Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 14 April 2016 and 12 May 2016.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Council meetings held on 14 April and 12 May 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest from any Member or Officer on any item on this Agenda.

All Members are asked to submit any declarations in writing by 9.30am on Wednesday 6 July, 2016 if possible.

None.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor, Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council, Members of the Cabinet, a Chairman of a Committee or the Chief Executive.

The Mayor thanked the Deputy Mayor for attending a Mayoral event in Leeds and for her recent fund raising efforts on behalf of the Mayor’s Charities.

The Mayor informed Council that the Mayor’s Charity Summer Song Spectacular Concert, held at the Thornton Little Theatre on Friday 1 July 2016, had been well attended and had been very successful.  He said that he hoped to arrange a similar event later in the year and encouraged Councillors to attend.

He also announced that he would be attending the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 27 August in a personal capacity but he intended to take the opportunity to raise further funds for the Mayor Charities.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public under Procedure Rule 9.1.

Any questions or statements received by the specified deadline of noon on Friday 1 July 2016 will be published and circulated separately.

Mr Bashir Rassas, Deputy Chairman of the Friends of Pheasants Wood, made a statement, under Procedure Rule 9, about the collection of green waste, as follows:

“The ‘Friends of Pheasant Wood’ (F.O.P.W.) is a residents group formed in May 2014, with the intention of bringing like-minded people from the Pheasant Wood Electoral Ward together. One aim of the Group is to improve the ambience of the area, particularly public open spaces, through conservation.

With this aim in mind, the F.O.P.W. committee feel it is appropriate to use the opportunity presented by ‘Public Questions to Full Council’, and draw attention to matters of serious concern.

The introduction of a charge for the collection of ‘green’ waste from residential properties, and an instruction to no longer put food waste in the green bin, has caused residents to question what our elected Councillors did, collectively on our behalf, to oppose the changes.

Additionally, did those Councillors making the decision to put food waste with general household waste, think of the consequences of their action.        

Following several years of coercion, the residents of Wyre became conditioned to the principle of segregating household waste for recycling purposes.

A recent decision to reduce the business activity at the Thornton waste recycling facility has resulted in those same residents becoming disillusioned, because they now view the large recycling centre as an enormous waste of public money. This situation will lead to apathy.

The surcharge will further alienate normally law-abiding residents, and there is already evidence of ‘green’ waste being deposited in the gardens of neighbours, and in public open spaces. The curse of ‘fly tipping’, and its attendant problems, will surely increase as time progresses.

Residents are no longer permitted to include food waste with ‘green’ waste, because the former is now classed as general household waste and destined for landfill.

Residents in various parts of Wyre are suffering from rat infestation problems, partly due to increased water levels, groundwork connected with new developments, and/or remedial work throughout the Borough. Rats and other vermin will seek a new environment, and food waste going to landfill, or deliberately discarded in public open spaces, will increase the rat, feral pigeon, and seagull problems.

In Pheasant Wood Ward, rats are now seen in garden areas of private dwellings and inside some properties, having come from Amounderness Way, from within Pheasant Wood, and from elsewhere. 

Seagulls are currently nesting on at least two residential properties on the Pheasant Wood estate, and can regularly be seen scavenging for food.”

In his response, Councillor Henderson stated that the implementation of a subscription service for the collection of green waste had been a difficult decision but, due to the removal of £980,000 of funding by Lancashire County Council through the ceasing of a cost sharing agreement, the Council needed to implement a charge to ensure the service could continue.

LCC (as the disposal authority) had instructed Wyre Council (the collection authority) that food waste could no longer be placed within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council to the Mayor, a member of the Cabinet or the Chairman of a Committee under Council Procedure Rule 12.1

Any questions received by the specified deadline of noon on Friday 1 July 2016 will be published and circulated separately.

None.

To receive reports from Cabinet Members. (In accordance with Procedure Rule 10.3 Councillors will be able to ask questions or make comments).

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Gibson) submitted a report.  He welcomed Marianne Hesketh, Mark Broadhurst and Mark Billington to their first Council meeting in their new roles as Service Directors.

Councillor Gibson also said when introducing his report that in the recent EU Referendum approximately 80% of Fleetwood residents had voted to leave the European Union.  He hoped that the Councillors representing the Fleetwood area would support the views of those residents.  He also said that he was aware that a petition was being collected in Fleetwood requesting more independence for the town.  He urged Town Councillors to come and talk to him if they wanted more devolvement of responsibilities from Wyre.  He pointed out that previous discussions about the possibility of the Town Council taking on responsibility for Fleetwood Cemetery had broken down when they had realised the cost of providing the service.  He pointed out that the total amount of the Wyre element of the Council Tax raised in Fleetwood was approximately £1.1 million and the amount spent on Wyre services in the Fleetwood area was approximately £1.6 million.  He said that this expenditure did not include street cleansing or waste collection and so the total “subsidy” was probably in the region of £1 million per annum.

Councillor R Duffy said that the petition being collected in Fleetwood was not politically motivated and the Wyre Labour Group had no involvement in it.  Councillor Duffy referred to the Leader of the Council’s praise for “lobbying” by the three Conservative MP’s for the Fylde area and his comments in paragraph 4.1 of the report urging County Councillors representing the Wyre area to object to service reductions being implemented by Lancashire County Council.  She said that her fellow Labour County Councillors for the Wyre area were continually fighting for residents in Wyre.  She suggested that he ensure that Conservative MP’s for the area, especially Paul Maynard, be encouraged to “lobby” their own Government to reduce the impact of the savage cuts being inflicted on local councils.  She referred to the voting record of Mr Maynard, quoting examples of when he had voted against measures which she said would have benefited the Wyre area and had voted for central government cuts on local councils.  She suggested that this Council should ask all its local MP’s to lobby the Government “to stop inflicting misery on the hard working, vulnerable and disabled people of this Borough”.

Councillor Gibson said in response that it was the Labour Group at Lancashire County Council which was proposing cuts on local services for which they were responsible, not the Government.

Councillor Bridge congratulated the people of Fleetwood for wanting to “go it alone” but questioned whether such an approach would end up leading to service cuts and/or extra taxes for the people of Fleetwood.

Councillor Beavers said that Lancashire County Council was being forced to implement service cuts because of reduced funding from Central Government.  She asked Councillor Gibson why, if he was concerned about the impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14a

The Resources Portfolio Holder (Councillor A Vincent) submitted a report.

Councillor Vincent said, in a response to a question from Councillor Ormrod about paragraph 5.1 of his report, that he was pleased that a satisfactory agreement had been reached with the 60+ Group about the lease for part of the Teanlowe Day Centre.  He said that the process of negotiations had been difficult at times, with some misleading and inaccurate statements being made, but the problems had now been resolved.  The outcome was that the 60+ Group was occupying a smaller area of the building, but one which was more suited to its needs and for which it was paying a reasonable rent, whilst the Council would now be able to let other parts of the building, a situation which was clearly beneficial to all concerned.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Street Scene Parks and Open Spaces Portfolio Holder (Councillor Henderson) submitted a report.

Councillor Henderson said he would arrange for a written response to be sent to Councillor Barrowclough about expenditure on weed spraying in Fleetwood and on the recent planting around the Crest on the Mount.

Councillor Henderson said that he would arrange for a written response to be sent to Councillor Shewan explaining the circumstances, referred to paragraph 4.2 of his report, in which a local householder had been required to pay costs of £700 to the Council for dealing with the fly tipping of materials which he had paid to have collected from his home.

Councillor Henderson said that he would arrange for a written response to be sent Councillor Beavers explaining why the area between the car park at Fleetwood beach and the pitch and putt course had been tarmacked.

Councillor B Birch said that the recent improvements made to the Memorial Park at Fleetwood were very impressive and he congratulated Council staff and the local volunteers for their efforts.  He expressed concern, however, about the foul smell coming from the water feature in the park.  He asked the Portfolio Holder to ensure that it was drained and that the problem was resolved as quickly as possible.  Councillor Henderson thanked Councillor Birch for his comments and said that he was aware of the problem with the water feature.  He said that the pumps had been turned off and the problem was being rectified.

Councillor Henderson confirmed, in response to a question from Councillor B Stephenson about nuisance being caused by seagulls, that it was not possible for the Council to cull the birds.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder (Councillor Murphy) submitted a report.

Councillor Murphy said that he would arrange for a written response to be sent to Councillor Barrowclough providing a breakdown of the amounts spent on advertising and marketing at Fleetwood Market.

Councillor R Duffy referred to the statement in paragraph 2.1 of the report that the Coastal Communities Fund Scheme was now complete.  She asked, as she had done previously, whether feedback had been sought from residents regarding the schemes and whether that had been included in the evaluation.  She questioned how the scheme could be complete when:

-        “artwork and resurfacing of the Promenade from the Radar Station to the Old PS site had not been done;

-        only half of the aprons around the boating lake had been replaced;

-        the skate park was a bowl, not a park;

-        beach huts were being built with money that could have been used to ensure the splash pad costs remained low by installing a water recycling system.”

Councillor Murphy said in response that a draft evaluation report on the project had been completed and a final version of the report would be submitted to the Council as soon as possible.  He said, however, that comments made during a recent survey had been very complimentary about the facilities now available on the promenade and the evaluation report on the coastal community fund projects was very positive.

Councillor Bridge welcomed the restoration works being carried out to the former Tobacco and Toffee shop in Fleetwood referred to in paragraph 4.3 of the report.  Councillor Murphy said that the works were progressing well and should be finished soon.

Councillor Barrowclough reiterated his support for the restoration of the Tobacco and Toffee Shop, which he hoped would contribute to continuing improvements to the central business district of Fleetwood.  Councillor Barrowclough also asked the Portfolio Holder to confirm that the Council would continue to consult with shop keepers and Team Fleetwood to enable potential future projects to be prioritised.  Councillor Murphy confirmed that consultation with shop keepers in Fleetwood would continue and referred to the imminent opening of a new pop-up shop which would provide facilities for six new businesses.

Councillor Barrowclough asked whether the Portfolio Holder would continue to fully support the extensive works being undertaken by the Poulton and Wyre Railway Society in its initiative to reopen the railway line and to run a rail service from Poulton to Fleetwood via Thornton.  Councillor Murphy confirmed that he would do everything he possibly could to facilitate continued discussions with Network Rail.

Councillor Murphy said, in response to comments made by Councillor B Birch about future funding for development in Poulton, that the Council was seeking, in its next bid for coastal communities funding, to include projects around the estuary, which might include works at the edge of Poulton.  He also said that the new Aldi store in Poulton was due to open in October.

RESOLVED that the report be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14d

The Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety Portfolio Holder (Councillor Berry) submitted a report.

Councillor Berry said, when introducing his report, that both Councillor Lady Atkins and Councillor Fail had informed him of concerns raised by their constituents about incidents of racism since the EU Referendum on 23 June.  He said that racism must not be tolerated and urged all Councillors to report any instances they became aware of.

Councillor Beavers said, with regard to paragraph 2.1 of the report that Lancashire County Council had initially been awarded £40 million to undertake the initiatives listed in that paragraph.  However, the previous coalition Government had halved that funding and the current Government had withdrawn the funding completely.  She did not understand therefore how the Portfolio Holder concluded that the County Council was responsible for the impact of those cuts.

Councillor Berry said in response that Councillor Beavers had made this political point previously.  He reiterated his fundamental concerns that the withdrawal of the services, as currently proposed by the County Council, would both have very harmful implications for the recipients of the current services and, in the longer term, would increase rather than reduce costs to the County Council.

Councillor Barrowclough said that he would like the Portfolio Holder to pass on his thanks to Balfour Beatty, who had acted swiftly in response to his complaint of vehicles exiting the sea wall improvement works site via Marine Parade, which was not on the designated approved route.  Councillor Berry thanked Councillor Barrowclough for his comments and said that the works were progressing well.

Councillor B Stephenson asked the Portfolio Holder to give credit to the Police and Crime Commissioner for ensuring that the community safety consultation events, referred to in paragraph 3.1 his report, were taking place.  Councillor Berry said in response that the events were being organised by local Police officers and were not a Police and Crime Commissioner initiative.

Councillor Michael Vincent said that at the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting the Service Director Health and Wellbeing had explained the work being done to support victims of domestic violence in Wyre and across Lancashire and the efforts being made to avoid the cuts currently being proposed to the services referred to in paragraph 2.1 of the report.  Councillor Berry said that Wyre Council had to be as proactive as possible in seeking to maintain the current services and expressed his thanks and support for the work being done by Mark Broadhurst to minimise the impact of the proposed cuts on Wyre residents.

Councillor R Duffy said that she applauded the officers and Wyre Councillors for trying to protect vulnerable residents, but reiterated her view that the reason for the impending cuts was the withdrawal of Central Government Funding.  Councillor Berry said that Wyre Council was making comments in response to decisions being made by Lancashire County Council.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Leisure and Culture Portfolio Holder (Councillor Bowen) submitted a report.

Councillor R Duffy said that she was pleased that there had been positive feedback on the opening of the Splash Pad at Fleetwood, as referred to in paragraph 6.1 of the report.  However, she understood there had been problems with the fountain and hoped that this would not happen again.

Councillor Duffy also said that, at the call-in of the decision to charge for the use of the Splash Pad, the Portfolio Holder had stated that she had had no input into the decision taken not to install a water recycling system and that, if she had been involved she would have agreed to the recycling of water because that would have resulted in lower costs being incurred through reduced water usage.  She asked whether Councillor Bowen still stood by that statement, given that she had documentation that showed she was in fact part of the decision making process not to include the recycling system.

Councillor Bowen said that she was aware of the problem that had occurred with the fountain, which had now been resolved.  She reiterated that she hadn’t been involved in the decision not to include a water recycling system.

Councillor Bowen said that she would arrange for a written response to be sent to Councillor Smith explaining why the organiser of the Fleetwood Carnival had been charged a commercial rate for use of the Marine Hall and Gardens.

Councillor M Anderton asked whether the Portfolio Holder would join with her in congratulating three Fleetwood business men, namely Lee Preston-Stephani, Craig McConish and Paul Haslem who, operating as the “Beside the Seaside” Group, had already staged three successful events this summer.  She said they were fast making the Esplanade a tourist destination for family themed entertainment and their efforts really should be applauded by Members of the Council.  Councillor Bowen said that any events to encourage tourism were helpful and said that she would write to the three business men referred to thanking them for their contributions.

Councillor Lady Atkins said that she was pleased that scaffolding had gone up at the Garstang Leisure Centre and that work on the long awaited improvements was about to commence.  Councillor Bowen said that it was good news that work had started and said that work on the Garstang Swimming Pool would also be starting soon.

Councillor Jones said that she had recently visited the Splash Pad with a group of family and friends.  It had been a very positive experience and a much better environment with the number of users controlled.  Councillor Bowen confirmed that similar positive feedback had been received from other users of the facility.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Health and Community Engagement Portfolio Holder (Councillor V Taylor) submitted a report.

She said, with regards to comments made earlier in the meeting about nuisance caused by seagulls, that an information campaign on this issue was to be launched soon, including use of social media, notices and an article in the next edition of Wyre Voice.

Councillor M Anderton asked the Portfolio Holder to draw up a coherent policy to deal with the noise nuisance, mess and increasingly aggressive behaviour of seagulls.  She said she would like the Portfolio Holder to consider the following actions:

1.    online reporting of seagull nuisance (in the same way that dog fouling was currently reported);

2.    developing an information section on Wyre’s website giving advice to residents on deterring seagulls (for example by installing spikes on rooves);

3.    a review of data and developing a Wyre policy on dealing with this problem with a view to possibly passing a byelaw.

She said that she would be happy to work with the Portfolio Holder on this issue and to share the research she had done so far.

Councillor Taylor said that this was a national problem and Councillor Anderton had raised valid points.  She said that she would be happy to work with her on this issue.

Councillor Jones said, with reference to paragraph 4 of the report, that as a dementia champion she had been visiting businesses around Poulton and had received an outstanding response to the initiative to make Poulton a dementia friendly town centre.  The Fylde and Wyre Dementia Action Alliance had already achieved a great deal and further awareness raising sessions were being organised.  She said that there were now 1.6 million dementia friends across the UK.

Councillor Taylor thanked Councillor Jones for her comments and agreed that the dementia friend concept was proving to be very beneficial.  She said that County Councillors had received dementia awareness training and urged Wyre Councillors to also undertake awareness training if they had the opportunity.

Councillor Ballard asked whether the Council’s Care and Repair Manager, Michelle Scott, could make her dementia awareness training sessions available to Councillors.

Councillor Beavers asked Councillor Taylor in her capacity as Health and Community Engagement Portfolio Holder and as a Preesall Ward Councillor to petition the Leader of the Council to accept the gift of the ferry boat offered by Lancashire County Council, in order to relieve social deprivation in the Over Wyre Area.  Councillor Taylor replied that, as an elected member for Preesall, she had lobbied for decades for the ferry service, but she was also well aware that responsibility for transport services such as the ferry rested with Lancashire County Council.

Councillor Shewan commented on cuts being made to bus subsidies by Lancashire County Council.  He said that, the cuts were a consequence of reduced Government funding and were not the fault of the County Council.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Report of the Chairman of the Planning Committee (Cllr Greenhough).

The Chairman of the Planning Committee (Councillor Greenhough) submitted a report on issues being dealt with by the Planning Committee.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Report of the Leader of the Council (Cllr Gibson) and the Service Director Performance and Innovation.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Gibson) and the Service Director Performance and Innovation submitted a report on proposed changes to the Council’s Constitution.  Following comments about the proposed changes to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Call-in Procedures, made by Councillors Fail and R Duffy, Councillor Michael Vincent proposed, as an amendment, that in the final sentence of paragraph 4.4 of the proposed new call-in procedures in Appendix 2 of the report that the words “must also” be deleted and replaced by “should where possible” and at the end of the line the words “with the call-in request” be deleted and replaced with “to the Democratic Services Team in advance of the meeting”, so that the final sentence of paragraph 14.4 read as follows:

“Any documents to be referred to at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should, where possible be submitted to the Democratic Services Team in advance of the meeting.”

He also proposed that the revised call-in request form attached as Appendix 3 of the report be amended accordingly.

The amendments proposed by Councillor Michael Vincent were seconded by Councillor Gibson, and was carried by 33 votes to 12.

RESOLVED

1.    That the new petition scheme attached as Appendix 1 to the report be approved and included as part 5.09 of the Constitution.

2.    That the revised procedures form considering the call-in of executive decisions referred to in Appendix 2 of the report, as amended, be approved and included as paragraph 14 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules in 4.05 of the Constitution in place of the current version.

3.    That the revised call-in request form referred to in Appendix 3 of the report, as amended, be approved and included in Part 4.05 of the Constitution.

4.    That the proposed changes to the procedures for dealing with alleged breaches of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct attached as Appendix 4 of the report be approved and included in Part 5.02 of the Constitution in place of the current version.

5.    That the Audit Committee terms of reference including one very minor amendment attached as Appendix 5 of the report be formally approved and included as Article 7 in the Constitution.

Report of the Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder (Cllr Murphy) and the Chief Executive.

The Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder (Councillor Murphy) and the Chief Executive submitted a report on a revised Local Development Scheme setting out a process and a timetable for the preparation of the Local Plan.

Councillor Murphy said, in response to comments made by Councillor Fail about the importance of the Open Spaces Audit 2010 and its omission from the list of studies in paragraph 8.5 of the scheme (Appendix 1 of the report), that all relevant documents would be taken into account when compiling the evidence base for the Council’s Local Plan submission.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Local Development Scheme, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be adopted by the Council to come into effect from 7 July 2016.

2.    That delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning Services, in consultation with the Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder, to approve any amendments to the Local Development Scheme.

Report of the Resources Portfolio Holder (Cllr A Vincent) and the Head of Finance.

The Resources Portfolio Holder and Deputy Leader (Councillor Alan Vincent) and the Head of Finance submitted a report on the overall position and activities in respect of treasury management for the financial year 2015/16.

RESOLVED that the annual report on treasury management activities for the 2015/16 financial year be approved.

Report of the Deputy Leader of the Council (Cllr A Vincent) and the Service Director Performance and Innovation.

The Resources Portfolio Holder and Deputy Leader (Councillor Alan Vincent) and the Service Director Performance and Innovation submitted a report on the nomination of an additional member of the Lancashire Police and Crime Panel for 2016/17.  Councillor Shewan proposed and Councillor B Stephenson seconded an amendment that Councillor Matthew Vincent be appointed to the panel rather than Councillor Gibson, but the amendment was lost (by 12 votes to 32).

RESOLVED that Councillor Gibson be appointed as an additional member of the Lancashire Police and Crime Panel, subject to confirmation of the composition of the panel at its annual meeting on 20 July 2016.

The following Notice of Motion has been submitted under Procedure Rule 14 by Councillors B Stephenson, E Stephenson, R Duffy and I Duffy.

“This Council commends Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner for his success in protecting the people of Wyre, despite savage cuts to his budget.  With his continued prudent management, the Council requests that the Commissioner makes further investment in Wyre policing, when funds become available.”

The following notice of motion had been submitted under Procedure Rule 14 by Councillors B Stephenson, E Stephenson, R Duffy and I Duffy:

“This Council commends Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner for his success in protecting the people of Wyre despite the savage cuts to his budget.  With his continued prudent management the Council requests that the Commissioner makes further investment in Wyre policing when funds become available.”

The motion was proposed by Councillor B Stephenson and seconded by Councillor R Duffy.

During the ensuing debate, Councillor Gibson proposed under Procedural Rule 16.6(a), that words be deleted from and new words be inserted to the motion set out on the agenda, so that it read as follows:

“Whilst this Council recognises that the PCC, just like all local authorities, has had a reduction in Government grant, the PCC still has £47 million in reserves and balances and this Council urges him to ensure that Wyre receives its fair share of Police funding.”  The amendment was seconded by Councillor Berry and carried (buy 32 votes to 1 with 12 abstentions).

The Chief Executive advised that the proposed amendment was valid because it proposed that words be left out, inserted or added and the effect was not to entirely negate the original motion and therefore met the requirements of Procedure Rule 16.6(a).

The motion as amended then became the substantive motion and was debated.  The substantive motion was carried (by 32 votes to 2 with one abstention – most of the Labour members having left before the vote was taken) and, it was RESOLVED, that:

“Whilst this Council recognises that the PCC, just like all local authorities, has had a reduction in Government grant, the PCC still has £47 million in reserves and balances and this Council urges him to ensure that Wyre receives its fair share of Police funding.”