Agenda, decisions and minutes

Approved.

Resolved (unanimous) that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 19 April 2022 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Mayor.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interests received.

Welcomed newly elected members and the new Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Alan Cullens, to the meeting

The Mayor reminded members of the sponsored fast for Ramadan.  

Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask question(s) on any item(s) on the agenda will have three minutes to put their question(s) to the relevant Councillor. Members of the public will be allowed to ask one short supplementary question.

To view the procedure for public questions/ speaking click here and scroll to page 119

There were no public questions for consideration.

To receive the report of the Returning Officer.

Noted.

The Returning Officer, Gary Hall, presented his report.

The Mayor congratulated all those Councillors who had been elected or re-elected on 5 May 2022 and in particular welcomed the new and returning Councillors.

The Returning Officer’s report indicated election results as follows:

Resolved: (unanimously) that the report be noted.

To formally elect the Mayor of the Borough for 2022/23.

Councillor Julia Berry was elected the Mayor of the Borough for 2022/23.

It was proposed by Councillor Alex Hilton, and seconded by Councillor Ryan Towers, that Councillor Julia Berry be elected as Mayor of the Borough of Chorley for the forthcoming Council Year.

Resolved: (unanimously) that Councillor Julia Berry be elected as Mayor of the Borough of Chorley for the forthcoming Council Year.

To formally elect the Deputy Mayor of the Borough for 2022/23.

Councillor Tommy Gray was elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough for 2022/23.

It was proposed by Councillor Danny Gee, and seconded by Councillor Adrian Lowe, that Councillor Tommy Gray be elected as Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Chorley for the forthcoming Council Year.

Resolved: (unanimously) that Councillor Tommy Gray be elected as Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Chorley for the forthcoming Council Year.

There was a brief adjournment to allow the Retiring Mayor; the newly elected Mayor; and the newly elected Deputy Mayor and Mayoress to exchange robes and badges of office.

Councillor Julia Berry in the Chair

On resuming the meeting, Councillor Julia Berry signed the declaration of acceptance of office of Mayor, and thanked Councillors for her appointment.

Councillor Tommy Gray signed the declaration of acceptance of office of Deputy Mayor, and thanked Councillors for his appointment.

The Retiring Mayor will receive tributes following his year in office.

The Mayor thanked the Retiring Mayor, Councillor Steve Holgate year of office, along with his Mayoress, for their hard work as ambassadors for Chorley.

Political group leaders also paid tribute to the Retiring Mayor and Mayoress for a very successful year and the positive work undertaken in support of their charities. 

Councillor Steve Holgate responded, thanking Councillors for their kind words and their support over the year.  He thanked his Mayoress, the Mayor’s Secretary and the Civics team for their support and assistance.

Mayoral Announcements

The Mayor invited all Members to attend the Civic Dinner on 22 May and Civic Sunday on 3 July. 

To receive a report of the Executive Leader.

Noted.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader informed the Council of his appointments to the Executive Cabinet for 2022/23.  He welcomed Councillor Terry Howarth as the new Executive Member for Homes and Housing. 

Appointments to the Executive Cabinet and portfolio support roles were reported as follows:

The remit for these roles will be defined by the relevant Executive Member, except the Mental Health Awareness Council Champion which has a high level role description (below).

Mental Health Awareness Council Champion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To approve the appointment of Members of the Council to Committees, Working Groups, etc and to note shadow appointments for 2022/23.

Approved.

The Council considered a schedule of nominations for the appointment of committees, working groups and panels in accordance with the political balance of the Council, together with nominations to Chair and Vice Chair positions and a list of shadow portfolio positions.

The Executive Leader, Councillor Alistair Bradley proposed, the Deputy Leader, Councillor Peter Wilson seconded, and it was Resolved (unanimously) that the following appointments be approved for 2022/23:

To appoint Members of the Council to represent the Authority on outside bodies in 2022/23.

Approved.

A schedule of nominations for the appointment of Council representatives on outside bodies for the forthcoming Council year was circulated.

The Executive Leader, Councillor Alistair Bradley proposed, the Deputy Leader, Councillor Peter Wilson seconded, and it was Resolved (unanimously) that appointments to outside bodies be approved as follows:

To note the programme of Council Meetings for 2022/23:

·                19 July 2022

·                27 September 2022

·                15 November 2022

·                24 January 2023

·                28 February 2023

·                18 April 2023

·                16 May 2023

Noted.

Councillors noted the programme of Council Meetings for 2022/23 as follows:

·         19 July 2022

·         27 September 2022

·         15 November 2022

·         24 January 2023

·         28 February 2023

·         18 April 2023

·         16 May 2023

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

1.         Approval granted to the creation of a new capital budget of £340,646 to fund the cottage roof replacement.

2.         Approval granted transfer £107,163 from the asset improvements capital budget to undertake associated refurbishment to the cottage

3.         Approval granted to the variation of the contract with Bullen Construction to allow the work to be completed.

The Executive Member (Resources), Councillor Peter Wilson, presented the report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

The cottage roof at the rear of Astley Hall was in need of urgent repair and a new budget was required to fund the work.  Once the slates had been removed a significant amount of structural repairs were identified. 

Members noted that the council would incur significant cost if the work started afresh later with scaffolding works and prelims.  The repairs have been designed with listed building consent in mind and an independent structural engineer has assisted with the solution.  The costs had been evaluated by the council’s quantity surveyor and reviewed by the external project team to demonstrate value.

Councillor Martin Boardman queried the costs for the project and thanked the Leader for sharing additional information with him prior to the meeting. 

In response to Councillor Boardman Councillor Wilson clarified that the original budget for the Astley Hall project was £1.1 million and, to date, the project had been on budget. 

Councillor Bradley noted that the original scheme had been costed out in detail, but that additional works had been identified.  Costs were rising due to external factors and works which had not been anticipated (as was often the case when working on old buildings).  One of the costs were professional fees, due to additional surveys, which were costly.  There were areas where costs could be reduced as the project progressed, for example, certain aspects of the project could be delayed for a future phase.  Members debated the costs, those originally budgeted and the updated figures.   

The project would be monitored through the Wholly Owned Company and Projects Working Group and input from all members was welcomed. 

The Deputy Leader, Councillor Peter Wilson proposed and the Executive Leader, Councillor Alistair Bradley seconded and it, was Resolved (by majority 38:0:3)

1.      Approval granted to the creation of a new capital budget of £340,646 to fund the cottage roof replacement.

2.      Approval granted transfer £107,163 from the asset improvements capital budget to undertake associated refurbishment to the cottage

3.      Approval granted to the variation of the contract with Bullen Construction to allow the work to be completed.

To receive and consider the report of the Chief Executive.

The Mayor advised that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda.