Minutes of the Meeting of the Borough Council of Wellingborough Held at Swanspool House, Wellingborough on Tuesday, 31 July 2012
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH HELD AT SWANSPOOL HOUSE, WELLINGBOROUGH ON TUESDAY, 31 JULY 2012 Present: The Mayor (Councillor K Harrington) and Councillors Allebone, Bailey, Bass, Beirne, Bell, Carr, Dholakia, Emerson, Graves, Griffiths, Hawkes, Henley, Higgins, G Lawman, L Lawman, Maguire, Morrall, B Patel, M Patel, Pursglove, P Raymond, Scarborough, Simmons, Timms, Ward, Warwick, Waters, and Wright. Officers present: Mr J T Campbell (Chief Executive), Mr R Micklewright (Corporate Director), Ms L Elliott, Mrs B Lawrence, Mr C Pittman and Mr S Wood (Heads of Service),Ms S Lyons (Legal Adviser) and Ms P Lawton (Principal Democratic Services Manager). Others present: Local Government Boundary Commission for England – Mr M Caller (Chairman), Prof C Mellors (Deputy Chairman) and Mr T Bowden (Review Manager), Mr J Casserley (Wellingborough Norse). The meeting was preceded by prayers, led by the Mayor’s Chaplain. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE RESOLVED to note that apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ainge, Blackwell, Elliott, Hollyman, Partridge-Underwood , J Raymond and Watts. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST RESOLVED to note that in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, the council’s code of conduct and the council’s constitution, the under-mentioned councillors declared interests in the following items: Councillor Committee date and minute no. Reason for declaration Allebone Resources 11/07/2012 (min 5) Disclosable pecuniary interest – Capital Out-turn Report Board member of Castle Theatre. Graves Community 09/07/12 (min 4) – Disclosable pecuniary interest – Wellingborough Homes: Chief Executive of SERVE, Progress and Monitoring Report. currently in negotiations with Wellingborough Homes for supply of Handyman service. Griffiths Resources 11/07/2012 (min 9) – Disclosable pecuniary interest – Properties in Windsor Road. Owns property in Windsor Road. Higgins Community 09/07/12 (min 4) – Disclosable pecuniary interest – Wellingborough Homes: Council appointed director of Progress and Monitoring Report. Wellingborough Homes. G Lawman Report item 6 – Electoral Review Registerable interest – County Councillor. G Lawman Planning 04/07/12 (min 15) Registerable interest – County County Council application Councillor. G Lawman Audit 28/06/12 (min 6) Registerable interest – County Unaudited Statement of Councillor and Chairman of Accounts Pension Fund. G Lawman Resources 11/07/2012 (min 10) Registerable interest – County Review of LGPS Councillor and Chairman of Pension Board. 137 Council Meeting – 31 July 2012 Morrall Community 09/07/12 (min 8) – Disclosable pecuniary interest – Update on Performance and Director of Wellingborough Progress: Wellingborough Norse Norse. Warwick Development 10/07/12 (min 5) – Disclosable pecuniary interest – Town Centre Redevelopment: Owns property in High Street. RAG progress report. Warwick Resources 11/07/2012 (min 17) Disclosable pecuniary interest – – High Street Developer Owns business premises in High Procurement: Heads of Terms. Street. 3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETING RESOLVED that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 26 June 2012 be confirmed and signed. 4. QUESTIONS, PETITIONS AND REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE MEETING NOTED that three requests had been received from members of the public to address the meeting. The following speakers were permitted the opportunity to speak for three minutes each in relation to item number 6 on the agenda: Councillor S Homer – County Councillor for Irchester electoral division Mr Webb – Irchester resident Councillor G Swann – Finedon Parish Council. County Councillor Homer adressed the Council in support of the creation of a county division of Irchester, containing the parishes of Irchester, Wollaston, Strixton, Bozeat, Easton Maudit and Grendon as recommended by the Boundary Commission. The reasons stated for supporting the proposal were community links between the parishes, direct access and easy communication links via the A509. It was confirmed that the residents of the village communities concerned who had been consulted were in support of the proposal. In terms of numbers of electors, the projection for 2017 fell only slightly short of the recommended average, and Councillor Homer asserted that to consider any alternative proposal would be illogical. Mr Webb addressed the Council, also in support of the proposal to create a county division of Irchester, containing the parishes of Irchester, Wollaston, Strixton, Bozeat, Easton Maudit and Grendon. He expressed the view that all were similar socially and economically, had good connecting roads such as the A509, and shared good schools and connecting bus services. He confirmed that other residents he had spoken to had also been in support of the Boundary Commission recommendation. Parish Councillor Swann addressed the Council, speaking as both a Finedon resident and Chairman of Finedon Parish Council, in support of the county council’s submission. He expressed serious concern in relation to the Boundary Commission recommendation that the town of Finedon be included with Castle district ward and part of Hemmingwell district ward, stating that it was not appropriate due to the rural nature of the Finedon division, and the urban nature of Castle and Hemmingwell. The Mayor thanked the speakers for their comments. 5. ELECTORAL REVIEW: BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH The annexed circulated report of the Chief Executive was received. 138 Council Meeting – 31 July 2012 Representatives from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) delivered a presentation detailing the timetable and approach to an electoral review of the Borough of Wellingborough. Questions were invited from the Chamber. An overview of issues raised by councillors together with responses provided by the LGBCE representative, are detailed as follows: • Reason for the review: Statutory obligation to ensure electoral equality where imbalances in representation occur. Wellingborough’s boundaries had not been reviewed for a number of years and were therefore no longer representing equality for the electorate. • Would the Commission listen and take account of local views: No pre- conceived ideas; the Commission wished to receive evidence-based proposals which would stand up to challenge and scrutiny. These could be submitted by the council or other interested parties. • When would the Order of Parliament come into effect: this would be published in 2014 and would come into effect at the 2015 election; • Resourcing of the review process in terms of officer time: Acknowledged that there would be a significant amount of work relating to the review and this would need to be taken into account in order to obtain the best outcome for Wellingborough. The Chief Executive confirmed that the review would be resourced appropriately within the overall Democratic Services work plan, alongside other priorities such as the Police and Crime Commissioner elections. • Single or multiple member wards: Clear guidance exists where councils elect in thirds; no such requirement exists for Wellingborough. No pre-conceived opinions and the decision should be driven by the three criteria relating to local information. The council would have to be explicit if there was a preference for single member wards, so that the Commission could take this into account. • Clarification on numbers: Based on electorate, not population figures. • Councillor workloads: Difficult to quantify; different challenges in urban and rural areas; this is the reason that the review is based on three criteria, not just electorate numbers. Commitments by councillors elected to other bodies (eg. county or parish councils) could not be taken into account. The Mayor expressed thanks on behalf of the Council to the LGBCE for their interesting and informative presentation. Councillor Bell moved an amendment to the recommendation that a members’ meeting be scheduled in September 2012 to discuss Council size. This was seconded by Councillor Dholakia and on being put to the vote was declared carried. RESOLVED that: (i) a members’ meeting be scheduled in September 2012 to discuss council size, (ii) the report in relation to the commencement of an electoral review be noted. 6. ELECTORAL REVIEW: NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL The annexed circulated report of the Chief Executive was received. Councillor Bailey spoke strongly against the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) proposal that Finedon parish be included in an electoral division with Castle district ward and parts of Hemmingwell district ward. A number of 139 Council Meeting – 31 July 2012 councillors concurred with Councillor Bailey’s comments that Finedon was a rural parish and it was therefore inappropriate to include it in an electoral division with urban wards to the north of Wellingborough. There was also disagreement with the LGBCE view that the A510 provided a significant communication link with Wellingborough town to be credible for these purposes. A number of councillors addressed the meeting both in support, and against, the Irchester proposal for the creation of a county division of Irchester, containing the parishes of Irchester, Wollaston, Strixton, Bozeat, Easton Maudit and Grendon. Discussion took place in respect of the differing needs of rural and urban communities and the inflexibility of the proposals, resulting in the council being faced with the choice of the ‘least worst’ option rather than something that would work for all communities concerned.