Meeting documents

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2018.

Cllr K Wheller proposed the following amendment to the minutes at Min 24

" The brief holder explained that owing to being away when the report was finalised she had not realised that it had asked for items to be noted not approved and that she had been in discussion with the Director,  Mr Hamilton about adding some amendments for approval and all the financial information was available.  The Chairman reiterated that he would not accept amendments, she should have been more diligent and made the officers present a better report.  The Chair declined to allow Mr Hamilton to speak. Cllr Wheller left the meeting"

Upon being put to the vote the amendment was LOST.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members are required to comply with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and the Council’s Code of Conduct regarding disclosable pecuniary and other interests.

·         Check if there is an item of business on this agenda in which the member or other relevant person has a disclosable pecuniary or the disclosable interest.

·         Check that the interest has been notified to the Monitoring Officer (in writing) and entred in the Register (if not this must be done within 28 days).

·         Disclose the interest at the meeting (in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct) and in the absence of dispensation to speck and/or vote, withdraw from any consideration of the item where appropriate.  If the interest is non-pecuniary you may be able to stay in the room, take part and vote.

There were no declarations of interest to report.

30 minutes will be set aside to allow members of the public to ask questions relating to the work of the Council.  3 minutes will be allowed per speaker. The order of speakers is at the discretion of the Chair and is normally taken in the order of agenda items, questions must relate to a report which is on the agenda for consideration.  Notice is not required if you wish to speak at the meeting but if you require an answer to a question it is asdvisable to submit this in advance by contacting a member of the Democratic Services team or alternatively, by emailing kcritchel@dorset.gov.uk.

Mr A Ferguson addressed the committee regarding the proposals for a new lighting scheme on the Esplanade. He questions how much would the "Fairy Light option" cost and he was concerned that this option not been properly assessed by the Council.

Mr Whatley addressed the committee regarding a number of issues including the progress with the new Town Council.  Would Commercial Road offices belong to the Town Council?   What staff would be employed by the Town Council? He raised concerns about the Town Clerk appointment and earnings.  Mr Whatley asked questions about the Town Centre Manager’s role.  He also raised concerns regarding the flashing lights in Alexandra gardens and commented on the proposal for the Esplanade Lighting.

In response the Chair advised that the Town Clerk salary was prescribed by national standards and scales.  It was anticipated that the Weymouth Town Council would be the 2^nd largest in the Country. He also advised that the Town Centre Manager was working on a wide programme of activities.  Work on the arrangements for the new Town Council was underway and a report on the matter would be brought to a future meeting of the Management Committee.

Ms D Ellis spoke to members in support of the proposed lighting scheme for the Esplanade.  She complimented the work from Dorset Coastal Forum and supported the artist’s proposal of the scheme.  She suggested to those present that all of the information was available for the public to view on the council website should they chose to look for it.

Mr Farn addressed members regarding the refund received from Dorset Waste Partnership and where was this money going?  He referred to maintenance of the town centre which needed to happen now and he also mentioned issues with the traffic lights at the Clock on the seafront.

The Chair advised that he and other councillors had met with Dorset County Council officers regarding a number of issues.  The Community Protection Manager advised that £70,000 had been refunded from Dorset Waste Partnership to the council’s general reserve.  Some of the funds had been used to increase litterbins across the borough.

To receive questions from Councillors in accordance with procedure rule 12.

Cllr R Hope indicated that he would like to talk to item 6 prior to members considering the report.

Cllr I Bruce addressed the committee regarding item 7 "improved toilet facilities on Weymouth Esplanade". He raised concerns regarding the proposal to replace the Bond Street toilets and indicated that the report did not deal with this issue. Cllr Bruce also expressed concerns regarding the Jurassic Coast highway and his disappointment that a stronger statement had not been included within the Local Plan consultation document.  In response the Brief holder for Community Facilities advised that the report was about options on the esplanade but there were future other works to be progressed.

In respect of the Jurassic Coast highway, the Chair confirmed that discussions with government ministers continued with the aim of supporting the expanding tourism on offer on Portland and the regeneration programme in Weymouth.  He agreed the highway was essential to support the development of the area.

The Brief holder for Environment and Sustainability understood and applauded the desire to support a Jurassic highway, however for the purpose of the local plan the council was not the responsible highway authority and it had therefore not been included in the document at this stage of the consultation.

To consider a report of the Project Engineer.

That the proposed design for the Promenade lighting project be approved and power be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the Brief holder for Tourism, Culture & Harbours, to undertake all action necessary to progress the required planning application and undertake all other related actions (including any related decisions) necessary to progress the project to a conclusion.

Cllr R Hope addressed the committee seeking support for the reintroduction of the Catenary  Lighting (fairy) on the esplanade.  He considered that not all of the possible options had been carefully costed and considered by the Council. He indicated that some businesses and members of the public were prepared to sponsor a catenary light option and therefore he was not convinced that it was as unaffordable as had been reported. He advised that the committee had a duty to listen to the public and their concerns.

The Brief holder for Tourism, Culture & Harbours presented the report that provided an update on the project to design and install a new lighting project for Weymouth Promenade.

Members discussed the proposed lighting design which would utilise the existing lighting infrastructure along the promenade. The committee thanked officers for the opportunity to receive a demonstration of the proposed design to help inform their decision.  It was generally acknowledged that wide public consultation and stakeholder engagement had taken place and members accepted that catenary lighting was not a option at this present point in time; but that this would not preclude it some time in the future.  The committee carefully considered the options and the financial implications before them and on balance they unanimously  agreed to support the proposed design as set out within the report.

It was proposed by Cllr R Kosior seconded by Cllr A Reed

Decision

That the proposed design for the Promenade lighting project be approved and power be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the Brief holder for Tourism, Culture & Harbours, to undertake all action necessary to progress the required planning application and undertake all other related actions (including any related decisions) necessary to progress the project to a conclusion.

To consider a report of the Assistant Head of Assets and Infrastructure.

(a)       That Option 4A as described within the report be approved and power be delegated to the Strategic Director to undertake all action including any related decisions necessary to deliver the preferred project, including the submission of any relevant planning related applications and securing all appropriate contractors;

(b)       That additional funding of up to £24,000 be allocated to deliver Option 4A;

(c)       That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the brief holder for Community Facilities, the exact location of additional modular facilities along the seafront.

The Brief holder for Community Facilities presented a report which set out the detail of options for improved toilet facilities.  It was noted that option 6, whilst it was over budget, the proposal did allow for a lettable space.  Members were also presented the detail of Option 4a which was within the previously agreed budget.

Members were advised that Option 4a would involve ending current leases, converting currently leased areas into new toilet facilities and extending the beach office facility.  It would provide beach showers, a family room, new accessible toilets and 22 new unisex toilets above ground.  The Changing Places toilet would remain unaltered.  There would also be a single storey extension that would incorporate two small lettable spaces.  The estimated cost was between £370,000 and £424,000.

As part of presenting the report, the Brief holder reported that despite the best efforts of the Town Centre Manager, no local businesses had come forward to fully commit to the proposed Community Toilet Scheme. This was disappointing, but it was suggested that no further resources be allocated to this work stream.

In response to questions the brief holder confirmed that the timeline for the Option 4a project was subject to planning consent, specification and tender process, but could start in May at the earliest, but this would more likely be in September 2019 if the committee accepted that termination of the current leases would be unpopular.

Responding to concerns regarding accessibility, the Brief holder confirmed that the proposed facilities would be compliant, however she would be happy to work further with the Brief holder for Social Inclusion on this matter. 

Following other questions the committee were assured that the project was within Council budget commitments and did not require the Shadow Council approval. 

It was proposed by Cllr K Wheller seconded by Cllr C Huckle

Decision

(a)       That Option 4A as described within the report be approved and power be delegated to the Strategic Director to undertake all action including any related decisions necessary to deliver the preferred project, including the submission of any relevant planning related applications and securing all appropriate contractors;

(b)       That additional funding of up to £24,000 be allocated to deliver Option 4A;

(c)       That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the brief holder for Community Facilities, the exact location of additional modular facilities along the seafront.

To consider a report of the Financial Performance Manager.

(a)       That the predicted outturn for the 2018/19 revenue and capital budgets be noted.

(b)       That the KPI’s for each service for the period and any actions being taken be noted;

(c)       That the Service Plan updates provided by Heads of Service / Corporate Managers be noted;

(d)       That the high risks for each service area and any actions being taken be noted.

The committee considered the Council’s performance across all services which had been broken down into financial performance, key performance indicators, risks and service plan updates on a service by service basis.

Decision

(a)       That the predicted outturn for the 2018/19 revenue and capital budgets be noted.

(b)       That the KPI’s for each service for the period and any actions being taken be noted;

(c)       That the Service Plan updates provided by Heads of Service / Corporate Managers be noted;

(d)       That the high risks for each service area and any actions being taken be noted.

To consider a report of the Leisure Commissioning Manager and the Community Planning & Development Manager.

(a)       That the provisions in clause 4.7 of the Councils Discretionary Grants, Loans and Subsidies Policy that requires all grants over £2000 to be approved by the Management Committee, be suspended until 31 March 2019.

(b)       That authority to approve loans and grants be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Budget Working Group.  (This group is to consist of the Political Group Leaders).

In presenting the report the Chair set out the following amendment to replace the recommendation set out at 2.1 or the report.

"That the provisions in clause 4.7 of the Councils Discretionary Grants, Loans and Subsidies Policy that requires all grants over £2000 to be approved by the Management Committee, be suspended until 31 March 2019.

That authority to approve loans and grants be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Budget Working Group.  (This group is to consist of the Political Group Leaders)." 

He suggested that this would avoid any future delay in decision making regarding grants and loans decisions. Any grant decisions would be regularly reported to members in order to keep them fully informed. 

The motion was seconded by Cllr C Huckle.

Decision

(a)       That the provisions in clause 4.7 of the Councils Discretionary Grants, Loans and Subsidies Policy that requires all grants over £2000 to be approved by the Management Committee, be suspended until 31 March 2019.

(b)       That authority to approve loans and grants be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Budget Working Group.  (This group is to consist of the Political Group Leaders).

To consider a report of the Head of Revenues and Benefits.

(a)       That the application for Discretionary Rate Relief from the British Heart Foundation be refused;

(b)       That the application for Discretionary Rate Relief from the Bus Shelter Dorset be refused.

The Head of Revenue and Benefits presented a report on two applications for Discretionary Rate Relief as set out in the appendix to the report.

In considering the application from Bus Shelter Dorset, members agreed that they were unable to support this application, however if the group was minded to apply to the Council through its grants support scheme, such an application would be given careful consideration.

Decision

(a)       That the application for Discretionary Rate Relief from the British Heart Foundation be refused;

(b)       That the application for Discretionary Rate Relief from the Bus Shelter Dorset be refused.

To receive the Management Committee Action Plan, including supplementary update regarding community safety.

The committee received and noted the Management Committee action plan and Brief holders had the opportunity to verbally update the committee regarding the actions set out within the plan.

Cllr K Wheller updated members regarding the current position of the Marsh, the works on the playground site, the Boxing Club and the delays caused by the issues relating to the contamination of land.

Members noted that the last minutes of the Dorset Waste partnership were available to view on the Dorsetforyou website.

Cllr G Taylor expressed concern regarding the lack of attendance at recent meeting by the Borough Council’s representatives.  She reminded all present that there were substitutes available should the Council’s representatives be unable to attend at meeting.

To consider the 4 monthly Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was received and noted.

To consider any items of business which the Chair has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) )b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be specified in the minutes.

There was no urgent items to report.