Agenda item

The Leader, or his 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 17 October 2019.

The following questions were received by 16 October 2019.

Question 1 from Councillor R.W. Sider, BEM:

“Will the Leader and Members of this Council join me in congratulating the Group Head for Neighbourhood Services and her staff in achieving what can only be described as phenomenal and outstanding awards in the South and South East in Bloom awards of 2019, these being Sunbury Cemetery declared as the overall winner of Cemetery of the Year, Ashford and Staines Cemeteries receiving Gold awards, and Sunbury Walled Garden yet another Gold in the small park category.”

Question 2 from Councillor R.W. Sider, BEM

“At the meeting of the Full Council on July the 18th 2019 I placed a motion before the Council which read ‘ That officers investigate whether it is feasible to enter into a reciprocal agreement with Surrey County Council for Spelthorne Borough Council to act on their behalf to remove Traveller encampments when on the highway, and append such charges involved to Surrey’. In view of the fact that since the 18th of July there has been a further encampment by Travellers on the highway in Old Charlton Road Shepperton in September, can the Leader inform me of the progress that officers have made in their investigations with Surrey County Council with regard to the statement in my motion of the 18th July 2019.”

Question 3 from Councillor L.E. Nichols

“The Redmond review is an “independent review into the arrangements in place to support the transparency and quality of local authority financial reporting and external audit in England”.  Will the Council be making a formal submission in response to the Call for Views which closes on 22nd November 2019?”

Question 4 from Councillor C.L. Bateson

“Given the Council’s decision to abandon building a new Leisure Centre on Staines Park, can we be updated as to the Council’s proposals for an alternative site, timescale for announcement and proposed means of consultation with Local Residents. Do these include rebuilding on the existing site or refurbishing the current Leisure Centre?”

The Mayor reported that five general questions had been received, in accordance with Standing Order 15, from Councillors R.W. Sider BEM, L.E. Nichols, C.L. Bateson and J.H.J. Doerfel.

1.    Question from Councillor R.W. Sider BEM

“Will the Leader and Members of this Council join me in congratulating the Group Head for Neighbourhood Services and her staff in achieving what can only be described as phenomenal and outstanding awards in the South and South East in Bloom awards of 2019, these being Sunbury Cemetery declared as the overall winner of Cemetery of the Year, Ashford and Staines Cemeteries receiving Gold awards, and Sunbury Walled Garden yet another Gold in the Small park category.”

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

“We are happy to join you in congratulating Neighbourhood Services and the parks team for achieving these prestigious awards year after year. It is evident that there is a high level of commitment, not just from management but also from the operational staff who keep up the high the standards in our parks, open spaces and cemeteries.”

2.    Question from Councillor R.W. Sider BEM

“At the meeting of the Full Council on July the 18^th 2019 I placed a Motion before the council which read ‘That officers investigate whether it is feasible to enter into a reciprocal agreement with Surrey County Council for Spelthorne Borough Council to act on their behalf to remove Traveller encampments when on the highway, and append such charges involved to Surrey’.  In view of the fact that since the 18^th of July there has been a further encampment by Travellers on the highway in Old Charlton Road Shepperton in September, can the Leader inform me of the progress that officers have made in their investigations with Surrey County Council with regard to the statement in my motion of the 18^th July 2019.”

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

“Thank you for your question Councillor Sider.  Officers have given consideration to the matter.  You are correct that the site in Old Charlton Road is a difficult site and we have to be alert to all possible ways to deter unlawful encampments and then remove them swiftly should they occur.  The site in question is a quiet location which is part highway and part off-street parking.  Having considered ways in which to deal with future encampments officers have considered a variety of ways to best deal with the problem.  First by taking on Surrey’s legal responsibility, as was suggested, or alternatively by instituting parking and waiting restrictions in the area to make enforcement easier.  It was concluded that both options had drawbacks.  The current proposal is to seek the agreement of the County Council and get that portion of Highway put in the Borough’s application for a High Court injunction against unlawful encampments.  This would mean that any person camped there in breach of the injunction would be liable to arrest.  This is considered the best deterrent in this location.  I will ask officers to update ward councillors as the matter progresses, but I am informed that the application will be ready to be made in the next couple of weeks and it also seeks to cover all our parks and open spaces.  If this injunction is granted I think it will give a great deal of comfort to residents.” 

3.    Question from Councillor L.E. Nichols

“The Redmond review is an “independent review into the arrangements in place to support the transparency and quality of local authority financial reporting and external audit in England”. Will the Council be making a formal submission in response to the Call for Views which closes on 22nd November 2019?”

Response from the Deputy Leader, Councillor A.C. Harman

“Yes the Council welcomes the Redmond Review, reviewing how external audit of local government could be made more effective, and will be making a formal response. In particular we welcome the opportunity to respond to the strand asking for comments on how the issuing of value for money opinions could be made more useful and more timely.  We have experienced the adverse impacts of having an auditor take two years to issue a Value for Money opinion. We will also take into account and contribute towards a discussion amongst the Surrey Chief Finance Officers with respect to additionally making a Surrey wide response.”

In accordance with Council Standing Order 15.2, Councillor L.E. Nichols asked the following supplementary question:

“The Call for Views explicitly seeks the views of recipients of these reports.  Will the Council be seeking the views of members of the Audit and Overview and Scrutiny Committees to support this part of the response?  Will the Deputy Leader undertake to circulate the response to all members and to be published on the public website within two days of the closing date of responses please.”

The following written response was provided following the meeting:

“Yes the Council will produce a set of draft responses and will give the members of Audit Committee as the relevant committee (and as the Committee who are recipients of auditors’ reports) the opportunity to comment on and request refinements to the responses.

The Deputy Leader will circulate the response to all members and ensure that the response is published on the Council’s website within two days of the closing date (22nd November).”

4.    Question from Councillor C.L. Bateson

“Given the Council’s decision to abandon building a new Leisure Centre on Staines Park, can we be updated as to the Council’s proposals for an alternative site, timescale for announcement and proposed means of consultation with local residents. Do these include rebuilding on the existing site or refurbishing the current Leisure Centre?”

Response from Councillor M.M. Attewell

“Thank you for your question Councillor Bateson.  We are currently in the process of finalising our analysis of options for a new Spelthorne Leisure Centre and are hoping to be able to come forward with proposals for a new centre early in the New Year.  In undertaking our analysis, all options have been considered, including whether the current centre could be refurbished or rebuilt in its existing location.   You can be assured that we will be consulting widely on our plans with local residents, councillors and other key stakeholders, using a wide range of communication channels to ensure that we get as much feedback as we can on our proposals.” 

5.    Question from Councillor J.H.J. Doerfel

“This Council, through Knowle Green Estates Ltd, applied for planning permission to build a warehouse on Green Belt land at Cleveland Park which was thankfully properly refused at the Planning Committee meeting on 18th September 2019.

Considering that this land is not owned by Knowle Green Estates Ltd and the fact that such an application previously lodged by somebody else had been refused by the Council some years back resulting in an award of still unpaid legal costs to the Council (when the applicant withdrew their appeal seeking to overturn that refusal), why did Knowle Green Estates Ltd now decide to make an 'about-face' turn and actually submit this planning application to build on Green Belt land themselves i.e. what were and are the interests of the Council leadership and KGE in this piece of land and their plans for it?"

Response from the Deputy Leader, Councillor A.C. Harman

“Knowle Green Estates Ltd submitted the planning application for Northumberland Close earlier this year.

Although as you correctly identify, the company does not own any land in the area, the Company was acting as a developer of Council projects.  The strategy being deployed at that time was to develop Knowle Green Estates Ltd as a company which would undertake all the development management functions for the Council.  That is no longer the strategy which the Cabinet has asked officers to follow. 

Cabinet has asked officers to prepare the business plan for the Company only as a residential management company.  Knowle Green Estates will have no further involvement or interest in this site. The Council is considering options with respect to the site in the wider context of the Heathrow DCO.”

In accordance with Council Standing Order 15.2, Councillor J.H.J. Doerfel asked the following supplementary question:

“How much did the Council or KGE spend on this planning application that was refused?”

The following written response was provided following the meeting:

“The total spend incurred in the process of preparing and submitting the Northumberland Close planning application, including staff opportunity cost, contractors and external consultants amounted  to £251,887.”