Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will invite all those present to join her in a minute’s silence as a mark of respect and in memory of former Mayor Judith Wood-Dow who passed away on 26 May 2017.

The Mayor invited all those present to join her in a minute’s silence as a mark of respect and in memory of former Mayor Judith Wood-Dow who passed away on 26 May 2017.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on the 18 May 2017 and the minutes of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on the 21 June 2017.

The minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 18 May 2017 and the Extraordinary Council meeting held on the 21 June 2017 were agreed as correct records.

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

Councillor A.C. Harman declared a conflict of interest in relation to item 21, the appointment of representative trustees, as his wife was one of the nominees for the Staines Parochial Charity.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

The Mayor thanked all those who contributed to the success of the Mayor’s River Day on 24 June 2017, including the sponsors and volunteers.

The Mayor highlighted two other notable events from her mayoral year so far – the launch of a new sailing boat for the disabled at Queen Mary Reservoir by Princess Anne and the opening of a new £3m facility at Bishop Wand School for the Spelthorne Gymnastics Club.

Looking ahead, the Mayor informed councillors of two upcoming fundraising events, the commemoration of the Battle of Passchendale on 18 October and a workshop for young musicians run by an army band on the 2 November.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The Leader made the following announcements:

·         The Walled Garden and Sunbury Park have just been awarded Green Flag status. The Walled Garden is often referred to as a “hidden gem” and has on a number of occasions also won “The Best Small Park in the South East” accolade.

·         From 23rd June our street lights are back on during the night.

·         Following our taking back the Grounds Maintenance Contract from 1st July we are able to continue cutting of verges to the current standard.

·         Last week we exchanged contracts on the purchase of a modern office unit at the prestigious Stockley Park. This will generate a further £500k per annum net revenue benefit and we are expecting to exchange any day on another property that will generate a similar annual income. All of this goes towards supporting the service we provide our residents, who otherwise would be facing significant cuts to the service they expect and rely upon.

·         The Leader announced that the last day of service of Chief Executive Roberto Tambini who would shortly be retiring, will be 8th September 2017. During his service at Spelthorne Borough Council he had attended 82 Council meetings and only missed one Cabinet meeting, in the previous month, which was arranged after he had already committed to be overseas.  

·         The Leader said that the Borough owed Roberto an immense debt of gratitude; Spelthorne simply would not be the great Borough that it is today without Roberto’s influence, commitment and dedication over the last 11 and a half years and believed his impact on Spelthorne would remain for many years to come. The Leader thanked him for all his work, sacrifice, help, guidance and friendship, but also as a personal friend. Councillor Harvey wished Roberto and his wife, Anne a very long and happy retirement.

·         The Leader announced that the Appointments Committee unanimously selected a new Chief Executive this week. He thanked the members of the Appointments Committee, Cllrs Pinkerton, Harman and Barnard, as well as former Council Leader Gerry Ceaser and Roberto who assisted the members, for their contributions to this process.

The Mayor supported the Leader’s comments and added her thanks to Roberto Tambini.

To receive any announcements from the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive thanked the Mayor and the Leader for their generous words of praise in relation to his forthcoming retirement.

The Chief Executive was pleased to confirm that the National Campaign for Courtesy had announced Shepperton as the top town for 2017 and confirmed that the award would be presented at a ceremony in October.

The Leader, or their nominee, to answer any questions raised by members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 14.

Note: the deadline for questions to be considered at this meeting is 12 noon on Thursday 13 July 2017.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any petitions from members of the public.

There were no petitions.

To consider the recommendations from the Head of Corporate Governance on the interim arrangements for the Council following the retirement of the Chief Executive.

The Council considered the recommendations from the Head of Corporate Governance on the interim arrangements for the Council following the retirement of the Chief Executive.

It was moved by Councillor I.T. Harvey and seconded by Councillor A.C. Harman and

Resolved to:

a)    Note the anticipated timelines for the recruitment of the full-time Chief Executive / Head of the Paid Service.

b)    Appoint Terry Collier and Lee O’Neil as Joint Acting Chief Executives with effect from 8 September 2017 until a new full-time Chief Executive is in post.

c)    Appoint Lee O’Neil as Acting Head of Paid Service with effect from 8 September 2017 until a new full-time Chief Executive is in post.

d)    Appoint Michael Graham as Interim Electoral Registration Officer / Interim Returning Officer with effect from 8 September 2017 until a new full-time Chief Executive is in post.

e)    Delegate authority to the Leader to make any consequential pay decisions in relation to the temporary arrangements described in the report.

The Council considered the recommendation from the Cabinet on the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2017-18.

It was moved by Councillor I.T. Harvey and seconded by Councillor A.C. Harman and

Resolved to approve the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel in relation to the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2017-2018, as set out below, and that these be backdated to take effect from 1 April 2017.

a)         that the ‘one SRA only’ rule be waived only in the situation where the        Chairman/Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee is a Borough      Councillor already in receipt of an SRA under the Scheme.

b)         that the ‘one third’ rule be maintained as a standard by which the Panel    will consider if it is happy with the numbers of SRAs designated, rather   than a hard and fast rule to which it must abide.

To consider the recommendation of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee from its meeting held on 25 April 2017, on changes to the Petition Scheme.

The Council considered the recommendation of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee from its meeting held on 25 April 2017, on changes to the Petition Scheme.

Resolved to agree:

1.       The proposed options for responses to petitions as follows:

(a)    take, or support, the action the petition requests; or

(a)    not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate; or

(b)    note the petition and keep the matter under review; or

(c)    if the content relates to a matter on the agenda for the meeting the petition be considered when the item is debated; or

(d)    the petition be referred to the Cabinet or Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration

To receive the report from the Leader of the Council on the work of the Cabinet at the following meetings:

The Leader of the Council, Councillor I.T.E. Harvey, presented the reports of the Cabinet meeting held on the 11 May 2017, 21 June 2017 and 19 July 2017; and the Extraordinary Cabinet meetings held on the 2 June 2017 and 13 July 2017 which outlined the matters the Cabinet had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Audit Committee on the work of her Committee.

The Chairman of the Audit Committee, Councillor M.J. Madams, presented her report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Licensing Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Chairman of the Licensing Committee, Councillor R.W. Sider BEM, presented his report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor S. Mooney, presented the Chairman’s report on his behalf which outlined the matters the Committee had considered since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Planning Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor R.A. Smith-Ainsley, presented his report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting. Councillor Smith-Ainsley also encouraged all councillors to attend future seminars on planning applications.

To receive any motions from Councillors in accordance with Standing Order 19.

Note: The deadline for motions to be considered at this meeting was Monday 10 July 2017 and none were received.

There were no motions.

The Leader, or their nominee, to answer questions from Councillors on issues in their Ward, in accordance with Standing Order 15.

Note: the deadline for questions is noon on 13 July 2017 and the following question was received from Councillor Sider:

“Within the last week, there has been yet another incursion of Travellers in Shepperton and this required action by the Council to serve notice to leave. Will the Leader and members of this council join me in congratulating Group Head for Neighbourhood Services and her staff for their prompt attendance and subsequent action in removing these unwanted visitors without further disturbance to local residents.”

The Mayor reported that one question on a ward issue had been received, in accordance with Standing Order 15, from Councillor Sider.

1.    Question from Councillor R.W. Sider

“Within the last week, there has been yet another incursion of Travellers in Shepperton and this required action by the Council to serve notice to leave. Will the Leader and members of this council join me in congratulating Group Head for Neighbourhood Services and her staff for their prompt attendance and subsequent action in removing these unwanted visitors without further disturbance to local residents.”

Response from Councillor I.T.E. Harvey, Leader of the Council

“Thank you, Councillor Sider, for your kind words of congratulations.

All the staff in the service area concerned, who assisted with the removal of the travellers in Shepperton, are very grateful for your kind remarks. This type of event, whilst difficult to manage at the time, shows to residents how effective we can be when we all work together to achieve the same outcome and Streetscene staff would like to acknowledge the assistance of their colleagues in Legal Services in helping to achieve this action.”

The Leader, or their nominee, to answer questions from Councillors on matters affecting the Borough, in accordance with Standing Order 15.

Note: the deadline for questions to be considered at this meeting is 12 noon on Thursday 13 July 2017.

There were no general questions.

Staines Parochial Charity

To consider the appointments of Mrs Daphne Harman and Mr John Packman as representative Trustees to the Staines Parochial Charity for 4-year terms of office until July 2021.

It was proposed by Councillor I.T.E Harvey and seconded by Councillor M. Francis and

Resolved that Mrs Daphne Harman and Mr John Packman be appointed as Council representative trustees to serve on the Staines Parochial Charity for four year terms of office until July 2021.