Agenda and minutes

It was proposed by Councillor Seaton, seconded by Councillor Mrs Laws and resolved that Councillor Mrs Mayor be elected as Chairman of the Council for the period to the next Annual Meeting and that she be paid an allowance of £3,900 plus travelling expenses.

The Chairman received the Chain of Office and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Councillor Mrs Mayor thanked Members for electing her for another year.

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs Laws, seconded by Councillor Tierney and resolved that Councillor Mrs Davis be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Council for the period to the next Annual Meeting and that she be paid an allowance of £1,000 plus travelling expenses.

The Vice-Chairman made her Declaration of Acceptance of Office and addressed the Council. Councillor Mrs Davis thanked Members for nominating her and assured Members she would represent the Council to the best of her ability.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Extraordinary Council Meeting on 22 February 2018 and Council Meeting on 22 February 2018.

The minutes of the meetings of 22 February 2018 were confirmed and signed, subject to the following comments:

·         Councillor Mrs Bucknor confirmed she had attended the 1:00 PM meeting on 22 February 2018; however her name had been excluded from the minutes.

·         Councillor Sutton queried minute C56/17 of the previous minutes. Councillor Booth clarified that Councillor Sutton had made the statement as per the previous minutes.

To determine that

1.    the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2019 be held on Thursday 23 May;

2.    the ordinary meetings of the Council in 2018/19 be held as follows:

Thursday 19 July 2018;

Thursday 13 September 2018;

Thursday 15 November 2018;

Thursday 13 December 2018;

Thursday 21 February 2019.

The suggested meeting dates for the Annual Meeting of the Council and for the ordinary meetings of the Council were proposed as follows;

1.    The Annual Meeting of the Council in 2019 be held on Thursday 23 May 2019.

2.    The ordinary meetings of the Council be held on;

Thursday 19 July 2018

Thursday 13 September 2018

Thursday 15 November 2018

Thursday 13 December 2019

Thursday 21 February 2019.

The suggested dates for the Annual Meeting of the Council and for the ordinary meetings of the Council were proposed by Councillor Mrs Mayor, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and AGREED by Members.

Councillor Mrs Mayor formally acknowledged and thanked the previous Vice-Chairman, Councillor Hodgson, for his support to her as Vice-Chairman for the past 12 months.

Councillor Mrs Mayor informed Members that she will be holding an Armed Forces Day presentation to recognise the significant contribution of both past and present Service Men and Women and would be presenting the Armed Forces Badge to 44 veterans.  She confirmed that the Event will be held on Friday 29 June 2018 at St Mary’s Church, Whittlesey and informed Members they would receive official invitations shortly.

Councillor Mrs Mayor informed Members that she will be hosting visitors from Stadt Nettetal as part of the Council’s twinning partnership.  The visit will take place between 5th and 9th July, with the Fenland Twinning Association Dinner Dance taking place on Saturday 7th July at Childers Sports and Social Club. She confirmed that Members would receive their official invitations in due course.

Councillor Mrs Mayor stated that we had not received any questions submitted under Procedure Rule 8.6 and asked if there were any questions under Procedure Rule 8.4 from Councillor Booth and Councillor Mrs Bucknor.

Councillor Mrs Bucknor asked the Leader for an update on the Wisbech Vehicle Exchange site.  She informed Members that she had sent numerous emails asking for an update but is yet to receive a response and whilst she is aware of the challenges the Council face in getting information from The Crown Estate, she needs to provide an update to members of the public that have raised concerns.  Following a fire in December 2017, the Council fenced the site off due to the dangers it posed however she has received no further information since.  Councillor Mrs Bucknor said that Councillor Oliver had informed her in February that the Council were discussing the site with The Crown Estate and following this, a meeting was due to take place with officers to discuss the site on the 23rd April 2018.  She is yet to hear the results of this meeting and asked the Leader what the outcome was.  Councillor Seaton said that whilst it is an extremely frustrating situation, the Council have approached The Crown Estate who have not been forthcoming in releasing information and there is no further update.  He added that the Council are only bound to rectify any issues on the site if there is a major safety issue.  He explained that the issue is that The Crown Estate will not inform the Council if there are any charges on the site which makes a compulsory purchase not a viable option for the Council.  He added that The Crown Estate will not take any action themselves as this would make them liable for future responsibility of the management of the site.  He reiterated that he and officers are frustrated with the situation and whilst a meeting has recently taken place, no further information had been received from The Crown Estate.  Whilst he realises this does not help Councillor Mrs Bucknor update members of the public, there is nothing more than can be done.  Councillor Mrs Bucknor asked the outcome of the meeting on 23rd April.  Councillor Seaton confirmed he would provide Councillor Mrs Bucknor with a written statement regarding the matter.

Councillor Booth stated the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has announced to undertake a review of Local Government within the County and asked the Leader to confirm how Fenland District Council will be involved in this review and what steps will be taken to assist in this process.  Councillor Seaton thanked Councillor Booth for his question and made the following statement; ’In relation to the Mayor’s commitment to Public Services Reform and as part of this the opportunity to review how Local Government services might be more cost-effectively delivered in the future, it is accurate to say that the work of the Mayor and CPCA is still at a relatively early  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6/18

Councillor Mrs Mayor stated that to allow full discussion on this item, she is proposing to suspend Standing Orders to enable members to make comments as well as ask questions.  This was agreed.

Councillor Mrs French asked for an update on the Council’s Mooring Policy.  Councillor Murphy explained that amendments had been made to the policy in relation to the overstay period and charges associated with this.  Councillor Owen asked if the Council had powers to remove boats outside of Council moorings. Councillor Murphy confirmed that this is the responsibility of Middle Level.

Councillor Mrs French asked if the Council had any authority or policies in place to tackle begging and busking in Fenland. Councillor Murphy said he would provide Councillor Mrs French with a response after the meeting.

Councillor Tierney updated Members on the progress of Wisbech Castle and the work being carried out by local Councillors and Volunteers.  He extended an invitation to Councillor Buckton to visit the castle and explore working with Fenland District Council to promote tourism in the area.  Councillor Buckton accepted the invitation and said he would be delighted to visit.

Councillor Miss Hoy endorsed the question asked by Councillor Mrs Bucknor in relation to the Wisbech Vehicle Exchange and explained that a local Councillor had also provided incorrect information in relation to this issue which had been extremely unhelpful to local residents.  Councillor Seaton agreed that false information to residents should be addressed and is unhelpful.

Councillor Booth asked Councillor Oliver for an update on the issue of street drinking in Wisbech and asked what actions had been taken to tackle this since the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was introduced to combat this problem.  Councillor Oliver made the following statement; ’The PSPO to support reducing the impact of alcohol misuse and harm in specific areas within the district came into effect on 20th October 2017.  The PSPO covers Wisbech locations that have been suffering from long term alcohol misuse.  This includes St Peter’s Gardens, Tillery Field and The Crescent Gardens, as well as a wider covering area covering the town centre.  The PSPO makes it an offence within the three specified locations to have an open container of alcohol.  In the wider area, which is based in the main on the previous Wisbech Designated Public Places Order area, officers can require a person to cease drinking alcohol and surrender that alcohol.  The Council has adopted an approach whereby this requirement will only be made when the alcohol consumption is, has been or is likely to, contribute towards anti-social behaviour.  In line with Council policy, a period of education was adopted until Sunday 3rd December 2017.  Although it was a period of education and Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) were not being issued it was felt appropriate to require any alcohol being consumed in breach of the Order to be surrendered. Officers engaging with street drinkers had access to multi-lingual leaflets explaining the order restrictions and powers available to deal with any breaches.  They  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7/18

Members considered the Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) - Policy Update report presented by Councillor Clark.  He informed Members that the Corporate Governance Committee will continue to have oversight of the use of RIPA and any further updates to the Policy will be reported to Council.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows;

·          Councillor Mrs Bucknor asked for clarification regarding the cost of applying to the Magistrates Court for the use of undercover surveillance and asked if this was necessary.  Councillor Clark confirmed that the policy is used infrequently so the cost is not something to raise concern.  Councillor Booth clarified that the law has recently been updated and one of the updates is that all applications to use RIPA must be approved by the Magistrates Court.

·          Councillor Owen asked how many times RIPA had been used by the Council.  Councillor Clark confirmed it had been used twice since January 2017 to May 2018 and both of these occasions were to monitor fly-tipping offences.

Proposed by Councillor Owen, seconded by Councillor Booth and AGREED that Council approve the recommendation of Corporate Governance Committee that the Council’s amended RIPA policy attached to the report in the Agenda Pack is approved.

Members considered the Flood Risk Sequential Test Informal Guidance report presented by Councillor Miscandlon.  Councillor Miscandlon made the following statement; ’Government Planning Policy requires that development is directed to those locations where the risk of flooding is least.  This is facilitated using what is known as the sequential test.  Simply put, where proposals come forward in an area of flood risk, a search has to be undertaken to see if the development can be located elsewhere where the flooding is less.  The adopted Fenland Local Plan and the more recently adopted Water Supplementary Planning Guidance reiterate and refine the national approach with the regard to the sequential test.  Through the Developer and Agent Forum that the planning service runs, feedback was received that there was the need to simplify the sequential test process in terms of such matters as the extent of the area of search for alternative sites and the need to account for the fact that a significant part of the built up area of Wisbech is at flood risk but capable of accommodating new development. Working with the local developers and agents, as well as the Lead Local Flood Authority (County Council), Environment Agency and IDB’s informal guidance has been produced to address many of the matters raised.  It is proposed that the guidance will be a living document which will be reviewed and updated following a period of 'road testing'.  It is for this reason that the guidance is being given its 'informal' status.’

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows;

·          Councillor Mrs Bucknor raised concern with point 5.7 of the report regarding mapping and asked if there are any plans to improve the current dataset.  Councillor Miscandlon stated that updating the environmental maps is an on-going process that happens  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8/18

To define the committees and panels to be constituted for the municipal year and to allocate the seats and positions of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to Political groups in accordance with political proportionality rules.

Members considered the Membership of Committees, Panels and Outside Bodies report presented by Councillor Seaton.

Members asked questions, made comments and received response as follows;

·         Councillor Cornwell highlighted that the Conservative group member figure in 5.4 of the report is incorrect as a Member has recently resigned.  He confirmed that this should be 33 members and not 34.

Proposed by Councillor Mrs Laws, seconded by Councillor Miscandlon and AGREED to adopt the schedule of appointments and political allocations set out in the appendices of the report in the Agenda Pack.

Combined Authority Appointments report.

Members considered the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority - Membership and Other Appointments report presented by Councillor Seaton.  He informed Members that there was an update to the report and confirmed that Councillor Oliver is now the substitute member on the Combined Authority Board.  He thanked Councillor Cornwell for previously holding this position.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows;

·         Councillor Booth highlighted that the report states that there are 3 Independent members and this could be misconstrued that they are all part of the same group.  Councillor Mrs Mayor confirmed that the figure is noted in this way as the 3 Independent members are not part of a political party registered with the Electoral Commission.

Proposed by Councillor Tanfield, seconded by Councillor Tierney and AGREED to adopt the schedule of appointments and political allocations set out in the appendices of the report in the Agenda Pack.

The purpose of this report is to consider the overall financial and operational performance of the Council’s treasury management activity for 2017/18.

Members considered the Treasury Management Annual Report presented by Councillor Mrs Hay.  She thanked Brendan Arnold, Mark Saunders and the Finance team for their hard work.

Proposed by Councillor Seaton, seconded by Councillor Skoulding and AGREED that members note the report.

For Council to approve the final recommendations in relation to the Community Governance Review for the future parish warding arrangements of Whittlesey.

Members considered the Community Governance Review - Final Recommendations report presented by Councillor Sutton.  He thanked Anna Goodall and her team for their work on the report.

Proposed by Councillor Sutton, seconded by Councillor Booth and AGREED that the Council approve the final Community Governance Review recommendations;

·          Amalgamate the parish wards of Bassenhally, Elm and Delph into one parish ward entitled Bassenhally parish ward represented by 4 Town Councillors.

·          Amalgamate St Andrews parish ward with St Mary’s North parish ward and rename the resulting parish ward St Andrews and St Marys North parish ward represented by 2 Town Councillors.

·          Change the level of local representative in Stonald parish ward to 2 Town Councillors to facilitate greater levels of electoral equality across the wider area.

To inform members that public consultation on the Whittlesey Conservation Area Appraisal and Whittlesey Conservation Area Management Plan has been completed and seek approval from Council that these documents be adopted.

Members considered the Whittlesey Conservation Area Appraisal & Whittlesey Conservation Area Management Plan report presented by Councilor Mrs Laws.  She thanked Katie McAndrew (Conservation Officer) and Whittlesey Town Council for their work on the report.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows;

·          Councillor Sutton said that as the previous Portfolio Holder for this project, he had worked hard to move it forward and was pleased with the outcome.  He reiterated the comments made by Councillor Mrs Laws and praised Katie McAndrew for her hard work.

·          Councillor Booth asked if there were plans to carry out further Conservation Appraisals as certain areas, such as Parson Drove, need updating.  Councillor Mrs Laws confirmed that whilst no schedule is in place, she would come back to Councillor Booth regarding this. Councillor Butcher clarified that Whittlesey Town Council had provided funds to carry the appraisal out.  Councillor Booth thanked Councillor Mrs Laws and Councillor Butcher for their clarification and asked what the response of the public consultation was.  Councillor Mrs Laws agreed to send the results of this to Councillor Booth after the meeting.

·          Councillor Mrs Bucknor asked if there was a schedule in place to monitor the felling of trees with Tree Preservation Orders attached to them.  Councillor Mrs Laws agreed to provide a written response to Councillor Mrs Bucknor after the meeting.

Proposed by Councillor Miscandlon, seconded by Councillor Sutton and AGREED to approve the Whittlesey Conservation Area Appraisal and Whittlesey Conservation Area Management Plan for adoption.

This report provides an update to Council on Economic Development activity in Fenland and requests endorsement to enter into a shared Economic Development service arrangement with the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (BCKLWN).

Councillor Mrs Mayor proposed that this item be deferred as Members require further information on the proposal.

Members AGREED to defer this item until the necessary information has been gathered and Members briefed accordingly.

Constitutional Update

Members considered the Constitutional Amendments report presented by Councillor Seaton.

Proposed by Councillor Mrs Hay, seconded by Councillor Cornwell and AGREED to approve the following amendments;

·         Page F.13 - Part 3, Responsibility for Functions - Fenland District Council Cabinet and Portfolios

In the first and second column of the table, the portfolio responsibilities for the Leader to be amended to include, ’Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’

·         Page F.41 - Part 3, Responsibility for Functions - Table 5 - Functions Delegated to All Portfolio Holders; Immediately after ’All Portfolio Holders’ and prior to ’Finance Portfolio Holder’, a new paragraph to be inserted to read:

The Leader

1.    Delegated authority to take executive decisions on behalf of the Council in relation to matters concerning the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority where those decisions are considered to be urgent by the Council’s Chief Executive and are therefore unable to be considered by Cabinet and/or Council.

·         Page F.16 - Part 3 , Responsibility for Functions - Table 4 - Functions Delegated to Officers

The current wording at paragraph 7 to be amended to read: ’7. In cases of urgency to have a general power, after consultation with the member holding the appropriate portfolio in Cabinet, or in the Chairman of the relevant committee as the case may be, to deal with any matter not delegated to any other officer by statute or other legislation on which the Chief Executive considers to require a decision before the next meeting of the appropriate body within the Council.