Meeting documents

(a)       Charles Meakings – 40 Years of Service

The Chairman announced that she was very pleased to present an award to Mr Meakings (Head of Democratic, Legal and Policy Services) as an acknowledgement of his 40 years of service to Local Government.

A brief background of his career was provided, which had begun in July 1972, at High Wycombe Borough Council as a Junior Clerk.  In 1974 he was appointed to the post of Clerical Assistant at the newly formed Wycombe District Council, and to Assistant Land Charges Officer in 1977.  Following a period of study, his career progressed further when in 1987 Mr Meakings was appointed as Head of Admin Services.  The year of 1998 brought him into the role of Head of Strategic Development, and Corporate Manager in 2006, and into his current role in 2009.

Mr Meakings was then invited by the Chairman to accept the award.

Mr Meakings thanked the Chairman for her kind introduction and stated that he was very proud to have worked within the Council, and that the close collaboration between Members and Officers had enabled the Council to achieve a great deal.

(b)      "Purdah"

The Chairman reminded Members that in the current pre-election period, the meeting should not be used as an opportunity to canvass campaigns or to promote any particular political group.

(c)       District Elections – 7 May 2015

The Chairman paid tribute to the 11 Members who would not be standing for re-election at the forthcoming elections.  She took the opportunity to thank the Members on behalf of the whole Council for their service to Wycombe District Council.  The Members included Councillors M Angell, D A Anson MBE, W J Bendyshe-Brown, R B Colomb, M A Foster, J M Gibbs, J A Malliff, R Metcalfe, Mrs D V E Morgan, Ms S Manir and Ms M L Neudecker.

The Chairman reported on her activities since the last meeting of the Council.

(a)       Wycombe Homeless Connection

The Chairman announced that Wycombe Homeless Connection had recently received the Queen’s Award for voluntary services.  This was an acknowledgment of the exceptional hard work of all involved.

(b)      Minor Injuries and Illness Unit

The Chairman had opened the newly refurbished Minor Injuries and Illness Unit.

(c)       Chairman’s Reception

This had taken place on 26 March 2015, at the Abbey School.  The Chairman thanked all those who had attended.

(d)      World War Commemorations

The Chairman advised Members regarding acts of commemoration scheduled to take place in April and May for both World Wars:-

·           Saturday 25 April – Centenary to the day of battle of Gallipoli

·           Friday 8 May – 2 minutes silence at 3.00pm to acknowledge those fallen in World War 2

The Chairman thanked members for their hard work and support during the year, on this her last update as Chairman of the Council.

To receive apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Honorary Aldermen: D A E Cox, E H Collins, M B Oram and Mrs K M Peatey.  Councillors: D A Anson MBE, A D Collingwood, R M H Farmer, M A Foster, G C Hall, A Hussain JP, Ms R Knight, S P Lacey, Mrs W J Mallen, S F Parker, J L Richards OBE and A Turner.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meetings of Council held on 26 February 2015.

RESOLVED: That the minute of the meeting of the Council held on 26 February 2015 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any disclosure of disclosable pecuniary interests by Members relating to items on the agenda.  If any Member is uncertain as to whether an interest should be disclosed, he or she is asked if possible to contact the District Solicitor prior to the meeting.

Members are reminded that if they are declaring an interest they should state the nature of that interest whether or not they are required to withdraw from the meeting.

No declarations of interest were received.

Written questions may be asked of the Leader or any Cabinet Member, if submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 9 April 2015. Questions will be submitted in the order in which they are received.

A questioner will have a maximum of 1 minute to ask a question, and the answer shall not exceed 3 minutes. Any questioner may put one supplementary question without notice within a maximum time of 1 minute and the answer may not exceed 2 minutes.

(a)       Question from Andrea Baughan to the Cabinet Member for Community

"Over the last few months I've spent a lot of time speaking with Micklefield residents, many of whom are Red Kite tenants, and they seem to be getting rather a raw deal - work left half finished, tradespeople not turning up or disappearing from their houses in the middle of a job.  Bathrooms and kitchens and preparatory or finishing off works are not being carried out very efficiently plus there is a lot of confusion and telephone chasing for the tenants which is frustrating and inconvenient.  Can WDC find a way of ensuring Red Kite carry out the works in a professional and timely manner."

Response from Councillor Mrs J A Adey (Cabinet Member for Community)

"Whilst I am pleased to try to help all residents with any issues regarding Red Kite, I am surprised that this matter has been raised direct with me rather than through the Local members, Cllrs Lee or Knight, the current Councillors for Micklefield. And I do rather wonder if this has been raised now as you are one of the candidates standing in this Ward in the forthcoming District Council elections.

That said, I am pleased to offer the following advice.  Wycombe District Council meets regularly with Red Kite Community Housing and receives information on progress against the ‘Promises’ as part of the partnership working between the organisations, which is for the benefit of tenants, leaseholders and residents of the District, the Council has limited influence on how Red Kite Community Housing runs its business.

Since the transfer, Red Kite’s tenants have been involved in procuring and monitoring their contracts, including developing the approach to delivering the repairs service and in managing the performance of the contractor. Red Kite follows up feedback from tenants and has an established process for monitoring not only the key performance information for each contract, but also satisfaction and perception measures via customers audits.  This process led to the termination of the contract with the original repairs contractor, and has been a key consideration in the tender of the new repairs contract.

If tenants of Red Kite have specific complaints regarding the service, it is suggested that they contact Red Kite who will investigate the complaint under their complaints process. If tenants are not satisfied with the response provided, Red Kite have a second stage (a further review) and they also have a Feedback Co-ordinator whose role it is to look at the causes of complaints to try to avoid a repetition."

Supplementary Question

"Would you agree that there is now less accountability for tenants since Red Kite took over control of the housing stock and repairs?"

Supplementary Response

"Red Kite is working as hard as it possibly can, and as it is managing over 6,000 properties, there are bound to be some people who are not fully satisfied."

Questions to the Leader or any Cabinet Members must be submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 9 April 2015. Questions will be taken first from Leaders of the political parties in order of number of Members.

Other Members will be called upon in the order in which questions have been received.  Every Member asking an oral question is permitted to ask on supplementary question without notice provided that it does not introduce any new matter. The appropriate member will respond to any questions remaining unanswered at the expiry of 30 minutes in writing.

Any question remaining unanswered after 30 will be answered within 10 working days in writing after the meeting by the appropriate Member and appended to the minutes of the meeting.

(a)     Question from Councillor B Pollock to the Cabinet Member for Planning & Sustainability

"I would like to thank the Cabinet member for agreeing to set up a
sub-committee of the Slate Meadow Liaison Committee to explore recent decisions made by the Secretary of State that emphasise the importance of Green Gaps between settlements and their protection even though an authority is not meeting its assessed housing need. Does he agree with me that this decision should be taken into account when assessing the need to develop Slate Meadow, particularly as it acts as a "green gap" between Bourne End and Wooburn?"

Response from Councillor N Marshall (Cabinet Member for Planning & Sustainability)

"The Slate Meadow sub-group met in late March to assess the implications of the decision referred to by Cllr Pollock. This was a proposed housing scheme in Cheshire which was refused permission by the Secretary of State on the grounds of prematurity, in advance of the plan-making process being completed, and the well advanced Green Belt review in particular, which outweighed the lack of a 5-year housing supply.

How similar is this case to Slate Meadow? Answering that question helps to assess the weight to be accorded in taking it into account.

The Cheshire decision relates to a site which had already been designated as a Green Gap in an existing policy, and the local planning authority was considering putting into the Green Belt as part of the local plan review.

The local community identify Slate Meadow as fulfilling a ‘green gap’ function, separating out the settlements of Bourne End and Wooburn. However, whilst part of the site is a Village Green, the rest does not have the status of ‘green gap’ or anything similar in the local plan. Instead is identified as a reserve site for future development. This is therefore a fundamentally different starting point from the Cheshire case.

The last time the status of Slate Meadow was considered was through the Core Strategy Examination. The inspector said "I recognise that local residents value the present open nature of this land but ... I find no exceptional circumstances to justify including the site in the Green Belt and thus fundamentally altering the role assigned to it for all but 17 of the past 54 years."

Thus, in taking the Cheshire decision into account in relation to Slate Meadow, it would carry little weight."

Supplementary Question

"Any view on the Green Belt is premature.  Would the Cabinet Member agree that it is in interests of the site to have a Green Belt review, so that we can arrive at a better decision on the reserved sites?"

Supplementary Response

"Slate Meadow is in the Core Strategy as a reserved site. It is different from the Cheshire case. It is not appropriate for a green belt review."

 (b)    Question from Councillor M Knight to the Cabinet Member for Planning & Sustainability

"Buckinghamshire County Council have committed £6.2 million for infrastructure improvements in Wycombe in response to the release of the reserved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

(i)            Council to receive any petition from a member of the public or from a Councillor on behalf of a Member or a member of the public as notified by the deadline of 5pm on Tuesday 7 April 2015.

(ii)          Council to consider any petition already received that meets the required number of signatures to qualify for a debate by Full Council. (The petition organiser will have 5 minutes to present the petition and then the Council will debate the matter for a maximum of 15 minutes and decide how to respond to the petition).

No petitions were received by the deadline of Tuesday 7 April 2015.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations form the following meeting:

Cabinet                      2 March 2015

Special Cabinet       13 April 2015 (To follow)

Minute 93 – Local Plan: Revised Do Up Scheme

A Member referred to the area action plans in relation to Saunderton.  He stated that the residents had established an Action Group to fight development and urged the officers of the Council to work closely with this group. 

Councillor Angell on his last meeting took the opportunity to thank Members for their help, support, guidance and encouragement during his time as Councillor.

The Leader stated that he was aware of the issues on the site, and that he took all comments seriously.  Infrastructure was a major issue which needed to be dealt with.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 2 March 2015, be received and the recommendations as set out at minute numbers 94, 97 and 98 be approved and adopted.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED: That the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items as they contain exempt information as defined in Regulation 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) England Regulations 2012.

Minute 103 – Red Kite Community Housing

A Member expressed concern that the Council and residents and tenants did not get the best deal with Red Kite.  He felt that there should have been some method of enforcement in terms of improvements being made.

The relevant Member was informed that the Council had no involvement in the day to day operation. Concerns could be taken to the Council`s Red Kite Board Members, Councillors McEnnis and Teesdale.

RESOLVED: That subject to the amendment of Councillor K Ahmed to Z Ahmed, in the attendance list, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 13 April 2015, be received and the recommendations as set out in minute number 103 be approved and adopted.

The meeting then returned to the open session.  

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Standards Committee                     10 March 2015

In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee, Councillor D Carroll rose to present the minutes.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 10 March 2015 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Improvement & Review Commission                   11 March 2015

The Chairman of the Committee drew attention to minute 43, which listed the major achievements of the Commission during the municipal year.  He then paid tribute to all members for their active participation in the Commission and its various Task and Finish Groups.  He also took the opportunity to personally thank Mr Charles Meakings for all his advice and hard work.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Review Commission held on 11 March 2015 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Audit Committee                  5 March 2015

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 5 March 2015 be received, and the recommendation as set out in minute 52 be approved and adopted.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

High Wycombe Town Committee             3 March 2015

The Chairman of the Committee rose to present the minutes and took to opportunity to thank Members for the enjoyable meetings throughout the municipal year.  He also paid tribute to Councillor Colomb, who had served on the Committee for a total of 21 years, and who would not be standing for re-election.  The Chairman stated that his expertise and wit would be very much missed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee held on 3 March 2015 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Personnel & Development Committee                9 March 2015

The Chairman of the Committee thanked members and officers for their valuable contribution throughout the year.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Personnel and Development Committee held on 9 March 2015 be received, and the recommendations as set out at minute number 37 be approved and adopted.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meetings:

Planning Committee                       21 January 2015

Planning Committee                       18 March 2015 (To Follow)

The Chairman thanked all Members of the Committee for their hard work.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 21 January and 18 March 2015 be received.

None were received

To receive details of any written questions submitted before the deadline of 12 noon on Thursday 9 April 2015.

There were none.

The following individual decisions have been published since the last ordinary meeting of the Council held on 26 February 2015.

1)    Community Support Grants 2015/16

2)    Wycombe Museum release of transition funds to Wycombe Heritage and Arts Trust.

3)    Wycombe District Council representation on Red Kite Board (Councillor J Teesdale appointed replacing Councillor J Richards OBE)

4)    Devolution of green space management of Wheeler end Common to Piddington and Wheeler End Parish Council.

The individual decisions published since the last meeting of the Council were noted.

The Leader rose to convey his personal thanks to his Cabinet, which had worked extremely hard over the last two years during his time in leadership, and which had taken some very important and difficult decisions.

The Chairman took the opportunity to thank the whole of the Council for all of the hard work and commitment demonstrated by Members over the municipal year. She wished all those standing for re-election all the very best of luck.