Meeting documents

To approve as a correct record and to sign the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 26 February 2013.

The Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 26 February 2014 were approved as a correct record.

(a)       Chairman’s Engagements

A list of Engagements carried out by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council between 27 February 2014 and 12 May 2014 had been circulated.

(b)       Chairman’s Announcements

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

(c) Announcements from the Leader of the Cabinet

The Leader of the Cabinet had no announcements to make.

(d) Announcements from the Head of Paid Service

The Chief Executive had no announcements to make.

(e) Petitions

Councillor Jones presented the following petition to the Chairman on behalf of South Heath residents:

“HS2”

The petition contained approximately 28 signatures, and was still ongoing.

ACTION:

The petition was presented to the Chief Executive to respond.  The main points were already incorporated in the Council’s petition on the hybrid bill and many of the other points would be incorporated as evidence of the petition to other Councils, for example the County Council.

This item was deferred to the next meeting of full Council.

It was moved by Councillor J Gladwin, seconded by Councillor A Bacon and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Audit Committee held on 19 February 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor J A Burton and seconded by Councillor J Gladwin and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 20 February 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor J Warder, seconded by Councillor Mrs L Smith and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Standards Committee held on 27 February 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor J A Burton and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 13 March 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor M Smith, seconded by Councillor I Darby and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Joint Appointments and Implementation Committee held on 24 March 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor A Bacon, seconded by Councillor J Warder and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Community and Environment Overview Committee held on 25 March 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor N Rose, seconded by Councillor M Smith and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Personnel Committee held on 27 March 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor A Garnett, seconded by Councillor D W Phillips and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Performance and Resources Overview Committee held on 1 April 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor J A Burton and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 3 April 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor J Gladwin, seconded by Councillor A Bacon and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Audit Committee held on 10 April 2014 be received.

It was moved by Councillor J A Burton seconded by Councillor A Pirouet and

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Housing and Planning Overview Committee held on 15 April 2014 be received.

To consider the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6 May 2013 and to receive questions and answers on any of these minutes and recommendations in accordance with Rule 8 of the Procedural Rules

It was moved by Councillor N Rose, seconded by Councillor M Smith and

Councillor D W Phillips referred to points he had raised at the meeting of Planning Committee held on 3 April in respect of his response to the consultation process for the Delivery Development Plan Document (DDPD) and the progression of the issues raised.  Cllr Harris, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development advised that he would respond to the member in more detail at Item 9 but it was noted that a number of the points raised by the member had been taken on board, and that the Council were taking legal advice before final submission.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Cabinet held on 6 May 2014 be received and the recommendations contained in Minutes 112, 113, 117 and 118 be adopted.

a) Councillor M Stannard - Banking Contract

Councillor Stannard reported that the Council had re-tendered their Banking Contract and on 13 May 2014 the successful bank was confirmed as Barclays Bank.  It was intended that Chiltern District Council was to move its banking arrangements to Barclays from August 2014.

b) Councillor P Hudson - Incident at Chesham Leisure Centre

Councillor Hudson reported that pupils and teachers had suffered adverse effects to a chemical reactions whilst using the swimming pool at the Chesham Leisure Centre on Friday 2 May 2014.  All those affected were taken to hospital but released unhurt.

Once the problem was identified, the pool was closed with immediate effect and the dosage system was independently checked and found to be working appropriately.  Probable cause was the restarting of the circulation combined with increased agitation of the pool water/surface zone caused an increase in the levels of trichloramines (Nitrogen trichloride) present in the pool atmosphese.  Chloramines (including Trichloramines) appear in pools as a result of the reaction between ammonia based compounds.  In pools these compounds usually derive from urine and sweat.  It was recognised that Nitrogen trichloride is largely responsible for the so-called ‘chlorine smell’ however it should be noted that it is not chlorine.  The increased levels of Trichloramines will produce the symptoms of those affected as described.   

It was reported that communication had been received from GLL, and had been maintained with the school and parents.  All parties involved had worked together well to minimise impact of the situation.  On 13 May there was a review of the incident and confirmation of the cause.  There would also be a review of existing procedures and also look at communication procedures and all findings to all stake holders.  GLL had issued a press statement which was to be shared with all members and affected parties.

c) Councillor Harris - Delivery Development Plan Document

Councillor G Harris reported that the public consultation period for the Delivery Development Plan Document had closed on Friday 4 April 2014 at 5.00pm.  It was noted that there had been minor alterations to housing need in the District and all comments received were being considered at this stage.

d) Councillor Rose - HS2

Councillor N M Rose reported that Chiltern District Council had been invited to provide evidence to the Government’s Environmental Audit Committee on 18 March.  The Council had entered into a major project to seek an alternative fully tunnelled route with the assistance of Peter Brett Consultants which was presented as the Green Route designed with hydrology and geology in mind. 

Environmental Health Officers and Legal Officers were working the production of a petitioning document which was to be lodged by Friday 16 May 2014, and it was intended that the submission of the Council’s petition was to be submitted before Friday 16 May 2014.  The proposed Green route was a tunnel route throughout an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Chiltern District.  Members noted the progress of the Council’s petition, the intention of the document and the proposed route.

Councillor Bhati raised a question in respect of the cost to the Council of HS2 since 2009.  Councillor Rose responded that to date the current cost of the legal challenge work was £250,000, and that £550,000 had been budgeted from reserves for the petitioning as mitigation work.

e) Councillor Rose - Resignation as Leader of the Cabinet

Councillor Rose reported that he had formally submitted his resignation as Leader of the Cabinet from the conclusion of the full Council meeting on 13 May 2014, following a 4 year period in this position.  He thanked councillors and officers for their support over this period.

Note:  Councillor A Garth entered the meeting at 6.55pm during consideration of this item.

No Motions had been received.

At a meeting on 2 April 2014, the Chiltern and South Bucks Joint Committee considered the Business Case for a Joint Legal Service, and agreed all the recommendations contained in the report.

As such, full Council were invited to formally adopt the recommendations.  It was moved by Councillor N M Rose, seconded by Councillor M Smith and

RESOLVED -

1.    That the case for a joint legal service was proven and that both Councils should proceed to establish a joint service;

2.    That subject to consultation with staff and a formal agreement between the Councils, the services of staff in Chiltern District Council’s legal service be put at the disposal of South Bucks District Council under Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 so they can work across the two local authority areas; and

3.    That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Leader and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to finalise the terms of any legal documentation required to give effect to recommendation 2 above.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.