Agenda item
i) Chairman of Council
ii) Leader of the Council
iii) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
Chairman
The Chairman addressed Council advising it had been a very busy, but enjoyable period, with the up and coming weeks leading into Christmas looking even busier.
Over recent months she had had the pleasure of attending a number of Events, Award Ceremonies, Business visits and Official openings, making note of the following: -
* attendance at three Graduation Ceremonies, in July it was Riseholme College of Further Education Awards in the Epic Centre, In September, the University of Lincoln’s International Business School ceremony and the Lincoln College Graduation both held at the Cathedral. It had been a great pleasure to see these hard working young people receive a whole variety of qualifications in their chosen fields and not all academic.
* attendance at the Family Fun Day at the Trinity Arts centre in July, joined by fellow Members, for an action packed day organised in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council. It had been a fabulous day that had really brought the Community together, which the Chairman hoped to see become an annual event.
* ‘turf cutting’ at two new Lace Housing developments, one at Ingham and the other at Nettleham. Lace was a ‘not for profit’ company and their schemes were designed to enable older people to remain within their communities and maintain links with family and friends, enjoying quality facilities and services, the developments were making a welcome addition to the housing across our District.
* There had been exciting times in Gainsborough with the opening of the fully refurbished Everyone Active Leisure Centre with Olympic medallist Colin Jackson in September and just this month the eagerly anticipated brand new Travelodge. The Chairman had had the pleasure of being part of the opening of both these establishments which demonstrated the Council’s commitment to continuous investment in the area.
* The Chairman was keen to engage with Businesses and indicated she had a planned programme of visits in order to learn more about the enterprises that she considered to be the life blood of the District. During the period she had joined the Leader for a visit to the Riverside Enterprise Park in Saxilby, touring two businesses and hearing how the Council’s development had helped business to establish and grow. She had also visited a micro-Brewery, near Fiskerton, awarded funding through the Lindsey Action Zone, to expand in order to meet demand.
The Chairman had also hosted a number of events herself here at the Guildhall including a Flag Raising Event for Merchant Navy Day, for which she expressed thanks to those Councillors who had attended and a Bake off Style fundraising event to help raise funds for the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
The Chairman had also had the pleasure of hosting her annual Civic Service in her local church, St Peter’s in the village of Scotter in September. She thanked her Chaplain the Reverend Swannack for his poignant service, those Councillors who had attended to support her and the Eau Valley Singers who performed both during the Service and at the reception which had proceeded.
The Chairman concluded her announcements by making reference to two up and coming events, these being the Annual Carol Service being held on 10 December, at Gainsborough’s All Saints’ Church, to which all Councillors were welcome, and the launch of the Annual Community Awards.
Promotional information and Nominations Packs for the Awards were available for Councillors to collect at the conclusion of the meeting.
ii) Leader of Council
The Leader addressed Council and advised the new Lincolnshire Pension structure continued to move in a positive direction.
At the last Leaders and Chief Executive’s meeting, discussions were largely focussed around Lincolnshire growth via the LEP, planning for growth and strengthening partnerships. This was seen by many as a viable alternative to Devolution.
The Humber Strategy review continued and the Leader expressed his thoughts on the Environment Agency’s Plans to establish flood areas within the reaches of the Ouse and Humber and his fears for the future should alternative action not be taken.
The Leader had attended the Annual DCN Conference. Presentations and discussion had centred around housing, homelessness and town centres.
Members of the Scampton advisory
group had taken a tour of RAF Scampton
on the 30th October. This had allowed those present to
appreciate the scale of the site and some of the issues which would
have to be resolved before a handover took place.
On the 9th November the Leader had meet with Julian Chafer, a senior person within the Defence infrastructure Organisation along with Sir Edward Leigh, the Chief Executive of LCC and the Leader of LCC. An excellent paper on the opportunities for developing the site had been produced by Oliver FitchE-Taylor the Planning Manager. With an equally detailed MOU presented by Eve Fawcett-Moralee.
Discussion had centred around Master Planning, the need to have Scampton included in the CLLP review next year as well as Heritage, minerals safeguarding and the One Public Estate.
iii) Head of Paid Service
The Head of Paid Service addressed Council on behalf of the Management Team during which the following points were made: -
* Emergency Planning Awareness training had been arranged for all Members on Tuesday, 27 November, with details having been given to Members in an earlier email. The session would be facilitated by Emergency Planning and Business Continuity colleagues and was specifically tailored for elected Members and their role in their local community. The session would focus on the approach to be taken in the event of severe Winter weather and address the lessons learnT from previous incidents – both local and national. Recent incidents had demonstrated a need for a co-ordinated approach to the incident from the local council concerned and therefore all Members were urged to make every effort to attend the training, if at all possible.
* The Local Government Association local partnership had reviewed the Council’s housing programme on behalf of Homes England. They were very complimentary about our approach and gave us substantial assurance in our handling of the programme.
* In terms of our Projects –the construction of the crematorium had started on site with completion scheduled for this time next year. This was considered great news as it would then start to provide a facility for local people and a contribution to Council finances. Thanks were expressed to those staff who have kept this project on target.
In conclusion the Head of Paid Service made reference to the Members Bulletin, encouraging all Members to access its content, as a number of updates were now published through this forum.