Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 February 2016 and the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 7 April 2016.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 February 2016 and the minutes of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 7 April 2016 were agreed as correct.

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

There were no disclosures of interest.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

The Mayor reminded Councillors about his Civic Reception at The Orangery, Shepperton Studios on Tuesday 3 May, from 6.45pm to 9pm, when he will be distributing the Mayor’s Charity Funds.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The Leader made the following announcements:

I just wanted to draw the Council’s attention to a recent incident at the Greeno Centre when, due to the speedy and efficient response of Vanessa and her colleagues, they saved the life of a 91-year old man from the high needs group by preventing him from choking to death.

Mr. Mayor, I know that this will come up again at the Annual Council Meeting on 19 May but, as this is the last Council meeting of your mayoral year, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you and your wife, Madam Mayor, for all the hard work you have undertaken over the past year.

We had a visit from Her Majesty the Queen’s Lord Lieutenant, Mr. Michael More-Molyneux, on 26 April 2016 which went extremely well. We took him on a tour of the Borough which included the Walled Garden, the London Irish development, and Shepperton Studios.

We also hosted two Landlords Forum on the 26 April 2016 which went very well.”

To receive any announcements from the Chief Executive.

There were none.

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

There were no public questions.

The Council has received the following petition from Mrs. Vicki Kapoor Sood:

“To ask the Council to provide a much-needed Leisure Centre in Stanwell”

The Council will decide to respond to this petition in one of the following ways:

(a). support the action the petition requests.

(b). dismiss the action the petition requests.

(c). refer the petition to the Cabinet or the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of the decision.

The following petition had been received from Mrs. Kapoor Sood:

“To ask the Council to provide a much-needed Leisure Centre in Stanwell.”

Mrs. Kapoor Sood gave a presentation on her petition.

Councillor M.M. Attewell, portfolio holder for Community and Wellbeing, responded on behalf of the Council:

“Thank you for your campaign on this valuable cause Mrs Kapoor Sood.

I am able to confirm that in 2013-14 a leisure needs analysis was undertaken in Spelthorne to review the current leisure provision in the borough and to establish future need. In particular, the review took account of the ageing Spelthorne leisure centre building and it was considered that it would become unfit for purpose in the next few years.

The needs analysis indicated a need for facilities in the borough and as a result it was decided that the council would look to replace the existing leisure centre with a new facility. Work has subsequently begun looking at the feasibility of this. Sites currently being considered for the new centre are in close proximity to the existing

Spelthorne Leisure Centre due to its accessibility by public transport, availability of land and the demand.

There are currently two well-used leisure centres in the borough. One in Sunbury and one in Staines-upon-Thames which are run by Everyone Active and serve the boroughs’ 100,000 population. These centres provide a wide range of sports and leisure facilities and cater to the needs of local residents; improving their general health and wellbeing.

Due to the high build and running costs of leisure centres and the land required it is not possible to have centres in immediate proximity to all residents. Nevertheless we have been pushing for greater public access to existing facilities across the borough such as within schools, to increase local access to convenient leisure activities.

There is a wide range of opportunities for exercise and leisure throughout the borough run by a number of providers, including the Council. There are a variety of classes which take place in community halls and there are numerous parks and open spaces used for outdoor recreation, such as team sports, walking, running and playing. Outdoor exercise equipment is available in two open spaces within the borough. One site is located in Stanwell on the corner of Explorer Avenue and Mulberry Avenue, which provides free recreation to residents as part of the Stanwell New Start project. Spelthorne Borough Council has recently installed a BMX/Skate Park in Long Lane Recreation Ground and intend to set up over fifties exercise classes in Stanwell Rose Hall within the next few months. There are currently council activities running in Stanwell.  Surrey Youth Games coaching sessions are running at Ashford Sports Club in Short Lane, Stanwell and the successful Walking for Health Scheme and Cycling for Health Schemes both have routes that regularly start and finish in Stanwell.

It is of course appreciated that some of these facilities are not within walking distance for the majority of Stanwell residents and that it would be preferable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93/16

The Council considered the recommendation from the Cabinet on the review of the management of household waste services and the procurement of existing waste and street cleansing vehicles.

Resolved that Council approves the Capital spend of £255,000 for the purchase of waste and street cleansing vehicles and related in-cab technology.

The Council considered the recommendation from the Cabinet on a review of the Constitution.

Resolved that Council:

·         Approves the proposed changes to non-executive functions.

·         Approves the revised Constitution subject to:

Ø  Amendments to the Planning Code (Part 5d).

Ø  To include word ‘material’ before every reference to ‘planning reasons’, and

Ø  To include a new paragraph 20 (i) which reads:

Ø  “Where the councillor who ‘called in’ an application is a member of the Planning Committee, that councillor will be given three minutes to speak following the public speakers and may then speak again as a member of the Committee during its debate on the item.”

Ø  Corrections to typographical and consistency errors throughout the document.

·         Agrees to delegate to the Monitoring Officer consequential changes to the Scheme of Delegations to Officers (part 3d) following the appointments of Group Heads.

The Council considered the recommendation from the Cabinet on an amendment to the Pay Policy Statement for 2016-17.

Resolved that Council approves the proposed changes to the Pay Policy Statement for 2016-17, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

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

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Harvey, presented the reports of the Cabinet meetings held on 7 April 2016 and 27 April 2016, 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 Members' Code of Conduct Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Chairman of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee, Mr. Murray Litvak, 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 Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor A.E. Friday, 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 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.

Under Standing Order 17, the Council has received Notice of the following Motion:

“The democratic process as currently provided to the residents of the Borough of Spelthorne could be improved.”

Proposed by Councillor Quentin Edgington

Seconded by Councillor Penny Forbes-Forsyth

In accordance with Standing Order 17 the Council had received one written Notice of Motions.

Councillor Q. Edgington moved and Councillor I.J. Beardsmore seconded the following motion:

“The democratic process as currently provided to the residents of the Borough of Spelthorne could be improved.”

The following amendment was moved by Councillor I.T.E Harvey and seconded by Councillor A.C. Harman:

“This Conservative-led administration already provides an excellent level of democratic process to our residents and will continue to seek to improve it."

The amendment was carried.

The Mayor then invited councillors to vote on the substantive motion proposed by Councillor I.T.E. Harvey.

The substantive motion was carried.

Resolved that this Conservative-led administration already provides an excellent level of democratic process to our residents and will continue to seek to improve it.

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

There were no questions on Ward issues.

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

The following question has been received from Councillor Quentin Edgington:

“Please can the Leader of the Council now provide the FULL COSTS of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on February the 2^nd, including an appropriate costing for all the Council officers present and the caretaking costs and not just the Committee Services costs?”

The following question has been received from Councillor Robin Sider:

“An assessment of the Elmsleigh surface and multi storey car park was recently carried out by specifically trained police assessors who look for evidence that the car park is clean, well-managed, has appropriate lighting and effective surveillance. These requirements show that the parking operator has put in place measures that help to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour in their parking area. Following this assessment the car park successfully gained the Park Mark Safer Parking Award. This scheme is run by the Association of Chief Police Officers and was developed to provide a material benchmark for parking areas across the United Kingdom. Car Parks with this award can use the Park Mark tick symbol which helps drivers find car parks where they can confidently leave their vehicle knowing the environment is safe. A total of eleven car parks operated and maintained by Spelthorne Borough Council have been awarded the Park Mark status. 

Will the Leader of the Council join me in congratulating the management of our car parks on achieving this outstanding accolade.”

The Mayor reported that two general questions had been received, in accordance with Standing Order 15, from Councillors Edgington and Sider BEM.

Question from Councillor Quentin Edgington 

“Please can the Leader of the Council now provide the FULL COSTS of the Extraordinary Council meeting held on February the 2nd, including an appropriate costing for all the Council officers present and the caretaking costs and not just the Committee Services costs?”

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Harvey

“Thank you for your question, Councillor Edgington.

The response is essentially the same as the one I gave you at Council on 25 February 2016. No other officers present received any additional remuneration because they are expected to attend evening meetings as a matter of course.”

Question from Councillor Robin Sider BEM

“An assessment of the Elmsleigh surface and multi storey car park was recently carried out by specifically trained police assessors who look for evidence that the car park is clean, well-managed, has appropriate lighting and effective surveillance. These requirements show that the parking operator has put in place measures that help to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour in their parking area. Following this assessment the car park successfully gained the Park Mark Safer Parking Award. This scheme is run by the Association of Chief Police Officers and was developed to provide a material benchmark for parking areas across the United Kingdom. Car Parks with this award can use the Park Mark tick symbol which helps drivers find car parks where they can confidently leave their vehicle knowing the environment is safe. A total of eleven car parks operated and maintained by Spelthorne Borough Council have been awarded the Park Mark status. Will the Leader of the council join me in congratulating the management of our car parks on achieving this outstanding accolade?”

Response from the portfolio holder for Environment and Compliance, Councillor Tony Mitchell

“Thank you, Cllr Sider, for raising this issue and for your kind words of congratulations, which will be much appreciated by the team. 

We are delighted that our car parks across the Borough meet the ParkMark standard demonstrating the safe environment within our car parks. The parking team is proactive and will continue to look to improve the service and facilities offered.”

To consider the re-appointment of Mr. Euan O’Hara as a Trustee of Staines Parochial Charity, for a further 4-year term until April 2020.

It was proposed by Councillor J.M. Pinkerton OBE and seconded by Councillor A.C. Harman that Mr. Euan O’Hara be re-appointed as a Trustee of Staines Parochial Charity for a further 4-year term until April 2020.

Resolved that Mr. Euan O’Hara be re-appointed as a Council representative Trustee to serve on the Staines Parochial Charity for a 4-year term of office until April 2020.