Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2018 were approved.

1.    Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

2.    Other Interests

There were no declarations made.

DECISION:

That the Forward Plan for the period February to April 2019 be approved for publication.

The purpose of the report was to inform members of the Council’s overall performance and financial position for the period ended 31st December 2018 (“Third Quarter 2018/19”). The report was considered by the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 6 February 2019. The position can be summarised as follows:

Options considered:

Detailed Analysis is contained within the main body of the Report.

DECISION:           

That the Third Quarter 2018/19 financial, procurement and performance position detailed in Appendices A, B and C and summarised at 3.3 of the covering report be noted.

The purpose of the report was to present the proposed Budget for 2019/20, updated Medium-Term Financial Plan 2019/20 – 2022/23, Capital Strategy 2019/20, proposed Fees and Charges for 2019/20 and Procurement Forward Plan 2019/20. The report was considered by the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 6 February 2019. 

The Leader of the Council welcomed comments from members, prior to the Council meeting on 28 February 2019, with regards to ways in which the Authority may further support traders (e.g. through assistance with car park fees or rural transport).  Although car park charges were thought to be very competitive when compared with neighbouring councils, members discussed the need for greater support from central government and to experiment with initiatives as there may be alternative solutions for different areas. 

Options considered:

The report is a statement of fact. As such there are no options to consider.

DECISION:           

That the following recommendations be made to Council:

·         Approves the General Fund Budget for 2019/20 as detailed in Appendix A (section 8)

·         Approves the revised Medium-Term Financial Plan (2019/20 to 2022/23) as detailed in Appendix A, including the revised Capital Programme (attached at Annex A)

·         Approves the Capital Strategy 2019/20 as set out in Appendix B

·         Approves the proposed Fees and Charges for 2019/20 as detailed in Appendix C

·         Approves the proposed Procurement Forward Plan for 2019/20, providing the authority to procure based on procurement activity detailed in Appendix D

·         Approves a Band D Council Tax of £150.54 for 2019/20 (an increase of 2.9% from 2018/19)

·         Approves a Band D Council Tax of £51.93 for Leek and £10.44 for Biddulph for 2019/20 (an increase of 2.9% from 2018/19) in respect of Special District Expenses

·         Notes the Chief Finance Officer's view that the level of reserves are adequate for the Council based on this budget and the circumstances in place at the time of preparing it (Appendix A section 7)

The purpose of the report was to update Councillors on proposals for the Town Centre Regeneration and Investment Programme and seek approval for the submission of a funding bid to the Future High Street Fund to support

improvements to Cheadle Town Centre.   

Officers were asked to engage with Government with regards to the criteria for the fund in order to clarify if applications could be made for other high streets within the District.  Should this not be possible officers were asked to express the Council’s dissatisfaction and actively explore other sources of funding.

Options considered:

Option 1 (recommended) – that the Council notes the approach in the Town

Centre Regeneration and Investment Programme and approves the

submission of a funding bid to the Future High Street Fund to support

improvements to Cheadle Town Centre.

Option 2 (not recommended) – that the Council does not approve the

submission of a funding bid to the Future High Street Fund to

DECISION:           

1.    That the update and actions within the Town Centre Regeneration and Investment Programme be noted.

2.    That an expression of interest be submitted to the Future High Street Fund to support regeneration and investment in Cheadle.

Staffordshire Moorlands had been designated as an area eligible to bid for inclusion in the Creative People and Places programme. The report explained the background and bid process.

Discussion took place with regard to opportunities to work with other organisations such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Trust and event organisers, taking into account the cultural heritage in each town. The Leader of the Council requested that a copy of the report be sent to Biddulph, Cheadle and Leek Town Councils.

Options considered:

1.    That a bid is supported. (Recommended)

2.    That a bid is not supported. (Not recommended)

DECISION:           

That the development and submission of a bid for inclusion in the Creative People and Places programme be supported.

Cabinet were informed of the plans of this Council, to promote the Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) Great British Spring Clean 2019.  Councillors commented on hot spot areas for fly-tipping (which were cleared efficiently by the Council when reported) and the need for effective prosecutions to deter future instances.

Options considered:

1.    To support the proposal of increased communication to encourage

more residents and groups to take part in the Great British Spring

Clean (Recommended)

2.    To not support for the proposal of increased communication to

encourage more community groups to take part in the Great British

Spring Clean (Not recommended)

DECISION:           

That the enhanced promotional activities which will be undertaken to support and encourage more residents and local groups to get involved in the campaign be supported.

The purpose of the report was to update councillors on progress on the preparation of an Investment and Acquisition Strategy. The report was considered by the Service Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 30 January 2019.  Members discussed the need for the Council to ensure that there was a wide mix of industrial units available to local business in order to retain them in the District.

Options considered:

As detailed in section 5 of the report

DECISION:           

That the update on progress be noted.

The Chair to Move:-

“That, pursuant to Section 100A(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings whereby it is likely that confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act would be disclosed to the public in breach of the obligation of confidence or exempt information as defined in Section 100 I (1) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act would be disclosed to the public by virtue of the Paragraphs indicated.”

RESOLVED  -  That, pursuant to Section 100A(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings whereby it is likely that confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act would be disclosed to the public in breach of the obligation of confidence or exempt information as defined in Section 100 I (1)  of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act would be disclosed to the public by virtue of the Paragraphs indicated.

The Cabinet approved a report which set out the results of discussions with regards to the regeneration of the Cornhill area of Leek.

The Cabinet approved a report with regards to further work that had been carried out to update the Authority’s CCTV system.