Agenda and minutes

To approve the record of the Cabinet meeting held on 9^th October 2006.                     (Attached)

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 9^th October 2006 were approved as a correct record subject to the following amendments:

• Officers with generic job titles should also be referred to by name on the attendance list;
• Decision 4 at minute item CO55 should be amended to read:

“Send a letter to the Department for Communities and Local Government and copied to the Government Office for the East Midlands expressing concern over the lack of sufficient guidance from central government and the implicit costs of unexpectedly having to extend the consultation period and re-do work.”

No declarations were made.

Report number SD7 by the Strategic Director, Resources.            (Attached)

DECISION:

The Cabinet:

1.                  Notes the contents of report SD7 and accepts the update provided at the meeting on the suspension of the rollout of Wave 2 of the scheme.

2.                  Thanks staff members involved and congratulates them on the bid getting put forward for ministerial approval.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision

(1)               Report number SD7 by the Strategic Director which provided an update on the partnership bid from Lincolnshire local authorities and police to the home office for implementation of 101, the single non-emergency number in Wave 2 of the roll out;

(2)               The decision made by Cabinet on 8^th May 2006 when the Cabinet supported a partnership bid;

(3)               The 101 project aligned with corporate priorities: anti-social behaviour, street scene and access to services;

(4)               The total cost of the bid was £1.8M which included funding to cover the costs of integration of the system to the partners’ CRM, change management, business process re-engineering and training;

(5)               The update provided at the meeting: Lincolnshire’s bid was one of 7 that was put forward for ministerial approval when the roll out of Wave 2 was suspended for analysis of Wave 1 data;

(6)               Work done in preparation for the project could be useful to other service areas. It could be possible to incorporate groundwork for the 101 service within the shared services agenda.

Report number HST10 by the Organisational Development and Housing Services Portfolio Holder.                                                                                                               (Attached)

DECISION:

The Cabinet:

1.                  Notes report number HST10 and acknowledges the improvements identified by the inspection team;

2.                  Congratulates and thanks staff members involved and looks forward to continued improvement within the strategic housing service.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision

(1)               Report number HST10 by the Organisational Development and Housing Service Portfolio Holder on the findings of the Audit Commission’s re-inspection of the Council’s Strategic Housing Services in July 2005 (appended to the report);

(2)               The inspection conducted by the Audit Commission of the council’s strategic housing function in February 2005, which identified 37 weaknesses, five strengths and scored the service as zero starts with uncertain prospects for improvement;

(3)               The decision made by Council on 26^th May 2005 where an improvement programme was approved, which included: an improvement plan for the strategic housing service, extra capacity and resources to deliver improvements and ensure their continuation and a programme of review to bring about improvement in the Council’s Housing Landlord Service;

(4)               The re-inspection of the strategic housing function in July 2006 which identified 7 strengths and 10 weaknesses. The service was scored as one star with promising prospects for improvement;

(5)               The Council’s category A priority: affordable housing and the category B priority: housing management.

Report number PLA623 by the Economic Development Portfolio Holder.                    (Attached)

DECISION:

The Cabinet:

1)                  Endorses the general approach set out in report PLA623 for the preparation of the Revised Core Strategy Preferred Options;

2)                  Agrees the proposed policy content of the Core Strategy Preferred Options as summarised in paragraphs 3.8 of report PLA623 ;

3)                  Wishes to include the addition of policies covering flood risk, energy efficiency in new buildings and renewable energy schemes as set out in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.9 of report PLA623 .

Considerations/Reasons for Decision

(1)               Report number PLA623 by the Economic Development Portfolio Holder on the preparation of the Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy based on recent advice of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Planning Inspectorate;

(2)               The decision made by Cabinet on 9^th October 2006, which established a new way forward for the development of the district’s LDF;

(3)               DCLG guidance that the Core Strategy should be clear, concise and consist only of the overarching planning framework having considered different options available to best meet the needs of the local area;

(4)               DCLG and GOEM stated a typical core strategy should include: settlement hierarchy based on broad locations for development in the district, housing strategy and affordable housing, employment land strategy, transport, town centres and rural policies where appropriate;

(5)               Policy areas considered to be of local importance included: gypsies and travellers, landscape character areas and Section 106 planning obligations;

(6)               Each policy area would present the council with a range of options for addressing the issues in the local context. The Core Strategy Preferred Options would need to demonstrate options that had been considered and why the preferred option was selected. This should be supported by background evidence;

(7)               DCLG advised that policies which largely reflected national and regional planning policy should not be included in the Core Strategy because they did not offer alternative options to consider;

(8)               While flood risk, energy efficiency in new buildings and renewable energy schemes were rooted in national guidance and provided little opportunity for the consideration of a variety of alternative options, they related to issues which had arisen since the adoption of the Local Plan (1995) and would fill a policy gap;

(9)               The first preferred options document had been approved by the Planning Inspectorate; this would provide a model for the council to work to.

Other options considered and assessed:

1.                  To progress the Core Strategy with the same (or revised version of the same) policy topics included in the previous draft version. It was felt that some of the policies tended to repeat national guidance and were therefore inappropriate in the Core Strategy in light of DCLG advice.

2.                  To include only the six policy topics suggested by the DCLG. It was considered that this would present a very narrow Core Strategy which would fail to address all of the key local issues which are required if the Core Strategy is to effectively provide the overarching policy framework for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Councillor Frances Cartwright: Portfolio – Organisational Development and Housing Services.

DECISION:  

That approval is granted that the land at the rear of Tennyson Avenue, Grantham outlined on plan ‘A’ attached to report HST007 be transferred to Longhurst Housing to develop affordable housing in partnership with South Kesteven district council.  The council to have 100% nomination rights to the affordable housing prescribed in the nomination agreement for this site.  The transfer of the land to Longhurst Housing at district valuer’s valuation with the district council granting the association financial assistance in respect of the whole purchase price in accordance with S25. of the Local Government Act, 1988 and the General Disposal Consent 2005.  The transfer of the land to take place following planning approval for the affordable housing units and associated car parking for the new affordable housing units, demolition of the former Scout building and the removal of the compound.

[Decision made on 06.11.06]

All decisions as made on 6^th November 2006 can be implemented on 15^th November unless subject to call-in by the Chairman of the relevant Development and Scrutiny Panel or five members of the Council.