Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive declarations of interest by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda, and to consider any dispensations.

Members may however, also decide, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other registrable or other interests.

There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED,     that the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following:

Item 10 – Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plan (further consultation required prior to referendum) - Appendix H of this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12 Paragraph 5 - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

                            Item 11 – The Operational Model for Ulverston Coronation Hall - Appendix 2 of this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12 Paragraph 2 - information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual; Paragraph 3 as it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs (including the authority holding that information), and Paragraph 5 - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

                            Item 12 – Barrow Town Deal Programme Update – Grant Funding Agreement for the Learning Quarter, Barrow in Furness and associated easement: - Appendix 3 to this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12  Paragraph 3 as it contains Information relating to the financial or business affairs (including the authority holding that information), and Paragraph - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 October 2023 (copy enclosed)

RESOLVED,     that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 October 2023 be agreed as a true and accurate record.

To receive any questions or statement which have been received from members of the public and to receive any petitions.

(note questions or statement must be received in writing (including email) by the Council at least 3 clear working days before the day of the meeting (not including the day of the meeting). So, for example, if the meeting is on Tuesday requests must be received by 11.59 pm on the previous Wednesday by the person named on the front of the agenda.  Petitions must have been presented to the Monitoring Officer 9 working days before the date of this meeting to be valid).

All participants attending today were speaking with reference to Agenda Item No 10 – Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plans.

A)    Mr Jonathan Davies on behalf of Evolve Penrith would like to ask the following question:-

As Penrith has 2 defined business areas with the two separate BiD zones, both within the defined Penrith Neighbourhood plan referendum and plan coverage area. 

Schedule 7 of the Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. These business areas require Business Referendums to take place separately in those defined business areas in parallel with the resident's referendum on the same day for the Penrith NHP.

Evolve Penrith have discussed this matter in depth with the former Eden Council who thanked us for bringing this to their attention as it was at the time not a factor, they had accounted for the officer informed us.

Given the Penrith NHP is now seven years in the making and has accrued costs that are now in the £90,000 to £100,000 region of public money by the time the referendum is held.

Can you please confirm if the separate BID zone referendums will take place as part of the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan referendum and is this accounted for in the council budgeting for the referendum or will a single resident referendum take place with the 50% +1 YES vote to approve adoption be the case.

B)    Also with reference to Item No 10 – Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plan Councillor Doug Lawson the Mayor of Penrith would like to address Cabinet to say:

“Neighbourhood Plans offer numerous benefits to local communities, allowing them to have a say in how their community develops.  Neighbourhood Plans have legal weight in planning law to help direct development once adopted.

Penrith Town Council commenced with the Neighbourhood Development Plan in 2017 forming a group including representative of a cross section of local organisations.  The work commenced with a public consultation asking residents, business owners and visitors for their views.  These views were then developed into policies and actions.

Three more public consultations took place before the draft plan was submitted to the then Eden District Council at the start of December 2019 to enable the Regulation 16 consultation to take place.  Unfortunately for us Covid hit meaning that the consultation was effectively delayed for a year.

The Examination in public took place virtually in March 2021.  Following the examination the Examiner issued his report recommending some minor word changes and the deletion of:

Policy 1 relating to Sustainable Development in Penrith,

Policy 8 - Identifying and Protecting Local Green Spaces and

Policy 9 – Protecting and Enhancing Sport, Leisure and Recreation Facilities

Penrith Town Council accepted that Policy 1 was no longer applicable as a change in planning regulations meant that the issues proposed in the policy were now covered.

In relation to the Green Spaces identified by the public as special, the Examiner concentrated on Beacon Hill which he clearly stated did not meet the criteria for designation.  He did not go through all the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

This item gives Councillors an opportunity to put questions to Cabinet Members.

Questions must relate to the powers, duties or responsibilities of the Cabinet and must relate to their portfolio responsibilities.  Questions should be brief, clear and focussed. 

This item will last for a maximum of 20 minutes.

There were no questions to the Leader of Cabinet at this meeting.

To receive statements by the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members.

The Leader thanked the staff in the Highways Team for their response to the recent Storm Debi and paid testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff to keep the highways open, where possible.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Assets also paid tribute to the Highways staff, and asked members of the public to contact the Council if they were aware of any blocked drains in the area.  The details can be entered either via the Westmorland and Furness website or via the Highways Hotline.

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environmental Services made an announcement about the recent Government proposals to close ticket offices at railway stations.  Due to an overwhelming response from the public objecting to this proposals it has now been withdrawn by the Government.  He thanked members of the public in Westmorland and Furness for taking the time to respond to these proposals.

For Cabinet to consider any referrals from Council or any of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

There were no referrals made from Council or the Overview and Scrutiny Committees on this occasion.

To consider a report from the Cabinet Member for Finance (copy enclosed).

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented a report which informed members that the national Council Tax Benefit Scheme was abolished and replaced with a locally determined scheme known as the Local Council tax Reduction Scheme on the 1 April 2013.

This report sought Cabinet approval to recommend that Council continued the current Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24 including the annual uprating and other minor income and capital disregards as determined by the Department for Works and Pensions for Housing Benefit purposes, and approval to top-up the Discretionary Housing Fund. 

Cabinet was also asked to approve for recommendation to Council to continue to apply the 100% voluntary disregard under the scheme of War Disablement Pensions, War Widows Pensions and War Widowers’ Pensions under Section 134 (8) and 139 (6) of the Social Security Administration Act; in the determination of both Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.  The Council also included Armed Forces Compensation as a voluntary disregard.  This was referred to as the Local Scheme.

On 1 April 2013, the national Council Tax Benefit Scheme was abolished and replaced with a locally determined scheme known as the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (“the Scheme”).  The aim of the Scheme was to provide support to residents of Working Age who had a low income, to assist them in paying Council Tax.

At a time when residents were dealing with multiple financial pressures in the cost of living, a Scheme which potentially reduced entitlement could have severe adverse impacts.  Linked to the cost of living pressures it was proposed that the Discretionary Housing Fund from the DWP was topped-up, to provide further support to those most in need.

The Discretionary Housing Fund was awarded annually from the DWP, and local authorities were permitted to top-up the fund to a maximum of 250% of the allocation.  To illustrate, the award for 2023/24 the allocation was £292,634; the Council could add £438,951; therefore, the total pot becomes £731,585.

This Fund provided Discretionary Housing Payments to support housing costs for those experiencing financial hardship and contributed to the prevention of homelessness.

The Council had an existing policy that supported Care Leavers up to the age of 25 years by granting up to 100% discount on their Council Tax.  This provided practical help and financial assistance to Care Leavers whilst they were developing independent lives and their life skills.

Cllr Derbyshire asked members to encourage any of their residents to apply for this.  Many residents were not aware of the scheme and this was a positive way of helping those that needed it.

The recommendations were then moved and seconded and put to a vote, which was unanimous.

RESOLVED,     that Cabinet is asked to recommend to Council :

(1)     the approval and adoption of the current Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the financial year commencing 1 April 2024 in accordance with Schedule 1A (5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, including the annual uprating and other minor income and capital disregards as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

To consider a report from the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities (copy enclosed).

Appendix H of this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972,  Schedule 12 Paragraph 5 - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

Cabinet considered a report which presented the draft Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plan (PNDP), which was a neighbourhood plan being prepared by Penrith Town Council (PTC). The PNDP covered Penrith Parish area which included the town and some surrounding countryside. It contained local planning policies and land allocations. 

The plan had been examined by an Independent Examiner.  This report sought approval to progress the plan through a further round of consultation, prior to being subject to a referendum and finally Made (adopted by Council).  This meant:

(i)         Approval of the majority of the Independent Examiner’s recommendations as follows - The rewording of policy text in respect of policies 2: Environmentally Sustainable Design, 3: Energy Use and Reducing Carbon Emissions, 4: Accessibility and Social Inclusion, 5: Conservation Areas in Penrith, 6: High Quality New Homes, 7: Housing Types and Mix, and 13: Penrith Town Centre Improvements, as recommended by the Examiner.

·         The deletion of policies 1: Sustainable Development in Penrith and 12: Traffic Management, as recommended by the Examiner.

·         The retention in full of Policies 10: Protecting and Enhancing Health and Community Facilities, 11: Walking and cycling and 14: Shopfront Design as originally proposed by Penrith Town Council (PTC), as recommended by the Examiner.

(ii)       In the light of legal advice and further evidence submitted by Penrith Town Council, not accepting some of the Examiner’s recommendations as follows:

·         The retention of policies 8: Identifying and Protecting Local Green Space and 9: Protecting and Enhancing Sport, Leisure and Recreational Facilities, contrary to the Examiner’s recommendation that both policies be deleted.The exception to this is to agree the deletion of The Beacon within Policy 8 as a Local Green Space, as it fails to meet the test of it ‘not constituting an extensive tract of land,’ as recommended by the Examiner.

(iii)      Approval, following consultation, to submit the amended plan to referendum, despite differing from the Examiners recommendations in respect of polices 8 and 9.

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities took members through the report, and drew attention to the next steps in the process.

The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) stated that a local planning authority must publish what action would be taken in response to the recommendations of the Examiner. This was known as a ‘Decision Statement’.  This outlined how the Neighbourhood Plan was proposed to be modified in response to the Examiner’s report and the reasoning for such changes. The Decision Statement confirmed that the modifications proposed by the Examiner (with the exception of his recommendation in respect of Policies 8 and 9) had been clearly justified and accepted by officers. 

The Decision Statement also confirmed that the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan, as revised, met the basic conditions and that the Plan could now proceed to a further round of public consultation (in accordance with Schedule 4B paragraph 13 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), which was necessary due to the retention of Policies 8 and 9 (with the exception of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To consider a report from the Cabinet Member Sustainable Communities and Localities (copy enclosed)

Appendix 2 of this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972,  Schedule 12 Paragraph 2 - information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual; Paragraph 3 as it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs (including the authority holding that information), and Paragraph 5 - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

Cabinet considered a report from the Director of Thriving Communities and presented by the Cabinet Member – Sustainable Communities and Localities which informed them that Ulverston Coronation Hall (UCH) Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) had notified the Council of its intention to end the current tenancy on 31 December 2023. Therefore, the operation of the Coronation Hall building would revert back to the Council from the 1 January 2024.

This report asked Cabinet to consider the future operation of the Coronation Hall and sought agreement that the Council would continue to operate the Coronation Hall as a cultural and community venue until at least March 2025, whilst officers prepared a detailed operational model and business plan for the venue. The proposed operational model and business plan would be produced for consideration by Cabinet no later than September 2024.

It was proposed that following the temporary closure of Ulverston Library, the pop-up library service continued in the Coronation Hall, whilst options for delivering a permanent library service in Ulverston were developed and consulted upon, in line with DCMS guidance. 

This would be subject to a separate decision in due course. It is proposed that an annual revenue budget of £435k (pro-rata) was allocated to fund the operation of the Coronation Hall until March 2025.

The Coronation Hall in Ulverston was a Council asset. The contractual term of the lease to Ulverston Coronation Hall CIO for the management of Coronation Hall Ulverston came to an end on 31 July 2021. Ulverston Coronation Hall CIO had been occupying the premises on the terms of the previous lease.

In September 2023, Ulverston library was closed as a result of extensive electrical issues that became evident following a routine electrical inspection. A temporary pop-up library service was currently available within the Ante Room at the Coronation Hall. Subject to further legal advice being obtained by the Council, a temporary extended library offer was expected at Ulverston market hall in early November 2023. The cost to complete the re-wire, heating system upgrade, interior layout changes and any other works required would  be significant.

The library provided a home to community group meetings and community-based services, with more than 2,800 members and an average 4,000 footfall each month.

Cllr Sanderson welcomed this proposal, as the building was important to the Ulverston and the surrounding areas.  The closure of the library was also a loss to the area and she looked forward to seeing future proposals on the long term use of the building.

The Cabinet Member then moved the recommendations and these were seconded and put to a unanimous vote.

RESOLVED,             that Cabinet

(1)     note that the lease to UCH CIO of the Coronation Hall Ulverston will come to an end on 31 December 2023;

(2)     agree that from 01 January 2024 the Council will operate the Coronation Hall Ulverston as a cultural and community venue until March 2025, to include continuation of the temporary pop-up library offer in the Hall;

(3)     agree the temporary pop-up Library offer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

To consider a report from the Leader of the Council (copy enclosed)

Appendix 3 to this report is not for publication by virtue of Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972,  Schedule 12  Paragraph 3 as it contains Information relating to the financial or business affairs (including the authority holding that information), and Paragraph - information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

The Leader of the Council presented a report which informed members that Westmorland and Furness Council became the Accountable Body for the Barrow Town Deal on 1 April 2023 following Local Government Reorganisation, with this role previously held by Barrow Borough Council.

As a project within the Barrow Town Deal programme, the Barrow Learning Quarter (Barrow Island Campus) had reached a key point in its delivery. This report sought Cabinet approval for the Council (as the Accountable Body) to enter into a Grant Funding Agreement with the University of Cumbria to manage the £11.167m grant support to the Barrow Learning Quarter (Barrow Island Campus) in compliance with government requirements.

The report sought a delegation to the Director of Resources (Section 151 Officer) to grant an easement for Council owned land to BAE systems as it formed part of the access to the site. The proposal was that this easement was granted at nil value, which required Cabinet to also delegate the approval to grant the easement at an undervalue position.

In September 2019 Government announced that Barrow-in-Furness was one of 100 places nationally invited to develop proposals for a Town Deal.  The Brilliant Barrow Town Deal Board was formed in January 2020 in line with government guidance, to oversee the development of a Town Investment Plan for Barrow.

The Brilliant Barrow Town Investment Plan was submitted to government in July 2020 and resulted in the signing of Heads of Terms with government in November 2020 for an investment of £25m. 

Confirmation of approval of the £25m Town Deal investment was received in February 2022 and payments for project were received by the Council against an agreed financial profile.

Contracting with external parties via a Grant Funding Agreement for individual projects by the Accountable Body was the key mechanism used to ensure funding allocations could be passed to project delivery bodies in line with the responsibilities set out in the LAF and government requirements. 

This included the establishment of monitoring and evaluation plans for all projects, reporting requirements, compliance with statutory terms and conditions (e.g. procurement), and any specific project conditions that were identified as a result of the assurance process.   For the Learning Quarter project the proposed Grant Funding Agreement was between the University of Cumbria and the Council.

The current programme financial profile and contracting status was summarised in the table below:

To consider any urgent items of business.

There were no urgent items of business.