Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED: Councillor Mrs A Wright was appointed Vice Chairman for the Meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs C Bower, G Hipperson, M Hopkins, C Sampson, T Smith, M Tilbury and Mrs J Westrop.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED: The minutes from the Joint Panel Meeting held on 3^rd June 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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.

Those 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 simple observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There was none.

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 none.

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.

Councillors R Blunt and T Bubb attended for item RD&EC25 – South Quay Area Delivery Plan.

If any.

There was none.

To receive comments and recommendations from other Council bodies, and any responses subsequent to recommendations, which the Panel has previously made.

At the Cabinet meeting on 10 June 2015, the following responses were made to the recommendations from the Panel on the 3 June 2015, on the following items:

(i) CABINET REPORT – FIELDS IN TRUST

PANEL RECOMMENDED: That the Regeneration & Development and Environment & Community Panel support the recommendations to Cabinet as follows:

That Cabinet agrees to:

a) Enter into a Deed of Dedication with Fields in Trust for the open space shown in Appendix 2 of the report as a Centenary Field.

b) Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Commercial Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for ICT Leisure and Public Space to agree the Deed of Dedication with Fields in Trust.

CABINET RESPONSE: The Panel recommendations were taken into consideration when Cabinet considered the item.

(ii) CABINET REPORT – KING’S LYN SURFACE WATER AND HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTRE IMPROVEMENTS AND MAJOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AT LYNNSPORT AND MARSH LANE – COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER

PANEL RECOMMENDED: That the Regeneration & Development and Environment & Community Panel supports the recommendations to Cabinet as set out below:

1. That Cabinet authorise the Property Services Manager to acquire the land, or secure rights as necessary, identified within this report, in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

2. That the Council makes a Compulsory Purchase Order (or Compulsory Purchase Orders) in respect of the parcels of land and interests referred to pursuant to Section 226(1)(a) Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

3. That the Property Services Manager be given delegated authority to make any necessary changes to the Order plan and to the interest which are to be acquired, should further information come to light requiring such amendments, in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder(s).

4. That the Legal Services Manager is given delegated authority to make and complete all necessary documents in relation to the private treaty acquisitions and/or the compulsory purchase orders as necessary.

CABINET RESPONSE: The Panel recommendations were taken into consideration when Cabinet considered the item.

(iii) EXEMPT – CABINET REPORT – ACQUISITION OF MORSTON ASSETS SITES AT THE NAR OUSE REGENERATION AREA

PANEL RECOMMENDED: That the Regeneration & Development and Environment & Community Panel supports the recommendations to Cabinet as set out below, with a slight amendment to the wording of recommendation 2:

1. Instruct officers to undertake comprehensive due diligence of the Morston Assets sites including jointly commissioning with the Administrators, detailed site investigations to enable a full assessment of remediation and development costs of the sites.

2. Note conditional offers to the administrators for all of the Morston Assets sites as set out in paragraph 3.1.

3. Subject to the results of the due diligence, delegate authority to the Property Services Manager and Legal Services Manager in consultation with the Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, to submit revised firm offers to the Administrators to acquire part or all of the Morston Assets land holdings at the Nar Ouse Regeneration Area, subject  ...  view the full agenda text for item RD&EC22

The Panel noted the response made by Cabinet to the recommendations from the Joint Panel meeting on 3^rd June 2015 on the following items:

·         Fields in Trust.

·         King’s Lynn Surface Water and Highway Infrastructure improvements and Major Housing Development at Lynnsport and Marsh Lane – Compulsory Purchase Order.

·         EXEMPT – Acquisition of Morston Assets Sites at the Nar Ouse Regeneration Area.

To receive an update from the Environmental Health Manager (Environment).

The Environmental Health Manager (Environment) presented the report which provided an update on Emergency Planning and Flood and Water Management.  The report outlined the work on going in these areas.

(i) Emergency Planning

It was explained that the Council had a Corporate responsibility and a statutory duty to prepare and plan for civil emergencies.  To assist with fulfilling this duty the Council participated in the Norfolk Resilience Forum.  The Norfolk Resilience Forum was a multi-agency forum which maintained emergency plans, provided training and promoted community resilience.  The Forum had a dedicated website – www.norfolkprepared.gov.uk which held copies of emergency plans and a copy of the Community Risk Register.

The Norfolk Resilience Forum had prepared a Community Risk Register for Norfolk which examined local risks and prioritised them.  Presently two local risks had been highlighted as high risk for the area – tidal flooding and pandemic flu.

The Borough Council had its own Emergency Plan which was reviewed on an annual basis and set out how rest centres could be used and the volunteers and officers who would be required to deal with an emergency.

The Environmental Health Manager provided details of issues that the Emergency Planning Department had dealt with over the past twelve months and included:

·         31 Environment Agency Flood Alerts/Warnings across the Borough

·         24 Met Office Weather Warnings

·         15 incidents/emerging issues – sometimes a response was required and sometimes Emergency Planning just kept a watching brief.

·         Prepare and publish a Flood Warning leaflet in partnership with the Environment Agency.  

·         Attending training exercises.

·         Participating in engagement events

·         Administering the Borough Council’s Emergency Warden’s Group which was made up of volunteers who provided assistance with rest centres.

·         Attendance at the Corporate Business Continuity Group to provide technical advice and training.  Updates on Business Continuity were reported to the Audit and Risk Committee.

·         Administering the West Norfolk Public Event Safety Advisory Group which provided assistance to event organisers for public events.

(ii) Flood and Water Management

The Environmental Health Manager explained that the recovery from the tidal surge last year had almost been completed and details of the work carried out was included in the report.  A variety of grants had been made available for businesses and properties affected by floods to flood proof properties and install flood prevention measures.

The Environmental Health Manager explained that the Borough Council had adopted the Wash East Coast Management Strategy, which was now in the process of being adopted by the Environment Agency.  The Strategy provided the framework to manage the coast in three areas: Hunstanton Cliffs, Hunstanton Promenade and the Area from Heacham to Wolferton Creek.  A Funding Group and a Stakeholder Group would be established to oversee the implementation of the strategy and a Community Interest Company had been set up to provide part of the funding requirements.

Other work carried out to deal with Flood and Water Management included the following:

·         Dealing with flooding caused by heavy thunderstorms in August.

·         Attending meetings of the Corporate Flood and Water Management  ...  view the full minutes text for item RD&EC23

To consider passing the following resolution:

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act”.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

To receive information from the Regeneration and Economic Development Manager.

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager and the Regeneration Projects Officer provided those present with a summary of proposals to develop a Masterplan for the King’s Lynn Riverfront Area.

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager explained that the proposals had been presented to the Panels at an early stage in the process so that Members had an opportunity to comment and make suggestions throughout the process.  Further reports and updates would be provided to Members as appropriate.

The Panel was informed that it was important to develop a clear and deliverable vision for the area and identify any opportunities, risks and constraints in the area.  Funding opportunities would be investigated.

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager provided those present with detail of the areas to be considered within the delivery plan and the context of the sites in relation to their proximity with other areas, links with the town centre and other initiatives ongoing in the town centre.

It was hoped that following the initial work a vision for the Riverfront would be created along with a design concept and delivery framework.

The Chairman thanked the Regeneration and Economic Development Manager and the Regeneration Project Officer for their presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel.

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager answered a number of questions related to the presentation and stated that future reports would be brought to the Panel.

RESOLVED: (i) The update was noted.

(ii) The Regeneration and Development Panel be kept updated on progress with the Delivery Plan.

To note the Work Programme.

In considering the draft Work Programme Members attention is drawn to the Cabinet Forward Decisions List.

The Chairman invited Members of the Panel to contact her if they had any items which they would like to add to the work programme.

Councillor Moriarty referred to the recent announcement that the Borough Council had secured £270,000 from Central Government to roll out a two year project to improve recycling rates across the region and asked if an update could be provided to the Panel on what the project would involve.

The Executive Director would arrange for an update to be presented to a future meeting of the Panel.

Councillor Mrs Collop asked if the DVD was available for Members to view on the NEWS site.  The Portfolio Holder for Environment agreed to see if it was now available for the Panel to view at a future meeting.

RESOLVED: (i) The work programme and forward decision list was noted.

(ii) That the above items be considered for inclusion on the Panel Work Programme.

The next joint meeting of the Regeneration & Development and Environment & Community Panel is scheduled to take Place on Wednesday 22 July 2015 at 6.00pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1EX.

The next meeting of the Regeneration & Development and Environment & Community Panel was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 22 July 2015 at 6.00pm in the Committee Suite, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 1EX.