Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Michael Hindley, Caroline Montague and Paddy Short.

Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 6, Climate Change Emergency – Creation of a £1M Reserve, due to its connection with the decarbonisation elements of the Hyndburn Leisure Transformation project and, in view of his role as member of the Board of Trustees of Hyndburn Leisure.

There were no declarations of dispensations submitted.

a)     Mayor

b)     Leader of the Council

c)      Chief Executive

The Mayor made the following announcements:

1.       Remembrance Sunday

Last week had seen a multitude of services and parades taking place across the Borough to commemorate Armistice Day on 11^th November and Remembrance Sunday on the 14^th November.  The Mayor felt privileged to attend a number of those events to say a few words and to lay wreaths in honour of those who had sacrificed everything for the freedoms that we enjoy today.  We will remember them.

The Mayor offered her thanks to the Royal British Legion, clergy, voluntary groups, staff and members of the public who had continued to ensure that these events went from strength to strength each year.

Prior to these very important and memorable events the Mayor had attended several engagements, both within and outside of the Borough.

2.          September Engagements

In September there had been visits to the Heritage Celebration at Stanhill Methodist Church, where the Mayor had been shown around the Textile Museum and memorabilia.  Then she had attended Rossendale’s Civic Lunch at the Whitaker Museum, preceded by a tour of the museum.

3.          October Engagements

In October there had been a visit to The Park Child and Family Centre, where the Mayor had a first class view of the wonderful artistic exhibitions done by the children.  In addition, Accrington and Rossendale College had held their awards ceremony in the Borough’s magnificent Ballroom, at the Town Hall.

On Saturday and Sunday, 2^nd and 3^rd October there had been a visit to Trinity Church Open Day and Church Service, which had enabled the Mayor to see how things were recovering after such a long lock-down.

A visit to the Judges’ Service at Preston Minster on 4^th October had been something not to be missed, with all the legal professions on display in their wigs and costumes.

Numerous other events had taken place, to include the Lancashire Women’s Community Hub AGM, the opening of the Food Pantry on Broadway, an invitation from Getshangry and a visit to the High Sheriff of Lancashire’s event at Booths in Lytham on 27^th October.

4.          November Engagements

On 3^rd November a visit had taken place to Spring into Action.  The Mayor and Mayoress had attended the long-awaited opening of the newly renovated Rhyddings School on 5^th November and how well those renovations had gone!

Other engagements included the induction of the new vicar of St Peter and St Paul’s in Rishton by the Bishop of Blackburn on 8^th November.  Then on 12^th November there had been an invitation to visit the Unique Ladies Club of Hyndburn, which had been a very enjoyable morning where the Mayor had been able to meet with several of the Borough’s up and coming entrepreneurs.  This had been followed in the evening by Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Volunteer Hub presentations.  Finally, on 11^th November, with Blackburn Cathedral appropriately beautifully lit-up with red diffused lighting, the High Sheriff of Lancashire’s and The Dean’s Banquet had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd September 2021 (attached).

The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 23^rd September 2021 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on the 23^rd September 2021 be approved as a correct record.

To deal with any questions submitted under Council Procedure Rule A2.2(vi).

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

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, Leader of the Council, seeking approval to the redesignation of £1m of reserves held for a variety of purposes to a new reserve to help the Council combat climate change.

Councillor M Parkinson introduced the report and explained the background to the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change.  The recent Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in Glasgow had recognised the continuing environmental challenges faced by the whole planet.  The Council wished to send out a strong message that it supported addressing these challenges through action on buildings, parks and vehicles.  The matter was important to the Borough’s residents, especially the young.

The report indicated that the Council had previously discussed extensively the threat posed by Climate Change and declared a Climate Change Emergency at its meeting on the 19^th September 2019.  At that time the Leader of the Council had indicated that he wished to make a financial commitment of £1m towards action to deal with Climate Change.  Due to the impact of COVID 19 it had not been possible to implement this change when setting the 2021/22 Budget.  However, as the danger from COVID 19 appeared to have stabilised and the threat around the need to spend significant additional sums by the Council to help fight it had receded, it was now appropriate for the Council to approve the creation of the new Reserve, which would allow projects and action to be undertaken as required.

The report highlighted a number of issues as follows:

• The global impact of climate change;
• International agreements to combat global warming;
• The impact on the UK of climate change;
• The Council’s response to the emerging threats, including the Green Review;
• Declaration of a Climate Change Emergency;
• Budget speech commitments made in February 2020;
• Progress on existing actions around decarbonisation;
• Future Council priorities and leading the community to reduce its carbon footprint;
• Targets; and
• Funding sources for the new Reserve.

The following Members spoke in favour of the proposals: Councillors Noordad Aziz, Marlene Haworth and Patrick McGinley.  Members affirmed that there was cross-party support for these initiatives.

Resolved                               (1)     That the Council approves the creation of a Climate Change Emergency Reserve of £1m via the transfers of funds from other reserves currently held by the Council, as detailed in the report (at Paragraph 3.21).

(2)     That the Council’s Chief Executive is made the Budget Holder for the financial management and authorisation of sums from this Reserve.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Joyce Plummer, Portfolio Holder for Resources, advising Members of the responses received to the consultation in respect of the Council’s draft revised Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles.  The report also proposed a revised policy for approval, having regard to the responses received.

Councillor Plummer outlined the rationale for the review, the consultation process and the outcome.  If approved, the revised policy would be published on the Council’s website.

The report indicated that Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 required that the Licensing Authority (the Council) prepare and publish a Statement of Principles (the Policy) every three years.  The existing Policy had been kept under review since coming into force in January 2019.

In producing the draft policy the Licensing Authority had had due regard to –

• The Gambling Act 2005 licensing objectives;
• The Guidance to Licensing Authorities issued by the Gambling Commission (5th edition); and
• Responses from those consulted on the Gambling Policy.

The draft proposals had been advertised on the Council’s website, with the consultation period running for 12 weeks from 5^th July 2021 to 27^th September 2021.  Letters had been sent out to the gambling trade and a public notice and information about the policy and consultation had been placed in all of Hyndburn’s public libraries.  The consultees comprised:

• Council chief officers and service heads;
• Gambling Commission;
• HM Revenue and Customs;
• Lancashire Constabulary;
• Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Authority;
• Lancashire County Council – including Lancashire Area Child Protection Committee and Trading Standards Section;
• All neighbouring Councils;
• Licensing Solicitors;
• The British Casino Association;
• Casino Operators Association of the UK;
• Company Secretary, Casino Operators Association of the UK;
• Business in Sport and Leisure;
• Racecourse Association Ltd;
• British Holiday & Home Parks Association;
• Community Trade Union;
• All Gambling and Licensing Premise Licence Holders;
• All Small Lottery Licence Holders; and
• The general public by way of the Council’s website

One representation had been received in response to the consultation and the response to the comments received in that letter had also been detailed in the report.

Resolved                                           -      That the Council agrees the final draft of the revised Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles, as set out at Appendix 1 of the report.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 15^th September and 20^th October 2021 (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 September and 20^th October 2021 were submitted.

Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE highlighted the positive progress being made around regeneration, as illustrated by Minutes 122 – Sale of Clayton Civic Hall, Minute 124 - Levelling Up Fund Bid and Minute 158 – Huncoat Garden Village Masterplan.

In respect of Minute 122 (15^th September 2021) - Clayton Civic Hall, Councillor Peter Britcliffe congratulated the Leader on the successful sale of this facility.  The facility would be well used by Clayton Amateur Boxing Club.  He commented that Councillor Carole Haythornthwaite had also spent a significant amount of time working on this project.

The above Minute raised the issue of the future use of other public buildings, such as the Community Centre on Harvey Street, Oswaldtwistle, which was a base for the Women’s Institute, dog training and other activities, but was currently under threat of closure.

The Leader reiterated his delight at the proposals for Clayton Civic Hall, which had been transferred to Hyndburn Leisure for £1, but which had attracted external grant funding of £185k.  The Leader was aware of the situation regarding the lease for the Community Centre on Harvey Street, Oswaldtwistle, which had not been renewed by the current operator.  The matter was being looked into and Estates would market the property.  These types of premises were likely to form part of the wider Leisure Transformation agenda.

The Leader commented that the Levelling Up Fund bid was very important, along with the Town Centre Investment Plan.  The project was based on strong partnership working, involving a wide range of stakeholders.  The support of the MP was also crucial.  Politicians were working cross-party and had adopted a bottom up approach with stakeholders to lever in millions of pounds of grant funding.  Stakeholders would meet again in the next few weeks, prior to proposals being submitted to Cabinet.  Members would also meet with Lancashire County Council about highways improvements both in Accrington Town Centre and at Junction 8 M65.

The Huncoat Garden Village Masterplan represented the long term strategy for high quality housing with ecological and environmental benefits.  Councillor Eamonn Higgins and Dave Parkins and the community had worked together to make the development environmentally friendly.

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:

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes be received and noted.