Decisions

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report seeking authority from Members to release Section 106 contributions for improvements to the equipped play area in Sabden.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Authorise the payment of up to £6,716.52 to Sabden Parish Council following the completion of play area improvements on Sabden Park.

Councillor D Birtwhistle was granted permission to speak and spoke in support of the application.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

REFUSE planning permission for the following reason:-

1.         The proposal would lead to the creation of a new residential dwelling in the defined open countryside without sufficient justification insofar that it has not been adequately demonstrated that the proposal would meet any of the exception criteria including meeting a local housing need or providing regeneration benefits. A new dwelling on this site would introduce further urbanisation and detract from the rural character. Furthermore, the siting of the application site outside of the defined settlement area of Wiswell means that future occupants would likely be reliant on a private motor vehicle. Therefore, the proposal fails to comply with Key Statement DS1, DS2 and DMI2 and Policies DMG2, DMH3 and DMG3 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 – 2028 as well as the National Planning Policy Framework.

To Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report seeking Committee’s approval of the proposed Scheme of Delegation for Planning and Development and the Code of Conduct for Planning.

Members discussed the documents in detail and made a number of comments and suggested amendments. Members considered that the item should be deferred to enable the Officers to consider the suggestions made.

Councillor Peplow left the meeting and took no part in the discussion or vote.

Mr P Hitchen (Peter Hitchen Architects) spoke in support of the application.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

REFUSE planning permission for the following reasons:-

1.          The proposal would lead to the creation of a new residential dwelling outside of the settlement without sufficient justification insofar that it has not been adequately demonstrated that the proposal would meet any of the exception criteria including meeting a local housing need or providing regeneration benefits. The proposal therefore fails to accord with Key Statement DS1 and DS2 and policies DMG2 and DMH3 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 – 2028.

2.         The proposal would result in a large, dominant, dwellinghouse of modern design and materials which would have a visually harmful and urbanising impact upon the rural character of the area. It would also have a harmful impact on the simple architecture and traditional character and appearance of the Grade II* Listed Read Hall and its associated Parkland, the Grade II Listed Ice House and a number of non-designated heritage assets and their settings. Any public benefits from the development do not outweigh this less than substantial harm. The proposal therefore is contrary to S66 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Area) Act 1990 (as amended by s.58B of Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023), Chapter 16 of the National Planning Policy Framework and Key Statement EN5 and Policies DMG1, DMG2, DME2 and DME4 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 - 2028.

3.         The proposal would result in a large, dominant, dwellinghouse close to historic woodland and fails to demonstrate that the proposed house and its changes in land levels can be accommodated without resulting in an adverse impact on the root protection area of the historic woodland and in particular Trees T1 and T2. Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Policies DME1 and DME2 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 – 2028.

4.         The proposal would result in an elevated dwellinghouse and associated residential curtilage in close proximity to neighbouring property to the west, The Stables.  This would result in an unacceptable impact on the residential amenity of the occupiers of this neighbouring because of adverse levels of overlooking and loss of privacy that would be afforded.  Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Policy DMG1 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 – 2028.

Councillor M Peplow returned to the meeting.

The Chief Executive submitted a report informing Committee of the outcome of consultation on:

·       Provision of Hackney Carriages which are wheelchair accessible.

·       Retention of the requirement for 8 Hackney Carriages to be licensed with a requirement for fitting of an ELAP seat.

·       Any replacement of a vehicle with an ELAP seat to be by a side entry wheelchair accessible vehicle.

·       Introduction of disability awareness training on renewal of drivers’ licence.

It was noted that 8 Hackney Carriage drivers and two Private Hire drivers responded to the consultation.  Members found it disappointing that there were no responses from representatives of groups of users.

The general consensus from the responses was that ELAP seats should not be required as they were barely used; ELAP seat vehicles should not be replaced by side wheelchair accessible Hackney vehicles and there was no desire to expand the side entry wheelchair accessible Hackney fleet.

Whilst there was a mixed reception to the introduction of disability awareness training on licence renewal, Members felt strongly that it should be introduced.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve an amendment of the policy to provide that the conditions for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire drivers shall be extended to include a condition that:

“A driver shall undergo disability awareness training provided by the Blue Lamp Trust on application for a new licence, or on the next renewal after 1 April 2024, and shall undergo refresher training at 5 year intervals”.

The Chief Executive submitted a report asking Members to determine whether an annual meeting should be arranged for the Committee to meet premises licence holders, after a request was made for such by Clitheroe Pub Watch.

Discussion took place surrounding who should be invited and the scope of the meetings.  It was noted that it would be a useful forum for the Council to consider any concerns raised by members of the licensed trade regarding current issues, albeit not relating to premises specific matters.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.     Agree that an annual meeting should be held with holders of premises licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003.

2.     Agree that invitations to the meeting should be extended to the following groups:

a.     Members of the Pub Watch scheme in Clitheroe, Longridge and Whalley

b.     The police

c.     The Council’s Environmental Health department

d.     The Council’s Licensing Enforcement staff

3.     Advise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services of any matter which Committee might wish to discuss at any meeting.

The Chief Executive submitted a report seeking Committee’s views on whether Hackney Carriage fares should be varied from the level recommended by Committee on 30 January 2024, and for Committee to set a further date for the introduction of the revised table of fares.

The proposed night-time fare rates had been advertised in the local press and circulated to the local taxi trade.  Two representations had been received from Hackney Carriage drivers licence holders, both of which suggested a rate of £0.90 for each subsequent 1/5^th of a mile or part thereof between 12 midnight and 6am and between 7pm and midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report seeking endorsement of the Accounting Policies to be used in producing the Financial Statements for the Council for the 2023/24 financial year.

It was noted that no major changes to the CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (The Code) had been identified, therefore, no material changes to the policies had been made. Members were informed that the policies in the report may be subject to further changes should any be needed whilst the financial statements were being prepared. Such changes would be reported to Committee with an explanation of the impact when the financial statements are presented.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Endorse the use of the policies shown at Annex 1 to the report, subject to the need for any further changes identified as needed whilst the Statement of Accounts are produced.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report presenting the 3-year Strategic Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25 to 2026/27 for consideration and approval by Committee.

The Internal Audit Plan defined the scope and rationale behind each of the individual assignments and the resources required to deliver it. The plan provided assurance regarding the effectiveness of controls and the management of risk. It was focused on the Council’s strategic risk register which considered the new objectives in achieving the Corporate Plan (2023/27). The anticipated audit resources were considered sufficient to deliver an effective 3-Year Strategic Internal Audit Plan.

It was confirmed at the meeting that numerous controls and checks were in place both from and internal and external audit perspective in respect of accounts payable. Some minor adjustments were required to the document which were discussed at the meeting.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the Strategic Internal Audit Plan 2024/25 to 2026/27 as attached in Appendix A to the report, subject to minor amendments as discussed.

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report updating Committee on the Household Support Fund Round 5 (HSF5) and seeking approval for potential spend.

On 6 March 2024, in the Spring Budget, the Chancellor had announced that the Household Support Fund (HSF) would be extended for a further six months from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024. Lancashire County Council (LCC) had been awarded £9,678,235.22 which matched their previous six-month period allocations.

LCC had confirmed that there were some slight additions to the terms and conditions of the grant, and they aimed to provide details for District allocations after the Easter holiday.

Under the Household Support Fund Round 4 (HSF4), a supermarket voucher application scheme ran initially from 3 July to 1 September 2023, the criteria for which was noted in the report. A second round of applications ran from 2 October to 1 December 2023. The report informed Members that 214 eligible applicants from HSF4 had not received vouchers due to insufficient funding, and Committee approval was therefore sought to prioritise these applicants in the HSF5 round of funding, subject to sufficient funding from LCC.

The report also detailed key changes from the previous versions of the fund, as confirmed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

A further report would be brought to Committee setting out the proposed HSF5 scheme which would detail the amount of funding and any specified criteria from LCC.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve that the eligible applicants as part of HSF4, who did not receive a supermarket voucher due to insufficient funding, should be prioritised in the event that RVBC receive sufficient funding from LCC, and that each of the households be invited to apply for funding again to ensure that they are still eligible (in accordance with the scheme delivered as part of HSF4).

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to consider a request from Health and Housing Committee for the continuation of the First Time Buyers Energy Efficiency grant scheme in to 2024/25 through the approval of a capital programme scheme. It was proposed that the £100,000 capital programme scheme be created by taking (virement of) £100,000 from the existing Landlord/Tenant grant scheme.

Health and Housing Committee had approved the recommendation at their meeting of 21 March 2024 in order to continue the First Time Buyers Energy Efficiency grant scheme which had been a success since starting in the 2022/23 financial year.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve a scheme of £100,000 in the 2024/25 capital programme for the continuation of the First Time Buyers Energy Efficiency grant scheme, created by virement of £100,000 from the Landlord/Tenant grant scheme.

The Chief Executive submitted a report for Committee to agree the adoption of the Returning Officer’s Scale of Fees in connection with any Borough and Parish Council By Elections that might arise in 2024/25.

The Returning Officer was held personally responsible for the organisation and conduct of every election held within the Borough, and in the case of a General Election the Ribble Valley Parliamentary Constituency which extended into the neighbouring Boroughs of South Ribble and Preston.

For Local Elections the Council were required to set the fees which the Returning Officer should not exceed. A scale of fees for Lancashire was developed by a working group of Elections Officers in 2007, which had been updated annually in line with inflation, general staff pay awards and guidance from DLUHC. The updated scale of fees was included with the report for Committee to consider.

It was highlighted at the meeting that cost of running Parish Council Elections had increased significantly over the years, particularly when a Parish By Election was held in isolation. The Council could recharge the cost of administering these elections to Parishes. Committee requested that a report be brought to the next meeting in order to fully consider the options.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Agree the Returning Officers’ Scale of Fees for 2024/25 Borough and Parish Elections as set out in the report.

2.    Request that a report be brought to a future meeting detailing the costs to the Council for running Parish Council Elections and the options available for Committee to consider.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to consider a request from Community Services Committee for an additional capital programme scheme for the purchase and installation of a replacement vehicle wash at Salthill Depot for a total of £21,730.

Community Services Committee had approved the recommendation at their meeting of 12 March 2024 as the existing vehicle wash at Salthill Depot was no longer operational, and expensive and uneconomical to repair.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve a scheme of £21,730 in the 2024/25 capital programme for the purchase and installation of a replacement vehicle wash at Salthill Depot, to be funded from the VAT Shelter Earmarked Reserve.

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report updating Members in respect of the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and seeking approval for use of some of the Council’s UKSPF allocation.

The report listed the schemes for which the UKSPF had been spent or earmarked to, and the amounts allocated within each financial year were as follows:

·         Year 1 (2022/23) allocation £238,805

·         Year 2 (2023/24) allocation £477,610

·         Year 3 (2024/25) allocation £1,251,339

Based on the Council’s spend in years 1 and 2 it is expected that 100% of the Council’s 2024/25 funding would be paid upfront, after the closure of the upcoming reporting window on 1 May 2024. Based on actual spend and commitments to date, minus administration costs, £600,289 of the Council’s UKSPF allocation was yet to be allocated to projects.

Committee was updated on the outcome of discussions by the UKSPF Working Group to date. Information and updates were provided on the schemes that had been recommended for approval and Committee were asked to consider which schemes should be approved for support from the 2024/25 allocation.

Clitheroe Market - Committee discussed the proposed schemes and intention to keep disruption to the market at a minimum was highlighted. The Director of Economic Development and Planning would continue to meet with Market Traders quarterly to provide updates and opportunity for discussion.

Longridge Pump Track - Members were updated that the Director was meeting with the Longridge Pump Track contractors the following week to discuss the outcome of the consultation exercise and any suggested highlighted minor amendments, following which the final design would then be subject to planning approval.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Agree to increasing the UKSPF allocation to the market to £150,000 to undertake the improvement works to Clitheroe market as set out in the report.

2.    Direct the Director of Economic Development and Planning to procure the improvement works to the market to be undertaken following the food festival.

3.    Approve an exemption to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules in respect to the number of quotes obtained for the Pump Track.

4.    Authorise the Director of Economic Development and Planning to request quotes from major commercial letting agents to undertake a soft marketing exercise for the vacant and underused parts of the Castle, up to £2,500.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to obtain Committee's approval to write off Business Rates debt relating to one business that had been dissolved.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve writing off a total of £36,118.31 in business rates with £180.00 costs where it had not been possible to collect the amount due.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to recommend to Council the acceptance of the reviewed Financial Regulations and Contract Procedure Rules.

A full review of the existing Financial Regulations had been carried out and the minor changes were summarised as follows:

·         Clarification that where a virement is over £10,000 and requires service

Committee approval, and the virement is to be between Service Committees, then the approving Committee must be the committee offering up the available budget.

·         Update of the post title of the ‘Director of Resources’ to ‘Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive’.

A review of the Contract Procedure Rules had also resulted in the following changes:

·         The main change was to update the post title of the ‘Director of Resources’ to ‘Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive’.

·         Additionally, there had been an update to the Public Contracts Regulations thresholds.

The revised Financial Regulations and Contract Procedure Rules were appended to the report and would require onward approval by Full Council.

***RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Recommend to Full Council acceptance of the reviewed Financial Regulations and revised Contract Procedure Rules.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to review, approve and adopt the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Practices for 2024/25.

Members were informed that the Treasury Management Policies and Practices document was reviewed on an annual basis to comply with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Code.  Since March 2023, there had not been any further changes to the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and so the majority of the document remained unchanged with any amendments shown in tracked changes.

***RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Review, approve and formally adopt the Treasury Management Policies and Practices document as attached in Appendix 1 to the report, incorporating the:

·         Treasury Management Key Principles

·         Treasury Management Policy Statement

·         Treasury Management Clauses

·         Treasury Management Practices and Schedules

2.    Recommend to Council the Treasury Management Policies and Practices 2024/25.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to seek Member approval for the Council’s Capital and Treasury Management Strategy for the 2024/25 financial year.

It was noted that elements of the document had previously been approved as part of the budget setting process, but they were attached to the report together under a single strategy.

***RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Recommend to Council the Capital and Treasury Management Strategy as set out in Annex 1 to the report.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to seek approval of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and Plan for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29.  The plan was annexed to the report and it included the implications of the latest budgets for both revenue and capital.

Members were advised that it was a key financial planning document and aimed to provide an assurance that the Council’s spending plans were affordable over the Medium Term.  It was important that it was understood by all members and staff.

It was noted that there was great deal of uncertainty around much of the document beyond the financial year 2024/25, however the document would continue to be reviewed annually to once again reflect the information at that point in time.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and Plan for 2024/25 to 2028/29.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report asking Committee to approve the allocation of voluntary organisation grants for 2024/25. 

The report outlined the scheme to Committee and provided a summary of the twenty-two applications that had been received. The working group had met on 14 March 2024 to consider the applications and recommended grant support of £68,100 to thirteen applicants as set out in the report. For three of the applications the working group suggested that the grant offers be subject to conditions as follows:

·         £15k to Citizens Advice East Lancashire on condition that a comprehensive face-to-face service is provided in the Ribble Valley

·         £12k to Little Green Bus Ltd on condition that there is wider publication of the service across the Borough

·         £4k to The Foundation for Ribble Valley Families on condition that the organisation promotes awareness of the services offered, particularly for young people in the Ribble Valley

As it had been several years since Policy and Finance Committee had reviewed the grant scheme the working group recommended that a report be brought to a future committee meeting to allow for options to update the scheme to be considered by committee members. This recommendation was supported by Committee.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1. Approve the allocation of grants as proposed by the Voluntary Organisation Grants Working Group as set out in Annex 2 to the Report, totalling £68,100.

2. Request a review of the Voluntary Organisation Grants process with a report to be brought back to a future Committee.

Councillors S Bibby, S Hore, R Newmark, S O’Rourke, and J Rogerson returned to the meeting.

Councillor S Hore resumed as Chairman.

The Chief Executive submitted a report for Committee to approve and formally adopt the Council’s Corporate Plan 2023-2027 and the associated Corporate Plan Technical Appendix 2023-2027.

The Corporate Plan set out the strategic direct of the Council covering the period 2023-2027, and provided a focus to ensure that the service the Council delivered met the needs of our communities. The Plan would be reviewed annually to ensure that it continued to reflect the changes to the Council’s priorities that occurred over time.

The working group had met twice to develop the plan based on local and national priorities, a number of other high level Council plans and strategies, the 2023 Peoples Survey - Life in the Ribble Valley, and feedback from CMT and Heads of Service (HoS). The Strategy contained:

·         Four corporate goals to address issues that mattered most to the Borough.

·         Each goal had a number of objectives – things that we wished to achieve for the Borough.

·         The objectives were supported by a number of key actions – the things we would do to achieve our objectives.

·         Key measures of success were outlined in Appendix B – Draft Corporate Plan Technical Appendix 2023-27. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be used to monitor and analyse progress and achievements during the life of the Plan.

The Corporate Plan would be published on the Council website and shared internally with all staff. Where available, KPI data would be reported in a Quarterly Performance Report and scrutinised by Officers, CMT, and relevant Committees.

Members thanked the Council’s Policy and Performance Officer for the document and supported the implementation subject to minor amendments in wording.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the Corporate Plan and the associated Corporate Plan Technical Appendix 2023-2027 for formal adoption subject to minor amendments as noted at the meeting.

The Chief Executive submitted a report outlining the proposed meeting cycle for the forthcoming municipal year 2024/25.

There were no Borough elections being held in May 2025, therefore, it was proposed that the 2024/25 Annual Meeting be held on 13 May 2025.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the draft meeting cycle as detailed in the report for ratification at the Annual Meeting on 14 May 2024.

The Chief Executive submitted a report for Committee to review the Council’s Standing Orders (Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution) to ensure clarity.

A review was undertaken annually to ensure that the document was up to date as it contained the rules which governed the conduct and proceedings of the Council’s meetings.

Minor amendments were proposed to Standing Orders 5 and 22, with the full revised standing orders appended to the report with tracked changes.

*** RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1. Approve the changes to the Council’s Standing Orders outlined in the report.

2. Refer the proposed changes to the Council with a recommendation for their approval.