To receive any announcements from the Leader.
Minutes:
The Leader made the following announcements:
“An online awards ceremony was held on 7 December to celebrate the achievements of 30 very special young people, aged between 5 and 19. Organised by the Council, the Spelthorne Youth Awards recognise the outstanding talents and successes of local young people and the contributions they make to their communities. Many congratulations to all the nominees and winners.
Planning permission has been granted for the Council’s development of key-worker and affordable homes on Victory Close in Ashford. The approved design was modified to achieve double the energy savings proposed under the initial design, demonstrating the Council’s commitment to sustainable homes. The development will comprise 127 dwellings, including 5 family homes, 8 three-bedroom family flats, 78 two-bedroom flats and 36 one-bedroom flats, all with car parking and amenity space.
We recently issued an urgent appeal to landlords to help fulfil our pledge to house Afghans who supported the UK in Afghanistan. Following approval by the Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee, we have pledged to resettle up to five families under the Government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme. The Council is looking for homes with a minimum of 3-bedrooms, close to local amenities and good transport links. These homes will be funded by the government scheme and will not impact on those already on the Council’s housing list.
A campaign is underway to let residents know about the Household Support Fund scheme. Under the programme, we will provide financial grants of between £50 and £80 for households in need of help with food, energy and water costs. To qualify, households must receive certain benefits, such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit.
The hard work and achievements of local businesses was celebrated at the Spelthorne Business Awards at the Holiday Inn in Shepperton on 11 November. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners, and in particular Taste Creative which was named ‘Best Business in Spelthorne’.
Lisa O’Sullivan was named overall winner of the Capture Spelthorne photography competition on 2 December at Shepperton Studios. Congratulations to Lisa and all the category winners and nominees. The standard of photography was outstanding this year and the winning photographs can viewed on the Council’s social media streams.
The Council was presented with the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme at an event in London last month. The award is the Ministry of Defence's highest badge of honour in recognition of an organisation’s support for the Armed Forces community.
Last week saw the formal opening of 25 affordable apartments built here in the West Wing of the council offices. The redevelopment has made our offices much more efficient and, together, with our digital investments, gained us a national public sector transformational award in 2020. All the apartments will be let through the Council’s Housing Options team to ensure those who most need the accommodation are prioritised. The tenants will also be offered five-year tenancies to provide more stability than they would receive in the private rented sector.
An event was held on 24 November to mark the completion of our new homeless facility in Ashford. Located on Fordbridge Road in Ashford, Harper House will provide emergency accommodation for 20 families and opens on 3 January 2022. Social housing provider Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing will be managing the facility on the Council’s behalf.”