No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received. 

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2016 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Jill Bell / Yusuf Patel - 01274 434580 434579)

Resolved –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2016 be signed as a correct record.

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

The Executive noted the following petitions that had been referred from the meeting of Council held on Tuesday 18 October 2016:

(i)            Petition regarding the Holme Wood Library closure;

(ii)          Petition regarding proposed car parking charges at St Ives, Bingley

Note:  In receiving the above recommendation, the Leader stated that the petitions were already being considered at this meeting          (Minutes 49 and 50).

The Friends of St Ives group are petitioning the Council to overturn its decision to introduce a charge for car parking at St Ives Country Park, Bingley.  Full Council had referred the matter to Executive for further consideration

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport will submit a report

(Document “AG”) which sets out a response to the petition.

Recommended –

That the Executive reaffirm the previous Full Council decision to

introduce car parking charges at all viable Parks and Green Spaces sites

including St Ives. (As set in Option 1 to Document “AG”).

Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Regeneration & Economy

The Friends of St Ives Group were petitioning the Council to overturn its decision to introduce a charge for car parking at the St Ives Country Park, Bingley.  Full Council at its meeting held on 18 October 2016 had referred the matter to the Executive for further consideration.

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport submitted a report

(Document “AG”) which set out a response to the petition. 

The Assistant Director Sport and Culture explained that car parking charges had been identified as a source of revenue to offset costs and that they formed part of the Council’s budget proposals for 2016-17 at some parks and woodlands.  In addition many similar public and private countryside parks in the region charged for car parking.  Following the proposal a petition had been received from the Friend of St Ives Group objecting to the introduction of the proposed charges.

The Chair of the Friends of St Ives was present at the meeting and she made the following observations:

·        That it was important to really listen to what people had to say about the proposed charges. 

·        That it had been frustrating to have a meaningful dialogue with the Council as they had failed to respond to the issues that had been raised by the group and the wider community.

·        That the Friends of St Ives appreciated the financial situation facing the Council, however this issue had not been given due consideration.

·        That the proposal to introduce car parking charges would result in a loss of amenity for everyday users of the estate, in particularly the elderly, schools, special needs schools as well as organisations and community groups.

·        That as a group we were not obsessed individuals but deeply cared about St Ives, and that the group received regular phone calls from concerned people worried about the future of St Ives.

·        That St Ives was a wonderful asset to the district, not just a park but a jewel in Bradford’s crown.

·        That a number of events were held at St Ives which were well attended by the public.

·        That the proposal to introduce charging for use of the car park would undo all the good work that had been done to keep St Ives open.

·        That the funds needed to keep the estate open, could be raised in other ways by making better use of the estate, as the car parking charges would raise very little in the way of revenue, but cause considerable harm.

·        That there had to be a better way of managing the estate by working together.

·        That the car parking charges would hinder the relationship that had been built with the Council over the years.

·        That the St Ives Group was pleading with the Council to make an exception  and not impose the charges, as other similar places did not levy a charge.

The Chair of Bingley Town Council was present at the meeting and stated that the Town Council had only recently been established and were not privy to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

The Friends of Centrepoint & Holme Wood are petitioning the Council to overturn its decision to establish a community managed library and if a solution cannot be found then the Council would look to close the library.  Full Council has referred the matter to Executive for further consideration.

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport will submit a report

(Document “AH”) which sets out a response to the petition.

Recommended –

That the Executive reaffirm the previous Full Council decision to

introduce Community Managed Libraries at the locations originally

agreed and request officer to engage with representative of Holme Wood

to attract volunteers and develop a locally agreed solution within the

financial envelop provided through the process.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Regeneration & Economy

The Friends of Centrepoint & Holme Wood were petitioning the Council to overturn its decision to establish a community managed library and if a solution cannot be found then the Council would look to close the library.  Full Council at its meeting held on 18 October 2016 had referred the matter to the Executive for further consideration

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport submitted a report

(Document “AH”) which set out a response to the petition.  The Assistant Director Sport and Culture explained that the Council in their budget proposals agreed to withdraw from directly managing Holme Wood Library on 1 April 2017 and operate the library through a community managed model.

A representative of the petitioners was present at the meeting and stated that Holme Wood library was an essential part of the community, otherwise children in the area would not have much to do and Holme Wood would be left without a facility which would have a corresponding impact on the youth centre.  That many people in the area did not have the money to go on holiday and therefore activities in the library particularly after school, including access to the internet were essential to maintain.

In response to the issues raised, the Assistant Director Sport and Culture  explained that there had been an impetus to get volunteers to become involved in community based libraries, and although there had been success elsewhere, in Holme Wood there had been some issues in attracting volunteers and he stressed that there was still time to resolve this and encourage people to come forward.

The Leader stated that this was another budget decision from the last financial year and that the Council was supporting libraries to move to being community managed, and that the petition had at least raised the issue and will enable people in the community to come forward as volunteers.

The Environment, Sport and Culture Portfolio Holder urged volunteers to come forward and stated that she had spoken to the Bradford South Area Coordinator, who will be contacting voluntary and community groups in the area to raise interest.

Resolved –

That the Executive reaffirms the previous decision to introduce

Community Managed Libraries at the locations originally agreed and

request officers to engage with representatives of Holme Wood to

attract volunteers and develop a locally agreed solution within the

financial envelope provided through the process.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Environment & Sport

Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Regeneration & Economy

The Director of Finance will submit a report (Document “AC”) which provides Members with an overview of the forecast financial position of the Council for 2016-17 and a mid year performance report.

It examines the latest spend against revenue and capital budgets and forecasts the financial position at the year end. It states the Council’s current balances and reserves and forecasts school balances for the year. 

Recommended –

That the Executive

(1)       Approve the actions being taken in departments to mitigate the forecast overspend.

(2)       Approve the following capital expenditure schemes:

• £16.9m to fund a 69 apartment Extra Care Facility and 50 bed residential care home on the site of the former Bronte School in Keighley in line with Great Place to Grow Old Strategy. The scheme to be funded by £4.3m of grants, £4.5m of borrowing that will be funded by Rental income and £8.1m from the Great Places to Grow Old budget already approved within the Capital Investment Plan.

• £1.68m for Hard Ings road improvements to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in Keighley. The scheme to be funded by short term borrowing prior to reimbursement from the West Yorkshire Transport Fund.

• £3.5m for Harrogate Road/New Liine Junction road improvement scheme, to be funded by £1.9m of developers contribution and £1.6m of short term borrowing prior to reimbursement from the West Yorkshire Transport Fund.

• £0.3m for Chellow Dene Reservoir repair to be funded from capital contingency.
• £1.6m for Street Lighting invest to save to be funded from the revenue budget savings from lower energy costs and lower maintenance.

• The Executive is asked to approve the use of the General Contingency on schemes that generate a net surplus.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Corporate

                                                                        (Andrew Cross – 01274 436823)

The Director of Finance submitted a report (Document “AC”) which provided Members with an overview of the forecast financial position of the Council for 2016-17 and a mid year performance report.

It examined the latest spend against revenue and capital budgets and forecasted the financial position at the year end. It stated the Council’s current balances and reserves and forecasted school balances for the year. 

The Director stated that the report set out the mid point assessment of the Council’s finances as well as the performance data pertaining to individual service areas.

In relation to performance, the Interim Assistant Director Policy, Programmes and Change explained that the new District Plan and Council Plan had been now been approved and new indicator sets will be developed and measured against those plans in the future.  Hence this report set out performance in key areas around better skills; good schools; better health; better lives; decent homes and a safe clean and active communities.  She added that where there were performance issues, Strategic Directors and Assistant Directors were addressing them within their respective service areas.

The Leader acknowledged good performance across service areas and commended staff in their work.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder highlighted the excellent performance in Adult Social Care. She also expressed a word of caution in relation to young people leaving care and who were living in unsuitable accommodation,  stressing that some young people despite the best efforts of the service, were opting to live in unsuitable accommodation and therefore the figures did not reflect the reality of the situation.

The Chief Executive stated that the Council had received national recognition in a number of areas such as the work undertaken by the Mental Health Crisis team, the Events Team, as well as the city winning the curry capital for the 6^th consecutive year.

In relation to the mid year financial position, the Director of Finance stated that the report detailed the financial pressures facing the Council and that he was posting a £6.0m overspend at this mid year stage.  The primary overspend was within Adult Social Care and Children’s Social Care.  He stressed that Bradford was not alone in facing these pressures as many authorities were struggling to contain the cost of social care.

The Director alluded to the measures put in place to address the overspend, including requesting all Strategic Directors and Assistant Directors to improve the budget position in their respective service areas. 

The Director explained the reserves position which currently stood at £13.8m in corporate reserves, which was a small cushion on the context of the financial pressures and risks facing the Council.

The Director also drew attention to the lower than budgeted Business Rates collection, which on current forecast was £2.5m less than budgeted.

In relation to a question on Business Rates collection rates, the Director confirmed that the Valuations Office set the level of business rates and successful appeals meant the Council could never accurately predict the amounts that could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

The Council currently has three contracts with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).  The first is the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP2) contract; this will deliver 139 new affordable council homes and 18 units of housing for homeless households at six sites across the District; The second is the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund (Care and Support 2) contract; this will deliver a 69 unit extra care development at Keighley; The third is the Platform for Change contract that will enable the refurbishment of 15 specialist housing units in Manningham, Bradford.

The HCA has announced a further programme of funding for affordable housing.  This programme, known as the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 provides an opportunity for the Council to secure additional capital grant to support one of its key priorities, namely the provision of good quality affordable housing for rent. 

The Strategic Director Regeneration (Document “AD”) will submit a report which requests approval to bid for capital funding under this programme.

Recommended –

(1)       That the Executive support a bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for grant to support a programme to develop new affordable housing as part of the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21. 

(2)       That the details of the bid for grant funding under the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21be approved by, the relevant Strategic Directors in consultation with the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for Housing.

(3)       That funding to support the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 is identified through the capital programme.

Overview & Scrutiny Area: Regeneration and Economy / Health and Social                                        Care

                                                                        (Julie Rhodes  - 01274 431163)

The Council currently had three contracts with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).  The first was the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP2) contract; this would deliver 139 new affordable council homes and 18 units of housing for homeless households at six sites across the District; The second was the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund (Care and Support 2) contract; this would deliver a 69 unit extra care development at Keighley; The third was the Platform for Change contract that would enable the refurbishment of 15 specialist housing units in Manningham, Bradford.

The HCA had announced a further programme of funding for affordable housing.  This programme, known as the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 provided an opportunity for the Council to secure additional capital grant to support one of its key priorities, namely the provision of good quality affordable housing for rent. 

The Strategic Director Regeneration (Document “AD”) submitted a report which requested approval to bid for capital funding under this programme.  It was explained that the report set out the position in relation to the next round of funding from the HCA and the opportunities It presented for the Council.

The bid was an indicative bid  at this stage and suitable sites were being identified for development in conjunction with Asset Management.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder stated that if the bid was successful, it would facilitate much needed affordable housing in the district which was in short supply.

Resolved –

(1)       That the bid to the Homes and Communities Agency for a grant to support a programme to develop new affordable housing as part of the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 be supported. 

(2)       That the details of the bid for grant funding under the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 be approved by, the relevant Strategic Directors in consultation with the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for Housing.

(3)       That funding to support the Shared Ownership and Affordable Housing programme (SOAHP) 2016/21 is identified through the capital programme.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Regeneration

Overview & Scrutiny Area: Regeneration and Economy / Health and                                                    Social Care

The Strategic Director Regeneration will submit a report (Document “AE”) which seeks Members resolution for the re-allocation of part of the New Homes Bonus money received from central government with the money to be directed to capital funding schemes for infrastructure projects within the district. This is designed to off-set additional strain placed on infrastructure by the development of housing sites across the district.

The purpose of utilising the money is to direct funds to essential infrastructure projects where there was an inability for these projects to be funded by the full Section 106 contributions which would normally be sought from developers due to scheme viability. The allocation of New Homes Bonus money to off-set those S106 contributions reduced as part of the planning application process to facilitate scheme viability was agreed as appropriate by Executive on 24^th June 2014.

The report makes recommendations for Members to consider with a range of options in relation to the allocation of the money derived from the New Homes Bonus.

Recommended –

Subject to capital funding equivalent to the New Homes Bonus earned of £877,044.00 being identified the Executive are recommended:

(1)       A Pro-rata Approach: To pro rata the New Homes Bonus sum and        to award Education and Recreation services a sum comparable to         the percentage of Section 106 contributions which were not       secured for both education and recreation capital   infrastructure          projects. This would result in 69% of the New Homes Bonus being            awarded to Education which equals £605,160.36 and the         remaining 31% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to             Recreation which would equal £271,883.64. Future spending of             these sums to be carried out in consultation with the appropriate       Portfolio Holders.

(2)       That the Assistant Director (Planning Transportation and             Highways), in consultation with the Strategic Director Finance and          the appropriate Portfolio Holders, prepares an appraisal of the       capital infrastructure projects where S106 contributions are not            fully secured for inclusion within the Council’s Capital Investment     Plan up to a value of £877,044.00

(3)       That the Members of the Executive determine to allocate the       second payment of £951,854.31 using the pro rata approach and            based on last years comparable percentages of Section 106 contributions which were not secured for both education and    recreation capital             infrastructure projects. This would result in   78.2% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to Education            which equals £744,138.93 and the remaining 21.8% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to Recreation which would equal     £207,445.38. Future spending of these sums to be carried out in     consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holders.

            Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Regeneration and Economy

The Strategic Director Regeneration submitted a report (Document “AE”) which sought approval for the re-allocation of part of the New Homes Bonus money received from central government with the money to be directed to capital funding schemes for infrastructure projects within the district. This was designed to off-set additional strain placed on infrastructure by the development of housing sites across the district.

The purpose of utilising the money was to direct funds to essential infrastructure projects where there was an inability for these projects to be funded by the full Section 106 contributions which would normally be sought from developers due to scheme viability. The allocation of New Homes Bonus money to off-set those S106 contributions reduced as part of the planning application process to facilitate scheme viability was agreed as appropriate by Executive at its meeting held on 24^th June 2014.

The report made recommendations for Members to consider with a range of options in relation to the allocation of the money derived from the New Homes Bonus.

The Regeneration, Planning and Transport Portfolio Holder in welcoming the report, stated that the New Homes Bonus money would enable much needed infrastructure projects to be put in place in relation to recreation and education.

Resolved–

Subject to capital funding equivalent to the New Homes Bonus earned of £877,044.00 being identified the Executive approved:

(1)       A Pro-rata Approach: To pro rata the New Homes Bonus sum and        to award Education and Recreation services a sum comparable to         the percentage of Section 106 contributions which were not       secured for both education and recreation capital infrastructure           projects. This would result in 69% of the New Homes Bonus being            awarded to Education which equals £605,160.36 and the         remaining 31% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to             Recreation which would equal   £271,883.64. Future spending of            these sums to be carried out in consultation with the appropriate       Portfolio Holders.

(2)       That the Assistant Director (Planning Transportation and             Highways), in consultation with the Strategic Director Finance and          the appropriate Portfolio Holders, prepares an appraisal of the       capital infrastructure projects where S106 contributions are not            fully secured for inclusion within the Council’s Capital Investment     Plan up to a value of £877,044.00

(3)       That the Members of the Executive determine to allocate the       second payment of £951,854.31 using the pro rata   approach and          based on last years comparable percentages of Section 106 contributions which were not secured for both education and    recreation capital infrastructure projects. This would result in   78.2% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to Education     which equals £744,138.93 and the remaining 21.8% of the New Homes Bonus being awarded to Recreation which would equal    £207,445.38. Future spending of these sums to be carried out in           consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holders.

ACTION:       Strategic Director Regeneration

Overview and Scrutiny Committee:  Regeneration and Economy

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport will submit a report (Document “AF”) which sets out the Bereavement Strategy which lays out the existing and future challenges and gives a strategic way forward for future provision of the Service.

Recommended –

That the Executive:-

(1)       Approve and adopt the Bereavement Strategy as presented        including      the proposal to build two new replacement         crematoria (option 9.3 to Document “AF”).

(2)       Instruct the Director of Environment & Sport, in consultation      with    the Director of Finance, to develop a business plan for          implementation of the Bereavement Strategy including the      necessary capital   investment plan up to and including 2018.

(3)       Authorise the Director of Finance to ensure the financial requirements of the Bereavement Strategy are incorporated in the            Council’s future capital investment plan.       

Regeneration & Economy

The Strategic Director Environment and Sport submitted a report (Document “AF”) which set out the Bereavement Strategy which laid out the existing and future challenges and gave a strategic way forward for future provision of the Service.

The Assistant Director Sport and Culture gave an overview of the Strategy stating that in moving to a more sustainable delivery model the strategy aimed to replace old crematoria buildings and equipment.  To this end the Service was actively looking at suitable sites for housing the new Crematoria.  The Assistant Director stressed that the proposals would not affect access to the existing cemeteries.

The report also set out a strategy in relation to cemetery provision, ad although there was adequate burial space for the next 20 years, investment was still required.

The Leader in welcoming the Strategy stated that the Council was intending to bring its bereavement facilities to modern standards and that other local authorities had already made this investment, in particular having cremators that had mercury filtration equipment.

The Leader also stated that their was no intention to close any of the graveyards, but about creating new crematoria facilities and that the new facilities would provide dignified, up to date facilities for the district.

Resolved–

(1)       That the Bereavement Strategy as presented including the          proposal to build two new replacement crematoria (as set out  in             option 9.3 to Document “AF”) be approved and adopted.                  

(2)       That the Strategic Director Environment & Sport, in consultation           with the Director of Finance be instructed, to develop a business           plan for implementation of the Bereavement Strategy including             the necessary capital investment plan up to and including 2018.

(3)       That the Director of Finance be authorised to ensure the financial         requirements of the Bereavement Strategy are incorporated in the          Council’s future capital investment plan.       

ACTION:       Strategic Director Environment and Sport /

                        Director of Finance

To receive the minutes of the meeting(s) of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority held on Thursday 28 July 2016 (Document “AI” attached)

                                                                                    (Angie Shearon, WYCA)