Agenda and minutes

Council stood for a minute’s silence in memory of the Late Councillor Mike Tilbury who had sadly passed away suddenly on 24 April 2016.

Prayers were led by Father Ling.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 24 March 2016 (previously circulated).

RESOLVED:   The Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 March 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

Councillors J and S Collop declared a personal interest in CAB154: Review of Members Allowances.

To receive Mayor’s communications and announcements.

The Mayor informed Council that he had sent a letter of condolence to Mrs Isobel Tilbury following the sad death of Councillor Mike Tilbury.  He had also sent greetings to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 90^th birthday. 

To receive any items of business which in the opinion of the Mayor are urgent. 

None

To receive petitions and public questions in accordance with Standing Order 9.

The Mayor invited the following posers of Public Questions to come forward to ask their question:

1)         Question from Diane Westwood.

I would like to request that the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk follow the example of other councils throughout the UK banning the release of balloons and sky lanterns on their land and urge other councils and landowners to do the same.

Balloons have caused the deaths of many species of wildlife. Turtles eat balloons because when deflated they resemble jellyfish or squid. Dolphins and a pygmy sperm whale have been killed by balloons off the US coast.

Discarded latex balloons can take months or years to biodegrade. Foil balloons may never biodegrade.

Animals can choke or become blocked by ingesting balloons, or starve when the stomach becomes clogged with balloon waste. Balloon ribbons can cause entanglement and kill birds.

Strong coastal winds can carry balloons to farmland. A farmer 50 miles from London lost a bullock when the animal choked on a balloon that was released from a school in the city as part of a charity fundraiser. The farmer won compensation from the school.

Sky lanterns are a threat because of the amount of wooden buildings and caravans in the area, but animals have died from these too. Animals have died from accidental ingestion of wire from lanterns and birds have been killed. Lanterns have landed on animals with devastating results.

Balloon and sky lantern releases are opposed by the RSPCA, Marine Conservation Society and the National Farmers Union.

In response, Councillor Pope said: “Although I cannot recall there being any specific requests from individuals or organisations to release balloons and lanterns from Borough Council owned land, I would imagine that this has happened on occasions without consent.  I believe that this is an important issue for West Norfolk owing to the agricultural nature of the area and the existence of the Wash estuary which is an important wildlife area, particularly for migrating birds.

I am happy to discuss this issue with my Cabinet colleagues to see if it is feasible for us to put in place some control measures, at least on Council owned sites.  Once I have had the opportunity to look into this matter I will come back to you with my thoughts.  Thank you for raising this with me.”

2)         Question from Joanne Rust

Although the Borough Council passed over its housing stock to Freebridge Housing Association in 2006 and no longer owns these properties, it does retain the responsibility for housing residents in need in our area.  Housing associations are aware that right to buy and universal credit will have an impact on their viability.  Through the Borough Council Liaison Group or any other such means, what discussions have taken place between the two organisations to assess the impact and the necessary mitigation when Freebridge is forced to sell off housing stock.

In response Councillor Lawrence said:

“The Right to Buy enables people to get onto the housing  ...  view the full minutes text for item C:103

In accordance with Standing Order 11.1 to receive reports from Cabinet Members in the following order and under Standing Order 11.2 (a) Members of the Council may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and Portfolio areas:

(Councillors are reminded that this is a question and answer session not a debate.)

Councillor Mrs Nockolds presented her report.  Councillor Gourlay asked whether the Council had been consulted on the potential closure of the Fermoy Unit which he felt was an important unit dealing with Mental Health issues including attempted suicides.  Councillor Mrs Nockolds explained that she wasn’t aware the Council had been consulted on the issue, although some discussions had been held with the  Mind and the Health and Wellbeing Board as it was a responsibility of Norfolk County Council.

Councillor Chenery asked if Councillor Mrs Nockolds had received news of the statement by Michael Scott to say that the Fermoy would not be closed, to which Councillor Mrs Nockolds confirmed she had not received such news.

Councillor A Tyler asked if Councillor Mrs Nockolds was content with the resources and staffing levels put in place to extend the opening hours of the Museums.  Councillor Mrs Nockolds confirmed she was and there was currently an advert for recruitment.

Councillor Blunt presented his report.  Councillor J Collop made reference to only 6 responses received on the CIL consultation event, and asked if he considered the method of consultation with King’s Lynn with no parish sufficient.  Councillor Blunt explained that the number of responses had now increased to 33.  He undertook to let Councillor Collop know how many of those were from King’s Lynn.

Councillor Long presented his report and explained that the total number of Brown Bins was now up to 22,554 which was an increase of 91 bins since December. 

Councillor Joyce asked what steps were being taken to ensure that the motions passed at the County Council Waste Advisory Group would appear on the Environment and Transport agenda.  Councillor Long explained that the automatic procedure  would be to go to that Committee, he undertook to look into what the Motions were and to endorse as he saw fit. In response to Councillor Joyce’s explanation that they were regarding no incineration in Norfolk, Councillor Long confirmed he would be happy to endorse this approach.

Councillor McGuinness made reference to abandoned trollies both around his home and along the banks of the Ouse which would be exposed during the GEAR run on Sunday.  He had contacted Morrison’s to report one but it had taken them over a week to collect it so asked if the trolley collector could be re-engaged.  Councillor Long explained that the supermarkets had opted to collect their own trolleys, so it was possible that the arrangement would have to be re-visited.  Collection of trolleys in the river would require a boat to retrieve them.

Councillor Gourlay asked what waste derived fuel was, to which Councillor Long responded that it was packed and shipped abroad for incinerating, which felt was not the best way to get rid of Norfolk’s waste.  He suggested that the County Council’s Labour group be encouraged to lobby for the change.

Councillor Mrs Buck thanked Councillor Long for ensuring the rubbish in North Lynn had been cleared, but unfortunately it was beginning to accumulate again.  Councillor Long confirmed he had received notification from a resident of that fact.  Consideration was being given to taking legal action in the locality.

Councillor Mrs Buck asked if the Council would provide a rat catcher for north Lynn, to which it was explained that the vermin control was carried out by a commercial vermin controller. 

Councillor Lawrence presented his report.  Councillor A Tyler asked for an update on the issues with the Discovery Centre following the withdrawal of the after school drop- in centre.  Councillor Lawrence confirmed the Centre was looking for further funding for the service.

Councillor Gourlay concurred with the concern expressed about the Discovery Centre funding issues.  Councillor Lawrence confirmed that the Board was working hard, having put new governance in place to find new funding arrangements or sponsors.  Councillor Gourlay suggested that the press be asked to publicise helping the Discovery Centre.

Councillor Joyce asked what the financial impact on the Borough Council was of the 40 houses sold under tight to buy.  Councillor Lawrence responded that the majority went to central government  with admin fees going to the Council.  Councillor Joyce suggested this could be checked.

Councillor Pope presented his report.  Councillor McGuinness complimented the new pay by phone parking metre in the town.  Councillor Pope confirmed  it was now up and running on the short term and multi storey.  Councillor Buck explained that it hadn’t been working when she had tried to use it, she asked what the extra fee for using the service was.  Councillor Pope suggested that if it wasn’t working it should be reported, and the 20p additional fee for the phone booking was per transaction.

Councillor Mrs Wilkinson asked for detail of the meeting with Matthew Henry in the list of meetings attended.  Councillor Pope explained that the meeting related to a planning application at Welney.

Councillor Gourlay asked if the Council had had any input into the changes to the disabled parking bays at the hospital turning them into 20 minute bays which he felt were not good for disabled people.  Councillor Pope explained that the hospital decide which bays would go where and what fees they would charge, and the Council carried out the administration and the enforcement of the parking, therefore any comments should be addressed to the hospital.  In response to further questions on the Hospital parking, Councillor Daubney called a point of Order, that the hospital parking was not within the Council’s control.

Councillor Lord Howard presented his report.  There were no questions.

Councillor Beales presented his report. Councillor Smith asked if there was now a sign in place for a single point of contact if residents had any concern about the lorries  at Lynnsport.  Councillor Beales confirmed that there was now a sign in place following the churning of some ground by lorries which had now been resolved.

Councillor J Collop asked for an update on the meeting regarding Broadband.  Councillor Moriarty asked if a further pre council briefing could be delivered by the County Council on the subject matter. Councillor Beales explained that the roll out that the Council had invested in was going better than originally envisaged, although inevitably some areas were a problem, which the County Council was being pressed to try to resolve.  Once the information was available in a non-commercially sensitive format he agreed to let Members have the detail. 

Councillor Buck commented on the concern of some residents about disruption to wildlife on the Lynnsport building site.  Councillor Beales explained that all the planning applications were subject to Environmental Impact Assessments and ecology reports etc, and officers were liaising with the IDB who were complying with the requirements of the planning permission.  Councillor Mrs Buck also asked if the Lynnsport 3 site  which was currently being used as a store would be returned o a green site if no planning permission was given.  Councillor Beales confirmed it would be if no permission was obtained.

Councillor Bird asked for an update on the car park at the Princess Theatre and McCarthy and Stone building and which budget the access work behind them was being taken from.  Councillor Beales drew attention to the delegated decision which had recently passed through the system,  permitting access work to be carried out behind the Princess Theatre and the development, which had come from a reserve budget for maintenance asset, if  further detail was required Councillor Beales undertook to give that information.

Councillor A Tyler asked for some information on the usage levels of the pontoons on the South Quay and what the Cabinet Member would deem as the biggest disappointment of the project.  Councillor Beales agreed to provide the usage  update via email and acknowledged that the level of usage had been disappointing on estimated figures, but it was rising.  He also suggested that one of the post project reviews that scrutiny may wish to look at was the Pontoons.

Councillor Daubney presented his last report as Leader of the Council.  Councillor Rochford asked if there was any update on the Citizens Advice Bureau to which Councillor Daubney explained that the services of debt counselling, housing needs advice had been put out to tender to provide the advice which would continue to be funded by the Council.  Funding from the County Council, via a service level agreement, preferably would continue to fund the generalist advice.

Councillor Joyce asked if the Leader was receiving support from other leaders on Devolution, to which Councillor Daubney commented that the discussions were complex and robust, and not all Leaders were in agreement with the process, but ultimately it would be the Council that took the decision on the matter.  

Councillor J Collop congratulated the Leader on 9 years in the position with it being his last Council Meeting.  Councillor Daubney thanked him for his kind words.

Following a question from Councillor Moriarty, Councillor Daubney explained that the information received from DCLG devolution wise was that if the County Council for the area eg: Norfolk, Suffolk or Cambridgeshire decided not to sign up then the Districts within their area couldn’t sign up, however if a District decided to join after the initial deal they could then join and take the County strategic planning and transport functions with it.

Councillor Gourlay drew attention to the situation which was highlighted in the press about the Citizens Advice Bureau, he drew attention to the fact that a lot of their users were people with mental health issues, and he considered it was essential to have a fully functioning CAB in King’s Lynn.  Councillor Daubney explained that the Council had a responsibility to ensure there was a service provided in some form, but it was down to the best delivery of a first class robust service.

Councillor McGuinness in discussing the Devolution information, commented on the need for as much information as possible  in order for council to take a decision.  He asked whether West Norfolk would be worse off when involving the Norwich area and other cities.  Councillor Daubney commented that it was a judgement that would have to be taken with all the information to hand.  Government policy was to devolve power to the regions, the offer on the table being the best deal being offered by the Government, so it was essential that the Leaders worked together to get the best deal available for the region.  He commented that the information for Members would be expanded once more information was available. 

Councillor A Tyler asked when information would be available to discuss with the public to raise their awareness.  Councillor Daubney confirmed that the information hadn’t been easy to communicate, but there would be a great improvement to that as there was a lot of public information now coming through.

Councillor A Tyler asked if when freedom of information requests were submitted whether they were dealt with as quickly as they can be and without  ...  view the full minutes text for item C:104viii

In accordance with Standing Order 11.2 (b), Members of the Council may ask any questions of the Chairman of any Council Body (except the Cabinet).

Councillor Gourlay asked if the Environment and Community Panel had considered anything from the hospital relating to the parking charging at the hospital.  Councillor Sampson confirmed that the Council had not been involved but only enforced the arrangements.

To consider the following recommendations to Council:

To consider the following recommendations from the Cabinet meeting on 5 April 2016:

CAB153 Report of Scrutiny Structures and Policy Development Task Group

CAB154 Review Of Members Allowances

CAB156 Strategic Land Acquisition - King's Lynn

Councillor Daubney proposed the recommendations from the Cabinet meeting on 5 April 2016, which were seconded by Councillor Beales:

With regard to CAB153: Report of Scrutiny Structures and Policy Development Task Group, Councillor J Collop expressed concern about the recommendation 12 in the minutes, which he considered left opposition members with no other way to have things discussed, particularly if they had no representation on the body.  He was disappointed that no Chair or Vice Chair positions were being offered to opposition members in the recommendations.

Councillor McGuinness informed Council that he would vote against the recommendations following the removal of the opposition majority role at Cabinet Scrutiny Committee, and no offer of chairmanships because the opposition still needed to hold the Administration to account. 

Councillor Joyce said he would vote against the recommendations because he considered that every member, not just opposition members  should be able to place items onto an agenda for discussion.

Councillor Beales commented that the Administration were keen to involve the Opposition and that even if they did not have to have a representative on the particular body to put an item forward, the recommendation was that the Opposition could put an item forward for discussion on the agenda.  He reminded Members that this had been introduced to take into account of Opposition concerns.  Councillor Beales also reminded Members of the introduction of the Panels choosing their own Chairs and Vice-Chairs which gave the opportunity for any Member of the Panel who was good enough to potentially be appointed. 

In summing up, Councillor Daubney explained that at the previous Annual Council meeting proportionality had been restored across the Panels, it had been widely acknowledged that scrutiny wasn’t working, Members should participate in the scrutiny process and make their points known, he also reminded Members that the recommendation 12 had been introduced to take into account concerns raised by Councillor J Collop.  He considered that the recommendations were a genuine attempt to improve the scrutiny process.

Councillor Joyce wished for his vote against to be recorded for the reason that he considered all members should be able to place items onto an agenda.

On being put to the vote the recommendations were agreed.

With regard to CAB154: Review Of Members Allowances Councillor McGuinness moved the following amendment which was seconded by Councillor J Collop.  Councillor McGuinness commented that he had moved the amendment following the comments of the staff received on the proposed increases when staff had been awarded 1%, whereas the proposal was for an 8% increase.   He stated that his preference would be for a 0% increase:

i)                 In respect of report of independent panel, amending the public services discount figure in 6.1.1. from 20% to 25.6%, the overall effect of which will result in a 1% increase to the members basic allowance (from £5,140 to £5,191)

ii)                The rest of the members allowances scheme being amended as per the table below, to ensure that all special responsibility allowances are linked to the members  ...  view the full minutes text for item C:106i

i)          To consider the following Notice of Motion (2/16), submitted by Councillor J M Tilbury:

“This Council opposes the imposition of an elected mayor upon East Anglia.”

ii)         To consider the following Notice of Motion (3/16) submitted by Councillor N J Daubney:

“This Council wishes to properly and fully debate the acceptance or otherwise of devolved powers before end June 2016 taking account of all aspects, positive and otherwise of what is on offer for the residents and businesses of the Borough.  This

Council request its Cabinet to make clear to those liaising with potential combined authority partners at both local and national levels the Councils opposition to acceptance of a directly elected Mayor.”

i)          The Mayor invited a seconder for the following Notice of Motion (2/16), submitted by the Late Councillor J M Tilbury.  Councillor Moriarty seconded the Motion:

“This Council opposes the imposition of an elected mayor upon East Anglia.”

In seconding the Motion Councillor Moriarty explained that the Motion was not against the idea of an elected Mayor, but of its imposition by the Government.

Councillor Daubney commented that he had discussed the Motion with the Late Councillor Tilbury when he had explained that it wasn’t intended to stop the discussions on Devolution.  Under Standing Order 14.6, Councillor Daubney proposed that the Motion be referred to Cabinet for consideration.  This was seconded by Councillor Beales and agreed.

RESOLVED:   That the Motion be referred to Cabinet for consideration.

ii)         The Mayor invited the proposal for the following Notice of Motion (3/16) submitted by Councillor N J Daubney, and seconded by Councillor Beales:

“This Council wishes to properly and fully debate the acceptance or otherwise of devolved powers before end June 2016 taking account of all aspects, positive and otherwise of what is on offer for the residents and businesses of the Borough.  This

Council request its Cabinet to make clear to those liaising with potential combined authority partners at both local and national levels the Councils opposition to acceptance of a directly elected Mayor.”

RESOLVED:   That the Motion be approved.