To receive any announcements from the Leader.
Minutes:
In addition to the latest service updates from various Council departments (see below), the Leader made the following announcements:
· 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 27 April 2016 which went very well.
The Council has claimed back £108,321 in housing benefit fraudulently claimed over a period of 23 years.
The number of households in emergency (B&B) homeless accommodation peaked in August 2015 with 108 households. This has since been reduced to a total of 73 at the end of February 2016 thanks largely to the increased availability of new developments such as Dyas Road in Sunbury-on-Thames and Stonegate Court in Staines-upon-Thames which collectively delivered an extra 57 units. The reduction in B&B placements has enabled the Council to save approximately £120K.
Local families were entertained with a Punch and Judy show, juggling and balloon modelling at the formal launch of the natural play area in Orchard Meadow in Sunbury-on-Thames on Wednesday 12 April. Designed for the under 11s, the play area is made using natural wood materials and includes a range of equipment including climbing logs, balance structures and play boulders.
Young people took part in free skate and scooter sessions in Stanwell on Thursday 7 April to celebrate the official opening of the new skate park in Long Lane Recreation Ground. The new park includes a variety of ramps and slopes which are designed for BMX bikes, skateboards and scooters.
The Environment team took part in the Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ initiative and received £8000 to help make improvements to the Commercial Road allotments in Staines-upon-Thames.
Electoral Services and Communications are continuing to raise awareness of the PCC and by-elections which are taking place on 5 May.
The Greeno Centre in Shepperton and Fordbridge Centre in Ashford held open days on the weekend of 2 and 3 April to give local residents the opportunity to have a look round the centres and see the facilities and activities on offer.
Environmental Health and Communications have been working together to inform residents about changes in the law which require dogs to be microchipped.
Leisure Services held an award ceremony on 17 March for schools which took part in the WW1 poetry competition. The winning poems were written by Maddalena Pizzingrilli from Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School and Dalvina Kooner from Thomas Knyvett College. All the poems were displayed at Spelthorne Museum over the Easter school holidays and have also been published in a book.
Businesses in Staines-upon-Thames are being asked to support the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID) to raise money for new initiatives which could help boost trade and raise the profile of the town. The BID would be funded by the businesses and cost between £50 a year for the smallest businesses, up to £5000 a year for the largest. A ballot will be held in October to determine whether the BID gets the go-ahead.
An application by Bellway Homes to build 205 new riverside apartments in the heart of Staines-upon-Thames were approved by Spelthorne’s Planning Committee on 9 March. The new apartments will be built on the site currently occupied by the Council’s car park in Bridge Street and offer a mix of one, two and three bedroom homes.
A voluntary smoking ban has been launched in children’s play areas across Surrey with the aim of helping to protect children from the effects of second-hand smoke and discourage them from taking up smoking in later life. The Council marked the launch with a poster competition for primary school children.
Four illegal occupants of an area of Sheep Walk in Shepperton appeared at the High Court for sentencing on 14 March. The Judge was informed that two of the defendants had moved off the injunction land but various vehicles still remained. The two remaining defendants were issued with fines of £2,500 each, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to remove the remaining vehicles from the injunction land by 9 May.
The Leaders of Spelthorne and Slough Councils sent a joint letter to the Times newspaper on 4 March to express their support for a third runway at Heathrow and highlight the benefits for the local economy.
The cumulative Council Tax collection rates up to the end of March were:-
• Council Tax: 98.5 (98.5 sply)
• Business Rates: 98.5 (98.8sply)
Spelthorne’s Licensing Team took part in a Roadside Education and Enforcement Day (REED) on 17 February. At the REED events drivers are pulled over and, where appropriate, offered road safety advice on the spot rather than a penalty. The Licensing Officer’s role was to spot check taxi, private hire and scrap metal dealers’ vehicles.
Cabinet expressed its thanks to the senior management team and Councillor Barnard for the very efficient and professional way in which the recent Group Heads re-organisation had been conducted.