Meeting Pack Derry City and Strabane District Council Dear Member of Governance and Strategic Planning Committee You are hereby summoned to attend the Monthly Meeting of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee to be held in the Council Chamber, Guildhall, Derry, on Tuesday 2 February 2016 at 4.00 pm Yours faithfully John Kelpie Chief Executive AGENDA 1 Notice and Summons of Meeting 2 Apologies 3 Declarations of Members' Interests Open for Decision 4 Deputations (None) 5 Chairperson's Business 6 Confirmation of the Open Minutes of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held on Tuesday 5 January 2016 (Pages 1 - 16) 7 Matters Arising 8 European Youth Capital Bid 2019 (Pages 17 - 24) 9 Friends of the Somme - Yearly Subscription 2015 (Pages 25 - 28) 10 Somme Association - Centenary of the Battle of the Somme (Pages 29 - 36) 11 Grievance Procedure Policy (Pages 37 - 52) 12 Proposed Committee Structure for Progressing Local Development Plan (LDP) (Pages 53 - 58) 13 Member Role Profiles (Pages 59 - 64) 14 Northern Ireland Housing Executive Consultation (Pages 65 - 72) 15 Change of Council and Committee Meeting Dates (Pages 73 - 74) Open for Information 16 Equality and Diversity Group - Strategy and Action Plan 2015-17 (Pages 75 - 84) 17 Intranet Development (Pages 85 - 90) 18 Beacon Scheme to Mark The Queens 90th Birthday (Pages 91 - 104) 19 ABF The Soldiers' Charity - Somme Commemoration Event (Pages 105 - 108) 20 Syrian Refugees Update (Pages 109 - 112) 27 January 2016 Agenda Item 6 Derry City and Strabane District Council Governance and Strategic Planning Committee Open Minutes of Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held in the Council Chamber, Guildhall on Tuesday 5 January 2015 at 4.00pm. Present:- Councillor Carlin (in the Chair); Aldermen Hussey, Kerrigan, Ramsey and Thompson, Councillors Boyle, Cooper, Dobbins, C Kelly, McGuire, McMahon, O’Reilly, Reilly and Robinson. Non-Member of Committee:- Councillors Carr, Donnelly, Hastings and P Kelly In Attendance:- Chief Executive (Mr J Kelpie), Director of Environment and Regeneration (Mrs K Philips), Director of Legacy (Ms O McGillion), Lead Democratic Services and Improvement Officer (Ms E Cavanagh), Lead Finance Officer (Mr A Dallas), Lead Human Resources Officer (Ms P Donnelly), Corporate Health and Safety Officer (Ms O O’Doherty) and Administrative Assistant (Mrs M Doherty). ________________________ At the outset of the Meeting the Chair of the Committee took the opportunity to welcome Members to the first meeting of the New Year and wished Members, Staff and Press a Happy New Year for 2016. GSP01/16 Notice and Summons for Meeting The Chief Executive also on behalf of himself and staff wished Members and those present a Happy New Year. He then read the Notice and Summons for the Meeting. GSP02/16 Apologies Apologies were received from Alderman R Hamilton. GSP03/16 Declarations of Members’ Interests Alderman Hussey declared an interest in agenda item 11 – Retention and Disposal Schedule. Page 1 2 Open for Decision GSP04/16 Deputations (None) There were no deputations. GSP05/16 Chairperson’s Business The Chief Executive advised Members of correspondence received on the 23 December 2015 from the Northern Ireland Assembly, Environment Committee in relation to the Department’s Bill. He outlined that the Bill provides for the establishment of a new nine department structure by renaming seven departments and dissolving three others. He added that the Committee have asked for Members to consider the contents of the letter and to consider if the functions are aligned correctly. Members are asked for their views by the 11 January 2016. A Member of the Sinn Fein grouping requested that the contents of the letter be forwarded to all Members for consideration. A Member of the UUP grouping also asked that the letter be forwarded to Members; he highlighted his disappointment on the timeframe allocated by the Environment Committee for response. He requested that the Committee be advised that such a short timeframe is unacceptable practice. Members agreed. The Committee Recommended that (i) the letter from the Northern Ireland Assembly be forward to all Members for Consideration and any comments for inclusion in a corporate response to be forwarded by 11 January 2016. (ii) a letter be sent to the Northern Ireland Office, Environment Committee highlighting Members disappointment at the timeframe permitted for response in relation to the Department’s Bill. Page 2 3 GSP06/16 Confirmation of the Open Minutes of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held on Tuesday 1 December 2015 The open Minutes of Meeting held on 1 December 2015 (GSP165/15 – GSP188/15) were confirmed and signed by the Chairperson subject to the following amendments: On a matter of Inaccuracy GSP171/15 Rationalisation of the Court Estate (GSP155/15), the Department of Justice be changed to the Justice Committee. It was agreed that Members would amend their own copies of the Minutes accordingly. GSP07/16 Matters Arising Matters Arising (GSP171/15) A Member of the UUP queried what stage Council was at in relation to DSD officials being asked to come to this Committee to outline their plans during the transition period. On the same point a Member of the Sinn Fein grouping also sought clarification as to what stage Council was at in presenting a paper to this committee addressing the imbalance of funding between urban and rural areas. The Chief Executive advised Members that a meeting between the Senior Management Team and Senior DSD Officials is being arranged presently and this meeting will provide a recap and review of plans. He stated that DSD will be asked to attend this Committee to outline their plans during the transition period. The Chief Executive further advised that the paper in relation to addressing the imbalance of funding between urban and rural areas will be presented for Members consideration at the March meeting of the Governance and Strategic Planning Committee. Capital Projects Approval GSP173/15 A non-committee Member of the SDLP grouping raised concerns over the New Strabane Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge. He advised that he had received numerous complaints by residents in relation to antisocial Page 3 4 behaviour and dog fouling currently being experienced by residents. He requested that consideration is given to installing CCTV at the bridge to monitor these issues. A Member of the UUP grouping added that reports in a local newspaper on the antisocial behaviour at the bridge referred to a commitment from the previous Strabane District Council that the area under the bridge would be blocked off and this has not been followed through by the contractor. The Chair of the Committee advised Members that the concerns raised were not for consideration at this Committee and that she herself had contacted Senior Officers of Council in relation to this. It was her understanding that the contractor had not handed the bridge over to Council yet. The Chief Executive advised Members that the Health & Community Committee will provide a report to Members addressing the concerns raised. A Member of the Sinn Fein grouping advised that he had spoken with Officers in relation to the dog fouling and that he was informed that two dog waste bins are to be erected at the bridge, one at each end. The Committee Recommended that official(s) from DSD be asked to outline their plans during the transition period, to this committee. GSP08/16 Corporate and Improvement Plan The Lead Democratic Services and Improvement Officer presented the above report, a copy of which had previously been circulated to Members. The report updated Members on the progress in relation to the Corporate and Improvement Plan 2015/16. A Member of the Sinn Fein grouping welcomed the detailed report and the work done by departments in consistently meeting the targets for Visitor Numbers, Public Health, Waste Management and Parks Development. He stated that he was pleased to see that Council are close to meeting the target of Job Creation and in fact may well exceed Page 4 5 it. He requested clarification on various point and asked that the relevant officers provide updates at a later stage on the following: 12.1.b In relation to the various bids have they all been submitted to ERDF, LED and RDP. Clarification to be provided from Invest NI on funding for the Regional Start Initiative post 31 March 2016. 12.1.c Has any scoping been done on how the £5million allocated to the North West Gateway Initiative will be spent. 12.1.f Reference to the digital economy; was this not launched at the NWRC event in the summer. 12.1.h clarification to be provided in relation to the work that has been completed reference the Creative Industries and Social Economy initiatives. 12.2.a Is there a date agreed for completion of the Tourism Strategy. 12.2.c Reference to creating a City Marketing proposition based on tourism, festivals and events – can the attractiveness of the city as a business start-up location highlighting the success of NWSP, the Ebrington Creative Hub and low start-up costs be reflected in the proposition. A Member of the UUP grouping also thanked staff for the detailed report and asked for the following points to be noted 13.2.d With regard to the Brandywell Project that the word ‘professional’ be removed and just read ‘senior football in the city and region. 13.2.t Can clarity around the completion date of the Strabane town centre bridge project be provided. 14.1.f In relation the Affordable Warmth Scheme, has there been liaison with the NIHE regarding cavity wall installation. A Member of the SDLP grouping also welcomed the report and the work carried out by staff. He stated that it was good to see the vast range of work that this Council has set out and the work that they have completed in meeting these targets.