Agenda item

Under Standing Order No.14 Members asked the following questions:

·      Councillor Bingham asked why Tapton House had been left to deteriorate with its window frames and sills exposed to the elements. The Councillor questioned whether it was more cost effective to maintain the windows rather than have to replace them.

The Leader provided a verbal response, confirming that Tapton House was a very important property, built by a member of the Markham family and once home to George Stephenson. Members were assured that the Council was actively marketing the property to find the right tenant to invest in its future. The Leader also confirmed that the property had been made watertight and secure to avoid any further deterioration to its present condition. A number of viewings had already been conducted.

·      Councillor Fordham noted that Chesterfield Borough Council members who were also members of Derbyshire County Council had voted in support of declaring a Climate Change Emergency. Councillor Fordham asked what advice the Leader would give to members who had to vote one way at the County Council and the opposite way at the Borough Council?

The Leader provided a verbal response explaining that members must approach each situation they face with consideration to the role that they are carrying out. The Leader had not seen evidence to indicate that any member had contradicted the climate change emergency declared by Chesterfield Borough Council.

·      Councillor Borrell asked that access to historical artefacts be improved for the people of Chesterfield following the temporary housing of objects from Stephenson Memorial Hall in town centre venues.

The Leader provided a verbal response explaining that the Council was hopeful of securing Government Levelling Up Fund funding to support a substantial investment in Stephenson Memorial Hall which housed the Pomegranate Theatre and Chesterfield Museum. If secured, the funding would optimise the opportunities available for visitors to view the historical artefacts held at Chesterfield museum. Whilst the renovations were being carried out, museum artefacts would continue to be displayed for the people of Chesterfield to view at various town centre venues.

·      Councillor Barr asked whether the renovation work carried out to the foundations of Tapton House as reported in the press that week was in response to the results of a survey that had been carried out.

The Leader informed Councillor Barr that he would receive a written response on this matter following the meeting.

·      Councillor Holmes commented that on page 28 of the Council Plan it stated that whilst working on a definition of commercialisation, officers would be looking to create service efficiencies to reduce waste. The councillor asked if departments were not doing this already, then why not?

The Leader provided a verbal response confirming that defining commercialisation wasn’t a straightforward concept. The Council would be taking forward a multi-faceted approach, for example, it had already substantially reduced the running costs of the new Queens Park Sports Centre as compared to those of the old centre, which meant that the Council could continue to operate the sports centre through the pandemic when other Councils had closed their sports centres. Council departments were already making significant savings, as detailed in Your Chesterfield, and the proposed Tier 4 management restructuring process would help push the Council forward and support delivery of large scale efficiencies. This would continue to be the focus of the current political leadership.

·      Councillor Snowdon expressed his disappointment that the Council had not submitted an application for a grant from the local authority decarbonisation fund. The Councillor asked the Leader to confirm whether lessons had been learnt from this missed opportunity, given that resources were so stretched.

The Leader gave a verbal response explaining that the current Government had now introduced competitive bidding processes for most funding streams, requiring Councils to work to challenging specifications and deadlines. These new processes took up large amounts of officer time. If successful, further officer resources then needed to be allocated to avoid the risk of Government clawing back funding. The Leader advised that there would be times when it was not possible to bid for everything, given the complexities and demands on officers already dealing with a global pandemic. The Leader had recently written to the Prime Minister asking that he reflects on the competitive bidding processes that now dictate how Government grant funding is allocated.