Meeting documents

COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on

26 October 1998

PRESENT

Cllr E H Collins (in the Chair)

Cllr Mrs F W Alexander

Cllr L Ali

Cllr R W A Barber

Cllr Mrs E M Barratt MBE JP

Cllr C D Bates

Cllr Mrs F G Bettison

Cllr S R Billingham

Cllr J M Blanksby

Cllr J M Campbell

Cllr D J Carroll

Cllr P J Cartwright

Cllr Mrs L M Clarke

Cllr D J Coe

Cllr I M Coleman

Cllr A D Collingwood

Cllr R B Colomb

Cllr D E Done

Cllr A A Dunford

Cllr C J Elliott

Cllr D G Fieldhouse

Cllr A Gielgud

Cllr S H Graham

Cllr D A B Green

Cllr Mrs E Hall

Cllr Mrs A E Hardy

Cllr A E Hill

Cllr M D Huddy

Cllr Miss B M Hughes

Cllr R W Jennings

Cllr Mrs E M Lay

Cllr Mrs V A Letheren

Cllr Miss D A Lewis

Cllr Mrs C C Martens

Cllr Mrs C E Mill

Cllr A R Mountford

Cllr R J Nagle

Cllr C B Oliver

Cllr Mrs P I O’Rourke

Cllr M B Oram

Cllr B R Pollock

Cllr J W Preston

Cllr Mrs P Priestley

Cllr R C Pushman

Cllr Mrs B J Sadler

Cllr A J Tanner

Cllr Mrs J E Teesdale

Cllr N P Vickery

Cllr Mrs J S R Waite

(Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs I B Campbell, D A E Cox, Mrs K M Draper, A Dunn, Mrs J E Gabbitas, P J Herschel, B T A Holland, P J Moore, Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP, Mrs J Riddington and D A C Shakespeare).

1.     MINUTES

The Chairman of the Council informed Members that the report referred to in Resolution (ii) of Minute No 19 (Provision of Community Facilities – 260 Desborough Road, High Wycombe) would be submitted to the meeting of the Council on 14 December 1998.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13 July 1998 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

2.     CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Members were informed that Joseph and Lucia Ellul had retired after giving 64 years of joint service to the Council.  A presentation was made to Mr and Mrs Ellul by the Chairman of the Council and was greeted with applause by the Members.

The Chairman informed the Council that Cllr Dunn had recently been injured in a road accident in Panama.  He had written to Cllr Dunn expressing the Council’s best wishes for a speedy recovery to good health.

Cllr and Mrs Barber had recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and the Chairman reported that he had congratulated them on behalf of the Council.

The Chairman extended apologies for absence from Mr Cummins who was currently in America addressing a conference organised by the Institute of City Managers on “Quality Services”.

Council Chamber

The Chairman reported that Mrs J Clarke, a former Mayoress of High Wycombe had recently died aged 94 years.  Mrs Clarke had been the widow of the late Mr R P Clarke, a former Mayor of High Wycombe on two occasions.

The Chairman reported that Mrs S Simmons, a founder Member of the District Council had recently died, and the Chairman informed Members that he had attended her funeral.  Members stood in silence as a mark of respect.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee held on 27 July 1998 were submitted.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee held on 27 July 1998 be received.

4.     Community and Leisure Committee

The Minutes of the meeting of the Community and Leisure Committee held on 14 September 1998 were submitted.

Minute No 17 – Investment Proposals for Wycombe Sports Centre

A Member drew attention to the omission from the annual Wycombe Leisure Limited’s report of the names of the current Board Members.  The Chairman of the Community and Leisure Committee undertook to circulate these details to Members of the Council.

Minute No 19 – The Rye Environment Project

Members noted that the declaration of interest of Cllr Mrs J E Gabbitas and withdrawal from the meeting related to this item and not Minute No 20 (Marlow Swimming Pool).

Minute No 20 – Marlow Swimming Pool

A  Member requested details on when the public meeting would be held and the plans made available for public inspection.  It was noted that the results of the consultation exercise would be reported to the Community and Leisure Committee on 9 November 1998 and that the plans referred to had today been placed on public display at the Court Garden Leisure Complex.  

Minute No 21 - Capital Project - Museum Redevelopment

A Member expressed his satisfaction with the report and emphasised that the Council should be proud of the Museum and the service it provided.  He added that the Museum provided an interesting history of High Wycombe especially with regard to its furniture heritage.

Minute No 23 -  The Proposed Development of Multi-Use Games Areas

A Member felt that consideration needed to be given to the provision of similar facilities for the Totteridge area of High Wycombe from funds earmarked from that area.

Support for the schemes as outlined was expressed and the Chairman of the Community and Leisure Committee reminded Members that the Committee wished to ensure that the use of the developer’s contribution provided best value for the Council.

Minute No 24 -  Arts Development Plan 1998-2002

Reference was made to the sum expended by the Council to improve Bassetsbury Barn, and the period of time that the building had remained empty.

It was noted that this listed building had been renovated as a barn, and another Member questioned whether it should perhaps have been renovated for an alternative use.  The Chairman of the Community and Leisure Committee reported that an application for Lottery funding had now been made.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Community and Leisure Committee held on 14 September 1998 be received.

The Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 30 July 1998 were submitted.  

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 30 July 1998 be received.

The Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 22 September 1998 were submitted.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 22 September 1998 be received.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 5 October 1998 were submitted.

Minute No 28 - Local Democracy Panel - 14 September 1998

Minute No 9 -  External Review of Members’ Allowances

In welcoming the report of the External Panel, a Member expressed his disappointment that only six Members of the Council had been interviewed, and that a more representative Panel would be needed if a similar exercise was undertaken in the future.

Another Member felt that the results of the External Panel were disappointing, and questioned whether best value had been obtained as very few Members of the public had expressed an interest in serving on the Panel.  The Chairman of the Local Democracy Panel reminded Members of the hard work which had gone into this exercise. It would be for the new District Council in May 1999 to review this matter and take any action it considered necessary.

Minute No 34 – Revenue Grant Aid Funding Policy

A Member suggested that before a decision was taken to introduce a 3-yearly corporate wide grant aid policy, in-depth discussions should take place with organisations such as the Health Authority and Bucks County Council in order that priorities could be determined.  

It was proposed by Cllr Mrs P Priestley and seconded by Cllr P J Cartwright that with regard to Resolution (f) the delegated authority to all Directors in relation to voluntary sector grants except where this would constitute service enhancement, should be carried out in consultation with the relevant Briefing Group.  It was noted that as this item was a matter of resolution, the proposal could not be accepted.

Other Members spoke in support of the proposals of the Policy and Resources Committee drawing attention to the need for Best Value and the requirement for organisations to be able to plan for more than one year ahead, it being considered that short-term decisions were not wise in the circumstances.

Minute No 35 - Capital Budget

A Member commented on the proposals to repair the boundary retaining wall at 401 London Road, High Wycombe, and reiterated that this was a difficult problem to resolve.  He felt that if any similar cases arose in the future, the Council must ensure that all the problems of the parties involved were considered.

Minute No 42 - Future Direction for Housing

Councillors D G Fieldhouse and Mrs J E Teesdale declared an interest in this item and took no part in the debate.

Following criticism by a Member on the course of action currently being taken by the Council in this matter, it was proposed by Cllr A D Collingwood and seconded by Cllr C B Oliver that the words “but that no formal registration of interest with the Department of the Environment, Transport and The Regions for joining the transfer programme be pursued at this time, as the re-introduction of the 20% levy a year earlier than planned and the already uncomfortably tight timescale clearly make this both premature and impractical” be deleted from Recommendation (i).  This proposed amendment was accepted by the Chairman of the Housing and Economic Development Committee.

On this amendment being put to the vote it was declared carried.

The Chairman of the Housing and Economic Development Committee reminded Members that it had been impossible to take action prior to the levy contribution, and that if this had occurred a rushed timetable would have resulted.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 5 October 1998 be received and the recommendations contained therein, as amended, be approved and adopted.

The Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 28 July 1998 were submitted.

Minute No 16  - Wycombe District Local Plan – Adoption of Deposit Draft – Part 2

Following comments from Members in connection with the Deposit Draft Wycombe District Local Plan, the Chairman of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee reminded the Council that this document still had a long way to go before it was finally adopted.  After consultation on the ‘Deposit Local Plan’ the Council had a legal obligation to consider all comments before it could adopt the Plan.

Minute No 18 – Appointments to Outside Bodies

The Leader of the Conservative Group expressed her disappointment and regret at the decision of the Committee not to appoint the current Member for the Little Marlow Ward to represent the Council on the Liaison Committee for Westhorpe Farm, Little Marlow.  She referred to another outside organisation in the Bourne End/Little Marlow area to which this Member had not been appointed to represent the Council, and invited the current representatives on the Little Marlow Sewage Works Liaison Group and Liaison Committee for Westhorpe Farm, Little Marlow to stand down from their appointments to enable the Member for the Little Marlow Ward to represent the Council in their place.  She added that the Little Marlow Residents Association were supporting this course of action.

Members opposed to this proposal considered that the Council was now more democratic than at any time before and commented on the limited number of appointments on outside organisations given to the minority groups by former administrations of the Council.

(At this stage of the meeting all of the Members of the Conservative Group withdrew from the meeting and left the Council Chamber).

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Special meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 28 July 1998 be received.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 21 September 1998 were submitted.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 21 September 1998 be received and the recommendations contained therein be approved and adopted.

The Minutes of the Special meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 19 October 1998 were submitted.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Special meeting of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee held on 19 October 1998 be received.

AAt the Local Public Area Forum on 20 October 1998 you stated that the number of employees at Wycombe District Council had been reduced since the Liberal Democrat/Labour alliance had taken control of the Council.  This seems contradictory to the policy stated by the Chairman of the Council that its aim was to preserve jobs.

Would you please advise how many employees were on the payroll in May 1995, how many were on the payroll in September 1998, how many vacancies exist at present and how many staff were transferred to Wycombe Leisure Ltd?@

Answer from the Chairman of the Housing and Economic Development Committee -Cllr Mrs C C Martens

AAlthough this is a question which would normally have been answered by the Chairman of Policy and Resources Committee, I believe Cllr Colomb is referring to a statement I made at the High Wycombe Local Public Area Forum in response to a question.

In May 1995 there were 687 employees on the Council=s payroll.

89 employees transferred to Wycombe Leisure Limited on 1 January 1997.

At present there are 582 employees on the Council=s payroll.

12 vacancies are currently being advertised@.

AThe Day Centre being constructed as part of the Chiltern Hundreds Housing Association Sheltered Scheme is to be leased to a charity, the Wycombe Caribbean Elderly Day Centre.  This organisation will have responsibility for management of the Day Centre, including control of the use of the facility.  The primary uses are functions of the Day Centre Organisation, including luncheon clubs and social activities for the Day Centre clients.  Scope for other activities is at the discretion of the management committee, which includes representatives from the Association and the District Council, as well as the Afro Caribbean Community.  Residents of the sheltered housing scheme are to be allowed use of the Day Centre, by membership.

The naming of both the Caribbean Elderly Day Centre and the accompanying Sheltered Housing Scheme is a matter for the decision of the property owners - Chiltern Hundreds Housing Association.  It is normal for our Partner Associations to take into account suggestions put forward by the Council@.

Could I also be given the reason for what appears to be an operational change in the times for erecting and taking down the market stalls?

Previously they were erected in the evening, Monday and Thursday, now it is taking place in the afternoon.  They are being taken down after the Saturday market quite often on Sunday morning.

Members of the public find the street blocked by stalls when they are not in use and on Sundays people cannot park their cars to attend church, buy newspapers etc., because either they are afraid they might impede the work of taking down the stalls or their cars might get damaged accidentally.  Was it intended that there should only be one day - Wednesdays - when the High Street is completely free of stalls?

Finally, can I have absolute assurance that the Chairman will ensure that stalls will be removed from the High Street on the Saturday evening before Remembrance Sunday?@

Answers from the Chairman of the Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee - Cllr R J Nagle

AThank you Cllr Mrs Peatey for the question which is a rather timely one in view of some of the difficulties being experienced by market traders at the present time.

Inherent in the current pedestrianisation scheme is the need for access to continue to be provided to permit holders, which does include delivery vehicles to many of the traders, and no doubt this problem will be eased with time as systems are reviewed.

With regard to the market traders, they are at present experiencing difficulties with dismantling their stalls in view of the traffic being permitted into the High Street after 6.00pm.  Discussions are taking place with the County Council with a view to finding solutions to overcome this problem, and this of course reflects upon the Sunday working which I acknowledge is unsatisfactory.

I can assure you that everything possible is being done to find a solution to this problem which will require the commitment of the County Council.

However, I can give assurances that the High Street will be clear for Remembrance Sunday as in previous years.

I shall keep Members informed of any solutions forthcoming from the discussions with County officers@.

AWhat has been the effect of Local Plan Policy C4(iv) (extensions to dwellings within settlements within the Green Belt) since the adoption of the current plan in July 1995?

Specifically:

Again:

6.     How many of these exceeded the 50% rule?

It would be helpful if dwellings were categorised by original size in each category.  Categories such as:

Small      <   500 sq ft gross floorspace

Medium     < 1000 sq ft gross floorspace

Large          < 1500 sq ft gross floorspace

Very large     < 1500 sq ft gross floorspace

Note: If the collection of statistics from the whole of Wycombe District Council is excessively onerous then a sufficient representative example is acceptable.  In this case please indicate the total number of dwellings within the Wycombe Green Belt and the size of the sample(s).@

Answer from Chairman of Planning, Environment and Transportation Committee - Cllr R J Nagle

ACllr Coe has formally raised his concern about the impact of policy C4 (iv) of the Adopted Local Plan on a number of occasions.  The Committee has not accepted the need to alter this policy approach in the new Local Plan and Cllr Coe has been advised to pursue his concern as a formal objection to the new Local Plan during the Deposit period.  Similar advice has been given to those Members who remain concerned that the Committee has not supported their particular views.  I must regretfully inform Cllr Coe that it would not be appropriate to divert scarce staff resources away from the task of preparing for the Adeposit@ of the Local Plan scheduled for the 4th December, in order to provide the extremely detailed information requested.  I am sure that Cllr Coe will appreciate that what he requested was Aexcessively onerous@.

AThe successful introduction of CCTV into the town centre of High Wycombe has significantly reduced the incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour.  It, however, has not solved the basic problem and has displaced it to other areas of the town.  In particular our secondary trading centre, Desborough Road.

Desborough Road Traders are now suffering the problems that beset our shop traders in Frogmoor, which incidentally benefited from the use of CCTV in this location.

Will the Chairman ask her Committee to make the necessary budget available to introduce CCTV coverage of the trading area of Desborough Road as soon as possible to help to reduce the nuisance to the Traders and their customers?

I understand that the costs of implementation of CCTV, in what is to be one of our gateways to our new town centre to be a Capital sum of ,25,000, with an annual Revenue cost of ,4,000.  This will enable our traders to build up their businesses which have been seriously blighted in one way or another by various Council decisions in the last two years.@

Answer from Chairman of Housing and Economic Development Committee - Cllr Mrs C C Martens

AI am pleased to confirm that the introduction of CCTV into the Town Centre of High Wycombe has had an impact on the instances of crime and anti-social behaviour.  However, there is no information at the present time that confirms that there has been displacement of such behaviour to other parts of the town.  Officers are attempting to obtain clarification from Thames Valley Police as to their perspective on this issue.

CCTV has received satisfactory funding in the last two years and in the current review of the capital programme, there is no provision for expansion or extension of the network.

The cost of installing a comprehensive system in the Desborough Road area is likely to be in the order of ,75,000 capital with annual running costs around ,10,000, although this has not been examined in detail.

The sum of ,25,000 capital will in fact only provide one camera and this would result in a service that had only limited coverage and operational assistance to Thames Valley Police.

The Crime and Disorder Bill is being examined to establish the extent of additional liability on this authority.  In the meantime as a requirement of this Bill a District-wide crime audit is being undertaken.  It is envisaged that audit findings will provide an indication of areas needing priority action.  If Desborough Road was highlighted as one of the areas in the audit findings it may well be appropriate to consider any further expansion or development of CCTV in consultation with our external partners to ensure that the best overall solutions are provided where criminal activity and anti-social behaviour is identified@.

(a) APlease could you tell the Council the latest developments regarding the demise of the English Tourist Board and setting up of Regional Tourist Boards.  What are the implications for this area?  What are the funding arrangements?@

(b) AFollowing the news that the Chiltern Vale Police Area is to have its funding reduced by 11.5%, which means a loss of 30 police officers and 20 civilian staff, will the Chairman please tell us what action he proposes to take to make sure that we do not see an increase in crime in this area@.

Answers from the Chairmen of Community and Leisure Committee - and Housing and Economic Development Committee - Cllr J W Preston and Cllr Mrs C C Martens

(a) AThe first part of this question is more properly addressed to the Chairman of Housing and Economic Development Committee not Community and Leisure Committee.

Housing and Economic Development Committee Information Sheet No 34/98 dated 23 October 1998 should update Members up to the time of its issue and confirms this Council=s response to the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) on the comprehensive spending review regarding Tourism in England which was submitted before the closing date of 18 December 1998.

On 15 October 1998 at a seminar attended by this Council=s Tourism and Cultural Services Manager, a presentation was given by Shaun Cove of the DCMS (standing in for Barbara Phillips, Head of Tourism at the DCMS who was ill) on amongst other matters, the current position regarding the spending review.  He advised that the Department had received over 250 responses which did not show any consensus.  Whilst not giving away any leads as to the Secretary of State=s thoughts on the subject, he did say that the future role and strategy for Tourism in England would be the Government=s collectively and not just that of the DCMS.  This would require the involvement of Regional Development Agencies and Local Government.  He said an announcement would be made either on the 7 December 1998 or sometime in the second week of January 1999.

It is anticipated that this review will cover the future of the English Tourist Board, the role of the Regional Tourist Boards and funding arrangements for the future of Tourism in England.  As soon as the Government=s decision is made known, Members will be advised by means of a further information sheet.

(b) Can I say first of all that I share your concern at the recent news of local police manpower reductions to take place from April next year.  As Members will see from agenda item 7, the Chief Executive has placed an urgent item on tonight=s agenda to enable Members to make their views known.  I am sure that as an authority, we will be making strong representations to the Chief Constable on the issue.

Although my Committee has lead responsibility for Community Safety, I do welcome this opportunity to remind Members of the statutory requirements under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act which requires local authorities to consider crime and disorder reduction while exercising all their duties.  This authority has campaigned strongly in the past for legal powers in the field of community safety and I am sure that now we have them, we will all play our part in ensuring that the community of Wycombe derives maximum benefit possible.

Whilst sharing concerns regarding potential reductions in police manpower, I would stress that crime reduction is a matter for all of us - the community, the statutory and voluntary sectors and the business community.  As a District Council, we are well placed to lead by example@.

AI am reliably informed by WAAFA that Chiltern District Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council offer better services to their disabled residents than this Council, including the use of travel tokens for journey by taxis and generous car parking for the severely disabled in pedestrianised areas.  Does the Chairman have any plans to bring Wycombe District Council in line with neighbouring authorities?”

Answer from the Chairman of Planning, Environment and Transportation  Committee - Cllr R J Nagle

AThe issues of travel tokens, taxis and parking are currently being investigated following recent receipt of a letter from WAAFA to the Chief Executive.  Parking for disabled residents in pedestrianised areas is handled primarily by the County Council.

This Council is providing as good, if not better, services to disabled residents than other Councils not only locally but nationally.  To give you some examples; the disabled people of Wycombe District are eligible for bus passes or rail cards under the Council=s concessionary fares scheme, but because of the severity of some disabilities, some people are not able to use public transport and cannot make use therefore of their concessions.  Wycombe District Council extended its scheme in April 1998 to include the issue of ,80 worth of National Transport Tokens per year to the severely disabled of the District for use on the local Dial-a-Ride buses.

Aylesbury Vale District Council do not currently offer this concession and limit their scheme to bus passes only, with the option of ,30 worth of taxi tokens per year to those who live in certain rural areas of the District where public transport is limited or non-existent.  There is no special concession for the disabled other than the bus pass.

Chiltern District Council=s scheme involves the issue of National Transport Tokens only.  A limited number of tokens are issued to the elderly and disabled, the amount of which is dependent upon whether the applicant is a car owner, and a 50% charge is made for these.  No special concession is available for the disabled.

To give you some further examples of our work for the disabled:

A ,60 fine is imposed for misuse of designated disabled parking bays.

Our Car parks service pursues abusers.  The service takes offences very seriously and will take non-fine payers to court to retrieve unpaid fines.

The Council received an urgent Chief Officers’ report which outlined the future proposals of the Thames Valley Police for the policing of the Chiltern Vale Police Area.

Members noted the circumstances which had resulted in the proposals put forward and expressed concern and disappointment at the redirection of policing resources from the Chiltern Vale Police Area to Oxfordshire.

In view of one of the Council’s key objectives being related to community safety, the Council was invited to consider agreeing to the Chairman of the Council writing on behalf of the Council to the Chairman of the Thames Valley Police Authority drawing attention to the Council’s extreme concern and dismay at the likely dramatic reduction in police officers available to this area from 1 April 1999.

RESOLVED:  That the Chairman of the Council be authorised to write on behalf of the Council to the Chairman of the Thames Valley Police Authority drawing attention to the Council’s extreme concern and dismay at the likely dramatic reduction in police officers available to this area from 1 April 1999.

The Chairman of the Council informed Members that Mr Marcus Green, Conservative Party Agent for the Wycombe Division would be taking up a new post in Africa from 20 November 1998 and wished him well in his new career.

(The meeting commenced at 6.30pm and concluded at 8.15pm)

                                   _________

                                   CHAIRMAN

The following officers were in attendance at the meeting:

Mr H Potts     -     Director of Property and Housing

Mr P F Ricketts     -     Director of Corporate Services

Mr W N Roberts     -     Director of Leisure Health and Community

Mr C A Swanwick     -     Director of Planning Transport & Development

Mrs J E Clements     -     Head of Corporate and Committee Administration

Mr D M Dongray     -     District Solicitor

R G Key     -     Principal Administrator, Committee Services Section