Agenda and draft minutes

As the Chair of the Committee had sent his apologies, and the Vice-Chair could no longer continue in the role as the political balance had changed, nominations for a Vice-Chair for the meeting were requested.

It was proposed by Martin Gawith, seconded by Paul Hart and unanimously agreed:-

Resolved :-

“That Councillor Chris Hanna be appointed Vice-Chair for the meeting.”

Councillor Hanna took the Chair.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1^st August 2024 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 1^st August, 2024 were signed by the Vice-Chair for the meeting as a correct record.

There was no Urgent Business.

To receive declarations by Councillors of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Councillors are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Councillors should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Councillors are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

Councillor Paul Hart declared an interest in any items relating to Morecambe Town Council.

Report of Chief Officer – Planning and Climate Change. 

The Vice-Chair welcomed the Chief Officer – Planning and Climate Change to the meeting.

The Committee was reminded that this was the fourth update report following Lancaster City Council’s Peer Challenge in November 2022 that had been requested by the City Council and co-ordinated by the Local Government Association (LGA), working with the national Planning Advisory Service.

It was reported that during 2024 progress in most of the outstanding workstreams had continued and concluded however some workstreams had been superseded by the recommendations of the Corporate Peer Challenge that had been undertaken halting progress on these streams.

Members were advised that immediately prior to the previous Update Report, the Planning Advisory Service Team revisited Lancaster to assess the progress the Council had made. The formal feedback was generally positive with comments being on a comprehensive action plan being developed and significant progress being made across all of the recommendations.

The Committee considered the outstanding issues and how the Committee would review the final few workstreams.

Resolved :-

(1)   That the Chief Officer – Planning and Climate Change be thanked for his attendance at the meeting.

(2)   That the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive the final updates on the outstanding workstreams.

The Chief Officer – Planning and Place to advise on the City Council’s powers and influence with regard to dilapidated buildings. 

Note:  Councillor David Whitaker has been invited to attend for this item. 

The Vice-Chair welcomed Councillor David Whitaker to the meeting who had raised the issue of dilapidated buildings with Scrutiny.

The Committee was given an overview of the current enforcement powers the City Council had to deal with dilapidated buildings. These included, under the Town and Country Planning Act, a Section 215 Notice which would be served on the owners of a building to improve the visual amenity of the building.

It was reported that under the Buildings Act, there were also Section 77, 78 and 79 Notices which dealt with buildings that were deemed to be dangerous.

The Vice-Chair invited Councillor Whitaker to speak as he had raised this issue and the impact on the West End of Morecambe.

Members went on to discuss how the City Council could tackle this issue in a joint service manner and also the work of the West End Millions scheme. It was felt this should be explored further.

It was agreed to arrange a Spotlight meeting of the Committee to consider this issue further.

Resolved :-

(1)   That a Spotlight meeting be arranged to consider how the Council could best deal with dilapidated buildings within the district.

(2)   That the relevant Cabinet Members and Council Officers be requested to attend as well as representatives from the West End Millions Board.

To consider any additional items that the Committee may wish to add to the Work Programme following consideration of items at this meeting. 

Members were advised that the Chair had agreed to postpone the three items that were scheduled for the September meeting - Remote monitoring of litter bins and route optimisation, Lancaster District Allotment Review and the Draft Fly Tipping Strategy, to a meeting later in the year as the Cabinet member had not been available to attend.

With regard to the scoping of the Obesity Task Group, Councillor Hart would take part in the scoping meeting, together with Councillor Gawith.

It was reported that the Scrutiny Protocol had been referred to the Monitoring Officer who had made arrangements for a meeting to discuss the Committee’s recommendations with the relevant Councillor Jason Wood, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Services and officers.

Resolved :-

That the actions above be agreed.

The List of Forthcoming Key Decisions can be viewed here

The Forthcoming Key Decisions were noted.

It was reported that the Scrutiny Protocol had been referred to the Monitoring Officer who had agreed to discuss the Committee’s recommendations with the relevant Cabinet Member.