Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Dominik Allen, Loraine Cox, Paul Cox, Melissa Fisher, Marlene Haworth, Eamonn Higgins, Kate Walsh and Kimberley Whitehead

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations notified.

a)      Mayor

b)      Leader of the Council

c)      Chief Executive

The Mayor made the following announcements:

1)         Trip to the Somme Battlefields and Pals Memorial

The Mayor reminded Members that he had missed the last Council meeting because of a civic visit to the battlefields of the Somme and, in particular, the Pals Memorial at Serre les Puisieux, along with civic leaders from the home towns and cities of a number of Pals battalions.  The Mayor considered it an honour to assist the Lord Mayor of Sheffield in opening the new 800 metre access track to the memorial park which held a monument to each of the Pals battalions.  The visiting group had held a commemorative service and Mayors from each town had laid a wreath in remembrance for the sacrifice made by so many.

As part of the trip the Mayor had visited the Queen’s Cemetery, where a solider from The Accrington Pals Battalion had been laid to rest and Thiepval Memorial, where names were inscribed of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave.

Representatives had also attend ‘Y-Farm Cemetery’, where 15 soldiers had been reburied in October 2014, 100 years after their death following the discovery of their bodies in 2006 at the crossroads in Radinghem.  The soldiers were from the York and Lancaster Regiment and 11 of the 15 soldiers had been identified with descendants present at the reburial service.

The trip had been an incredible experience and a fitting tribute to the sacrifice of those who had been killed in action in the First Word War.

2)         Town Centre Events

Throughout the summer, the Mayor had been pleased to attend numerous family and sporting events both in the Town Square in Accrington and elsewhere in the Borough, including:

• the Our World Together culture and arts event;
• Prospects’ ECO festival, to celebrate all things green and environmentally friendly;
• The Ron Hill Accrington 10k run, which started and finished in the Town Centre;
• The Soap Box challenge – an annual fun day which grew larger every year;
• The Transport Festival at the Showground, Great Harwood, with its amazing collection of classic cars, preserved buses and commercial vehicles.

3)         Lancashire-wide Civic Events

The Mayor was also pleased to be able to represent the Borough at several events with other Mayors from across the region including:

• Attending the Royal Lancashire Show in Ribchester, with its fine display of animals, crafts and all things rural;
• Civic lunch and tour of Towneley Hall, organised by the Mayor of Burnley
• A charity cricket match at Stonyhurst College;
• Last night of the Proms, at Clitheroe Castle.

4)         The International Community

The Mayor had also been very proud to represent the Borough at a number of events with an international flavour including:

• Welcoming the Italian Women’s football team, who were based here during the Euros in July;
• Welcoming Ukrainian refugees to the area at this most difficult time and meeting their host families at an Accrington Stanley match;
• Supporting Pakistani Independence Day by attending an event at Accrington Library and a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2022.

The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2022 were provided.

In respect of Minute 49(1) - Live steaming of Council Meetings, Councillor Josh Allen enquired about whether the Cabinet had made any progress in considering this matter.  The Leader responded that the Cabinet was awaiting feedback from officers on the implications.  Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, reported that some immediate action had been taken, with the Council’s Communications Manager currently providing a live tweet of the meeting.  It was known that there had been some 350 followers of the last meeting.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 30^th June 2022 be approved as a correct record.

The following person was elected at the Borough Council By-Election held on 14^th July 2022:

The Mayor referred to the Agenda cover, which set out details of the Member elected on 14^th July 2022 at the By-Election for the Overton Ward.  He congratulated and welcomed Councillor Colin McKenzie to the Chamber and wished him well in his new role.

Councillor Noordad Aziz also welcomed Councillor McKenzie and confirmed that he would make a great addition to the Labour team in the Borough.  Along with other recently elected Members, Councillors Scott Brerton (Overton) and Jodi Clements (Netherton), the bar had been raised in Great Harwood.  He expressed the view that the By-Election result provided a clear indication of voters’ preferences and predicted a return to power of the Labour group at the next local election.

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.

The Mayor gave his approval to the following item being considered as a matter of urgency in accordance with Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, on the grounds thata number of committees and bodies were due to meet before the next meeting of the Council and approval to any changes to committee sizes and appointments to reflect the new political balance should be made at the earliest possible date to comply with the duty, under paragraph 16(1)(a) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, to exercise the power to make appointments to those bodies as soon as practicable after the political balance determination had been made.

The report will follow.

Councillor Paddy Short requested and was granted permission by the Mayor to speak first on this item.

Councillor Short advised the Council that he had informed the Chief Executive earlier today, as well as residents, that he and Councillor Caroline Montague intended to serve as Green Party representatives with immediate effect.  They would be the first Green Party councillors in Hyndburn Council’s history and he hoped that there would be more to follow.  The newly formed Green political group would be happy to work with any parties or individuals for the betterment of the Borough.

Officers then circulated a report on the Council’s political balance and constitutional issues.  With the consent of the meeting, the Mayor approved a brief adjournment to enable Members to read and consider the report.

On the resumption of the meeting, the Leader of the Council highlighted the following issues contained in the report:

Legislation required the Council to carry out a calculation of the political balance before each Annual Meeting to enable seats on committees and sub-committees to be allocated on a proportional basis between the political parties across the Council.  This had been carried out in May of this year and councillors had been appointed to various bodies accordingly.

Since then there had been a number of changes to the political balance across Council.  Regulations specified certain other times at which the political balance calculation would have to be reviewed.  This included upon the receipt of a notice requesting such a review where a member had also served notice of their intention to join a political group.  This requirement had recently be triggered, due to Councillor Loraine Cox joining the Conservative Group.  Accordingly, a review of the political balance had now been carried out, which also took into account tonight’s announcement of the formation of a Green group.

A small number of changes were required to the political balance on some committees and sub-committees as a result of the review.  The full details were set out in the report as circulated.  This in turn had led to the need to amend the membership of these bodies to take account of the new political balance.  Party leaders had been consulted about the amendments necessary.

Members were being asked to approve the revised proportionality on each committee/sub-committee and the changes to individual named councillors appointed to those bodies.  The Leader provided summary of the main changes to committee memberships.  The Leader of the Labour group had also made some changes to that group’s nominations to the various Committees and Working Groups.  The various changes proposed were set out in the schedule to the report circulated.

The recommendations in the report also asked for delegated powers for the Chief Executive to make any amendments to appointments arising from the review of political balance, if it was not possible resolve these at tonight’s meeting.  However, all information in the schedule to the report was correct at the time of printing.

The report set out the detailed information about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Report attached.

With the consent of the meeting, this matter was withdrawn from the Agenda.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 22^nd June and 13^th July 2022 (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 22^nd June and 13^th July 2022 were submitted.

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:

Councillor Dawson asked whether the Communities and Wellbeing Overview & Scrutiny Committee had not met since 20^th October 2021.  The Member Services Manager responded that those minutes had been omitted, in error, from an earlier Council Agenda, so were being presented today.  There had been a meeting of that Committee in the intervening period.  Councillor Dawson indicated that he did not recall that meeting.  The Leader commented that this could be because Members were not always able to attend meetings following the issuing of the relevant summons.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes be received and noted.

Report attached.

1)          Unlocking the Potential of Local High Streets

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

“This Council believes that healthy high streets are essential for employment, shopping and leisure but many shops and businesses were struggling even before the Covid pandemic:  High street retail employment fell in more than three-quarters of local authorities between 2015 and 2018 according to the Office of National Statistics and more than half of all UK consumers were shopping online before the pandemic.  Hyndburn's high streets have been similarly affected by this shift in trends and this can clearly be seen in Accrington.

This Council notes retail is among the sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic; the almost complete shutdown of non-essential shops between March and June 2020 and subsequent local and national lockdowns and ongoing restrictions has hit businesses hard, and the need for social distancing has changed the way many businesses operate reducing footfall.

The pandemic has accelerated what in many cases has been a longer trend of lower footfall and changing shopping habits: as the Portas Review a decade ago acknowledged, the form and function of many high streets needs to adapt if they are to survive.

This Council welcomes the willingness of Government to acknowledge the problems and come forward with initiatives in response to these challenges such has the furlough scheme, the Covid support business loans, and the High Street Taskforce.

However, as the Treasury Select Committee stated in 2019, the current system of Business Rates places an unfair burden on “bricks and mortar” businesses compared to online retailers, and the Business Rate system needs radical overhaul.

The announcements in the Budget, though welcome, fall short of what is required: small changes to revaluation cycles and temporary discounts simply tinker around the edges, and will not deliver the support that local high streets need and deserve.

This Council resolves to:

• Write to the Government to urge it to scrap business rates and replace them with a system which is fit for purpose and which levels the playing field between bricks and mortar businesses and online retail giants.

• Campaign to devolve funds like the Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and other national funding pots, to give local communities, councils and regions the ultimate say in how it is spent in their area.

• Explore what local action can be taken to revive our high streets.”

Councillor Aziz provided a brief introduction to the motion.  He indicated that in 2004, David Cameron as Prime Minister had highlighted the decline of the high street.  In Accrington shops on Broadway were closed.  The pandemic and lockdown had accelerated this trend.  Many retailers now traded on-line.  Councillor Aziz himself admitted to having various stores’ Apps on his phone.  Statistics reported in 2021 indicated that that some 17,500 chain store outlets had disappeared form the high street.  This equated to around 50 shops per day closing.  The impact was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.