Agenda item
Reports of Cabinet Members
To receive verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate.
Minutes:
Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities
Councillor Melissa Fisher reported on the following:
Hoarders Forum
The first meeting of the Hoarders Forum would take place on 28th January 2025 at 2.00pm.
Accrington Victoria Hospital Strategy Group
A meeting of the newly formed Accrington Victoria Hospital Strategy Group was due to be held on 26th February 2025.
Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Education and Skills
Councillor Noordad Aziz reported on the following:
Wilson Playing Field Site
In respect of Agenda Item 14, Urgent Decisions Taken (Wilson Playing Field Site), the decision was required to be taken urgently in order to appoint the new construction contractors, Universal Civils and Build, as soon as possible, to recommence the building works.
Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services
Councillor Stewart Eaves reported on the following:
Refuse Vehicles
The tender had now gone out for new refuse vehicles, including the food waste pods.
Damage in the region of £6k had been caused to an existing refuse vehicle, by the collapse of a wall. The wall was the property of Onward Homes, who would be liable for the cost of the repairs.
Taxi MOT Testing Station
A report on the possible establishment of an independent MOT testing station, to support the taxi trade, was currently being finalised and should be ready at the end of the week.
Whinney Hill Landfill Site
Lancashire County Council had recently signed an extension to the waste disposal contract, until 31st March 2026, to continue to use the facilities at Whinney Hill. The Borough Council was also continuing to look at options for the future provision of waste disposal.
Councillor Zak Khan reminded Members that, at the Council meeting on 16th January 2025, Councillor Steven Smithson, had proposed an extension to this contract to coincide with the date for reorganisation of local government in Lancashire. Councillor Eaves responded that this suggestion had not yet been formally considered. The Chief Executive added that he had recently met with the new head of service at Lancashire County Council. A further extension of the contract for Whinney Hill was not considered to be the best option, but other options were currently being explored including taking waste to the Suez site at Darwen, or to Farington Waste Recovery Park, near Leyland. Councillor Whitehead clarified that the current contract extension had come about following on-going discussions with Lancashire County Council, separately from the matter raised at the Council meeting.
Food Waste
The food waste caddies for the new collection service had now been ordered and should be received next week. The order had been placed for 10 councils across Lancashire working in partnership to achieve maximum value for money
Skip Days
Further Skip Days had been arranged, as follows:
· Barnfield – 1st February 2025
· Netherton – 8th February 2025
· Overton – 15th February 2025
Dates were due to be arranged in three additional wards.
Trade Waste
The Council was proposing to increase trade waste removal fees by 9% to take account of increased costs for landfill site operators due, in part, to the increases in Landfill Tax with effect from 1st April 2025.
Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Arts
Councillor Kimberley Whitehead reported on the following:
Events Proposals and Community Cohesion and Resilience Fund
Councillor Munsif Dad declared a personal interest in this matter, on the basis that he had a connection with one organisation that had recently applied for a grant from the Community Cohesion and Resilience Fund.
Councillor Aziz declared a personal interest in this matter, on the grounds that that he had been invited by one of the bidders to provide advice in voluntary capacity regarding their submission.
The deadline for the submission of bids to run local events was today. Members and officers would look at the detail of the submissions next week. In the light of experience, the Council had taken the opportunity add two new categories of events to the application process, namely, events in public open spaces and events in parks. This had successfully attracted a new cohort of bidders. The current application process also recognised the success of recent events held in the townships, particularly in Great Harwood. There would also be some minor grants available to encourage and support smaller scale cultural events.
The deadline for bids under the Community Cohesion and Resilience Fund had also recently passed.
Councillor Zak Khan noted that some successful bids under the Community Cohesion and Resilience Fund had already been announced. He asked when further information would be available about the other bids submitted. Councillor Whitehead responded that funding allocations had only been made last week and that further information would follow.
Culture and Heritage Strategy
Members, officers and partners were continuing to develop the Culture and Heritage Strategy. The Culture and Heritage Investment Panel (CHIP) was due to hold an away day next week to consider a number of issues.
Portfolio Holder for Business & Growth
Councillor Scott Brerton reported on the following:
Business Engagement
Councillor Brerton placed on record his thanks to the MP, Sarah Smith, who had welcomed Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, to the Borough in December. The Chancellor had spoken to representatives of businesses in Rishton, to promote new powers for councils to revive high streets. During the Chancellor’s visit, Councillors Brerton and Walsh had been able to speak to her about business, skills and young people.
A breakfast event had also been arranged for business leaders in Altham last week. Among the issues discussed was the extension of workers’ rights, which had been well received by business leaders. The English Devolution White paper had also been discussed and there had been broad support for the Mayoral model of devolution and the creation of a Pennine Lancashire Unitary Authority.
Workshops for local businesses continued to be delivered, with the following sessions having taken place recently, or due to be held in the near future:
· How to evaluate what you charge for your service;
· Raising business finance;
· Integrating AI into businesses; and
· Grow your business with Canva & Instagram.
The Portfolio Holder had recently met with Great Harwood resident, Katrina Rutter, founder of the Work from Home Hub, the UK’s largest home-based network helping people to find remote jobs. He hoped to be able to hold further discussions with her about this veture.
Other Matters
The following news-bites were mentioned:
· A special mention was given to two local organisations, who had recently embraced flexible working arrangements:
o Surface Print - 4 day week; and
o Advocacy Focus – unlimited annual leave.
· The Portfolio Holder reminded those present about the importance of cash payments for small businesses.
· A relaunch was due to take place of the Hyndburn Jobs and Careers Fare, which would be held in March 2025, at the Town Hall, Accrington, supported by Scott Dawson Advertising.
· The Economic Development Forum was due to recommence at the end of the month.
Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Families
Councillor Kate Walsh reported on the following:
Nursery Places
During the discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Rishton, the matter of insufficient nursery places had been raised. In particular, there was limited provision for under 2s, which was detrimental to families, with parents having to travel out of the area to access the nearest places, or simply not returning to work.
Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre
Some filming had been taking place at the Civic Theatre in anticipation of an announcement next week, but the details were currently embargoed.
A question had been raised at the Council meeting on 16th January 2025 about how the money in the 2024/25 budget for the Civic had been spent. To date approximately £36k had been spent, which comprised electricity, gas, water, security, repairs/maintenance and insurance. The on-going annual cost of maintaining these premises while closed was estimated to be in the range £60k - £100k.
There was a capital budget of £267,000, which had previously been earmarked for roof repairs, to make the building watertight. However, before commencing these works it would be necessary to procure a detailed roof timber inspection to prevent any unforeseen issues arising. The roof repairs should then lead to less emergency repairs being required. It was not yet known whether this budget would be sufficient to carry out the roof works needed, subject to the inspection outcome.