MORECAMBE TOWN COUNCIL

10th November, 2016

Sir/Madam,

You are hereby summoned to attend the Meeting of the Morecambe Town Council to be held in the Town Hall, Morecambe on Thursday 17th November, 2016 commencing at 7.00 pm.

The following items will be discussed:

Agenda

1. Apologies for Absence.

2. Declaration of Interests

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting).

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point inthe meeting.

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct.

3. Minutes

To approve the minutes of the Meetings of Council held on 3rd November, 2016 (pages 3 – 6)

MEETING TO ADJOURNED AT THIS POINT

4.Public Participation

Opportunity for members of the public to address council for up to three minutes

MEETING RECONVENED

5.Community Engagement and Grants Committee – 6th September, 2016

To receive the minutes of the Community Engagement and Grants Committeefrom its meeting held on 3rd November, 2016 (pages 7-8) and to consider recommendations made in respect of the following items:

(a)Minute No. 39 – Deferred Applications(page8)

6.Proposed Application for Development Consent 400k Electricity Transmission Connections from Moorside Generating Station to the Existing Transmission System

To consider the report of the Assistant Clerk(page 9)

7.Exclusion of Press and Public

The Council is recommended to pass the following recommendation in relation to thefollowing item:

“That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press andpublic be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, on the grounds that itcould involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 ofSchedule 12A of that Act.”

Members are reminded that, whilst the following item has been marked as exempt, it is forthe Committee itself to decide whether or not to consider it in private or in public. In makingthe decision, Members should consider the relevant paragraph of Schedule 12A of the LocalGovernment Act 1972, and should balance the interests of individuals or the Committee itselfin having access to information.

8.Recommendations from Hearing Panel – 15th November, 2016

To receive an update from the Hearing Panel held on 15th November –A report will be available at the Council meeting

9.Staffing Issues

To consider the report in relation to staffing issues – A report will be available at the Council meeting

10.Date of Next Meeting – Thursday 19th January, 2017 at Morecambe Town Hall commencing at 7pm

David Croxall

Clerk to the Council

9th November, 2016

MORECAMBE TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Morecambe Town Council held on Thursday 3rd November, 2016, at 7.00 p.m. at Morecambe Town Hall

Present:Councillors: D. Clifford (Chairman),M. Pattison(Vice-Chairman), T. Anderson, J. Ashworth, J. Bates, J. Brandwood, C. Brayshaw, D. Brayshaw T. Brown, I. Clift, C. Cozler, L. Davies, R. Dennison, P. Heath, Janice Hanson, John Hanson, T. Metcalfe, L. Page, and D. Whitaker

Officers in Attendance:

  1. Fawcett (Assistant Clerk)

51.Apologies for Absence

CouncillorsA. Ashworth, B. Barber, M. Ogden, B. Hughes,S. Burns,L. Hughes andN. Semple

52.Declaration of Interests

There were no declarations of interest

53.Minutes of Meetings held on 6th October, 2016

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meetings of Council held on 6th October, 2016 be signed as a correct record.

54.Exclusion of Press and Public

Resolved:

That, in accordance with Section 100A (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 could involve the possible disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of that Act.”

55.Council’s Process for Dealing with a Formal Grievance

Council were made aware that its current ‘Grievance and Disputes Procedure’, which was adopted by Council on 15th September 2011, was out of date and not fit for purpose.

Council received a formal grievance, from an employee, therefore needed to address the issues with the current procedure to be able to deal with the complaint.

Item 6.3 of the existing procedure stated:

“The parties to a particular grievance may, on occasion, and by mutual agreement, modify the time limits or procedural stages within this procedure”.

Therefore, Council’s existing procedure does allow for the changes to procedure, subject to the Council and employees agreeing to them.

Council considered the following options:

  1. Make no changes

  1. To amend the existing MTC procedure

  1. To adopt the Society of Local Council Clerks Grievance Procedure Model

  1. To adopt the ACAS Cod of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures

The following recommendations were proposed by Councillor C. Brayshaw and seconded by Councillor D. Brayshaw:

(1)Council agrees to suspend its’ existing Grievance and Disputes Procedure for the duration and purpose of handling the current grievance and adopts the Grievance procedures as set down in the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Specifically, Section 32 to 45 of the ACOP.

(2)For the purposes of hearing the current grievance, Council agrees to the appointment of a Hearing Panel to hear the grievances, which will be comprised of the existing members of the Appraisal Panel.

(3)Council agrees to delegate to the Hearing Panel the powers to hear, deliberate upon and determine the validity of the grievance and apply any lawful resolutions it deems appropriate.

(4)Council agrees to appoint an Appeals Panel in accordance with the temporary Grievance Procedure. The Panel to be made up on a PR basis as per the Appraisal Panel i.e. 1 x Labour, 1 x UKIP and 1 x Independent Group.

(5)Council agrees to task the Personnel Committee to review the Grievance & Disputes procedure as adopted by the Council on 15th September 2011 and recommend to Council a procedure which is workable, lawful and fit for purpose at a later date.

Councillor Bates proposed a friendly amendment to item no. (1) of Councillor C. Brayshaw’ s proposal to read the following:

(1)To suspend its’ existing Grievance and Disputes Procedure for the duration and purpose of handling the current grievance and adopts The Society of Local Council Clerk’s Grievance Procedure Model

Councillor C. Brayshaw Accepted the amendment.

During the ensuing debate and in accordance with Standing Orders a recorded vote was requested by Councillors Clifford and Whitaker.

For the Proposal (17)

Councillors June Ashworth,Bates, Brandwood, Carla Brayshaw, David Brayshaw, Brown, Clifford, Clift, Cozler, Davies, Janice Hanson, John Hanson, Heath,Metcalfe, Page, Pattison and Whitaker.

Against the Proposal (2)

Councillors Anderson and Dennison

Abstentions (0)

Resolved:

That Council agrees:

(1) To suspend its’ existing Grievance and Disputes Procedure for the duration and purpose of handling the current grievance and adopts The Society of Local Council Clerk’s Grievance Procedure Model

(2)For the purposes of hearing the current grievance, Council agrees to the appointment of a Hearing Panel to hear the grievances, which will be comprised of the existing members of the Appraisal Panel.

(3)To delegate to the Hearing Panel, the powers to hear, deliberate upon and determine the validity of the grievance and apply any lawful resolutions it deems appropriate.

(4)To appoint an Appeals Panel in accordance with the temporary Grievance Procedure. The Panel to be made up on a PR basis as per the Appraisal Panel i.e. 1 x Labour, 1 x UKIP and 1 x Independent Group.

(5)To task the Personnel Committee to review the Grievance & Disputes procedure as adopted by the Council on 15th September 2011 and recommend to Council a procedure which is workable, lawful and fit for purpose at a later date.

56.Date of Next Meeting

Thursday 17th November, 2016 at Morecambe Town Hall commencing at 7pm

The meeting ended at 8:00 p.m.

……………………………

Chairman

Any queries regarding this meeting, please contact David Croxall, Clerk to the Council on 01524 422929 or via email to

David Croxall

Town Clerk

7th November, 2016

MORECAMBE TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes from the Community Engagement and Grants Committee Meeting held at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 3rd November, 2016

Councillors Present: T. Brown (Chair) T. Metcalfe, J. Ashworth, R. Dennison, C. Cozler and J. Brandwood

Officers in attendance – A. Fawcett (Assistant Clerk)

36.Apologies for Absence - M. Ogden and A. Ashworth

37.Declarations of Interest

Councillor Brown declared an interest in the Morecambe Heritage Application as she was a member of Go Morecambe and so was the applicant.

38.Minutes of the Community Engagement and Grants Committee held on 6th September, 2016

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 6th September, 2016 be noted.

39.Deferred Applications – 6th September, 2016

The Committee received further information to support the applications as set out below:

  • Wild Boar Gardens
  • Morecambe Heritage
  • West End Allotments

The applications for Wild Boar Gardens and Morecambe Heritage were not scored as the information provided was not considered enough for them to meet the Council’s criteria for the allocation of grants.

The committee suggested that the Wild Boar Gardens application be deferred until the Assistant Clerk spoke to the applicant to try to advise them on what additional information was needed to support the application.

The information for the West End Allotments was accepted, however the Allotments should be made aware that when they claim their grants, the invoices should match the items stated in the breakdown for the costing of the project, as those submitted were not official copies of the invoices. The committee scored the application using the Council’s agreed scoring system.

Councillor Dennison abstained from scoring the West End Allotment application as he felt it did not meet the Council’s criteria.

Resolved:

That Council be recommended to agree

(1)to fund £500 to the West End Allotments. However, the Allotments should be made aware that when they claim their grants, the invoices should match the items stated in the breakdown for the costing of the project, as those submitted were not official copies of the invoices.

(2)The application for Wild Boar Gardens be deferred until the Assistant Clerk has contacted the applicant to offer some advice on the information required in order for the Committee to be able to score the application.

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Chairman

The meeting closed at 6:35 pm

COUNCIL – 17th November, 2016

Item No: 6Report of: Assistant Clerk

Proposed Application for Development Consent 400k Electricity Transmission Connections from Moorside Generating Station to The Existing Transmission System

National Grid have written to the Council regarding its consultation on the proposals to connect Moorside, the new nuclear power station NuGen is proposing to build near Sellafield in Cumbria into the electricity transmission system.

Below are the areas to which feedback is requested:

  • the overall project
  • the route of overhead lines
  • the design and location of pylons
  • modifications to existing ENW overhead lines and pylons
  • the route of underground cable and location of cable sealing end compounds
  • the location of the tunnel under Morecambe Bay including tunnel head houses at both ends
  • new substations we need to build, as well as extensions and modifications we need to make to existing substations
  • temporary works such as construction compounds, road access points, helicopter landing sites, and areas to store equipment along the route
  • transport routes for the delivery of materials and removal of waste
  • landscaping and screening
  • anything else you want to tell us about our work so far

The Town Council are invited to take part in the consultation which runs for ten weeks from 28 October 2016 until 6 January 2017.

Details about the proposals are available on the website or you can contact them by telephone 0800 876 6990, email or post to:FREEPOST NG NWCC

This is formal consultation required under sections 42 and 47 of the Planning Act 2008. It's likely to be the last consultation we hold on our proposals before we apply for consent, so this is your opportunity to influence the design of the connection.

The deadline for responding to this consultation is 5pm on 6 January 2017.

Options should the Council wish to respond to the consultation:

  • The Council could prepare a response immediately.
  • The Council could agree to put this item to the Planning, Development and Environment Committee to consider. However, the recommendations would be required to come back to Full Council unless they are delegated the authority to respond. It should be noted that the next Council meeting is not until 19th January, which is after the Consultation period.
  • Alternatively, the consultation is open to the general public and Councillors may wish to respond in their own right as a resident.

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