Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Mayor’s Chaplain, Canon David Rogers, 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.

There were no apologies for absence.

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

Councillors Cookson  and Fry declared personal interests in Item 7 (Executive Committee) as detailed separately at Minute 105 below.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 11th January 2010.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 7 - 2009/10)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 11th January 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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)         Mayor’s Announcements

The Mayor advised that, since the last meeting of the Council, he had attended various functions, including: a Digital Camera Competition launch, Chinese celebrations in Worcester, a Citizenship Ceremony, the Annual Redditch Sports Partnership Awards, a Burns Night celebration at Bromsgrove, ferret racing with Pershore Town Council, the Alcester Town Council Civic Service, a visit to the local Territorial Army Centre, the Holocaust Memorial Event and the Special Olympics presentation evening.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Banks for stepping in to take on engagements he had been unable to attend.

b)         Forthcoming events

The Mayor advised that forthcoming events included the University of Worcester Inaugural Lecture and the Mayor’s own Cabaret Evening and Charity Auction that coming Saturday.

c)         Single Management Team

Members congratulated the successful candidates for the Directors and Heads of Service posts in the recent recruitment and assessment process and placed on record their thanks to Sue Mullins, Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Services and Ken Watkins, Head of Leisure and Arts for their many years of service to the Council.

d)         Urgent Business

The Mayor advised that he had accepted two items of Urgent Business, the Decision Notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee on 27th January and a referral from the Licensing Committee meeting of 25th January comprising a number of recommendations to the Council.

No questions for the Leader/Notices of Motion have been submitted according to the requirements of Standing Order 8A.

No questions had been submitted to the Leader and no Notices of Motion had been received.

To receive the decision notice and consider the recommendations and/or referrals from the following meeting of the Executive Committee:

27th January 2010

Matters requiring the Council’s consideration may include:

• Single Equalities Scheme 2009/12;
• Energy Strategy;
• Worcestershire Enhanced Two Tier Programme;
• Capital Strategy 2010/13;
• Housing Revenue Account Initial Estimate 2010/11;
• Overview and Scrutiny Committee (16th December 2009); and
• Documentary Film Proposal.

(Decision notice to follow)

Members received the Decision Notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 27th January 2010.

RESOLVED that

the decision notice of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 27th January 2010 be received and all recommendations approved, subject to:

in respect of Minute 218 (Energy Strategy) it being further RESOLVED that

Redditch Borough Council sign up to the 10:10 Campaign;

in respect of Minutes 219 ( Worcestershire Enhanced Two Tier (WETT) Programme) and 220 (Capital Strategy 2010 to 2013) it being recorded, in accordance with Standing Order 16, that Labour Group Members voted against the printed recommendations during the voting on these matters; and

in respect of Minute 228 (Easemore Road Site – Consultation with Tenants it being noted that Officers had undertaken to report back to the Executive Committee at the conclusion of the review of similar leases held by the Council.

(Prior to consideration of this item, and in accordance with the requirements of Section 81 of the Local Government Act 2000, Councillors Cookson and Fry declared personal interests in view of Councillor Cookson’s membership of Age Concern Redditch and Councillor Fry’s personal connection to the management of SureStart Redditch (Minute 228  - Easemore Road Site – Consultation with Tenants).)

To formally receive the minutes of the following meeting of the Council’s Regulatory Committees:

Licensing Committee -         14th December 2009

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 7 – 2009/10)

The Council received the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 14th December 2009 and an urgent referral from a meeting of the same Committee held on 25th January 2010.

RESOLVED that

1)         the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 14th December be received and adopted; and

2)         the recommendations from the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 25th January 2010 be approved

To note the following decisions taken in accordance with SO36 since the dispatch of the agenda for the last meeting of the Council:

1.         Interest Free Energy Efficiency Loans

(Head of Environment)(Decision Reference 481)

The case for urgency was that applications for loans had to be to Salix by 31st December 2009 and there was not an Executive Committee or Council meeting before that date (Decisions required were full Council decisions).

It was therefore RESOLVED that

1)                 authority be delegated to the Head of Environment to apply for an interest free loan from Salix to fund energy efficiency measures within Council buildings, in the terms detailed in the report; and

2)        if the loan is granted by Salix, the Council set aside a budget for repayment of the loan, based on savings made on energy bills as a result of the installation of energy efficiency measures.

(Energy Strategy (Item 7) on Executive Committee agenda for 27th January 2010 contains essentially the same information as the report upon which this decision was taken)

2.         British Cycling Award – BMX Track adjacent to RedditchSkate Park

(Chief Executive / Deputy Chief Executive)(Decision Reference 482)

In order to secure the Award, the Council needs to complete the project by no later than 31st March 2010.. The Council is not in a position to employ contractors until the Award has been accepted. Works are due to start on site on 11th January 2010, hence the requirement for a decision before the next available meetings of the Executive Committee and full Council (final authority here would normally rest with the full Council).

It was therefore RESOLVED that

authority be delegated to the Chief Executive or Acting Deputy Chief Executive to accept the British Cycling Award of £230,000 for the BMX Track on the terms and conditions set out by British Cycling, as detailed below.

1.      One of the Award conditions requires the Management Agreement with Redditch Premiers/Wheels referred to in the report (to Executive Committee of 10th October 2007) to be for a minimum period of 21 years. The terms of the Management Agreement were to be reported to the next Leisure Contracts Advisory Panel meeting in January 2010 (subsequently cancelled because of inclement weather).

2.      Another condition of the Award requires the Council to accept either a restriction, charge or caution over its land as security for the payment from British Cycling; this will be by way of a “Deed of Dedication”.

3.      The conditions attached to the Award specify that the Agreement will last for a period of 10 years and that the Award may be clawed back during this period if the Council fails to comply with the Award Agreement. The amount of the Award has increased from £100,000 in the original report (of 10th October 2007) to £230,000. This is due to other projects supported by British Cycling not proceeding.

Members noted two Urgent Business decisions which had been approved in accordance with Standing Order 36, namely:

Interest Free Energy Efficiency Loans

(UB Reference 481); and

British Cycling Award – BMX Track adjacent to Redditch Skate Park

(UB Reference 482)

RESOLVED that

the matters be noted.

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.