Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations made.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 August 2024 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Plan be noted.

The purpose of the report was to inform members of the Council’s overall performance and financial position for the period ended 30th June (“First Quarter 2024/25”).  The report was considered by the Corporate Select Committee on 9 September 2024.

Options considered:

Detailed Analysis was contained within the appendices.

RESOLVED:

That the First Quarter 2024/25 financial, procurement and performance position detailed in Appendices A, B and C and summarised at 3.3 of the covering report be noted.

The purpose of the report was to provide an update on bank closures and access to cash services in the High Peak and make recommendations for developing further understanding and to explore potential solutions.  The report was considered by the Community Select Committee on 25 September 2024.  The subsequent need for to travel further to access banking services was also highlighted by councillors.

Options considered:

An alternative option had not been identified. The Council needed to work with and support relevant partners to help reduce the negative impact of bank branch closures on residents across the High Peak and to ensure that High Peak residents have access to cash and appropriate alternatives.

RESOLVED:

1.     Through the High Peak Financial Inclusion Group, the Council and relevant partners, examine methods by which to consult with High Peak residents on the impact of bank closures and how residents access cash in the High Peak.

2.     Alongside this, the Council and relevant partners review and develop proposals, where appropriate, regarding banking and access to cash solutions such as banking hubs, credit unions and telephone banking.

3.     That the Council requests an ‘Access to Cash’ review by LINK.

The report sought approval to consider formalising the changes to mowing regimes at some Council owned sites.  The report was considered by the Community Select Committee on 25 September 2024.  It was agreed that Council communications would be important to explain the changes made.

Options considered:

Options were detailed within the report

RESOLVED:

That the Executive approves the approach outlined in the report to formalise changes to existing mowing regimes at some Council owned sites.

The purpose of the report was to:

·       advise Members of the publication by Vision Derbyshire working group of a “Climate Change Planning Guidance”(CCPG) document and accompanying “Climate Change Readiness Assessment Tool”(CCRAT) for Derbyshire which provides guidance as to how development proposals can integrate climate change mitigation measures;

·       seek approval to adopt the CCPG as formal planning guidance (but not as a Supplementary Plannding Document (SPD)) by Development Management (DM), for use by developers (and to update DM webpages accordingly)

·       seek approval to formally adopt the CCRAT by Development Management – for use by developers in formulating proposals and DM officers in their assessment (this will involveinclusion in future reviews of the validation checklist, with modifications to DM webpages to reflect this).

Options considered:

Recommended: That the Executive approves both the Derbyshire CPPG and CCRAT for use by the DM Service: the CCPG as generic planning guidance; and the CCRAT to be updated to the validation checklist and subsequently required to be utilised by developers and DM officers. This will allow the DM service to respond to the climate emergency (and in light of the 2019 climate change declaration and 2021 Climate Change Plans published by HPBC ) by providing guidance to developers as to how schemes can have their climate impacts mitigated at the outset (with an expectation that all schemes must be evaluated by the developer using the CCRAT), in advance of any reviews of the currently adopted Local Plan.

Not recommended: To not adopt either document for use by the DM service (business as usual). This would result in there being no climate mitigation- specific guidance or tools available to developers on DM website; meaning (despite the 2019 climate change declaration and 2021 Climate Change Plans published by HPBC) schemes would continue to be assessed against currently adopted 2016 Local Plan Policies, and most recent NPPF/NPPG.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the CCPG as planning guidance (not SPD) for High Peak be adopted.

2.     That the CCRAT be adopted for future inclusion on the validation checklist and be used for the assessment of all proposals by the DM service. 

The purpose of the report was to propose to Members a “Missed Appointment” Initiative put forward by the Tenant Engagement Group.  The report was considered by the Housing Board on 3 September 2024.

Options considered:

This was a voluntary initiative as proposed by the Tenant Engagement Group, designed to improve the tenant experience on the rare occasions when the service fails to meet required outcomes; in this event, that our operatives attend when an appointment has been arranged.  It was agreed that, as a control measure, the use of vouchers would be reviewed as part of the evaluation process given that these have an expiry date and may not be used in all locations.

RESOLVED:

That Members agree to support the proposal. The scheme will be launched in the December Tenants Newsletter and evaluated after a three month period.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business as there may be disclosures of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED:

That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 8 August 2024 be approved as a correct record.

To report sought approval to write off balances which were deemed non recoverable.