Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Joyce Plummer.

Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 6 – Review of Leisure Services Provision, in the light of his position as a member of Hyndburn Leisure Trust’s Board.

There were no dispensations notified.

a)    Mayor

b)    Leader of the Council

c)    Chief Executive

·         Update on the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Mayor announced that since the last Council meeting coronavirus had surged in the Borough and nationally and the country had found itself in a second lockdown.  But hopefully good news was now on the horizon.

1)          Sad News

The Mayor expressed her heartfelt sympathies to the Mayoress, her close friend Councillor Joyce Plummer, whose husband, Vincent, had sadly passed away last week.  The thoughts and prayers of the Council members were with her and her family at this difficult time.

The Mayor also mentioned the sad passing of Mr David Cross of Clayton-le-Moors, who had died a fortnight ago shortly after the death of his wife.  David had been a stalwart of the community and in March 2015 the Council had presented him with its Ruby Award for services to the area.

Mr Welsby added his condolences to the family of Scott Gardner, a former colleague and Head of IT Services, who had passed away last week.

2)          Update on the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Chief Executive of the Council, David Welsby, provided an update on the impact of COVID-19 on the Borough.

The second national lockdown was due to end on 2 December 2020.  The public had coped marvellously and come together since the start of the pandemic.  It was critical that everyone continued to do so.  The vaccine was close.  Hard work had been undertaken by all to get to this stage, including NHS, Council staff and volunteers.  The message was now to stay safe in the hope that families could be together shortly.

An overview of facts and figures was provided.

The approximate total numbers of cases of infection were as follows:-

Total infection rates per 100k population were as follows:-

The infection had led to the following loss of life within 28 days of a COVID positive diagnosis:-

Of those persons who had sadly died, the following locations were noted:-

The death rates per 100k population were as follows:-

Hyndburn was below the Lancashire average death rate and significantly below some districts, including Wyre, Fylde, Blackpool and West Lancashire.  Some of the highest death rates were in the range 130-160/100k.

The pandemic had followed a distinct pattern.  The first wave had hit from last March to mid-April 2020, during which time hospitalisation and deaths had reached a peak.  There had followed a brief respite in the North West.  By July, people had been able to socialise outside.  However, infection had then started to grow in the North West.   Hyndburn had moved from a position of 132/100k announced at the last Council meeting in September, to a peak of around 550/100k on 24 October 2020, with figures doubling every week at one stage.

The case rate had now started on a steady decline.  This was mirrored in Lancashire and the North West too.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

To confirm as correct records the Minutes of the Council meetings held on 27^th February and 17^th September 2020 (attached)

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 17^th September 2020 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 17^th September 2020 be approved as a correct record.

To deal with any questions submitted under Council Procedure Rule 2.2(vi).

The Mayor reported that no questions had been submitted under this Agenda Item.

To receive an update from Lyndsey Sims, Chief Executive of Hyndburn Leisure, on the review of Leisure Services provision in Hyndburn.

Lyndsey Sims, Chief Executive, Hyndburn Leisure, provided a presentation on a review of leisure services provision.  The review would determine the long term vision for the leisure service estate.

This would be a 2 year process and would look at the Trust’s facilities, comprising Hyndburn Leisure Centre, Mercer Hall Leisure Centre and Wilsons Athletics Pavilion.  The Council, Sport England and users would be involved in the review, which would ensure that the facilities were fit for purpose.  The result should see a high impact on the health and wellbeing of the Borough’s residents.

This was against a background of a difficult year for the service.   However, physical activity was good for individuals and the Local Government Association had identified leisure provision as a key part of the recovery process from the pandemic.

The presentation included detailed slides on the following:-

• Background;
• Hyndburn Leisure’s history and role;
• The Trust’s goals;
• Review process and strategic priorities;
• Sport England strategic outcomes planning model approach;
• Progress to date;
• Consultation themes;
• Opportunity for investment from the public sector decarbonisation scheme;
• Current indications across the 3 sites; and
• Next Steps.

Councillors Noordad Aziz, Terry Hurn, Kate Walsh, Judith Addison, Munsif Dad BEM JP, Patrick McGinley, Glen Harrison, and the Mayor made a number of comments on the proposals.  Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, thanked Ms Sims for her presentation.  He also thanked the Trust Board, who were all volunteers, for their work.  They had delivered much and put the Trust on a sustainable financial path.  Due to the Trust’s hard work, the organisation should have operated well within its grant this year, but COVID-19 had caused an unexpected loss of ground in financial terms.

Before COVID-19 had surfaced, health inequalities, obesity and life expectancy issues had been high priorities for the Council and the Trust.

The Leader looked forward to a further update in February 2021.  It was acknowledged that residents might have become attached to their existing facilities, but the Trust would need to look at the bigger picture for the future of the service.  The primary goal was to secure better health outcomes for all, with less inequalities in the community.  The Leader was confident that Ms Sims and the Board would drive forward that agenda.

Mr Welsby also thanked Ms Sims for her on-going work as the lead officer for the Hyndburn Hub.

Resolved                                    -    That the presentation on the review of leisure services provision be noted.

To receive a report on decisions taken under with Council Procedure Rule A24, the Council Urgency Procedure.  The following decisions are attached:-

Members considered a report on the following decisions taken under Council Procedure Rule A24, the Council Urgency Procedure:-

Resolved                                    -    To note the report on urgent decisions taken.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 15^th January, 12^th February and 21^st October 20209 (attached).

Rules of Debate

·         The Leader of the Council will move the Minutes, the Deputy Leader of the Council will second the Minutes.

·         Non-executive Members will be invited to make comment or ask questions on the Minutes (5 Minutes).

·         Cabinet Members will be invited to make comments and respond to any points raised (5 Minutes).

·         The Leader of the Council will be given up to 15 Minutes to respond and to answer any questions raised.

The minutes of the meetings of Cabinet held on 15^th January, 12^th February and 21^st October 2020 were submitted.

Councillor Marlene Haworth referred to Minute 214 - Accrington Indoor Market Hall Redevelopment, from the minutes of 15^th January 2020.  She indicated that she had been present at that meeting and had raised some concerns about the food court aspect of the proposals.  She queried whether the appointment of the Dawnvale Group as the design / project manager should have been by a tender exercise.

Councillor Paul Cox, Deputy Leader of the Council, clarified that the proposals were for a social hub, which would incorporate multiple food and drink outlets.  Dawnvale would provide the outline plan and had experience of similar projects across NW England, in towns with a similar demographic to Hyndburn.

It was acknowledged that when these proposals had first been mooted, times were very different.  The ideas were now on hold due to the pandemic.  Existing tenants were being encouraged to come back into the Market Hall.  Regular meetings also took place with traders to listen to their views and to reach a consensus about improvements.  Councillor Haworth would be welcome to attend those meetings.

Approval had been given recently to remove some of the outdoor pavilions, but it had now been decided to undertake this in a phased way.

The Leader of the Council congratulated the Deputy Leader on the positive approach.  There was consensus to move forward with improvement and the Council continued to listen to its tenants and to support them, particularly through these difficult times.

Resolved        -           That the Minutes be received and noted.

To receive the Minutes of committees, as set out below:

Rules of Debate

·         The Leader of the Council will introduce the Minutes as a whole.

·         Any Member may raise any issue from the Minutes; the Chair of the relevant Committee may respond (5 Minutes).

·         The Leader of the Council will close the debate (5 Minutes).

The Minutes of the following meetings were submitted:

The Leader of the Council commented that many services, including committee meetings, were now being rolled out within the digital environment.  He thanked all those responsible for facilitating virtual meetings and other digital services.

Resolved        -           That the Minutes be received and noted.

To consider any Motions for debate in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A9, as amended by Section 10 of the Remote Meetings Procedure Rules.

1)          Notice Submitted on Motion – Local Bank Branches

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Noordad Aziz and seconded by Councillor Bernadette Parkinson under Council Procedure Rule A9:-

“Since the Banking Crisis in 2009, one of the consequences has been the closure of many high street branches of banks across the country, especially in small towns and villages like Great Harwood, Clayton and Rishton.

This has impacted on elderly residents having access to banking services, such as depositing and withdrawing monies.

With the advent of Royal Mail privatisation it has led to the withdrawal and reduction of the availability of different banking services through the Post Office.  In addition, recent changes announced by Royal Mail will lead to the Post Office shutting 600 free to use cash machines, adding further restrictions in accessing to cash and a further blow to the high street.

This Council resolves to write to the communities minister to ask him how this Government will address the issue of residents not being able to access banking services without travelling to a different town.”

Councillors Sara Britcliffe MP, Bernadette Parkinson, Jenny Molineux and Tim O’Kane spoke in favour of the motion.  Issues raised included the following:-

• People relied on access to cash locally;
• Getting out helped to tackle loneliness and other health issues;
• The MP had spoken to Government colleague on this;
• Each bank took its own commercial decisions;
• The Minister for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) might be a more appropriate recipient for any correspondence on this matter;
• Branches were important for small traders too;
• The Government was supportive of the Post Office, which was a separate business entity from Royal Mail;
• The MP undertook to follow up this matter and to listen to any specific concerns;
• Local bank branches supported the elderly and disabled people to lead independent lives, without them having to rely on others for transport to neighbouring towns;
• Talking cash machines were particularly useful for blind and partially-sighted persons, but were not widespread; and
• Future planning developments should consider how easy it was to access local services.

Councillor Noordad Aziz summed up by saying that small towns and rural communities had been particularly badly affected by recent changes.  A Government level solution was required to address the issue.

After the debate, the motion was put to the vote and declared carried.

Resolved                                    -    That this Council resolves to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask him how this Government will address the issue of residents not being able to access banking services without travelling to a different town.

2)          Notice Submitted on Motion – Fly Tipping, Dog Fouling and Littering

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Josh Allen and seconded by Councillor Judith Addison under Council Procedure Rule A9:-

“Fly tipping, dog fouling and littering are a blight on communities across Hyndburn - where a small minority of people show a complete disregard for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.