Agenda item
Reports of Cabinet Members
To receive any verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate.
Minutes:
Councillor Marlene Haworth, Leader of the Council, made the following announcements:
· It was very pleasing to witness the completion of the Knudzen Recreation Ground. The Leader had been working closely with Councillor Britcliffe and other Oswaldtwistle councillors for some 12 years to achieve this goal. The play area was now open and being used. It was a fantastic facility. She thanked Councillor Smithson, relevant Portfolio Holder, for driving this project forward. The playground was a great asset to the area and its completion was an important milestone.
· The Leader’s Budget, which had been introduced at the last meeting, had already proved very useful, with lots of help being provided to community projects across Great Harwood, Accrington, Baxenden and at other locations. Around £6k had been committed so far, with some other requests currently being considered.
· The Leader had visited Accrington Stanley Community Trust yesterday. The charity was putting together a case for the extension of its lease of Higham Playing Fields and a very productive meeting had taken place. The Council’s officers were working with the Trust to put the necessary arrangements in place. It was hoped that an agreement could be reached that was acceptable and beneficial to all. The Leader had been very pleased to meet Martin Fearon, Chief Executive of the Trust.
· At the last Council meeting, the Leader had announced that there would be no future meetings scheduled on the date of the celebration of Eid. At that meeting Councillor Noordad Aziz had asked if consideration could also be given to the timing of meetings during Ramadan, so as not to clash with Iftar, the meal served at the breaking of the fast. The Leader had subsequently noted that the timetable of meetings for 2023/24 included a Council meeting at 7.00pm on 24th March 2024, which fell within Ramadan. Accordingly, the Leader had arranged with officers to change the date of the meeting to 7th March 2024, to enable Muslim councillors and members of the public attending the meeting to observe Ramadan unhindered.
· On Tuesday, the Leader had attended a meeting of the Task Group set up to consider proposals for the future of Mercer Hall and Bank Mill House, in Great Harwood. Sadly, circumstances had led her to give careful thought to her position on this group and had resulted in a statement being released, in which the following points were made. The Task Group had been set up by Hyndburn Leisure to consider the proposals for the two buildings and to facilitate open discussion about a viable future for both. Unfortunately, in the light of comments made at the meeting which were rather disingenuous, politically motivated and not within the spirit of constructive dialogue about the future of these facilities, the Leader had decided to stand down from this Task Group. The controlling administration wanted to achieve the best outcome for leisure facilities in Great Harwood and Hyndburn Leisure was actively seeking ideas. The Leader considered that her involvement in the Task Group was creating an unnecessary distraction from the work in hand by fuelling controversy. She had, therefore, decided to leave the Task Group to allow it to concentrate on its core work under the direction of Lyndsey Sims, Chief Executive of the Leisure Trust, and her team.
Councillor Mohammed Younis, Portfolio Holder for Levelling Up, reported on the following matters:
· A large number of reports had already been provided in respect of the Levelling Up Fund. A formal progress report would be available at the September Cabinet meeting.
· With new funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), a new Levelling Up Places Service had been established to work with councils and other stakeholders to deliver LUF funded projects. The Service would be launched fully in the summer 2023, but Hyndburn, with its Accrington Town Centre proposals, had been selected as a pilot area for this approach. The Service brought together Historic England, Arts Council England, Sport England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, Visit England and the British Film Institute, to provide support and advice to councils and communities delivering culture-led regeneration projects. The service would signpost existing guidance, develop packages of practical support and help knowledge-sharing among project owners and stakeholders. It was pleasing to see Sara Britcliffe MP in attendance today, as she had helped to secure this funding for the Borough.
The Leader expressed her delight at the Borough’s proposals being chosen as a pilot scheme. She highlighted that fact that this project and other funding received had been the result of consultation with businesses and other stakeholders. The three key town centre interventions had been selected because they had stood the best chance of achieving funding success and this had now been realised.
Councillor Steven Smithson, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, provided an update on the following matters:
· Weekend burial services – once the Council received the final Risk Assessments from Hyndburn Muslim Funeral Committee, the service could then be offered to residents, which could be sometime in August.
· The Council had successfully retained its 10 Green Flag awarded status for its parks for another year following the national 2023/24 Green Flag Award announcement. He gave a special thanks to the workers within the Parks Services and to the various voluntary groups for this achievement.
Councillors Britcliffe, Mahmood and Younis both congratulated Councillor Smithson on his work to introduce the weekend burial service. It was anticipated that the service would be greatly appreciated by the community.
Councillor Zak Khan, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development & Sustainability, provided a brief update on the following matters:
· Working with Miranda Barker, Chief Executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, he had recently established a Hyndburn Economic Policy Forum. Its main purpose was:
o To consider strategies and policies to enhance economic prosperity in Hyndburn;
o To be a consultation mechanism to understand the state of Hyndburn businesses, including any barriers to success, and seek collaborative solutions to overcome those challenges;
o To understand an recommend action to overcome barriers to inward investment and promote an outward facing Hyndburn;
o To monitor an provide external feedback on economic improvement projects and make recommendations for new initiatives; and
o To make any recommendations arising to Hyndburn Borough Council via the Portfolio Holder.
Invitations to join the Forum were being sent out today to a range of stakeholders and business organisations. The first meeting was due to take place in September 2023.
· The Council’s new Economic Development Officer, Salma Chaudhry, had started on Monday. Councillor Khan was due to meet her next week. Part of her role would be to engage with the above-mentioned Forum as well as lots of other tasks. Some key priorities were to tackle empty shops and empty commercial premises across the Borough. All councillors were welcome to feedback ideas and suggestions directly to Councillor Khan.
· Councillor Khan had recently attended a stakeholder meeting with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about skills and getting people back into work and had discussed how the Council might support these aims.
· On the subject of energy efficiency and sustainability Councillor Khan had met with E.ON and other national energy providers to discuss the efficiency of the Borough’s housing stock.
The Leader thanked Councillor Khan for his report and commented that he should work well with the new Economic Development Officer. Councillor Smithson commented that the news was very exciting and showed that the Council was delivering change alongside the business sector.
Councillor Sajid Mahmood, Portfolio Holder for Communities Health & Wellbeing, reported on the following matter:
· He had recently met with the Council’s Licensing Manager to discuss a consultation with the taxi drivers. The consultation sought views on whether the Council should remove the requirement for taxi vehicles to carry a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.
Resolved - That the verbal reports of Cabinet members be noted.