Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:

Councillor D Ryland

Councillor W Patterson

To receive declarations of the existence and nature of any private interest, both disclosable pecuniary and any other registrable interests, in any matter to be considered or being considered.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To sign the minutes:

1.     OS/27/12/22  to OS/37/12/22  of the meeting of this Committee held on 1 December 2022; and

2.     OS/38/01/23 to OS/47/01/23 of the meeting of this Committee held on 12 January 2023 as a correct record of those proceedings (copies previously circulated)

Proposed by Councillor D Holden

Seconded by Councillor G Simpkins

andRESOLVED that the minutes OS/27/12/22 to OS/37/12/22 of the meeting of this Committee held on the 1^st December 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record of those proceedings.

Proposed by Councillor D Banks

Seconded by Councillor G Simpkins

and RESOLVED that the minutes OS/38/01/23 to OS/47/01/23 of the meeting of this Committee held on 12^th January 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record of those proceedings.

To consider Report No: DoR03/23 of the Interim Director of Resources which seeks to provide a summary of progress against the Council’s current performance targets, for the period 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022.

To inform the Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committee of any areas of concern or issues requiring attention and the remedial activity in place to deal with these. Additionally, to highlight areas that are working well or any achievements gained during the quarter.

RECOMMENDATION: Overview and Scrutiny Committee are recommended to review the Q3 2022/2023 Performance and make any recommendations to the Cabinet.

Members considered report no: DoR03/23, of the Interim Director of Resources, which sought to update the Committee by summarising the progress against the Council’s current performance targets, for the period 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022.

The Assistant Director Customers, Performance, and Housing, Amanda Yellowley introduced the report highlighting specific areas of interest:

·         Officers were working to find solutions and identify potential sites for nutrient neutrality;

·         Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that were on or above target, of particular note was the performance of the Planning Service which had processed and determined a large number of planning applications;

·         That there had been a considerable improvement in the performance of building control inspections;

·         There had been an increase in the number households in temporary accommodation owing to the cost of living crisis. However, this figure was now decreasing (at the time of the report).

Members asked the following questions in respect of Appendix A of the report:

1.    Councillor D Holden - C1 – enquired which 17 buildings had been selected for decarbonisation assessments and where they were located.

Response: The Interim Assistant Director Development noted that these were buildings owned by the Council e.g. the Town Hall, Sports centre. The Deputy Chief Executive also noted that they included buildings occupied by the Council and those commercial properties that the Council lets out.

2.    Councillor D Holden - C2 – enquired why had the Plug-N-Go bid for Electric Vehicle chargers bid been unsuccessful?

Response: The Assistant Director Development noted that the fund was competitive and that the Council was focusing on other opportunities to submit funding bids.

3.    Councillor G Nicolson – F3 – enquired whether the needs and proposed actions for Eden would be visible within the new authority.

Response: The Deputy Chief Executive noted that the Council had tried to ensure that Eden’s economic development needs and proposed actions were recognised in the new authority. The Council in conjunction with Carlisle City Council had produced a piece of work related to an economic rural development strategy, which was submitted to the new authority and briefings held to apprise them of the information. This specific work underscored the rural strategy as part of furthering the new authority’s economic development goals.

4.    Councillor J Raine - F2 – enquired whether more information could be provided on the Farmer’s network programme.

Response: A written response is to be provided by the Assistant Director of Development.

5.    Councillor J Raine enquired about the status regarding the sale of Mansion House.

Response: The Deputy Chief Executive noted that the planning position had been delayed due to nutrient neutrality requirements. However, following a meeting with the developer and senior officers, the developer was now in a position to move forward with a design proposal in the next few months. The developer remains committed to continuing with the redevelopment of the site and the Council meets regularly with the developer to discuss any new developments. This report reflects the Q3 position and does not reflect these  ...  view the full minutes text for item OS/51/03/23

To consider Report No: DCE13/22 of the Assistant Director Development which seeks to present the findings from the S106 Task and Finish Group.

RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that this Committee request the Cabinet to invite the Executive of Westmorland and Furness Council to note the recommendations in the report and to consider or take account of them in formulating future policy.

Members considered report no: DCE 13/22 of the Interim Assistant Director of Development, which presented the findings from the S106 Task and Finish Group to the Committee.

The Chair of the S106 Task and Finish Group, Councillor D Wicks, introduced the report. The Chair expressed her thanks to the officers involved in processing and collating the information.  The Chair highlighted that Councillor D Holden had erroneously been omitted from the group membership in Appendix 1, and should have been added.

Councillor D Banks expressed his thanks for the work of the Chair in progressing the work of the S106 Task and Finish Group.

Members asked the following questions in respect of the Infrastructure Funding Statement:

1.    Councillor D Holden enquired as to the status of the Land at White Ox Farm development, located on pg. 17 of the Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS), and further enquired how the completion dates in the IFS had been compiled?

Response: A written response is to be provided by the Interim Assistant Director of Development.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councilor J Raine, noted that an additional recommendation from the Section 106 Task and Finish Group should be included in the report’s recommendations:

11.3 A dedicated resource is made available to ensure effective management of Planning Obligations and their implementation to meet policy objectives.

Proposed by Councillor D Wicks

Seconded by Councillor D Banks

andRESOLVED that:

1.    The Infrastructure Funding Statement be reported to Planning Committee and published on the Council’s website.

2.    A report with a similar structure to the attached Infrastructure Funding Statement covering the last 3 years be prepared and made available to the new authority for record and management purposes.

3.    A dedicated resource is made available to ensure effective management of Planning Obligations and their implementation to meet policy objectives.

4.    That this Committee request the Cabinet to invite Westmorland and Furness Council to note the recommendations in this report and to consider or take account of them in formulating future policy.

There were no urgent items of business.