Agenda for the Meeting of the Strategy & Finance Committee to be held Wednesday 15 June 2022

01/06/22SF: TO ELECT THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STRATEGY & FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR 2022-23

The Chairperson will ask for nominations for election of the Chairperson of the Strategy & Finance Committee for the ensuing year.
If there is more than one nomination, a vote will commence by a show of hands in the order in which persons have been nominated.

The Chairperson will then declare the successful nominee to be the duly elected Chairperson of the Strategy & Finance Committee for the ensuing year.

At this point, the incoming Chairperson will take over the meeting from the retiring Chairperson.

02/06/22SF: TO ELECT THE VICE-CHAIRPERSON OF THE STRATEGY & FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR 2022-23

The Chairperson will ask for nominations for election of the Vice-Chairperson of the Strategy & Finance Committee for the ensuing year.
If there is more than one nomination, a vote will commence by a show of hands in the order in which persons have been nominated.

The Chairperson will then declare the successful nominee to be the duly elected Vice Chairperson of the Strategy & Finance Committee for the ensuing year.

03/06/22SF: Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence.

Relevant Legislation: Local Government Act 1972, s 85.

04/06/22SF: Disclosure of Pecuniary Interests

To receive disclosure of any pecuniary interests relating to meeting agenda items.

Having declared an interest, a member must not participate in discussion on the matter and must not take part in any vote unless an appropriate dispensation has been granted.

Relevant Legislation: Localism Act 2011, s 31.

05/06/22SF: Public Participation

The council meets and makes its decisions in public. A council meeting is not a public meeting. It is a meeting held in public and there is no requirement in law which allows members of the public to speak at such meetings.

However, the council is is keen to encourage public attendance at meetings and will therefore provide an opportunity to local registered electors to show it is committed to community engagement.

A maximum of 3 minutes is allowed per person to speak and the total length of time afforded for public participation at each meeting shall be no more than 15 minutes, subject to an extension of this time, in exceptional circumstances, being agreed by the Chairman.

Relevant Legislation: Local Government Act, s 100.

06/06/22SF: To note Committee Terms of Reference

Further to the recent council meeting, a copy of the Terms of Reference for the Strategy & Finance committee are provided for noting.

>View the Strategy & Finance Committee Terms of Reference

07/06/22SF: Kirby Road Allotments Interim Update

To receive an interim update regarding the Kirby Road Allotments following recent correspondence and site inspection.

Following concerns raised by tenants, the Grounds Manager and Council Administrator attended a site inspection on Tuesday 14^th June 2022. Tenants had complained over a number of overgrown and unworked plots.

A key issue with this is communication. Only around half of tenants ever respond to emails and many also do not have a mobile phone number and do not respond to calls. Throughout Covid, lenience was given to many plotholders who were unable to work their plots so many became overgrown. Tenants have also apparently given up plots but no notice of this has been given to SPC.

From the inspection, we have identified all plots that appear to be unworked and these tenants will now be sent an official letter (by post and email) giving them 30 days to have their plot, ‘reasonably free from weeds and noxious plants and in a good state of cultivation and fertility and in good condition’ as per their agreement.

Failure to do so will mean the termination of the agreement and the plot will cease to be theirs from 15^th July 2022. As these plots become available, they will be offered to new tenants.

The Grounds team will, in the meantime, be clearing any available plots so that these can be offered to people on the waiting list. As soon as any tenant confirms they no longer require a plot, these will then be cleared so that they can also be offered. Depending on whether any tenants clear the plots themselves, the Grounds manager anticipates this could take around two months on top of the remaining public realm areas that are our responsibility.

Concerns that some issues that have caused delays to the site maintenance were not communicated to tenants will be addressed. With the monthly site visits and more regular updates following these visits, to all tenants.

Going forward, the Council Administrator will accompany the grounds manager on a monthly site visit to the allotment site to keep oversight on which plots, if any, are unworked and if there are any other issues.

The Council Administrator will ensure that any plot that is unworked or unpaid be given prompt notice that this needs to be resolved after which the plot will be offered to someone else.

On top of the current communication, we would like to reinstall a noticeboard on the allotment site, to allow an extra option to communicate with current tenants, providing them with contact details for us in case of any problems or questions.

A new app is being created which will assist with the administration of the allotments, which is currently done by spreadsheet.

08/06/22SF: Strategic Projects Interim Update

To note updates regarding ongoing strategic projects:

1. Stone Recreation Ground Masterplan
At the annual council meeting in May, an award of tender was made to One Creative Environments Ltd for multi-disciplinary services to undertake discharge of conditions and reserve matters for the recreation ground masterplan scheme.

Since appointment, the lead architectural and landscape consultants have been devising an indicative programme of activity to plot the timeline from appointment to submission of final reserved matters and advertisement of construction tender.

The programme will include presentation to council/committee meetings as necessary, public consultation, liaison with planning authority officers, activities to discharge planning conditions, and procurement of required supplementary ground studies and investigations.

Confirmation of proposed programming will enable the council to coordinate requirements, such as seeking borrowing approval, liaison with user groups, and managing anticipated conflicts with usual activities.

2. Claire Tiltman Centre
The Claire Tiltman Centre was officially opened on 25th May 2022 with a special event to mark the occasion and pay tribute to Claire.

The event was well attended by local, regional and national representatives, along with Claire’s friends and family member and provided an effective introduction to the centre and its intended objectives.

Following this event and subsequent publicity, council officers have received and are fielding a number of enquiries from parties interested in using the centre.

Preparation for the event enabled photography and a 360° video tour to be produce to support marketing of the venue. Officers are currently preparing marketing materials and creating a web presence for the facility to support the launch of a marketing campaign to establish secondary use.

Recruitment of additional manpower resource is required to facilitate cover of bookings, due to be imminently undertaken.

Most of the hard landscaping works are now complete, with just a variation to continue the pavement to the pedestrian access required to be processed. Further soft landscaping works are due to be undertaken. The Brent 6th Scout Group were successful in a recent application to the Woodland Trust for 420 large saplings for the site. These trees are due for delivery in November, with planting to be undertaken by the group in conjunction with council grounds staff. These trees will help facilitate plans for a Forest School and will count towards the council’s Tree Year Plan planting total.

3. 2030 Decarbonisation Strategy
Officers are currently reviewing the tentative action plan produced by the carbon consultant and will seek to present recommendations for priority actions at August’s S&F Committee meeting. This will enable some cross-referencing to have taken place between the initial action plan and the consultants for the rec masterplan to identify opportunities to piggy back improvements on the back of proposed works.

09/06/22SF: Budget Monitoring Report

To note budget monitoring reports for the period April/May 2022, including:

10/06/22SF: To note CIL Balance and I&E report

To receive a report that confirms the current balance of Community Infrastructure Levy funds, along with details of receipts and expenditure to date.

n.b Presentation of a revised CIL forecast, following recent successful neighbourhood plan referendum, along with discussion and resolution of a CIL Expenditure Policy is scheduled for discussion at the July 27th full council meeting.

>View the CIL Funding Summary