Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Josh Allen, Eamonn Higgins, Sajid Mahmood and Colin McKenzie.

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)         Christmas Events

The Mayor considered that it had been a privilege to be able to attend a number of the Christmas lights switch-on events, including the main fireworks extravaganza in Accrington and some of the excellent celebrations in the Borough’s townships, such as the one in Great Harwood.  He acknowledged that many of the councillors present tonight had been involved in the arrangements for the local switch-ons and he thanked them all for making these events a great success.  The Mayor added that it had been a pleasure to be able to attend the Blessing of the Crib on the Town Square in Accrington and engagements with community groups such as Elmfield Hall Christmas Markets, the Visually Impaired Social Group Christmas Party and a Community Carol Service at St Pauls Oswaldtwistle, to name but a few.

He also thanked the Market Hall and Events staff and the Council’s partners at Hyndburn Leisure and Amazing Accrington for the wonderful attractions laid on in Accrington Town Centre over the festive period.

2)         Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Awards

The Mayor had been delighted to host a presentation ceremony for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Awards on 8^th December at the Haworth Art Gallery, which had been the perfect venue for this intimate event.  The awards had honoured around 20 unsung heroes nominated by the community who had all given up their time as volunteers across a wide range of activities.   Winners had demonstrated excellence in either supporting local people in need, or enhancing people’s lifestyles, or in contributing to the Borough’s rich cultural heritage.

The evening had gone very well and the fact that their deeds were being recognised had really been appreciated by the award recipients.  Overall, it had been a great way to say thank you to just a few of Hyndburn’s huge army of volunteers.

The Mayor also thanked his Mayoral Charity Committee, Sarah Barton, Rawden Kerr and Councillors Mohammad Ayub and Kimberley Whitehead, who had participated in the difficult process of selecting the winners from a long list of nominees.  Their support had been invaluable.  However, the Mayor expressed some sadness and disappointment that a number of his Committee Members had been unable to speak at the ceremony, due to circumstances beyond his control.

3)         Forthcoming Events

The Mayor was now looking forward to getting back into the swing of things in 2023, with new engagement requests already starting to filter through.  He also highlighted his own Mayor’s Ball, which was due to take place on Friday 10^th March from 6.15pm, in the Town Hall’s lovely Ballroom.  The event would be compered by BBC Radio Lancashire presenter, Stephen Lowe, and would feature Asian themed cuisine, an auction and live entertainment by accomplished singer, Gavin Young.

The event should be a memorable occasion for all and would help to raise money for the Mayor’s chosen charities:

• McMillan Cancer Research;
• Lancashire Air Ambulance;
• East Lancashire Hospice; and
• Accrington & District Blind Society.

Everyone was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 245.

To confirm as correct records the minutes of the recent Council meetings held on 3^rd November and 1^st December 2022.

The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 3^rd November and the Special Council meeting held on 1^st December 2022 were provided.

In respect of Minute 178(4) – Leisure Transformation Programme, the Leader of the Council reminded Members that they were due to receive a presentation next week on behalf of the Hyndburn Leisure.  The improvement of leisure facilities was an important step towards enhancing the wellbeing of residents.  The area currently had one of the worst indicators of health in the country.  The proposals would involve some £12M investment in a new swimming pool at Wilsons Playing Field.  A planning application was due to be submitted shortly.  This would complement the two other pools in the Borough, comprising the one at Hyndburn Leisure Centre and a second one operated by Hyndburn Leisure at Accrington Academy.  The decision to close the pool at Mercer Hall had been difficult, as the facilities were well liked, but the building would be repurposed.  It was noted that Hyndburn compared favourably with Ribble Valley, which had only one public swimming pool at Edisford Bridge.

In addition, there was a lot of investment in sport planned in partnership with Lancashire County Council around youth sport.  Plans also included the rejuvenation of facilities in Rishton, with proposed investment in Hyndburn Academy.

Overall, Hyndburn Leisure was working hard to attract investment into the Borough.  Few local authority areas were actively growing their leisure offer, but Hyndburn was planning to open new facilities and was seeking further investment.

In connection with Minute 178(5) – Local Plan, the Leader remarked that the consultation stage was coming to an end. The last public engagement meeting in Huncoat had now taken place.  It was important for those who had not yet had their say to comment.  The Plan would be progressed further in March and would then be submitted to an Inspector, who might recommend further change prior to additional consultation and the final submission to the Secretary of State.

Overall the Plan would deliver moderate growth in housing, mostly delivered within the existing urban boundaries and through use of brownfield land at the former Huncoat Power Station site.  In respect of employment land the situation was more difficult.  The authority did not want to allow significant development with the towns and the most favourable option was to focus on employment land close to the M65 junctions.  The original purpose of the motorway was to increase employment and the route of the motorway necessarily passed through green belt land.  Accordingly the major employment land development would need to be on green belt sites.

The population figure for the Borough was now stabilising and had recently increased by around 1%.  There was a need to provide aspirational housing, which could be delivered with a net gain to the environment and which was of a high specification.  The Chair of the Board of Governors of the local school in Huncoat was enthusiastic about the proposed housing growth, although it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 246.

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.

To consider and give effect to a request from the Labour Group for a change to the membership of the Planning Committee, to replace Councillor Jodi Clements with Councillor Kimberley Whitehead.

Members considered a request submitted by the Leader of the Labour Group, Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, on behalf of that group, to give effect to a change to the membership of the Planning Committee, to replace Councillor Jodi Clements with Councillor Kimberley Whitehead.

The authority was under a duty in accordance with s.16(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to give effect to the wishes of the political group concerned in the filling of any seats allocated to it.

Resolved                                    -    That a change to the membership of the Planning Committee, to replace Councillor Jodi Clements with Councillor Kimberley Whitehead, be approved with immediate effect.

To receive the Minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 30^th November and 7^th December 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 30^th November and 7^th December 2022 were submitted.

In respect of Minute 209 – Reports of Cabinet Members, The Leader reminded Members that, although the Lvelling Up Funding announcement was still awaited, the Council had already received the news of its successful bid under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the sum of around £3M.  The Leader outlined the various projects that would be supported by the funding and the grant amounts awarded.  The schemes supported included the following:

Business Support: Growth and New Business

• Boost (business support);
• Economic Development Function;
• International Trade Support;
• Tourism Attractions/Marketing;

Business Support: Low Carbon

• Business Support for Net Zero and Transition & Decarbonisation;
• New Low Carbon Technology;

Regeneration

• Support for proposals to ‘Green’ the town centre and improve the Accrington Pals Memorial Garden;
• Offer £75k each to the Market Hall and Burtons Chambers as first-year incentive/promotion packages in advance of the buildings opening;
• Support the Arts, Culture and Heritage package;
• Support the Arndale Masterplan.

In respect of the Arndale Masterplan, it was envisaged that the building would be repurposed.  Accordingly, the Council would seek to engage with the owners about the way forward.

The above-mentioned projects and the anticipated Levelling Up monies would help to kick-start the Accrington Town Centre Investment Plan.  The Plan was partnership-led and its ambitions were likely to take many years to come to fruition.  However, all of the projects had been costed up, so as to be ready to be rolled out.  Not every scheme could be tackled within the resources currently available, but the authority was actively seeking additional funding.

The overall picture for the regeneration of the Borough was good news, with successful bids already achieved by Hyndburn Leisure and the Council and with optimism around complementary bids by Lancashire County Council.  A bid of around £30M would soon be submitted for the infrastructure required to realise the Huncoat Garden Village development.  The Leader urged all councillors to support the bids being submitted.

The Leader also thanked Councillors Paul Cox and Marlene Haworth for their continuous support for rent concessions for the indoor Market Hall traders.

The proof of a workable Plan for regeneration was plain for all to see.

With regard to Minute 214 – Memorial Park Heritage Lottery Bid, the Leader thanked the community of Great Harwood and the Friends of Memorial Park for their support which had led to the current proposals.  The bid would be the first phase in the regeneration of the park and the Council was keen to work with the relevant partners to develop a second phase of improvements.  The Council’s overall plan was to refurbish other parks across the Borough and the various proposals were already fully detailed and costed.

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.

The Mayor thanked all for their attendance and reminded Members that the next Council meeting would be the Budget meeting due to be held on 23^rd February 2023.