Agenda and minutes

No valid questions were received from members of the public for this meeting.

There were no valid questions received from Members of the Public for this meeting.

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.

Declarations of interest were reported as follows:

Councillor K Clark – item 5 – Motion 3 - non-registerable personal interest as her son worked for Northumbria Police Constabulary

Resolved that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 26 November 2020 be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Three valid Motions on Notice, signed by at least three Members of the Council, have been received for consideration at this meeting.

It was moved by Councillor S Brockbank and seconded by Councillor L Bartoli that:

In advance of the Mayor presenting her budget at the next meeting of Council, North Tyneside Council asks:

The Mayor to note: 

• Council currently holds over £66.9 million in reserves;
• Incomes of hardworking families in North Tyneside have been squeezed through this pandemic;
• North Tyneside Council has already been allocated an extra £8,260,000 for the coming financial year;
• Under this administration, Council Tax has increased by a whopping 24.4% since Mayor Redfearn’s election as Mayor, leaving hardworking families hundreds of pounds per year worse off;
• Labour Leader, Kier Starmer, has called the proposed increase in Council Tax this year “absurd” given the current economic climate.  

The Mayor to commit to:

• Freezing Council Tax for the coming financial year, taking into account the hardship that working families have experienced;
• Delivering a budget which will see significant investment in our coastal communities and businesses which have been hit hardest by the pandemic;
• Putting any increase in Council Tax to a public referendum to give residents the chance to have their say on further hikes;
• Considering further ways that those hardest hit by the pandemic can be supported to cover Council Tax contributions. 

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was defeated by 45 votes to 5 votes.

It was moved by Councillor S Brockbank and seconded by Councillor P McIntyre that:

Across many areas of North Tyneside, residents are concerned about the impact of flooding. In Monkseaton, for example, there are real worries expressed by the local community about alarming rises in water saturation on the fields adjacent to the Briar Vale locality and Langley Playing Fields; an area which will be heavily involved in the development of the Local Plan. 

It was most welcome that Officers responded to Cllr. Brockbank’s urgent enquiries on behalf of residents to offer some re-assurance, yet communities in our Borough will be rightly curious about what the Mayor and Council have in place to mitigate against extraordinary weather events in the years ahead. For some residents, it would appear that sandbags deposited in emergency situations along property boundaries, are not a planned response rather a stop-gap to plaster over a larger and more endemic issue. 

Council calls upon the Elected Mayor and cabinet to review the flood response protocols, in light of weather anomalies, and in response to the proposed 3,000 extra houses proposed in coastal wards.

We also request the relevant cabinet member presents a detailed plan to the next meeting of Council on provisions to prevent a repeat of the severe flooding in Monkseaton - especially in light of the proposed Local Plan development. 

An amendment was moved by Councillor W Samuel and seconded by Councillor D Drummond as follows:

Delete after

"Across many areas of North Tyneside, residents are concerned about the impact of flooding. In Monkseaton, for example, there are real worries expressed by the local community about alarming rises in water saturation on the fields adjacent to the Briar Vale locality and Langley Playing Fields."

and replace with

‘’Council requests that the Cabinet continues its efforts to alleviate flooding risks across the borough by working with the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water to manage surface water and promote schemes to manage risks given the increase in extreme weather events.

In Monkseaton, the constant efforts of council officers, supported by former Councillor Grayson and current Councillors Drummond and Craven have seen the delivery of flood alleviation schemes costing £1.5m which have reduced instance of flooding substantially. This remains work in progress and further work is planned to reduce the decades long problem of excess water in the Briar Vale and Langley Fields area.

Council calls upon the Mayor to ask officers to mount an information exercise for Members and residents on work carried out to date and planned future improvements.’’

The amendment, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 46 votes to 5 votes.

The motion, as amended, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 45 votes to 0 votes.

It was moved by Councillor L Bartoli and seconded by Councillor K Barrie that:

Crime and anti-social behaviour have been on the rise in the aftermath of lockdown, Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner has herself admitted that antisocial behaviour in particular is on the rise. Figures show that between April and June last year there was a 101% increase in reports made to Northumbria Police, in comparison to the same period in 2019.

Anti-social behaviour has been a huge problem for our coastal communities, in June 2020 Northumbria Police stepped up patrols in a bid to clamp down on troublemakers following a weekend of anti-social behaviour and litter on North Tyneside's beaches. The Christmas period again saw problems with litter and antisocial behaviour caused by our coastal villages becoming destination spots for groups of drinkers who also flouted our Covid-19 restrictions. With national restrictions now re-imposed this council is concerned that this will be repeated once the latest lockdowns are relaxed without a clear plan to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. 

We therefore ask the mayor to write to the Police and Crime Commissioner and request more support for our coastal communities as we move out of these national restrictions and to work constructively with all parties to put in place a clear plan to tackle anti-social behaviour along our coastline.

An amendment was moved by Councillor C Johnson and seconded by Councillor J Kirwin as follows:

Delete after

“Crime and anti-social behaviour have been on the rise in the aftermath of lockdown, Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner has herself admitted that antisocial behaviour in particular is on the rise.”

And replace with: 

‘’Funding cuts from the Government since 2010 have led to over 1000 officers being cut from the Northumbria police force. North Tyneside Council have invested into tackling anti-social behaviour in our communities with the introduction of a specialist team and officers. 

North Tyneside Council has a positive working relationship with various partners including Northumbria Police, Nexus. With funding from Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness the partnership managed to reduce Anti-social behaviour in North Tyneside by 40% in the period of April 2019-2020.

Council therefore asks the Mayor to:

•           Note that North Tyneside Council has a clear plan to tackle anti-social behaviour, despite the Council having had over £100 million cut from its budget by the government; 

•           Write to the police and crime commissioner to thank her for the funding which allowed us to turn Wallsend Customer First Centre (CFC) into a base for local council, police, youth workers, and community protection officers; and

•           Write to the government to ask them to increase ring fenced funding to allow Northumbria Police and the Council's community protection team to continue to tackle anti-social behaviour in all communities in the Borough, replacing the money they cut in the last decade.’’

The amendment, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 41 votes to 6 votes.

The motion, as amended, on being put to the meeting,  ...  view the full minutes text for item C89/20

To consider a draft programme of Council and committee meetings for the 2021/22 municipal year.

Council received a report seeking approval to a programme of Council and committee meetings for the 2021/22 municipal year and to determine which Council meetings would be designated for public questions.

It was moved by Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn and seconded by Councillor B Pickard that:

Council:

(1)  agree the programme of meetings for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix A to the report; and

(2)  agree that the meetings of full Council proposed for 22 July 2021, 25 November 2021 and 20 January 2022 be those at which questions will be taken from members of the public.

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was unanimously approved.

Council received a report seeking approval to appoint a Chair of the Culture and Leisure Sub Committee for the remainder of the 2020/21 municipal year.

The Chair of Council had agreed to the report being considered as a matter of urgency at this meeting to enable a Chair of the Sub Committee to be appointed at the earliest opportunity.

It was moved by the Elected Mayor N Redfearn and seconded by Councillor B Pickard that:

Councillor Steven Phillips be appointed as Chair of the Culture and Leisure Sub-Committee for the remainder of the 2020/21 Municipal Year, with effect from 22 January 2021.

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 41 votes to 0 votes.

To receive any announcements by the Chair of Council.

The Chair informed Council that she had decided to donate the money that would normally have been spent on Civic Christmas cards to the Bay Food Bank.

She announced that Holocaust Memorial would be launched on Monday 25 January 2021 at the Lighthouse. The virtual Memorial Day event would take place via YouTube on 29 January 2021 at 10am.

The Chair informed Council of the winners of the Whitley Bay Town Cup for 2020. The winners were SPARCS (Support for Parents/families living with Autism and other Related Conditions) in recognition of the fantastic support that the organisation provides to families and how this had been adapted throughout the pandemic and the additional support provided through the supply of food parcels during lockdown to SPARCS families in need.

The Chair would be writing the winners and all nominees to congratulate them, and arrangements would be made to publicise the worthy winners.

To receive any announcements by the Elected Mayor.

The Elected Mayor wished everyone a Happy New Year.

She expressed her gratitude to the Council staff who had continued to deliver  essential services to the vulnerable and young people and she praised the contribution of volunteers.

She stated that as the Elected Mayor she was proud of the manner that residents had coped through the pandemic.

She expressed her disappointment that the 3 Motions put before the Council meeting centred around a distinct number of people within the Borough and stated that the Council was there to support all communities in the Borough. She added that the pandemic had demonstrated the need for all the community to come and work together.

She ended her announcement by stating that the only way to come through the pandemic was to continue to follow the rules, work together and support those less fortunate.

No valid questions were received from Members of the Council for this meeting.

There were no valid questions received from Members for this meeting.