Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the Meeting held on 9^th December, 2015 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9^th December 2015 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman and Councillor Lucy Atkinson declared personal interests in respect of Child Bus Fares in the Lancaster and Morecambe Area and other Bus Related Issues (minute 57 refers). 

Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire has been invited to attend the meeting.

The Chairman of the Bus Users Group, Jim Davies, has also been invited to attend.

The Chairman welcomed Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire, and Jim Davies, Chairman of the Bus Users Group to the meeting.

Members were given an overview of the pricing structure Stagecoach had in place for young people. It was reported that there were agreements in place with the local college and also the Universities for discounted tickets subsidised by Stagecoach but there was an anomaly with children over 16. To rectify anomaly this Stagecoach were trailing an Under 19s day rider costing £2 until the end of February 2016. If the pilot was successful this could be rolled out across the district. 

It was agreed that the results of this pilot would be circulated to the Committee once complete.

The Committee was reminded that Stagecoach had to consider the financial risk of any such scheme or change in service.

It was reported that Stagecoach had invested in a new website that was substantially more user friendly and enabled tickets to be bought in advance. New technology was being introduced such as direct debit payments, a phone app and also smart cards which would be rolled out to the Universities later in the year.

Members were then given an update on the impact of the County Council’s withdrawal of subsidies to certain bus services. The Committee was advised that Stagecoach would lose £650K a year from April 2016 in subsidies from Lancashire County Council.  Stagecoach had assessed all the subsidised services and made suitable alterations to mitigate financial risk. The outcome of this was some reductions and rerouting of services in the district.

It was reported that the County Council had set aside a fund of £2 million to assist local communities to provide their own bus service where cuts had been made.

The Committee asked a number of questions relating to specific bus service reductions.

Resolved :-

(1)          That Matt Cranwell and Jim Davies be thanked for their attendance at the meeting.

(2)          That the results of the Under 19s pilot be circulated to the Committee once complete.

Report of the Chief Officer (Environment) – report to follow.

The Chairman welcomed the Chief Officer (Environment) to the meeting.

Members were advised that Cabinet had considered CCTV provision at its meeting on 19th January 2016 and had agreed :

With regard to CCTV, notice would be given as soon as possible to terminate the relevant services contracts, but within the notice period and prior to actual decommissioning of the equipment any approaches made by organisations interested in taking on the operation (at no cost to the Council) would be appraised and considered.

Cabinet recognises that at a time of Government cuts, this Council cannot continue to provide the existing funding required to maintain and/or renew the existing CCTV system in the Lancaster district from April 2017, but asks Officers to make enquiries with other organisations to see if they may be in a position to get involved in maintaining either an externally staffed or volunteer-led CCTV system.

The Committee discussed the use of CCTV within the district and potential alternatives. It was noted that a hub had been set up in Blackburn to monitor CCTV for several districts which could be explored. It was also suggested the Lancaster Business Improvement District (BID) and the proposed Morecambe BID may wish to consider the provision and funding of CCTV in the future.

It was agreed that this issue should be investigated by the Informal Task Group that had been established to consider the Late Night Economy in the Lancaster District.

Resolved :-

That CCTV provision be included within the Terms of Reference and investigated further by the Late Night Economy in the Lancaster District Informal Task Group.

Cabinet Member with responsibility for:

 -          Housing

-           Environmental Health

Councillor Leytham has been invited to the meeting. 

The Chairman advised that Karen Leytham had offered her apologies for the meeting as she was unwell. It was noted that she had offered to attend the February 2016 meeting instead.

It was noted that there had not been any requests for items to be considered in accordance with the Councillor Call for Action process.

It was noted that there had not been any requests for items to be considered in the accordance with the Consideration of Petitions process. 

Members were informed that this issue was being reviewed by the County Council and there was nothing further to report.

Report of Chief Officer (Governance). 

Members were requested to consider the Committee’s updated Work Programme.

It was noted that the update that had been requested on the Licensing Scheme for Private Sector Rented Properties would be provided in the Autumn as part of the Neighbourhood Wellbeing Project that was to be undertaken in the West End of Morecambe.

It was suggested that the Committee request a briefing note on the implications for this Council of the 2015/16 Housing and Planning Bill that was to become law, which included enforcement for private sector landlords.

The Committee was requested to consider two suggested additions for the Work Programme that had been submitted by Members of the Committee in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

Councillor Jackson introduced the first topic which was to establish a Resilience Commission for the Lancaster District. It was reported that the Commission would draw together all the agencies involved and the community to prepare for floods/power cuts in the future. The aim would be to facilitate and enable the district to build the resources that could save money, loss and hardship by mobilising the social capital of our communities.

It was noted that, at its meeting on 17^th December 2015, the County Council had resolved to seek to involve residents and civic society viewpoints in any Resilience Commission that was set up. This would look at how communities could be better placed to respond to flooding or other local emergencies in their neighbourhood as well as looking at how such floods could be mitigated.

The Committee discussed the value of such a Resilience Commission and the possibility of a Task Group to take this work forward.

It was unanimously agreed :

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee :

(1)  Agree to include consideration to establish a Resilience Commission for the Lancaster District on the Committee’s Work Programme.

(2)  Request the Chief Executive to investigate if Government or other funding is available.

(3)  To work jointly with the County Council on this issue.

(4)  That the Community Fund for Lancashire be requested to support the proposal.

(5)  That scoping for a Task Group be undertaken following the gathering of evidence for the Special meeting of the Committee to look into Flooding issues.

It was noted that Councillors would be reminded to provide any flooding information from their own wards to assist in evidence gathering for the Special meeting to look into flooding issues.

The second topic put forward was introduced by Councillor Whitaker. Members were requested to consider the issue of derelict and unsightly buildings within the district.

It was agreed to request a Briefing Note on the issue of derelict and unsightly buildings to include :

·         Regent Road/Yorkshire Street, Morecambe burnt down property

·         Bailrigg Lane, Lancaster

·         Megazone, Morecambe

·         Shop on the corner of Peddar Street and Morecambe Promenade

·         Land opposite Pizza Hut, Lancaster

The Committee went on to discuss the potential Task Group to investigate the promotion of the local economy. 

It was agreed that the Committee would be focusing on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.