Agenda and minutes

The Meeting was led in prayer by the Mayor's Chaplain, Canon Alan Haydock.

Councillor Cottee declared a private interest in agenda item 9, motion 1 and announced that he would not take part in the subsequent discussion and vote on the motion.

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 24 May 2018.

The Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 24 May 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor reported that she had attended many varied events since the last meeting of Council and advised that she was very much looking forward to her first charity fundraising event on 13 October 2018 which was to include an auction with TV personality and auctioneer, Charles Hanson.

The Mayor also referred to the following engagements:

·       Attending Abbey Road Primary School with Councillor Mason to promote the highly anticipated Tour of Britain cycle race which was coming to Rushcliffe on 8 September 2018.

·       Visiting Archbishop Cranmer School during their 50^th anniversary celebrations.

·       Attending the DNRC handover ceremony from Headley Court to Stanford Hall and meeting the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Westminster.

The Mayor also announced that her cadet for 2018/19 was Cadet Flight Sergeant Luke Whitham from 1936 (Newton) Squadron and presented him with a certificate to mark the start of his year as Mayor’s Cadet.

The Leader informed the Council that he had attended the ceremony at Stanford Hall that marked the official handover of the DNRC from Headley Court to Stanford Hall and noted how pleased he was that this important facility was now located in Rushcliffe.  The Leader also congratulated Councillor Barrie Cooper for raising almost £7,000 for his chosen charity, The Friary during his year as Mayor in 2017/18.  The Leader also announced that signs had been placed around the Borough which stated that the use of helium balloons and sky lanterns were prohibited on Council land which and indicated the Council’s continued commitment to be for environmental responsible. The Leader also referred to his pride in the Council being named Best Commercial Council of the Year at the prestigious annual Municipal Journal Awards in June in addition to winning the Entrepreneurial Council of the Year award at the Local Government Chronicle Awards in March.

There were no announcements.

To answer questions submitted by Citizens on the Council or its services.

There were no questions.

The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented the report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services seeking approval for the Statement of Accounts 2017/18 and for approval of the Management Representation letter that confirmed that the external auditors, KPMG, were satisfied with the validity of the financial statements provided by the Council. The Portfolio Holder stated that despite difficult economic circumstances that faced the public sector, the Council had maintained its focus on achieving a viable Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Portfolio Holder stated that the KPMG auditors had approved the Council’s accounts with no major concerns and thanked the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services and the finance team for their hard work in getting the accounts ready on time and meeting the challenges that the brining forward of the date for when the accounts had had to be finalised this year had presented. 

The Portfolio Holder advised that it had been an extremely successful year for Rushcliffe financially which had seen it continuing to have the lowest council tax in Nottinghamshire whilst still delivering excellent services with high resident satisfaction levels. The Portfolio Holder also noted that the Council’s Reserves have grown and assured Council that financial issues surrounding capital expenditure underspending would be addressed. The Portfolio Holder also reported that the Council’s Strategic Investments had been a success, referencing Chapel Lane in Bingham and the regeneration of Cotgrave Town Centre.

In seconding the report, Councillor Robinson stated the council had a £1.7 million gross income from its investments which placed the Council in a good and sustainable financial position but did note that Brexit did present some uncertainty going forwards, but that the Council was prepared for this uncertainty and that it was always looking at new ways of generating income in order to protect services delivered to residents.

Councillor MacInnes noted that it was excellent to see that the Council’s reserves had increased and commended the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services, finance team and the auditors for their work. Councillor Davidson noted his agreement with Councillor MacInnes’ comments. Councillor Jones offered further congratulations regarding the statement of accounts and thanked Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services, the finance team and the auditors. Councillor Jones expressed concern about the sustainability of the pension scheme with fewer contributors supporting more pensioners as well as the potential borrowing costs involved in providing a new leisure centre at Bingham.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    The Statement of Accounts for 2017/18 be approved.

b)    The Management Representation letter be approved.

To receive Notices of Motion submitted under Standing Order No.12

1.    “We call on Nottinghamshire County Council to create a street parking strategy for West Bridgford in cooperation with this Council which improves opportunities for residents and the livelihood of local businesses.”

            Councillor R Jones

2.    “This Council fully supports the rights of free speech, including the right of any political party to present their message on the streets of Rushcliffe, providing it is in full compliance with the laws and by laws.

However, this Council commits to ensuring local community events organised by Rushcliffe Borough Council are organised to support the objectives of the Authority and that unless expressly authorised there will be:

                      i.        No organised political group presence to promote, campaign or recruit to a particular ideology or campaign.

                    ii.        No facilities sanctioned to display political material, banners, or leaflets”

            Councillor S J Robinson

3.    “This Council acknowledges and celebrates the incredible achievement of being double winners of two of the sectors most prestigious national awards.

By winning both the LGC Entrepreneurial Council and MJ Commercial Council of the Year Awards it reflects the tremendous work done by officers and members to generate new and innovative streams of income. These initiatives have thus enabled this Borough to maintain the very best of front line services and maintain Rushcliffe with the lowest Council Tax charge in Nottinghamshire.”

Councillor S J Robinson

Notices of Motion

a)    The following motion was moved by Councillor Jones and seconded by Councillor Khan

“We call on Nottinghamshire County Council to create a street parking strategy for West Bridgford in cooperation with this Council which improves opportunities for residents and the livelihood of local businesses.”

Councillor Jones in moving the motion explained the need for a street parking strategy for West Bridgford and noted that residents in many of the roads with older housing, which he named, within West Bridgford, had serious parking problems. Councillor Jones noted that on those roads most of the houses lacked off-street parking provision, with those off Melton Road often resorting to overnight double-parking. Councillor Jones also advised that many community groups close to West Bridgford town centre which used the Methodist and Baptist church halls, relied heavily on on-street parking, as did two GP surgeries, Clinics and Mental Health services.   Councillor Jones noted that the County Council’s approach to the parking situation, which he believed was at breaking point, was is to introduce more resident parking permit schemes, which he believed concentrated the problems onto other roads.  Councillor Jones also expressed disappointment that County Highways continually did not object when planning applications in these areas provided no designated parking spaces because these areas were a sustainable location. Councillor Jones noted that with the current trajectory, parking would become more intolerable in West Bridgford and hoped that Councillors would not want to see community events reduced, venues decline and community activities close. Councillor Jones summed up by saying that Rushcliffe Borough Council had a role in off street parking but needed the County Council to change its approach on planning applications with no designated or partial parking spaces and called for the two councils to discuss the problem and propose changes which would improve the parking situation.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Khan who reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Edyvean thanked Councillor Jones for proposing the motion and advised that while he fully supported the motion and its aims, he wanted to propose an amendment to the motion as follows.

“Once issues relating to street parking are identified, we will seek to work with Nottinghamshire County Council, and for County to create a street parking strategy for West Bridgford, which improves opportunities for residents and the livelihoods of local business.”

Councillor Edyvean in moving the amendment to the motion advised that it was important for the Council to first understand what the issues were regarding street parking in West Bridgford and what the desired outcomes were before working alongside Nottinghamshire County Council to develop a street parking strategy. Councillor Donoghue seconded the amended motion and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Jones advised that he had provided details regarding the problems of parking in West Bridgford in moving the original motion. Councillor Clarke disagreed and advised that the problems with regard to street parking in West Bridgford had not been stated adequately in the moving of the original motion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To answer questions submitted by Councillors under Standing Order No. 11(2)

a)    Question from Councillor Jones to Councillor Upton

“In what way will residents of West Bridgford and their community services benefit from the proposed scheme of Community Infrastructure Charging?”

In response to the question, Councillor Upton stated the Council would decide how to spend the neighbourhood proportion of CIL contributions from any developments in non-parished areas such as West Bridgford and Edwalton. It was noted that the regulations governing CIL required that contributions be spent on, or to support infrastructure in the area where the chargeable development had taken place and that this must be done in consultation with local communities. It was also noted that the exact mechanisms for deciding how such contributions would be spent and for community engagement would be determined during the in between the period of when the CIL was approved and when it would come into force.

Supplementary Question

Councillor Jones questioned if the CIL was disadvantageous to non-parished areas within the Borough as they could not quality for the full 25% of the levy.

Councillor Upton stated that the exact mechanisms were laid down by the regulations of the CIL and that this issue would be looked at during the period of when the CIL was considered for approval and when it would come into force. Councillor Upton advised Councillor Jones to express his concerns in writing during the consultation period so that it could be taken into consideration by the independent examiner.  

b)    Question from Councillor Plant to Councillor Robinson

“Does the Leader agree with me that the leader of the County Council’s unseemly haste for Unitary status for the county without proper consultation and discussion with District and Borough Leaders and a proper business plan is not in the interests of the residents of Rushcliffe and the County as a whole?”

In response to the question, Councillor Robinson stated that the recent meeting of the County Council had approved a business plan to be produced later this year. Councillor Robinson noted that in November 2017 the Council had agreed to increase its dialogue with all local authorities. Councillor Robinson also stated that he had written to the Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Kay Cutts and that he had held a meeting with the Government Minister responsible for Local Government where he had stressed that the District and Borough Councils should receive clearer dialogue from the County Council whilst they were developing their business plan for the creation of a unitary authority. Councillor Robinson noted that the Borough should focus its own priorities of economic growth and should not become distracted.

Supplementary Question   

Councillor Plant asked if the Leader agreed that the East Midlands as a region had not received its fair share of funding from the government and that the Leader of the County Council should instead be working with all Leaders of Nottinghamshire District and Borough Councils to lobby for fairer funding within the region instead of asking for the creation of a unitary authority. 

In response Councillor Robinson  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.