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.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Chance, Fry and Smith.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any exceptional announcements of the Mayor. (Regular communications and announcements will be considered at the next ordinary meeting of the Council on 29th March).

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)

As this was not an ordinary meeting of the Council there were not the customary Mayor’s Announcements. However, it was reported that the Mayor had accepted one late report for the Council’s consideration:

• Arrow Valley Countryside Centre – recommendations from the meeting of the Executive Committee on 17th February.

To consider a number of urgent referrals from the Executive Committee which relate to financial decisions relevant to tonight’s business. (Other matters will be reported to the next ordinary meeting of the Council on 29th March 2010.)

• Initial Estimates 2010/11
• Arrow Valley Countryside Centre

(The individual decisions from the meeting of the Executive Committee on 3rd February (attached) and 17th February 2010 (to follow) refer.)

The Council considered the recommendations of the Executive Committee which related to financial decisions relevant to the setting of the Council Tax later in the meeting.

Members were supportive of the proposals for the Countryside Centre, viewing this as an excellent opportunity to enhance and expand the experience offered to users of the Centre and the Park.

The Initial Estimates for 2010/11 were agreed without further comment.

RESOLVED that

INITIAL ESTIMATES 2010/11 (3rd February 2010)

1)         the Initial Estimates for 2010/11 be approved;

2)         the Revenue Bids categorised as unavoidable and high detailed in Appendix 14 to the report be approved , as follows: 

2010/11          £279,210

2011/12          £  98,210

2012/13          £  97,210

3)         The General Fund bids for capital resources categorised as high set out in Appendix 15 to the report be approved, as follows:

2010/11          £325,000

2011/12          £165,000

2012/13          £845,000;

together with the associated revenue implications as follows:

2010/11          £  6,500

2011/12          £54,200

2012/13          £96,400

Future years £188,800;

4)         the proposal for how the Further Support for Town Centre Grant is utilised as set out in Appendix 17 to the report be approved;

5)         the bids as recommended by Overview and Scrutiny Committee be approved as follows:

2nd December 2009 - Redditch Matters to be published quarterly.  Cost of an additional edition £6,000;

6)         the bid for Church Hill District Centre Redevelopment for £60,000 2010/11 which was approved in principle at Council on 7^th December 2009, be approved;

7)         that any Direct Action - Enforcement expenditure be funded from balances, pending recovery from the third party, and officers report back to Members on the success of any recovery action;

8)         that any bids not approved at this stage be brought back to this Committee for reconsideration once the outturn position for 2009/10 is known;

9)         the bid of £6,000 for the repair and maintenance of street lighting be included in the Initial Estimates 2010/11;

ARROW VALLEY COUNTRYSIDE CENTRE (17th February 2010)

10)      Option Four Private Sector Management be approved as the way forward for the delivery of the ArrowValley Countryside Centre Service;

11)      the Centre be renamed the ArrowValleyPark Visitor Centre for the reasons highlighted within the report;

12)      authority be delegated to the Head of Leisure and Cultural Services to progress the preferred option;

13)      the consultants Rural Development Services UK Ltd be contracted to continue to work with officers to progress the preferred option at a cost detailed in the report; and

14)      the £6,000 required to continue the work be met from General Fund Revenue balances.

To adjourn the meeting to permit a meeting of the Executive Committee to be held to consider the setting of the Council Tax for 2010/11 and any associated financial items.

RESOLVED that

the meeting of the Council be adjourned to permit a meeting of the Executive Committee to be held to consider the setting of the Council Tax 2010/11 and other associated financial matters.

(At this point - 7.25 p.m. - the meeting adjourned and reconvened at 8.07 p.m.)

On the resumption of the meeting, to receive and consider recommendations from the Executive Committee and to pass the appropriate resolutions fixing the Council Tax for the year ending 31st March 2011.

(Executive Committee Report refers)

The Council considered the recommendations of the meeting of the Executive Committee held during the adjournment referred to above, regarding the setting of the Council Tax 2010/11 and other associated financial matters.

Members discussed a number of issues that had contributed towards the overall budget setting process. The management of Pitcheroak Golf Course going forward was the subject of some debate and an additional  motion proposing that the Council agree the principle of keeping the Pitcheroak Golf Course open, on current arrangements, subject to satisfactory negotiations, and contracts being drawn up was the subject of the following named vote in accordance with Standing Order 16:

Members voting FOR the motion:

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

(9 votes)

Members voting AGAINST the motion:

Councillors Anderson, Banks, Braley, Brunner, Chalk, A Clayton, B Clayton, Field, Gandy, Hicks, Hopkins, MacMillan, Norton, Pearce, Quinney and Thomas.

(16 votes)

Members abstaining from voting:

Councillor Hall.

Accordingly, the Motion fell and an alternative Motion proposing that the Council agree the principle of keeping the Pitcheroak Golf Course open was the subject of the second, following named vote in accordance with Standing Order 16:

Members voting FOR the amendment to the motion:

Councillors Anderson, Banks, Braley, Brunner, Chalk, A Clayton, B Clayton, Cookson, Enderby, Field, Gandy, Hartnett, Hicks, Hopkins, Hunt, R King, W King MacMillan, Mould, Norton, Pearce, Quinney Shurmer, Taylor and Thomas.

(25 votes)

Members voting AGAINST the amendment to the motion:

None

Members abstaining from voting:

Councillor Hall.

Members of the Labour Group requested that it be recorded, in accordance with Standing Order 16, that they had voted against Resolution 1, below.

RESOLVED that

1)         the recommendations of the meeting of the Executive Committee, held earlier in the evening on 22 February 2010, be approved; and

2)         the Council agree the principle of keeping the Pitcheroak Golf Course open.

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.