To receive any announcements from the Leader.
Minutes:
The Leader made the following announcements:
He thanked all staff and councillors who helped arrange the many excellent community based events which had taken place in the Borough.
He joined Cllr Maureen Attewell, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing in thanking the Ward Councillors who had donated money from their Better Neighbourhood Grants for Christmas gifts to our Meals on Wheels clients.
The Benwell Centre in Sunbury-on-Thames had received £1,300 from Tesco’s Bags of Help community grant scheme to help it create a gardening club for its members and residents of Mitchison Court.
He updated councillors on the asset acquisition strategy: The Council had purchased Hanover House, which sits on the River Thames next to Bridge Street car park site in Staines-upon-Thames and was looking at options for the property once the current lease expired towards the end of next year; We had also purchased the White House next to Kingston Road council depot, with the intention of redeveloping the site to help address specific housing needs; Contractors had been appointed to develop the former Churchill Hall in Sunbury-on-Thames into three 2-bedroomed properties for affordable housing and the former Bugle Returns Public House in Upper Halliford into eight flats, both due to commence shortly; A prior approval application had been submitted for the first phase development of the Benwell House site in Sunbury-on-Thames, to convert the main building into flats, with works due to commence in the Spring of next year.
Spelthorne had published its Green Belt Assessment which sets out how areas of the Borough are performing against Green Belt criteria. The assessment would form part of the Council's evidence for the Local Plan which identifies the needs of the Borough in relation to housing, the economy, community facilities and infrastructure.
He announced a new project, “Every ward at its best” to support councillors locally to make an impact in their communities by improving sites that seemed to be ‘forgotten’; such as derelict properties, fly-tipping hot spots and other unreported nuisances. It also included looking at any underutilised Council assets. He encouraged councillors of all parties to support this initiative.
Spelthorne Council was working with partners to explore the possibility of a light rail link between Staines and a newly expanded Heathrow. This would bring benefits to the borough, including very substantial economic benefits to Staines, much less environmental impact compared to a conventional heavy rail route and directly aid residents who work at Heathrow get to their place of employment.
He reported that the Procurement and Contract Management team had presented a report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with recommendations on how the council can increase the amount of goods and services sourced from local businesses.
The Leader was delighted to announce that as of today he had terminated Daniel Mouawad’s probationary period and his position is now permanent and substantive.
Finally, the Leader thanked staff and Councillors for their support and hard work over the last year. Despite the financial difficulties facing the Council, Spelthorne had continued to develop innovative solutions to generate sustainable income streams, ensuring that it can continue to provide the essential services our residents need and deserve.
He wished all members and officers a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.