Agenda and minutes

Councillor Fordham noted that he was a Worship Leader at the Elder Yard Unitarian Chapel which was within the area of the Northern Gateway scheme but he did not have pecuniary interest in agenda item 58.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Catt.

5:00pm to 5:45pm

The Deputy Leader, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing and Assistant Director – Health and Wellbeing attended to present a report updating the Committee about the progress of the Chesterfield Borough Council (CBC) Climate Change Action Plan.

CBC declared a Climate Emergency on 17 July, 2019 and resolved to establish a Chesterfield Climate Change Working Group to produce an Action Plan.

The action plan was approved by Full Council on 26 February, 2020. The plan was developed with eight themes, each theme had a series of actions which in total amounted to thirty-nine specific actions to support CBC carbon reduction activities.

The Assistant Director advised that since the plan had been approved there had been several actions within the plan which had been progressed, including:

·      In April 2020 the Council switched its electricity supply to renewable sources.

·      The Council’s housing capital programme had commenced and CBC was committed to ensuring that the existing housing stock was as energy efficient as possible. Properties on the Grangewood estate had benefited from upgrades to windows and insulation to communal areas which would improve the thermal efficiency of the homes.

·      The Private Sector Housing service had submitted a funding application into phase one of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme. The application sought access to £500,000 to enable targeted support for owner occupied or privately rented properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or without an EPC. In addition to the carbon reduction advantages of this scheme those most at risk of fuel poverty would benefit.

·      The Council was working with neighbouring authorities through the Local Authority Energy Partnership to develop an application for phase two Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme funding when this is released.

·      The funding applications complemented the wider Green Homes Grant scheme applications that households would be able to apply for directly from late September 2020. The council would support the awareness raising of this scheme to ensure that as many residents as possible would be able to take advantage of the funding given the carbon impact of the built environment in Chesterfield.

·      The Council was currently working with Low Carbon Homes, Derbyshire County Council (DCC), University of Derby -Sustainable Business and Clean Growth and other local district and borough councils to support a network of six national events designed to target retrofitting for housing to improve thermal efficiencies.

·      In July 2020 the Council adopted the Chesterfield Economic Recovery Plan to support and rebuild Chesterfield’s economy in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic plan makes specific reference to sustainability in relation to economic recovery.

·      The Council was also working with DCC and partners to develop an Integrated Transport Plan, the provision of cycle infrastructure and signposting businesses to low carbon support activities being delivered by partners. In addition, DCC’s Active Travel funding would be accessed to help fund a range of schemes.

These activities within the plan demonstrated how the climate change action plan was being embedded across the council.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To move “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act".

Part 2 (Non Public Information)

5:45pm to 5:50pm

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

5:50pm to 6:35pm

The Leader, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Assistant Director – Economic Growth and Economic Development Manager attended to present a report about the Elder Way and Northern Gateway Developments.

The Northern Gateway scheme was approved by Cabinet in July 2016. The scheme aimed to improve the northern gateway to the Town Centre through the provision of three main elements:

·      The first element was the provision of a new Multi Storey Car Park (MSCP) to replace the former Saltergate car park that had fallen into disrepair; 

·      The second element was the construction of the Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre on Holywell Cross;

·      The third element was the delivery of a new public realm scheme, centred on Elder Way and part of Knifesmithsgate. 

There was another related element that was being delivered by the private sector. Jomast Developments Ltd had purchased the former Cooperative Department Store on Elder Way and a full refurbishment of the building had been completed. Premier Inn had taken over the upper floors of the building and had been operating since April 2019. CBC had supported Premier Inn with recruitment of staff and worked with Chesterfield College to deliver a sector-based work academy. Of the people who attended the course, 19 secured employment. Progress on letting the commercial space on the ground floor had been slower than anticipated and was now being impacted by COVID 19. 

The construction of the new Saltergate MSCP commenced in September 2018 and was completed in July 2019. The new MSCP provided 526 parking bays, including 32 disabled spaces and 15 larger spaces allocated to parent and child users. There were also six electric vehicle charging spaces available with a further 10 spaces enabled for future connection. 

The Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre was being developed on part of Holywell Cross car park. When complete, it would provide a high quality base for up to 32 start-up and small and medium sized businesses. The new Centre sought to build on the success of the Council’s existing portfolio of Innovation Centres at Tapton and Dunston. The building had been designed to have sustainability principles at its heart, minimising its impact on the environment and achieving considerable efficiencies in energy use. The Council’s website had been updated to include a fly through video to give potential occupiers a flavour of what the new enterprise centre will have to offer. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Robert Woodhead’s Ltd, theappointed contractors, were working to strict health and safety criteria in line with national Covid-19 guidance on the operation of construction sites. The impact of Covid-19 on matters such as the supply chain, had required an adjustment to the completion date from early to late spring 2021. Any additional changes to health and safety requirements or a second spike, could result in further delays. The key risk for the Enterprise Centre would be to ensure that the construction progresses as planned.  

The public realm scheme would create a more attractive street scene for shoppers, visitors and businesses.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

To move “That after the consideration of an item containing exempt information the public be re-admitted to the meeting”.

6:35pm to 6:40pm

RESOLVED –

That the public be readmitted to the meeting following consideration of an item containing exempt information.

Please follow the link below to view the latest Forward Plan.

Forward Plan

6:40pm to 6:45pm

The Committee considered the Forward Plan.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

6:45pm to 6:50pm

The Committee considered the Scrutiny recommendations implementation monitoring schedule.

RESOLVED –

That the Scrutiny monitoring schedule be noted.

6:50pm to 6:55pm

The Senior Democratic and Scrutiny Officer submitted a report which included the details of the proposed Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ Work Programme for 2019/20.

Councillor Coy enquired about the timing of the ‘Homelessness, accommodation prisoners and winter provision’ item which was scheduled to be considered by the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee in December, 2020. The Senior Democratic and Scrutiny Officer advised that this concern could be raised at a meeting of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and suggested that an additional meeting could be scheduled or a task and finish group could be created.

Councillor Fordham requested that his vote against the recommendation in the officer’s report be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

 RESOLVED –

1.    That the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2020/21 be approved and recommended to the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs).

6:55pm to 7:00pm

The Joint Scrutiny Chairs would be participating in the virtual East Midlands Scrutiny Network on 25 September, 2020.

7:00pm to 7:05pm

The Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held on 25 June, 2020 were presented.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.