Meeting Details

Cabinet
13 Mar 2019 - 18:00 to 00:00
Occurred
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Part A
1 Welcome and Announcements
The Chairman will welcome members of the public and Councillors and remind everyone to use microphones at all times when they are speaking. The Chairman will also explain action in the event of an emergency, mobile phones switched to silent, audio-recording of the meeting. Councillors who are members of the committee will introduce themselves.
2 Urgent Items
The Chairman will announce if there is any item not on the published agenda which will be considered because it is urgent and will explain the reason for the urgency.
340

 

Establishment of Conservation and Environmental Sustainability Task and Finish Group

Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, introduced the report on the Establishment of the Conservation and Environmental Sustainability Task and Finish Group.  He explained that this would be put on the agenda for the next Cabinet meeting in the new municipal year for a formal decision, but he had brought this to Cabinet now in order to highlight this proposal.

RESOLVED that a report in the establishment of the Conservation and Environmental Sustainability Task and Finish Group be considered at the first substantive meeting of the new municipal year.

 
3 Declarations of Interest
Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the agenda about which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the item or participating in any vote upon the item, or any other pecuniary interest or non-pecuniary interest.
4 Minutes of Previous Meeting
The Cabinet will be invited to confirm that the minutes are a correct record of the meeting held on 30 January 2019.
339
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of 30 January 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.
5 Have Your Say!
The Chairman will invite members of the public to indicate if they wish to speak or present a petition on any item included on the agenda or any other matter relating to the terms of reference of the meeting. Please indicate your wish to speak at this point if your name has not been noted by Council staff.
341
Sir Bob Russell addressed the Cabinet pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rule 5(1).  In view of the decision of the Planning Committee to refuse planning permission for the Painters Yard application, the Cabinet should stop any further moves for inappropriate development on the Queen Street site. The site should be used to create a lasting legacy for future generations. As the landowner, the Council was in a position to control how the site was developed. Concern was also expressed about the elephant statue on the roundabout on the junction of North Station Road and Cowdray Avenue, which he considered was a waste of public funds. 

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, responded and explained that the Cabinet was pausing and reflecting on the Queen Street site.  Alumno did have the right of appeal against the decision of the Planning Committee. The Council had entered in contractual agreements with Alumno but they were conditional on the covenant and on obtaining planning permission.  Councillor Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation and Councillor Lilley, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Community Safety and Licensing, explained that the statue of the elephant ws part of a wider redevelopment to improve North Station Road and local Councillors and businesses had ben involved in the preliminary discussions.

David Smith addressed the Cabinet pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rule 5(1) to express his concern that the rent he paid for a garage had increased by 45% over the last two years.  This was an unreasonable level of increase.  Decisions on rent increases should be decided by the whole Council rather than by individual councillors.  

Councillor Bourne, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, explained the background to the rent increases.  The rents on high demand garage sites had been increased by 20%  in each of the last two years to reflect the additional refurbishment required. She would look into the circumstances of his particular case.

Mick Spindler addressed the Cabinet pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rule 5(1).to present a petition containing 1710 signatures, calling on the Council to protect green space on Middlewick.  Middlewick was a largely wild and natural site, enjoyed by many residents. It was the only area of natural heathland in Colchester.  The firing range was only a small proportion of the site.  It was understood that the Ministry of Defence wished to sell the site.  The Council needed to do all it could to save it from future development and preserve it for future generations.

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, and Councillor Lilley, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Community Safety and Licensing, explained that the site was owned by the Ministry of Defence who were looking to dispose of it. The issue was being looked at as part of the Local Plan and the Council was seeking to limit the amount of development on the site. The development of Garden Communities would relieve the pressure for the development of sites such as Middlewick. Local councillors were working with residents to oppose the sale and to influence the development of the site.

Councillor G. Oxford attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet to request an update on the arrangements for the collection of sharps.  It would be more effective and efficient if these were collected from central points such as surgeries or pharmacies.

Councillor Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, explained that the Council was collecting data on the use of the service and was looking to see how a more efficient way of collecting the material could be arranged.

Councillor Laws attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet.  In view of the outcome of the Painters Yard planning application, he considered it would now be timely to review the Masterplan for the area which dated back to 2005. There had been significant changes since then, such as increased pressure for housing growth.  He believed that a cross party consensus on the future use of the site could be reached. This could also tie in to the review of St Botolphs roundabout being undertaken by Essex Highways.

Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, and Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, responded and explained that the administration was reflecting on the outcome of the application.  There was a need to revisit the Masterplan for the area in due course.
 
6 Decisions Reviewed by the Scrutiny Panel

The Councillors will consider the outcome of a review of a decision by the Scrutiny Panel under the call-in procedure.

To consider the recommendation in draft minute 203 of the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 22 February 2019.
342
Cabinet considered the recommendation in draft minute 203 of the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 22 February 2019.

Sir Bob Russell addressed the Cabinet pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rule 5(1).  It had been Council policy since 1992 to seek City Status for Colchester.  City Status had been sought in 1992, 2000, 2002 and 2012 with no significant political opposition.  Colchester was Britain’s First City and the claim to be Britain’s oldest Recorded Town was now inaccurate.  Colchester needed to reclaim its status as a city and be bold going forward.

Councillor Davies, Chair of the Scrutiny Panel, attended and addressed the Cabinet.  The Scrutiny Panel had considered the process of the decision making, not the merits of the strapline.  The main concern of the Scrutiny Panel had been that there had been no discussion at Cabinet on the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group 
and no reasons given for the dismissal of its recommendation that an online public consultation be held. The Panel had been informed of private discussions being held, but this was contrary to the spirit of openness.  Residents were entitled to see issues debated openly and she looked forward to receiving the reasons for the Cabinet’s decision. 
  
Councillor G. Oxford attended and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Cabinet.  He considered that the issues of the signs produced as part of his mayoral legacy and the new strapline had become entangled.  If the Cabinet was to go forward with the strapline, he felt it should replicate the way it was shown on the mayoral legacy signs, including the colours.

Councillor Willetts attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet.  Whilst under the Cabinet model of Council governance, the Cabinet had wide ranging powers, this was balanced by the need to ensure it acted in accordance with the principles of decision making.  These were part of the Council’s constitution and included the need to have regard to due consultation. The Task and Finish Group had recommended further consultation and it was a matter of regret that the Cabinet had not followed this guiding principle.  The Scrutiny Panel was entitled to ask for an explanation as to why the Cabinet had not decided to follow the recommendation of the Task and Finish group in respect of consultation.  

Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, explained that the Heritage and Tourism Task and Finish Group had taken the decision to review the strapline.  They had consulted with experts., and had made a recommendation, although this was not unanimous and neither did it exactly reflect the views of experts.   The Cabinet had also listened to experts and followed the recommendation in part and had taken the essence of their recommendation.

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for business and Culture, acknowledged that the Cabinet could have handled the discussion at Cabinet on 30 January 2019 better and that there should have been a more open debate. The views of the Scrutiny Panel were welcomed.  In terms of the reasons for not accepting the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group, Cabinet was of the view that it had due regard to consultation.   It had consulted with the Task and Finish Group, and the views of local historians and marketing experts had been taken into account.  The Council was a representative democracy and Councillors were elected to take decision on behalf of residents.  It was not necessary to consult on every decision, and Cabinet had felt that this was a decision that dd not require further consultation.  He hoped that Cabinet would now feel able to confirm the original decision taken at the meeting on 30 January 2019.

Councillor Lilley, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Community Safety and Licensing, explained that the decision had been taken quickly on 30 January 2019, and that there had been concern about the proposal in the recommendation to include the word “Roman” which neglected other crucial parts of Colchester’s history, such as the Civil War period.

Councillor Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, explained that in the long term he felt that the Council should consult with residents about how they wanted their history portraying.  He also emphasised that the mayoral legacy signs were entirely separate from the work on the new strapline, and that the only expenditure had been in relation to the mayoral signs.   He felt that the strapline should reflect the wording on the mayoral signs going forward.

Councillor Barlow, Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, highlighted that the bid for City Status in 2012 had been led by residents and not by the Council.  The decision to use Britain’s First City had built on this bid. 

RESOLVED that:-

(a) The recommendation from the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 22 February 2019 be acknowledged and accepted;

(b) The decision in minute 329 of the Cabinet meeting of 30 January 2019 in respect of the recommendation from the Heritage and Tourism Task and Finish Group be confirmed.

REASONS


In the course of the debate Cabinet had responded to the recommendation of the Scrutiny Panel and explained the reasons why it had not followed the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group in respect of online public consultation.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

It was open to the Cabinet not to accept the recommendation of the Scrutiny Panel and confirm the decision without further explanation.
 
7 Waste, Environment and Transportation
Cabinet will consider a report outlining proposed service changes, financial savings and investment in front line services following a review of the existing Recycling, Waste and Fleet Service and Community Zones Service.  
343
The Assistant Director, Environment, submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member together with draft minute 198 of the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 29 January 2019.

Councillor G. Oxford attended and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Cabinet.  Whilst he accepted the importance of the zones teams he was concerned that the capacity of Zones Team 3 had not kept pace with development in the area and this led to delays in tasks being completed.  Also requests for enforcement action were not being responded to sufficiently quickly.

Councillor Willetts attended and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Cabinet. Whilst he fully supported most of the proposals he was very concerned about the proposed changes to collections of plastic film, bags and wrappers.  This was contrary to the spirit of the motion approved by Council in December 2017.  It suggested that the Council would only recycle where it could do so at a profit. and to send this material to landfill was a retrograde step.

Councillor Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, responded and explained that the proposed changes to the arrangements for the collection of plastics were not driven by financial considerations.  The Council remained to committed to collecting material that would be recycled.  Even if the material was collected, it would be removed by recycling companies and either burnt or sent to landfill.  The Government was consulting on proposals for a uniform waste collection system and these materials would not be included in the list of materials to be collected for recycling.  It was also proposed to introduce a tax on their production to reduce their use.  The Council would ensure that there would be a programme of communication and engagement with residents to notify them of the change in arrangements.

Councillor Goss introduced and explained the main proposals contained in the Business Case.  The proposals had been considered by the Scrutiny Panel.  They would lead to a more effective and efficient zones service including a dedicated community engagement resource and able to respond to planned housing growth in the borough.  Whilst savings had been identified, there would be no cuts to frontline services and there would be considerable investment in the service including refurbishment of the Shrub End depot. 

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, explained that in respect of plastics, the right approach was to influence producers.  He stressed the valuable work provided by the zones teams, who were the public face of the Council. The team covering his ward provided an excellent and responsive service. 

RESOLVED that:-

(a) The changes to the organisational structure proposed by the Assistant Director’s report be approved.

(b) All other changes and savings proposed by the Assistant Director’s report be approved.  

(c) The offer from Essex County Council for them to pay the Council a discretionary recycling credit of £30 per tonne for recycled food waste collected from residents with a minimum guaranteed total annual income of £175,000, be accepted.   

(d) Authority be delegated to the Assistant Director – Environment in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation to award a contract for the handling and sale of recycled materials for 5 years.  


REASONS

To ensure services are organised and provided to meet the future needs of Colchester and to ensure the Council Budget Strategy is achieved. 


ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

Not to approve the changes and proposals in the Assistant Director’s report.
 
8 Commercial Services
Cabinet will consider a report inviting it to review and and agree updated Business Plans for Colchester Commercial (Holdings) Ltd and it's subsidiary companies.  
345
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate, submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member together with a draft minute from the Governance and Audit Committee meeting of 7 March 2019.

Councillor Barlow, Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, introduced the report.  He thanked his fellow members on the board of Colchester Commercial (Holdings) Ltd (CCHL) and the officers supporting CCHL and its subsidiaries for their work in the first year of operation.  He drew attention to the conclusions of Governance and Audit Committee, which was the shareholder Committee for CCHL. The Board understood the importance of a better flow of information between the companies and the Council.  Whilst it had been sensible for the Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services to be on the Board whilst the company was established to help develop the relationship, he felt it was the time to separate out the role of Portfolio Holder and Chair of the Board to prevent potential conflicts of interest.

RESOLVED that:-

(a) The refreshed draft Colchester Commercial (Holdings) Limited Business Plans and those for its 3 subsidiary companies be approved.

(b) Authority be delegated to the Assistant Director Policy and Corporate, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, to finalise any minor amendments to the wording, formatting etc. 

(c) Future Councillor appointments to the Board of Colchester Commercial (Holdings) Ltd be limited to non-executive members only.

REASONS

The companies have undertaken a plethora of activities since they were formed. The Business Plans were agreed prior to the companies commencing those activities and, inevitably, need updating to reflect changes since their conception. The fundamental aims and objectives of the plans have not changed.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

The Cabinet could decide not to agree the Business Plans, but this would leave out of date plans in circulation that do not reflect the most up to date reflections on the companies planned activities. 
 
Cabinet will consider a report proving an update on the Northern Gateway Heat Network Project.
346
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate, submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member. 

Councillor G. Oxford attended and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Cabinet to ask whether the increased in capital costs for the heat network was in part a result of increased development on the Rugby Club site from that proposed in the initial pre application consultation.

Michael Woods, Energy Manager, Colchester Amphora (Energy) Ltd, confirmed that this was not the case and the heat network was based on the figures in the Masterplan.

Councillor Barlow, Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, introduced the report and explained that a significant capital investment was being requested in order to create a larger heat network.  If the Council proceeded on the scale of network as currently planned it would need to exclude housing from the network, which would be counterproductive as it would also remove the Council’s ambition to bring forward a very low carbon housing development scheme. The proposals would increase the rate of return in the long term.

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture also expressed his support and stressed that this demonstrated that the Colchester was at the leading edge of innovation in this field.

 
RESOLVED that:-

(a) The additional capital expenditure of £720K for the increased scheme size, as outlined in the confidential annex table 1 attached to the Assistant Director’s report and which will need to be met by the Council under the current approved delivery structure be approved.

(b) The good progress made on the project to date including the imminent final drawdown of the BEIS grant be noted

(c) The financial and risk implications for the Council arising from the updated project including the need to finance the additional capital costs from Council budgets, be noted

(d) A further financial review of the project be brought back to the Council once design and construction tenders are returned.

REASONS

To allow the Heat Network to deliver to the ambitions of the emerging Local Plan for the Northern Gateway, and in particular section CC1:

(v) Supporting opportunities to deliver decentralised energy systems, particularly those which are powered by a renewable or low carbon source. Supporting connection to an existing decentralised energy supply system where there is capacity to supply the proposed development, or design for future connection where there are proposals for such a system.

(vi) Requiring development in the Northern Gateway and East Colchester to connect to, or be capable of connecting to the district heating scheme where there is capacity to supply the proposed development and where it is appropriate and viable to do so.

The increase in heat sales allow a higher rate of return.

To continue to show leadership across the Borough for the implementation of low carbon heat in new developments.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

One option would be to retain the capital expenditure envelope for the heat network project that was approved by Cabinet in March 2017, which could be achieved by reducing the size of the scheme.  By removing a significant proportion of the low density housing (which would have to be connected to the gas network) leading to reduced pipe network costs and a subsequent reduction in heat demands/sales there would be a smaller energy centre with less capital costs. 

Whilst this would reduce some costs it would also remove the Council’s ambition to bring forward a very low carbon housing development scheme.  It is not feasible to remove any part of the health care facilities as they are hungry in heat demand which is high income producing for the network and vital for overall viability. Removing elements of the scheme could also impact upon overall financial sustainability and directly upon rates of return for the project as there are general increases in costs of delivering the project since March 2017 and these have been offset by the increase in heat sales.
 
9 Resources
Cabinet will consider a report providing a summary of budget allocations for one off spending that supports the delivery of the Strategic Plan, and sets out proposals to allocate further funding.
347
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member.

Councillor King, Portfolio Holder for Resources, introduced the report and highlighted the additional investment allocated for heritage, community safety and strengthening communities, including youth engagement.  This would make a real difference to local communities.

RESOLVED that the funding allocations set out in section 5.4 of the Assistant Director’s report be agreed.

REASONS

These priorities reflect those set out in the Strategic Plan and the allocation of resource will enable them to be moved forward more quickly.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

A different set of actions could be agreed however it is felt that these are of the highest importance

No additional actions could be instigated however there is a significant amount of one-off money available that should be put to use for the benefit of Colchester.
Cabinet will consider a report inviting it to set the Corporate Key Performance Indicators for 2019-20.
348
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate, submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member together with draft minute 201 of the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 29 January 2019.

Councillor King, Portfolio Holder for Resources, introduced the report and stressed the role of performance indicators in driving performance. Overall performance in 2018-19 had been very encouraging.  It was proposed to amend a number of the indicators for 2019-20 to help improve performance and to take account of circumstances.. Whilst three KPIs would be eased, two would be made more challenging, so the overall balance remained.  In comparison with other authorities Colchester’s performance remained high.

RESOLVED that:-

 (a) The Corporate KPI Targets for 2019-2020 as set out in Appendix A be agreed.

(b) The dates contained in the Reporting Timetable covering 2019-2020 be noted.

REASONS

To confirm the Corporate KPI Targets for 2019-2020.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

No alternative options were presented to Cabinet.
 
Cabinet will consider the recommendation contained in the extract from the notes of the Task and Finish Group meeting on 13 February 2019.
349
Cabinet considered the notes from the meeting of the Alternative Service Delivery Task and Finish Group meeting of 13 February 2019 a copy of which had been circulated to each Member. 

Councillor Warnes, Chair of the Alternative Methods of Service Delivery Task and Finish Group attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed Cabinet.  He thanked the members of the Group and officers who had supported its work. It was a solid piece of work.  Its recommendations relating to social value were in line with the statutory framework.  It was the second step to ensuring the Council gained social value from its spend and ensured it delivered economic, environmental and social benefits.  It was also a move towards a third step, embedding alternative methods of delivering service and he hoped that the Cabinet would allow the Group to continue its work

Councillor Willetts attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet.  He supported the general thrust of the work in principle.  However, care needed to be taken to ensure that the costs involved in ensuring social value were measured and that to ensure that the overall costs of delivering services were not driven up as a consequence. It was important that comparisons could be made between the costs of contracts with and without social value components and the Council needed to ensure its processes around social value were transparent.

Councillor King, Portfolio Holder for Resources, and Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, expressed their support for the recommendations of the Task and Finish Group.. The recommendations were balanced and thoughtful and indicated a clear direction of travel.  There would be value in the Group continuing its work to look at the options for mutual and co-operative models of service delivery. 

RESOLVED that:-

(a) The development of methods to measure and report the Social Value benefits derived from contract spend in line with the Strategic Plan priorities be approved.

(b) Authority be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Resources to agree priority Social Value measures relevant for this borough and identified by the Group as shown in Appendix 4 to the report to the Task and Finish Group, together with the additional measure identified at the Group’s meeting on 24 January 2019 in respect of the number of jobs created for current or ex-armed forces personnel.

(c) “Local’ be defined as North Essex and South Suffolk for the purposes of Social Value measures, and authority to approve the exact boundaries be delegated to the Assistant Director - Policy and Corporate, taking into account travel to work and labour market criteria.

(d) Consideration be given to whether an additional Social Value performance measure would be appropriate, after further work has been done to develop effective measurement methods that reflect the Council’s priorities. 

(e) The Group continue its work by further exploring the options for mutual and co-operative services and returning to a future Cabinet meeting with recommendations about alternative service delivery models.

REASONS


As set out in the notes from the Alternative Service Delivery Task and Finish Group.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

It was open to Cabinet not to approve the recommendations from the Alternative Methods of Service Delivery Task and Finish Group, or to approve them in part.
 
10 Resources/Housing and Communities
Cabinet will consider a report on the award of a new four year contract for the cleaning of corporate buildings and sheltered and homeless schemes.   
350
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member. 

RESOLVED that:-

(a) The contract for cleaning of corporate buildings, sheltered and homeless schemes be awarded to Kingdom Services.

(b) In the event that the successful bidder is unable to proceed, the second placed contractor be appointed.

REASONS


The existing contract ends with the successful completion of the current contact on 30th April 2019. 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

Not to accept the tender of the proposed contractor. This would impede the delivery of a service to tenants and customers.
 
Cabinet will consider a recommendation from the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel that items be added to its work programme.
351
Cabinet considered minute 23 of the minutes of the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel meeting of 6 March 2019, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member.

Councilor Laws attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet to stress the potential uses of the river Colne for sport and leisure purposes.  It was important that a proper management plan for the river be drawn up to regulate such uses and to ensure they did not conflict with environmental considerations.

Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, indicated his support for a better focus on the river Colne and that this should be looked at by the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel.  The Panel could look at existing partnerships for the management of the river and also look at water quality issues,

Councillor T. Young, Portfolio holder for Business and Culture, and Councillor Bourne, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, highlighted the impact of Universal Credit on residents and emphasized the importance of this being added to the Panel’s work programme.

RESOLVED that approval be given for the following items to be included in the Policy and Public Initiative Panel’s work programme at an appropriate time in the new municipal year:

(i) The impact of Universal Credit / Austerity;
(ii) The use of the River Colne in terms of encouraging more effective use from environmental and activity aspects.

REASONS

Cabinet agreed that these were important issues which there would be benefit from the Panel exploring.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

Not to add these items to the work programme of the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel.
 
11 General
Cabinet will consider a report providing information about responses to embers of he public who spoke under the have Your Say! arrangements at meetings of Cabinet and Full Council.
352
The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate submitted a progress sheet a copy of which had been circulated to each Member.

RESOLVED that the contents of the Progress Sheet be noted.

REASONS

The progress sheet was a mechanism by which the Cabinet could ensure that public statements and questions were responded to appropriately and promptly.
 
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

No alternative options were presented to the Cabinet.
12 Exclusion of the Public (Cabinet)
In accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and in accordance with The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the public, including the press, from the meeting so that any items containing exempt information (for example personal, financial or legal advice), in Part B of this agenda (printed on yellow paper) can be decided. (Exempt information is defined in Section 100I and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).
Publication and Call-in Arrangements
Date Published 14 March 2019

Date when decisions may be implemented (unless ‘called in’) 5pm 21 March 2019 

NB All decisions except urgent decisions, those subject to pre-scrutiny and those recommended to Council may be subject to the Call-in Procedure.  

Requests for the scrutiny of relevant decisions by the Scrutiny Panel must be signed by at least ONE Councillor AND FOUR other Councillors to countersign the call-in form OR to indicate support by e-mail.  All such requests must be delivered to the Proper Officer by no later than 5pm on Thursday 21 March 2019,
 
Sustainable Transport in Colchester
344
Cabinet considered minute 28 of the minutes of the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel meeting of 6 March 2019, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member.

Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, thanked the Panel for its suggestions on how sustainable transport could be taken forward.  He considered that these were excellent suggestions that the Cabinet could accept and take forward. 

RESOLVED that the following issues identified by the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel be accepted as potential contributions to the promotion of sustainable transport on Colchester borough:-

A review of Parking Charges;
Investigation of the workplace parking levy initiative, for peak times only, not for late night shift workers;
The Repair, Reuse Recycle bicycle project, pitched to the Panel by Chris Blomeley, in terms of his request for suitable premises from which to operate the project, potential partnership working and tourism opportunities;
An initiative to encourage nurseries, pre-schools and childminders, as well as local schools and academies, to adopt a walking and cycling ethos for journeys to school and pre-school;
Work with Repair, Reuse and Recycle and other local charities to ensure walking and cycling for children is inclusive for all families, including those unable to afford bicycles and their maintenance costs;
Closer working with Essex County Council to improve road signage of cycle routes;
Working towards bringing cycling and public transport to the heart of Local Plan policies, such as discussions with the bus companies about viable routes within the Garden Community proposals;
Work with the bus companies and Greater Anglia with a view to securing the introduction of a combined ticketing system across bus and train services and improvements to train timetabling and train frequencies at Colchester Town station;
Liaison with Essex County Council and the local bus companies to highlight the importance of accessibility of bus stopping points, in terms of location, seating and shelter;
A feasibility exercise to investigate the viability of introducing a Hopper bus service, potentially operating from North Station into the town centre, either working with the bus companies or investigating alternative sources of funding, such as the use of Section 106 contributions or sponsorship, to cover driver, vehicle and running costs;
A review of the Section 106 financial contribution regime with a view to allocating sustainable transport measures within the top five priorities for funding.

REASONS

Cabinet considered the suggestions from the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel should be taken forward.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

It was open to Cabinet not to approve the recommendations from the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel
 
The Walls Project
353
Cabinet considered minute 26 of the minutes of the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel meeting of 6 March 2019, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member.

RESOLVED that as much support as possible be provided to the BID in order to secure the success of the Walls Project as quickly as possible.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

Not to add these items to the work programme of the Policy and Public Initiatives Panel.
 
Part B
Cabinet will be invited to approve the not for publication extract from the minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 30 January 2019.
  1. 30-01-19 not for publication extract (1)
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
354

The Cabinet resolved under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. 

RESOLVED that the not for publication extract from the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

14 Commercial Services - Part B
To note the not for publication appendices to the report of the Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate, at item 8(i) in Part A of the agenda,
  1. Item 14(i) Appendix 2 - CAEL Business Plan
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
  2. Item 14(i) Appendix 3 - CAHL Business Plan
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
  3. Item 14(i) Appendix 4 - CATL Business Plan
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
355

The Cabinet resolved under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. 

RESOLVED that the not for publication appendices to the Assistant Director’s report be noted.

Cabinet will be invited to note the not for publication appendix to the report of the Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate, at item 8(ii) in Part A of the agenda.
  1. Item 14(ii) Northern Gateway Heat Network Project and Finance Update - Appendix
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
356

The Cabinet resolved under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. 

RESOLVED that the not for publication appendices to the Assistant Director’s report be noted.


15 Resources/Housing and Communities - Part B
Cabinet will consider a report on the award of a new four year contract for the cleaning of corporate buildings and sheltered and homeless schemes.   
  1. Item 15(i) Award of Contract for Corporate Building Cleaning - Part B
    • This report is not for publication by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (financial / business affairs of a particular person, including the authority holding information).
357

The Cabinet resolved under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. 

The Assistant Director, Policy and Corporate submitted a report a copy of which had been circulated to each Member. 

RESOLVED that the contract for cleaning of corporate buildings, sheltered and homeless schemes be awarded to Kingdom Services.

REASONS

As set out in minute 350.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

As set out in minute 350.

 

Additional Meeting Documents

Attendance

Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for Sending Apology
No apology information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for Absence
No absentee information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Also in attendance: Councillors Cope, Davies, Laws, G. Oxford, Warnes, Willetts