Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Zak Khan and on behalf of Councillor Melissa Fisher, who was a standing invitee as Joint Deputy Leader of the Labour Group.

There were no reported declarations of interest or dispensations.

To approve the Minutes of the last meeting of Cabinet held on 13^th September 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held 13^th September 2023 were submitted for approval as a correct record.

In respect of the weekend burial service (Minute 127 – Minutes of Cabinet refers), Councillor Smithson, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, reported that the service had commenced on 7^th October 2023.  He thanked the officers for their work to implement this offer.  Several Members spoke to welcome the launch of this service.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record.

In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), to receive a report on decisions taken under urgency procedures. The following decisions are attached:-

In accordance with Executive Procedure Rule B16(c), Members considered a report on the following decisions taken under the urgency procedure:

Councillors Younis and Pratt summarised the decisions taken in respect of their portfolios.  The Leader indicated that a site visit had had been organised for the Market Hall traders to view the temporary retail units at the manufacturer’s base.  She added that Members might already have noticed the spray paint markings in the town centre to identify utilities prior to installation of the new accommodation.  Councillors Smithson, Dad and Aziz referred to the Northfield Works decision and comments were made regarding the potential implications for residents living close to the site and about on-going access to Whinney Hill for waste disposal by non-Lancashire authorities.

Resolved                                    -    To note the report on urgent decisions taken.

To receive verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate.

Councillor Marlene Haworth, Leader of the Council, reported the good news that on 1^st October the Government had announced an extra £20m for Accrington as part of the long term plan for towns left behind that have been overlooked and taken for granted.

Accrington was one of 55 towns, along with Darwen, Burnley and Nelson, that would benefit from a £1.1 billion Levelling Up investment over the next ten years.

The funding aimed to help with:

• Reviving Accrington’s high streets;
• Tackling anti-social behaviour;
• Improving transport; and
• Growing the local Accrington economy.

This would be a significant opportunity to support the Council’s long term ambitions and work in tandem with the funding that had already been received.  The new funding would be steered directly by local people through the Town Board.  People who lived in the area would be at the heart of the decisions and the Leader looked forward to being part of the next stage.

Under the new approach, local people would be put in charge and given the tools to change Accrington’s long-term future, driven by:

• Receipt of a ten-year £20m endowment style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating Accrington town centre or securing public safety;
• Utilising the Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers, local authorities and the local MP, to deliver the Long-Term Plan for Accrington and put it to local people for consultation.
• Use a suite of regeneration powers to unlock more private sector investment by auctioning empty Accrington high street shops, reforming licensing rules on shops and restaurants and supporting more housing in Accrington town centre.

The Leader added that she was looking forward to working with the Board, local businesses, the community, councillors and the MP, Sara Britcliffe.

All Members welcomed the news about additional investment, although Opposition Members expressed some concern about funding for the townships.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Marlene Haworth, Leader of the Council, on the Corporate Strategy 2023-2028.

The Leader highlighted the main elements of the report including the 3 main priorities of the Strategy, key transformational projects, the process used to develop the Strategy including the engagement undertaken and the status of the document as part of the Council’s Policy Framework.  She reported that the Strategy would require the approval of the Council.

Opposition Members confirmed that they had contributed to development of the strategy and were happy to support it.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Corporate Strategy defined the Council’s key strategic objectives over the medium term.  The lifespan of the current strategy was coming to its end, providing the Council with an opportunity to reflect and refresh its aims and objectives for the next five years.  The strategy took into account emerging priorities and major projects already in the pipeline, whilst incorporating sustainable growth, climate change, and community objectives.

The strategy formed part of the Council’s Policy Framework as defined in the Constitution and, as such, needed to be adopted by the Council.

Over the past five years, the existing Corporate Strategy had focused and delivered on a number of strategic objectives for growth, efficiency and quality (‘Driving Growth & Prosperity in Hyndburn’).  The majority of these actions had now been completed.  The purpose of the new strategy was to focus more on the long-term, transformative priorities that would drive the Council and the Borough forward for the next five years, and less on the day-to-day operations.

The new strategy articulated a vision to progress a number of key priorities including: the Accrington Town Centre Levelling Up funded projects, the Huncoat Garden Village proposal, the Leisure Transformation Project, UK Shared Prosperity Fund initiatives and the Council’s Climate Pledge to be Net Zero by 2030.  These priorities had been pulled together across a number of engagement sessions and stakeholder events, demonstrating the Council’s principles of strengthening relationships and partnership working.

The Corporate Strategy themes

The purpose of the strategy was to articulate the Council’s main priorities for the next five years, identifying the vision, action and outcomes needed to measure success to see how well the Council was achieving and delivering its planned objectives.

The three priority themes were:

• Sustainable Growth

o    Employment & Business Growth

o    Revitalise Accrington Town Centre

o    Housing Growth

• Environment & Climate Change

o    To Make the Council Net Zero by 2030

o    Green Spaces & the Natural Environment

o    Domestic Energy Reduction

• Community & Collaborative Working

o    Partnership Working

o    Health & Wellbeing

o    Heritage, Culture & Arts

The strategy had been broken down into five parts:

• Hyndburn in numbers (providing readers with an overview of Hyndburn)
• Plan on a page (overview of key priorities)
• Outcomes – high level goals and how would the Council know it had achieved its objectives (success of the strategy)
• Action Plan - road map to help deliver successful outcomes for Sustainable Growth; Environment & Climate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 178.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Joint Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, concerning the adoption of a new Procurement Strategy 2023 - 2027

Councillor Britcliffe introduced the report, noting that this was the 5^th version of the document.  Key objectives contained with the strategy comprised behaving commercially, achieving community benefits and setting high standards for governance.  Ensuring value for money around purchasing was essential.  The new strategy was timely given that the Council was currently dealing with large scale projects funded by Levelling Up and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Opposition Members welcomed the Strategy and, in particular, the statements in Section 3 of the strategy concerning Modern Slavery and Fair Tax.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Council’s previous procurement strategy related to the period 2014 – 2018.  In March 2019 the Cabinet had agreed to extend the same for a period of 2 years.  The strategy had, therefore, expired in March 2021 and the Council’s approach to procurement was due for review.

The objectives of the previous strategy were:

• Effective procurement:

o    Delivering value for money by reducing costs whilst maintaining quality

o    Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and streamlining our processes

o    Maintaining high standards of probity, transparency and legal compliance

• Sustainable procurement:

o    Supporting the local economy

o    Protecting the environment

o    Promoting a fairer society

The Council’s last procurement strategy had contained a delivery plan which, with hindsight, was probably overambitious.  The Council did not have a specific procurement function or procurement staff and, as such, procurement activity was undertaken by a range of staff within each service area.  Other than normal budget monitoring, the Council did not have much capacity to monitor achievement of its procurement objectives in terms of things like support for the green agenda, use of local business etc.  However, the following had been achieved within the lifetime of the last procurement strategy. The Council had:

• Explored options to streamline its payment processes, including greater use of procurement cards to purchase low value goods
• Continued to develop the use of e-procurement
• Reviewed and updated the Contract Procedure Rules
• Maintained and developed our online contracts register giving details of the Council’s current contract commitments
• Pursued ways to assist local business to compete successfully for Council contracts, such as organising a couple of “Meet the Buyer” events
• Not received complaints of unfair discrimination in the development or award of contracts and no complaints had been upheld in respect of the Council’s tendering procedures or the award of contracts
• Offered training in procurement procedures to staff at least every other year, with the last training taking place on 6^th and 13^th July 2023.

A new procurement strategy was now proposed for the period 2023 – 2027, included as Appendix 1 to the report.  The new strategy suggested the following key objectives as the focus for the Council’s procurement activity going forward:

• Behaving commercially

o    Good quality contract management

o    TUPE compliance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 179.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Joint Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, providing an update on Prudential Indicators monitoring and the Treasury Management Strategy.

Councillor Britcliffe commented that the report, was largely technical in nature, but provided the Cabinet with oversight of the position.  He highlighted key figures including the current treasury position (over-borrowing of £1.787m, which was within the limits), the latest interest rates forecast and anticipated additional interest returns of £793k.

Councillor Noordad Aziz enquired about the methodology for the selection of financial institutions for any short term investments.  Martin Dyson, Executive Director (Resources) responded that this was based on each organisation’s rating and advice from the Council’s investment agents.  Generally, the Council worked with only one or two investment banks and frequently used the Government Debt Management Agency Deposit Facility.  Factors considered when making investments were security, liquidity and yield.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities required the Council to set Prudential Indicators annually for the forthcoming three years to demonstrate that the Council’s capital investment plans were affordable, prudent and sustainable.  The Council had adopted its prudential indicators for 2023/2024 at its meeting in February 2023.

The Prudential Code required the Council, having agreed at least a minimum number of mandatory prudential indicators (including limits and statements), to monitor them - in a locally determined format and frequency.  This full-year report to Cabinet complimented a more regular review by the Executive Director (Resources).

The indicators were purely for internal use and not designed to be used as comparators between authorities.  If it should be necessary to revise any of the indicators during the year, the Executive Director (Resources) would report and advise the Council further.

‘Treasury Management’   related to the borrowing and cash activities of the authority, and the effective management of any associated risks.  On 23^rd February 2023, in the same report referred to in paragraph 4.1 of the report, the Council also set out and then approved its current Treasury Management Strategy.  This was in accordance with the CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) code of practice on treasury management in public services, the Council having previously adopted, via Cabinet, the then revised code of practice.  Associated treasury management Prudential Indicators had been included in the February 2023 report.

Prudential Indicators Monitoring

Table 1 and Table 2 (set out at Appendix 1 of the report) showed the monitoring information for each of the prudential indicators, limits and statements.   They related to:

• External debt overall limits – Table 1
• Affordability   (eg implications for Council Tax) – Table 2
• Prudence and sustainability  (eg implications for external borrowing)
• Capital expenditure
• Other particular indicators for Treasury Management.

Treasury Management Update

The current Treasury Position was as shown below:

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Joint Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, concerning Monitoring of the Revenue Budget 2023/2024 as at Quarter 2.

Councillor Britcliffe introduced the report and highlighted the good news about the forecast of a positive variance of £998k at the end of the year.  This included taking into account the anticipated staff pay award.  This position was also supported by money generated through investment.  The report also identified potential future risks around the following projects:

• Waste disposal/ate transfer station
• Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre
• Crematorium/cremators
• Leisure Trust/swimming pool support

Members thanked the Executive Director (Resources), his Team and service managers for their good financial management.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The financial detail was provided in a table set out as Appendix A to the report.

The current forecast spend to the end of the financial year in March 2024 was £13.385m compared to a Budget of £14.383m.  This forecast produced a positive variance of £0.998m by the end of the financial year.  Further analysis of these changes was provided in Section 4 and Appendix A of the report.

Appendix A included a breakdown of the Forecast Outturn Variances between staffing costs, non-staffing costs and income.  Some service areas showed large variances in the breakdown figures where grant funding was received and subsequently used to fund expenditure but budgets were not in place because the amounts were not known in advance.  In these instances, although the breakdown figures might be large, they offset each other and the overall variance was much lower, or even nil.  The largest instance of this was in Regeneration & Housing Services.  The breakdown of variances showed £1.323mm for non-staffing costs and £1.291m for income, which related to forecast increases for the Huncoat Garden Village scheme and the grant received for Asylum Seekers. 

The revenue forecast underspend in year was an increase since the figure of £0.847m reported at the end of quarter 1 (Period 03).  Further analysis of these changes was provided in Section 5 and with a table of movements in the last quarter set out at paragrph 5.2 of the report.

The forecast outturn position as at Quarter 2 included budget pressures for the nationally awarded pay award for staff that was forecast to be on average 1.5% above the original budgeted inflation figure of 5%.  This increase was offset by increased investment income due to the recent rises in interest rates.

Forecast Variance by Service

The forecast underspend by service was summarised below, with the variances including the budget pressures and additional investment income mentioned at paragraph 3.4 of the report.

Report attached.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Joint Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, in respect of Monitoring of the Capital Programme 2023/24 at the 2^nd Quarter.  The report set out the latest phasing of the programme including the latest estimate of available resources and any additions or changes in forecast outturn since the last current position was presented to the Council on 23^rd February 2023.

Councillor Britcliffe highlighted the headline figures in the report, comprising the additions to the capital programme made on 23^rd February 2023, slippage from 2022/23 into 2023/24 and in-year additions since February, giving a total capital programme of £47.429m

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Council had authorised new additions to the capital programme of £8.374m at its meeting on the 23rd February 2023.

Since the Council meeting in February 2023 new schemes totalling £1.440m had been approved and added to the programme.  The additional expenditure approved was to be fully funded from by external grants and receipts that had been awarded and or / received.

In addition, the capital spend outturn from 2022/2023 had slipped £37.615m into 2023/2024, of which £35.294m related to the Levelling Up scheme for Accrington Town Centre, the Leisure Estate Investment and Housing Schemes including Disabled Facilities Grants.

The total approved capital programme now totalled £47.429m and was shown in the table below:

The financing of the programme in 2023/2024 was set out in the report in the form of a pie chart.  This showed that there was approval to fund £5m of the capital programme through external borrowing, if required.  The Council continued to maximise the use of its capital receipts, reserve balances and attempts to draw down additional external funding that would delay or potentially reduce its need for borrowing.

The current programme of £47.429m would not be capable of being delivered in the current financial year and it was proposed to now rephrase the programme into the years in which it was now expected to be spent.  The phasing of the programme was now summarised as below.

Summary of the Scheme Profiles over the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

2^nd Quarter Update Position

The actual expenditure to 30^th September 2023 was £2.771m against the latest rephased budget for 2023/2024 of £14.418m.  This equated to 19.22% spend. 

As shown in the table above, there was expected  ...  view the full minutes text for item 182.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Steven Smithson, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, seeking approval for a proposed increase in allotment rent charges from the 1^st January 2025.

Councillor Smithson introduced the report and highlighted the proposed increases in the rental charge and minimum plot charge.  He also explained the reasons for the proposed changes and the consultations that had been undertaken.  The proposed charges were comparable to neighbouring authorities.

Opposition Members expressed their disapproval of the proposed increases.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

It was recommended that from 1^st January 2025 the allotment rent charge be increased from 25.0p/m² annum to 28.5p/m² annum and that the minimum plot charge be increased from £50.00pa to £55.00pa. 

During 2012 the Council had consulted with the allotment tenants.  83% of those responding said that rent should be increased regularly in small amounts rather than a single large increase at irregular intervals.

Since 2014 the Council had progressively increased the allotment rents in small annual increments to ensure that the annual rate of increase was kept reasonable.  Allotment rents were charged by calendar year.

            2014                11p/m² annum.  Minimum charge £35.00.

            2015                12p/m² annum. Minimum charge £35.00.

            2016                13p/m² annum. Minimum charge £35.00.

            2017                14p/m² annum. Minimum charge £35.00.

            2018                16p/m² annum. Minimum charge £40.00.

            2019                18p/m² annum. Minimum charge £40.00.

            2020                22p/m² annum. Minimum charge £45.00.

            2021                23p/m² annum. Minimum charge £50.00.

            2022                23.5p/m² annum. Minimum charge £50.00.

            2023                24p/m² annum. Minimum charge £50.00.

            2024                25p/m² annum. Minimum charge £50.00.

            2025                28.5p/m² annum. Minimum charge £55.00.

The minimum charge was the lowest amount of rent charged per plot regardless of plot size.

Prior to 2014 the allotment rents had not been increased since 2006 and were amongst the lowest in England (data supplied by the National Allotment Society).  Between 2006 and 2014 the annual allotment rents were charged at an average of 7.5p/m²

The Council had a legal duty to notify tenants 12 months in advance of an allotment rent increase.  To facilitate the 1^st January 2025 rent increase, allotment tenants would have to be advised by the 31^st December 2023.

The Council’s allotment service was operated ‘cost neutral’ without profit.  Having taken into account inflationary pressures 2024-2025, and increased Council costs, the recommended rent increase would enable the Council to continue to provide the present ‘cost neutral’ service level.

The Allotment Act 1950 stated that an authority may charge such rent as a tenant may “reasonably be expected to pay”.  The recommended rental increase had taken account of all of the following factors:

• Comparison with other neighbouring Local Authorities;
• Comparison with other local recreational activities;
• National Allotment Society Policy Document 103. Rents; and
• Consultation with the Hyndburn Federation of Allotments.

Comparison with neighbouring allotment authorities

The following information was supplied by the various allotment authorities attending the North West Allotment Officers meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 183.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Sajid Mahmood, Portfolio Holder for Communities Health and Wellbeing, seeking approval for an amendment to the Rules, Regulations and Procedures for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing to remove the following condition:

When a hackney carriage vehicle is being used to fulfil a booking made by a private hire operator the hackney carriage must have affixed to the 2 rear passenger doors the company door signs of the private hire operator that took the booking or of the private hire operator that the booking has been sub contracted to.

Councillor Mahmood introduced the report and explained the rationale for removal of the condition and the outcome of consultations with the taxi trade.

All Members spoke in favour of this proposal.  Councillor Dad asked if the Council could address the issue of plying for hire.  Jane Ellis, Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) responded that officers had undertaken an exercise recently and that two drivers had been caught.  The Legal Team would now follow up these cases through the courts.  Further sweeps were planned in the future.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The condition regarding rear door signage had been applied to hackney carriage vehicles in 2018.  At the time it had been experimental and not a condition widely used by other authorities.  It was thought that the condition might assist in maintaining the safety of the public using licensed vehicles so that they could be sure that the vehicle they were getting into had been provided by the operator whom they had booked with.

Since that time a lot had changed in the way that licensed vehicles were operated, largely due to the Deregulation Bill which had amended the legislation to allow operators to sub contract work to another operator either within the district or not, commonly referred to as cross border hiring.  Therefore, it might not necessarily follow that if you booked a vehicle from operator A, the car would also be supplied by operator A and display their signage, a vehicle could be sent from a completely different operator under a sub contract.  This effectively made the reason for introducing the above condition redundant.

Further it had been reported by trade representatives at one of the regular Taxi Liaison Meetings that the signage on hackney carriage vehicles caused confusion and led to arguments with customers.  The representative had pointed out that a hackney carriage vehicle might be flagged down by a customer on its way back from fulfilling a pre booked job for an operator.  The car at that time would be displaying the appropriate operator's signage.  When the hackney carriage driver engaged their meter the customers became confused and thought that the driver should be charging the same rate as the operator who's signage they were displaying.  This was not the case and, in fact, a hackney carriage driver would commit an offence if they did not engage their meter at the commencement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 184.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Kath Pratt, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regeneration, seeking approval to accept a surrender of the existing lease of Highams Playing Fields granted on the 10^th May 2019 and simultaneously grant a new lease to Accrington Stanley Football In The Community Trust Limited for an extended term of 99 year years.

Councillor Pratt introduced the report and explained the main reason for the decision, which was to provider greater security for the Community Trust which, in turn, should help it to secure external funding.  The Leader also expressed her delight at he decision.  The Trust played an important role in providing sport in the community and made use of state of the art facilities.  She and the MP had recently met with representatives of the Trust to listen to their concerns about the current lease and had agreed a way forward, which was now being put into practice.

Opposition Members also spoke in favour of the proposals and praised the work of the Trust and the quality of the facilities at Highams Playing Field.

The Leader reported that she had received a request to speak at today’s meeting from member of the public, but had declined this request.  The resident concerned had raised the matter of the prevention of access to the site by the general public, due to the closure of gates.  The Leader agreed to look into this matter.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Highams Playing Field was a 12.1 acre site at Thorneyholme Road, Accrington that had been acquired by Accrington Corporation in 1929 for use as a playing field or recreation ground.  In July 2012 the site had been dedicated as a Queen Elizabeth II field in trust.

At their meeting in February 2017, Cabinet had agreed that the Council would explore the opportunity to work with Accrington Stanley Football In The Community Trust Limited  (ASFCT) to provide a community sports hub and an ensuing feasibility study identified Highams Playing Field as the most suitable location.

Following negotiations, at their meeting in October 2018, Cabinet had approved the granting of a 30 year lease to ASFCT and the lease commenced on 10^th May 2019.  The rent secured under the lease was £1,000 per annum (no review) subject to an initial rent-free period of 5 years (which would expire on 9^th May 2024).

ASFCT had invested significant sums in the site since 2019; the initial £2m referred to in the October 2018 Cabinet decision, together with a further £1.5m to improve the playing facilities and also to extend and improve the pavilion provision.  The further £1.5m comprised £236k HBC grant and £250k Football Foundation grant, the balance being invested by ASFCT.  The pavilion was now able to offer indoor accommodation on a sessional use basis for community sports groups (for example, yoga, pilates, zumba, etc) as well as classrooms offering full time qualifications, employability  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Kath Pratt, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regeneration, recommending a preferred procurement strategy for the design and construction of the proposed residential relief road (Huncoat Lane) which formed part of the Huncoat Garden Village Masterplan.

Councillor Pratt introduced the report and noted that many stakeholders had sought assurance around key infrastructure being in place before large scale housing development commenced.  The Council had listened to these concerns.  The Appendices to the report set out a proposed procurement process, including the first steps to select a suitable contractor to construct the relief road, subject to the Infrastructure Bid being successful.  Construction would also be subject to planning consent and agreeing terms with the landowners.

Councillor Dad welcomed the report.  Councillor Dave Parkins noted that Mark Hoyle, Head of Regeneration and Housing, was due to attend the next meeting of the Huncoat Forum.  He asked whether Mr Hoyle could also attend a public meetings at St Augustine’s Church and Huncoat Primary School.  Mr Hoyle responded that the HGV project and relief road proposals had already been subject to extensive consultation.  He confirmed that he would attend the next Huncoat Forum meeting and would consider whether further consultation would be appropriate.  The Leader undertook to discuss the question of further public engagement with Mr Hoyle.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Huncoat Garden Village was a residential-led brownfield housing development project that followed the principles of new garden communities.  It had the potential to transform Hyndburn’s housing market and supported the Council’s growth plans.  It would deliver circa 1,800 new, energy efficient, high-quality homes over a 15- year period.

Cabinet had considered and approved a series of steps to bring forward a vision for a new garden community into a deliverable project for new housing at scale.  On the 20^th October 2021, Cabinet approved The Huncoat Garden Village Masterplan and Delivery Strategy which set out a framework for the Garden Village, underpinned by a high-level delivery strategy.

Subsequently, on the 19^th October 2022, Cabinet had given its consent to submit a circa £30 million housing infrastructure funding bid to Homes England.  In May of this year, Cabinet had approved an additional revenue budget provision of £483,220 for the Huncoat Garden Village project, to meet essential upfront consultancy costs to enable project delivery to progress, whilst Homes England considered and determined the Council’s housing infrastructure bid for circa £30 million.

Homes England had indicated to the Council that it intended to conclude due diligence of the Council’s funding bid by the end of October 2023, with the intention of determining the Council’s funding bid one month later by the end of November 2023.  Through the authority’s regular contact, Homes England indicated it continued to be very supportive of the Council’s bid although funding could not be guaranteed until the bid was formally determined.

One of the key pieces of infrastructure for Huncoat Garden Village was the proposed 1.1km  ...  view the full minutes text for item 186.

Report attached.

In accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule D16, approval was obtained from Councillor Paddy Short, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to this key decision being taken under special urgency provisions, for the reasons set out in the notice published on 18 October 2023.

The Cabinet considered a report of Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Joint Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, onthe governance arrangements for the £80,000 Community Chest.

Councillor Britcliffe introduced the report and highlighted key dates for the opening and closure of bids.  It was hoped to make payments to successful applicants in February 2024.  He undertook to provide update reports on the grants made and the benefits achieved.

Approval of the report was considered to be a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Cabinet had agreed at its meeting on 21^st June 2023 to create a Community Chest budget of £80,000 with the intention that the funds were to be shared equally throughout the Borough with £5,000 allocated to each of the 16 wards.  Charities and community groups across all wards would be invited to bid for grant funding from the Community Chest to be used in their own areas.

The intention was that these grants would be awarded to constituted and well-established community organisations and charities across the Borough, with each charity and community group being required to hold their own designated bank account.

The application process would be proportionate to the size of grant and would not be too onerous so as to discourage applications; and each application would need to clearly state the community benefit that would be achieved with the grant funding.

The grants would be for both revenue and capital purposes, but would not be given where funding would create on-costs or future maintenance costs for the Council unless those could be accommodated within existing budgets.

It was proposed that the grant applications would be assessed by a Cabinet Working Group and that those recommended for award would be presented to Cabinet for approval.

It was also proposed that a regular update would be made to Cabinet on the level of grants awarded and also the community benefits and achievements that had been generated as a result of the Community Chest programme.

The grants awarded under the scheme were not considered to meet the definition of subsidy within the Subsidy Control Act 2022, as the aim was not to subsidise commercial enterprises bringing goods and services to market.  Instead the funding would be directed to voluntary and not for profit organisations to support community activities in the Borough.

Application Process

The application process would open on the 1^st November and close on the 15^th December with applications being available to download from the Councils website.  A copy of the application form was included as Appendix A within the report.

The announcement of the bids recommended for award would be presented to Cabinet for approval at its meeting on the 24^th January 2024.

It was expected  ...  view the full minutes text for item 187.

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Loraine Cox, Portfolio Holder for Leisure Transformation and Leisure Trust, about the Wilson Playing Fields site.

Councillor L Cox introduced the update report and noted the key sporting and health benefits to be delivered by the project.  The scheme would provide a new purpose built facility, which would encourage more visits by users each year.  Carbon emissions would be minimised.  Planning permission had now been obtained and the project had attracted significant grant funding from Sport England.  The fixed price contract with the design and build contractor presented a low risk to the Council.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Poor health and well-being in Hyndburn was a major issue.  The authority needed to improve the health and wellbeing offer to the local community if it was to challenge the current position.  Increasing levels of physical activity could generate significant savings across Local Government and the wider Health, Social Care and Welfare system.

The Council was committed to strengthening leisure provision across Hyndburn and had taken a strategic approach to identify the most effective investment plan, to benefit the local community.  Details of the approach taken were included in the report.

The report also included information about the process used to identify the key interventions required across leisure services and the option appraisal process which had ultimately identified Wilson Playing Fields as the preferred site for a replacement leisure facility.

The Planning application 11/23/0055 for ‘Demolition of the existing clubhouse and construction of a new single storey leisure centre building containing swimming pool, fitness suite, community room, café/reception and changing facilities with associated storage, car parking and landscaping’ at Wilson Playing Fields had been considered by the Planning Committee on 6^th September 2023.  In accordance with the Planning Officer’s recommendation, members of the Committee had resolved to grant planning permission (subject to planning conditions).

Due to the nature of the development and its location within the designated Green Belt, before the decision could be made final there had been a requirement to consult the Secretary of State on the application.  As required by The Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2021, the Secretary of State had the power to ‘call-in’ certain planning applications for further consideration.  The Secretary of State had written to the Council on the 3^rd October 2023 to confirm that the application had not been ‘called-in’.  The Council had issued grant of planning permission on 6^th October 2023.

The proposed works had been procured through a framework agreement, which would ensure the Council complied with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which replaced the OJEU process post Brexit.  The chosen framework also enabled the Council to secure the services of an experienced main contractor, Alliance Leisure Ltd, a specialist in delivering leisure projects who would provide as much certainty as possible in areas such as buildability, construction cost management, timescale, risk management and professional liabilities

Final Design  ...  view the full minutes text for item 188.