Agenda and minutes

Councillor Gledhill was substitute member for Councillor Price, Councillor Yates for Councillor Hoptroff and Councillor Atkins for Councillor Salt.

DECIDED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 17 March 2021 be APPROVED as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were none.

·         Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

·         Other Interests

(At least two clear days notice required, in writing, to the Proper Officer in accordance with Procedure Rule 15).

Question received from Councillor Page: -

Q1. “Staffordshire County Council in partnership with EON are replacing 47,000 conventional bulbs with LED lighting as part of a project to upgrade the County’s street lights and reduce energy consumption. It is estimated that this will save the County £1.6 million a year in energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 2650 tonnes per year. How many Street lamps do SMDC own and manage across the District and how many of these have been upgraded to LED lighting?”

Response from Councillors Wain & Porter:

SMDC have approximately 250 external lighting units (including street lights) spread over 33 sites. E-on also manage these lights for SMDC as part of the Staffordshire wide PFI arrangements.  The contract includes maintenance and replacements of some parts where these can be sourced, but not the upgrade replacements required for LEDs. These costs would need to be met from SMDC capital budgets.

We are aware that much of the stock are older style lamp fittings which are coming to the end of their product lifecycles. We are looking at a pilot project at Biddulph Leisure Centre to refurbish the 43 lanterns with LEDs. Indicative costs are £14,500 with a potential payback over a 5-year period, though these figures are subject to a more detailed project brief and business case.

We are working with E-On to see if we can develop more extensive project to look at the business case behind upgrading all the lighting, potentially adopting a phased approach that can be included in the Assets Capital Programme and Medium-Term Financial Plan from the 21/22 financial year. Until then, fittings that reach the end of their life will be replaced on an adhoc basis with LED fittings by way of the Repairs and Maintenance budget.

Councillor Page requested for the Council to take a more proactive approach to the replacement of energy efficient bulbs given the climate emergency. He suggested that an update on the number of converted or upgraded lighting be reported to the Climate Change Working Group.

In response, Councillor Hart advised that the pilot project in Biddulph, the Leisure Services and Property Reviews needed to be completed for the Council to have an overview of the scale of savings that could be achieved.

Members received a presentation given by Gillian Bayliss – Senior Conservation Officer, on the consultation of the Conservation Area Character Appraisals for Caverswall, Cheddleton, Stanley and Upper Tean (and review boundaries). Public Consultation was also planned on the proposed Article 4 Direction for each area.

The presentation covered the following topics:-

-       Introduction

-       Appraisal Documents

-       Cheddleton Conservation Area and proposed boundary extension

-       Caverswall Conservation Area

-       Upper Tean Conservation Area

-       Stanley Conservation Area

-       Proposed Article 4 Direction

-       Next Steps

The pictures within the slides demonstrated the distinctive features and buildings in each village which should be preserved to enhance the appearance of the conservation areas. Members were advised that some maps and photos required updating.

Article 4 Directions had already been introduced in Leek, Oakamoor, Rudyard and Cheadle. It was proposed to extend across all Conservation Areas so that planning rules were the same for all.

Permitted Development Rights caused an issue in conservation areas as incremental changes made to properties could dilute the character of buildings significantly. 

The introduction of Article 4 Directions would limit the alterations that could be made without planning permission to houses which fronted highways, waterways or open spaces. Changes to windows, doors, demolition of chimneys and front boundary walls, construction of porches and changes to roof materials would also be included.

Due to some significant detrimental changes made to properties, a member commented how pleased she was when the Article 4 Direction was introduced in her ward. Other members agreed with the importance of the areas’ heritage being safeguarded.

In response to a query around penalties and concern about the level of resource to carry out enforcement , the Officer explained that the Council was able to serve a Planning Enforcement Notice if a breach to the regulations had been identified which could be evidenced. It was hoped that increased regulation would assist with officers’ workload.

A member of the Panel highlighted the difficulties around the poor energy performance of some of the older properties and that affordability to improve the properties retrospectively could be an issue for some residents. To support the concept, a suggestion was made for signage to be placed in the areas protected by an Article 4 Direction. To keep cost to a minimum there were alternative methods available to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings and Officers could discuss solutions and options with homeowners.

Discussion took place in relation to the level of building works being carried out in Upper Tean, conservation of retail premises, consultation with parish councils, a local heritage register and the poor state of repair of the Royal Oak pub in Cheadle.

Hollington was included in a shortlist of possible conservation area status villages and would be reviewed upon completion of the Character Appraisals detailed in the presentation.

Oakamoor had a detailed Character Appraisal following the introduction of the Article 4, a detailed guidance note would be produced on how sympathetic changes could be made to properties in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the progress of

the work undertaken to date to identify and support projects with a view to allocate outdoor sports capital funding towards local projects.

Towards an Active Staffordshire Moorlands was the Council’s Physical Activity and Sport Strategy which identified key priorities and actions that the Council would take, supported by its partners, to enable residents to become more active.

The Council had assigned £100,000 of capital funds in the current MTFP, to be used to towards supporting the delivery of local projects, with a focus on a ‘sports village’ concept and particularly projects that were located in more rural areas of the District.

Officers had supported the development of a wide range of capital projects in Blythe Bridge, Forsbrook, Upper Tean, Waterhouses and Werrington which had included relationships with Parish Councils, community organisations, sports clubs, schools and national governing bodies of sport, in order to help them develop ideas and potential projects. The report set out full details of each of the projects and officers welcomed suggestions for potential projects from members.

It was anticipated that a greater range of projects would start to come forwards as, in January 2021, the Council appointed a new Service Development Officer within the Service Commissioning Team.

Members were pleased with the report and the opportunities that the fund could provide. The Panel debated match funding, publicity of the fund and inclusivity. It was suggested that the Council focussed on communities least likely to apply for funding and deprived areas of the District. Other suggestions were made for the funding such as improvements to the irrigation at Brough Park Bowling Club, upgraded changing facilities at Cheadle Recreational Park along with the possibility of a multipurpose room.

In response to a financial query, it was confirmed that the majority of the budget remained and would be available over future financial years.

Councillor Deaville – Portfolio Holder for Sports and Leisure, agreed that communication was key and gave assurance that a Communication Plan was being worked on by the Communication Team. He advised that the funding would be based on a business plan and the social value of a project.

DECIDED: That the Panel: -

1)    Noted the progress made towards identifying and supporting the development of outdoor sport and recreation capital projects across the District.

2)    Recommended that Cabinet approved the allocation of £6,500 to Waterhouses Parish Council and £5,000 to Kingsley Parish Council from the outdoor sports capital fund as detailed in the report.

Any additional items to be added to the Work Programme:

·         Chair’s Items

·         Members’ Items

The Panel considered its Work Programme and agreed the items listed.

DECIDED:- That the Panel’s Work Programmebe agreed