Minutes:
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 were able to signpost those engaged with to support services available through the Wisbech Alcohol Partnership. In the first five weeks of the order coming into force, officers confiscated and disposed of alcohol on 14 occasions in the three areas of St Peter’s Church Garden, estimated to be around 50%. From 4th December 2017, the formal education period ended and if considered appropriate, FPNs could be issued for any breaches of the order. During the period from December 2017-April 2018 there have been 81 FPNs issued to people found with open containers in three hotspot areas of St Peter’s Gardens (45 issued), Tillery Field (11 issued) and The Crescent Gardens (25 issued). The CCTV team continue to contribute towards the project. During the period February 2018 to April 2018 they have reported 30 occurrences of street drinking of which 7 lead to positive action being taken. Of course it is very important to note that enforcement like this is not done in isolation. Through the Wisbech Alcohol Partnership a co-ordinated one team, multi-agency approach is taken to issues around alcohol and substance misuse which includes offering support packages as well as enforcement’. Councillor Booth said that based on the figures provided, action is obviously being taken however he has still heard of issues occurring in these areas. Whilst he understands that the Police cannot attend every incident he would have hoped to have seen more than 7 out of 30 incidents ending in positive action. Councillor Oliver explained that unfortunately when these incidents are observed on CCTV many of the offenders have left the area by the time the Police or enforcement officers arrive.
Councillor Booth asked Councillor Murphy how many people had subscribed the Garden Waste Service this year compared to last year. Councillor Murphy confirmed that 19,275 had subscribed to the service this year which is an increase of approximately 1,200 subscriptions compared to this time last year. Councillor Booth asked Councillor Murphy how many people had benefited from the 10% discount by registering for the Garden Waste Service by the end of March. Councillor Murphy confirmed that last this year 13,430 people had taken advantage of 10% discount compared to 6,600 last year. Councillor Booth asked Councillor Murphy the cost of the service last year and the expected cost for the next municipal year. Councillor Murphy explained that the cost last year was £729,028 and the budget forecast for this year is £742,480. Councillor Booth asked Councillor Murphy if he could confirm the set-up costs for the Garden Waste Service in 2017/18. Councillor Murphy confirmed that the initial set up cost was £68,000 which was taken out of the Management Change Fund and is being repaid.
Councillor Booth asked Councillor Mrs Laws to confirm whether Fenland District Council will change its approach to large scale developments and viability assessments following the recent High Court Case ’Parkhurst Road Limited V Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government & London Borough of Islington’, given the implication this judgement has on how many affordable housing units can potentially be provided across the District. Councillor Mrs Laws thanked Councillor Booth for the question and made the following statement; ’When undertaking viability assessment reviews, officers are aware of typical land values in the different parts of the local authority area. When higher than usual values are submitted by applicants, these are investigated to understand the reasons why so that challenge can be made higher values are not justified. This ensures that applicants are not overpaying for land in order to avoid providing affordable housing, as was the situation in the legal challenge tested in the High Court recently. It should be noted that land values are traditionally low in the Fenland area and so any artificially high prices would be noticeable. Competition for housing sites is not as strong as it is in development hot spots such as the South East and so there is much less of an incentive to overpay for sites, unlike the High Court Case situation. As well as officers acting for the Council looking at viability reports, officers from the County Council also review them (where the development potentially needs to provide an education contribution) and so there is a good level of diligence in place. The judgement therefore does not require any changes to the way that the Council look at viability assessments. Councillor Booth asked what weight does the Council’s Planning department put on the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) guidance on viability assessments, given the comments made by the Judge in this case. Councillor Mrs Laws clarified that the Council uses the financial model used by the Homes England which is promoted by the Government rather than that produced by the RICS. Councillor Booth thanked Councillor Mrs Laws for her response and stated that viability assessments are key as a lot of people are struggling to get on to the property ladder and the Council needs a robust process in place to challenge these assessments.
Councillor Mrs Bucknor raised concerns over the lack of public toilets in Wisbech as over the Bank Holiday weekend, the toilets near St Peter’s Church had been vandalised. She explained that these have now been repaired however in the interim she had requested officers and the Portfolio Holder meet with the manager of the Horsefair Shopping Centre to discuss the possibility of them re-opening the public toilets there and asked if a meeting had been arranged. Councillor Oliver confirmed that a meeting had taken place between officers and the manager of the Horsefair Shopping Centre however he has not received a report on how this went. He said he knows the issues surrounding the public toilets and understands solutions are being considered and agreed to follow this up with officers. Councillor Mrs Bucknor said this needs to be dealt with urgently as local festivals and events are scheduled to take place in the coming months and the issue needs to be resolved prior to this. Councillor Oliver confirmed that the manager of the Horsefair Shopping Centre has promised to open their public toilets on these dates.