Present at the meeting
- Councillor J D O’Brien (Chairman)
- Councillor R Clayton (Vice Chairman)
- Councillor R M Bleakley
- Councillor Mrs P Cullen
- Councillor Ms P L Holland
- Councillor J Miller
- Councillor W Rotherham
- Councillor G Wilkes
Cabinet Members in attendance
- Councillor K Anderson – Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods
- Councillor J B Baldwin – Portfolio Holder for Culture
- Officers in attendance
- Gary Finch – Principal Officer - Scrutiny
- John Mitchell – Head of Legal Services
- Diane Adshead – Committee Services Officer
Officers presenting reports
- Gillian Bishop – Interim Executive Director of Environmental Services
- Ken Wardale – Service Director – Regeneration and Communities
- Steve Normington – Service Director - Development
- Paul Gover – Head of Service - Strategic Commissioning, Wigan Leisure Culture Trust
- Mark Tilley – Head of Highways and Traffic Management
- Peter Layland – Head of Housing and Community Regeneration
- Sally Wolstencroft – Head of Safer Cleaner Greener Neighbourhood Services
- Steve Winstanley – Highways Asset Manager
- Steve Sargent – Housing Strategy Service Manager
26 Apologies for absence: Councillors J S Birch, Mrs B Bourne, G W Fairhurst, J Haley, M Klieve, D T Molyneux, Mrs J M Peet, Mrs A Turnock, and F B Walker.
27 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 23 September 2009 were approved as a correct record.
28 Whipping declarations: Government guidance expected Members of Scrutiny Committees not to act in accordance with party whipping and that, if they did, they were to declare it.
There were no declarations made.
29 Wigan Leisure Culture Trust performance report (April – September 2009): The Head of Service – Strategic Commissioning, Paul Gover, presented a report, which informed Members of the performance of Wigan Leisure Culture Trust (WLCT) over the first six months of 2009/10.
Members asked a number of questions, which included the following salient points:-
- Could National Indicator 8, adult participation in sport, be broken down to ward level figures?
- Could the Trust promote healthy eating options in vending machines?
- How much money is spent annually promoting Wigan as a tourist attraction?
- Why was there a lack of play facilities locally?
- Could WLCT provide an A-Z contact list of Officers for Elected Members?
The Head of Service advised the Committee that a community culture survey had been devised to break down the National Indicators identified within the report, to a geographical level, and it would be completed by March 2010. The Committee was also advised that vending machine provision was currently out to tender and all prospective suppliers had been asked to include healthy eating options. However, vending machines provided an important income stream, therefore, there was the need to balance an income generation with the need to provide healthy eating options.
The Cabinet Champion for Culture, Councillor J B Baldwin, advised the Committee that the location of play areas in the borough was often difficult as residents did not always want to live near to them. The WLCT were currently working with schools to identify suitable venues for weekend and holiday use and were also mapping locations of all play areas in the borough to identify how far residents had to walk to access them.
Resolved: The Committee:-
(1) notes the performance of WLCT for the first three months of 2009/10;
(2) endorses the actions identified to address the performance issues in the second half of the year; and
(3) thanks the Head of Service – Strategic Commissioning for the report
30 Six month update of recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Recycling Select Committee: The Head of Safer Cleaner Greener Neighbourhood Services, Sally Wolstencroft, presented a report of the Interim Executive Director of Environmental Services, Gillian Bishop, which informed Members of the progress that had been made with regard to the implementation of the Overview and Scrutiny Recycling Select Committee recommendations.
The Committee welcomed the progress that had been made and suggested that a further update be submitted in six months time which would advise Members of the progress of the recommendations which were still ongoing.
Members asked a number of questions, which included the following salient points:-
- Was green waste recycled locally and if so where did it end up?
- Was recycled green waste responsible for obnoxious smells in the borough over the summer?
- What happens to trade waste e.g. bottles from public houses?
- Had all residents received calendars detailing the Christmas waste collection service?
- Was the target set in the Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategy to serve all households with a recycling collection of at least two materials by December 2010 achievable?
- Were there plans in place for an education campaign to advise residents of their responsibilities to remove their wheelie bins from the kerbside once they had been emptied?
The Head of Safer Cleaner Greener Neighbourhood Services and the Service Director – Regeneration and Communities advised Members that green waste was recycled and used locally – usually by farmers in the form of compost. If recycled green waste was identified as the cause of obnoxious smells over the summer, this may be treated to prevent any future problems. Members were further advised that trade waste was outsourced, however, investigation into where the trade waste ended up would be undertaken and trade waste collectors would be encouraged to recycle via the ‘Keep Britain Tidy Award’ and financial incentives.
The Head of Safer Cleaner Greener Neighbourhood Services and the Service Director – Regeneration and Communities advised Members that although residents should, in principle, have received calendars detailing the Christmas waste collection service, Members could advise the department of any areas within their respective Wards that had not yet received the calendar. With the introduction of cleaner service standards, residents would, through leaflets and advertising, be encouraged to remove their bins once they had been emptied to avoid enforcement measures. Residents would also be encouraged to share bins with neighbours or request smaller bins or a sack (for the recycling of paper waste).
Members were also advised that the target set in the Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategy to serve all households with a recycling collection of at least two materials by December 2010 which was currently happening and was achievable.
Resolved: The Committee:-
(1) notes the progress of the recommendations as detailed in the report.
(2) requests that a further update on the recommendations of the select committee be submitted in three months time.
(3) thanks the Service Director – Regeneration and Communities and the Head of Safer Cleaner Greener Neighbourhood Services for the report.
31 Wigan Local Development Framework – fifth annual monitoring report: The Service Director – Development, Steve Normington, presented a report, which informed Members of the fifth annual monitoring report of the Council’s Local Development Framework. The monitoring report was a statutory document that the Council had to produce which would be submitted to the Secretary of State by 31 December 2009.
The report would be considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on 17 December 2009.
Members asked a number of questions, which included the following salient points:-
- Could officers provide more details of the three office development sites identified in the Annual Monitoring Report?
- How many empty properties were there in Wigan currently?
- What was being done to reduce the numbers of empty properties?
- Could anything be done at the planning application stage to limit the amount of flats being built in the borough?
- Was the data being used to identify current building works up-to-date?
The Service Director - Development advised Members that a plan showing the office development on the three sites identified in the Annual Monitoring Report would be provided to Members of this Committee.
The Head of Housing and Community Regeneration, Peter Layland, informed Members that the percentage of private sector homes empty for more than 6 months was 2.5%, this equated to approximately 2700 properties currently empty in the borough. A new Empty Homes Strategy was currently being produced and leaflets and publicity would be used to promote it. Although every case could not be investigated at the moment, the ones causing most problems in the community were prioritised. He further advised Members that current market activity was changing plans for building and in one recent instance, an application to build flats in the borough was being re-submitted to Wigan’s Planning Department for houses instead.
The Committee were informed that data used to identify current building projects in the borough was received from many different providers who produced data to different timescales. This meant, that the data used by Planning Officers was as accurate as possible, but was constantly being refreshed as data was updated.
Resolved: The Committee:-
(1) requests that the Service Director – Development provides a plan of the 3 sites identified for office development;
(2) request that a presentation on the project plan of the Local Development Framework be brought to January’s meeting of this Committee; and
(3) thanks the Service Director – Regeneration and Communities for the report.
32 Highway Asset Management Plan: The Head of Highways and Traffic Management, Mark Tilley, presented a report, which invited Members to review and comment on the Council’s draft Highway Asset Management Plan.
Members asked a number of questions, which included the following salient points:-
- Were there any plans to bring un-adopted roads in the borough back to Council ownership?
How is the highway maintenance budget set?
The Head of Highways and Traffic Management advised the Committee that there were currently seven hundred un-adopted streets in the borough and because of the size of the borough, adopting streets was a very costly process. He further advised Members that the budget set for maintaining the highway was set to suit priorities between the borough’s ‘wants and needs.’ This was developed by predicting the age and life span of materials and determining when they would need either refurbishing or replacing. The largest, single expense was the deterioration of concrete columns used for lamp-posts.
Resolved: The Committee thanks the Head of Highways and Traffic Management for the report.
33 Mid year progress on the new Housing Strategy: The Head of Housing and Communities, presented a report, which invited Members to review and comment on the performance of the Council’s new housing strategy. The strategy set out the housing contribution to the wider Borough Sustainable Communities strategy and identified a series of housing issues that would be addressed on three main themes, quantity, quality and people.
Members asked a number of questions, which included the following salient points:-
- How will the landlord accreditation policy initiative be moved forward and who was leading it?
- Why was the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment identified in this report?
The Head of Housing and Communities advised the Committee that the single biggest problem with private landlords was their lack of experience. There had been a growth in the numbers of landlords because people were struggling to sell their homes and were leasing them instead. Some rents in the borough were now below Council rent levels. AGMA were leading the accreditation policy initiative and Economic Review had just been completed with housing listed as a high priority.
He also advised Members that every Authority was required to provide sites to accommodate travellers and gypsies and there was a requirement to estimate numbers and increase sites to accommodate any increases in numbers. This was identified in the Local Development Framework.
Resolved: The Committee thanks the Head of Housing and Community for the report.
34 Homelessness strategy – six month review of progress: The Housing Strategy Service Manager, Steve Sargent, presented a report, which invited Members to review and comment on the progress that had been made towards the aims and objectives of the Homelessness Strategy action plan during the period April – September 2009.
Resolved: The Committee thanks the Housing Strategy Service Manager for the report.
Chairman
