Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interest of transparency Cllr Mitchell declared that he works for Yorkshire Water in relation to the item on the Keighley Towns Fund (Minute No. 13).

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2023 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Su Booth / Louis Kingdom – 07814 073884 / 07890 416570)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2023 be held as a correct record.

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

There were no referrals received by the Committee.

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Su Booth / Louis Kingdom – 07814 073884 / 07890 416570)

There were no appeals submitted to review decisions to restrict documents.

Members are asked to note the following dates for the 2023/24 Municipal Year for meetings of this Committee scheduled to take place at 5.30 pm in City Hall, Bradford:

• Tuesday 5 September 2023
• Tuesday 3 October 2023
• Tuesday 28 November 2023
• Tuesday 5 December 2023
• Tuesday 30 January 2024
• Tuesday 13 February 2024
• Tuesday 19 March 2024

(Louis Kingdom – 07890 416570)

Members noted the following dates for the 2023/24 Municipal Year for meetings of the Committee scheduled to take place at 5.30 pm in City Hall, Bradford:

• Tuesday 5 September 2023

• Tuesday 3 October 2023

• Tuesday 28 November 2023

• Tuesday 5 December 2023

• Tuesday 30 January 2024

• Tuesday 13 February 2024

• Tuesday 19 March 2024

The Strategic Director, Place will submit a report (Document “D”) which provides an overview on the proposal to progress with the procurement to deliver full site remediation of a Council owned site in Keighley known as ‘Beechcliffe’ to provide an opportunity for development of a new industrial park.

Recommended –

That the committee:

(1)           Notes the report outlining the delivery of the redevelopment of Beechcliffe to achieve the aims of the Keighley Towns Fund Development Investment Plan programme.

(2)           Notes the proposed procurement routes for delivery of the project to remediate land at Beechcliffe to enable development of a new business park, and further notes that the anticipated envelope of costs (including new highway construction) for the work will be £7m.

(Angela Blake – 01274 432589)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “D”) provided an overview on the proposal to progress with the procurement to deliver full site remediation of a Council owned site in Keighley known as ‘Beechcliffe’ to provide an opportunity for development of a new industrial park. The Senior Development Officer presented the report and told Members that the aim would be to procure through an established framework. The Committee were told that the development would seek to address the lack of industrial premises available in Keighley. The Senior Development Officer informed the Committee that the initial allocated budget would be roughly £7m and that the funding for the project would be drawn from the Development Investment Fund (DIF) of the Keighley Towns Fund.

The Chair thanked the Senior Development Officer for the report and gave the opportunity for Members to ask questions the details of which, and the responses given, are as below.

A Member asked about the Keighley Towns Fund and how the funding was split. The Committee were told that following a successful Keighley Town Investment Plan bid, a total fund of £33.6m was awarded to deliver projects in Keighley. The Senior Development Officer explained that £14m of this fund was allocated for the Development Investment Fund (DIF) which was targeted towards remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites to increase the supply of business accommodation.

The Senior Development Officer was asked what the site had been previously and what the remediation may involve. The Committee were informed that the site had been a mill in the Victorian era and that when the bypass nearby was built a lot of waste had been dumped on the site. Members were told that any contaminants would be removed.

A Member of the Committee asked if the site was in the floodplain and if any runoff issues had been considered. The Committee were told that the runoff from the developed site could not be more than the current amount and that this was a condition applied to many developments. It was explained that developers may install attenuation tanks in developments to mitigate runoff issues. 

The Committee asked several questions surrounding the framework and which had the greatest community benefit in terms of added social value. Members were told that both frameworks had delivered social value and Procurement offer advice surrounding frameworks, the Senior Development Officer stated that SCAPE was the current framework for some schemes and that it is possible to stipulate how much of a contract spend must be within the local area. The Senior Development Officer added that too many restrictions and conditions may put bidders off, so it was important to strike a balance.

The Senior Development Officer was asked if he remained confident that the works would be completed prior to the deadline of 31 March 2026 when all works must be completed by, and the Committee were told that they were confident the scheme would be completed by then. It was added that by using existing frameworks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Strategic Director, Place will submit a report (Document “F”) which provides an update to the Regeneration & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee on progress against the ambitions and targets as set out in the strategy following its adoption in 2021.

Recommended –

(1)           That the Committee note the content of this report.

(2)           That the Committee are invited to comment on how to connect to a wider audience for further consultation.

(3)           That the Committee receive an interim CIOP progress report (for electronic circulation to members of the committee) towards the end of 2024 followed by a full review report during 2026 once the UK City of Culture 2025 full evaluation report has been produced.

(Nicola Greenan – 01274 431301)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “F”) provided an update to the Committee on progress against the ambitions and targets as set out in the Culture is our Plan (CIOP) strategy following its adoption in 2021. The Strategic Lead highlighted the achievements of the strategy and told Members about the Open Data Dashboard that was in development. The Open Data Dashboard would hold a significant amount of data and provide users with the ability to filter in several ways such as by ward and constituency to show what was being delivered. The Strategic Lead pointed out that this would help to consider geography and demography.

Several presentations were given to the Committee to provide examples of various projects that were ongoing due to the CIOP strategy. Members were told about the work and events done by ‘Common Wealth’ which involved children being paired with an artist and designing a room in that particular style. The Committee were informed about other projects such as ‘Youth Lab’ and ‘New Parliament’ which put on plays and debates about issues that young people felt were important. The Committee were given a presentation about ‘Bussing Out’ and the work of ‘The Unit’ alongside ‘Idle Work Factory’ to get people involved in filmmaking.

The Committee thanked everyone who came to present and praised the work that was being done.

The Committee asked several questions about the Constituency Consultation Events and expressed concern about engagement due to the low attendance rate and that they weren’t aware of events in their own wards. Officers acknowledged that networks were not maximised to communicate about the consultation events and that this would be improved in the future. The Chair echoed the concerns of Members and added that future consultation events need to be more accessible to achieve greater engagement and to ensure all communities are represented. It was suggested to inform and liaise with Ward Councillors about future consultation events so that the event could be advertised through letters and community pages.

A Member asked if future reports could clearly indicate and signpost how achievements relate to the targets that had been set and was told that future reports could include KPI’s. Officers were also asked to bring a further report back to the Committee prior to 2025.

Resolved –

(1)           That the report be noted and that officers and representatives be thanked for their informative presentations;

(2)           That an update report be added to the Committee’s 2024/25 programme of work, and;

(3)           That officers liaise with Ward Councillors when arranging future local consultation and engagement events.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The Strategic Director, Place will submit a report (Document “E) which provides an update on the commissioning of the Housing Management & Maintenance contract (HMMC) that is due to end on 31 March 2024 andadvises Members of a forthcoming tender opportunity, Housing Management & Maintenance Contract, with a value in excess of £2 million in line with therequirements of Contracts Standing Orders (CSO 7.2.1) prior to the commencement of theprocurement process.

Recommended –

That the report be noted, and that Members comment on the proposals for the commissioning of the Housing Management and Maintenance contract.

(Alan Lunt / Hiron Miah – 01274 434748/01274 431987)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “E”) provided an update on the commissioning of the Housing Management & Maintenance contract (HMMC) that was due to end on 31 March 2024 and advised Members of a forthcoming tender opportunity, Housing Management & Maintenance Contract, which had a value in excess of £2 million in line with the requirements of Contracts Standing Orders (CSO 7.2.1) prior to the commencement of the procurement process. The Housing Strategy and Policy Manager summarised the report and highlighted that the next contract would be for a period of five years. The Committee were informed that the contract would consist of three elements those being Housing Management, Cyclical Maintenance and Regulatory Compliance, and Responsive Repairs. Officers confirmed that work was still ongoing to evaluate the current contract and finalise the contract specifications prior to going out to tender.The Housing Strategy and Policy Manager explained that an in-house option to deliver the service was considered, but with a lack of in-house expertise and capacity and with a small holding of 428 properties it was not deemed financially viable to deliver in-house.

Members asked if the contract would have a break clause and the criteria for this to apply. Members were told that the contract would include a break clause and the criteria to break it would be based on performance and KPI’s. It was further stated that regular reviews would take place to ensure that performance met expectations.

The Committee asked several questions about the current contract and whether it would be possible in future evaluation of contracts to feed in feedback from residents. The Committee were informed that when a contract is evaluated it would go to a panel that would consist of a contract officer and a senior manager as well as somebody from procurement, the next step would involve the Portfolio Holder and the Leader. It was further stated that feedback from residents may feed into the evaluation.

A Member asked about how bad tenants could be dealt with and what options were available to the Council. The Housing Strategy and Policy Manager explained that enforcement action was available if there were several instances of a breach of the tenancy agreement. It was added that eviction could be a difficult situation particularly where families with young children were involved.

Resolved –

That the report be noted and that officers take into account Members’ comments made at the meeting.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place

The Director of Legal and Governance will submit a report (Document “G”) which presents a draft work programme 2023/24 for adoption by the Committee.

Recommended –

(1)           That the Committee notes the information in Appendix A to Document “G” and that it, along with any amendments or additions is adopted as the Committee’s Work Programme 2023/24.

(2)           That the Work Programme 2023/24 continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

(Caroline Coombes – 01274 432313)

Members of the Committee briefly discussed the work programme and agreed that it would be regularly reviewed throughout the year. The addition of items on the Towns Fund and the nighttime economy were discussed.

Resolved –

(1)           That Appendix A, along with the amendments made at the meeting, be adopted as the Committee’s Work Programme 2023/24, and;

(2)           That the Work Programme 2023/24 be regularly reviewed during the year.

ACTION: Overview and Scrutiny Lead