Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Mayor’s Chaplain, the Reverend Mike Herbert, will lead the Council in prayer.

The Mayor opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

To receive any apologies for absence on behalf of Council members.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Norton.

To pay tribute to late Councillor Betty Passingham in recognition of her contribution to the Borough and its residents.

The Mayor introduced a tribute to a former colleague, Councillor Betty Passingham, whose death had come as a shock to all at the Council at the end of May.

The Mayor welcomed Councillor Passingham’s husband, Ron and other members of the Passingham family to the meeting and expressed the Council’s deepest condolences to them. Members of the Council were invited to offer up words they might wish to offer in memory of Councillor Passingham and of her services to her Borough.

The Leader of the Council commenced the tributes to Councillor Passingham and moved that the thanks and deep admiration of Council for her be formally recorded. The Leader of the Minority Group and the Deputy Mayor then led other Members in expressing their thoughts on the life and  achievements of Councillor Passingham.

Ron Passingham spoke in response to those who had expressed their condolences at the loss of his wife and who had offered such glowing tributes to Betty, adding that she had been a great family person over and above her role in public life. Councillor Passingham’s daughter’s Jenny, Sue and Esther spoke in similar part of their love and admiration for their mother.

RESOLVED that

the Council’s thanks to Councillor Betty Passingham for her tremendous contribution to the public life of the Borough be formally recorded.

To invite Councillors to declare any interests they may have in items on the agenda.

Councillor MacMillan stated that, at the preceding meeting of the Executive Committee that same evening, he had declared a personal but not prejudicial interest in Item 11 (Abbey Stadium Redevelopment  - Consultancy – Funding Approval) as detailed separately at Minute 31 below.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on the 19th of May 2008.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 1 – 2008/09 – To Follow)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the annual meeting of the Council held on the 19th of May 2008 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To receive a report from the Mayor on civic matters which have arisen since the last meeting or events which may be occurring in the near future.

To give notice of any variation to the items listed in the Forward Plan and/or items accepted as "Urgent Business".

(No separate report / oral update)

The Mayor’s communications and announcements were considered under the following headings:

a)         Mayoral Engagements

The Mayor advised that since the previous meeting of the Council he had attended various functions, including: a wine tasting record attempt at Wetherspoons, presentation of certificates to the Ipsley CE Middle School football team who won the Schools Premier League Tournament National Finals 2008, Under 11 England, the opening of the newly designed Dementia Garden at Bowood Mews, the Green Fair at St Stephen’s Church, Civic Services at Evesham Town Council, Wychavon and Worcester City, the Carers’ Careline Activities Day, the Redditch Lions Family Fun Day at the Arrow Valley Park, a photocall for Shades Day with a local blind resident and her guide dog, the Saltways Cheshire Home Summer Fete and the Veterans’ Day Parade and Service.

b)         Forthcoming engagements

The Mayor advised that forthcoming events included the “Noah’s Ark” Nursery’s garden party and the Green Fair at Arrow Valley countryside Centre where he would be judging a children’s competition.

The Mayor also thanked Councillor Hall for stepping in to take on engagements I was unable to do but for which I felt a Mayoral presence was appropriate

c)         Urgent Business

The Mayor advised that he had had accepted no additional items of “Urgent Business” this evening. However, he had accepted three late reports:

The Redditch Partnership Agreement and Protocol, which was to be considered as a matter arising on the Executive Decision Notice from the 11th of June;

The Statement of Accounts report; and

The report on Shared Services and the possible appointment of a Joint Chief Executive.

To consider two Notices of Motion:

A.  A Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor W Hartnett, concerning the 57-58 Bus Route – First Bus.

B.  A Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor D Thomas, concerning the 57-58 Bus Route – First Bus.

(Report attached)

(Greenlands / All Wards)

A Notice of Motion had been submitted by Councillor Hartnett in accordance with Standing Order 6 in respect of the 57-58 First Bus Route. This was seconded by Councillor Fry.

The substantive motion, below, in respect of the 57-58 First Bus Route was the subject of the following named vote in accordance with Standing Order 16:

Members voting FOR the amendment to the motion:

Councillors Anderson, Banks, Boyd-Carpenter, Braley, Brunner, Chalk, A Clayton, B Clayton, Cookson, Enderby, Farooqui, Field, Fry, Gandy, Hall, Hartnett, Hicks, Hunt, R King, W King, MacMillan, Mould, Pearce, Shurmer, Smith, Taylor and Thomas.

(27 votes)

Members voting AGAINST the amendment to the motion:

None.

Members Abstaining from Voting:

None.

            RESOLVED that

            the Motion be approved in the following terms:

“The Council views with great concern the actions of First Bus in withdrawing the Alexandra Hospital leg of the 57-58 bus service.

This has caused great concern and inconvenience to many people in Redditch who rely on this service, such as staff who work at the Hospital, out-patients who attend the Hospital for appointments and friends and family who are visiting patients at the Hospital.

The 57-58 is the busiest route in Redditch and is the most profitable in the County.

We call on the Council to contact First Bus to revert back to the service they operated prior to this latest change, reinstating the 57-58 service to the Alexandra Hospital whilst at the same time retaining their revised 55-56 service. We would also ask the Council to call on First Bus to enter into a dialogue with the Council whenever they propose to amend their bus routes within the Borough

Further, the Council is grateful to Diamond Bus for introducing the 57A - 58A service which offers a 40 minute service to the Alexandra Hospital.

The Council would request Diamond Bus to consider the following:-

1.         To start their service 1 hour earlier to arrive at the Hospital at 7.50am to allow staff to start their shift on time.

2.         To consider a more regular service say every 20 minutes instead of the current 40 minute service.”

A second Notice of Motion in respect of the same matter had been submitted by Councillor Thomas and seconded by Councillor Hall but this was not discussed subsequently as the Mayor determined that the matter had been adequately dealt with.

A.    To receive the Minutes and consider the recommendations and/or referrals from the following meeting of the Executive Committee:

(Matters arising on the 23rd of April 2008 minutes are detailed in a separate report, which is attached to the agenda.)

23rd April 2008

Matters of referral to the Council include:

·                                            Children and Young People’s Plan;

·                                            District Centres - Final Report;

·                                            Communications – Final Report;

·                                            Charging Policy and Procedures – Reference from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

·                                            Procurement Agenda – Update;

·                                            Transformational Government Strategy 2008 – 2010; and

·                                            Right to Manage – Grant.

 (Minutes circulated in Minute Book 1 - 2008/09 – To Follow)

B.    To receive the Decision Notices and consider the recommendations and/or referrals from the following meetings of the Executive Committee:

(Matters arising on the 11th of June 2008 decision notice are detailed in a separate report, which is to follow.)

       11th June 2008

       Matters of referral to the Council include:

·                                                           Redditch Partnership Agreement and Protocol;

·                                                           Capital Programme 2008/09 – Additional Schemes for Inclusion;

·                                                           One Stop Shop Closures June 2008;

·                                                           St. John the BaptistChurch, Feckenham;

·                                                           Flag Flying Policy – Update.

       (Decision Notice previously circulated)

       30th June 2008

       Matters of referral to the Council include:

·                                   Abbey Stadium Redevelopment – Consultancy – Funding Approval

       (Separate report later on the agenda refers)

       Any matters arising, not covered elsewhere in the agenda, will be considered under this heading).

       Confidential matters may be taken after the Exclusion of the Public, subject to notification at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED that

1)         the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on the 23rd of April 2008 be received and adopted and all recommendations approved subject to:

a)         in respect of Minute 242 (Children and Young People’s Plan), it being further

RESOLVED that

Officers be requested to develop a specific Children and Young People’s Action Plan for Redditch as an adjunct to the CountyPlan;

b)        in respect of Minute 243 (District Centres – Final Report), it being further

RESOLVED that

this Item be deferred to allow for further work to take place on the recommendations, involving the relevant Portfolio Holder, former Task and Finish Group Chair and relevant Officers;

c)         in respect of Minute 244 (Communications – Final Report), it being further

RESOLVED that

this Item be deferred to allow for further work to take place on the recommendations, involving the relevant Portfolio Holder, former Task and Finish Group Chair and relevant Officers; and

d)        in respect of Minute 245 (Charging Policy and Procedures), it being noted that an amended version of the document considered by the Executive Committee had been submitted to Council and it being further

RESOLVED that

the Council approve and adopt the Charging Policy and Procedure, as set out in Appendix A to the update report.

2)         the decision notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on the 11th of June 2008 be received and all recommendations approved subject to:

            in respect of Minute 6 (Redditch Partnership Agreement and Protocol), it being further

it being noted that an amended version of the document considered by the Executive Committee had been submitted to Council and it being further

RESOLVED that

the updated Redditch Partnership Agreement and Protocol be endorsed.

(A motion to amend the recommendation in respect of the three district One-Stop Shops at Batchley, Winyates and Woodrow was the subject of the following named vote in accordance with Standing Order 16:

Members voting FOR the amendment to the motion:

Councillors Cookson, Enderby, Fry, Hartnett, Hunt, R King, W King, Mould, Shurmer and Taylor.

(10 votes)

Members voting AGAINST the amendment to the motion:

Councillors Anderson, Banks, Boyd-Carpenter, Braley, Brunner, Chalk, A Clayton, B Clayton, Farooqui, Field, Gandy, Hall, Hicks, MacMillan, Pearce, Smith and Thomas.

(17 votes)

Members Abstaining from Voting:

None.

Accordingly, the amendment to the Motion fell.)

To formally receive the minutes of the following meetings of the Council's Regulatory Committees:  

(All decisions here have been fully resolved. There are no recommendations or referrals which require the Council’s determination.)

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 1 - 2008/09 – To Follow)

The Council received the Minutes of recent meetings of the Planning Committee.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on the 1st and 22nd of April and the 20th of May 2008 be received and adopted.

To receive the annual policy statement from the Leader of the Council.

(Oral Report)

The Leader of the Council set out a brief summary of her Group’s main policy objectives for the coming year.

It was stated that the overarching ambition was to raise the profile of the town which was stated to be attractive and cosmopolitan and with a strong volunteer network. The Borough was said to have Councillors and Officers who strove hard to improve the lives of its residents but that the Council had not sufficiently celebrated its achievements.

The Leader stated that her Group would work hard to fulfil its pledges and was grateful for the opportunity that the electorate had provided.

To consider the recommendations of the Leisure Contracts Advisory Panel (and subsequently of the Executive Committee) seeking approval of funding for the Abbey Stadium Redevelopment Scheme Consultancy.

In view of the fact that commercially-sensitive information relating to tenders for future contracts might be revealed, disclosure of which might not be in the public’s best interest, elements of the appendix to this report are not for publication at this stage.

(Report attached)

The Council considered the recommendations of the Leisure Contracts Advisory panel as agreed by the Executive Committee in respect of the Abbey Stadium redevelopment. It was noted that the Executive Committee had approved expenditure of up to the sum of £200,000 whereas Council was being asked to allocate up to £1.2M capital funding for the purpose of project management and design for the scheme.

RESOLVED that

the sum of up to £1.2M capital funding be allocated for the purpose of project management and design for the scheme.

To formally note a referral from the meeting of the Chief Officer Selection Panel held on the 17th of June 2008.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

the Council record for audit purposes that the Selection Panel received the subject report at its meeting held on the 17th of June 2008.

To approve the Statement of Accounts for the 2007/08 financial year.

(Report to follow)

The Council received the Statement of Accounts for 2007/08 for formal approval.

RESOLVED that

1)         the 2007/08 Statement of Accounts, as attached to the report, be approved;

2)         a copy of the statement be signed at the meeting by the Mayor; and

3)         in view of their late circulation to Members, the Statement of Accounts be submitted for consideration as Urgent Business at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.

To consider a request for funding for the by-elections to be held in Batchley (Borough Council seat) and Arrow Valley East (County Council seat).

(Report attached)

The Council considered a request to allocate funds for the conduct of By-Elections for the vacant seats in Batchley Ward and the Arrow Valley East County Electoral Division.

RESOLVED that

1)         the initial sum of £9,000 be allocated from balances for the conduct of the Borough By-Election; and

2)         the sum of up to £18,000 be allocated for the conduct of the County Council By-Election in the Arrow Valley East Electoral Division, to be fully reimbursed in due course by the County Council.

To consider a £10,000 contribution towards a Redditch Joint Study to identify the “preferred option” for future housing and employment development in and around Redditch.

(Report attached)

Members considered a proposal to part fund and agree to the project brief for a Redditch Joint Study to identify the preferred option for future housing and employment development in and around Redditch.

The long term importance of the study was recognised by the Council and it was concluded that it was more beneficial to come forward with a joint planning solution to this matter than a number of separate and competing political solutions.

RESOLVED that

1)         the Project Brief attached to the report as Appendix A for the      second stage of the Redditch Joint Study be agreed; and

2)         a financial contribution of up to £10,000 be agreed.

To update the appointment of Council representatives to serve on Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Outside Bodies further to the  appointments made at the Annual Meeting of Council.

(Updated versions of the appointments made to Committees etc. and Outside Bodies at the Annual Meeting of the Council with variations and those appointments that require further consideration by Council highlighted are attached)

A number of appointments made at the Annual meeting of the Council in May required updating in the light of subsequent events, including the passing of Councillor Passingham.

RESOLVED that

the following appointments be approved:

WMRA Regional Housing Partnership (alternate) – Councillor Shurmer;

Local Area Transport Forum – Councillor Taylor;

Community Children and Young Persons Forum – Councillor Taylor;

Redditch Play Council – Councillor Taylor;

Smallwood Almshouses Trust – Councillor Fry;

Redditch Co-operative Homes – Councillor Cookson; and

it be noted that Councillor A Clayton was appointed to the Leisure Contracts Advisory Panel.

To consider the Annual Review of the Council’s Constitution and Associated documents deferred from the Annual Meeting on the 19th of May 2008.

(Report to follow under separate cover)

This matter was deferred.

To note any decisions taken in accordance with SO36 and/or the Overview & Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Constitution), as specified:

(None to date)

There were no Urgent Business decisions under Standing Order 36 for consideration at this meeting.

To consider any additional items exceptionally agreed by the Mayor as Urgent Business in accordance with the powers vested in him by virtue of Section 100(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

(This power should be exercised only in cases where there are genuinely special circumstances which require consideration of an item which has not previously been published on the Order of Business for the meeting and/or on the Leader's Forward Plan.)

There were no separate items of Urgent Business for consideration at this meeting.

It may be necessary, in the opinion of the Borough Director, to consider excluding the public from the meeting in relation to the following items of business on the grounds that exempt information is likely to be divulged. It may be necessary, therefore, to move the following resolution:

“that, under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matter(s) on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs (to be specified) of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended.”

RESOLVED that

under Section 100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public, with the exception of Mr Howard Davies of the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) be excluded from the meeting for the following matters on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act, as amended:

Minute 42 –   Shared Services – Appointment of Joint Chief Executive                          (Paragraphs 1, 2 and 4).

Minute 43 –   Church Hill District Centre – Redevelopment Update

                        (Confidential Minute 19 of the Executive Committee, 11th June 2008) (Paragraph 3).

To consider confidential matters not dealt with earlier in the evening and not separately listed below (if any).

There were none.

In view of the fact that the Feasibility Group only met on Wednesday 18th June and that the subsequent report depends on inputs from the West Midlands Local Government Association, the report is to follow under separate cover.

(In view of the fact that it contains information relating to an individual or which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual and contemplated consultations or negotiations in connection with labour relation matters between the authority and employees of the authority, the appendix to this report will not be for publication and will be circulated only to relevant Officers and Members of the Council. In view of this, it is anticipated that part of the discussion of this matter will take place after the exclusion of the public).

(Report to follow)

A report was considered that sought approval for the appointment of a Joint Chief Executive between Redditch Borough Council and Bromsgrove District Council.

Discussion of this matter took place after the exclusion of the public in view of the fact that it would be necessary to consider exempt matters before reaching a decision. In this case the exempt matters were in relation to specific individuals and their identities and employee relation matters, disclosure of which was not considered to be in the public’s best interest.

(Note: Anyone requiring copies of any previously circulated reports, or supplementary papers, should please contact Committee Services Officers in advance of the meeting.)

Members sought clarification and assurances in respect of the decision to defer approval of a land assembly issue at Church Hill District Centre.

There were no additional decisions taken.

Discussion of this matter took place after the exclusion of the public in view of the fact that it would be necessary to consider exempt matters before reaching a decision. In this case the exempt matters were in relation to the financial affairs of individuals and organisations other than the Council and provisional terms of land (freehold and leasehold) acquisition under negotiation, disclosure of which was not considered to be in the public’s best interest.