Agenda and minutes

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensation from the requirement to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations reported..

Resolved that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 25 July 2019 be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To receive the 2018/19 Annual Audit Letter from the Authority’s appointed auditors, Ernst Young.

Council received the 2018/19 Annual Audit Letter from the Authority’s appointed auditors Ernst Young. The full Letter, covering the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, was attached as Appendix A to the report.

Councillor R Glindon welcomed Mr Stuart Kenny, Ernst Young to the meeting, who presented the Annual Audit Letter.

The Letter covered:

•           The overall conclusion in respect of the Authority’s Financial Statements which included the annual governance statement;

•           The assessment of arrangements to achieve value for money in the Authority’s use of resources;

•           Future challenges facing the Authority; and

•           Fees payable to Ernst Young for 2018/19.

Ernst Young had issued an unqualified opinion on the Authority’s accounts for 2018/19 and an unqualified Value for Money conclusion.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources thanked Ernst Young for their work.

It was moved by Councillor R Glindon and seconded by Councillor A McMullen that:

Council notes the contents of the Annual Audit Letter.

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 53 votes to 0 votes.

To consider the results of the Review of Polling Places and Polling Districts.

Council received the results of the review of polling places and polling districts.

The review met the requirement to be undertaken between October 2018 and January 2020. The report set out the Returning Officer’s final proposals for polling districts and polling places as a result of the review and in the light of the responses received during the review process.

Council was required to formally consider the results of the Statutory Review of Polling Places and Polling Districts and to publish its findings by 31 January 2020.

In moving the report, Councillor B Pickard stated that further consideration needed to be given to polling places and polling districts in Camperdown Ward and proposed that this be undertaken through consultation with the Ward Members.

It was moved by Councillor B Pickard and seconded by Councillor C Burdis that:

(1)       the outcome of the Statutory Review of Polling Places and Polling Districts be noted;

(2)       the Returning Officer’s proposals, as modified by the proposed change following the receipt of representations in relation to Riverside Ward, as set out in Appendix 1, be approved subject to (3) below;

(3)       the Returning Officer, in consultation with the Camperdown Ward Councillors, be authorised to determine any changes to polling places and polling districts within Camperdown Ward as part of the review; and

(4)       the Returning Officer be authorised to publish the Review of Polling Places and Polling Districts as agreed by Council and following the outcome of further consultation in respect of Camperdown Ward as referred to in (3) above, at Quadrant, The Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, NE27 0BY, in at least one place within the constituencies and on its website.

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 53 votes to 0 votes.

To agree the Common Seal being affixed to all deeds and documents required for carrying into effect the various decisions of the Council made since its last meeting.

Resolved that the Common Seal be affixed to all deeds and documents required for carrying into effect the various decisions of the Council made since its last meeting.

To receive any announcements by the Chair of Council.

The Chair informed Council that she would be hosting a Charity Ball at the Village Hotel on 15 February 2020 for the North East Air Ambulance Service and Operation Veteran charities and tickets would be available in the near future.

To receive any announcements by the Elected Mayor.

The Mayor thanked all those people who had taken part in various charity events over the Summer, including those who had joined her in the recent Stride out to the Lighthouse Walk on 31 August 2019 that had raised more than £800 for the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade.

The Mayor also thanked those who had supported the Charity Dinner at Spanish City on Friday 20 September 2019. 

The Mayor congratulated Councillor Gary Bell and Laura Potter, Armed Forces Officer

on being awarded an Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award by the Ministry of Defence in recognition of the outstanding support provided to the Armed Forces community.

The Mayor informed Council that in the last 5 years, 6,415 jobs had been created in North Tyneside, with an additional 1,500 jobs coming when Sage relocated its operations to the Cobalt Business Park. 

The Mayor referred to the many events that had taken place in the Borough over the Summer, including many cycling events which had ended with the Tour of Britain coming through the Borough.

The Summer had also seen the introduction of the new programme of Picnics in the Park, where films had been shown on a large screen in the parks, and over 3,000 families had enjoyed watching family films whilst having a picnic.

The Mayor finally paid tribute to the staff who worked within Adult and Children’s Social Care, stating that staff working in this arena, often in very difficult circumstances, were often overlooked for the tremendous work they did.

One valid question on notice has been received from Members of the Council for a response at this meeting.

1.         Question to the Elected Mayor by Councillor K Barrie

Can the Mayor tell me what the current quality of water levels are within Cullercoats Harbour?

Councillor C Johnson responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows;

Northumbrian Water are responsible for the quality of bathing water within the Cullercoats Harbour area.

Water quality results are announced every Autumn by the Environment Agency and for 2018 this was poor.

To look at what poor water quality means in term of compliance by the Environment Agency, it is based on the previous 4 years of sample data taken by the Agency between May and September every year to assess the bathing water against strict regulations.

While almost all the samples at Cullercoats Bay indicate a healthy condition, a small number of spikes have led to the overall categorisation. 

I am surprised that Councillor Barrie has needed to ask this question in a meeting of full Council given that this information, relating to his own ward, is not only publicised on the Environment Agency’s website but was also discussed at length at his Ward briefing today, which he did not attend and it’s also referenced on beach signage at Cullercoats.

Councillor K Barrie asked the following supplementary question:

Can the Mayor confirm that swimmers were not advised to use the harbour due to possible risk in respect to the poor quality of the water, yet the paddle boarders were not restricted? 

Councillor C Johnson responded as follows;

The new rating will be announced very soon this year as to what poor water quality means and if you’ve see the signage in your Ward it tells you exactly what swimmers are advised and not advised to do.

But we know the coastline is a great part of North Tyneside and is a large part of our tourist offer and even though it’s Northumbrian Water’s responsibility, we have worked really hard with our partners and between us more than 500 hours and tens of thousands of pounds have been invested in finding a solution to the water quality in Cullercoats Bay.

A range of actions have already been undertaken to understand and resolve complex issues on privately-owned sites and public sites in the Ward, as well as in the Northumbrian Water network, including:

•           DNA analysis to identify sources of pollution

•           100 properties checked and 10 misconnected pipes repaired

•           3,000m of pipe inspected with cameras

•           150m of pipe coated with a special lining to prevent leaks

•           Suspected ‘pollution pathways’ inspected using a special dye

•           80 highways gullies checked for misconnections and pipework failures

•           Six soakaways / gullies sealed to prevent foul water entering the ground

•           Issues at private properties resolved

•           More than 200 water samples taken

Weekly water testing has been undertaken since May this year and the results will be announced very soon in November when we hope to see an improvement as a result of the actions taken - the actions taken not  ...  view the full minutes text for item C36/19