Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall. View directions

Contact: Heather Bowers 

Items
No. Item

67.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Chicken, Daley and Dunbar.

68.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 209 KB

Minutes of the meeting of the Cramlington, Bedlington & Seaton Delaval Local Area Council held on 23 November as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

 

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley Local Area Council, held on 23 November 2022, as circulated, were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair. 

69.

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:

  1. relating to any individual;
  2. which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual;
  3. relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person
  4. relating to any labour relations matters/negotiations;
  5. restricted to legal proceedings
  6. about enforcement/enacting legal orders
  7. relating to the prevention, investigation of prosecution of crime.

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:

No questions had been submitted. 

 

 

70.

PETITIONS

This item is to:

 

(a)      Receive any new petitions.

        

(b)      Consider reports on petitions previously received.

 

(c)      Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously considered.

 

Minutes:

This item was to: 

 

  1. Receive any new petitions:  No new petitions had been received. 

 

  1. Consider reports on petitions previously received:  None received. 

 

  1. Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously   considered:None received. 

 

71.

LOCAL POLICING UPDATE

Inspectors J Caisley and W Daniels will be in attendance to provide an update on policing issues in the area.

 

 

Minutes:

Inspectors Jon Caisley and Paul Davis from the Cramlington, Seaton Valley and Bedlington Neighbourhood Policing Teams were in attendance and provided an update on policing issues and crime statistics within those areas. 

 

Inspector John Caisley, Cramlington Neighbourhood Policing gave an overview and answered questions about policing and community safety matters in the Cramlington and Seaton Valley command areas which he was responsible for.  The key points were: 

 

  • Thefts from unlocked vehicles 
  • Continued traffic patrols along the A19 corridor. 
  • Antisocial behaviour statistics included youth ASB with the police mainly concentrating on Manor Walks and Brockwell Centre and successfully identifying ring leaders. 
  • Crime levels had initially increased after Covid but had decreased to previous levels. 
  • The police relied on residents to make any reports.  Any CCTV or door camera evidence was helpful 

 

(Councillor Ezhilchelvan joined the meeting at 4.05 pm)

 

In response to questions/comments, the following information was provided: 

 

  • The main issue of vehicle thefts were opportunist thieves trying car door handles.  Patrols would continue to try to establish suspects. 
  • Inspector Caisley to provide Tony Gribbin with email contacts. 
  • There had been an increase in crime in the previous year over the summer months, but figures had reduced in the winter.  Certain locations in Blyth, Cramlington and Seaton Delaval had accounted for a great deal of ASB reporting. 
  • It was understood that local youth club groups had been well attended and previous years’ figures be looked at before the groups had been established to consider whether they had a positive impact.  The results would be fedback to Cramlington Town Council. 
  • There had been a rise in violent crime post Covid, but the reason was unknown. 
  • Motorcycle disorder was more prevalent during the spring/summer months and a number of forces had been canvassed to find out how they were tackling the issue to put together best tactics. 
  • In response to the comment regarding the 101 calls, Inspector Caisley explained that calls were risk assessed and a decision made on the response based on the call. 

 

Inspector Paul Davis, Bedlington Neighbourhood Policing gave an overview and answered questions about policing in the Bedlington area: 

 

  • Anti-social behaviour figures were down from previous years. 
  • Partnership working had been carried out through education linking with St Benet Biscop schools and the fire service, running sessions on the danger of fires in wooded parks. 
  • GRIP areas in Bedlington identified with a high level of violence had dedicated foot patrols. 
  • CCTV in Bedlington Station was run by AssetWatch which could be linked in with Social Services. 
  • A county wide initiative run jointly with the Council was due to start soon on safety in public places. 

 

In response to questions/comments, the following information was provided: 

 

  • Partnership working with the Academy was also considered.  Some youths came from outside of the town from other areas.  If individuals were identified, then intervention could take place. 
  • Foot patrols covered different areas and officers would be briefed beforehand if there were any problems. It was important that problem areas were reported. 

72.

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:

Mick Carle, Neighbourhood Services Manager, provided the following information: 

 

  • All Highways Inspectors and maintenance crews continued to work inspecting, fixing carriageway defects, making repairs, and making safe category one defects across the South East area.  

 

  • Gully emptier was fully deployed dealing with reported issues and cyclic maintenance. 

 

 Larger Tarmac Patching had been carried out in the following locations; 

 

  • A192 Red Lion, Bedlington 
  • Seghill First School 

 

Drainage Improvements: 

 

The area teams were continuously looking and programming future planned works both patching and drainage improvements. 

 

  • Underpass at Cramlington 

 

LTP - Carriageway Resurfacing 

 

LTP Carriageway Resurfacing schemes were being programmed and all affected members would be notified in advance. 

 

Winter Maintenance 

 

Since the cold snap during the early to midpart of December winter had quietened down. There was still have half of the Winter season ahead. These were often the harshest few months. They were currently working with suppliers to carry out a mid-season salt restock of 10,000 Tonnes. This restock with the existing 6000 Tonne strategic store at Powburn should give the service more than sufficient levels to see it out till the end of the winter season.? 

 

During the last period of bad weather, over 11 days in December, the Winter Services Team had worked 20 hours during a 24 hour period, travelling over 41,420 miles of road network. 

 

In response to members comments, Mr Carle responded as follows:- 

 

  • A dual pump system was being used for the underpass as one pump was damaged and the other broken.  A  new pump was being sourced from a local supplier as the current supplier had let them down. 
  • The team was thanked for the gritting of roads in Bedlington, and a small stockpile of salt was requested for the Hartlands estate where many residents were elderly.  Mr Carle to pass on information to Councillor Taylor. 
  • Details of sinkages at Eldson Drive and Denholm Drive would be passed on to the  Maintenance Engineer. 
  • White lines on roads were carried out in spring.  Details to be passed to Mr Carle. 
  • The chevron signs for the Free Wood in Bedlington would be chased up with Traffic Management. 
  • More investment was being looked at to clear gullies at schools. 
  • Speed issues on the B1331 would be passed to Integrated Transport. 
  • A make-do repair would be carried out to some potholes and a repair done within 14-28 days. 
  • Streetworks was responsible for permits and Development Control decided when the work was to be carried out. 

 

Tony Gribbin, Local Services Area Manager provided the following information: 

 

Refuse crews had worked across the entire Christmas period, including bank holiday Tuesday and their efforts had been recognised and praised. 

 

Waste Service 

 

  • Refuse collection service worked well over the Christmas period. 
  • Very few resident complaints of reports of missed bins. 
  • Incorrect collection dates had been published in the Northumberland News publication and staff worked with Comms and staff from other parts of the organisation to leaflet drop to affected households. 
  • Refuse staff collected approximately 700 tonnes of residual waste between Christmas  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

73.

BUDGET 2023-24 AND MEDIUM-TERM FINANCIAL PLAN

This presentation will outline the Council’s strategy to the 2023-24 Budget within the context of the Corporate Plan.   The presentation will provide details of the approach to setting the budget for the next financial year and the broad impact this will have on the delivery of services.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Sanderson, Leader provided information on the State of the County reflecting on the work the Council were undertaking based on the Council’s priorities of providing value for money, tackling inequalities and delivering growth and jobs.  A copy of the presentation would be filed with the signed minutes of the meeting and uploaded to the Committee papers on the Council’s website.   

 

He firstly informed members of the news of British Volt and the Devolution Deal outcome for the North East. 

 

The Council continued to invest in education and skills with a number of capital projects coming forward including schools within the Astley and Berwick Partnership, the Port of Blyth; Energy Central Learning Hub in Blyth; Seghill Construction Training Centre and the new Northumberland College. 

 

Following consultation with residents a number of park commemoration schemes had been announced to form a countywide celebration of the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II.  Information on what the Council was doing to help address inequalities in health and education, with the belief that all children should be offered the same opportunity in life to flourish, and the financial support being offered to those people most in need were outlined.  The response by residents and communities to an appeal for donations to support Ukrainian nationals had been tremendous.  The Council’s current Capital Programme included over £806m investment in 2022-2026 to ensure that the infrastructure and facilities were provided to drive future growth and job creation within the County along with further investments through the Borderlands Partnership and North of Tyne Combined Authority.   

 

The commitment to maintain frontline services had remained with increased funding for highway maintenance in 2022-23, however the recent bad weather had impacted on the number of defects on the road network being reported.  The Council had been praised for its work in supporting people requiring care packages after being discharged from hospital and was grateful for staff who provided this service.  There was always a need to attract more care workers and travel allowances had been increased to try to encourage more people into this sector.  

 

A new Chief Executive was to start at the Council on 8 February 2023 and recruitment was also underway for a new Executive Team.  The Corporate Plan was to be refreshed to drive improvements in all services and a Strategic Change Programme developed to deliver the things that were most important to residents in a cost-effective way.  It was hoped that compulsory redundancies could be avoided, but this could not be guaranteed.  The recently announced Government settlement had been better than expected and new legislation would give the Council more power to address issues related to second or vacant homes and the pressure this put on some communities.  There would still be inflationary pressures on the budget going forward in relation to pay and other factors.  Details of the proposed budget would be released at the beginning of February and all Members would be invited to the Corporate Services and Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

74.

LOCAL AREA COUNCIL WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 156 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:

RESOLVED that the  Work Programme be noted. 

 

 

75.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Cramlington, Bedlington & Seaton Valley Local Area Council is scheduled for Tuesday 21 February 2023 (planning only).

 

 

Minutes:

The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 21 February 2023.