THREE RIVERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
At a meeting of the Council held in the Penn Chamber, Three Rivers House, Rickmansworth, on Tuesday 5July 2011 from 7.30pm to 9.25pm.
Present: Councillors Chris Whately-Smith (Chairman), Kemal Butt (Vice-Chairman), Chris Ayrton, Tony Barton, Matthew Bedford, Sara Bedford, Eric Bishop, Phil Brading, Malcolm Butwick, Stephen Cox, Harry Davies, Guy Davis, Steve Drury, Geoffrey Dunne, Seamus Dunne, Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Paul Goggins, Paul Gordon, Pam Hames, Ty Harris, Chris Hayward, Paula Hiscocks, Stephen King, Barbara Lamb MBE, Chris Lloyd, Chris Lucas, David Major, Joy Mann, James May, Les Mead, Amrit Mediratta, Sarah Nelmes, Brian Norman, Peter Ray, Ralph Sangster, Alison Scarth, Ann ShawOBE, Russell Smith, Len Tippen, Martin Trevett, Kate Turner, Peter Wakeling, Brian White and Keith Williams.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Leighton Dann, Helen Lehrle, David Sansom and Roger Seabourne.
CL26/11 MINUTES
The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 24May 2011 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
CL27/11 CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman made the following announcements:
One of the first events he had attended was the Colne Valley Special Sailors 10th Anniversary and he was so impressed by the organisation that he had decided to include them as his 3rd charity during his year of office.
He had attended the Herts Youth Games where the Warren Dell School in South Oxhey had won the Girls U11 cricket team, beating Watford. He had subsequently attended the trophy presentation at the school.
He had attended the Get Fit and Cycle event and the Greyhound Trust Walk at the Aquadrome with over 150 people attending with their bikes.
The Three Rivers Young Musician of the Year Competition had been remarkable with Katy Smith, a violinist, the winner. She had given an outstanding performance.
Beacon status had been awarded to Leavesden Country Park with a plaque being presented to the Council.
He thanked Councillor Chris Lloyd for attending the Stevensons Awards event at Watersmeet on his behalf.
His Civic Service would be held on Sunday 23 October at 4pm at St Paul’s Church, Langleybury and a wine tasting evening on Friday 23 September at Three Rivers House, Rickmansworth. Any raffle prizes would be welcome.
CL28/11 LEADER’S REPORT
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13(1) Councillor Ann Shaw reported as follows:-
On 4 and 5 June 2012 the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations would be taking place to include the lighting of beacons around the UK. She said it would be helpful if Members could make enquiries within their Wards on interest in lighting beacons in their areas.
The Watford Rural Local Area Forum on 30 June had been well attended. She had talked to residents after the meeting and they had found the meeting constructive and interesting. The Council would be listening to what the community wanted and did not want from the regeneration.
Residents had not been consulted on changes to the Metropolitan Line timetable. This was not acceptable and the Council had requested that consultation take place and that the operators meet with residents to answer their questions.
Around 80 Pensioners from across the District had attended the Pensioners Forum last week.
On the Equality Act 2010, there was a requirement for Members at Policy and Scrutiny Committees to challenge Officers on their performance in meeting the requirements of the Act.
She advised Council of the plight of Luna Petagine who had undergone a number of operations to remove a brain tumour but whose family were raising funds to enable Luna to receive treatment in the USA. Any donations could be made through the Watford Observer newspaper.
Good results had been achieved by the Customer Service Centre (CSC) on their quality of service with 86% very satisfied and 85% very satisfied with the One Stop Shop. The Council should be very proud of these results and Officers be congratulated and thanked.
She congratulated the Chief Executive’s son on passing his degree with first class honours.
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13(1) Councillor Chris Hayward replied as follows:
He thanked the Leader for the information regarding the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations and would ensure Members made enquiries with their Ward constituents regarding the lighting of beacons.
Local representatives had attended the Watford Rural Local Area Forum meeting and welcomed the positive way residents had engaged in the meeting and after the meeting. They would continue to engage in dialogue in the future.
He was also horrified by the lack of consultation on the proposed Metropolitan Line timetable changes and agreed pressure should be made on them to engage with residents on the changes.
He would ensure he attended a future Pensioners Forum.
On the Equality Act 2010, Members of the Conservative Group would do their best to be involved but would appreciate Officer training on the changes.
He noted the extensive fundraising which had been achieved for Luna Petagine with over half of the money required already raised.
He welcomed the customer satisfaction ratings for the Customer Service Centre and One Stop Shop and wished to pass on his congratulations to the staff.
He also congratulated the Chief Executive’s son on passing his degree with first class honours.
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13(1) Councillor Stephen King replied as follows:
He agreed to enquire with residents on the lighting of beacons.
He confirmed that the Local Area Forum in South Oxhey had been well attended.
He agreed that residents should be consulted on the changes to the Metropolitan Line timetable.
He congratulated staff in the Customer Service Centre and One Stop Shop on their satisfaction scores.
He advised that Johnston Close in South Oxhey had been named after a former Parish and District Councillor Doreen Johnston and Noble House had been named after the oldest resident.
He welcomed the completion of the new play area in Ashburnham Drive.
CL29/11 QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 16
The Chairman reported that no questions from the public had been received.
CL30/11 PETITIONS UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 19
The Chairman reported that no petitions had been received.
CL31/11 DISCUSSION TOPIC UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 17
The Chairman reported that no discussion topics had been received.
CL32/11 MOTIONS UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 11
Councillor Sara Bedford, seconded by Councillors Sarah Nelmes and Ann Shaw moved under Notice duly given as follows:
This Council:
· Believes that school buses are an effective, efficient and environmentally friendly way to transport children.
· Accepts that parents should pay towards the costs of transport where they are able to do so.
· Supports the practice of all schools and pupils being treated equally in the provision of and charging for school bus services.
· Believes that the adoption of the ‘straight-line rule’ has exacerbated problems, so that distances to school may now be measured crossing railway lines, motorways and canals.
· Believes that Hertfordshire County Council should continue to organise school buses where there is a demand, without charge to individual schools.
· Asks the Chief Executive to write to Hertfordshire County Council, conveying the views of Three Rivers as part of the consultation process on transport to school.
Councillors Len Tippen and Stephen Cox proposed amendments to the motion to include reference to South Oxhey, in particular the Northwick Ward, as an area of deprivation.
Councillor Chris Hayward also proposed an amendment to the motion that bullet points 4 and 5 be removed.
All the amendments proposed were declined.
After a detailed debate, the motion was put to the vote and was declared CARRIED, the voting being 28 For, 0 Against and 16 Abstentions.
RESOLVED:-
This Council:
· Believes that school buses are an effective, efficient and environmentally friendly way to transport children.
· Accepts that parents should pay towards the costs of transport where they are able to do so.
· Supports the practice of all schools and pupils being treated equally in the provision of and charging for school bus services.
· Believes that the adoption of the ‘straight-line rule’ has exacerbated problems, so that distances to school may now be measured crossing railway lines, motorways and canals.
· Believes that Hertfordshire County Council should continue to organise school buses where there is a demand, without charge to individual schools.
· Asks the Chief Executive to write to Hertfordshire County Council, conveying the views of Three Rivers as part of the consultation process on transport to school.
CL33/11 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Council received the following recommendations from the Executive Committee meeting on 20June 2011:
EX08/11 Local Development Framework – Agreement of Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document for Use in Development Management Decisions
EX12/11 Local Development Framework Core Strategy Examination – Proposed Changes to Gypsy and Traveller Policy (CP 5)
Councillor Ann Shaw proposed, duly seconded, that the recommendations be agreed.
RESOLVED:-
that the recommendations of the Executive Committee be agreed.
CL34/11 REPORTS AND QUESTIONS TO THE LEADER OF THE CABINET AND CHAIRMEN OF THE POLICY AND SCRUTINY, AUDIT, DEVELOPMENT CONTROL, LICENSING, SHARED SERVICES AND REGULATORY SERVICES COMMITTEES:
LEADER OF THE COUNCIL
Councillor Tony Barton asked the Leader to send her congratulations to the residents of Sarratt who had raised the necessary funding for the Post Office to be run as a community activity.
The Leader of the Council agreed it was an excellent achievement by the residents of Sarratt and congratulated them on this achievement.
Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst asked that the resolution by the Executive Committee at Minute EX05/11 CCTV at Batchworth Depot be amended to include consultation with the Chairman of the Policy and Scrutiny Committee. The Leader agreed to this request.
Councillor Stephen King said details had been provided to the Council on changes to the membership rules of the Thrive Homes Board and he asked if representatives on the Board could be consulted. The Chief Executive advised that a copy of the draft response would be circulated to all Members.
SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Report from the Cabinet Member for Environment
Councillor Martin Trevett reported as follows:
The Local Development Framework Member Working Group would be meeting on 20 July 2011 to discuss changes to the site allocations. He advised that no response had been received from Herts County Council on the evaluation of the possible secondary school sites in the District.
A report in the Times newspaper had said the Government had relaxed the planning policy on building in the Green Belt. The Minister had written to the newspaper stating that the Government would not be promoting development of Green Belt land.
This Council had always defended Green Belt land which totalled around 70% of the District.
Report from the Cabinet Member for Sustainability
Councillor Sara Bedford reported as follows:
Following the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the Local Government Association and the Government there was now an on-going obligation for the Council to report emissions from its operational activities.
The Council would need to provide reports for data from 2009/10 and 2010/11 by the end of this month (July), and after that, publish an annual report each year.
The Council were currently in the final stages of collating data from the different Council departments and the final results would be presented to the Sustainable Environment Policy and Scrutiny Committee later in the year.
The new greenhouse gas monitoring methodology was a bit more flexible with regard to what aspects of operation the Council would report on and the format of the report, but required the Council to follow a prescribed method for the actual calculation of emissions. This new method was consistent with international greenhouse gas monitoring standards and the Carbon Reduction Commitment in that it categorised emissions according to where the emissions took place and whether they were either directly or indirectly emitted. The data being collected was similar to the now withdrawn performance indicator NI185 but with the addition of waste and water.
Another change was that the emissions would not simply be reported in terms of CO2 but in terms of the main gases that made up the principal greenhouse gas emissions mix. The report format would be simple, however the underlying analysis of data was more complex than that used for NI185 as the main greenhouse gases must be expressed as carbon equivalent. The report would be posted on the Council website and also sent to DECC along with some additional data to qualify the information in the report.
International Green Hero Award 2011
Further to her statement at the April Council meeting, Councillor Sara Bedford was pleased to confirm that the Council had received the International Green Hero Award from the Green Organisation for our innovative website, “Ourclimateischanging.com”. The award was presented by Trevor Bayliss, OBE, inventor of the wind-up radio, which had been so successful in many parts of the world.
Report from the Chairman of the Sustainable Environment Policy and Scrutiny Committee
The Chairman, Councillor Alison Scarth, reported that the Committee had met once since the last Council meeting.
Councillor Ty Harris congratulated residents on their involvement in the consultation on the regeneration of South Oxhey but asked why there had been a lack of communication with local shopkeepers. He asked how the regeneration would be funded. In response the Cabinet Member for Resources replied that shopkeepers had been fully consulted and would continue to be consulted in the future.
Councillor Chris Hayward said the County Council were on target to evaluate the possible secondary school sites in the District. In response the Cabinet Member for Environment advised that the Working Group would be delighted to receive information at its meeting on 20 July.
LEISURE AND COMMUNITY SAFETY
Report from the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Community
Councillor Keith Williams reported as follows:
The Council had received a good OFSTED rating for its Easter Playscheme.
The summer playscheme brochure had now been published and he hoped the playschemes would be well attended by local children.
The Land of the Liberty Production had been well received.