a) Councillor Brennan
This Council agrees to use policy 38 of Local Plan Part 2 to apply a planning condition that will see Swift Boxes incorporated in the vast majority of new commercial and residential developments in the Borough, in addition to any biodiversity mitigation or enhancements normally requested through the planning process.
This will:
1. require a minimum of two swift bricks per suitable dwelling in at least 50% of any proposed new development
2. require commercial and industrial developments to have a minimum of three swift bricks installed per appropriate unit
3. be attached to all relevant planning permissions for new buildings granted in the Borough from the earliest opportunity.
b) Councillor Calvert
The Council will include an annual quantitative audit of all its activities undertaken related to the reduction of Domestic Violence and Violence against Women and Girls and report it to Community Scrutiny Group.
Minutes:
a) The following Notice of Motion was proposed by Councillor Brennan and seconded by Councillor Soloman
Prior to presenting her motion, Councillor Brennan informed the Mayor that she wished to make an alteration to the motion using Standing Order Paragraph 4.58. After outlining the alteration, consent was given by the Council and Councillor Brennan proceeded to move the motion.
“This Council agrees to use policy 38 of Local Plan Part 2 to apply a planning condition that will see Swift Bricks incorporated in the vast majority of new commercial and residential developments in the Borough, in addition to any biodiversity mitigation or enhancements normally requested through the planning process.
This will:
1. require a minimum of two swift bricks per suitable dwelling in at least 50% of any proposed new development
2. require commercial and industrial developments to have a minimum of three swift bricks installed per appropriate unit
3. on appropriate single dwelling schemes require two swift bricks
4. be attached to all relevant planning permissions for new buildings granted in the Borough from the earliest opportunity.”
In moving the motion, Councillor Brennan provided an example of antisocial behaviour at a bus shelter on Shelford Road, explaining that swift’s nests in the shelter had been deliberately destroyed and the nesting chicks killed. Councillor Brennan explained that she was looking into having the shelter replaced and to find an alternative nesting location for the swifts. Councillor Brennan continued stating that swifts were an iconic bird, but with the decline in insects, modern farming methods and the loss of old farm buildings and housing development, swifts were now on the UK’s red list of endangered species. Councillor Brennan advised that by incorporating swift bricks into the vast majority of new commercial and domestic properties, it could prevent and halt the decline of swifts and other native birds, adding that the boxes would be maintenance free and would provide a safe and permanent nesting site.
Councillor Soloman seconded the motion and reserved the right to speak.
Councillor Gowland endorsed the motion and suggested that residents should be informed as to why the Council had adopted a no mow policy in some areas of the Borough to encourage insects and wildlife.
Councillor Way expressed her horror of the mindless destruction of the swift nests described by Councillor Brennan and in supporting the motion explained that the Council needed to work with developers to provide areas of scrubland to encourage wildlife and that this motion provided a significant step forward. Councillor Way also questioned what measures the Council could put in place to ensure developers were committed to providing swift boxes.
Councillor Billin endorsed the motion and asked whether Policy 38 of Local Plan Part 2 could be applied to any planning applications already submitted but not yet approved.
Councillor Bird endorsed the motion adding how important and cost effective the policy would be.
In response to Councillor Billin, The Leader advised that Policy 38 of Local Plan Part 2 was relevant to planning applications already submitted.
Councillor Soloman endorsed the motion and referred to the importance of providing safe and appropriate nesting sites for swifts coming to the UK to breed. Councillor Soloman added that this was a positive motion and thanked all Councillors for their positive comments and support.
Councillor Brennan thanked Councillors and reminded everyone of the importance of the motion and reiterated that it would require some element of monitoring, including a design guide for the boxes and their location. Councillor Brennan added that if the Council was to come back to this in three summers time, she was hopeful that there would be noticeable evidence of an increase in swift numbers.
The motion was carried.
b) The following Notice of Motion was proposed by Councillor Calvert and seconded by Councillor Gowland.
“The Council will include an annual quantitative audit of all its activities undertaken related to the reduction of Domestic Violence and Violence against Women and Girls and report it to Community Scrutiny Group.”
Councillor Calvert asked Council to support the motion, which drew attention to the Council’s work on domestic violence and violence against women and girls through an annual quantitative report to the Communities Scrutiny Group. Councillor Calvert went on to say that the Council meeting fell at an opportune time for bringing this motion, as the national 16-day White Ribbon Campaign was nearing its end for this year. Councillor Calvert informed Council that the violence experienced by women and girls took many forms and normalising such behaviours ignored the damage they created. The Labour Group recognised that the Council had undertaken staff training as well as specific activities within strategic housing and community safety; however, Councillor Calvert considered that much of that appeared to be uncoordinated and the Council was lacking an overall strategy, against which actions could be evaluated. A clear strategy and action plan were required to become accredited by White Ribbon UK, something that other councils and public bodies in Nottinghamshire had already achieved. Councillor Calvert concluded by suggesting that there was currently limited evidence to confirm the effectiveness of the work to eradicate domestic violence in the Borough and that by supporting the motion Councillors would be taking a step towards the development of the strategy and action plan required to achieve accreditation with White Ribbon UK.
Councillor Gowland seconded the motion and reserved the right to speak.
Councillor Inglis thanked Councillor Calvert for highlighting an exceptionally important issue and recognised that it was essential to ensure that the Council was actively involved in reducing domestic violence, providing support to victims of domestic violence and playing its part in reporting concerns at an early stage. Councillor Inglis informed Council that he felt there was an opportunity to strengthen the proposed motion to ensure the Council was taking broad and effective action rather than just reporting annually on what it did and proposed an amendment to the motion which read:
“Rushcliffe Borough Council will continue to work proactively with its partners and stakeholders in the common goal of reducing all types of domestic violence and abuse, especially that aimed towards women and girls. This Council will submit a Scrutiny Matrix item, through the relevant portfolio holder, to the Corporate Overview Group to report on the actions Rushcliffe Borough Council undertakes in the reduction of domestic violence and abuse against women and girls.”
The amendment was seconded by Councillor J Wheeler who reserved the right to speak.
The Mayor asked Councillor Calvert if he was prepared to accept the amendment or if it needed to be put to the vote. Councillor Calvert did not accept the proposed amendment.
In support of his amendment, Councillor Inglis informed Council that domestic violence and abuse was not just about physical assault to a victim, and whilst the majority of victims were female, domestic abuse also affected men, children and other family members. It also included a broad spectrum of behaviours with the common themes of power and control and unfortunately, the recorded numbers of domestic violence and abuse were increasing. Councillor Inglis went on to say that the Council was already working with the Safer Notts Board, the Domestic Abuse Partnership and the South Notts Community Safety Partnership and confirmed that the Council actively supported the White Ribbon Campaign each year to raise awareness of domestic violence and abuse within the Borough. The proposed amendment moved this important debate into the scrutiny arena, where evidence from a range of sources can be brought together and examined and it would give Councillors a much better opportunity to understand what the Council was already doing, what services others offered, and how best the Council could use its resources to benefit the local community.
Councillor Parekh spoke in support of the amendment outlining a number of initiatives the Council had already supported and actions it had undertaken, which included the use of Safer Streets funding for CCTV cameras, the Council’s Sanctuary Scheme, and support of Clare’s Law and the Ask for Angela scheme in local bars. Councillor Parekh felt that the Council was already very active in this area and that scrutiny would help Councillors to understand more about what was already being done.
Councillor Gowland explained that the Labour Group had already considered submitting a scrutiny matrix but concluded that the more effective action would be an annual quantitative report to scrutiny rather than a one-off discussion.
Councillor Thomas supported the commitment to a scheduled annual audit as outlined in the original motion and asked, if the amendment were to be successful, that the relevant Portfolio Holder would undertake to work with the original proposer of the motion on the drafting of the scrutiny matrix.
Councillor Soloman reported that she and Councillor Barney had been on a J9 training course run by Nicola Brindley MBE, which she described as both heart-breaking and empowering and encouraged other Councillors to become similarly accredited. Those views were echoed by Councillors Way and J Walker who had also undertaken the J9 training.
Councillor Birch welcomed the expansion of the wording to include reference to the victims of domestic violence and abuse in the amendment, which recognised the inclusion of men as victims as well as perpetrators.
Councillor S Mallender reported to Council that she would like to see a combination of the two proposed motions and welcomed the wider definition of domestic abuse in the amendment but preferred the commitment of an annual audit to the scrutiny matrix as proposed in the original motion. She also put forward the statistic that 60% of female prison inmates were also survivors of domestic abuse and wondered if better access to support and services could have avoided their incarceration.
Councillor Gaunt called upon the Council to be a better leader in this field and stated that the J9 training had been excellent; however, it was unfortunate that the opportunity had not been offered through the Borough Council, which could be doing more to lead in this area.
Councillor R Mallender raised concern that the debate was losing focus and wondered if there was the option to take the motion and the amendment away, work cross-party on something that everyone could support, and bring it back to the next meeting of Council. He stressed that this issue was too important to be rushed or turned into a political point scoring exercise.
The Chief Executive asked if he was proposing to adjourn the debate on this item to which Councillor Mallender agreed. The motion to adjourn the debate was seconded by Councillor J Walker.
The Leader supported the proposal to adjourn the debate and committed to a cross-party discussion to draft wording that the whole chamber could sign up to. The Leader asked that the minutes show that all Councillors were in agreement with the sentiment of the motion but were anxious to get the wording right so that the most effective action could be taken.
On being put to the vote, the debate on this motion, and the amendment, was adjourned.