Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Stockton and A Thwaite

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and /or prejudicial interests in any item on the agenda.

Councillor Mrs E N Gilliland declared a personal interest in item 6 – Cheshire East Licensing Policy, due to being a Member of the Licensing Committee. In accordance with the code of conduct she remained in the meeting during consideration of the item.

Councillors A Barratt and Mrs E N Gilliland declared a personal interest in item 8 – Community Safety Strategy due to being Members of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership. In accordance with the code of conduct they remained in the meeting during consideration of the item.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2009 as a correct record

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to:

1. The resolution of minutes 17 and 18 being amended to read ‘That the report be received but advice was given to officers regarding this’.
2. Councillors J Jones and D Hough being included in the list of apologies.

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public notified the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda, at least one working day before the meeting with brief details of the matter to be covered. 

None

To receive a presentation by the Head of Planning and Policy

Consideration was given to a presentation by the Head of Planning and Policy on the Local Development Framework (LDF) process.

The LDF system introduced a spatial planning approach, whichprovided the basis for guiding future development within the Borough.Unlike the former Structure Plan/Local Plan system, the LDF process involved all stakeholders at all stages of the process. The LDF consisted of a folder of planning documents, which would provide a single source for all the Council’s planning policies.

The folder contained the following documents:

• Local Development Scheme
• Statement of Community Involvement
• Annual Monitoring Report
• Core Strategy
• Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD)
• Area Action Plans
• Proposals Map
• Supplementary Planning Documents

To receive a presentation of the Head of Safer and Stronger Communities

The Committee gave consideration to the Cheshire East Licensing Protocol, which set out how Cheshire East Borough Council, Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority would work together to ensure that an effective and efficient system of enforcement was in place.

Following detailed consideration of the report the Committee agreed that Trading Standards should be consulted on the Protocol with a view to signing up to and playing an active part in licensing enforcement.

Members raised concerns regarding the Councils ability to enforce any possible prosecutions due to lack of resources. It was agreed that if there appeared to be any evidence of this, the Committee would scrutinise the Protocol and agencies concerned.

RESOLVED

That the Licensing Committee be recommended to approve the Licensing Protocol subject to the comments highlighted above.

Councillor S Wilkinson and left the meeting and returned during consideration of the above item

To receive an update from A Waller (Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service) representative of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership

Due to a Waller – Cheshire Fire and Rescue being unable to attend the meeting, this item was deferred until 21 January 2010.

To make recommendations to the Safer Cheshire East Partnership on the draft Community Safety Strategy

Consideration was given to the Community Safety Strategy, which informed Members of how the Safer Cheshire East Partnership would be working to address reported crime and incidents of disorder, and its strategy, for making Cheshire East a safer place. The Committee felt that although the strategy was comprehensive, it was too lengthy and written in a language that was difficult to understand. It was agreed that the comments of the Committee should be passed onto the Partnership for consideration.

RESOLVED

That the Safer Cheshire East Partnership be recommended to produce a Strategy that is more succinct and written in plain English

To receive a presentation of the Partnership Team

Consideration was given to a presentation on the Local Area Agreement and the performance indicators, which fall within the remit of the Committee.

The presentation highlighted to Members:

1. That the Local Area Agreement was a three-year negotiated agreement that set out the priorities for a local area between:

2. All target had an identified owner and thematic partnership, however some issues required more cross party ownership.

3. Delivery plans had been produced for all designated targets, however they needed to reflect planning

4. Performance management arrangements were in place and performance date collected and reviewed. The process still needed to be refined to ensure that poor performance was addressed and reported appropriately.

5. The Local Area Agreement was being refreshed to make any essential changes to the targets. The Committee agreed that any amendments would be reported to the Committee at its meeting scheduled to be held on 21 January 2010

With regard to the performance indicators it was agreed that a cluster of indicators by partnership and a description of the indicators would be considered by the Committee at its meeting scheduled to be held on 21 January 2010.

RESOLVED

1. That any amendments to the Local Area Agreement be considered at the meeting scheduled to be held on 21 January 2010.
2. That a description and cluster of performance indictors by partnership be considered at the meeting scheduled to be held on 21 January 2010.

To receive an update on the performance indicators which fall within the remit of the Committee

This item was considered alongside the presentation on the Local Area Agreement

To give consideration to the work programme

The Committee gave consideration to the work programme. It was agreed that the following issues would be considered at the meeting scheduled to be held on 21 January 2010:

• Revisions to the Local Area Agreement
• Update on Performance Indicators
• Safer Cheshire East Partnership Response to NI47 – Road Safety
• Impact the budget deficit will have on the performance indicators, which fall within the remit of the Committee
• Sustainable Community Strategy

RESOLVED

That the work programme be approved subject to the amendments highlighted above.