Venue: Meeting Space - Block 1, Floor 2 - County Hall. View directions
Contact: Heather Bowers
Note: Due to Covid restrictions only those who have registered and are actively participating will be allowed access to the meeting. Any member of the press or public may view the proceedings of this meeting live on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/NorthumberlandTV. Any public questions should be submitted in writing to Democraticservices@northumberland.gov.uk by the deadline of 12 noon the working day before the meeting.
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Daley, Ezhichelvan and Taylor.
Councillors Flux and Scott informed the Chair that they would need to leave the meeting early.
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Minutes of the meeting of the Cramlington, Bedlington & Seaton Valley Local Area Council held on 21 July 2021 as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair. Minutes: RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Local Area Council held on Wednesday, 21 July 2021, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.
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PUBLIC QUESTION TIME PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
To reply to any questions received from members of the public which have been submitted in writing in advance of the meeting. Questions can be asked about issues for which the Council has a responsibility. (Public question times take place on a bimonthly basis at Local Area Council meetings: in January, March, May, July, September and November each year.)
As agreed by the County Council in February 2012, the management of local public question times is at the discretion of the chair of the committee.
Please note however that a
question may possibly be rejected if it requires the disclosure of
any categories of confidential or exempt information, namely
information:
And/or: ? is defamatory, frivolous or offensive; ? it is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of this or another County Council committee in the past six months; ? the request repeats an identical or very similar question from the same person; ? the cost of providing an answer is disproportionate; ? it is being separately addressed through the Council's complaints process; ? it is not about a matter for which the Council has a responsibility or which affects the county; ? it relates to planning, licensing and/or other regulatory applications ? it is a question that town/parish councils would normally be expected to raise through other channels.
If the Chair is of the opinion that a question is one which for whatever reason, cannot properly be asked in an area meeting, he/she will disallow it and inform the resident of his/her decision.
Copies of any written answers (without individuals' personal contact details) will be provided for members after the meeting and also be publicly available.
Democratic Services will confirm the status of the progress on any previously requested written answers and follow up any related actions requested by the Local Area Council.
Minutes: The following questions had been received from Adam Hogg:-
1. With regard to the Local Transport Plan Programme, NCC had paid for the micro resurfacing of Choppington Road in Bedlington to the sum of £80,000. Why was it that this had not been paid by Miller Homes, who are currently building a large estate north of the Chesters, and as part of their works, they are disrupting the road surface to provide services into the new estate and a new entrance.
Further to the point of the resurfacing of Choppington Road, he asked why the micro resurfacing seemed to be in poor condition to drive on and felt very uneven, which had been carried out by a private company and the A192 from Morpeth to Hepscott Park which had been done in house by NCC, seemed to be fine and done to a good standard.
Mr Carle responded that he would raise the first part of the questions with the Planning and Infrastructure Team as the Area Office Team delivered works on the ground using a procured subcontractor.
With reference to the second part of the question – micro asphalt was an excellent cost-effective way of resurfacing a road that was not predominantly of sound construction. The process sealed the surface and improved the surface texture against the ingress of water. When initially laid, it had a red hue and was quite open textured. Once the surface had been driven on over a period of 3 – 6 months, the surface tightened, and the desired surface finished was achieved. As with any product used, a guarantee of the product would be put in place and any defects would be addressed in the maintenance period by the sub-contractor.
2. NCC were undertaking meetings at County Hall without public attending and during the day time due to Covid risks, however when the Government message seems to be “lets get everything back to normal”, will NCC be recommencing meetings which includes the LAC more public in both venues and time or is NCC taking careful approach unlike the Government of waiting and seeing what happens with Covid ?
The Chair responded that the Authority had been guided by the Corporate Health and Safety Manager on direct involvement at meetings. There had been some recent discussion about having the LACs in public venues but since the pandemic there had been an issue with, access, parking and IT availability.
It was the intention as soon as possible, to have meetings in the various areas, but this needed to be done in a safe way.
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PETITIONS This item is to:
(a) Receive any new petitions: to receive any new petitions. The lead petitioner is entitled to briefly introduce their petition by providing a statement in writing, and a response to any petitions received will then be organised for a future meeting;
A petition has been received by Seghill Clean Team regarding fly-tipping in Seghill.
(b) Consider reports on petitions previously received: No reports.
(c) Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously considered: any updates will be verbally reported at the meeting.
Minutes: This item was to:
a) Receive any new petitions:
A petition had been received from the Seghill Clean Team regarding fly-tipping in Seghill. A report would be prepared for the November meeting.
b) Consider reports on petitions previously received: None to consider.
c) To consider updates on petitions previously considered: There were none to consider.
RESOLVED that the information be noted.
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POLICING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY UPDATE An Inspector will be in attendance to give an overview and answer questions about policing and any community safety matters in the Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley area. Minutes: Inspector John Caisley was in attendance to give an overview and answer questions about policing and community safety matters in the Cramlington and Bedlington command areas which he was responsible for. The main problems in the area included:
In response to members questions, the following information was provided:-
RESOLVED – that the information be noted.
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LOCAL SERVICES ISSUES To receive a verbal update from the Area Managers from Technical Services and Neighbourhood Services in attendance about any key recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work for the attention of members of the Local Area Council, who will also then have the opportunity to raise issues with the Area Managers.
The Area Managers have principal responsibility for highway services and environmental services, such as refuse collection, street cleansing and grounds maintenance, within the geographic boundaries of the Local Area Council.
Minutes: Members received the following updates and explanation of the impact of Covid-19 on front line services from Tony Gribbin, Neighbourhood Services Area Manager:
Grounds Maintenance
Bereavement services (SE)
Grass Cutting
Street Sweeping
Winter Works
Weed Trial
Waste Services
Members asked a number of questions including:
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LOCAL PLAN TRANSPORT UPDATE PDF 138 KB Thereport provides an update on progress with the delivery of the approved Local Transport Plan programme for 2021/22.
Additional documents: Minutes: David Laux, Head of Technical Services introduced the report which covered the Local Transport Plan (LTP) programme agreed in March and the preparations for the 22/23 programme.
A draft programme of £19.015m was consulted on with Local Area Councils in February 2021. At that stage there was uncertainty regarding the capital allocations From DfT for 2021/22 and therefore a prudent view had been taken regarding the likely funding available based on the previous year's base allocations. Details of the programmes were outlined in the appendices of the report.
The County Council had also made an additional investment of £15 m for highways maintenance. An initial programme for £10m of this funding was approved on 9 April 2020 and the second phase of the programme for £5m was approved on 17 March 2021.
The report provided updates on progress across the whole county.
Locally, there were 38 integrated transport schemes, 11 of which had been completed including some highways safety schemes at the Three Horse Shoes and Stead Lane, Bedlington; interactive queue signs on the A189 on the approach to the Moor Farm roundabout; 6 schemes had works orders issued including the new Pegasus crossing for horses and cyclists at the Avenue, Seaton Delaval, a 20 mph safety scheme at Doxford Place, works at Bedlington bank and Meadowdale Academy and another 14 schemes in progress including improvements in Bedlington.
On the maintenance side, there were 25 schemes, 12 of those were complete including the Klondyke Bridge scheme and schemes at Fisher Lane, Stead Lane and a number of micro surfacing schemes. There were a further 11 schemes in design including the Spine Road resurfacing and Bedlington Bank safety scheme.
The programme was progressing well but there had been a number of challenges with delivery with a possible slippage into the next financial year.
Officers were working on a project to provide better information in future to members on the progress on individual schemes going forward.
Preparations had commenced for the development of the 2022/23 capital programme. In July, letters had been sent out to all County Councilors and Parish and Town Councils asking them to identify priorities issues for their Ward or Parish so that they could be considered in the prioritisation process for 2022/23. Responses were to be submitted by 8 October. Once responses were received, they would be logged and assessed by Council priorities. These would be discussed as part of the annual Members LTP workshop and then considered alongside other information with discussion with the Portfolio Holder. The agreed draft programme would then be shared with Local Area Councils in February 2022 for approval for the 2022/23 financial year.
Members raised the following:
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A briefing will be provided on the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament. Minutes: A briefing had been circulated to members on the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill which was currently progressing through Parliament.
Paul Reynolds from Renown Estate Agents was in attendance to provide an overview and explanation of leasehold issues and problems.
Leasehold was a North East problem, especially in the Cramlington area. In the 1970’s properties were sold as leasehold rather than freehold. The intention originally was to keep everything in uniform. As leases had shortened, properties were virtually unsaleable. Campaigns had been running on Facebook in Cramlington with a good deal of success.
Roadshows had been carried out by Leasehold Solutions previously but due to Covid and other problems this had discontinued but it was hoped that these could start running again with the support of the Council.
Mr Reynolds pointed out the pitfalls of purchasing a leasehold property and shared ownership, and stated that the Bill needed to be progressed through Parliament as quickly as possible.
If members were interested in researching leasehold ownership there was an organisation on Facebook called National Leasehold Campaign and also Shared Ownership on Twitter.
A member queried what would be the best way forward if Government failed to change the policy. Mr Reynold responded that people needed to be educated when purchasing a property and openness and accountability with the solicitor acting for the developer.
The Chair thanked Mr Reynolds for his detailed explanation and if any members wished further information to contact Mr Reynolds.
RESOLVED that the information be noted.
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LOCAL AREA COUNCIL WORK PROGRAMME PDF 317 KB To note the latest version of agreed items for future Local Area Council meetings (any suggestions for new agenda items will require confirmation by the Business Chair after the meeting) Minutes: The work programme was attached and the Chair asked that should anyone have any items they would like to raise they should contact him. The item regarding the Police and Crime Commissioner had been deferred to January.
RESOLVED that the Work Programme be noted.
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 20 October 2021 (planning only). Minutes: The next meeting would be held on Wednesday 20 October 2021. (Planning only). |
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URGENT BUSINESS Minutes: A member referred to the work in Bedlington Town Centre which had stopped. The Chair stated that the Cabinet Member had been asked to put a report forward and a presentation brought to a future LAC and hopefully presented in the Bedlington area.
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