Agenda and minutes

Venue: Chamber - Quadrant, The Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY. View directions

Contact: Paul Wheeler  Email: democraticsupport@northtyneside.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

C63/22

Public Questions pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Seven valid question has been received from a member of the public for this meeting.

 

Minutes:

1. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Turner of Wallsend

Please can I ask why there seems to be less investment in Wallsend aimed at footfall increase.

There has been a mention of artwork relating to Segedunum & new shop fronts for those that have aged.

But primarily there already is not enough footfall in and around Wallsend it’s merely became like ghost town.

Yet I know personally when we have arranged events or I have been part of events in Wallsend that people come out in great numbers.

So surely some of the allocated finance needs to be aimed more at holding more events ie a music concert in Wallsend park would be an ideal event which can be done with relative ease I’m sure or maybe something similar at Segedunum fort.

Please can we find a way to hold discussions with someone who may be able to make such ideas a reality and in turn bring Wallsend back to life.

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

The Our North Tyneside Plan sets out our bold and ambitious plans to make North Tyneside an even greater place to live, work and visit by 2025. As part of this plan Wallsend has been identified as a place for investment as a result of a key component of our ambition and regeneration strategy. To date the Council has worked alongside partners to look at facilities to bring back vacant buildings into use to increase footfall into the town centre.

Hadrian Health Centre has been developed alongside the NHS and the department is now open. The Customer First Centre located on the high street provides a library facility, the Spirit of North Tyneside wing and a home for VODA.

Private sector contributions have delivered an Aldi, Wetherspoons and Burger King, the conversion of 11 derelict properties in Charlotte Street into new homes. TEDCO now occupies space in the Town Hall and provides a drop in venue for startup businesses and social enterprises’ looking for guidance.

In addition, the Council organised an number of exciting events to drive footfall in the town to increase dwell time and attract new and repeat visitors.

In 2022, Wallsend CFC hosted the premiere of The World of Peter Storytime Trail which ran for 5 weeks and attracted nearly 4,000 visitors.

 

Families flocked to the Under the Stars event in Richardson Dees Park in February to see a beautiful fire installation, evocative soundtrack and the appearance of a larger-than-life mythical being made of stars.

 

In June, Wallsend was chosen to host a beacon lighting ceremony to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, attracting large crowds.

 

A visit from Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas to the Forum in December kicked off the festive season which also saw Christmas lights along the High Street.

 

New technology is being embraced to encourage people to explore the town and its attractions. The Roaming Romans Augmented Reality trail app was launched at the end of 2022 and has been  ...  view the full minutes text for item C63/22

C64/22

Minute Silence

Minutes:

A minutes silence was held in memory of former Councillor Keith Smiles who was a Councillor for Cullercoats Ward from 1995-1999.

C65/22

Announcement from the Chair regarding the Elected Mayor

Minutes:

The Chair invited members to join her in congratulating the Elected Mayor on being awarded a Damehood in this year’s New Year’s Honour List in recognition of her work in Political and Public Service.

C66/22

To receive any Declarations of Interest

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.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

C67/22

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2022 pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 24 November 2022 be taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chair.

C68/22

Motion 1 pdf icon PDF 73 KB

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

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor L Bartoli and seconded by Councillor L Bones that:

 

Recording of Cabinet and Council Committees

 

Since the introduction of the recording and publication of Full Council meetings there has been an increased level of scrutiny and accountability. As more residents are able to see discussions for themselves, political debate within the borough has been enriched.

 

North Tyneside Council would like to further increase levels of transparency and accountability and therefore asks the Mayor and Council to:

 

1. Commit to the recording and publishing online of all Cabinet meetings and Council committee meetings, before the start of the new municipal year in May 2023, subject to the Members attending those meetings not passing a resolution to exclude the public from such meetings.

 

2. Invite the Monitoring Officer to advise Members on any copyright issues that might arise from all recordings of public meetings being made available to Members, the public and the press in relation to the sharing of extracts from Cabinet or Council Meetings on Social Media and anywhere else.

 

An amendment was moved by Councillor C Johnson and seconded by Councillor W Samuel as follows:

 

In paragraph 1, to add the following after Council Committee Meetings: ‘when the new technology which the council is in the process of installing is up and running and fully tested which is due to be May 2023’, and remove ‘before the start of the new municipal year in May 2023’.

 

To add the following sentence to the end of paragraph 2: Furthermore, invite the monitoring officer to advise of any legal or standards issues which may arise from sharing edited clip or taking clips out of context while sharing them.’

 

The amended motion therefore read:

 

Recording of Cabinet and Council Committees

 

Since the introduction of the recording and publication of Full Council meetings there has been an increased level of scrutiny and accountability. As more residents are able to see discussions for themselves, political debate within the borough has been enriched.

 

North Tyneside Council would like to further increase levels of transparency and accountability and therefore asks the Mayor and Council to:

 

1. Commit to the recording and publishing online of all Cabinet meetings and Council committee meetings when the new technology which the council is in the process of installing is up and running and fully tested which is due to be May 2023, subject to the Members attending those meetings not passing a resolution to exclude the public from such meetings.

 

2. Invite the Monitoring Officer to advise Members on any copyright issues that might arise from all recordings of public meetings being made available to Members, the public and the press in relation to the sharing of extracts from Cabinet or Council Meetings on Social Media and anywhere else.  Furthermore, invite the monitoring officer to advise of any legal or standards issues which may arise from sharing edited clip or taking clips out of context while sharing them. 

 

The amendment, on  ...  view the full minutes text for item C68/22

C69/22

Motion 2

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor M Thirlaway and seconded by Councillor G Bell that:

 

Ukraine

 

North Tyneside Council notes that Friday 24th February 2023 marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We reiterate our absolute support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. The resulting conflict has had a devastating impact on Ukraine, and we will continue to support all Ukrainian refugees here in North Tyneside.  

 

We ask the Elected Mayor to:

 

1.           Write to the Ukrainian Ambassador in the UK, reiterating North Tyneside Council’s support and solidarity, and respect for his nation’s sovereignty and freedom. 

 

2.           Commit to continue supporting all Ukrainian refugees here in North Tyneside for as long as necessary. 

 

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

C70/22

Motion 3

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor C Davis and seconded by Councillor M Fox that:

 

“We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and a crisis in our NHS made by the Conservatives Government. 

 

Council believes all primary school children should get free school meals in response to the rising cost-of-living pressures on families and our shared ambitions of tackling child poverty and ensuring no child goes hungry in school.

 

Council believes in addition to rising food, fuel and housing costs, childcare costs are increasingly forcing growing numbers of parents out of work and see more children missing out on additional learning, and enriching activities as well as some pupils going hungry at school due to not receiving breakfasts at home, there is a well-established link between adequate food and educational attainment in schools.

 

Council notes that the Councils Equally Well strategy which works with partners across the borough to improve health and education outcomes recently led to the council adopting the Healthy Weight Declaration.

 

Up to 500 people a week are dying unnecessarily due to delays in receiving emergency treatment according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

Council calls upon the Mayor to write to the Prime Minister calling on him to;

 

·       Implement Universal Free School meals for all Primary School children

·       Make all recipients of Universal Credit eligible to receive free school meals

·       Implement Labour’s plan for every child to be offered a free place at breakfast clubs.

·       Urgently ask the Health Secretary to set out a plan to bring down NHS waiting lists and A&E wait times immediately.”

 

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was approved by 48 votes to 9.

C71/22

Motion 4

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor L Bones and seconded by Councillor L Bartoli that:

 

EV on street charging

 

Electric vehicles are one of the best ways that households can reduce their emissions. Across the country, many people are making the swap to EV - with over 30% of all new car sales being battery powered electric vehicles.  However, for many people across North Tyneside without access to off street parking, owning an electric vehicle with the ability to charge it at home is just a pipe dream.

 

North Tyneside Council believes that finding a sustainable solution to the issue of on-street EV charging is significant in our borough’s journey to net zero.

 

North Tyneside Council notes the scheme which has been set up in Oxford (gul-e) gives residents the opportunity to have gullies installed on the pavement - allowing charging cables to run safely from the property to the roadside without causing a trip hazard.

 

North Tyneside Council asks the Mayor to set up a cross-party working group to look at establishing a similar scheme in North Tyneside, particularly looking to reflect the dropped curb scheme (which includes a one-off charge for residents allowing them to have a gully installed). The group should produce a report to be presented to Full Council before the end of 2023 with plans to begin offering this to residents in early 2024.

 

An amendment was moved by Councillor S Graham and seconded by Councillor C Johnson that:

 

Paragraph 4 be amended to:

-        delete ‘at establishing a similar scheme in North Tyneside’, and replace with ‘holistically at all options available to improve EV provision in North Tyneside’;

-        to delete ‘which includes a one of charge for residents allowing them to have a gully installed’; and

-        to delete ‘with plans to begin offering this to residents in early 2024’ and replace with ‘setting out a plan to submit to Cabinet’.

 

The amended motion therefore read:

 

EV on street charging

 

Electric vehicles are one of the best ways that households can reduce their emissions. Across the country, many people are making the swap to EV - with over 30% of all new car sales being battery powered electric vehicles. However, for many people across North Tyneside without access to off street parking, owning an electric vehicle with the ability to charge it at home is just a pipe dream.

 

North Tyneside Council believes that finding a sustainable solution to the issue of on-street EV charging is significant in our borough’s journey to net zero.

 

North Tyneside Council notes the scheme which has been set up in Oxford (gul-e) gives residents the opportunity to have gullies installed on the pavement - allowing charging cables to run safely from the property to the roadside without causing a trip hazard.

 

North Tyneside Council asks the Mayor to set up a cross-party working group to look holistically at all options available to improve EV provision in North Tyneside, particularly looking to reflect the dropped curb scheme. The group  ...  view the full minutes text for item C71/22

C72/22

Motion 5

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor O Scargill and seconded by Councillor C Johnston that:

 

‘Litter and dog mess in North Tyneside has got to an unacceptable level after years of neglect by North Tyneside’s Labour-run Council. Not only does this ruin how our area looks, but it also poses health and hygiene risks.

 

Council notes that litter and dog mess has got to an unacceptable standard in North Tyneside.

 

Council believes new public bins need to be sited across the borough, with many existing public bins needing emptying more often.

 

Council asks the Mayor to:

 

·       Set up an all party group to establish which bins need emptied more often, where new bins should be sited, which areas are particularly bad for dog mess and what can be done about it

·       Set a target for 100 new bins across the borough before the summer, when littering is at its worst

·       Introduce a refreshed public awareness campaign about dog mess within North Tyneside

·       Increase the number of staff able to issue dog fouling Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs).’

 

A recorded vote on the Motion, was requested by two Members present.

 

Votes for the Motion:

Councillors L Arkley, K Barrie, L Bartoli, L Bones, C Johnston, P McIntyre, O Scargill, J Wallace and G Westwater.

 

Votes against the Motion:

Dame N Redfearn, Elected Mayor and Councillors G Bell, L Bell, B Burdis, C Burdis, K Clark, D Cox, N Craven, J Cruddas, E Darke, C Davis, S Day, D Drummond, P Earley, L Ferasin, S Graham, M Hall, T Hallway, John Hunter, V Jamieson, C Johnson, H Johnson, J Kirwin, F Lott, W Lott, G Madden, L Marshall, A McMullen, J Montague, J Mudzingwa, T Mulvenna, M Murphy, T Neira, A Newman, P Oliver, R O’Keefe, E Parker-Leonard, J O’Shea, N Percy, S Phillips, B Pickard, M Rankin, W Samuel, J Shaw, M Thirlaway, J Walker and M Wilson.

 

Abstentions:

Councillor M Fox

 

The motion, on being put to the meeting, was rejected by 47 votes to 9 votes with 1 abstention.

C73/22

Urgent Motion 6

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor C Johnson and seconded by Councillor H Johnson that:

 

‘The Conservative Government have refused to back two high-quality £20 Million levelling up bids for North Shields and Wallsend which would have enabled further regeneration of each town and secured the historic cross Tyne ferry's future. The Tories have let our area down while giving £19 Million to Rishi Sunak's leafy Richmond constituency.

 

Council believes The Conservative Government made us bid with one hand tied behind our back by capping our bid score at 80% deeming us not a priority while the Prime Ministers own constituency and many marginal seats with Conservative MPs are deemed a priority.

 

Council calls upon the Mayor to write to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask them to:

 

·       Urgently review the decision to not award the funding to North Shields and Wallsend.

 

·       Urgently commit to a review of the allocation criteria to Levelling up funds to ensure funds get to where they are needed.

 

·       Immediately place North Tyneside into the priority 1 category ahead of any future rounds of levelling up funding as opposed to the current second rate priority so our bid score is not capped at 80%.’

 

An amendment was moved by Councillor L Bartoli and seconded by Councillor L Bones as follows:

 

To remove paragraphs 1 and 2 and replace with ‘North Tyneside has unfortunately lost out in the Government’s Levelling up fund round two allocations which included two £20 Million leveling up bids for North Shields and Wallsend. These would have enabled further regeneration of each town and secured the historic cross Tyne ferry's future.

 

The amended motion therefore read:

 

North Tyneside has unfortunately lost out in the Government’s Levelling up fund round two allocations which included two £20 Million leveling up bids for North Shields and Wallsend. These would have enabled further regeneration of each town and secured the historic cross Tyne ferry's future.

 

Council calls upon the Mayor to write to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask them to:

 

·       Urgently review the decision to not award the funding to North Shields and Wallsend.

 

·       Urgently commit to a review of the allocation criteria to Levelling up funds to ensure funds get to where they are needed.

 

·       Immediately place North Tyneside into the priority 1 category ahead of any future rounds of levelling up funding as opposed to the current second rate priority so our bid score is not capped at 80%.

 

The amendment, on being put to the meeting was rejected by 47 votes to 9 votes.

 

A recorded vote on the substantive Motion, was requested by two Members present.

 

Votes for the Motion,

Dame N Redfearn, Elected Mayor and Councillors G Bell, L Bell, B Burdis, C Burdis, K Clark, D Cox, N Craven, J Cruddas, E Darke, C Davis, S Day, D Drummond, P Earley, L Ferasin, M Fox, S Graham, M Hall, T Hallway, John  ...  view the full minutes text for item C73/22

C74/22

Timetable of Meetings 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 133 KB

To consider a draft programme of Council and committee meetings for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council received a report which set out a draft programme of Council and committee meetings for the 2023/24 municipal year. 

 

It was moved by the Elected Mayor and seconded by Councillor C Johnson that:

 

·       Council agree the programme of meetings for 2023/24 set out in Appendix A of the report.

 

·       Council agree that the meetings of the full Council proposed for 20 July 2023, 23 November 2023 and 18 January 2024 be those at which questions will be taken from members of the public.

 

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

C75/22

Chair's Announcements

To receive any announcements by the Chair of Council.

 

Minutes:

The Chair of Council made the following announcement:

 

To remind members that they are invited to the Holocaust Memorial event that will be taking place next Friday 27 January.

C76/22

Elected Mayor's Announcements

To receive any announcements by the Elected Mayor.

 

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

C77/22

Questions by Members of the Council pdf icon PDF 47 KB

One valid questions on notice have been received for a response at this meeting.

 

Minutes:

1.     Question to the Elected Mayor by Councillor L Bones

 

In December 2021, councillors were given advice that it was safe to resume face to face ward surgeries. From experience, we all know just how effective these sessions can be to hearing the views of the residents we are here to serve. Despite this guidance, the Mayor has yet to hold a single surgery or ‘Mayor listens’ event since the pandemic. When will the Mayor resume these crucial events?

 

The Elected mayor responded as follow:

 

Thank you for your question Councillor Bones.

 

I am delighted to be able to engage with many of our residents each month in many different ways, not just through the Listens Events.  Residents can make direct contact with me via the phone, email, letter or by talking to me when I am out and about at various locations across the borough or at the broad range of different events I attend. 

 

I am sure that you will agree that the one thing that the pandemic has allowed us all is an opportunity to look at the way in which we deliver services and make adjustments that better meet the needs of our residents.  That has included how best to engage with our residents.

 

 

When I first started the listening events when campaigning for the first Mayoral elections and some residents commented that we engaged only at election time, that they were never listened too and that some councillors were unapproachable.

 

So when first elected as Mayor I decided to have Listening Events and although the Listen’s Event initially attracted high numbers the most recent at the Killingworth Centre on 11 January 2020 had only 11 residents. Prior to this event at the Beacon Centre, North Shields on 9 November 2019 prior I spoke to 6 residents with 3 with the same concern. 

 

This compares to over 1,400 enquiries made directly to me in 2020,1,140 in 2021 and 1,300 in 2022.

 

As Members will be aware I attend many many different events during the year which provide an excellent way for hundreds of residents to speak to me directly – this includes the recent Spirit of North Tyneside celebration event, the very successful North Tyneside Together event in the summer last year as well of course as the State of the Area Event which you also attended. I also meet regularly with different organisations such as the Business Forum, Community Groups right across the borough.

 

I hope that this assures Councillor Bones that our residents can and do contact me about any matter that they consider important to them in this borough. 

I have found over the last few years that the best way to make contact with your residents and meet them face to face is to introduce street surgeries and discuss what’s concerning the residents and get lots of queries that I can deal with very quickly.

 

So of course I will keep this under review and if I feel that it would  ...  view the full minutes text for item C77/22