Agenda and minutes

Venue: Microsoft Teams - Remote

Contact: Palbinder Mann  Email: pmann@selby.gov.uk or 01757 292207

Media

Items
No. Item

54.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Cattanach.

55.

Disclosures of Interest

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.

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest.

 

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that those Members who were either elected or employees of North Yorkshire County Council had been granted dispensations in respect of the item on Local Government Reorganisation.

 

56.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 485 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on Thursday 18 February 2021.

Minutes:

The Council considered the minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2021.

 

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 February 2021 for signing by the Chairman.

 

57.

Communications

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

Minutes:

There were no communications.

 

58.

Announcements

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

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

 

59.

Petitions

To receive any petitions.

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

 

60.

Public Questions

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

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

 

61.

Councillors' Questions

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

Minutes:

There were no Councillors questions.

62.

Motions

To consider any motions.

Minutes:

There were no motions.

 

63.

Reports from the Executive pdf icon PDF 31 KB

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Mark 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.

 

Discussion took place in respect of the expiring legislation in relation to virtual meetings and the different options available for holding meetings going forward including making decisions through urgency powers until 21 June which was the date the Government had provided for relaxing restrictions.

 

Councillor Jordan left the meeting at this point.

 

Councillor Richard Musgrave, Deputy Leader and Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping

 

The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

 

It was requested that information in relation to planning appeals should be reported to the Planning Committee so they could be aware of decisions and how applications had progressed. The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping agreed that this information should be shared with members of the Planning Committee and substitutes.

 

Discussion took place on the number of consultation responses on the Local Plan. In response to a query concerning past consultations having a higher level of response, it was explained that this may have been down to previous consultations being focused around single issues which may have distorted the responses.

 

A query was raised in relation to the figure of non-major applications being determined within the statutory period or agreed extensions of time. The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that the figure for this was just below target however discussions had taken place with officers on how this figure could be improved. It was also noted that there had been an increase on the number of planning applications submitted.

 

Councillor Cliff Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources

 

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report and added that the Government had announced a restart grant on 1st April and information on how this was paid had been sent to all Councillors. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources thanked Council staff for getting the previous grants out on time.

 

A query was raised on how quickly the Council was responding to grant emails. It was agreed this would be checked.

 

Councillor David Buckle, Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development

 

The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report and add that Eon would be installing electric charging points in Council car parks. Council was also informed of the new shops that would be opening up in Selby.

 

A query was raised regarding the latest situation concerning the Natwest Bank in Tadcaster. It was agreed a response would be provided to all Members on this.

 

In response to a query raised following the Places and Movement Study regarding parking in Sherburn, the Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

64.

Reports from Committees pdf icon PDF 278 KB

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Shaw-Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in his report.

 

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee informed Council that they would considering an item on housing repairs from a resident’s perspective at a future meeting.

 

Councillor Andrew Lee, Chairman of the Policy Review Committee

 

Councillor Lee, Chairman of the Policy Review Committee, provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in his report.

 

There were no questions for Councillor Lee.

 

Councillor Karl 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.

 

RESOLVED:

                        To note the reports.

 

65.

Constitution Update and Proposed Changes pdf icon PDF 162 KB

To consider a report which sets out proposed changes to the Constitution to be considered by Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Alison Hartley, Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer presented the report which set out proposed changes to the Constitution.

 

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that the changes proposed related to the removing of Community Engagement Forums (CEFs) as recommended by the Executive and a change to the process for selecting Licensing Sub Committee panels.

 

RESOLVED:

To note that there have been no administrative changes made by the Monitoring Officer since the last amendments were reported to Council, and to approve the following:

 

i)               That the Constitution be amended by the Solicitor to the Council to remove all references to Community Engagement Forums (CEFs) as recommended by the Executive; and

 

ii)             That the Constitution be amended by the Solicitor to the Council so that the “Licensing and Appeals Sub-Committee” is re-named “Licensing Sub-Committee”, all the Licensing Committee Members are appointed to the Licensing Sub-Committee, and that selection of 3 members to Licensing Sub-Committee when required to determine applications be undertaken by the Chairman of the  Licensing Committee in consultation with the Solicitor to the Council; and

 

iii)           That the above changes take place with immediate effect.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

 

To ensure the constitution is up to date and fit for purpose. Any changes to the Constitution unless considered as administrative changes need to be approved by Council. 

 

 

66.

Consultation Relating to the Structure of Local Government in North Yorkshire pdf icon PDF 268 KB

To consider a report which informs Council of the Secretary of State’s Consultation on Local Government Review and seeks a response concerning the consultation.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Executive presented the report which informed Council of the Secretary of State’s Consultation on Local Government Review and sought a response concerning the consultation.

 

The Chief Executive informed Council that as well as being Chief Executive of the Council, she was also an Assistant Chief Executive at North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) however had not taken part in NYCC Management Board meetings since July and had not been involved in their proposals.

 

Council was informed that the consultation would be finished on 19th April 2021. Discussion took place concerning the proposals and it was proposed by Councillor Crane and seconded by Councillor Packham that Council should agree recommendation (c) outlined in resolution five.

 

RESOLVED:

         

i)               To note that the Secretary of State is inviting a response from Selby District Council to his Consultation on two proposals for re-organisation in the North Yorkshire area.

 

ii)             To note that the consultation exercise is not a vote for one proposal over another. It is an opportunity to comment on the merits of both proposals and how they do (or do not) meet the Secretary of State’s guidance criteria. Specific consultation questions are posed by the Secretary of State.

 

iii)           To note that ultimately this is a decision for the Secretary of State who has indicated that the approach to local government reorganisation should be locally led.

 

iv)           To note that that Members can respond in their individual capacity as an elected member at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposals-for-locally-led-reorganisation-of-local-government-in-cumbria-north-yorkshire-and-somerset/consultation-on-proposals-for-locally-led-reorganisation-of-local-government-in-cumbria-north-yorkshire-and-somerset

 

v)             To respond to neither proposal under consultation and inform the Secretary of State that the Council resolved to submit the East/West proposal to ensure that an alternative proposal to the NYCC was available for consultation to maximise choice and has nothing further to add.

 

 

 

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

 

Following invitation from the Secretary of State in 2020, the Council resolved to submit an East/West x2 Unitary proposal (as an alternative proposal to a large North Yorkshire Unitary and small City of York Unitary), for consideration by the Secretary of State. Members were clear that the reason for doing so was to provide for a wider choice of reorganisation proposals for consultation. The Secretary of State is now consulting on those proposals. Selby District Council has been formally invited to respond and therefore the matter of responding is brought to Council for consideration.

 

67.

Urgent Action

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.

Minutes:

The Chief Executive confirmed that there was no urgent action to report.