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Council and Democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber Area B, Rushcliffe Arena, Rugby Road, West Bridgford. View directions

Items
No. Item

6.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest

7.

Minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019 pdf icon PDF 236 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019 were approved as a true record and were signed by the Chairman.

8.

Review of Community Facilities in West Bridgford pdf icon PDF 342 KB

The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Service Manager – Transformation presented the report of the Executive Manager – Transformation which provided the Group with an update on community facilities in West Bridgford including their current usage, income and expenditure. It was noted that the Council owned five community facilities in West Bridgford which provided space for a range of activities including exercise classes, meetings, church groups and children’s parties. It was also stated that an options appraisal had been carried out on the future of Lutterell Hall and a report on findings of this work would be referred to Cabinet in early 2020 to consider the Council’s next steps in the Council’s ownership of the facility.

The Service Manager delivered a presentation to the Group which covered:

·         Community Facilities in West Bridgford

·         Review of Lutterell Hall

·         Income vs Expenditure

·         Gresham

·         Budgeted Capital Expenditure

·         Booking Types

·         Occupancy Rates

·         Venues for Hire in West Bridgford

·         Hire Costs

 

Following the presentation, members of the Group had several suggestions on how to improve the booking techniques of hiring the community facilities and how to reduce the running costs. These included:

·         The ability to book the hire of community facilities online

·         To have user groups or ‘friends of’ groups to help run the community facilities

·         Using Community Infrastructure Levy payments to invest in a new community facility in West Bridgford which is more energy efficient which would therefore reduce running costs

 

The Community Development Manager responded to these recommendations by noting that an online booking and invoicing system for hiring community facilities in West Bridgford was being explored and could be introduced within the next 12 months. It was also explained that support from volunteer ‘Friends of’ groups would be helpful to promote the hall and to support a programme of a diverse range of community led activities, however it was noted that volunteer operational management was more difficult for the Council to introduce in a large area like West Bridgford than in village halls in more rural areas. The Executive Manager – Transformation said that the Council was committed to looking at overhead costs in more detail and that the Group would be updated on the possibility of a new community facility in Edwalton.    

It was RESOLVED that

a)    The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation be noted

b)    The Group be provided with a progress update for a new community facility for Edwalton

 

9.

Carbon Management Plan Development and Review pdf icon PDF 818 KB

The report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods is attached.

Minutes:

The Community Development Manager presented the report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods which contained a draft of the Council’s Carbon Reduction Action Plan for consideration and discussion to further inform development prior to adoption as a working document. It was proposed that the action plan be scrutinised and updated annually. It was explained that although it was not currently possible to quantify the full level of investment required to achieve carbon neutral status by 2030, the Communities Scrutiny Group was asked to consider recommending to Cabinet that this target should be adopted and a budget established to support delivery.

 

The Environment Sustainability Officer delivered a presentation to the Group which covered:

 

  • Carbon Reduction Action Plan Structure
  • How each theme is addressed
  • Suggested actions

 

Following the presentation members of the Group were pleased that the action plan would be scrutinised annually. The Group suggested that traders at Council events could use battery packs rather than generators and that it was noted that a transition time was required for the introduction of new technologies. The Group also asked to be provided with information about how the Council could influence the carbon management policies in planning applications. The Group were pleased that large housing developments such as Fairham and Sharphill had provision for allotments.

 

The Group advised the officers that the Council should promote local produce and businesses using the ‘carbon clever’ accreditation scheme. The Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods confirmed that the communications team were currently working on a communications strategy for this initiative.    The Group suggested further research to consider opportunities through the Nottingham City Council Energy Services website which delivers projects support a secure and affordable energy supply; reduce operational costs, risks and environmental impacts.

 

Some concerns were raised about the financial impact of the Council aiming to become carbon neutral. For example, it was stated that the construction of Bingham Leisure Centre was going to cost an extra £370,000 in order to greatly reduce carbon emissions. It was agreed that the target for the Council to be carbon neutral by 2030 was a challenging aim and would require resources, but the cost of not setting this target to focus work on tackling the issue was unacceptable.

 

It was RESOLVED that

 

a)    The report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods was noted and the draft action plan was supported;

b)    The Group requests that Cabinet sets a target for becoming carbon neutral for the Council’s own emissions by 2030;

c)    Cabinet be requested to support budget provision within the Council’s Medium-Term financial strategy to deliver carbon reduction actions.

d)    The Group be provided with additional information about the Nottingham City Council Energy Service.

 

10.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 220 KB

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

Minutes:

The Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods presented the report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services which detailed the Group’s work programme. It was agreed that a presentation would be delivered around the national waste and resources strategy and the aspirations of the government’s waste strategy which was yet to be discussed in Parliament.

 

The Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods confirmed that an item about fly tipping was going to be discussed at the next Corporate Overview Group meeting. If the item was approved, it would be an additional item to the next meeting in March 2020.

 

19 March 2020

  • Resources and Waste Strategy
  • Fly tipping (TBC)