Agenda item

A 45-minute period in which members may ask questions of the Leader, Cabinet Members, the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and opposition group leaders excluding the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee, Licensing and Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Committees and Governance and Audit Committee.

Note:  Councillor Pam Bosworth returned to the Council Chamber.

 

Question 1 – Councillor Richard Dixon-Warren to Councillor Rhea Rayside, Cabinet Member for People and Communities

 

Councillor Dixon-Warren asked the Cabinet Member about the message that SKDC was sending out to its c8000 veterans when the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee decided not to undertake further work on a local proposal to provide targeted council tax support to alleviate poverty for selected veterans.

 

Councillor Rayside believed the Council had done its due diligence by thoroughly discussing the issue at the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who had recommended not to pursue this area of focus any longer, in part due to guidance from community members.

 

Question 2 – Councillor Ian Selby to Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of the Council

 

Councillor Selby asked the Leader of the Council to join him in wishing Councillor Elvis Stooke well ahead of his skydive to raise money for Bhive Community, a local Grantham hub aimed at helping mental wellbeing.

 

The Leader of the Council was happy to support this and encouraged others to sponsor Councillor Stooke in order to raise over £1000.

 

Question 3 – Councillor Matt Bailey to Councillor Ian Selby, Chairman of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Bailey asked the Chairman of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee whether he would welcome an item on the Committee’s agenda related to the tagging of communal bins across the district?

 

Councillor Selby agreed to this request, and reminded all members that if they were considering requesting an item on the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee agenda, they were always welcome to ask.

 

Question 4 – Councillor Peter Stephens to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

 

Councillor Stephens asked the Cabinet Member whether he supported both battery collection in the district and the re-opening of the Deepings Leisure Centre?

 

Councillor Rhys Baker highlighted the discussion that had taken place at the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee and referenced that battery collection was due to commence in September 2024. If there were any issues with this date members would be informed. The depot development was also continuing apace.

 

Question 5 – Councillor Susan Sandall to Councillor Richard Cleaver, Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement

 

Councillor Sandall referenced an investigation into the development of St. Martin’s Park, Stamford. The Cabinet Member had previously supported this when Leader of the Council – why had the investigation not commenced?

 

Councillor Cleaver assured members that no-one was delaying an investigation. It was not the role of Cabinet Members to determine the business of Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

 

Question 6 – Councillor Ben Green to Councillor Richard Cleaver, Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement

 

Councillor Green requested further information on the re-opening of the Deepings Leisure Centre.

 

Councillor Cleaver responded by saying that the Deepings Leisure Centre was not within the remit of his portfolio as it was not an SKDC property.

 

Question 7 – Councillor Gloria Johnson to Councillor Bridget Ley, Chairman of the Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Johnson referenced a recent petition on increased car parking charges within Stamford. 100s of people had signed this. Grantham Councillors had recently spoken against increased parking charges, particularly with the upheaval around roadworks in the town. Why were so many people being ignored?

 

Councillor Ley was not aware of any such petition having been submitted to SKDC.

 

Question 8 – Councillor Pam Bosworth to Councillor Lee Steptoe, Chairman of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Bosworth asked the Chairman of the Housing Committee when he would start, as Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group, to scrutinise the present administration?

 

Councillor Steptoe outlined that politics was about alliances with those that broadly shared your views. When the Labour and Co-operative Group disagreed with the administration they would make that plain.

 

When the Labour and Co-operative Group had addressed their concerns around bins, they had done it behind closed doors without the use of the press or social media.

 

 

 

Question 9 – Councillor Paul Martin to Councillor Virginia Moran, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

Councillor Martin opined that the Cabinet Member had spoken strongly in favour of the solar development at Mallard Pass. Did she support the Government decision to approve planning permission on the site?

 

Councillor Moran responded by saying that she supported solar farms to a certain extent as a way of developing cheaper energy, and as part of a bigger picture when looking at other energy options. If the area covered by the Mallard Pass site was purely prime agricultural land, then she may have thought differently.

 

The new Government had decided to build many more houses – Councillor Moran’s preferred approach was the addition of permanent solar panels to any new housing.

 

Question 10 – Councillor Helen Crawford to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

 

Councillor Crawford asked the Cabinet Member whether anyone was recording the carbon footprint associated with waste collection alongside increased fuel costs?

 

Councillor Rhys Baker referenced the hard work carried out on this topic by officers. As soon as the information was available on fuel costs it would be reported back to members. A modest increase in carbon footprint would be offset by the carbon savings of a better-quality recycling system.

 

Question 11 – Councillor Charmaine Morgan to Councillor Virginia Moran, Cabinet Member for Housing

 

Councillor Morgan requested an update on house building and acquisitions under the present administration, compared to previous years.

 

Councillor Moran responded that during the last five years of Conservative administration the Council had acquired 42 properties in total. Since May 2023 the Council had built or acquired in excess of 120 properties. One particular site was the biggest investment in social housing in a generation.

 

Question 12 – Councillor Nikki Manterfield to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

 

Councillor Manterfield requested an update on clearing litter from the A1, as a member whose ward ran alongside the road.

 

Councillor Rhys Baker had sent a letter today to colleagues elsewhere that had responsibility for the A1 road, asking for best practice and suggestions. The A1 was currently not a good gateway into the district. Keep Britain Tidy ran a survey on a three or four yearly basis, and it seemed to be a problem in many locations with littering. The Cabinet Member would ask for backing to ask the new Labour Government for a funding settlement to assist with the problem.

 

Question 13 – Councillor Elvis Stooke to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

 

Councillor Stooke asked the Cabinet Member to outline the procedure for emptying bins at the earliest opportunity rather than waiting the formal two week period between collections. He feared that the Belmont ward had seen an increase in fly-tipping.

 

Councillor Rhys Baker sympathised with those residents that experienced missed bins, but unfortunately there was no provision in the Section 47 notice within the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to enact the collection of missed bins as a routine measure. Members were encouraged to submit pictures of fly tipping to the Cabinet Member or the Head of Waste Management and Market Services.

 

As of today, the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership (LWP) reported that SKDC’s bin contamination rates were in line with the rest of Lincolnshire.

 

Question 14 – Councillor Sue Woolley to Councillor Paul Stokes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

 

Councillor Woolley asked the Deputy Leader to confirm whether any cash was still collected by the Council from market stall holders and as a consequence held over the weekend?

 

The Deputy Leader confirmed that no cash was held overnight, and almost all stall holders did not pay their pitch fees in cash anymore. Some new stall holders did use cash.

 

Question 15 – Councillor Zoe Lane to Councillor Rhys Baker, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

 

Councillor Lane had witnessed complaints from residents in Bourne about verges not being trimmed. She asked the Cabinet Member whether the Council was equipped to deal with the ever-changing weather this summer?

 

The Cabinet Member referenced the grey, muggy, warm days that were contributing to the grass growing more prolifically. He would need to identify which verges were affected as SKDC had limited ownership of grass verges. He was happy to update Councillor Lane following these investigations.

 

Question 16 – Councillor Graham Jeal to Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of the Council

 

Councillor Jeal asked the Leader of the Council whether there was a contradiction in his support for Mallard Pass solar farm whilst championing Lincolnshire food produce?

 

The Leader suggested that Mallard Pass was ‘grade 3b’ land, and that more than half of the land was not in SKDC at all; Essendine itself was within Rutland.

 

He went onto say there was an energy crisis involving fluctuating energy prices affecting the budget.

 

You could buy food from all over the world. Energy was also an international commodity. Many fields were used for growing flowers, rapeseed etc., but could now also be used to grow energy.

 

The Leader had been an advocate of renewables all his life. It was possible to produce energy in the UK to create stability. He did not want the nuclear waste site at Theddlethorpe, or nuclear reactors located on the east coast. However, he did accept that there were issues surrounding the number of solar farms proposed for Lincolnshire, and also completely agreed with the approach of placing photo-voltaic panels on buildings where possible.

 

Mallard Pass solar farm was now an issue for national Government. The decision was made by Ed Miliband MP who had been the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for a number of years. It was therefore wrong to say that he had made this decision without prior knowledge of the development and was also misguided to think that the previous Government wouldn’t have made the same decision in time.

 

Question 17 – Councillor Gareth Knight to Councillor Richard Cleaver, Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement

 

Councillor Knight asked the Cabinet Member whether he would commit to meeting himself, Councillor Mark Whittington, County Councillor Richard Davies and residents to discuss the Recreation Ground within his ward?

 

Councillor Cleaver was happy to meet all concerned.

 

Question 18 – Councillor Tim Harrison to Councillor Graham, Leader of the Opposition

 

Councillor Harrison asked the Leader of the Opposition whether he would decry social media posts from a member of his group stating that the Chinese empire was ‘evil’?

 

Councillor Jeal was not familiar with the social media posts being mentioned.

 

Question 19 – Councillor Max Sawyer to Councillor Paul Stokes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture

 

Councillor Sawyer asked whether free market stalls were still being offered to charities?

 

The Deputy Leader highlighted the reduced rate offered to charities for one stall only.

 

Note:  The meeting adjourned at 3:23pm and reconvened at 3:40pm.