Agenda and minutes
PDF 218 KBVenue: The John Meikle Room - The Deane House. View directions
Contact: Marcus Prouse Email: m.prouse@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk
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Apologies
To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Adkins, Aldridge, Farbahi, Herbert, Mr Hill, R Lees, S Lees and Venner. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting of Full Council
To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of Full Council held on 22nd May 2019. Minutes: (Minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 22nd May 2019 circulated with the agenda)
RESOLVED that the minutes of Annual Council held on 22nd May be confirmed as a correct record. |
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Declarations of Interest
To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.
(The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.) Minutes: Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-
Councillor Smith-Roberts declared a personal interest in Item 9 – Regeneration of Firepool, with a Charity she founded occupying a building on the site.
Councillor Kravis declared a personal interest in Item 9 – Regeneration of Firepool |
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To receive any communications or announcements from the Chair
Minutes: The Chair had no announcements to convey to the Council. |
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To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council
Minutes: The Leader of the Council announced that effective from the 20th June 2019 Councillor Marcus Kravis would be replacing Councillor Habib Farbahi as the Executive Portfolio Holder for Asset Management and Economic Development, who had stepped down for personal reasons. |
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Public Participation - To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions, statements or petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 14,15 and 16.
The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.
For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue. Minutes: (a) Mr Jefferson Horsley asked the following questions:
(i) Could you please clarify for me how you reconcile the twin objectives of the ruling group of a) promoting SW and T's policy goal of "Talk Up Taunton" as the County Town which we all aspire to on the one hand and b) making Taunton the centre of research for reducing the world's dependence on plastic based products which are doing so much harm to the world as witnessed by David Attenborough's Blue Planet series?
(ii) Can you confirm for me that priority will be given at all times to meeting the latter target combined with a reduction in carbon emissions and the burning of fossil fuels and the increased usage of renewable energy sources in line with the Climate Emergency Motion unanimously passed on 21 February this year by the Shadow Council prior to the establishment of this Council?
(iii) Do you agree that this gives rise to a possible "win-win" for the ruling group if Taunton gets recognition for its role in both fields as the economic goals for the town can be largely shaped by its vision and leadership on tackling the detrimental aspects of plastic based products? This should become a unique selling point for the council with worldwide recognition of the work already pioneered over the past 4 years by the previous Council.
(iv) The marvellous programme of Somerfest at the weekend in Goodland Gardens and Castle Green was highly successfully in bringing in visitors to the town centre to witness music, entertainment and food which I also enjoyed with all and sundry. Why however does it have to use 10,000 plastic ducks - which even if they are all retrieved - when it is rather outdated - and why couldn't they have asked contributors and sponsors to have suggested that the public produce their own ducks out of recyclable cardboard or even paper ones to engender the spirit of separation and reducing waste? (It was interesting to note that the Extinction Rebellion Stall in Goodland Gardens attracted a lot of interest for curious members of the public about the same issue of the future of the planet?)
The Leader of the Council thanked Mr Horsley for his questions and for providing them in advance. We as a Council and certainly as an Executive looked to be able to both ‘Talk up Taunton’ and also look at what is best for the wider District and the County Town. The environmental agenda was at the top in terms of the new administrations priorities and she had seconded the motion on the Climate Emergency. Everything that we hoped to achieve would have the environment running through it as a thread as paramount. Somerfest was a brilliant event which she had attended, and would be willing to raise the issue of Plastic Ducks, but personally felt that as these had already been purchased they should be continued to be used in the short-term rather than wasted.
(b) Ms Vanessa ... view the full minutes text for item 21. |
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To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions from Councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.
Minutes: The Chair advised that no such questions had been received. |
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Minutes: Moved by Councillor B Weston, seconded by Councillor L Lisgo.
Councillor Weston recounted that in the recent election campaign she had visited many doorsteps of people in her community and there were profound and urgent issues facing our Democracy and the state of Planet Earth. Trust in Elected Representatives at all levels had been undermined and there was plenty of evidence that social and economic divisions and intolerance within communities had hardened in recent years. This motion was intended to set out a transparent process by which the Council would demonstrate to the citizens of Somerset West and Taunton our commitment to embedding their fair treatment and sustainability into our policy-making. As well as scrutinising financial impact, we would also be scrutinising the impact of policies on the most vulnerable and the environment. Volunteering at the local Citizens Advice Bureau she had seen these issues first-hand for example, with the Council’s Council Tax Support Consultations and the interplay with Central Government’s Universal Credit reforms. In a recent United Nations Report Britain’s welfare reform policies were described as ‘punitive’. Poverty in rural areas was a real concern affected by transport cuts and loneliness as well as social divisions exacerbated by digital exclusion. Councillor Weston believed in the power of Local Councils to play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of all of these.
The Council was therefore recommended:-
1. Somerset West and Taunton Council welcomes the reaffirmation by the new administration of the Shadow Council’s commitment to tackle climate change as a priority.
2. Council also welcomes the revised Corporate Equality Objectives approved by the Shadow Executive on 26th March alongside the statutory protected characteristics set out in Section 149 (the Public Sector Equality Duty) of the Equality Act 2010.
3. Council resolves to give effect, and make transparent its commitment to these aims by ensuring that, through the scrutiny process, all new policy proposals and reviews are assessed with due regard to their impact on:
· economic and social disadvantage · climate change · rurality · digital exclusion
4. Council will seek to mitigate any identifiable adverse impacts as far as possible within the constraints of current legislation and available resources, and record any unmet needs as these emerge.
An amendment was proposed by Councillor Wren and seconded by Councillor Hunt to add four additional bullet points to Recommendation 3 on Soils Preservation, Biodiversity Protection, preservation of clean water and preservation of clean air. The amendment was put to the vote and carried.
An amendment was proposed by Councillor Blaker and seconded by Councillor Barr inserting the following into Recommendation 3 that ‘Council seeks opportunities to promote social and environmental benefits at the earliest point in framing proposals.’
The substantive motion was thus put and was carried unanimously. |
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Regeneration of Firepool
Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Smith-Roberts introduced the circulated report which was considered the next key step to progress delivery of the Firepool site. The report set out a programme of activity to deliver the outline planning consent. The report outlined a little of the history of the site, some lessons learned and the steps undertaken in the past three months to identify the likely most deliverable form of development in a relatively short programme. Appendix 1 consisted of the indicative conceptual block plan for the site which both built on the outline planning approval and accorded with current planning policy. This was not a prescriptive solution but it was a work in progress. The site was to be divided into bite size blocks to assist greater flexibility and certainty of delivery. The intention was that the Council would act as the masterplan developer to deliver the public realm and infrastructure to remove the obvious barriers to progress the site and act as a catalyst to delivery.
During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and asked questions which included:-
· It was commented that there was still a need for a Hotel in Taunton and this had been recognised for many years, and it was disappointing that the profits from this potential project would not now be going towards subsidising the Council’s services. · Commercial investment was a reality for many Councils in light of Central Government cuts and this needed to be recognised. · It was stated that Changing Place Toilets standard were needed to be developed rapidly across the district and this needed to be built into Firepool. · Concerns were raised over how the Council used commercial confidentiality. · The Leader responded that she wished the Council to be open and transparent to scrutiny. · Further questions and queries were raised on the viability of the Cinema Complex? · It was raised that the current plans lacked ambition in relation to this Council’s aspirations on Climate Change. There was scope to look at on-site regeneration including the use of the Weir to produce hydro-electric energy. · It was raised that an idea for a Botanic Garden on the site had been raised in this week’s Somerset County Gazette letters page. · It was responded that this was a high-level approach and the detail with regard to the block’s all of these considerations would be taken into account. · Councillors queried whether the Treasury Management advice had now been revised in light of the potential Hotel decision? · The implications of the investment return were not yet built into financial plans so there was no immediate change in terms of financial planning. · Councillors asked for an expected timescale of delivery? · It was responded that whatever was delivered had to be built with the long-term in mind. Many packages of work would need to be commenced, some of it delivered by the Council and some by others. Two major pieces of work to follow would be the working up of the Framework Masterplan and the update on the High Level Business Case. ... view the full minutes text for item 24. |
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Approval of Redundancies (Transformation) where severance is over £100,000
Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Ross Henley introduced the circulated report which considered the redundancies of the Principal Planning Officer and Digital Services Manager. The necessary financial approvals were already in place via the Business Case for Transformation and these costs were already included within reported figures. This request for Full Council approval was a separate requirement of the Council’s HR policies where severance costs exceed £100,000 per case.
During the discussion of this item, Members made comments and asked questions which included:-
· A query was raised over whether in the legislation those who were offered a job could then still take Voluntary Redundancy (VR) and over whether the trial period was statutory. · A question was asked as to the figures of those who were offered a job and then subsequently took VR. · The Voluntary Redundancy Scheme agreed by the previous administration was not capped. A trial period was a contractual provision underpinned by statute, and there were no longer any officers on a trial period and eligible for VR. · Were the posts being made redundant still to exist in the organisational structure? · Yes this was confirmed. · It was stated that Transformation Business Case was a process that was still ongoing and this was part of that and terms and conditions of employees must be honoured. · It was queried as to the risk of not approving this redundancy and the potential net loss to the Authority? · A written answer would be provided. · A question was asked as to whether lessons had been learned from this process? · The Leader stated that there would be a full Audit of the Transformation Process that she had instructed the Chief Executive to commence. · The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources stated that the new administration would learn those lessons from the past. Local Government was always in a process of change.
A written answer was provided to all Councillors on 10th July 2019 as follows;
Q) It was queried as to the risk of not approving this redundancy and the potential net loss to the Authority?
The risk to the authority of not approving the redundancy would relate to a possible claim for constructive dismissal and claim of discrimination. Discrimination likely to be on the grounds of age but may also be sex discrimination.
Employment Tribunal claims for discrimination claims, whistleblowing claims are unlimited (in theory).
Loss to the Council would be:
· Reputational damage; · Cost of defending employment tribunal claim – for a constructive dismissal/discrimination claim such costs could be in the order of £20,000 to £25,000. · Potential Costs awarded by Employment Tribunal for loss (in this case access to pension which is a statutory requirement for someone age 55 or over in the Local Government Pension Scheme – so could range from 52 weeks pay through to 52 weeks pay and compensation for loss of access to pension (a tribunal would determine how to calculate this) but ;likely to be the difference between reduced pension which could voluntarily be taken and unreduced pension one might realistically expect ... view the full minutes text for item 25. |
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Exclusion of the Press and Public
Minutes: RESOLVEDthat the press and public be excluded during consideration of agenda item 11 on the grounds that, if the press and public were present during the item, there would be likely to be a disclosure to them of exempt information of the class specified in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended as follows:
The item contained information that could release confidential information that related to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). It was therefore agreed that after consideration of all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.
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Confidential Report - Commercial Asset Management
This item will likely to be considered after the exclusion of the press and public because of the likelihood that exempt information would otherwise be disclosed relating to paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, relating to financial and business affairs of a person (including the authority holding that information).
Minutes: The Council considered this item which was commercially confidential and related to Asset Management.
RESOLVED that Council: (i) Purchase the property as a commercial investment on the basis of the costs and returns identified in Section 6. (ii) Delegate authority to the Head of Commercial Investment together with the S151 Officer to complete the transaction subject to satisfactory due diligence. (iii) Approve a Supplementary Budget within the Capital Programme in line with total investment costs summarised within Section 6, to be funded by capital borrowing.
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