Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 July 2015.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 July 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

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.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was no urgent business.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

Councillor Mrs E A Nockolds attended for items ….

There was no Chairman’s correspondence.  The Chairman did report that Councillor Rochford had enquired as to how to add items to the work programme.  The Chairman had advised Councillor Rochford to contact either himself, the Vice Chairman or the Democratic Services Officer.

To receive an update from Tony Hall, Chief Executive, Freebridge Community Housing.

The Chairman then invited Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge Community Housing to give a presentation to the Committee.

The presentation covered:

·       Programme of Improvements for Tenants

- Decent Homes Programme

- Non-Trads Programme

- Hillington Square – A place where people want to live

- Empty Homes Scheme

·       New development

- Keeble Court, King’s Lynn and Coronation Avenue, West Winch

- Passivhaus – Terrington St Clement

- Waterside, North Lynn

- Lady Jane Grey Road

·       Key Performance Indicators

·       What has been achieved

·       Future Plans and Changes in National Policy

The Chairman then invited the Committee to ask questions, which are summarised below.

Councillor Tyler referred to the area around some garages on Reid Way and asked whose responsibility it was for maintaining them.  He added that if they were the responsibility of Freebridge, then how quickly would Freebridge respond, if an issue was raised in relation to improving the area. 

In response, Tony Hall explained that Freebridge had related assets outside of the home and around the property itself.  Feedback from the Quality of Life survey had suggested that some people were dissatisfied with the areas around them.

In relation to grass cutting, Tony Hall explained that Freebridge tried to have a good relationship with the County and Borough.  He further added that there was still a legacy from the transfer of stock where there was still some land belonging to the Council which would be better placed with Freebridge and vice versa, and some parcels of land had been transferred and where in the process of transferring.

With regards to the garage sites, it was explained that Freebridge had a varying demand for these.  Some sites had been redeveloped as infill sites and he referred to a scheme in Hunstanton. 

He added that as well as the decent homes standard, he also wanted to look at street lighting, pathways, etc.

With regards to how quickly issues could be dealt with, he explained that this would be on the same basis as repairs.  However the difficulty would be if the work needed to be put into the overall work programme.

He concluded that if any Member had any particular issue then please let him know.

Councillor Smith referred to the decency standard and asked what was it and how that level was decided upon. He also asked Mr Hall if he would live in a Freebridge property.

In response, Tony Hall explained that there were several Freebridge Houses that he would like to live in.   In relation to the decency standards he explained that this was a low standard and the key issues were around bathroom/kitchen life cycle targets.  However, Freebridge had gone far beyond the decency standard in relation to insulation and tried to find ways to ensure homes were as energy efficient as possible.  He added that if there was more funding available, then they would like to do more.

In response to a comment from Councillor Smith, Tony Hall explained that skirting boards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive a presentation from the Operations Manager on Allotments within King’s Lynn.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Mrs Nockolds, Portfolio Holder to the meeting.

The Committee received a presentation from Sarah Moore, Operations Manager on Allotments.

Sarah explained that an allotment was:

‘By definition an allotment was: an area of land leased either from a private or local authority landlord, for the use of growing fruit and vegetables. In some cases this land will also be used for the growing of ornamental plants, and keeping hens, rabbits or bees. ‘

In managing allotments, local authorities were also governed by the following national legislation:

•        The Land Settlement Facilities Act 1919

•        The Allotment Act 1922

•        The Allotment Act 1925

•        The Town and Country Planning Act 1947

•        The Allotment Act 1950

The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 – this placed a statutory duty on local authorities to provide allotments appropriate to demand and they were traditionally managed by the lowest form of government and therefore the allotments which fell within the unparished areas of Kings Lynn were managed by the Council.

Advice and guidance could also be sought from the National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardens, of which the Council was a member. They held regional forum meetings which allowed officers to get together and exchange ideas and advice, but importantly they were attended by the Societies legal officer who was there to offer legal advice in any difficult or challenging cases.

From March 2014 the management of allotments was moved from the Property Services section to Public Open Space section.

At present there were 14 sites across Kings Lynn, 4 of which were managed by allotment associations, the remaining 10 were directly managed by Public Open Space.

Of these, one site was rented from NCC, the rest were Council owned

There were 476 plots within those 10 sites

There was a waiting list of 90 people, and the Council received on average 2 allotment applications per week

In October 2014, allotments were subject to an internal audit, and the service was reviewed in order to guide future actions required to help to improve the service.

It was noted that improvements could be made to the back office administration and management.

One of the priorities highlighted was the need for an allotments strategy, which would set out the direction and future of the allotment stock, however as there were a number of day to day management operations to improve, it was agreed that this would be delivered during 2016.

A risk assessment had been developed that would be available to tenants and officers alike to cover the range of hazards that could be associated with allotments, such as machinery/ tools, bonfires, personal and public safety.

The waiting list was inherited from Property Services and detailed residents that had made allotment applications as far back as 2010. The recommendation was to bring the waiting list up to date by contacting the residents to ensure that they were, still interested, still in the area and had not been allocated a plot  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Executive Director, Commercial Services will update the Committee on the 2015 Events Programme.

The Committee received a presentation from Martin Chisholm, Business Manager on the Review of the 2015 Events Programme.

The presentation covered the range of events provided and numbers of people who attended.

The Chairman thanked Martin for the presentation and asked if the Committee had any comments/questions which are summarised below:

Councillor Tyler stated that the events appeared to be received well, and asked if the events provided was something that other towns of similar size to King’s Lynn did.

In response, the Business Manager explained that events such as GEAR, the Olympic Torch and the Classic Car show were very successful events in bringing people into the town. 

In relation to the luminaire display, it was confirmed that currently officers were looking to have a Xmas display on some buildings.

In response to a comment, the Business Manager explained that the 60% of the fee from the spitfire trail was going towards the Mayor’s Chairty.

Reference was to niche markets within the town and it was explained that these tried to be put on when events were taking place.

It was reported that the footfall on the 40s day was up by 50-60% and for the Mods and Rockers event was up by 70%.

The Business Manager explained that Sunday events produced the strongest increase in footfall.  He added that the niche events were not always as successful.

The Executive Director explained that some basic research was carried out to see what worked in other places.  He added that a lot of work and effort went in to the planning of the events.  In relation to the luminaire light show he was aware that people did come to King’s Lynn specifically to look at them.  He added that Xmas would be a unique selling point as not many places had the light shows with sounds and lights.

Councillor Rochford referred to the Heritage Open Day and highlighted that a lot of restaurants were closed, and suggested that businesses should be encouraged to keep open longer on Sundays when events were taking place.

The Business Manager also expressed disappointment as the events were publicised.

The Business Manager also explained that a report would be presented to the Joint Panel Meeting in due course.

Councillor Mrs Nockolds, Portfolio Holder, explained that a report would be going to the Town Centre Partnership and to a Panel meeting.  The Eastern Daily Press also did a report on the events and the media in general was also helping to promote events.

Councillor Collop stated that there must be a budget in order to be able to provide these events.  The Executive Director explained that there was a Town Centre Promotions budget of £150,000.   Councillor Collop asked if he could have a breakdown of finances and it was explained that this would be included within the Panel report.

The Executive Director explained that there were a lot of good things happening in King’s Lynn for example redevelopment of the Tuesday Market Place and Saturday  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee is asked to note the future Work Programme for 2015/2016.

The Committee noted the Work Programme.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for Thursday 7 January 2015 at 6pm in the Committee Suite.

The date of the next meeting of the Committee was Thursday, 7 January 2016 at 6pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court.