Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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WELCOME The Chair welcomed
everyone to the meeting and conveyed a special welcome to Charlotte Owen from
the Wales Audit Office who was in attendance to observe proceedings as part of
fieldwork for the national study on Scrutiny ‘Fit for the Future’. |
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Councillors Meirick Davies and Merfyn Parry |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: No declaration of interest had been raised. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: No urgent matters had been raised. |
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To receive the minutes of the Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 30 November 2017 (copy enclosed). Minutes: The minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 30 November
2017 were submitted. Matters Arising –
Page 9, Item No. 5 Tourist Direction Signs for the Vale of Clwyd – A detailed
breakdown of costs associated with the Tourism Signs project as requested by
members at the last meeting had been included within the Committee’s
information brief (previously circulated).
The next meeting of the Working Group established to progress delivery
of the project had been scheduled for 19 January 2018. RESOLVED that the minutes of
the meeting held on 30 November 2017 be received and approved as a correct
record. |
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To consider a report by the Countryside and Heritage Services Manager (copy enclosed) which seeks the Committee’s views on a new approach and procedure for managing activities relating to trees across the county 10.05am – 10.35am Additional documents: Minutes: The Lead Member for Housing, Regulation and
Environment and the Head of Highways and Environmental Services introduced the
Countryside and Heritage Manager’s report (previously circulated) and informed
members that their views were sought on a draft procedure for managing all
activities relating to trees across the county.
They explained that the decision to draw up a procedure had stemmed from
a recent service challenge exercise which had highlighted the need for a
written procedure and guidance to assist officers across the authority to
answer tree management queries. As a
number of Council services had trees located in and around their premises, tree
management was an authority-wide responsibility. An easily accessible and user friendly
procedure was therefore needed to help officers deal with enquiries relating to
their management. The existence of such
a procedure would also assist the Council to fulfil its legal obligations as a
landowner, its regulatory duties under Planning Acts, and to support the
delivery of a number of elements within the Environment Priority of the new
Corporate Plan, whilst at the same time supporting its biodiversity
ambitions. The draft procedure’s
presentation to the Committee for members’ comments formed part of the
consultation process on its contents.
Once approved it would be published on the Council’s website and
intranet, and a reader friendly Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document
would be produced for ease of reference purposes. Prior to inviting questions from Committee
members the Chair welcomed Councillor Hugh Irving to the meeting and invited
him to address the Committee, as Councillor Irving had formally requested that
Scrutiny examine the need for a county-wide policy or procedure to deal with
trees. In his address Councillor Irving
welcomed the procedure, citing examples of problems caused by overgrown trees
etc. from his experience as a councillor.
He endorsed the suggestion of having an easy-read summary version of the
procedure which would be useful to officers, councillors and residents alike. Responding to members’ questions the Corporate
Director: Economy and Community Ambition, Head of Highways and Environmental
Services and the Countryside and Heritage Services Manager – ·
confirmed that the
fundamental principle for having a written procedure for dealing with trees was
to protect trees across the county wherever possible, by ensuring that felling
a tree would be a last resort i.e. if it was causing a hazard or posing a
danger. This aspect was covered in
Section 15 of the draft procedure ·
advised
that trees deemed to be ‘obstructing natural light’ to a property would not be
classed as a hazard and therefore would not be felled or pruned on that basis ·
explained the
process for applying a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and advised that TPOs were
not time limited. If it was deemed
necessary to fell a tree protected by a TPO an application would have to be
made for a revocation, or a variation, of the order. If the Council permitted the
revocation/variation it could do so on the grounds that a replacement tree was
planted and that the replacement tree also be subject to a TPO. The majority of trees subject to TPOs were
located on private land, not on Council owned land ·
confirmed
that the Council’s new Corporate Plan contained a strategy for addressing the
lack of trees in certain areas of the county ·
advised
that the Planning and Public Protection Department employed a TPO officer who
dealt with TPO related enquiries, whilst both the Highways and Property
Services undertook risk assessments in relation to trees; · advised that there was a ‘self-service’ area on the Council’s Planning Service portal which residents, councillors and staff could use to check if ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 138 KB To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy enclosed) seeking a review of the committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues. 10.35am – 11am Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Scrutiny Coordinator submitted a report (previously circulated) seeking
members’ review of the Committee’s work programme and
provided an update on relevant issues. Discussion
focused on the following – ·
the
three items on the work programme for the Committee’s
next meeting were re-affirmed and it was agreed to invite the relevant Lead
Cabinet Members to that meeting; it was also agreed that the meeting be
webcast; ·
members
noted that the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group would be meeting that
afternoon to consider a number of potential items for scrutiny which may impact
on the Committee’s future work programme ·
reference
was made to the Committee’s information brief which included an update on
actions from the last meeting together with further information as requested; a
separate information report had also been circulated detailing the consultation
process undertaken in relation to the Ruthin Primary Education Review as
requested by the Committee at its meeting on 19 October 2017 ·
members were encouraged to attend a training session
held at 9.30 a.m. on Monday 29 January 2018 in the Council Chamber, County
Hall, Ruthin on scrutinising education related
matters which would be facilitated jointly by the Council’s Education Staff and
GwE. RESOLVED that, subject to the above, the forward work programme as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be
approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any
updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups 11am – 11.05am Minutes: Committee representatives
reported upon their attendance at meetings as follows – Councillor Rachel Flynn
reported upon the Community Services Service Challenge when a range of issues
had been discussed including support respite for carers;
connecting communities and how to further promote links; dealing with
homelessness and funding issues. All
present had been satisfied that issues were being well managed within the
service. Formal notes of the meeting
would be circulated to members in the usual manner in the Committee’s
information brief. As the Chair had been
unable to attend the Strategic Investment Group (SIG) meeting he asked
Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill to provide some feedback. Details of SIGs recommendations for capital
allocations for particular projects had been previously circulated to members
and would be submitted to Cabinet prior to full Council for formal
approval. Councillor Thompson-Hill
referred to the work of SIG in reviewing bids for allocations highlighting that
demand far exceeded the funding available with many projects being scaled back
following risk assessment. Councillor Graham Timms had
attended the Schools Standards Monitoring Group and noted that the three
scrutiny representatives were all former teachers and he considered that a more
diverse mix of representatives may be appropriate. He also asked whether arrangements could be
made to appoint substitutes in the event that representatives were unable to
attend. The Scrutiny Coordinator
confirmed that one substitute representative had already been appointed. It was noted that Performance Scrutiny
Committee would be considering general performance issues across schools at
future meetings following which school representatives may be invited to future
meetings to discuss individual schools performance. RESOLVED that the verbal reports be received and noted. At this juncture (11.25 a.m.) the meeting
adjourned for a refreshment break. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act
1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following item
of business on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of
exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the
Act. |
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CORPORATE PLAN FOR REDUNDANT SCHOOL SITES To consider a confidential report by the Programme Manager - Business Change (Facilities, Housing and Assets) (copy enclosed) which seeks the Committee’s views on how the Council proposes to manage or dispose of redundant school sites 11.20am – 12pm Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead
Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets introduced the Facilities,
Assets and Housing Programme Manager’s (Business
Change) confidential report (previously circulated) which outlined how the
Council proposed to manage and dispose of redundant school sites going
forward. The Committee had requested the
information following a discussion, at an earlier meeting, on the
implementation of the recommendations which had arisen from the review of
primary education in the Ruthin area. During his
introduction the Lead Member advised the Committee that the Council’s aim when
dealing with redundant schools sites was to realise
maximum benefits from them for the Authority and the community, whilst at the
same time ensuring that they did not become eyesore sites which incurred
excessive maintenance liabilities and therefore be a drain on valuable
financial resources. He also highlighted
the complexities which surrounded the ownership of some school buildings and
sites, including restrictive clauses and covenants, trusteeships and land
ownership issues etc. Attached to the
report was a plan for redundant school sites which included information on each
currently redundant site, or sites which were anticipated to become redundant
within the next two years, details of their ownership and the Council’s current
proposals for those sites. Also attached
was a document outlining the approach taken by the Council once a former school
was designated surplus to requirements. Members
were advised by the Lead Member that as a result of past experiences the
Council now set a time limit for community use interest to be registered and
for an evidenced-based business plan to be approved for the site’s future
use. The reason for this was that
whilst the building was empty and within the Council’s ownership the Authority
was liable for the building and site’s maintenance including costs for making
the site secure. Referring to redundant
sites listed in the report that were either owned by a Trust or their ownership
were still under investigation the Lead Member advised that once sufficient
time had elapsed, and if the trustees or their beneficiaries were still to be
traced, the site(s) would be sold and the receipts held in trust until trustee
issues were resolved. Responding
to members’ questions the Lead Member and officers – ·
advised
that in future business cases submitted as bids for new school buildings
presented to the Strategic Investment Group (SIG) and Cabinet would have to
include details of what the Education Service proposed to do with any redundant
assets or sites resulting from the proposal ·
confirmed that the County Council’s Charter with town
and community councils required the Council to seek expressions of interest
from town and community councils in any county-owned assets which were deemed
to be surplus to requirements. The
County Council could offer to transfer a surplus asset to a town or community
council who had a robust agreed business plan for its future use. Officers from the Business Improvement and Modernisation Service (BIMS) would be available to town and
community councils or constituted community groups to help them explore
potential options and draw up the required business plan. No asset would be transferred unless sufficient
funding had been secured by the constituted body to operate the facility for
the foreseeable future. However, if a
community facility already operated within that community the Council was
unlikely to agree to transfer an asset to that community for a similar purpose · advised that once an asset was transferred to another council or constituted body the Council would not be liable for any costs associated with the asset in future. If, at any point in the future, the organisation who had acquired the building/site ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |