Agenda and minutes

Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

There was no public participation at this point in the meeting.

Members may make declarations of Interest at this point or may make them at any point in the meeting

Councillor D. Cotton declared a non-pecuniary personal interest in that he occasionally conducted burials in Gainsborough.

Councillor T. Davies declared a non-pecuniary interest as he was a member of Gainsborough Town Council.

Councillor P. Howitt-Cowan declared a non-pecuniary interest as he was a founder member of Friends of Gainsborough Cemeteries.

The minutes of the meeting of the Regulatory Committee held on 6 June 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

The minutes from the Regulatory Sub-Committee held on 4 July 2019 were noted.

The Committee heard from the Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager regarding the proposed Public Space Protection Order for the Gainsborough cemeteries. He explained this was following the item discussed at the June meeting and, having received a strong response to the public consultation, the proposed order was presented to the Committee for approval to come into effect on 14 October 2019.

The Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager emphasised to Members that it had been clear from the consultation responses that this was an emotive matter and, although there had been some mixed responses, it became clear that the order to keep dogs on leads was in the main supported. There was discussion regarding dog fouling and it was explained that as there was a review of the district-wide PSPO, due for renewal in 2020, it would be expedient to deal with any dog fouling issues as part of that review, rather than having separate orders for separate areas of land under different owners. It was clarified that the proposed PSPO would mandate that dogs be kept on leads and the used of motorised vehicles for recreational purposed would be prohibited.

There was discussion between Members regarding the policing of the order and how the public would be informed of the new regulations. It was confirmed that there were improvements that could be made to the Town Council signs and there would be the formal PSPO signage in place to clearly indicate the areas of the order. The Housing and Enforcement Manager explained that at the commencement of the order there would be a significant presence of enforcement officers, which has been found to be beneficial in educating members of the public about the details of the PSPO. A Member of Committee noted that should there be the need for extra resources, the costs should be borne by the Town Council as well as the district council.

Committee Members further discussed the option to include a ban on alcohol within the PSPO. It was highlighted that the enforcement of that could not be a matter of discretion and a complete ban on alcohol in the area would run the risk of impinging on people’s time of grief and mourning. The Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager highlighted that if there were issues of people being drunk and disorderly, this would be dealt with by the Police rather than as a part of the PSPO.

After further discussions regarding the layout of the cemetery and how the town Council and District Council signs would be managed, the proposed order was moved, seconded and voted upon. With unanimous agreement it was

            RESOLVED that

a)    the making of a Public Space Protection Order for the Gainsborough Cemeteries (as outlined in Appendix 2 of the corresponding report) be approved; and

b)    the order be approved to come into effect on Monday 14th October 2019 for a three year period.

The Chairman invited the Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager to comment on the items on the committee workplan and he explained there would be one or two amendments to the workplan prior to the next meeting as a result of updates and a district-wide review of the dog fouling PSPO.

The workplan for the Regulatory Committee was noted.