to be put to the Business Chair, a member of the Cabinet or the Chair of any Committee or Sub Committee, in accordance with the Constitution’s Rules of Procedure No.9.
Minutes:
Question 1 from Councillor Hill to the Leader
Spittal beach is one of 83 beaches in the country which have recently been deemed unsafe because of raw sewage being dumped into the sea.?
Does the Council have any plans to take this up (the specific issue at Spittal and generally) with the local water company and / or the government?
The Leader responded that Northumberland County Council worked closely with both the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water on flood risk and water quality issues as part of the North-East Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP). The County Council was aware that in response to DEFRA’s announcement in 2022 of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, which set stringent new targets to protect people and the environment from storm water overflows, NWL had developed a Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP). This plan had focused on reduction of spills from storm overflows and they had identified 19 high priority storm overflows in Berwick with a number of these being located in Spittal. These high priority storm overflows had been targeted by NWL for work in 2025-2030 and this work would help to further improve water quality in the area.
Question 2 from Councillor Taylor to Councillor Riddle
The riverside footpath between Attlee Park and Plessey Woods has deteriorated further, can I say many thanks for your very swift response with my recent alert. The Council has assigned funding to this via the LTP, can you advise when works will commence on repairs and what will be the priority?
Councillor Riddle replied that the Council allocated £15,000 in 2022/23 to repair and reconstruct the riverside footpath at Humford Mill. A further £85,000 had now been allocated to implement the scheme to repair and reconstruct the riverside footpath. To undertake the works it was necessary to secure consent from the Environment Agency (EA). Subject to this, it was envisaged that the works would be undertaken this summer.
Question 3 from Councillor Taylor to Councillor Riddle
A terrible accident happened in the plantation area of Bedlington (the woods behind the police station down to Gallagher Park) last week when a residents dog was fatally injured via a freak accident which occurred following some work which was being carried out to fell and chip the woodlands. When alerted I contacted officers and received a super fast response, they visited the resident to collect facts, can you please advise what if any remedial action will be taken to prevent further accidents?
Councillor Riddle replied that the Council had been in contact with the owner of the dog to investigate the accident which occurred in an area of woodland which had suffered from extensive damage during Storm Arwen and which had recently been cleared by forestry contractors acting on behalf of the Council. Having inspected the area it was considered that the contractors had left the area in an acceptable condition. The Council’s first priority to ensure public safety at the park was to make sure that all dangerous damaged trees were removed following Storm Arwen, and it was considered that the works undertaken had fulfilled that duty of care. Unfortunately, this was a freak accident, and it was not considered that any further actions would be proportionate to the risk posed at this and other similar sites across the county.
Councillor Taylor asked Councillor Riddle if he would visit the area with her as she felt it was dangerous and he agreed that he would.
Question 4 from Councillor Lee to Councillor Horncastle
How many unoccupied council houses are in Cramlington East and how does this compare to the rest of Northumberland?
As Councillor Lee was not present his question was withdrawn.
Question 5 from Councillor Dale to Councillor Wearmouth
At the Council's Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday 14th March, 2023 the Cabinet made a decision to agree that the original conditions relating to the Call Option on land NEP3 are amended to ensure that the project can proceed. This was further discussed under Part 2. Was a Risk Appraisal Panel called to discuss this agenda item with Group Leaders prior to the Cabinet meeting held on 14th March, 2023?
Councillor Wearmouth responded that a Risk Appraisal Panel had not been convened to discuss the proposed amendments to the buyback clause prior to the Cabinet decision on 14th March because its role was assess the risk associated with projects, where successful completion was a condition of any grant; and/or there was a continuing obligation to a third party, or risk associated with proposals requiring a strategic policy decision; and/or entering into a partnership; and involving elements of serious risk.
The matter considered by Cabinet did not meet this criteria and on that basis a Risk Appraisal Panel was not convened. Full advice had been taken from both the legal team and the commercial team at Advance and this had informed the decision which Cabinet had taken.
Councillor Dale felt that the proposal should have been shared with Group Leaders. Councillor Wearmouth replied that the Leader had made attempts to get Group Leaders to meet with the new owners.