Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2017 as a correct record.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 September 2017 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any disclosures of interest from councillors in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for members.

There were none.

Councillor Colin Barnard

To consider the recommendations of the Local Plan Working Party from its meeting held on 30 October 2017.

A copy of all the documents referred to in the Local Plan Working Party minutes as a) to f) have been placed in the Members’ Room. They will be made public following the meeting, subject to Cabinet’s agreement to the recommendations.

Cabinet considered the recommendations of the Local Plan Working Party from its meeting held on 30 October 2017 and

Resolved that:

1.    the Local Development Scheme; the Authority Monitoring Report 2017, subject to the correction of minor factual errors and final editing requirements;the Spelthorne Functional Economic Area report; and the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report, be approved for publication;

2.    Cllr Colin Barnard as the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development sign the Memorandum of Understanding between Spelthorne Borough Council and Slough Borough Council on behalf of the Council; and

3.     the Green Belt Assessment be approved for public consultation and for officers to consider next steps and report back to the Local Plan Working Party following consultation.

Councillor Nick Gething

To consider the recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Cabinet considered the recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on measures to deal with anti-social behaviour in Staines Town Centre. It also considered a report from the Group Head of Neighbourhood Services which outlined the background to the formation of the Joint Enforcement Team (JET) and explained its role.

The JET was formed to deal with the anti-social issues that most affected residents i.e. fly tipping, dog fouling, littering, community protection issues and public open space incursions. It was not the role of the JET to deal with criminal offences.

The report explained that although JET officers were based at the Council’s depot and had never been co-located with the Police at the Council offices in Knowle Green, they had always integrated and worked well with the Police.

Cabinet noted that if it supported the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and agreed to the expansion of the JET, this would create additional and on-going staffing and operational costs for the Council at a time when it needs to find savings across services due to cuts to funding, rising costs and increasing demand for key services.

Cabinet was grateful to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for drawing this matter to its attention and acknowledged that this was an issue that needed addressing. Cabinet therefore agreed to ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Constable, copying the Police and Crime Commissioner, about the Council’s concerns and request the necessary level of visible police presence in Staines-upon-Thames town centre on a Sunday afternoon to deter incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Resolved:

1.    to ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Constable, copying the Police and Crime Commissioner, about the Council’s concerns and request the necessary level of visible police presence in Staines-upon-Thames town centre on a Sunday afternoon to deter incidents of anti-social behaviour; and

2.    not to accept the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the following reasons:

·         it was not the role of JET to deal with criminal offences;

·         the recent change in the policing model and police officers moving out of Knowle Green did not have a detrimental effect on the ability of the JET to integrate with the Police; and

·         theexpansion of the JET would create additional and on-going staffing and operational costs for the Council at a time when it needs to find savings across services.

Councillor Howard Williams

To consider the recommendation of the Audit Committee on Corporate Risk Management.

Cabinet considered the recommendation from the Audit Committee on the Corporate Risk Register.

Resolved to approve the Corporate Risk Register as submitted.

Councillor Howard Williams

To consider the Capital spend for the period ending September 2017.

Cabinet considered a report on capital expenditure covering the period April to September 2017.

Resolved that Cabinet notes the current level of capital spend.

Councillor Howard Williams

To provide Cabinet with the Net Revenue Spend for the period ending September 2017.

Cabinet considered a report on the net revenue spend for the period April to September 2017.

Resolved that Cabinet notes the current level of revenue spend.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The following are the latest service updates from various Council departments.

Applied Resilience, a public service mutual co-owned by Spelthorne and Runnymede Borough Councils, has been selected as a finalist in the Best Delivery Model category in the 2018 LGC Awards. The winners will be announced in a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on 21 March 2018.

The White House next to the Depot on the Kingston Road has been purchased by the Council with the intention of redeveloping the site for housing. The Council also recently bought Hanover House which sits on the River alongside Bridge Street car park in Staines and is considering redeveloping the plot and surrounding area once the current lease expires.

An Ashford resident has been forced to take down a building he built without planning permission. The resident was originally issued with an enforcement notice in 2007 after he constructed a building without prior permission. Despite a series of unsuccessful appeals spanning many years, Guildford County Court upheld an injunction granted to the Council in October 2015 and ordered him to demolish the outbuilding within four months or risk imprisonment. As the resident failed to comply with the Court’s instruction within the stated time, Spelthorne applied to the County Court for a committal hearing and gained permission from the Planning Committee to demolish the building. The building was finally taken down by the owner on 7 November. 

Following the closure of its full meal service earlier this year, Staines Community Centre cafe has started offering hot snacks such as soup and jacket potatoes, which has been well received by customers.

The Independent Living team is starting to see an increase in the number of clients being referred to them by GPs for help with things such as applying for benefits and tackling loneliness.

The winter edition of the Bulletin is being delivered to residents from 4-8 December and features information about Christmas events, the Council’s recent property purchases and the Rent Assure Scheme for landlords. A new delivery method using Royal Mail is being tested.

The Communications team has upgraded the software used for social media. The new package will allow more posts to be scheduled in advance and give improved readership statistics.  

Planning is reviewing the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers. This will help the Council make decisions around the potential allocation of land and form part of the new Local Plan. 

The award for ‘most courteous town’ was awarded to Shepperton on 21 October by officials from the National Campaign for Courtesy.

Neighbourhood Services has donated £800 from the money raised by the textiles collection service to the Manna Food Bank in Staines-upon-Thames.

The sporting success of local players, coaches and volunteers was celebrated at the annual Spelthorne Sports Awards at Shepperton Studios on Tuesday 10 October. The guest speaker for the evening was Parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt CBE.

Year 5 students at Town Farm primary school have taken part in a paper lantern workshop led by artist Becci Kenning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2426.

To consider any items which the Chairman considers as urgent.

There were none.