Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Members, the public and the Honorary Alderman to the meeting and reminded everyone that the meeting was being webcast.  In particular, he was pleased to see Councillor N Symonds back in the chamber following her recent absence.  He also welcomed Malcolm Hewines, Montagu Evans, who was in attendance for the matter at Minute 309 – Old River Lane, Bishop’s Stortford Lane Use.

The Chairman drew attention to the need for an additional Council meeting in the New Year to determine modifications to the District Plan before public consultation.  This would need to follow the final Hearing session on 30 January 2018, and Officers would confirm details in due course.

The Chairman expressed his delight at the number of Members wearing their Christmas jumpers and asked for donations for his charity, the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.

He drew attention to a number of recent achievements with three awards being won by various teams within the Council.  These were:

·        Forever Active won the runner up award for the Community Project of the Year at the Hertfordshire Service to Sports Award.

·        Network Homes won the What House gold award for Best Starter Homes Scheme for an affordable housing project at The Crescent, Hertford.

·        Op Stomp, a police-led community project, won the HEART Community Award for their crime prevention work.

The Chairman congratulated all the staff involved in these achievements.

To approve as a correct record and authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 October 2017.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 October 2017, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

In respect of Minute 309 – Old River Lane, Bishop’s Stortford, Councillors G Cutting, H Drake, G McAndrew, T Page, N Symonds, K Warnell, C Woodward and J Wyllie asked Council to note that, although not a disclosable pecuniary interest, they were members of Bishop’s Stortford Town Council. 

On the same matter, Councillor N Symonds and J Wyllie asked Council to note that, although not a disclosable pecuniary interest, they were trustees of the Rhodes Birthplace Trust.

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council and to consider recommendations on the matter below:

The Leader of the Council wished everyone a merry Christmas and expressed her gratitude to all Members for their support and hard work throughout the previous year.  In particular, she thanked the staff for their dedicated hard work and support.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 October 2017 be received.

(see also Minute 299)

Minute 236 refers

RESOLVED – that the Master Plan for the Bishop’s Stortford Goods Yard site be endorsed and that it forms a material consideration for development management purposes.

(see also Minute 298)

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council and to consider recommendations on the matters below:

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2017 be received.

(see also Minutes 301 – 302 and 309)

Minute 264 refers

RESOLVED – that (A) the responses to the public consultation be noted and the Officer responses and proposed changes to the Westmill Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan be supported;

(B)       authority be delegated to the Head of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the Executive Member for Development Management and Council Support, to make any further minor and consequential changes to the  document which may be necessary; and

(C)       the Westmill Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan be supported for adoption.

(see also Minute 300)

Minute 265 refers

Note – Members may find it useful to bring their Executive agendas to the meeting.

RESOLVED – that the Financial Sustainability policy, as detailed at Essential Reference Paper ‘B’ of the report submitted, be adopted.

(see also Minute 300)

Chairman: Councillor R Brunton

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 28 June 2017, be received.

Chairman: Councillor M Allen

In relation to Minute 149 – Proposals for Grounds Maintenance Contract, Councillor C Woodward referred to issues in Bishop’s Stortford raised by Councillor G Cutting and asked for further details.  Officers undertook to provide a written answer.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12 September 2017, be received.

Minutes of the meetings held on 13 September and 11 October

Chairman: Councillor T Page

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Development Management Committee meetings held on 13 September and 11 October 2017, be received.

Chairman: Councillor M Pope

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Performance, Audit and Governance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 26 September 2017, be received.

To consider a report of the Executive Member for Finance and Support Services.

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services submitted a report recommending the calculation of the council tax base for the whole District and for each parish and town council for 2018/19.

Council approved the recommendations as now detailed.

RESOLVED – that (A) the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the whole District, and for the parish areas, as now submitted for 2018/19, be approved; and

(B)       pursuant to the report and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by East Hertfordshire District Council as its council tax base for the whole area for 2018/19 shall be 59602.8 and for the parish areas as listed in the report submitted for 2018/19.

The Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing moved and Councillor K Warnell seconded, a motion as follows:

The Council recognises the conscientious commitment of staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and notes with extreme concern their current recruitment needs and physical infrastructure needs.

Staff shortages, including a nurse vacancy rate of 25 per cent, have left wards struggling to cope with the number of patients.  The A & E Department also struggles to deliver the national four-hour standard.  Two other local hospitals have changed into Urgent Care Centres which deal only with minor injuries.  This creates an additional demand for services on PAH which deals with both major and minor injuries, life threatening chest pains, and head injuries.

Many parts of the physical infrastructure at PAH are beyond its designed life and it is unable to accommodate patients in a manner appropriate for a 21^st Century health facility.  Indeed, water ingress and sewage egress, in some vital areas, present a real risk to the integrity of the hospital.  

The Council believes that urgent investment is required now to address the challenges faced by the hospital, and that there needs to be a commitment for the provision of a new hospital.  A new hospital, as part of a health and wellbeing campus, should provide adequate services for East Herts, Harlow and surrounding areas.  This is to ensure that the residents will benefit from emergency and GP services, physiotherapy units, social care, a new ambulance hub, and a training centre for nursing and healthcare.

The Council resolves, together with Mark Prisk, MP for Hertford and Stortford, to urge the Government to:

(A)       ensure that the Princess Alexandra Hospital is treated as a priority case for investment to address its current physical infrastructure challenges;  

(B)       support the hospital Trust in working with other public sector and private sector bodies to develop a business case for the investment necessary to achieve a new hospital as part of a health and wellbeing campus; and

(C)       instruct NHS England and NHS Improvement to work positively with the health economy, and with the Councils of West Essex and East Hertfordshire, to deliver a plan to secure financially sustainable, appropriate and sufficient access to health services for the communities served by PAH and the West Essex CCG.

The Leader of the Council spoke in support of the motion and referred to similar motions that had been adopted by neighbouring councils in Harlow, Epping and Broxbourne.

Councillor D Andrews questioned whether the Council was in a position to instruct the NHS on anything and proposed an amendment by substituting the word “encourages” instead of the word “instruct”.  This was seconded by Councillor C Woodward.

Various Members spoke in support of the motion and it was suggested that the wording of the motion was, in fact, to urge the Government to instruct the NHS.  Councillors D Andrews and C Woodward agreed to withdraw their proposed amendment.

Councillor P Boylan referred to the final paragraph of the motion and suggested  ...  view the full minutes text for item 308.

To consider a report of the Executive Member for Finance and Support Services

Note – Essential Reference Papers B – F are enclosed for Members only as they contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  In considering these matters, if necessary, the meeting may exclude the press and public as detailed at item 16.

The Chairman reminded Members that Essential Reference Papers “B” - “F” of this report contained exempt information as defined by paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and advised that, if any Member wished to refer to any detail in these, then Council would need to pass a resolution to exclude the press and public.

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services submitted a report on land use proposals for the Old River Lane site in Bishop’s Stortford.  He detailed the background to the project and the rationale for the preferred option as set out at paragraph 2.5 of the report submitted.

In response to Members’ questions, the Executive Member confirmed the proposed funding source as the District element of the NHB Priority Spend Reserve.  The Leader commented that, although the heads of terms had yet to be agreed, this would not impact on the overall project.  In respect of the land to the east of the Waitrose site (the Green Triangle), Officers confirmed this was not included at present.

Council approved the recommendations as now detailed.

RESOLVED – that (A) the land at Old River Lane and adjoining Northgate End should be used to develop a mixed town centre scheme, as set out in option 1a, to include:

·                        a significant new Arts/Cultural Centre that includes a 500 seat theatre, 3-4 cinema screens, shared reception space, potentially the Bishop’s Stortford library, a one-stop-shop for Council services, hot-desking work space, cafe/bar;

·                        housing;

·                        retail; and

·                        parking provision for the whole site;

(B)       funding of £225,000 be allocated to the next stage of scheme feasibility,  in line with the requirements as set out in Exempt Essential Reference Paper ‘E’ (funding to be allocated from the NHB Priority Spend Reserve); and

(C)       delegation to Heads of Service for any general matters arising within their individual remits in order to progress the next stage of this project, including submission of a planning application for a new multi-storey car park, be authorised.

(see also Minute 300)