Agenda item

To consider motions under Standing Order 12.

Motion One

 

This Council is deeply concerned by the shocking levels of sewage discharged into our waterways, rivers and oceans locally and across the country.

 

This Council expresses concern at figures published by the Rivers Trust, which highlight in 2020 alone there was at least 5,752 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Gedling parliamentary constituency by water companies and at least 4,279 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Sherwood parliamentary constituency.

 

This Council firmly believes there should be a statutory duty on all water companies to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows. In light of the harm caused to the environment, individual and public health, this Council wishes to see the practice of discharging raw sewage into our nation’s rivers, waterways and oceans eliminated entirely, not simply progressively reduced.

 

This Council resolves to engage with agencies including Severn Trent Water, the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire County Council and the UK Government to urge swift action to stop the disgraceful discharge of raw/untreated sewage in our waterways and rivers.

 

This Council encourages and supports the use of its Overview & Scrutiny processes to assist in holding to account those agencies responsible for discharging raw and untreated sewage into our waterways and rivers locally.

 

This Council calls on our local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall and Mark Spencer to publicly support our call for the banning and elimination of discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

This Council also calls on Gedling borough’s two Members of Parliament to campaign and vote for a statutory requirement on water companies to eliminate not simply progressively reduce the discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

Proposer: Councillor Boyle

Seconder: Councillor Payne

 

Motion Two

 

This Council agrees with Sir John Armit, Chair of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission, who recently commented that the Government should stop making councils ‘plead on bended knee’ for vital funds if ‘levelling up’ is to work. This Council concurs with Sir John Armit’s view that the system of bidding for multiple pots of ringfenced funding to Whitehall is ‘inefficient and ineffective’.

 

This Council’s recent ‘Levelling Up Fund’ bid would help to kickstart high street regeneration, improve Arnold town centre and encourage healthy travel in Netherfield. It was a bid that could help to make Gedling borough an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

 

This Council notes the Prime Minister’s response to our local Member of Parliament at Prime Minister’s Questions on 30 June 2021 that the ‘Levelling Up Fund’ would ‘indeed invest in infrastructure projects that improves life across the country but in his constituency (Gedling) particularly.’

 

This Council is therefore extremely disappointed not to have received a single penny from the UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’, which follows on from communities across Gedling borough not receiving a single penny from the UK Government from the Towns Fund and the Future High Streets Fund too.

 

This Council was also disappointed to have been classified by the Government as a ‘category 2’ area for the purposes of the ‘Levelling Up Fund’, whilst other areas across the country that had already benefited from millions of pounds funding allocations from the Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund were classified as ‘category 1’.

 

This Council calls on our two local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall MP and Mark Spencer MP and the Government to demonstrate they back Gedling borough’s communities, town & village centres and businesses when it comes to ‘levelling up’ by ensuring Gedling borough urgently receives its fair share of capital investment for local infrastructure improvements and regeneration, particularly following the triple-whammy insult of being overlooked by the Government for the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund and Levelling Up Fund.

 

This Council also calls on our Members of Parliament and the Government to ensure this year’s local government finance settlement rectifies the utterly unsatisfactory situation of Gedling Borough Council being the worst affected council in the country for two years running in terms of reduction in Core Spending Power since 2015/16.

 

Proposer: Councillor Payne

Seconder: Councillor Clarke

Minutes:

Motion One

 

Upon a notice of motion received in the name of Councillor Boyle, a proposition was moved by Councillor Boyle seconded by Councillor Payne, in the following terms:

 

This Council notes:

 

This Council is deeply concerned by the shocking levels of sewage discharged into our waterways, rivers and oceans locally and across the country.

 

This Council expresses concern at figures published by the Rivers Trust, which highlight in 2020 alone there was at least 5,752 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Gedling parliamentary constituency by water companies and at least 4,279 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Sherwood parliamentary constituency.

 

This Council firmly believes there should be a statutory duty on all water companies to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows. In light of the harm caused to the environment, individual and public health, this Council wishes to see the practice of discharging raw sewage into our nation’s rivers, waterways and oceans eliminated entirely, not simply progressively reduced.

 

This Council resolves to engage with agencies including Severn Trent Water, the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire County Council and the UK Government to urge swift action to stop the disgraceful discharge of raw/untreated sewage in our waterways and rivers.

 

This Council encourages and supports the use of its Overview & Scrutiny processes to assist in holding to account those agencies responsible for discharging raw and untreated sewage into our waterways and rivers locally.

 

This Council calls on our local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall and Mark Spencer to publicly support our call for the banning and elimination of discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

This Council also calls on Gedling borough’s two Members of Parliament to campaign and vote for a statutory requirement on water companies to eliminate not simply progressively reduce the discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

Councillor Scroggie left the meeting at 7:58 pm.

 

There then followed a debate on the motion, the proposition was put to a vote and was supported.

 

It was therefore

 

RESOLVED that:

 

This Council is deeply concerned by the shocking levels of sewage discharged into our waterways, rivers and oceans locally and across the country.

 

This Council expresses concern at figures published by the Rivers Trust, which highlight in 2020 alone there was at least 5,752 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Gedling parliamentary constituency by water companies and at least 4,279 hours of sewage spills into waterways across Sherwood parliamentary constituency.

 

This Council firmly believes there should be a statutory duty on all water companies to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows. In light of the harm caused to the environment, individual and public health, this Council wishes to see the practice of discharging raw sewage into our nation’s rivers, waterways and oceans eliminated entirely, not simply progressively reduced.

 

This Council resolves to engage with agencies including Severn Trent Water, the Environment Agency, Nottinghamshire County Council and the UK Government to urge swift action to stop the disgraceful discharge of raw/untreated sewage in our waterways and rivers.

 

This Council encourages and supports the use of its Overview & Scrutiny processes to assist in holding to account those agencies responsible for discharging raw and untreated sewage into our waterways and rivers locally.

 

This Council calls on our local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall and Mark Spencer to publicly support our call for the banning and elimination of discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

This Council also calls on Gedling borough’s two Members of Parliament to campaign and vote for a statutory requirement on water companies to eliminate not simply progressively reduce the discharge of raw and untreated sewage into our waterways, rivers and oceans.

 

Motion Two

 

Upon a notice of motion received in the name of Councillor Payne, a proposition was moved by Councillor Payne seconded by Councillor Clarke, in the following terms:

 

This Council notes:

 

This Council agrees with Sir John Armit, Chair of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission, who recently commented that the Government should stop making councils ‘plead on bended knee’ for vital funds if ‘levelling up’ is to work. This Council concurs with Sir John Armit’s view that the system of bidding for multiple pots of ringfenced funding to Whitehall is ‘inefficient and ineffective’.

 

This Council’s recent ‘Levelling Up Fund’ bid would help to kickstart high street regeneration, improve Arnold town centre and encourage healthy travel in Netherfield. It was a bid that could help to make Gedling borough an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

 

This Council notes the Prime Minister’s response to our local Member of Parliament at Prime Minister’s Questions on 30 June 2021 that the ‘Levelling Up Fund’ would ‘indeed invest in infrastructure projects that improves life across the country but in his constituency (Gedling) particularly.’

 

This Council is therefore extremely disappointed not to have received a single penny from the UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’, which follows on from communities across Gedling borough not receiving a single penny from the UK Government from the Towns Fund and the Future High Streets Fund too.

 

This Council was also disappointed to have been classified by the Government as a ‘category 2’ area for the purposes of the ‘Levelling Up Fund’, whilst other areas across the country that had already benefited from millions of pounds funding allocations from the Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund were classified as ‘category 1’.

 

This Council calls on our two local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall MP and Mark Spencer MP and the Government to demonstrate they back Gedling borough’s communities, town & village centres and businesses when it comes to ‘levelling up’ by ensuring Gedling borough urgently receives its fair share of capital investment for local infrastructure improvements and regeneration, particularly following the triple-whammy insult of being overlooked by the Government for the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund and Levelling Up Fund.

 

This Council also calls on our Members of Parliament and the Government to ensure this year’s local government finance settlement rectifies the utterly unsatisfactory situation of Gedling Borough Council being the worst affected council in the country for two years running in terms of reduction in Core Spending Power since 2015/16.

 

In accordance with Standing Order 17.03, the proposition was put to a named vote as follows:

 

For the motion:

 

Councillor Peter Barnes                      Councillor Hemmingway

Councillor Sandra Barnes                   Councillor Hollingsworth

Councillor Boyle                                  Councillor Hope

Councillor Brooks                               Councillor Keneally

Councillor Clarke                                Councillor Lawrence

Councillor Clunie                                 Councillor Ron McCrossen

Councillor Collis                                  Councillor Viv McCrossen

Councillor Creamer                            Councillor Miller

Councillor David Ellis                          Councillor Najuk

Councillor Rachael Ellis                      Councillor Paling

Councillor Roxanne Ellis                     Councillor Payne

Councillor Ellwood                              Councillor Truscott

Councillor Fox                                     Councillor Wheeler

Councillor Gibbons                             Councillor Wilkinson

Councillor Greensmith

                                               

Against the motion:

 

None.

 

Abstentions:

 

Councillor Adams                               Councillor Murray

Councillor Barnfather                          Councillor Parr

Councillor Elliott                                  Councillor Martin Smith

Councillor Greensmith                        Councillor Sam Smith

 

It was therefore

 

RESOLVED that:

 

This Council agrees with Sir John Armit, Chair of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission, who recently commented that the Government should stop making councils ‘plead on bended knee’ for vital funds if ‘levelling up’ is to work. This Council concurs with Sir John Armit’s view that the system of bidding for multiple pots of ringfenced funding to Whitehall is ‘inefficient and ineffective’.

 

This Council’s recent ‘Levelling Up Fund’ bid would help to kickstart high street regeneration, improve Arnold town centre and encourage healthy travel in Netherfield. It was a bid that could help to make Gedling borough an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

 

This Council notes the Prime Minister’s response to our local Member of Parliament at Prime Minister’s Questions on 30 June 2021 that the ‘Levelling Up Fund’ would ‘indeed invest in infrastructure projects that improves life across the country but in his constituency (Gedling) particularly.’

 

This Council is therefore extremely disappointed not to have received a single penny from the UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’, which follows on from communities across Gedling borough not receiving a single penny from the UK Government from the Towns Fund and the Future High Streets Fund too.

 

This Council was also disappointed to have been classified by the Government as a ‘category 2’ area for the purposes of the ‘Levelling Up Fund’, whilst other areas across the country that had already benefited from millions of pounds funding allocations from the Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund were classified as ‘category 1’.

 

This Council calls on our two local Members of Parliament, Tom Randall MP and Mark Spencer MP and the Government to demonstrate they back Gedling borough’s communities, town & village centres and businesses when it comes to ‘levelling up’ by ensuring Gedling borough urgently receives its fair share of capital investment for local infrastructure improvements and regeneration, particularly following the triple-whammy insult of being overlooked by the Government for the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund and Levelling Up Fund.

 

This Council also calls on our Members of Parliament and the Government to ensure this year’s local government finance settlement rectifies the utterly unsatisfactory situation of Gedling Borough Council being the worst affected council in the country for two years running in terms of reduction in Core Spending Power since 2015/16.