Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fox and Wheeler.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the above meeting, having been circulated, be approved as a correct record.

None

Report of Corporate Director (Stephen Bray).

Stephen Bray, Corporate Director, presented a report which had been circulated prior to the meeting, giving an update on work being done around the Council on sustainability.

RESOLVED to:

1)    Note progress with delivery of the Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan;

2)    Agree that future work on sustainability is encompassed in the Gedling Plan and relevant Service Plans, with any continuing high-level targets incorporated in the Gedling Plan; and

3)      Manage future sustainability performance through established performance management mechanisms, with any target changes to be put forward for member consideration through quarterly performance review processes.

Report of Service Manager Community Relations.

Dave Wakelin, Corporate Director, introduced a report, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, updating Cabinet on locality plan progress in Netherfield and Newstead and introducing a new plan for Killisick. Lance Juby, Service Manager for Community Relations, highlighted some of the key points in the plans.

All Members paid tribute to the work of the Locality Coordinators who were doing excellent work to build stronger communities in their areas.

RESOLVED to:

1)    Note the progress report for the Netherfield and Newstead Locality Plans;

2)    Endorse the Killisick Delivery Plan; and

3)    Note the Public Realm Survey and schedule of improvements for consultation across Netherfield.

Report of the Planning Policy Manager.

Stephen Bray, Corporate Director, introduced a report which had been circulated prior to the meeting, giving information about the Council’s five year land supply.

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

Report of the Service Manager Elections and Members’ Services.

Consideration was given to a report of the Service Manager, Elections and Members’ Services, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, detailing the Executive’s draft Forward Plan for the next four month period.

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

Councillor Peter Barnes (Environment)

·         Congratulations to the Parks and Street Care Team who were awarded the most improved street cleaning team at the APSE awards. The team were also finalists in the Best Performing Street Care Team category.

·         Work on improving measures to combat flooding in the Arnold area is progressing well.

·         Work on the new Gedling Country Park is also progressing well and on schedule.

Councillor Darrell Pulk (Leisure and Development)

·         Congratulations to Calverton Leisure Centre which was a finalist in the best small leisure centre category at the APSE awards. Congratulations also to the Community Centres team who had been shortlisted as finalist for the Burton Road Centre and won the award for the most improved community centre at the Pondhills Centre.

·         Work was ongoing to examine the council’s leisure offer in the context of affordability versus service level.

Councillor Michael Payne (Public Protection and Communications)

·         Thanks to the team in Customer Services for the excellent work done over the past year including taking approximately 250,000 telephone calls, seeing 20,000 customers face to face and dealing very professionally with the increased footfall caused by the co-location of the Arnold Job Centre. Customer satisfaction with the service had also been consistently high.

·         The cash office had recently been replaced by an automated pay point which although not initially popular, was necessary to create a more cost effective service.

·         Concern remained over the plans to close Carlton Police Station. Work was still ongoing, led by the Chief Executive, to identify measures to ensure a continued police presence in the area.

Councillor Clarke shared the following from Councillor Henry Wheeler’s (Health and Housing) portfolio area:

·         He was supportive of a campaign to give landlords greater flexibility to carry out vital gas safety work in properties.

·         Barnardos has released a protocol to assist young people when leaving local authority care

·         Demand for service in relation to homelessness and temporary housing remained high.

Councillor John Clarke (Finance and Performance)

·         Lots had been happening recently in Economic Development with discussions still ongoing for the creation of a Combined Authority.

·         A letter of thanks from a Borough resident praising the good services on offer in Gedling was read out. All staff were thanked for their efforts.

In response to a question from Councillor Barnfather, Councillor Payne advised that he would provide a written response on how funding for Christmas lightning was allocated across the whole area.

None.