Agenda and minutes

Mrs Norma Redfearn, Elected Mayor, welcomed everyone to this meeting of North Tyneside Council’s Cabinet which was the fifth virtual Cabinet meeting held by the Authority following the recent introduction of regulations by the Government enabling local authorities to conduct their meetings remotely in the light of the current Coronavirus pandemic.

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

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

Please indicate any declarations of interests and/or dispensations verbally at the meeting to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

No declarations of interest were reported.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2020 (previously circulated).

Resolved that the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 September 2020 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

To receive a verbal report on the latest activities of the Young Mayor and Young Cabinet.

The Young Mayor reported on the following activities in which she and Young Cabinet Members and/or Youth Councillors had been involved:

·         The Young Mayor had been invited to be part of the Young People’s Wellbeing Partnership Board. She had met the partners including Council and Voluntary Sector staff and learned about the plans for supporting young people’s mental health and the partnership with Barnardo’s.

·         The young people’s mental health wristbands and Z Cards which had been distributed to schools and colleges in the borough a few weeks ago had received positive feedback and was hoped it would make a big impact.

·         The Young Mayor had spent the week leading up to Mental Health Day on 10th October sharing positive messages on social media representatives from the SEND youth forum, children’s council and youth councillors showing others the types of positive activities they did to maintain good mental health.

·         The Young Mayor had been involved with the International Youth Mayor Association working on creating the website with another young mayor and providing an email link to enable young people to have their say about campaigns or to raise an issue.   

·         Youth Parliament Member, Abi, and the Young Mayor had begun a process of reviewing how young people had their say in North Tyneside supported by young councillors to fulfil their commitments and develop their pledges, in particular, looking at a lead person position to take responsibility for pieces of work to be agreed by the youth council on how they would move forward.

·         Abi and the Young Mayor had met with the Council’s Chief Executive, Paul Hanson, to thank him for his support, they were also keen to continue links between the Elected Mayor, Cabinet and the young cabinet.

·         Abi had been selected to be part of The Bank of England Youth Forum after competing with university students and graduates. She aimed to highlight the importance of financial education in schools and hoped to influence decision makers.

·         Abi and youth councillors had begun creating a film project to show how people could reduce, reuse and recycle unwanted clothing rather than putting in the recycling bin or rubbish bin, which on completion would be shared widely on social media as another way of encouraging residents to support their work around climate change.

·           Youth councillors had participated in various activities across October as part of Black History Month, including a webinar which included thebarrister Alexandra Wilson; young people had also been invited to be part of the Mayor’s BAME task group to look at the experiences of children and young people in North Tyneside.

·         Children in Care Council had developed packs donated by Make A Difference Luggage campaign for all children and young people who were in care. The group were involved in delivering Care4me, training newly qualified social workers to support staff working with children in care, also children in care in North Tyneside on what was important to them and how they had coped over the last 6 months.

·         Due  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB163/20

To seek approval for a new combined policy for environmental crime and anti-social behaviour which takes account of recent legislation.

Cabinet received a report seeking approval for a new combined Policy for Environmental Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) including all the new legislation.

Part 2 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 required social housing landlords to prepare and publish policies and procedures on anti-social behaviour that must be made available to the public. 

The Authority’s current ASB policy had been published in 2012 and was no longer fit for purpose.  Recent legislation changes, including the Policing Crime Act 2014, had changed the landscape in how the Authority tackled and prevented environmental crime and ASB. 

This Act introduced key changes such as the introduction of Closure powers, Community Protection Notices, Absolute ground for possession and the Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) which the Authority had adopted in October 2018, with the implementation of Fixed Penalty Tickets (FPN) for enforcement of the PSPOs.

Tackling ASB and wider crime in the borough was a key priority for the Authority. For the majority of residents Environmental Crime and ASB was not an issue. However, the Authority understood the importance of residents feeling safe in their homes and communities.

The Authority continued to work in partnership with key services represented on the Safer North Tyneside Partnership. This partnership was vital to the Authority’s commitment to address community and public safety, crime and disorder and environmental crime issues affecting its communities. Therefore, a combined policy represented this and ensured a consistent approach.

The Authority had reviewed the current ASB Policy and by combining the policy with environmental crime enforcement activity it provided a framework of the powers available to the Authority relating to environmental crime and ASB.  It ensured that any enforcement action was clear, concise, proportionate, consistent and targeted to ensure a responsive, effective and value-added service.

The new policy, if approved, would fit in with the ambitions of the Safer North Tyneside Plan and the wider strategy that ran until 2024.

The policy aimed to:

·         Outline North Tyneside Council’s approach to tackling ASB and how the Authority would manage cases and work with its residents and partners;

·         Inform residents of the borough about what to expect when environmental crime or ASB contraventions were found and where resources would be targeted; and

·         Facilitate the development of sustainable communities where people wanted to live and feel safe.

The Elected Mayor welcomed the report and the Young Mayor’s comments that everyone in North Tyneside had a responsibility to look after the Borough.

Cabinet considered the following decision options:

Option 1 - to approve the Policy which will allow the combined service to work together, operating a consistent approach in order to maintain a clean, safe environment and strengthening the Authority’s approach to tackling crime within the borough of North Tyneside.

Option 2 - to reject the Policy and the service will revert to working from separate policies for both environmental crime issues and ASB issues.

Option 3 - to request further information prior to approval of the Environmental Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.

Resolved that the Environmental  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB164/20

To inform Cabinet of feedback following the recent consultation exercise and to seek approval for confirmation of renewal of the existing Article 4 Directions to manage planning rights in relation to land at Preston Park, Spanish Battery, New Quay, and Tynemouth.

Cabinet received a report seeking approval to renew the existing Article 4 Directions in relation to Preston Park, Spanish Battery, New Quay and Tynemouth Village following a consultation with residents and landowners for each of the four affected areas.

The four Article 4 Directions previously confirmed in North Tyneside had been implemented as part of the Authority’s duty to help preserve and enhance the character and appearance of conservation areas. The specific areas covered by the Article 4 Directions were set out in section 1.5.6 of the report.

As part of the Authority’s ongoing refresh of its planning framework, consideration had been given to the continued suitability and effectiveness of those Article 4 Directions.

The existing Article 4 Directions continued to be applied, but a review had identified that there was a risk of misinterpretation of their meaning or effect upon permitted development rights by residents and stakeholders. This was because the legislation attached to those Directions, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, had been superseded by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (“the GPDO”).

To respond to the potential risk identified, Cabinet had agreed on 29 June 2020 to undertake consultation on draft renewed Article 4 Directions, worded in accordance with the GPDO.

It was not proposed to amend the extent of the conservation areas affected by the existing Directions. The renewed Directions would, as with the previous Directions, remove permitted development rights afforded to dwelling houses in the affected areas and, in the case of Preston Park only, remove permitted development rights afforded to land. This would include the erection of extensions and porches, installation of hardstanding and alterations to roofs – all of which did not normally require planning permission.

The renewed Directions were proposed to be made under the GPDO and include the wording “as amended, revoked or re-enacted” to ensure the Directions would remain valid should there be any future changes to legislation. The draft Article 4 Directions were attached at Appendices 1 to 4 to the report.

In accordance with the relevant legislation, once a new Direction was confirmed the existing Direction was cancelled.

It was recommended that the Article 4 Directions were confirmed by Cabinet. Not undertaking this work would harm the Local Planning Authority’s ability to continue to preserve and enhance the conservation areas, and therefore fail in its statutory duties, as set out in section 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Details of the consultation process undertaken were set out in the report.

Prior to the consultation, an Engagement Plan had been shared with the relevant Ward Members for their input. Six residents had engaged in the consultation as set out in section 1.5.19 of the report.  No objections to the renewed Article 4 Directions had been received.

In accordance with the GPDO, Article 4 Directions could not be confirmed until at least 28 days after the end of the consultation. This would be 20 October 2020.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB165/20

To update Cabinet on the reductions in the Authority and Borough carbon footprints achieved since the declaration of a Climate Emergency and seek approval to a number of new policy proposals, developed by the Authority’s Climate Emergency Board, to support the delivery of the action plan and the work towards achieving the carbon reduction targets agreed by Cabinet in July 2019.

A report was received which updated Cabinet on the reductions in the Authority and Borough carbon footprints achieved since the declaration of a Climate Emergency, and seeking approval to a number of new policy proposals, developed by the Authority’s Climate Emergency Board, to support the delivery of the action plan and the work towards achieving the carbon reduction targets agreed by Cabinet in July 2019.

In July 2019 Council had declared a Climate Emergency, setting a target to reduce the carbon footprint of the Authority and the Borough by 50% by 2023 and to become carbon neutral by 2050. 

At the end of 2019/20, the Authority’s carbon footprint had decreased by 46% since thebaseline year of 2010/11. Given this current performance, it was likely that the Authority would achieve the 50% reduction target by the 2023 target date. It was noted that the carbon footprint data ran up to 31 March 2020 so only included one week of the COVID-19 “lockdown” period and therefore had no real impact on performance.

The Authority was clear in its commitment to tackling the Climate Emergency and had taken a number of steps since the previous report to Cabinet in 2019.  These were included in Section 1.5.2 of the report.

In November 2019 Cabinet had approved the establishment of a Climate Emergency Board which would shape an action plan to be presented to Cabinet in the summer of 2020; receive regular updates on a number of workstreams; consider and advise on key issues as they emerged; and oversee performance and budget management.

The action plan had been prepared in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of development, the true economic and societal costs of the pandemic for the UK and North Tyneside were not fully known.  Whilst the lockdown measures and economic damage caused would undoubtedly result in a short-term reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, it was possible that emissions could rebound if climate positive solutions were not included as central elements in recovery plans.

The Climate Emergency Board was reviewing, and would continue to review, appropriate funding packages from Government that aimed to decarbonise the economy and stimulate economic growth.

There were lessons to learn from the pandemic that could be applied to the climate emergency, perhaps the biggest being the population’s capacity and willingness to accept lifestyle changes for the wider benefit of society. Learning lessons from the response to a global health emergency and applying them to a global climate emergency could pave the way for the accelerated and sustained change that was critical in solving the problem of climate change. By embracing these lessons, the Borough may be able to enjoy long term sustainable carbon emission reductions from changes in behaviours, such as the increase in active travel, reduction in travel by private car, increased working from home practices and willingness to invest in domestic property improvements.

During the pandemic it had been evident how much residents had used and enjoyed the parks, beaches and open  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB166/20

To consider an annual information report outlining the highway and infrastructure work undertaken over the last 12 months, future planned work activities, and other items of relevant interest.

Cabinet received the North Tyneside Highway Asset Management Plan (HAMP) 2017-2032 Annual Information Report 2020 which summarised the work undertaken to demonstrate progress against delivery of performance of the Highway Management Plan during the past 12 months, future planned work activities and other items of relevant interest.

The Authority was responsible for an extensive highway network and feedback from residents had consistently told the Authority that the maintenance of roads and footpaths was a top priority.

In September 2017, Cabinet had adopted a new HAMP 2017 - 2032, setting out the Authority’s approach to maintaining North Tyneside’s highways and responding to the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s policy direction which included providing a greater emphasis on footways.  The HAMP included a commitment to provide Cabinet with an annual information report outlining progress and key issues associated with the maintenance of the Authority’s public highway network.   

Currently the highway maintenance activities delivered through the HAMP were funded through a number of funding streams.  Capital work was funded by the annual Local Transport Plan Maintenance Block and in recent years additional funding had been invested through the Authority’s Investment Plan.

The HAMP Annual Information Report 2020 would be used as the basis for ongoing consideration around the challenges of maintaining the highway network. The report was aimed at supporting those considerations so that any decisions about potential changes in highway maintenance priorities and resources could be made in an informed manner.

The key highlights from the annual report were as follows:

•      The highway network was the most valuable asset in the Authority’s ownership. 

•      The current total value of highway assets was £1,895,000,000 (£1.895 billion).

•      The successful implementation of the HAMP policy and investment strategy was demonstrating that the ongoing application of highway asset management principles by the Authority was gradually improving the condition of the road network. 

•      The continued additional capital investment being funded directly by the Authority in highway maintenance was gradually improving the overall condition of the network in line with HAMP principles, as illustrated by the current “Road Condition Indicator” calculation results set out in the Information Report. 

•      The Technical Services Partnership had introduced new technology to measure silt levels in gully pots which would inform a new risk-based approach to gully cleansing.  The second cycle of cleansing and data gathering had been completed with data available on over 44,000 road gullies in North Tyneside.  The new gully cleansing regime had been rolled out in the summer of 2020 and gullies were now cleaned as needed rather than routinely visited.  This ensured better use of resources.

•      The Technical Services Partnership continued to achieve and exceed its KPI targets and through its Annual Service Plan was identifying innovative ways of working, service improvements and efficiencies.

•      How the Authority spent its allocated funding needed to be carefully balanced across the Authority’s highway network.

•      Continued customer engagement was providing better intelligence on the public’s priorities for the Authority’s highway maintenance efforts. These included continuing the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB167/20

This is to give further notice in accordance with paragraphs 5(4) and 5(5) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 of the intention to consider item 10 below in private.

Cabinet is requested to consider passing the following resolution:

Resolved that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and having applied a public interest test as defined in Part 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Reasons for taking the item in private: The report contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information).

Resolved that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and having applied a public interest test as defined in Part 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

To seek approval for the Final Business Case prepared by Aurora Sales to develop a further site in North Tyneside that will support the ongoing regeneration aims of the Authority in relation to the site at Unicorn House in North Shields town centre.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the Final Business Case prepared by Aurora Sales to develop a further site in North Tyneside that would support the ongoing regeneration aims of the Authority. If approved, the site at Unicorn House in North Shields town centre would see Aurora Sales develop 28 homes on the site for market sale.

The Scheme would directly contribute towards the Authority’s priorities within the ‘Our North Tyneside’ Council Plan to create great places to live and provide more quality housing. It would also play an important role in delivering the aims of the ‘Ambition for North Shields and the Fish Quay’ masterplan that had been launched for public consultation in August 2020.

The Final Business Case demonstrated that the scheme would be financially viable for Aurora Sales and would provide high quality homes as well as providing a potential financial return to the Authority.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to accept the recommendations as set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report, or alternatively, to not approve the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) the Unicorn House site be declared surplus to the Authority’s asset requirements and Officers be authorised to procure the demolition of the existing buildings, clearance and remediation of the site and deal with all ancillary matters to ensure the site is suitable for development;

(2) the sale of the Unicorn House site to Aurora Sales to reflect the Final Business Case attached to the report as Appendix 2, be approved;

(3) the Head of Commissioning and Asset Management, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, the Head of Law and Governance and Head of Resources, be authorised to agree minor modifications to the Final Business Case provided it remains within the financial envelope as set out in the report;

(4) the Authority shall provide all necessary support to Aurora Sales, in the acquisition and development of the site by way of finance, both debt and equity funding, in the most efficient manner, complying at all times with State Aid Regulations, all other relevant legal requirements and the Authority’s Constitution and Financial Regulations provided there are no additional financial implications for it which cannot be contained within existing budgets, on such appropriate terms as approved by the Head of Resources in consultation with the Head of Law and Governance;

(5) the Head of Commissioning and Asset Management, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, the Head of Resources and Head of Law and Governance, be authorised to complete negotiations for the sale of the site to Aurora Sales and to agree the final terms of disposal of the site by private treaty, in accordance with all relevant legal requirements, the Authority’s Constitution and Financial Regulations; and

(6) the Head of Commissioning and Asset Management be authorised to deal with all ancillary matters arising that are consistent with the preceding resolutions.

(Reasons for decision: it will support the Mayoral aim and priority as outlined in the Our North Tyneside Plan 2020 -2024 that Our Places will  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB169/20

Monday 30 November 2020 at 6.00pm.

6.00pm on Monday 30 November 2020.