Agenda and minutes

Before the commencement of the meeting, Councillors Crane and Packham paid tribute to former Selby District Councillor and Honorary Alderwoman, Pam Odell who had recently passed away.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Casling, Deans, Marshall, McCartney and Peart.  

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already entered in their Register of Interests.

Councillors should leave the meeting and take no part in the consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that item of business.

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring Officer.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 21 February 2019.

The Council considered the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 21 February 2019.

It was noted that there were a number of typographical errors which needed correcting in the minutes.

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 February 2019 subject to the typographicalcorrections for signing by the Chairman.

The Chairman, Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive will deal with any communications which need to be reported to the Council.

The Chairman informed that he had held two charity events since the last Full Council meeting as follows:

• The first was a race night in Sherburn where 120 people had attended with the event being sold out. The Chairman thanked everyone who had sponsored a horse or attended the event.

• The second was a Charity Gala concert for the 950^th anniversary of Selby Abbey for which 905 people had attended the two shows that had taken place. The Chairman explained that several hours of planning had gone into the event including for raising sponsorships. It was noted that 12 acts had performed at the shows.  Council was informed that over £8,000 had been raised for the Chairman’s Charities and the Chairman thanked everyone who had attended.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader or Members of the Executive.

The Chairman announced that he would be running the old council car park over the forthcoming bank holidays on Easter Monday and Mayday and stated that he would welcome assistance from any Members who were available on these dates.

To receive any petitions.

There were no petitions received.

To receive and answer questions, notice of which has been given in accordance with rule 10.1 of the Constitution.

There were no public questions received.

To receive and answer questions submitted by councillors in accordance with rule 11.2 of the Constitution.

There were no questions submitted by Councillors.

The Leader of the Council, and other members of the Executive, will report on their work since the last meeting of the Council and will respond to questions from Councillors on that work.

Councillor M Crane, Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

In response to a query concerning the view of the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse on the devolution proposals for Yorkshire, the Leader of the Council stated that the Minister’s view was that of the Government who felt that the region was too large for one deal and that there should three or four separate deals with smaller areas.

A query was raised regarding Align Property Services who were moving into the Civic Centre. The Leader of the Council informed Council the company was a subsidiary of North Yorkshire County Council.

A query was raised regarding car parking facilities for Members at the Civic Centre. The Leader of the Council explained that this could be looked into once the Police had moved in to the building to see how many spaces were remaining.

Councillor J Mackman, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping

Councillor Mackman, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping, provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

A query was raised around the housing delivery test and why the Council had a result of 154% along with what the consequences were if they fell under 100%. The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that there were two tests in respect of housing delivery, these were the five year housing land supply and the housing delivery test. Council was informed that the Secretary of State had used a standard formula to calculate the Council’s result and there were different penalties depending on how much lower than 100% the result was.

In response to a further query on housing figures, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that the Council was trying to achieve the Spatial Strategy to ensure housing development.

In respect of a question asked on the Selby and District Housing Trust, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that the Trust were looking at acquisitions, in particular at garage sites however any developments were subject to loans from the Council. 

Councillor C Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources  

Councillor Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

Concern was raised that the Government were changing pension credit rules and it was felt a representation should be made raising concerns about this. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained representations would be made where possible.

Councillor C Metcalfe, Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development

Councillor Metcalfe, Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

In response to a query concerning the station development, the Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To receive reports from the Council’s committees which need to be brought to the attention of Council. To receive questions and provide answers on any of those reports.

Councillor W Nichols, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor S Duckett, Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in the report.

There were no questions for Councillor Duckett. 

Councillor J Deans, Chairman of the Policy Review Committee

Councillor Hobson, Vice Chairman of the Policy Review Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in the report. A query was raised that the Council was requesting that all taxis be wheelchair accessible and this would result in extra costs for the drivers. It was agreed clarification would be sought on this.

Councillor K Arthur, Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee

Councillor Arthur, Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in his report.

There were no questions for Councillor Arthur. 

To consider any motions.

There were no motions submitted for discussion.

To consider a report which highlights the proposed changes to the Constitution and asks Council to approve them so they can be implemented.

Councillor Crane, Leader of the Council presented the report which highlighted proposed changes to the Constitution and asked Council to approve them so they could be implemented. It was noted that a version of the entire Constitution with all of the proposed changes outlined had been published online and sent to all Members.

The Leader of the Council informed Council that the recommendation would be amended as follows to allow the Monitoring Officer to make the proposed changes:

‘To authorise the Monitoring Officer to make the amendments to the Constitution as summarised in Appendix A and in the track changed version online.’

RESOLVED:

To authorise the Monitoring Officer to make the amendments to the Constitution as summarised in Appendix A and in the track changed version online.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To ensure the Constitution is up to date and fit for purpose.

To consider a report which asks Council to consider and approve the attached Calendar of Meetings for 2019/20.

Councillor Crane, Leader of the Council presented the report which asked Council to consider and approve the attached Calendar of Meetings for 2019/20.  

RESOLVED:

To approve the Calendar of Meetings for 2019/20.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To enable the proper functioning of the Council in the 2019/20 municipal year.

The Chief Executive will report on any instances where she has acted in urgent or emergency situations under the functions delegated to her in the Constitution.

There was no urgent action.