Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were none.

(Copy herewith)

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2012 were agreed and signed by the Chair.

Report of Director of Customers and Communities (Copy herewith).

1.     Cabinet agreed and welcomed the work and achievements of the Forums and in particular the success of Northampton Youth Forum in winning the National Diversity Awards 2012, receiving a countywide award for the forum’s outstanding contribution to anti-bullying, and having one of its members receive both the countywide and town young leader of the year volunteering awards.

2.     Cabinet recognised and endorsed the role of the Forums in assisting the Council to meet its duties on equalities, particularly under the Equality Act 2010.

The Chair welcomed members of the Youth Forum, Councillor King the Chair of the Forum and Lindsey Ambrose former equalities and diversity officer at Northampton Borough Council, to the meeting.

He congratulated the Forum for its work particularly that in relation to the Stop Hate campaign and on winning the National Diversity Awards and thanked Lindsay Ambrose for all her work with the Forum.

Two members of the Youth Forum addressed the Cabinet and told them of their work on the hate campaign and with promoting mental health awareness.

Councillor Eldred, as the relevant Cabinet Member, submitted the report on the work of the Community Forums and added his congratulations to the Youth Forum. He emphasised that one of the other organisations that were finalists in the National Diversity Awards was Age Concern, which demonstrated the level of the competition.

RESOLVED :

1.            Cabinet agreed and welcomed the work and achievements of the Forums and in particular the success of Northampton Youth Forum in winning the National Diversity Awards 2012, receiving a countywide award for the forum’s outstanding contribution to anti-bullying, and having one of its members receive both the countywide and town young leader of the year volunteering awards.

2.            Cabinet recognised and endorsed the role of the Forums in assisting the Council to meet its duties on equalities, particularly under the Equality Act 2010.

Morcea Walker addressed Cabinet on Item 5 (a) Recommendations of the Call In hearing Disposal of Museum Artefact. She stated that she was a member of the Black History Association. She emphasised that the Northampton Museums were very popular and that the general museum offered a wide range of exhibits. She considered that the museum was very important to promote the cultural roots of the town and that history had shown that the town had welcomed settlers from a wide range of differing cultural backgrounds and that it was vitally important that this tradition was continued.

Mrs Loe addressed Cabinet on Item 5 (a) Recommendations of the Call In hearing Disposal of Museum Artefact. She stated that she was a member of the Friends of Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. She asked the Cabinet to reverse its decision to sell the statue stating that to do so would show vision and that the way forward was to promote the museum. She emphasised the diversity of the collections as coming from a wide range of traditions and cultures. She challenged the claims that the Friends of the Museum had been consulted on the sale of the statue. She felt that the sale of the statue did not acknowledge the valuable role that the museum played as a local value for money facility. She stated that if the issue was to provide a secure cabinet for the display of the statue then the Friends of the Museum would be prepared to pay the required £8,000.

Dr Macdonald addressed Cabinet on Item 5 (a) Recommendations of the Call In hearing Disposal of Museum Artefact. She considered that the sale of the statue should not go ahead and that the Council should instead consider expanding the marketing of the museum as she felt that it could attract more visitors and become a vital part of the revitalisation of the town. She stated that as well as the shoe collection Northampton possessed excellent Roman and Egyptian collections which could be visitor attractions.

Elke Pollard addressed Cabinet on Item 5 (a) Recommendations of the Call In hearing Disposal of Museum Artefact. She belonged to two of the societies represented. She considered that the argument that it would be too difficult to display and insure the statue was unsound, and that the item was too bulky to be easily stolen. She felt that it was important to stand up for the importance of history and art. She also stated that she had collected signatures on a petition opposing the sale of the piece.

Ruth Thomas addressed Cabinet on Item 5 (a) Recommendations of the Call In hearing Disposal of Museum Artefact .She is Chair of the Northants Ancient Egyptian Society. She commented that the town had a diverse and cosmopolitan population and that the museum pieces had been collected widely from around the world and that this reflected that diverse cultural heritage. She considered that the statue was unique in terms of its quality and craftsmanship and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

There were none.

Report of the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny (Copy herewith)

(1)  Cabinet did not accept the first recommendation arising from the Call- In.  

(2)  Cabinet accepted the second recommendation to carry out further consultation with various stakeholders such as Friends of Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, tourist/heritage groups and local users of the museums.

Councillor Matt Lynch , as the deputy Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Committee  presented a report on the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee consideration of the Call in of the Cabinet decision relating to the disposal of the museum artefact. Councillor Lynch advised Cabinet that the Committee had taken evidence from a number of sources including the Call in authors, the relevant Cabinet member and Director authors and representatives from a number of interested groups.

Following the submission of all the evidence the Committee upheld the Call-in, in relation to reasons 2 and 5 as detailed below:

2  The Cabinet report says the proceeds of sale of the statue would be ‘entirely reinvested in the town’s cultural and heritage priorities, including the restoration of Delapre Abbey’.  Much more clarification needs to be given, as this statement is very vague.

5  The Cabinet report says consultation is underway. The sale of the statue should only be considered once consultation has been completed. More consultation needs to be carried out with various stakeholders such as Friends of Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, tourist/heritage groups and local users of the Museums.

The Chair reminded Members that there had been a debate at the Council meeting on 10^th September when it was agreed that there would be further public consultation on how the proceeds from the sale could be used.

Councillor Eldred, as the relevant Cabinet Member, stated that he believed the statue was a lot lighter than had been raised by the public, but that it was not just the issue of supplying the case that was required to ensure the statues safety but staff hours and insurance. The statue had been in a vault for two years. The resulting revenue from a sale could be spent on a more important aspect such as museum expansion.

RESOLVED

(1)  Cabinet did not accept the first recommendation arising from the Call- In. 

(2)  Cabinet accepted the second recommendation to carry out further consultation with various stakeholders such as Friends of Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, tourist/heritage groups and local users of the museums.

Report of Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning (Copy herewith)

Cabinet considered the objection that has had received from a member of the public to the proposed disposal, by way of lease, of land designated as public open space at Ladybridge Drive, Hunsbury.

Cabinet confirmed the decision taken by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration Enterprise and Planning dated 21 May 2012 to support the grant of a lease, for a term of 21 years, to Welland Valley Football Club of land at Ladybridge Drive, shown edged green and hatched on the attached plan at Appendix 1 of the report.

Councillor Oldham stated that he would in principle support the Welland Valley Football Club .However he felt that there had been problems with the way that the Club had run a tournament, during which there had been noise caused by the running of a generator on a Sunday morning. He felt that the Club needed to ensure that the local residents were taken into account and asked if any licences granted could take that into account. He also commented that the Friends of Hunsbury Hill Park wished to ensure that their rights to amenities would be protected.

Councillor Hadland, as the relevant Cabinet Member submitted a report. He emphasised that the matter for consideration was the objection that has been received to the proposed grant of a 21years lease of land designated as public open space at Ladybridge Drive, Hunsbury, to Welland Valley Football Club. He stated that the Club had been very successful and that they required a more formal lease arrangement in order for them to provide the facilities that they required. He stressed that any licences granted would make adequate arrangements both for accessibility and consideration of the local residents .In response to the public comments, he did not consider that it would be reasonable to ask the club to provide public toilet facilities.

Councillor Eldred commented that any organisation that provided regular activities for such a large number of young people should be congratulated and supported.

RESOLVED:

1.Cabinet considered the objection that has had received from a member of the public to the proposed disposal, by way of lease, of land designated as public open space at Ladybridge Drive, Hunsbury.

2. Cabinet confirmed the decision taken by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration Enterprise and Planning dated 21 May 2012 to support the grant of a lease, for a term of 21 years, to Welland Valley Football Club of land at Ladybridge Drive, shown edged green and hatched on the attached plan at Appendix 1 of the report.

Report of the Chief Executive (Copy herewith)

Cabinet supported the signing of The Armed Services Covenant.

Cabinet noted that the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy already complied with the Armed Services Covenant.

Cabinet instructed Officers to develop proposals indicating what actions the Council would take to give effect to the principles of the Covenant in Northampton and to report these to Cabinet.

Councillor Mackintosh, as the relevant Cabinet member, submitted a report on the Armed Forces Covenant. The aim of the Covenant is to encourage local communities to support the Armed Forces Community in their area. He stated that the Council has strong civic links with C Company, the Royal Anglian Regiment and the 9^th / 12^th Royal Lancers.

He also announced that there would be tickets made available for service men and women at the Music Festival to be held at Delapre Abbey in 2013.

Councillor Markham, as the Cabinet member with responsibility for Housing, advised Cabinet that the Housing Allocations Policy, which is currently out to consultation, was committed to ensuring that all ex service personnel got the correct support that they required with regard to help with Housing and in ensuring that disabled adaptions were available to those who required them.

Councillor Eldred commented that the tickets for the music festival were intended as a thank you to the service men and women in recognition for their service.

RESOLVED

1.    Cabinet supported the signing of The Armed Services Covenant.

2.    Cabinet noted that the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy already complied with the Armed Services Covenant.

3.    Cabinet instructed Officers to develop proposals indicating what actions the Council would take to give effect to the principles of the Covenant in Northampton and to report these to Cabinet.

Report of Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning (Copy herewith)

Cabinet deferred consideration of the application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Area (Option 1 of the report) until such time as an application for a Neighbourhood Forum is made, thereby allowing for additional time in raising the awareness of the Neighbourhood Planning project with residents and encouraging greater community ownership of the process.

Cabinet agreed to further consultation on the Neighbourhood Area to run concurrently with an application for the designation of a Neighbourhood Forum.

Cabinet noted the formal processes undertaken by Northampton Borough Council to publicise the application to date and the associated resource to enable formal feedback to the DCLG, as per the requirements of the frontrunner grant.

B Report of Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning (Copy herewith)

Cabinet approved the disposal of the freehold interest in the building at 3-7 Hazelwood Road, whose location was shown edged red and hatched upon the plan at Appendix 1 of the report.

Cabinet delegated to the Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning the power to approve the terms of the disposal in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration Enterprise and Planning.

Councillor Hadland, as the relevant Cabinet member, presented a report on the disposal of 3-7 Hazelwood Road, which are three terraced properties that used to form the Community Law offices. There is a substantial supply of converted older style offices within the town centre but little market demand. Although the property is empty there are related costs for the Council and potential repair liabilities. The ward Councillor had raised concerns that the potential loss of office space could damage potential redevelopment opportunities, but it was considered that there was still an ample supply of this type of office space available.

RESOLVED:

1.    Cabinet approved the disposal of the freehold interest in the building at 3-7 Hazelwood Road, whose location was shown edged red and hatched upon the plan at Appendix 1 of the report.

2.  Cabinet delegated to the Director of Regeneration, Enterprise and Planning the power to approve the terms of the disposal in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration Enterprise and Planning.

The Chair welcomed Steve Boyes, the new Director of Regeneration , Enterprise and Planning  and thanked Marie Fallon the Interim Director of Regeneration , Enterprise and Planning for all of her hard work.