Agenda item

The report and appendices are intended to provide Members of the Committee with responses to the main issues raised at the previous meeting, together with further clarification on the financial position.    

On 3 October 2011, the Government announced that it had set aside £675 million to help local authorities in England freeze or reduce their Council Tax in 2012-13; Councils which did so receiving additional one-off funding equivalent to a 2.5 per cent rise in Council Tax.  

In order to clarify the impact of this announcement on the work of the Committee, the Finance Lead (Places) explained that whilst the Council Tax regulations would not prevent the setting of a Special Expenses Levy (SEL), the amount raised in revenue across the borough could be no greater than that raised the previous year.  Therefore, if a Special Expenses Levy was agreed, residents in other areas would subsequently pay less in order to balance the budget.  If the Committee was minded to recommend this approach, Cabinet would need to consider the implications for the borough as a whole. 

Having noted the position, the Committee moved on to consider its main item of business. 

16.1    Allotments

Concerns had been raised at the previous meeting regarding the rising cost of allotment rents.  The Streetscape and Bereavement Services Manager confirmed that an inflationary rise had been imposed in 2011/12; rents having remaining static the previous year.  Irrespective of the increase, the forecast for 2012/13 indicated a reduction in income and officers undertook to write to the Committee following the meeting to explain the variance.         

Pages 13 and 15 of the agenda contained a list of allotment sites within Crewe and the surrounding areas, some of which would transfer to the control of the relevant Parish Council in 2012.  Reassurances were given that any costs incurred from this process would not fall on the Special Expenses Levy. 

16.2    Crewe Market

The Head of Environmental Services began by providing an explanation of the points raised by Members at the previous meeting which were outlined in paragraph 7 of the report.  He acknowledged that each market was unique to its own Town and required a tailored management plan in order to address issues arising at that locality.  To this end, the Council would continue to monitor occupancy levels at each site and would review neighbouring market rentals to ensure that the sites remained competitive. 

A Member commented that the ratio of rental costs to available trading hours meant that it was sometimes in the best interests of Traders to take town centre premises, rather than retain their market stalls and he requested that this also be reviewed as part of the monitoring process. 

To add value to the market, a number of initiatives had been proposed by the market traders, as listed in paragraph 7.1.5. of the report.  The Head of Environmental Services stated that funding for these activities would need to be identified but that a levy (which the market traders themselves paid into) for promotional activities and existing Council budgets may yield the monies needed although further investigations would be required.  Making the market visible was a key element to ensuring its viability and the Committee supported the proposals put forward.      

A Notice of Motion was to go before Cabinet at the end of the month (November) seeking permission to hold a trial street market which would link the indoor hall with Market Square.  A Member suggested that during the trial, the covered market adjacent to Lyceum Theatre could be given over to car parking, which would enable Lyceum Square to revert back to a cultural space, as intended following its re-development.  A further suggestion was made regarding a temporary suspension of parking charges for two hours on Thomas Street Car Park to increase footfall passing the market.                

Although the harmonisation of employees’ terms and conditions was welcomed in respect of achieving savings; agency staffing costs remained of concern.  The Head of Environmental Services stated that it was not cost effective for the Council to retain a pool of contracted staff to cover for last minutes absentees, rather agency staff would continue to be employed to ensure continuity of service as this was often at a lower cost.  As the harmonisation of terms would not come into effect until 1 December 2011, its impact was not presently reflected in the figures. 

16.3    Town Centre Management

As a result of the transfer of services to Parish Councils, the role of the Town Centre Manager was to change.  Members explored whether there was scope for the post-holder to take on the management of Crewe Market in addition to their role but as the post’s revised specification had not yet been agreed, it was unclear whether there would be the capacity for this.  To aid Members’ understanding of the role, it was agreed that a copy of the job description and draft lists of events overseen by the Town Centre Manager would be provided to the Committee in due course.            

16.4    Christmas Lights

This matter had been discussed at the previous meeting but explanatory information regarding the breakdown of costs, repairs and purchases for 2011/2012 had not been made available.  The Economic Development Manager undertook to provide such information to Members, as appropriate.  

16.5    Service Management/Support Services

It was reported that the asset service charges set out in the appendix to the report, reflected management support to operational premises together with an apportionment of costs for the running/maintenance of corporate buildings.  The Committee considered that the figure for Crewe seemed disproportionate and the Finance Lead (Places) agreed to re-examine the data.