HAMBLETON DISTRICT COUNCIL

Report To: Scrutiny Committee 19 July 2018

From: Director of Finance (S151 Officer)

Subject: ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/18 – HAMBLETON HIGHLIGHTS All Wards

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide a review of Council’s performance and achievements during the 2017/18 year.

1.2 Attached at Annex A is the Annual Review 2017/18 entitled Hambleton Highlights which captures the successful progress that has been made within the key areas of the Council Plan - Community Leadership, Delivery and Implementation and Financial Sustainability and shows the authority continues to strive to deliver its aims for the community.

1.3 The Annual Review provides information across the four priority areas throughout the year, an indication for the year ahead and finishes with a snapshot of performance statistics. The four priority areas are:

. Driving Economic Vitality . Enhancing Health and Wellbeing . Caring for the Environment . Providing a Special Place to Live

2.0 LINK TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES:

2.1 This report demonstrates the monitoring of performance against the Council Plan key priorities for the year 2017/18 and provides an overview of Hambleton District Council performance to deliver local outcomes.

3.0 RECOMMENDATION:

3.1 It is recommended that Scrutiny note the Annual Review report for 2017/18 performance to deliver services to the community.

LOUISE BRANFORD-WHITE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE (S151 OFFICER)

Background papers: Hambleton District Council (HDC) Plan 2015-19 Rural Services Network HDC press / media releases / website HDC Economic Strategy 2014-24 HDC Business Roundup HDC Quarterly Scrutiny Performance Reports Equality & Human Rights Commission HDC Council Talk 2017/18 HDC Insight 2017/18 Gov.uk HDC Parish Updates 2017/18 Local Government Association (LGA)

Author ref: PAC Contact: Louise Branford-White – Director of Finance (s151 officer) Direct Line No: (01609) 767024 Pam Channer – Performance & Improvement Officer Direct Line No: (01609) 767034 Hambleton Highlights

Annual Review 2017 - 18 i Contents Welcome to Hambleton...... 1

The Hambleton Year in Review 2017/18...... 2

Community Leadership ...... 3 Driving Economic Vitality...... 3 Supporting business...... 3 Vibrant Market Towns...... 6

Enhancing Health and Wellbeing...... 9 Grants and Funding ...... 9 Community Health...... 10

Caring for the Environment ...... 15 Waste Services...... 15 Environmental Health...... 16

Providing a Special Place to Live ...... 19 Housing...... 19 Safer Hambleton...... 21 Council Tax and Business Rates...... 24 ICT ...... 24 Syrian Refugees...... 24 Armed Forces award for council ...... 25

Our Staff ...... 26 Working for the community...... 26 Our staff...... 26 Gender Pay Gap...... 27 Trade Union Facility Time (TUFT) ...... 27 Fundraising...... 27 Customer Services ...... 28

ii Delivery and Implementation ...... 29 Prison ...... 29 North Northallerton...... 31 Dalton Bridge BID...... 31 Local Plan...... 32 Loan to Broadacres Housing Association ...... 32 Sowerby Junction...... 33 Sowerby Sports Village...... 33

Financial Sustainability ...... 34 Financial viability ...... 34 ICT and WaSS...... 35 Digital Transformation ...... 37

Future Plans...... 38 Tour de 2018...... 38 Treadmills...... 39 Homelessness Reduction Bill...... 39 Commercialisation...... 39 ICT Future Plans ...... 40 Major reform of planning rules unveiled...... 40 Noise app ...... 40 Better Business for All...... 41 Beyond Brexit ...... 41 Corporate Peer Challenge ...... 42

Performance in Numbers...... 43

iii Welcome to Hambleton Hambleton District Council’s vision is ‘A Place to Grow’, it is the message everyone entering the district reads on our new boundary signs. This vision is exemplified in our actions, whether it be creating opportunities for business, supporting tourism, investment in our leisure facilities or enabling housing delivery. We continue to invest in our services to the community despite the budget challenges we have faced over recent years, indeed we have seen a 40% reduction in central government funding since 2010. Despite this we continue to ensure that Hambleton is a place where people wish to live, work and visit - ‘A Place to Grow’.

Councillor Mark Robson Leader of Hambleton District Council

The purpose of Hambleton Highlights is to give you a glimpse of our achievements over the last year. If read in conjunction with the council Plan you will be able to see how we have achieved the priorities we set ourselves, for the benefit of our communities. Some of our more ambitious achievements in 2017/18 have been: Business - We continue to encourage economic development in the district. Indeed, we have been a catalyst for the development of a new bridge at Dalton Industrial Estate which will alleviate access issues due to flooding, protecting jobs and encouraging additional private sector investment. Tourism - We continue to encourage visitors to the district by supporting key events such as the Tour de Yorkshire. We have also made a significant investment in the former Prison Site in Northallerton, which it is hoped will attract a cinema, restaurants and cafés to enhance the visitor experience and bring more people to the district. Leisure - We have invested in excess of £2.5m in our leisure centres, including a state of the art gym in Northallerton that is open 24/7. Housing - We continue to enable housing delivery in the district, this year seeing the start of the North Northallerton scheme as well as the commencement of a new junction on the A168 which will allow the start of Phase III of the Sowerby Gateway scheme. I hope you find this edition of Hambleton Highlights interesting and it gives you the opportunity to see some of the work the council has done on your behalf to deliver services and ensure Hambleton is ‘A Place to Grow’.

Dr Justin Ives Chief Executive Officer

1 The Hambleton Year in Review 2017/18

Community Leadership Delivery and Financial Sustainability Implementation

Hambleton is one of the lease deprived areas where the life expectancy and overall health of both men and women is generally better than the average .

Extract from Public Health England ‘Health Profile 2017’ (published July 2017) Hambleton covers an area of 1,311.17 km² much of which is green space. The district is named after the Hambleton Hills and about 75% lies in the Vales of Mowbray and of consisting largely of low lying arable land which is mostly used for farming. With the Yorkshire Dales to the west and North York Moors to the east, the market towns of Northallerton, , , and are set amongst some of the country’s most picturesque scenery. With good access to main road and rail arteries, thousands of visitors from across the UK and beyond join us every year to experience a lifestyle that those of us lucky enough to live here, sometimes take for granted. A diverse population enjoys a good standard of living with relatively low unemployment. Despite some inevitable challenges associated with rural life such as the variable connectivity, standards of health and wealth generally remain relatively high. The business community also continues to flourish in Hambleton. Many organisations naturally serve the agricultural economy whilst others such as defence force establishments, police and local government provide other essential services and combine to maintain a high level of employment.

2 Community Leadership Working in partnership with private and public sector associates across our four portfolios

As the Council Plan explains, one of the council’s main purposes is to lead, engage and support our residents, businesses and communities across the district, by working together. The council achieves this by leading in responsive and flexible partnerships, making improvements with the best use of increasingly devolved power and finances. Collaborations include networks and organisations as diverse as County Council (NYCC), the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) on strategic infrastructure, the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership tackling community fly tipping, the Community Safety Partnership helping reduce crime and disorder across the district, to sub-regional partnerships such as Local Gov York, York, NY and East Riding Leaders’ Board and many others. Driving Economic Vitality Supporting business The council’s ‘Hambleton Works’ programme continues to develop and expand its range of initiatives supporting local businesses from their initial start-up phase through development and growth. The council also works in partnership and collaboration with a range of organisations that offer many types of support for local business. Funding is a key element of our support to business, some of which we offer directly but an extensive range of other potential sources is available. Although much of this takes the form of loan finance, some grant funding remains accessible.  Funding Potential external sources include the Business Enterprise Fund, Finance Yorkshire, Funding Circle online peer-to-business platform, New Enterprise Allowance, Innovate UK, Enterprise Europe Network, Manufacturing Growth Programme, Skills Support for the Workforce, The Princes Trust and the Federation of Small Businesses. Our experienced team are happy to point you in the right direction.  Grant Funding The council recognises it is often challenging for small businesses to raise the capital required to implement growth projects. Grant funding can provide a solution but it can be difficult for businesses to identify suitable funding and navigate the application process. HDC have an External Funding Officer who works with local businesses to secure suitable funding to deliver their growth aspirations through a wide Jayne Cranston, External Funding range of grant funding across the District. Officer pictured with Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Peter Wilkinson

3 In particular we have achieved considerable success in securing grants from the Tees Valley, Vale of Mowbray and Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER programmes. Projects to have benefitted from LEADER grant input include innovative agricultural projects such as robotic milking equipment for a farm in Great Busby and GPS crop sprayer equipment to a business in Ainderby Steeple. A variety of hospitality businesses have also benefitted in places such as Ingleby Cross and Great Ayton including a new holiday park who were able to install a café and play area and a variety of other cafes and restaurants who have secured grants to install equipment, allowing them to expand and offer new services to their customers. A number of manufacturing businesses from Masons Gin in Aiskew to Stokesley’s Analox and East Cowton’s Walton Wind have also been able to update and expand their production processes as a direct result of accessing grant assistance. Innovative equipment purchased includes quality assurance systems, bottling lines and 3D Printing equipment. Whilst businesses from a wide range of sectors including home improvements, a distillery and a stationery producer were awarded grants to launch new websites allowing them to trade more competitively. Overall, 22 businesses and organisations have been supported during 2017-18 through the input of £997,372 of external grant funding, with business contributions to these projects bringing the overall investment to £2,575,212. Additional match funding of £2,290,958 secured from business investment brought the total investment in local businesses for the year to £4.2m. These grant funded projects also resulted in the creation of 59.5 full time equivalent roles within the district.  Business Network Support Fund The HDC Economic Strategy ‘Hambleton A Place to Grow’ identified themes to assist in supporting sustained growth of the local economy, one being the need to strengthen local business networks. The almost 4,000 businesses in Hambleton operate across a range of sectors with networks that provide opportunities for introductions and mutual collaboration for useful business information. The council established its innovative Business Network Support Fund of £40,000 for two financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 specifically to support the development and effectiveness of these vitally Councillor Wilkinson and Eddie Copley important networks. Farnell are pictured in Easingwold with the ‘Wold Class’ branding being These business networks are essential partners that act as a used on the new website promotions. conduit for council activities, dedicated to supporting their members and working together across the district. The fund offers grants of up to £4,000 per business network for one-off projects to support ongoing running costs. Grants can be used to develop a network’s offer to their business members, improve websites and increase social media links. They will also look at increasing network membership through effective marketing and promotion.

4  Practical Support  Apprentices A scheme that has seen more than 130 young people taken on as apprentices across Hambleton is celebrating its sixth year by joining forces with local schools. Launched in 2012 the scheme and has so far helped 134 apprentices in everything from Apprentice Matthew Cook at work with Alan Petch office and construction jobs to at Winley Hill Farm in Great Ayton - one of the businesses helped by the Hambleton scheme. farming and electricians. The District Council’s apprentice scheme provides grant aid to help small Hambleton based businesses create new opportunities for 16 to 24 year old residents. The grant is provided as a wage subsidy of £2,000 with priority given to businesses that employ less than 20 employees and have been trading for at least three months. The apprenticeship must be for at least one year with the apprentice working for at least 30 hours a week. Also, as part of National Apprentice Week in March 2018, schools promoted apprenticeship opportunities to students leaving schools and colleges from this summer, with career advisors keen to hear from prospective employers.  Workspaces Finding the right workspace in the right location is an essential part of growing any business. As part of our Hambleton Works programme HDC can help with offices in prestigious business centres Evolution in Northallerton and Springboard in Stokesley, as well as food units and commercial properties to rent across the district. If your business is not quite ready for premises we also offer virtual facilities for all the benefits of a permanent base without the cost. Support doesn’t end there. We also run a programme of Breakfast Briefings at Springboard and Lunch and Learn sessions at Evolution. These friendly networking events bring together local business people for practical business advice over a bite to eat. This year’s sessions have covered topics such as:  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) changes  Social media basics for business  Would your business survive a cyber attack?  Your website or mine?  What did marketing ever do for you?

BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS LUNCHLUNCH&LEARNLEARN Networking Presentations

5  Business Awards Now in its fifth year, the 2018 awards recognise the range and diversity of businesses in the district, their achievements and those of the people who work for them. Sponsored by Inspired Pet Nutrition, Federation of Small Businesses, Dales of Thirsk, Proper Tasty and Northallerton Business Improvement District (BID), this respected Hambleton initiative gives the council the opportunity to celebrate Cllr Peter Wilkinson pictured with Bella alongside the business community, his dog and Chris Cole from IPN at Dalton to highlight some of our local businesses and their people. Last year’s winner Inspired Pet Nutrition, a Dalton pet food manufacturer, was recognised for marketing achievements and demonstrating most innovation in environmental performance. Owner Chris Cole found the award a valuable boost to business as well as important recognition from the local business community. Nominations close 20 May 2018 with the awards ceremony to be held in July.  Resettlement support In November 2017 when 3M in Northallerton announced it was closing with the loss of 50 jobs, the Business and Economy, Benefits and Housing teams joined forces with Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service to put on an open day for employees about to lose their jobs. Using business contacts in the local area to promote the skills of the staff and working closely with 20 people, a number have secured jobs in the area and, as a result, helped Hambleton businesses to grow and retain their skills in the local economy.

Vibrant Market Towns What makes a successful and prosperous town was the key topic for discussion at a major conference held during May 2017. In its fifth year, the Hambleton Business Conference event in Easingwold attracted more than 130 people from 80 businesses in the district. Delegates from businesses as well as town and parish councils learnt what it takes to have a successful market town, how to overcome the challenges and how to keep it successful and vibrant. The key note speech delivered by Johnny Hayes MBE of Bishy Road Traders Road Association in York and winner of the Great British High Street 2015 and Michael Weedon, former Director of The British Independent Retailers Association who runs his own business, supporting individual retailers in areas such as e-commerce.

6 Vibrant Market Towns Officer, David McKnight from Hambleton District Council shared with the conference the council’s future strategy for market towns and delegates fed back their ideas on the plans. And all who attended were able to take away top tips about customer service, website optimisation and the From L-R: Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Robson benefits of social media when they joined is pictured with Michael Weedon, Compare, Anna the masterclasses run by Client marketing, Addison, Johnny Hayes and Cllr Peter Wilkinson. Yellow Box Marketing and Catch Design Management. The speakers promoted some very interesting talking points and their experience we have helped provide guidance to businesses across the district and also develop the council’s future plans to support vibrant market towns. The conference is organised by Hambleton District Council and sponsored by Federation of Small Businesses, How’s Business - help and support for businesses in North Yorkshire, College - Northern Skills Group, Colin Hutson Accounting Ltd, North East England Chamber of Commerce and Teesside University.  Market town networks Business networks have been set up in Hambleton’s six market towns in a bid to make them more vibrant. As part of a district council initiative - Hambleton ‘A Place to Grow’ - officers are working with local business leaders to ensure the towns evolve to meet future needs. 2017 saw the networks in Bedale and Easingwold launched and those in Thirsk, Stokesley, Great Ayton and Northallerton go from strength to strength. The monthly Stokesley Farmers’ Market was awarded the accolade of Stokesley Food Week being one of the best in the country and there was a third Stokesley Food Week in October. Over in Great Ayton, the Business Forum focused its efforts on organising events, bringing residents, visitors and businesses together and firmly established its Christmas Fayre with more than 2000 people attending, double the previous year. Visitors expect to be able to connect and free Wi-Fi went live in Stokesley in February 2018, so now all five market towns are connected. The Council provided £3,500 to install network equipment with Stokesley Town Council funding the additional broadband line for the transmitter, working closely with landlords and businesses to get the scheme in place. The businesses are supporting the maintenance costs to keep the Wi-Fi reliable.

7 Having Wi-Fi to complement our attractive market towns coupled with quality independent retailers can only help our town centres’ fortunes. Northallerton Business Network was rebranded with a new website and is working to forge a closer relationship with the Northallerton BID. A new business network was born - #BrandBedale. Its first event was a celebration of all things Yorkshire, on Cllr Robson is pictured sampling one of the Yorkshire Day when the town was the local products - Masons Yorkshire Gin distilled busiest it has been since the 2014 Tour de in Bedale with Mark Kettlewell of Food Weighouse and stall holder Cathy Mason. France. Businesses in Easingwold saw #WoldClass launched, bringing businesses together as a group for the first time to promote the town. With the support of Hambleton District Council, members developed a new visitor website www.woldclass.co.uk Following Thirsk’s publicity as a finalist in the Great British High Street competition and the activities of the Yarnbombers, work is ongoing to re-focus and relaunch Thirsk and District Business Association. Activities being planned include new events to strengthen business cohesion and an increased focus on town centre retail.  ShopAppy .com HDC supported the launch of a unique new shopping scheme that encourages people to shop local. ShopAppy.com brings local shops and products together in one online place to enable customers to spend closer to home. The app promotes independent retailers in Thirsk, Bedale and Northallerton where traders often have to compete with larger chain stores. Users can place orders 24/7 on the ShopAppy website for each supplier to prepare and bag the order ready for collection at either individual shops or a central point.

Shopappy founder, Jackie Mulligan (back left); Upstairs Downstairs shopowner Emily Boynton (back right) and Hambleton District Councillor Bridget Fortune.

8 Enhancing Health and Wellbeing Grants and Funding In 2017-18 the council approved a massive £256,000 in community grants and funding across the district. Core grants totalling £48,700 were awarded to several voluntary organisations, with a further £62,300 going towards ongoing running costs of Citizens Advice Bureau, the Galtres Centre and North Yorkshire Sport. The Small Grants Scheme awarded £20,000 Karen Willey and Olivia Stockdale from East Harsley Cricket Club at Northallerton Leisure to a range of smaller organisations for Centre where they have been practising over such vital help as a mower and sprayer for the winter with the new equipment. volunteer ground staff at Sessay Bowls Club, a climbing frame at East Harlsey Village Hall, two kayaks for the Hambleton Paddlers Canoe Club and practice equipment for East Harsley Cricket Club. The aptly named Making a Difference grant scheme was again able to provide funds to a good range of applicants. Grants totalling £100,000 this year included helping a Leeming church with roof repairs, refurbishments to the Crakehall village hall, perimeter fencing at Alne cricket club, new Cllr Watson is pictured with shop community shop for East Cowton and 25 volunteers Patricia Watson (behind the counter) and Amanda Smith other valuable projects needing a bit of extra (stacking shelves). financial help.  Helping community libraries In another major initiative the council agreed to utilise £25,000 of Make a Difference funding towards the initial running costs of community libraries in Bedale, Easingwold, Great Ayton, Stokesley and Thirsk. Going even further, these libraries are also now set to be relieved of business rates. Recognising that community libraries provide far more for their areas than just traditional library activities, the council also reviewed criteria for awarding discretionary rate relief and agreed that community libraries should qualify; these volunteer led facilities will be eligible for a 20% discretionary rate relief for the next financial year.

9 Community Health  Take That Step success story The new 4½ year ‘Take That Step’ public health contract commenced 1 February 2018 offering free advice to Hambleton residents. ‘Take That Step’ is run by the council and consists of a free 12 week structured weight management programme followed by a 12 week weight Joe Langley, Health and Wellbeing Officer with maintenance programme, with one to one Pauline Neilson, a Take that Step success story support by qualified Health and Wellbeing Professionals. The service is free of charge to anyone who meets the following criteria;  aged 18 years or over  BMI (Body Mass Index) between 25-40  resident or registered with a GP practice in North Yorkshire  working for an organisation based in North Yorkshire The programme includes weekly one hour weight management and lifestyle workshops and open access to gym based exercise, fitness classes, swimming activities and walking and running groups. Each workshop covers different topics including goal setting, creating a healthy habit, portion size, understanding food labelling and the role of physical activity. Residents can access the service by completing the online BMI assessment form and self- referring, or by referral from a GP practitioner.  Leisure Centres A total of 2,355 new Zest Freedom memberships were taken up in the twelve months to March 2018, resulting in a year end membership base of 3,187 - the highest it has ever been. 70 members also qualified for the #Perfect 10 scheme which recognises customers who have remained full Zest Freedom members for a consecutive ten months and attended at least ten days each month.  Northallerton Leisure Centre Northallerton leisure centre users got an early Christmas present when the new gym and toning suite opened in December 2017, along with the improved swimming facilities, a new sauna and member changing areas as part of the £2.5 million redevelopment scheme. Improvements also turned the old gym into two new indoor studios - a group cycling studio and a multi-purpose studio.

Mark Scott is pictured opening the new gym cheered on by LR- James Foley from Alliance Leisure, Chairman of the Council, Cllr David Hugill, Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Robson, Cllr Mrs Bridget 10 Fortune and Andy Pearson from Sport England Refurbishment was completed and the centre officially renamed Northallerton Leisure Centre at the end of January 2018. The new gym is double the previous workout space with a range of new digital cardiovascular and resistance equipment. The digital equipment connects to mywellness software that allows users to track all their activities at the gym or outdoors. The new gym also includes a new functional training zone with a six person rig and an extended strength and conditioning area. The swimming pool also underwent extra work as the poolside was resurfaced, maintenance work was carried out on the waterslide steps, poolside barriers and wave machine, as well as improvements to the showers and refreshment area. Hambleton District Council worked with development partner Alliance Leisure Services Ltd on this large scale redevelopment scheme. The lion’s share of the cost was borne by the council itself, with £213,000 coming from National Lottery funding through Sport England which is specifically targeted at improving the swim change facilities. Since re-opening, Northallerton Leisure Centre has seen an amazing response with sales of over 600 Health and Fitness memberships resulting in a membership base of 1,470 a 34% increase. The introduction of the 24/7 access has also proven extremely popular with an average of 30 members per day regularly using the out of hours gym facilities. The brand new Toning Suite has also seen a very positive response resulting in a current membership base of 105 with members ranging from 19 years old to over 85 years and swimming is also on the up with over 2,200 more swims recorded a 15% increase.  Operator of the Year HDC have been awarded National Leisure Centre Operator of the Year by Quest. The awards recognise great performance by Quest registered facilities in the UK. Quest is the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure. It is a tool for continuous improvement, designed primarily for the management of leisure facilities and leisure development. Quest defines industry Cllr Fortune is pictured with Duty Managers from standards and good practice and L - R: Charlotte Kitching (Stokesley Leisure Centre), encourages ongoing development Adam Wood (Thirsk & Sowerby LC), Holly Thomas and delivery within a customer (Northallerton LC) and Louise Lowcock (Bedale LC) focused management framework. Quest is commissioned by Sport England to assess the quality of leisure centres through a rigorous inspection programme that includes all aspects of leisure centre operations. Bedale, Northallerton and Thirsk Leisure Centres were rated ‘excellent’ after their assessments last year, with the Stokesley centre achieving ‘very good’. It means that the four district run facilities are in the top 10% of leisure centres nationwide.

11 Hambleton was judged against 36 other organisations that run up to ten leisure centres. The Quest assessments identified that the centres excel in:  community outcomes - delivering a service focused on community need and priorities that strives to increase participation; team and skill development;  health and safety management;  sales and retention;  lifeguarding; and  financial management and performance. Both staff and customers are consulted during the assessment process and a mystery visit on centre activities is carried out to measure the consistency of service standards. Hambleton has a continuous improvement programme for the benefit of our customers and Quest is a great way to demonstrate achievements and the value of our skilled and customer-focused workforce. Receiving this award is the icing on the cake.  Massive investment in swimming Swimming in Hambleton’s four leisure centres was also given a massive boost with a £274,525 national lottery grant from Sport England. The district council is one of only 12 authorities to receive funding from the ‘Swim Local’ pilot scheme which aims to promote and increase participation in swimming. Formulated with customer research, the year-long project has been used for targeted work including a team of swim activators, new products and programmes, enhanced swimming technology and improvements to the customer experience at the pools in Northallerton, Thirsk, Bedale and Stokesley and will extend into Easingwold too. Participation rates for swimming have declined over the last few years nationally and the Swim Local Pilots will test solutions to rectify this by improving the customer experience. In the last year there were around 170,000 swims in Hambleton’s pools which it is hoped will increase significantly as a result. The focus is on four key groups - families; women and girls; men over 26 and the older generation.  See your swim Swimmers in Hambleton can also now chart their progress in the pool thanks to a new training aid available at all four leisure centres. Working with Swim England the council has introduced SwimTag in all its pools, a revolutionary wristband tracking system which tells swimmers how many lengths have been swum, how fast and how many calories were burned. Suitable for everyone from novices to the serious swimmer, SwimTag enables swimmers to follow training plans, enter competitions and challenges and access information on how to improve technique. SwimTag has been made possible thanks to a £30,000 grant from Sport England to boost swimming across the district. Swimmers wanting to use the system first register online at www.swimtag.net then when swimming at one of the centres they will be given a SwimTag band logged into their personal account that will chart that session with the results available on line immediately.

12  Community Leisure  Community Awards The largest audience yet attended the Northallerton Forum in March 2018 when over 250 people celebrated Hambleton’s annual Community Awards. Now in its fifth year, the awards recognise exceptional contributions to the district by residents young and old. Hambleton has a wealth of community-minded groups and individuals who consistently work selflessly to make life better for others. The awards acknowledge these volunteers across ten categories including Service to young people, older people and disability, Community group, event and hall of the year, Parish Council of the year, Community Champion, Volunteer and Young Volunteer of the Year.  Sports Awards Local sporting heroes were once again recognised at the Hambleton Sports Awards annual ceremony in November 2017 organised by the council, when eight awards were made honouring sporting commitment. Special guest Paralympic gold medal winning rower Laurence Cllr Fortune is pictured with Laurence Whiteley MBE from Northallerton Whiteley MBE and some of the winners was interviewed by award host BBC Tees presenter Scott Makin.  Mental Health Approximately 1 in 4 Adults in England have been diagnosed with a mental illness, whilst 1 in 10 children in the UK also experience mental health issues. HDC recognises the importance of including mental health welfare within the council’s overall health and wellbeing programme and several such initiatives have been developed this year.  Mental health first aiders in Hambleton Mental illness covers a wide range of conditions and is far more common than people often realise. The council has shown its continued commitment to mental health awareness by training a team of Mental Health First Aiders. Twelve officers across the council including the four leisure centres are now equipped to provide guidance and support for people dealing with a range of mental health issues. The two-day course studied topics such as depression, suicidal crisis, eating disorders and self-harm, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Trained officers are now able to spot the early signs, feel confident helping someone experiencing a mental health issue and guide people towards the right support. The training enables the council to be more proficient in supporting people and helping them overcome mental health issues, working towards reducing the stigma of mental health issues.

13 Glen Hilton (orange top) is pictured with Dave Earl (blue top) and some of the participants.  Up and Running Research shows that running in a friendly social environment can have a significant positive impact on mental health as reflected in an innovative initiative started in Hambleton during Mental Health Awareness Week in May 2017. Thought to be the first scheme of its kind in North Yorkshire, the council working with Tees and Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust and NYCC Public Health and Secondary Care Unit delivered an eight week ‘Up and Running’ programme to people receiving mental health care. ‘Up and Running’ is supported by England Athletics and offers support, advice and guidance on the positive mental health benefits of running in addition to a health programme and nutritional advice. With its emphasis on the social, fun element of running, participants were encouraged to join one of the range of social running groups taking place across Hambleton.  Time to Talk The ‘Up and Running’ programme which began as an eight week trial and is about to enter its second year, now also offers walking and cycling sessions. The new sessions were added to coincide with the national ‘Time to Talk Day’ in February 2018, a campaign aimed at getting people across England talking about mental health. The scheme offers people receiving mental health care support some advice and guidance on the positive benefits of exercise, as well as health and nutritional advice. As part of the day participants visited the new toning suite at Northallerton Leisure Centre and enjoyed a walk and talk around the playing fields.

Cllr Fortune (centre) is pictured with far left David Earl, and far right Glen Hilton

14 Caring for the Environment Waste Services  Recycling Last year we collected approximately 7,681 tonnes of recycling from our kerbside collection scheme which is a slight decrease on the previous year when we collected 7,741 tonnes. Knowing which items are recyclable can be confusing, particularly when it comes to plastics. Sometimes people forget that a lot of bathroom items are recyclable including deodorant sprays, shampoo bottles, shaving Councillor Stephen Watson, portfolio holder for waste with the recycling booklets that were foam cans, toilet roll cardboard and delivered to households across Hambleton perfume bottles. Residents are asked to make sure items are separated for recycling when emptying the bathroom bin and if unsure what can and can’t be accepted - check the council website or call us for advice. We all need to ensure we remember to recycle as much as possible because it remains the best environmental option for the disposal of waste. Our Recycling Officer is offering talks to Parish Councils and Community Groups to discuss recycling and what can be recycled. These talks are aimed at trying to reduce the amount of contamination which is still being found in a lot of kerbside recycling bins. The main problem items are still plastic bags, pizza boxes, nappies and glass in the blue lidded bins. It is hoped that by talking to local groups and by showing people what can’t be recycled the word will spread and we can improve the quantity and quality of our recycling.  Green Waste Over 20,000 residents took advantage of our garden waste collection service during 2017/18, which means 50% of properties in Hambleton now have one of our garden waste licences. The licences cost £35 and residents can purchase more than one if necessary, a bin is supplied with each licence. The quality of the 7,616 tonnes of garden waste collected has been exceptional with no significant reports of contamination. Many residents with smaller gardens have decided to share licences with neighbours which is a great way of making the most of the space in the bin. All the garden waste collected is taken to Yorwaste sites where it is converted into high quality peat free compost using an open window composting method visit yorganicscompost.co.uk for further information. For further information about our garden waste collection service see our website hambleton.gov.uk

15  Litter Littering is on the increase nationally and HDC has begun recording and collating data to monitor this problem across the district. Towards the end of 2017-18 we developed and co-ordinated work around Voluntary Litter- picking groups. With increasing numbers of volunteers, coordinating delivery and collection of equipment, identification of suitable collection points and times and actually collecting the litter this has required significant work, although very well worth-while considering the amount of litter that the groups collect. Reports of fly tipping have also risen in the past two years by more than 40%, with instances of abandoned cars doubling. The cost of clearing up has also risen from just over £24,000 in 2016 to almost £44,500 last year. HDC is determined to catch the culprits as fly tipping has a major impact on the environment, looks unsightly, affects natural wildlife habitats and residents’ quality of life. Tackling the problem in such a large rural area is difficult but the council is using covert cameras in key locations across the district as part of an ongoing crackdown. Environmental Health  Event Planning  Safety Advisory Group Hundreds of events are organised each year within Hambleton district, typically agricultural shows, road races, music festivals, sports gatherings and carnivals. Hambleton District Council’s Safety Advisory Group provides advice and guidance to event organisers to help ensure public safety and to assist the organiser where appropriate. This multi-agency team includes North Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire County Council. Advice is offered on catering, licencing, highway issues, fire safety, child safety and event security. Safety Advisory Groups were first established following the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989. Today, the threat of terrorism must also be considered with major events and these groups can advise on related issues such as traffic exclusion, vehicle borne threats, approved barriers deployment, suspicious packages and lockdown guidance. The Hambleton group provides continuous advice and guidance to event organisers and meets at least twice yearly to review safety arrangements for larger events and those which could pose a significant risk to public safety. Whilst the group is an advisory body without statutory powers, individual members have independent enforcement roles to ensure public safety. The advice given to organisers is documented and, should an incident occur, the SAG is obliged to submit the advice given to a court or public enquiry. Hambleton is also leading a group to promote best practice and ensure that event organisers are dealt with consistently and fairly in North Yorkshire. The group is attended by the chairs of the North Yorkshire Safety Advisory Groups, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the County Council Resilience and Emergencies Team.

16  Food Safety The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme encourages businesses to achieve and maintain good standards. Environmental Health Officers routinely visit food outlets in the district where they check that good hygiene standards are being maintained and award a hygiene rating. Outlets such as restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, sandwich shops, supermarkets and delicatessens are scored from zero to five based on factors including kitchen cleanliness, cooking methods and food management. The vast majority of food businesses in Hambleton have achieved the top hygiene rating of ‘5’. With the advice and support available from the council to help businesses comply with food laws there really is no excuse for poor standards. The familiar green and black window sticker with the hygiene rating is given to the business to display which residents are recommended to look out for to help them decide where to eat at or buy food. Unfortunately, officers do occasionally discover poor standards of hygiene, when they are duty bound to take steps to protect public health. Officers use emergency powers to deal with a food business operating far below the legal standard, producing food in dirty premises, or those with pest activity in them that pose serious risks to the safety of the food being produced. A farm shop and café in Brompton was ordered to close in August 2017 when Environmental Health officers visited to investigate an allegation of poor hygiene standards. Officers discovered very poor standards of cleanliness of the structure and food equipment, foods at risk of contamination, food that was mouldy and decomposing, food being offered for sale past its use by date and other serious breaches of food hygiene laws.  A Stokesley takeaway was ordered to close in November 2017 when officers found evidence of a widespread rat infestation in the kitchen, very poor standards of cleanliness and other breaches of food hygiene laws.  A Bedale sandwich manufacturer was closed for three days in February 2018 with a rat infestation. Part of the production unit was shut down after officers visited and discovered serious concerns for public health. In each case, using emergency powers under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice was served requiring the immediate closure of the premises because they presented an imminent risk to health. In all cases Northallerton Magistrates Court confirmed the council’s actions for a court order acknowledging the use of emergency powers to keep the premises closed until the council was satisfied that the business could be operated hygienically. Only when the business owner could demonstrate that all necessary improvements were completed was permission granted to re-open. Magistrates awarded costs to the council in each case. The closure of food businesses in Hambleton is rare. Officers only take such action when it is absolutely necessary and in premises where they find that food is being stored, prepared or served in unhygienic conditions. However, protecting consumers is our top priority.

17  Infectious disease The Environmental Health service has investigated three outbreaks of infectious disease where food businesses in the district were implicated as the source. Although two outbreaks was found to be caused by a virus and not related to the sale of contaminated food, officers worked with the business owners to ensure appropriate controls were in place to prevent the spread of the infection and to minimise the risk of further outbreaks. The investigation into the remaining outbreak is on-going however suitable controls are in place at the premises to protect food safety. Outbreak investigations are extremely resource intensive and involve a co-ordinated approach, working with Public Health England and other Local Authorities. However it is a priority public health function to control and prevent the spread of infectious disease which can have significant detrimental health effects for individuals.  Noise abatement The council has a legal duty to investigate complaints caused by excessive noise, relating to both domestic and commercial premises. In the year to March 2018 the Environmental Health Service dealt with 344 enquiries about noise nuisance; these varied from domestic noise caused by dog barking and loud music to complaints from commercial or industrial premises related to times of operation or noisy extractor system. It is always possible that the perpetrator may not realise they are causing a problem at first and a quick word might do the trick. However, this informal approach may not always be successful in which case complaints can be made to the council’s Environmental Health Service. The council will investigate any noise issues that local people are suffering, and will step in and serve notices where an unreasonable nuisance is occurring. A recent example relates to a Northallerton gun club. A resident who lives close to the shooting ground complained that noise from gunshot from organised events was affecting the use of their home and garden. Council officers independently investigated the complaint, agreed the noise levels were unreasonable and served an abatement notice requiring the club to reduce the noise to an acceptable level. Club organisers launched an appeal against the notice which was In 2018 the heard in September 2017 by Northallerton Magistrates. After hearing Environmental from the council, the resident, an acoustic consultant and event organiser, the magistrates dismissed the appeal and awarded the Health Service council costs of over £6,000. The noise abatement notice remains in dealth with 344 place. noise enquiries The noise from this gun club was affecting the quality of life for a local resident and the council took action to put that right.

18  Air Pollution The Environment Act 1995 introduced a system of local air quality management (LAQM) which requires local authorities to review and assess their local air quality against objectives for several pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM10). If any of the objectives are unlikely to be met, the authority must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and produce an action plan of measures to improve air quality and achieve compliance. The 2016 Annual Status Report to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) concluded that there was an exceedance of the nitrogen dioxide annual objective on Bridge Street in Bedale due to vehicle emissions. Despite pollution levels falling following the opening of the Bedale Aiskew and Leeming Bar bypass in August 2016, the council was advised to declare an AQMA. In response, the council declared the “Hambleton District Council (Bedale) Air Quality Management Order 2017” on 1 November 2017. Following the declaration of the AQMA, the council is required to produce an Air Quality Action Plan, outlining the measures and actions required to reduce pollution levels. The AQMA remains in place until the air quality objective is no longer being breached and is unlikely to be breached in future. Although there are some locations where traffic emissions build up, particularly in Northallerton and Thirsk town centres, these must continue to be monitored to ensure the objectives are not exceeded. The air quality in the remainder of the district is generally very good.  Energy Efficiency: public lighting The installation of LED lighting continued into 2017/18 with a further investment of £43,000 to reduce lighting energy, as measured by Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC). On completion of this second phase the energy used by public lighting was expected to be around half that of 2013 levels. The cumulative target energy saving target for 2016/17 and 2017/18 was set at 130,000kwh, which was far exceeded as an incredible energy reduction of 147,871Kwh was actually achieved. Further work is in progress to be completed during 2018/19. Providing a Special Place to Live Housing  Affordable Rural Housing The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Housing Board approved a new Rural Housing Enabler programme to run from 2015 to 2018. Local authorities in North Yorkshire, the North York Moors National Park and 16 Housing Association partners continue to fund the programme as the housing board works with partners aiming to triple the overall supply of new affordable homes across the area. This year it has also worked with rural communities to help them understand the role that community led housing might play in meeting future local housing needs.

19 A record 174 new rural affordable homes were built in north and east Yorkshire in 2017-18, a total of 750 over the past six years. Exceeding their annual target of 100, of the 174 homes delivered this year 31 were in National Parks, 155 for rent and the remaining 19 for low cost home ownership including homes in the Hambleton village of Hutton Rudby. The unique association of the Rural Housing Enabler Network and local authority partners enables the provision of enhanced support to rural communities and other partners to develop good quality affordable homes. In future years, it is hoped to see additional new homes delivered by communities themselves.  Community Led Housing Hub Launched A new hub to help communities develop affordable homes across North Yorkshire and East Riding has been launched - the REACH Community Led Housing Hub. Communities often struggle to find housing for local people as lower rural incomes, second home ownership and high house prices can lead to the loss of local facilities - schools, shops and public transport. The REACH Hub aims to help address these problems by providing information and advice in one place to help groups get started and to manage their projects. An Advisors’ Panel will provide access to firms with expertise in community development, architecture, planning, surveying, law and accountancy to help bring plans to fruition. Grants are available to help pay for this support. It is hoped that this one-stop-shop approach will make delivering community led housing much simpler by bringing everything together in one place, enabling communities to more easily get started bringing affordable housing to their local area.  Landlords’ Forum Private Landlords, Agents and any other organisations with an interest in private sector housing were urged to attend a special Landlord’s forum run by the council in October at Evolution Business Centre in Northallerton. The Safer Hambleton Co-ordinator discussed the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and the powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour. To ensure everyone is up to date with legislative changes, the Department of Work and Pensions took part to answer questions about Universal Credit which affects people of working age in receipt of certain benefits and what this will mean to landlords and their tenants. The district council’s Environmental Health Officers were also available to offer advice on condensation, damp and mould.

20  Shared House In Spring 2018, the council worked in partnership with Broadacres and Homes England to purchase 85 South Parade, Northallerton. Homes England provided £75,000 and the council used £25,000 of commuted sums for affordable housing to help Broadacres purchase the property. Located close to the town centre, train station, County Hall and within walking distance to the Friarage Hospital, Police HQ and Standard Way Industrial Estate, the property provides housing for local young people who are either employed or in training, but who would otherwise struggle to have their own property due to the high cost of private rents in the area. The accommodation is fully furnished to a high standard and comprises five ensuite bedrooms and a shared lounge and kitchen. The property has the benefit of some outdoor space in the form of hard standing and there is also secure bicycle storage. The first tenants moved in at the end of May paying a weekly rent of £102.51, inclusive of council tax, utilities and Wi-Fi.

Safer Hambleton The council is actively involved in keeping Hambleton safe. Working closely with a variety of partners and agencies this work involves tackling anti-social behaviour, road safety, protecting vulnerable persons, the Prevent programme, Northallerton Street Angels and many other initiatives.  Community Safety Partnership The North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership takes the strategic lead for statutory responsibilities. It brings together the responsible authorities, supported by other relevant organisations, to fulfil their statutory responsibilities to work together in accordance with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Each district has a Local Delivery Team, at Hambleton this is the Safer Hambleton Hub. The purpose of the Local Delivery Team is to bring together the operational managers of the responsible authorities, supported by other relevant SAFER organisations, to co-ordinate and ensure the delivery of the HAMBLETON North Yorkshire Community Safety Plan. The Safer Hambleton Community Safety Hub is a perfect example of how the council works closely in partnership with a variety of agencies both locally and nationally in order to deliver and maintain essential services to our community. The Hub consists of Hambleton District Council, the police, the fire service, social landlords such as Broadacres, probation services, youth services, voluntary services and others. Working together their work has seen crime and anti-social behaviour levels drop significantly over recent years for residents and visitors alike. Whilst there have been many changes to the organisations working to keep Hambleton safe over the last few years alongside significantly reduced budgets with which to deliver initiatives, work has continued to reduce crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour for all those who live, work or visit our area.

21 Through the Safer Hambleton Hub, multi-agency problem solving is the key to tackling troubling behaviour in our towns and villages and all organisations work together to solve issues and incidents as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Safer Hambleton Hub is based in Hambleton District Council and accesses countywide community safety services, facilitates projects to reduce crime and disorder and co-ordinates multi-agency problem solving processes as well as managing CCTV and working towards the Prevent Duty. When crime and anti-social behaviour issues are highlighted or trends identified, multi-agency problem solving interventions can be quickly put in place to help our neighbourhoods stay safe.  No Home Here In December 2017 North Yorkshire Police launched a five-month campaign entitled NO HOME HERE to help protect vulnerable victims of crime. The campaign is designed to raise public awareness about a range of emotionally and physically harmful crimes that can go unnoticed because the victims are living in fear. Community partners from local councils, education, emergency and health services and organisations such as retailers are supporting the campaign, including the council’s Safer Hambleton team. Online and media publicity is promoting the campaign to a range of organisations likely to come into contact with both victims and offenders. Everybody in the community is asked to be extra vigilant and report incidents, either directly to the police or via an alternative reporting channel such as a dedicated charity. The five strands of community harm the campaign will focus on are:  domestic abuse  child neglect  stalking and harassment  hate  modern slavery and human trafficking Harassment and stalking for example are offences that have NO HOME HERE, but would you know if it was happening? Would you even realise if you, a family member or a friend had fallen victim to these types of crimes? Harassment is defined as physical, verbal and nonverbal actions directed at or towards a person by another, which causes that person alarm, distress, fear and/or a fear of violence. Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted behaviour that causes a person to feel distressed or in fear. Both patterns of behaviour can take many different forms and the number of incidents has doubled over the last five years which police think is because people are becoming more confident in reporting these crimes, recognising the law surrounding these types of behaviour and knowing that support is available to them. Nobody in our community should feel harassed or stalked. Guidance on what to do if this affects you or someone you know and where to get help is readily available from North Yorkshire Police or by contacting the council’s Safer Hambleton team.

22  Community Messaging Service Hambleton residents and business owners are being urged to sign up for a new information service. The council has joined the North Yorkshire Community Messaging service, a free system that gives registered users up to date community news. More than 18,000 people have already registered for alerts from the police and now, along with other North Yorkshire authorities, Hambleton has added its names to the list using the system. Community Messaging allows updates and information to be sent instantly to residents and businesses in a specific area. It will include information on community news and events, emergencies - such as flooding, waste and recycling services, leisure alerts and public consultations. Registering is safe, secure and takes just a few minutes. Residents who sign-up can choose to register multiple locations, not just a home address - ideal if you want to know more about where your children go to school, where family members live and around where you work.  CCTV in Hambleton CCTV is a valuable tool that helps the council contribute to public safety and combat crime. Cameras cover the main shopping areas and car parks of Northallerton, Thirsk, Stokesley and Bedale. Currently there are 46 fixed cameras and 2 mobile cameras owned by the Safer Hambleton Hub which can be deployed in crime or anti-social behaviour ‘hot spots’ in response to changing needs. The control room is supported by direct access to police radio systems and a shop watch scheme which operates in Northallerton. In accordance with data protection and human rights law images are retained for a period of 31 days unless required by the police for evidence. Access to recordings and to the CCTV control room is restricted, all operators must pass police vetting for Hambleton District Councils' use of airwaves radio, an advanced CCTV Control Room CRB check and hold a Security Industry Authority (SIA) Licence. The provision of CCTV systems and monitoring of cameras are regulated by the Information Commissioners Office. Hambleton District Council CCTV Codes of Practice covers the operation of the system and works in accordance with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s Self- Assessment framework.

23 Council Tax and Business Rates  Evasion The council has a pro-active billing and recovery process that supports the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates and has a very high collection rate of 98.5%. Unfortunately, the remaining 2% of residents do not pay their bills and are not meeting their required contribution to the public purse. The council takes the view that whilst 98.5% is excellent, more can be done and is taking action, which could even mean imprisonment for some householders. The authority is commencing proceedings against tax payers who do not adhere to the liability orders and do not communicate to make arrangements to pay. The council has an obligation to ensure that all those who should pay, do pay, since these contributions ultimately finance Hambleton community amenities. Anyone who has not paid an outstanding amount in full, or contacted the authority to make a payment arrangement, is advised to take urgent action to avoid possible prosecution.  Paypoint To help residents pay their bills more easily, since December 2017 “Paypoint” is live! This allows customers to pay Council Tax or Non- domestic rates at any outlet displaying the Paypoint logo using a bill that carries a barcode. Payments can be made at any PayPoint outlet up to the value of £200 per transaction. All PayPoint outlets will accept cash and many also accept cheques and debit or credit cards. Residents can also continue to make payments by the traditional methods of direct debit, by phone or via the Post Office or by cash or cheque at their local council office.

ICT Government funding of £200m is available for bidding to build a full fibre network. North Yorkshire councils had been joining together, with the assistance of NYnet, to bid for £15m to connect c400 public sector sites with fibre. This bid has been successful!! The next stage is for the project to undertake a process of review with the government in advance of a formal approval. If successful, all public sites in North Yorkshire will get 1G fibre Internet link.

Syrian Refugees Four Syrian families arrived safely in Northallerton in January with a fifth family due shortly. The council have been working in partnership with NYCC, Broadacres and the Department for Work and Pensions to provide furnished homes, financial and other advice. With the help of an interpreter, the families are settling into their new lives, children have started school and parents receiving English lessons. A drop-in event was organised in February to bring together refugee families from other areas of North Yorkshire, some who have been living in for a year.

24 Armed Forces award for council Hambleton District Council has been recognised for its support for defence personnel with a bronze award from the MOD’s Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). The scheme recognises employers that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support for the armed forces community - and aligns those values through the Armed Forces Covenant. Bronze award holders offer support by employing reservists and veterans and by promoting the armed forces to both existing and prospective employees. Chief Executive of Hambleton District Council, Dr Justin Ives, said: “It is an honour to be recognised for this award. We pride ourselves on working alongside our armed forces and actively encourage local employers to take on ex-servicemen and women.” The district council is now working to achieve the ERS Silver Award which requires that its policies and procedures reflect the ethos of the Armed Forces Covenant, that all staff have the training, resources and confidence necessary to ask the ‘military question’ and that service personnel and their dependents are not unfairly disadvantaged as part of the council’s recruitment and selection process. For further information about the MOD Councillor Mrs Bridget Fortune Covenant and the the authorities Armed Forces support available to Covenant Champion and DR Justine Ives those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families or if you have experience of working in the military and would like to suggest how the Covenant could further benefit those with links to the armed forces please contact the council’s Communities’ Development Officer.

25 Our Staff Working in partnership includes developing a strong workforce as we simply couldn’t achieve our goals without committed, creative and enthusiastic staff working together towards our shared vision. Striving for excellence in delivering services to the community continues to sit at the heart of everything we do.

Working for the community As a major local employer, the authority’s staff are also a vital part of the community and crucial to the success of the organisation, delivering professional services in line with the Council Plan across the whole district. To underpin service delivery the Council has developed its employee infrastructure to ensure that staff are supported and empowered to make a difference. This year the council has developed a number of policies to support the recruitment of apprentices, demonstrate commitment to learning and development, and ensure a consistent approach to issues of sickness absence, substance misuse and mental health at work. The Council works closely with its occupational health provider to raise staff awareness and understanding of such health issues in the workplace and in the wider community and plans to increase health promotion activities across the authority. The council is also keen to create a work-life balance through policies that support secondary employment, job share and secondment. There is a rolling programme of corporate learning and development events which includes employment matters, health and safety awareness, ICT, corporate governance and safeguarding.

Our staff At the end of March 2018 the Council employed: Directors Service Managers

56.54% 43.46% 32% 33% female male male female 67% 68% male female

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26 Gender Pay Gap The Gender Pay Gap analyses gender distribution across the workforce by measuring the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women. It’s important not to confuse this with Equal Pay, which ensures that men and women get paid the same rate for the same or similar work. The Council proudly puts equality at the heart of operations by promoting diversity, equality of opportunity and choice for the whole community - including our own employees. At 31 March 2017 our workforce comprised 55% women, 70% of whom are part-time with a median gender pay gap of -12.5%, and a mean gap of -7.5%. This means that at our female employees work within a positive earnings environment which offers flexible working arrangements. The full report can be found on our website.

Trade Union Facility Time (TUFT) The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 requires councils to publish a range of information on their activities. One such dataset involves Trade Union Facility Time (TUFT), the amount of staff that are union representatives and devote at least 50 per cent of their time to union duties, names of trade unions represented in the local authority and an estimate of spending on unions. There is currently no full time HDC provision, the role fulfilled by two NYCC staff currently running at just 3.5 hours per year. As a result the Council are exempt from publishing the estimated spending information.

Fundraising Staff at HDC have continued their tradition of charity fundraising and this year handed over £3,500 to 15 different charities by ‘dressing down’, running raffles, and baking cakes! Once each month staff pay £1 to wear jeans to work, often topping up the funds by selling homemade cakes or running a tombola with freely donated Raising money for Pendragon prizes. Multi-Sensory Centre

27 Employees are invited to nominate charities they would like staff to collect for and some naturally choose charities very close to their hearts and often not very well known such as Macular Eye Disease - an age related macular degeneration, and Little Legs Coady - for twins born with cerebral palsy. Others chose local charities like Pendragon Community Trust in Northallerton - a multi-sensory centre for children and adults with learning disabilities whilst others prefer to join the national fundraising days for events such as Macmillan Coffee Morning and Christmas Jumper Day. It’s a great way of raising much needed funds to support a wide range of worthwhile causes.

Customer Services Customers can contact the Council by telephone, in person and via the web site and we place great importance on the standard of our customer service. To measure customer satisfaction the Council uses the GovMetric electronic system used by many local authorities. GovMetric captures customer feedback and comments, positive and negative, across all three methods of customer interaction which are known as ‘channels’. By measuring this feedback we can define areas for improvement as well as letting our customer service staff see how customers appreciate their hard work. Hambleton consistently performs well, recording high levels of customer service satisfaction compared to other local authorities. In February 2018 we achieved our first ever 1st place in the top ten of GovMetric users for customer satisfaction via the web channel. It doesn’t stop here. Hambleton continually strives to ensure best quality customer service and encourages all customers and visitors alike to leave feedback whenever and however you contact us.

28 Delivery and Implementation Innovation and rejuvenation through key corporate projects

This area of our work commits to enhancing schemes and plans that enrich the lives of all our residents through innovative development, delivery and implementation of key corporate projects. Through innovative schemes delivered in conjunction with a range of partners, we aim to achieve our planned objectives.

Northallerton Prison One of the largest and most exciting projects in the council’s history will completely transform the former HM Prison site in central Northallerton. Northallerton Prison was the first custom- built jail in England and home to tens of thousands of inmates during its 230 year history. It is significant in the history of penal reform as well as the likely reason Northallerton became a county town. The prison was closed by the Ministry of Justice in 2013, paving the way for the council to purchase the 3.4 acre town centre site as the lynchpin of their ambitious Central Northallerton re-development scheme. This brave move was taken to ensure Northallerton continues to develop in a co-ordinated and well planned way that suits its location, meets the needs of a growing, diverse population and ensures long term prosperity for the district’s principal market town. Before demolition began 60 guided tours were organised for the public during when some 2,000 visitors took the rare opportunity to have a look and learn some of the fascinating history behind the walls. An episode of the popular ITV detective series ‘Vera’ was also filmed in the old buildings. In October 2017 the authority entered Helen Kemp leading a tour into partnership with the Wykeland Group of the former prison site of Hull to form the Central Northallerton Development Company Ltd (CNDCL) to move the development forward. Demolition was completed during 2017, complicated by the thickness of the walls and the skill used in the construction of the original buildings; contractors completed some 10,920 hours of work. Nearly all the demolished materials will be re-used as bricks and tiles are sold on for new schemes and some of the stone flooring will be re-appearing at the Forbidden Corner in the Yorkshire Dales. Even plants and fencing are being offered to Northallerton based charity Northdale Horticulture. All that now remains are the five listed buildings which will be incorporated within the new development, the old gatehouse that will eventually come down and a huge pile of rubble which will form the foundations of the new buildings.

29 HDC has kept many items from inside the prison - ironwork and gates, doors and sandstone flooring that will all be incorporated in the new scheme. The authority also has part of Mark Love of Buckers with the old door found in the rubble. one of the oldest doors to display that carries inscriptions from inmates in the 1800s. The site has revealed an amazing history from documentary archives and recollections of those who worked and stayed there. York Archaeological Trust conducted investigations during September 2017 giving the chance to see what remains in the ground, and during the excavation work the council invited local people and organisations to attend open days, workshops and even digging sessions. The trust looked for evidence of early life at the prison when officers and prisoners all lived in the complex, when bread was baked for the town on site, when it was used as a military prison. Work revealed the foundations of the world’s largest treadmill and it is believed there could have been as many as six ‘mills’ in the prison at one time, with women and men being put on the wheels as punishment. They mills were also used to pump water around the buildings and grind corn for local farmers. Among a range of finds the month long dig uncovered old walls, a massive chimney, pottery and all all types of artefacts like old knife blades and door fittings and even a set of rusty keys buried among the footings of an old wall near where one of the old wings was demolished years ago! Further archaeological work is scheduled in 2018 when members of York Archaeological Trust will be on site to look again at the previous excavations, as well as excavate close to the original prison wall by the garden. It was announced early in 2018 that the multi-million pound redevelopment will pay homage to its past as the site is to be called ‘Treadmills’. The name also ensures that whilst breathing new life into the centre of our historic market town, we never forget what life was like for prisoners behind those walls. The Central Northallerton Development Company Ltd (CNDCL) is now drawing up detailed designs for the redevelopment with pre-planning consultation and a planning application anticipated during 2018. The UK’s fast-growing supermarket Lidl has been announced as the retail anchor for the development taking a 21,000 sq ft unit creating up to 40 new jobs. The multi-million pound investment will be the key element of the first phase of the Treadmills scheme which will also feature a 6,000 sq ft retail space and parking for about 130 vehicles. As well as major stores, the £16m scheme will include independent retail units, managed workspaces, restaurants, a cinema, an area for public events and Artists Impression of The Treadmills site a heritage centre.

30 North Northallerton Roundabouts on Stokesley Road and Darlington Road were completed and development commenced during 2017, with approximately £2.9M LEP funding for the link road and bridge drawn down by the developers. Detailed design work on the remainder of the road and bridge is expected From L - R, leading figures: Mark Leigh, Managing Director to get underway in May 2018 with Taylor Wimpey North Yorkshire; John Kirkham, Strategic completion of 93 dwellings anticipated Land Director Persimmons homes; Barry Dodd, Chair of Local by December 2018. It is hoped the link Enterprise Partnership; Councillor Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Councillor Mark Robson, Leader road and bridge will be open to traffic of Hambleton District Council and Ron Gibson, Contracts by Spring 2019. Manager, Seymour Civil Engineering.  Street names x 20 The new North Northallerton development, the largest in the district for some time, lies in the Northallerton and Brompton ward and will create over 20 new streets. The district council has the legal responsibility to ensure that all streets and properties in the Hambleton area are named and numbered correctly. A mammoth task for such a large development is made harder still as we cannot duplicate names that already exist within the district. Working in partnership with Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey in a community consultation, the council invited Northallerton and Brompton residents to suggest new street names that would reflect the history and geography of the area for these new roads which will be built during the phased development.

Dalton Bridge BID Construction commenced in 2017 with service diversions, embankments, highway drainage and diversion of Thacker Beck largely completed by December. Piling commenced for bridge abutment January 2018 and it is anticipated the new bridge and roads will open mid-2018. In April 2017 Coffey commenced the construction of the Dalton Bridge and Highway Scheme. Progress has been good and we have now completed, service diversions, highway embankments, highways Work on the new Dalton Bridge progresses watched drainage mainly complete, Thacker Beck has by (from left) County Councillor Don MacKenzie, Hambleton District Council Leader Councillor Mark been culverted, piling works are complete Robson and Roy Fishwick, representing the group of businesses backing the bridge scheme

31 together with the bridge abutments. Bridge beams have now been installed and work has just commenced on the bridge deck and the road construction. The new Road and Bridge is expected to be open to traffic in June 2018. The resolution of this access issue has already had a major influence on the confidence of the businesses and since the commitment to the bridge project has already resulted in £22m of private sector investment and the creation of circa 50 jobs at the industrial estate. In addition we have a number of significant confidential inward investment enquires we are currently dealing with. Through the construction contract we continue to try and maximise the employment, skills and local spend opportunities for our local economy. To date local businesses have been awarded sub-contracts for plant hire, fencing/ site clearance, formwork, steel reinforcement and concrete works, steel for piling and the bridge deck beams. The Contractor has taken on an apprentice, been into schools at Thirsk to talk about careers in civil engineering and have invited pupils from the school to a site visit.

Local Plan Having conducted extensive issues and options consultations during 2016, the evidence base was largely completed during 2017 and early 2018. Work on the plan is progressing well, a draft Local Plan is expected to be presented to Members later in the summer. A representations period, for a minimum of six weeks would follow Cabinet approval. The last stage of the plan’s development will be submission of the plan and all comments received during the representations period to the Secretary of State. This is currently anticipated early in 2019.

Loan to Broadacres Housing Association Having signed the initial loan agreement in 2015 and agreed a funding profile, Deloittes conducted due diligence and a sum of £26.2m was lent to Broadacres Housing Association in 2017. Broadacres have since confirmed they will take £8.8m by March 2019.

32 Sowerby Junction

Work on the long awaited Sowerby Junction has Councillor Robson is pictured (left) with begun. Councillor Peter Bardon at the junction Clearance of the area, which will become the new slip road off the A168, started in February 2018. The new £6.5 million junction is part of the infrastructure stipulated within planning permission for over 600 new homes at Sowerby Gateway. It is hoped it should be open to traffic by the end of November 2018. It will make a massive difference to people living on the new Sowerby Gateway estate as well as to Sowerby and Thirsk in general. The junction will be constructed by North Midland Developments Ltd in conjunction with Highways England and will extend the current interchange into a multi directional junction.

Sowerby Sports Village The Sowerby Sports Village is part of the Sowerby Gateway scheme to create retail, leisure, employment land, care provision and more than 900 new homes. A masterplan for the village has been developed to include football and rugby pitches, an all-weather pitch, sports pavilion, fitness train and BMX track are proposed as well as allotments and a youth facility. This scheme is integral to the overall development at Sowerby Gateway and brings an exciting and extensive array of formal and informal recreation provision. Whilst the council is providing community leadership, bringing together a host of organisations to deliver the scheme, once complete it will be handed over to the local community. The land was secured and transfer completed in late 2016 with strategic management documentation finalised in November 2017 for Cabinet consideration. Councillors endorsed an application for European funding and agreed a phased approach to development. The scheme is reliant on external funding including a developers’ contribution of £1.5m released once 250 homes are built. It is hoped that the bid for £643,000 European Regional Development funding will be successful and help phase one of the project - land remediation, allotments, fitness trail and landscaping - to be delivered during 2018-19. A competition held in 2016 invited local schoolchildren to suggest new street names using the theme ‘nature’. The response was so successful that the best names were held in a directory ready to use with future developments. The names chosen for Lime Gardens, the second phase at Sowerby Gateway development are Cherryoak Street, Apple Tree Road and Woodland Way. Another example of how the Council engages residents and partners wherever possible, building lasting connections with local Cllr Robson (centre) is pictured with schools, clubs, charities and other organisations that Jessica Blades, Samantha Brown from Taylor Wimpey, Cllr Bardon, Ward are the lifeblood of the community. Member and Katie Harrison.

33 Financial Sustainability Our 10-year strategy ensures the council’s plans remain affordable, sustainable and prudent

The council’s 10-year financial strategy provides the estimated financial position at the start of each financial year, to ensure that our community leadership efforts and delivery and implementation plans remain achievable. The strategy encompasses three key elements: Council reserves, Capital reserves and Council Tax Payers reserves.

Financial viability The Council is in a unique financial position in respect of its financial viability. It has through the deepest period of austerity continued to maintain a robust and viable 10-year Financial Strategy. This has been achieved through a combination of service redesign to achieve savings, enhancing services to provide an increased level of service and proactively seeking commercial opportunities to generate income. However, the environment in which the council operates is not without risk. All Government grant funding for the council will cease by 2019/20, in addition the Fair funding Review currently in progress may result in a reduction in Business Rate income for district councils as the Government deals with the financial challenge of adult social care. Other unknown factors which bring uncertainty to the budget include cost drivers such as wage inflation and fuel prices. One thing that is certain is that moving forward the council will have three sources of income -  Council Tax  Business Rates  Commercially generated income Out of these the only source the council will be able to influence will be commercially generating income. However, pursuing commercial activities does not come without risk. In pursuing commercial activities the council must ensure that a full business case is made, fully recognising the risks and rewards of each proportion and that full and proper due-diligence is undertaken. In respect of financial viability the council has a bold ambition - that is to be financially independent of all Government grants by 2020/21.

 Revenue Reserve Revenue Reserve, other than the General Revenue and Taxpayers Reserve, are earmarked for specific future expenditure.

34  Taxpayers Reserve The Taxpayers Reserve is a revenue reserve that is not earmarked for a specific purpose. It is a mechanism for balancing any in-year budget fluctuations.

 Capital Reserve

Capital Reserves are there to fund future capital expenditure, they cannot be used to fund revenue expenditure.

ICT and WaSS As mentioned in last year’s Hambleton Highlights the council decided to introduce charging for garden waste disposal, a non-statutory service, which was costing £948,536 a year to run. The new service was to be made available from the beginning of this financial year 1 April 2017 through an opt-in annual subscription, aimed at recouping these running costs. Delivery involved the largest ever in-house development project in the history of the council’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) department. The technically minded will be interested to learn the project was based on PRINCE2, a structured project management methodology. At the time, there was no customer relationship management (CRM) system in customer services and the council’s garden waste service was managed manually with printed sheets handed to staff heading out on their collection rounds. ICT was tasked to develop a digital solution. With no off-the-shelf product meeting the council’s requirements the decision was made to build an in-house solution on the Firmstep e-Forms platform. This cloud-based customer experience platform creates a single, centralised interface through which all customer interactions on- and off-line can be managed. With such a large investment in both development time and software, the solution also needed to be future proof, extendable to handle both refuse and recycling collections as part of the council’s ongoing digitisation program.

35  Development and Implementation The first challenge was to:  design and create a capable database structure  assist and advise WaSS with a substantial programme of data capture and data cleansing  import the newly captured and cleansed data into the new database A process was written using the Firmstep platform that allowed staff or customers to purchase licences. Bespoke payment integration allowed the public to make payments seamlessly with one form. A comprehensive real-time reporting tool was written for management to view information from day one and a further solution developed to allow staff to view and update the WaSS system and to view licence information for a specific customer. The Garden Waste Solution and the new CRM system met the deadline and went live simultaneously on 1 April 2017, immediately drawing heavy use with over 1,000 transactions in the first three days. This formed a crucial part of the council’s garden waste project and delivered its initial goal. Prior to the service commencing, a take up target of 45% of all households was set which was surpassed with 52% take up using the online tools. Income generated reached £749,700 with 21,420 licences issued. The total number of subscribing properties reached 20,641 as 779 residents elected to buy more than one licence.  Benefits What Hambleton has achieved is the start of an important cost saving channel shift of the garden waste service, as customers move away from contacting us by phone and in person towards using the online option which, once established, is more convenient for the customer and less costly for the council to provide. It has also brought a range of benefits to council and public alike:  convenience of 24 x 7 access and faster service delivery  increases digital confidence and supports digital inclusion in the District  frees up frontline staff to deal with more complex enquiries Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with 72% of respondents scoring it 4 or 5 stars. The solution has simplified the customer journey with extremely useful real time management reporting providing up to the minute information for accurate monitoring and analysis.  Value for Money The cost of handling all the initial customer contracts, compared to the costs that would have been incurred without the self-service platform, realised savings of £49,741.74. £850,000 By digitising the garden waste service, taking into account in efficiency ongoing overheads such as gate fees, collection costs and service savings administration, ICT has contributed to a total of over £850,000 in efficiency savings.

36 Digital Transformation From typewriters to smart phones, technology has always played a vital role in the way local government manages its business. As councils face the twin challenges of decreasing funding and increasing demand, they have found new ways of utilising technology to deliver services more effectively and enable their staff to work in new ways, increasing productivity whilst reducing costs. The Government introduced a digital transformation programme in 2013 aimed at building services that are simpler, clearer and faster to use. Initially targeting major areas such as voter registration, patent renewal and PAYE, work continues in several areas including land registry, universal credit and passports. Local authorities are ideally placed to find the best solutions to meet local needs for which technology and digital tools can offer a variety of improvements and efficiencies. These range from enabling user self-service, more reliable and speedy handling of routine tasks, faster access to and sharing of information removing traditional double handling methods, and new ways of working that potentially reconcile a better customer experience with cutting costs. As digital technologies increasingly form part of people’s daily lives it is essential that councils continue to exploit their potential. Digitisation is not a panacea for all ills and must always complement other approaches, recognising and addressing the needs of citizens who are unable or unwilling to use this technology. The new HDC website launched last year demonstrates how with the right development and attention to customer needs, technology can be harnessed for the benefit of the whole community. Hambleton’s online garden waste registration system also demonstrates how, with targeted development and investment, a previously cumbersome process can be delivered efficiently, at the customer’s own convenience and save the council money in the process. With this in mind, in September 2017 HDC called for all service areas to consider ways that a more digitised service could help with their day-to-day processes - both internal and external. Everyone was encouraged to bring ideas for discussion. The Hambleton approach is for services to identify potential digital transformation within their own area and, where suitable, ICT will prepare a scoping document for senior management consideration during 2018. With the help of digitalisation and an IT bespoke-built programme time invested now could lead to a more efficient, high volume output in the future.

37 Future Plans Key innovations and challenges in the year ahead and beyond

Looking forward is a fundamental part of the way we do business to ensure we capture as many opportunities and offset as many risks as possible. Through effective networks and partnerships and by fostering innovation the council continually scans the horizon for business and community opportunities whilst closely monitoring the ever-changing political and financial landscape. There is no crystal ball to guarantee the future, but the council does its utmost to keep abreast of, and work with, the changing environment.

Tour de Yorkshire 2018 Hambleton is set to welcome thousands of cyclists into the district next year when it once more plays host to the Tour de Yorkshire. Launched in 2015 as a legacy of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ, the Tour de Yorkshire has become an iconic event in its own right with the fourth running of this unique race expanded to four stages from 3-6 May 2018 encompassing 169 villages, towns and cities throughout the county. Starting in Richmond, Stage 3 of the race on Saturday 5 May 2018 takes in Crakehall, Bedale, Morton on Swale, Ainderby Steeple, Northallerton, Thirsk and Sutton Under Whitestonecliffe, before climbing up Sutton Bank and heading out of the Hambleton district to end in Scarborough. Once again we will be able to showcase everything that Hambleton has to offer and give a warm welcome to the riders, their teams and the thousands of people that will be cheering them on. The 2017 event attracted 2.2 million spectators along the route, watched by 9.7 million TV viewers in 180 countries and generating £64 million for the local economy; now that is has been extended to four days the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire promises to be the biggest and best yet. Following its phenomenal success over the last three years, the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race will also double in size in 2018 from one day to two on 3-4 May. It will once again offer one of the largest prize pots in the sport and a stellar cast of riders will be on hand to compete on Yorkshire roads. The stages will start each morning and follow the last 132km and 121.5km respectively of the men’s stages, which commence later each day.  TDY Land Art competition Businesses, landowners, farmers, schools and community groups are encouraged to get creative once again as Welcome to Yorkshire launched its Tour de Yorkshire land art competition after last year’s contest proved another huge success with massive, eye-catching pieces displayed along the race route. Whether it’s a church spire draped in a blue jersey, a field displaying a mammoth bicycle, or a market square spelling out a message of support, all works are welcomed and stand a great chance of being beamed to a global audience of millions as the race’s live television helicopters sweep across the county.

38 To be seen by the helicopters entries must be large and as striking as possible. Land art is about celebrating communities and getting people talking so don’t need to be bicycle or tour related but connected to a community - a famous face, an event - whatever makes it special.

Treadmills A striking new open air exhibition is being installed in Northallerton celebrating pop icons from the 1960s. Award winning Yorkshire filmmaker and photographer, Paul Berriff, has worked with Joe Cornish Galleries to create panels to grace the hoardings of Treadmills - the former Northallerton prison. Supported by Northallerton Business Improvement District and site owners the Central Northallerton Development Company Limited, the 150 metre long graphic will feature rare images of artists like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix as they toured Yorkshire venues at the start of their careers in the early 1960s. Inspired by big city developments around the world, the iconic pop culture will enhance the look of the town while the prison site redevelopment takes place. Featuring over 60 images, this eye- catching display is a unique record of the rise of the burgeoning 60s pop scene here in Yorkshire. This exhibition will form a striking landmark as the Treadmills site develops, the rare images will attract lots of interest in the town. Northallerton Business Improvement District’s mission is to provide a quality appearance and environment in the county town and this joint project is likely to be the first of many public art installations. Indeed we are devoting the month of August to Arts with a number of new public installations culminating in an Arts and Artisan Market on the High Street.

Homelessness Reduction Bill The big project for the Housing Options Team at Hambleton is the government’s new Homelessness Reduction Bill effective 1 April 2018. New guidance is being prepared with emphasis on homelessness prevention and relief. Responding to the increase in homelessness applications in recent years, the Homelessness Reduction Bill obliges councils to start assessing those at risk of being made homeless 56 days before losing their home, currently 28 days. Experts believe this will help to reduce the number of people actually becoming homeless.

Commercialisation The Council approved its Commercial Strategy in January 2018. This provides a framework to enable potential projects to be assessed against it. It also allows future commercial activities to be targeted to meet the objectives set in the strategy. In May 2018 the Council appointed a Head of Service to oversee its commercial activities. The post will be supported by a small team including a graduate trainee.

39 A target of £7m has been set in the Financial Strategy for commercial income and there are a number of projects which are at the inception stage. However, one point that is very clear is that the Council will only generate commercial income to invest in services in the District.

ICT Future Plans With the garden waste solution now in place, the council aims to extend the system to handle such things as refuse and recycling collections and route optimisation. Hambleton has focussed on exploiting the full capability within the platform to maximise the return on investment with major projects mapped in the ICT Strategy to deliver further efficiency savings and income generation to help alleviate the enforced local government budget cuts.

Major reform of planning rules unveiled A major overhaul of planning rules will “deliver the homes the country needs” says the government as more planning permissions need to be fast tracked into homes for a generation of first time buyers currently locked out of the housing market, as well as an increasing older generation needing the right homes designed to their needs. Announcing a review of the National Planning Policy Framework in March 2018, the government says more must be done to deliver 300,000 new homes annually by the mid- 2020s and that this review will maximise the use of land, strengthen protections for the Green Belt and put a greater emphasis on converting planning permissions into homes. The review is the first major overhaul to the National Planning Policy Framework in six years. It seeks to provide a comprehensive approach for planners, developers and councils to build more homes, more quickly and in the right places. Councils and developers will be required to work with community groups to ensure those affected by new developments will have a say on how they look and feel. Local authorities will have a new housing delivery test focused on driving up the numbers of homes actually delivered in their area, rather than numbers planned for. Developers will also be held to account for delivering the commitments, including affordable housing and the infrastructure needed to support communities. Authorities will be encouraged to work together and continue closing the gap between planning permissions granted and homes built. Planning reform is part of a wider package of housing reforms; it builds on the recent £5bn Housing Infrastructure Fund to help unlock new homes in areas with the greatest housing need. The government has also allocated £866m to 133 council-led projects to fund key local infrastructure including new roads, cycle paths, flood defences and land remediation work, all essential ahead of building the homes. The consultation will run until Thursday 10 May 2018.

Noise app As part of service improvement the council will pilot a ‘Noise app’; this will allow complainants to record potential noise nuisance on their mobile devices and send samples directly to the Environmental Health service.

40 It is anticipated that customers will use this provision and it will speed up the investigation process and allow us to provide tailored advice.

Better Business for All Better Business for All (BBfA) is a voluntary partnership between local regulators, local enterprise partnerships and business forums which provides help and support to businesses to make sure they comply with the law, making it easier to ‘get it right first time’ and help businesses grow. While it is aimed at all organisations, it is focused on smaller businesses, as these generally need the most help to comply with the law. Although the regulations themselves cannot be modified at a local level there is plenty of scope to transform the way that businesses and regulators work together. Hambleton Environment Health Services have signed up to ‘York and North Yorkshire Better Business for All Charter’ and have a work plan to alter how the service is provided to businesses. The attitudes, competency and overall approach of local regulators have a direct bearing on the way advice is given; and visits, inspections and enforcement are carried out. How they interact with a business can determine whether it decides to grow. Through the removal of regulatory barriers to growth, BBfA is helping local areas to be recognised as good places to do business, and is creating more prosperous and competitive local economies.

Beyond Brexit The Local Government Association (LGA) work with councils to support, promote and improve local government. This cross-party organisation works on behalf of councils to give local government a strong, credible voice with national government on the issues that matter to councils so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems. There was a diversity of views among local government about Britain’s membership of the EU and to reflect this, the LGA remained neutral during and post the referendum. The effect of Brexit on Local Government to date has been in the shadows, but as we move towards the date of Brexit there is more focus on the involvement for Local Government, specifically around devolution. Annual reports updating on the LGA position and Brexit can be found in the minutes of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee meetings each March.  Funding Unpicking our ties with the EU will impact the UK in a host of different ways, not least of which is the need to replace an estimated £8.4 billion EU funding for local areas. Since the referendum, widespread discussions have been ongoing amongst councils and stakeholders concerning the establishment of principles for successor funding arrangements. Whilst having no successor plan is clearly the worst case scenario, many agree that greater flexibility, local control and pooled resources are some basic principles to be considered. In a July discussion document the LGA identified three main funding scenarios for successor arrangements: No Change, Innovative Flexi Fund or Fully Integrated. No Change would see a regional policy that mirrors the existing programme in structure, value and timescales but would be funded by UK government rather than from Europe. The Innovative Flexi

41 Fund represents a fundamental reworking of the current funding arrangements into a more innovative and flexible combined single pot allocation. The Fully Integrated option represents the greatest flexibility in design enabling projects to be devised that create maximum benefits for the local economy. Discussions continue, the outcome of which will necessarily be of great interest to all local authorities, particularly those in rural areas.  Legislation The LGA takes the general view that the conversion of EU law to UK law as part of Brexit offers opportunities to strengthen and enhance some legislation that impact on many council services and affect day to day lives. One such area is food safety where the current legislation is good but the LGA want to see it strengthened with the existing mandatory display of ‘scores on the doors’ in Wales and Northern Ireland extended to England, along with automatic prosecution for businesses that fail to comply.

Corporate Peer Challenge In June 2017 the Council participated in a Corporate Peer Challenge. In this the Council and the services it delivers were reviewed in the context of six themes -  Understanding the local place and priority setting  Leadership of place  Organisational leadership and governance  Financial planning and viability  Capacity to deliver  Notable practice and signposting The results of this were very positive in all areas. The final report set out some key recommendations that the Council’s leadership have been working on over the last year.

42 Performance in Numbers

For those who love numbers, a snapshot of some figures to highlight our achievements

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Our Service to Our Customers 2017-18

193,678 260,000 230,775 309,500 353,630 Visits to our website 475,210

762,726 1,006,220 871,426 1,087,382 1,098,435 Web pages viewed 1,456,045

145,900 157,127 157,899 154,193 185,342 Enquiries to our Customer Services Team 259,405

51,503 53,994 55,253 49,824 51,774 Total footfall Civic Centre and area offices 44,506

80,975 89,373 88,244 86,246 92,932 Total contact centre calls 84,747

32 31 39 68^^ 63^^ Projects in Hambleton receiving grant funding 63^^

76,638 71,274* 79,435 77,821 77,698 Council tax bills issued 79,360

2,897# 17,441^ 33,921A 34,544 33,576 New and existing benefit claims processed 29,312 Waste and recycling bins collected (over 2m 2.8m 3.05m 3.6m+ 3.65m+ 3m+ 60,000 every week) Tonnes of compostable green waste 7496.94 9,893 12,001 11,062 9,899 10,083 collected (est)

Planning permission applications 1060 1,203~ 1,131 1,119 1,190 1,113 considered

Licences issued in relation to alcohol, entertainment, gambling, charitable 1, 1 33 1,616 1,136 903 971 847 collections, street trading, scrap metal and taxis

Families we helped prevent becoming 290 512 461 478 287 608 homeless

New affordable homes provided for local 57 60 1 1 7 111 181 62 residents

420 568 466 488 482” Food hygiene interventions 468

25 24 12 1 318 ¨ Contaminated land assessments 182

235 226 205 247 244 Noise investigation requests 239

^^ includes Making a Difference grants, Small Grants scheme and core grants * figure appears reduced by 5k because March 2014 Council Tax bills were issued in April 2014 to avoid confusion with Annual Statements # new claims only ^ includes change of circumstances and other existing claim processes A includes Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction figures + includes all bins and boxes ~ includes applications subsequently withdrawn “ number of premises that were subject to an intervention, an intervention being an inspection, revist, monitoring visit, etc ¨ includes planning applications and proactive settlements

43 Civic Centre, Stone Cross, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL6 2UU 01609 779977 [email protected] hambleton .gov .uk

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