Agenda and draft minutes

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.

There were no Members present under Standing Order 34.

There was no Chairman’s correspondence.

To consider the attached report.

The Assistant Director (Finance) explained that at the last meeting held on 5 October 2016 it was agreed to hold a Special Meeting to consider the King’s Lynn Special Expenses charge for 2017/2018.  The Committee had received background information on all elements of the King’s Lynn Special Expenses prior to the meeting.

The Committee also agreed that the Council enter discussions with the current owners of the bus shelters within King’s Lynn with a view to taking these on when the current contract expired on 6 January 2017.

The Environment & Community Panel also received the following reports which should have been considered as background information to setting the King’s Lynn Special Expenses Charges:

Meeting 23 November 2016    Public Toilets Review

Meeting 12 October 2016       Grass Cutting Review

The Assistant Director (Finance) drew the Committee’s attention to the table in paragraph 5, which set out the current services provided within special expenses and the estimate for 2017/18.  It was noted that the Band D Charge for 2017/2018 would be £46.59, whereas the Band D Charge for 2016/2017 was £43.30.

The Committee was then invited to consider any reductions and/or additions that they wished to recommend to Cabinet for 2017/2018.

The Committee discussed the following:

In response to a query from Councillor Joyce, the Assistant Director (Finance) advised that the 2017/2018 Council Tax base for King’s Lynn was based on 18,272 dwellings.  After deducting exemptions and discounts, including the Local Council Tax Support the Band D equivalent tax base 2017/2018 for King’s Lynn was 9,783.7

Bus Shelters

The Assistant Director (Finance) explained that discussions had been concluded with the owners of the bus shelters however the legal work had yet to be finalised.  At the last meeting, the Committee had been supportive of the taking on the bus shelters once the current agreement expired on 6 January 2017.

The Leader explained that the decision would be made through a Cabinet Member’s Delegated Decision.

The Assistant Director (Finance) explained that a notional amount of £13,000 had been included within Special Expenses.

The Leader explained that most Parish Councils provided bus shelters and did generally meet the costs.

In response to a question regarding damaged bus shelters, the Assistant Director (Finance) explained that they had all been inspected and a schedule of the bus shelters had been attached to the agenda.

Footway Lights

Councillor Joyce raised the issue of footway lights and explained that Norfolk County Council claimed that all street lights met the BS 5489 standard, however much of it did not, including Nar Ouse Way.  BS5489 required facial recognition with CCTV and no dark spots.  He added that the Vancouver Centre and Railway Station car park did meet the standard.  The Borough Council were the only district council to be included in the PFI contract.  The contract would have included maintenance which should include repairs or replacement.

The Leader explained that the PFI contract with Norfolk County Council was not for every single light in the Borough.  He explained that the special  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Thursday 5 January 2017, at 6.00 pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the King’s Lynn Area Consultative Committee would be held on Thursday 5 January 2017 at 6pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn