be expected, prior to the commencement of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

56.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 11.2 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council can ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of any Committee.

 

The time allocated for receiving and disposing of questions shall be a maximum of 30 minutes. Any question not disposed of at the end of this time shall be the subject of a written response, copied to all Members the following working day unless withdrawn by the questioner.

 

There are six such Questions on this occasion.

Minutes:

Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council could ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

 

Six questions had been submitted by Members as set out below:

 

Question One

 

From Councillor I J Henderson to Councillor Newton, Portfolio Holder for Business & Economic Growth:

 

“I welcome the fact that the Leader of the Council has appointed the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth as the lead Member on the UK leaving the EU.

 

With the truly frightening prospect of the UK exiting the EU without a deal becoming a real possibility, I am confident that the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth will have made it her top priority to ensure that a full and detailed risk assessment for the Tendring District in the case of a ‘no deal exit’ scenario is in place.

 

Will she please advise Members of the conclusions reached in her risk assessment as to how the Tendring District would be impacted by a no deal exit?”

 

Councillor Newton replied as follows:-

 

Firstly I would like to thank Councillor Henderson for this question and for his vote of confidence.

 

I think we would all agree that it is essential that the Council has fully considered the implications of Brexit, and in particular a No Deal scenario.

 

Officers have, and will continue to, assess the risks and opportunities which may arise and this has been based on guidance from both Government and the Local Government Association.

 

This includes issues such as the EU Settlement Scheme, the role of key ports such as Harwich International, opportunities and challenges for businesses and impacts on the Council itself.

 

I would like to highlight two specific key risks and action that has been taken.

 

Firstly, the Council has the role to provide environmental health services for import and export, mostly in relation to Harwich International Port. Steps are being taken to ensure that the right level of systems, facilities and staff capacity will be in place to ensure service continuity post Brexit and in particular a No Deal scenario.

 

Secondly, working as part of the Essex Resilience Forum, officers have ensured that plans are in place to mitigate potential road congestion to A120 should  Harwich International Port have an increase in freight traffic either through natural growth or as a  national resilience port for Dover.

 

Through the Resilience Forum the Council has also played a lead role in a range of emergency planning scenarios which ‘stress test’ scenarios which could take place in our District, and Essex, as a result of a No Deal Brexit. This includes the provision of mutual aid support from neighbouring Councils.

 

To support those and other actions, the Government has provided funding to the Council.

 

Central to manging risks in relation to Brexit is engaging effectively in order to understand and assess the current position across key issues.

 

The Chief Executive and Senior Officers are actively engaged in national  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

57.

Report of the Leader of the Council - Urgent Cabinet or Portfolio Holder Decisions

The Council will receive a report on any Cabinet or Portfolio Holder Decisions taken as a matter of urgency in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 16.2, Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rule 6(b) and/or Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 18(i).

 

There is no such report on this occasion.

Minutes:

There was no such report on this occasion.

 

58.

Minutes of Committees pdf icon PDF 152 KB

The Council will receive the minutes of the following Committees:

 

(a)       Audit of Monday 29 July 2019;

 

(b)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 29 July 2019; and

 

(c)       Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 5 August 2019.

 

NOTE: The above minutes are presented to Council for information only.  Members can ask questions on their contents to the relevant Chairman but questions as to the accuracy of the minutes must be asked at the meeting of the Committee when the relevant minutes are approved as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the following Committees, as circulated, be received and noted:

 

(a)       Audit of Monday 29 July 2019;

 

(b)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 29 July 2019; and

 

(c)       Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 5 August 2019.

 

In respect of Minute 63 of the meeting of the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 August 2019, Councillor Allen asked a question in relation to ‘rogue’ landlords to which the Chairman of that Committee (Councillor Skeels) responded.

 

59.

Motion to Council - "Review of the Implementation of the new Refuse Collection Contract" pdf icon PDF 94 KB

In accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 12, the Council will consider a Motion to Council submitted by Councillor Maria Fowler.

Minutes:

Council had before it the following motion, notice of which had been given by Councillor Fowler pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12:-

 

“That this Council recognises the anger, concern and inconvenience caused to the residents of the Tendring District as a result of the introduction of the new refuse collection arrangements.

 

That this Council instigates a review of the issues arising from the new system and the manner of its introduction by the appropriate overview and scrutiny committee with the instruction that the committee reports its findings to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.”

 

Councillor Fowler formally moved the motion, and Councillor M E Stephenson formally seconded the motion.

 

Councillor Fowler then explained the purpose of the motion and gave her reasons why she felt that it would be appropriate for the motion to be dealt with at the meeting. They included that many Members had received complaints and concerns from residents about the implementation of the new refuse collection contract which was a subject that had never been debated at Full Council. She felt that Members deserved an opportunity to air their residents’ complaints and their own concerns on this matter with a view of helping to inform the scope of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny’s review of the implementation of the contract.

 

Councillor Stephenson then also gave his reasons why the motion should be dealt with at the meeting. They included that it would help Members meet their obligations under Article 2.03 of the Council’s Constitution (Key roles of Councillors) i.e. 

 

“(ii)       Represent their communities and bring their views into the Council’s decision-making process, i.e. become an advocate for their communities;

 

(iii)       Effectively represent the interests of their ward and of individual residents;

 

(iv)       Respond to residents’ enquiries and representations, fairly and impartially and assist in the resolution of concerns and grievances;”

 

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) then responded and agreed that the motion should be dealt with at the meeting notwithstanding that in his opinion Councillor Fowler’s motion was contrary to Council Procedure Rule 14(f) (i.e. it was included within the work programme of an overview and scrutiny committee and specifically that of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting for its meeting to be held in February 2020) and should therefore not have been permitted to be included on the agenda for this Council meeting.

 

The Chairman of the Council (Councillor Land) then made his ruling on whether the motion should be dealt with at the meeting or stand referred. He decided that the motion would be dealt with at the meeting.

 

Councillor Miles addressed the Council on the subject matter of Councillor Fowler’s motion.

 

Councillor Talbot then moved and Councillor Stock seconded that Councillor Fowler’s motion be amended to read as follows:-

 

“That this Council notes that a review of the issues arising from the new Waste and Recycling collection system and the manner of its introduction is to be conducted by the Resources and Services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

60.

Recommendations from the Cabinet

No recommendations from Cabinet have been submitted on this occasion.

Minutes:

No recommendations from the Cabinet had been submitted on this occasion.

 

61.

Reports Submitted to the Council by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Council is asked to consider any reports submitted to it by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

There are no such reports on this occasion.

Minutes:

There were no such reports on this occasion.

 

62.

Urgent Matters for Debate

The Council will consider any urgent matters submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 3(xv), 11.3(b) and/or 13(p).

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.