Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Dinah Lilley  01427 676595

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Items
No. Item

34.

Apologies for Absence

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Minutes:

Apologies had been received from Councillors Rainsforth, Marfleet, Howitt-Cowan, Oaks, Parish, Giles McNeill, and Councillor Strange was on other Council business.

35.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 380 KB

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 July 2016

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Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2016 were confirmed as a correct record, subject to the amendment that the member of the public who had asked a question at the previous meeting be given his full title of Group Captain Rodgers MBE.

36.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

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Minutes:

No declarations were made.

37.

Council Matters Arising pdf icon PDF 262 KB

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Minutes:

The two matters arising were noted as being complete.  Councillor Mrs Brockway further informed the meeting that she had made further enquiries and that officers had not been aggressive as had been claimed and that any concerns would be dealt with appropriately.

 

RESOLVED that the Matters arising be noted.

38.

Announcements

i)              Chairman of Council

ii)             Leader of the Council

iii)            Head of Paid Service

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Minutes:

Chairman of the Council

 

The Chairman noted that he had been to a number of Civic events, most notably a memorial dedication service at RAF Ingham which had been very moving, and also a meeting with business leaders to promote Gainsborough, which had been very positive and gave out the message that West Lindsey was Open for Business.

 

 

Leader of the Council

 

The Leader had met with representatives from Lincoln University regarding the expansion of Riseholme college, and read out an extract from a letter which set out proposals and ambitions for the future, which included £20m worth of investment.

 

Work had also been ongoing on the health agenda, problems were trying to be understood and a way of working forwards sought.  John Coupland Hospital was not closing, and would become a medical hub, providing a local service to fit local needs.

 

A meeting had taken place with the Mayor and Town Council Chairman of Market Rasen to discuss the future of the town.

 

Note was made of the exceptional development at the Eshings in Welton.

 

A letter had been received from ACIS informing that £8.1m had been spent on housing across the country and in the future an in-house company, Prime, would be replacing Galatia to undertake the works programme, which all Ward Members needed to be aware of.

 

Councillor Brockway stated that she was aware of problems being caused to residents by the expansion of Riseholme and it was felt that there had been a lack of engagement.  Councillor Brockway pleaded for co-operation and understanding.  The Chief Executive gave reassurance that there was an awareness of problems and that every effort was being made to understand and collaborate with the University and the Parish Council.  Engagement was crucial and the Council were trying to facilitate this.

 

 

Head of Paid Service

 

The Chief Executive summarised the progress being made with the Devolution agenda and fed back the results of recent consultation, which had shown overwhelming support for the principle of working collectively in partnership, however the question of the position of Mayor was considered to be unnecessary bureaucracy.  All Council Leaders had met, and discussion would be held with the new Minister for the Department of Communities and Local Government.  The content of the Autumn statement was unknown particularly post Brexit and its implications.

 

 

The Council Chairman also made note of the resignation of Councillor Alex Bridgwood who had left the Council to join the army, and thanked him for his service.  Acknowledgement was made to the standard bearer for the British Legion, David Cook, who had recently passed away, and who had been a constant figure at events, the funeral would take place on the coming Friday.

 

The Leader of the Council echoed the sentiments to Alex Bridgwood and wished him well in his new career.

 

The Chairman noted that there was to be an additional Council meeting on 10 October 2016 for consideration of the Devolution proposals.

39.

Public Question Time

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Minutes:

There were no questions from the public.

40.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No. 9

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Minutes:

There were no questions pursuant to Procedure Rule 9.

41.

Motions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No. 10

You may be aware that in December, a Private Members Bill aimed at giving local councils powers to tackle irresponsible pavement parking was proposed in Westminster and I ask this Council to support legislation in this area.

Legislation would simplify the current situation on pavement parking across England and Wales by recreating the system that exists in London, which prevents people from parking on the pavement except in areas specially designated by the council.

Whilst the Bill didn’t progress, the Government is currently looking into potential solutions to the problems of pavement parking. I am asking if you will help by writing to the Secretary of State for Transport, to express support for a nationwide law on pavement parking.

A pavement parking law would make a huge difference to pedestrian safety all over the country and in our area through a driver mentality shift, and the Government needs to know that it has the support of councils as well as road users.

I propose that the Leader and Chief Executive write to and lobby our MP and other key bodies such as Department of Communities and Local Government, Local Government Association, District Councils’ Network and Select Committee based on these proposals.

 

I so move

Councillor Anne Welburn

 

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Minutes:

A motion had been received from Councillor Anne Welburn.

 

“You may be aware that in December, a Private Members Bill aimed at giving local councils powers to tackle irresponsible pavement parking was proposed in Westminster and I ask this Council to support legislation in this area.


Legislation would simplify the current situation on pavement parking across England and Wales by recreating the system that exists in London, which prevents people from parking on the pavement except in areas specially designated by the council.  Whilst the Bill didn’t progress, the Government is currently looking into potential solutions to the problems of pavement parking. I am asking if you will help by writing to the Secretary of State for Transport, to express support for a nationwide law on pavement parking.


A pavement parking law would make a huge difference to pedestrian safety all over the country and in our area through a driver mentality shift, and the Government needs to know that it has the support of councils as well as road users.


I propose that the Leader and Chief Executive write to and lobby our MP and other key bodies such as DCLG, LGA, DCN and Select Committee based on these proposals.

 

I so move.”

 

The Leader of the Council responded by thanking Councillor Welburn for her motion.

 

“I believe that this is an important issue which can have an impact on the wellbeing of many of our residents. I agree with you that a change in the law would make a difference to pedestrian safety. As such I would be delighted to second your motion and I will write to the stakeholders you suggest if the Council share our views.”

 

Brief discussion ensued with Councillors stating that any response must be sensible and that the problem lay with planning permission being given for houses with insufficient parking provision.  Drivers refrained from parking on roads and causing obstructions, therefore parked on pavements.  However the plea for consideration of the matter had originally come from the Guide Dogs for the Blind association and there were also problems for wheelchairs and pushchairs.  Pedestrians should not have to walk on the road if drivers had parked irresponsibly.

 

It was stated that this was not something that traffic wardens could enforce as it was a police matter, however Councillor Welburn noted that this was a Private Members Bill to give powers to Councils, but the matter was complicated and the Department was looking at the issues.  The motion was to seek support for this work.

 

RESOLVED that the Leader of the Council write to the necessary bodies to express the support of West Lindsey District Council for a resolution to the problems.

42.

Annual Treasury Report pdf icon PDF 587 KB

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Minutes:

The Director of Resources introduced the report, stating that the Treasury Management Strategy was monitored quarterly by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee with a strategy report, a mid-year report and an end of year report, and this was now presented for full Council approval.

 

Under Local Government regulations and the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management the Council was required to produce an Annual Treasury Management review.  It was confirmed that the Council had complied with all requirements under the code. 

 

A typographical error on page 20 was highlighted, in that 31 March 2015 should read 2016 in the final column.

 

Councillor Summers and Councillor Cotton, the Chairman and a Member of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee commended the report, acknowledging the work of the accountancy staff and the Director of Resources, and noted that the impressive document reinforced the strong position of the Council.

 

RESOLVED that Members accept the Annual Treasury Management Report for 2015/16 and approve the actual 2015/16 Prudential and Treasury Indicators contained therein.

43.

Welton by Lincoln Neighbourhood Plan pdf icon PDF 333 KB

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Minutes:

Councillor Steve England gave the Council an update on Neighbourhood Plans across the District giving statistics of those that had been completed and those currently in progress.  Several were in the pipeline and were due to be presented to Council meetings over the next few months for approval.  Councillor England said that 2017 was to be a busy year and commended the hands-on approach of officers with particular thanks to Luke Brown for his dedication and hard work.

 

Members echoed the words of Councillor England stating that West Lindsey was ahead of the game in producing Neighbourhood Plans and these gave communities a real voice.

 

Luke Brown then summarised the report which sought approval for the Welton by Lincoln Neighbourhood Plan to be ‘made’.

 

RESOLVED that the Welton by Lincoln Neighbourhood Plan be made in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012.

 

Parish Councillor Alan Greenaway and Geoff Dunn then formally presented the Chairman with a copy of the Welton by Lincoln Neighbourhood Plan and described the background and process of the work undertaken in its production.  A big thankyou was given to all those who had been involved.

 

The Leader of the Council called for a round of applause to show appreciation for the work undertaken.

44.

Minutes of Committee Meetings

To Receive the Minutes of Committee Meetings Published since the Council Meeting on 4 July 2016

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Committee Meetings published since the Council meeting of 4 July 2016 be received.