Agenda item

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 Mark Crane, Leader of the Council

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

The Leader of the Opposition expressed his group’s sadness at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Leader of the Opposition asked about the impact of the three-week delay to the Local Plan and sought assurance that this would not hinder the progress required to ensure the delivery of the Local Plan before local government reorganisation (LGR).

A query was also posed regarding the three key Selby services that would be impacted by LGR; leisure, waste collection and housing. The Leader of the Opposition asked that updates on all three areas could be shared with all Members.

The Leader explained that the Local Plan process had been put back by three weeks due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and it was felt that this had been the appropriate course of action. The timetable before Members was still ambitious and the aim continued to be to submit the plan to a Planning Inspector before LGR. The next step in the process was the outcome of the current consultation.

With regards to waste, leisure and housing, all three elements were at different stages of the LGR process. Only three district Councils in North Yorkshire had their own housing stock, one of which was Selby. The stock from all three of these authorities would be combined and run by the new authority North Yorkshire Council. If the concern was that the new Council would sell the housing stock, Members were reminded that this would need the current tenants to vote for that outcome.

The Council’s contract with Urbaser would not be renewed when it expired, and under the new authority waste collection could move to an in-house service; at present, Selby was the only authority that outsourced its waste and recycling service. All the different district councils across the county had differing approaches to waste collection and as such the standardisation would require good management and a sensible lead in time to any changes. Selby was also the only authority which did not currently charge for its green waste collection; again, this would be another noticeable change for residents under the new authority.

In relation to leisure, there was a current contract with IHL but when it expired it would be up to North Yorkshire Council to review the provision of leisure services. Members acknowledged that there were sensitivities around the issue.

The Leader of the Opposition expressed his concerns regarding the planning workstream processes relating to LGR as there were still numerous questions that required answers. It was important that all Members worked together to ensure the best outcomes for Selby residents.

A Member asked other Members to note that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Majesty King Charles III should both always be referred to as Her or His Majesties, not Her or His Royal Highnesses.

Further concerns were raised regarding the Local Plan, in particular the consultation process and the lack of response in Sherburn. It was felt by some Members that the process was too complicated and that a summary of the main points should be provided to simplify the process. Members also asked for the number of proposed new builds and infrastructure projects in Sherburn in Elmet.

The Leader emphasised that the Council was still at consultation stage and no decisions had been made yet. The Leader confirmed that he would ask Officers to investigate the number of proposed developments and infrastructure projects in Sherburn in Elmet and whether response process to the consultation could be simplified. Officers would respond to Members directly.

Councillor Richard Musgrave, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Executive Member for Housing

The Deputy Leader of the Council presented his update as outlined in the report.

The Leader of the Opposition asked about the number of housing voids being turned around and handed back, and how many were being worked on to bring them back into use.

The Deputy Leader explained that around 3% of the Council’s housing stock was classed as void at any one time. There were still delays because of the pandemic, and it was often found that when the Council received properties back from tenancies around 63% of them needed a full refurbishment, which took longer. The figure should have only been around 10%. The goal for property turnaround was 180 days. The Deputy Leader resolved to ask Officers to explain to Ward Councillors why this was, as well as supply basic figures on such works.

Comments were made regarding the petition on the proposed Local Plan policies affecting Tadcaster, which had been submitted earlier in the meeting. A Member emphasised the importance of noting the context of the petition that had been submitted when considering it in the Local Plan process, in that it may have been signed prior to the publication of the present version of the Local Plan, as well as allowing the consultation to run its course.

Councillor Cliff Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented his update as outlined in the report.

The Executive Member highlighted the good work of the Council Tax Team who had managed to process high volumes of the council tax energy rebates in such a short space of time; 99.4% of payments had been made with a total of £130k paid out.

Members asked how the Council was following up residents without direct debit arrangements. The Executive Member explained that all efforts were being made to chase these people up and that if phone calls and letters did not work, house to house visits would also be considered.

The Leader of the Opposition queried the lack of Programme for Growth (P4G) expenditure and asked for update om what would happen to P4G projects commenced before LGR. The Executive Member clarified that all projects that had started under Selby District Council would be continued and that there was an existing reserve for overspends.

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

The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development presented his update as outlined in the report and provided further updates on the commencement of Transforming Cities Fund work and the disabled access bridge at Selby Station, which was due for completion in April 2023.

Members were reminded to make use of their £3k locality budgets by putting in applications for spending soon.

Members asked about the revitalisation of Tadcaster station and the importance of consulting local Ward Members; the Executive Member confirmed that he would contact Officers about the matter and advised that it would be considered by the Executive at its next meeting on 6 October 2022, should the Ward Members wish to attend.

Other Members expressed concern about the number of businesses closing in Selby town, one of which had hosted the Council’s hospitality forum. The Lead Executive Member acknowledged the closures and reminded Members that the next forum was being held the following day (28 September 2022) at Café 81.

The Executive Member notified the Council of the new businesses opening in Selby town shortly and gave a commitment to do all he could to make sure that legacy projects in Sherburn in Elmet were commenced or delivered by LGR. Members were also reminded of the £750k granted by the Council to the Beech Grove Medical Centre in Sherburn, and the upgrades to two primary schools in the town by North Yorkshire County Council.

The Leader of the Opposition raised the issue of the severe shortage of staffing at the Sherburn 2 Industrial Estate due to the poor infrastructure and requirement for better transport links to enable staff to commute to the available jobs. The Executive Member agreed that this was a problem and that it had been raised at the Business Forum. Some work had been undertaken with Arriva buses, and some companies had used private bus firms. The area needed small and medium-sized business units and the local infrastructure required serious improvement. A meeting was scheduled for 20 October 2022 with North Yorkshire County Council Highways to discuss this, at which representatives from larger businesses on the site would also be in attendance.

Councillor Tim Grogan, Lead Executive Member for Health and Culture

The Lead Executive Member for Health and Culture presented his update as outlined in his report and gave verbal updates on recent nominees for the York Tourism Awards in the district, convictions for flytipping achieved through use of a CCTV camera and other convictions secured by the Council’s Environmental Health Team in relation to food safety.

The Executive Member also updated the Council on an illegal encampment in Ulleskelf. The legislation dealing with such encampments had changed in June 2022 to give the police more powers to remove such camps. The police had not been as forthcoming with assistance as the residents of Ulleskelf would have liked. As a result, the Executive Member had spoken to the police Superintendent for the area to emphasise the importance of the police acting when required. It was hoped that this would remedy any issues or delays in the future.

RESOLVED:

                        To receive and note the reports of the Executive.