Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors David Dickinson, Margaret Lees and Anthony Gee.

Members of the Council are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct.  If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, then the individual Member should not participate in a discussion on the matter and must withdraw from the Council Chamber and not seek to influence a decision on the matter.

The following Members of the Council declared a prejudicial interest in the following items indicated.

Councillor Harold Heaton - Agenda Item 6 (23 May 2006 Development Control Committee Planning Application 05/00688 Ful)

Councillor Mark Perks - Agenda Item 5a (Outturn of Capital Programme 2005/06 and Capital Programme for 2006/07 Recommendation 5(f)(2) (Music Café Project)

To confirm the minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 16 May 2006 as a correct record for signature by the Mayor

RESOLVED - That the Minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 16 May 2006 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Mayor formally notified Members of the recent death of ex-Councillor John Holme and John Muir.

John Holme was on the Council between 1974 and 1988 and was Mayor between 1983 and 1984 whilst John Muir was on the Council between 1985 and 1987.

Members and Officers stood to observe a one minutes silence.

The Mayor informed Members of her Sponsored Morecambe Bay walk in support of St Catherine’s Hospice, Derian House Children’s Hospice, Age Concern, Chorley and Five Star Scanner Appeal.

The walk commences at 11.45am on 2 September from Arnside to Kents Bank with a mini bus leaving from Chorley. Contact the Mayor’s secretary for more information.

The Mayor thanked all those that took part in the Annual Charity Cricket match between Officers and Councillors on Friday, 14 July, with a win for the Councillors.

The Mayor informed members of a dinner at Sharjus, Adlington immediately after the next Council meeting on 19 September.

Report enclosed

The Executive Member for Resources presented a report on the provisional outturn for the 2005/06 Capital Programme and a revised Capital Programme for 2006/07.

RESOLVED That the following recommendations of the Executive Cabinet be approved,

(a)    to note the provisional outturn of the 2005/06 Capital Programme;

(b)    to approve the reduced Capital Programme for 2006/07, totalling £12,160,320, as presented in Appendix 3 to the submitted report, and the financing arrangements therefore;

(c)    to approve the reduction of the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2006/07 by £264,330, as a result of the overspend in 2005/06;

(d)    to approve the following recommendations of the Capital Programme Board:

         New Capital Schemes and Projects

(e)    That the following new schemes be placed on the reserve list (Category C) for future consideration when resources become available:

         1.         Integration software

         2.      Union Street/Market Street/St Thomas’s Road Mini Roundabouts and zebra crossings

         3.         APP/Civica Housing Assessment Module

(f)     That the following new schemes be placed in Category B of the 2006/07 Capital Programme:

         1.         Euxton Villa Football Club

         2.         Music Café Project

         3.         Gillibrand Street Site Assembly

         4.         Affordable Housing Project

         5.         Website Refresh

         6.         Migration to OS Master Map

         7.         eDevelopment and Building Control Project

         8.      Pedestrian improvements to Southport Road and St Thomas’s Road

         9.      Section 106 Funded - Various Highway Improvements linked to Gillibrand Estate and Southlands High School

         10.      Various Traffic Calming/Local Road Safety Schemes

         11.      Litter/Dog Waste/On-street recycling bins

Report  enclosed.

The Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration presented a report seeking endorsement of the new draft Householder Design Guidance Supplementary Planning Guidance, which was to replace the current House Extension Guidelines.

The new guidance was intended to offer advice on the extensions of residential dwellings, as well as replacement dwellings and garden extensions in the countryside.  The guidance was also intended to provide a higher standard of design, and to assist the integration and consistant delivery of design objectives within Development and Local Plan policies.

RESOLVED - That the draft Householder Design Supplementary Planning Guidance document be approved for consultation and community involvement purposes, subject to delegated authority being granted to the Director of Development and Regeneration to agree any minor technical or illustrative amendments.

Report enclosed

The Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration presented a report recommending approval of an attached joint Issues and Options document for consultation purposes.

The Issues and Options paper had been produced by a Joint Working Group of Officers from Chorley, Preston and South Ribble Councils.  The document aimed to identify the key strategic spatial planning issues affecting the Central Lancashire City region and to encourage debate on the identified and other option for addressing defined issues.  It was envisaged that the process will evolve into the production of a Core Strategy to set out the vision, objectives and spatial strategy for the Central Lancashire area.

The Issues and Options paper had been considered at a joint meeting of the three Authorities’ Local Development Framework Member Working Groups and the final consultation document would reflect the views expressed at the meeting.

RESOLVED - That the Central Lancashire City Core Strategy Issues and Options paper be approved for consultation purposes, subject to any major changes proposed by either Preston or South Ribble Councils being approved by an Executive Member, and the Director of Development and Regeneration being granted delegated authority to agree any minor revising of a factual or technical nature.

Copy enclosed

The Executive Leader presented a report summarising the more significant items of business dealt with at meetings of the Executive cabinet held on 25 May and 29 June 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (Copy enclosed)

The Chair of the Development Control Committee presented a report which summarised the more significant proposals that had been considered at meetings of the Committee held on 25 April 2006, 23 May 2006 and 20 June 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (Copy enclosed)

The Chair of the Statutory Licensing Committee and the Licensing and Safety Committee presented a report which summarised the principal matters which had been considered at meetings of the Committee held on 7 June 2006, 5 April 2006 and 20 April 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (Copy enclosed)

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee presented a report which summarised briefly the principal matters that had been considered at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 27 June 2006 as well as the ongoing work of the Corporate and Customer Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Environmental and Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (enclosed)

The Chair of the Audit Committee presented a report which summarised briefly the items discussed at the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 22 June 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (Copy enclosed)

The Chair of the Accounts Committee presented a report of the Accounts Committee held on 29 June 2006 which considered the draft Annual Accounts for 2005/06 which had been prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Government accounting.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

General Report (Copy enclosed)

The Chair of the General Purposes Committee presented a report which summarised briefly the matters considered at a meeting of the Committee held on 7 June 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Executive (Copy enclosed)

The Chief Executive submitted an update report on the three pilot area forums following their second round of meetings.

Feedback from the public at meetings held in Coppull, Clayton-le-Woods North and Lostock had been very positive and there was a good attendance overall.

The report indicated that the third and final round of Pilot Forum meetings would be held in September and October with a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot taking place following completion of the final rounds in October 2006.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

“The Maplewood Respite Centre in Bamber Bridge is a vital resource to support families with severely disabled children across Lancashire, including many families from Chorley. It provides parents and siblings with a short, regular relief from the twenty-four hour care and attention needed by providing the children with care away from the home. Without this relief it is likely that the permanent strain on families, even with increased in-home support, could continue indefinitely, leading to the children moving to full time care away from home and the break-up of the family unit

Chorley Borough Council is pleased that Lancashire County Council have changed their minds regarding the potential closure of Maplewood House as part of a budgetary requirement to reduce expenditure in the Children’s Directorate”.

To be proposed by Councillor C Hoyle and seconded by Councillor P Case.

The following Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with provision of Rule 8 of the Council Procedure Rules was moved by Councillor C Hoyle and seconded by Councillor P Case.

“The Maplewood Respite Centre in Bamber Bridge is a vital resource to support families with severely disabled children across Lancashire, including many families from Chorley.  It provides parents and siblings with a short, regular relief from the twenty-four hour care and attention needed by providing the children with care away from the home.  Without this relief it is likely that the permanent strain on families, even with increased in-home support, could continue indefinitely, leading to the children moving to full time care away from home and the break-up of the family unit.

Chorley Borough Council is pleased that Lancashire County Council have changed their minds regarding the potential closure of Maplewood House as part of a budgetary requirement to reduce expenditure in the Children’s Directorate”.

The Motion was put to the vote and the Mayor declared it unanimously carried.

RESOLVED - That “The Maplewood Respite Centre in Bamber Bridge is a vital resource to support families with severely disabled children across Lancashire, including many families from Chorley.  It provides parents and siblings with a short, regular relief from the twenty-four hour care and attention needed by providing the children with care away from the home.  Without this relief it is likely that the permanent strain on families, even with increased in-home support, could continue indefinitely, leading to the children moving into full time care away from home and the break-up of the family unit.

Chorley Borough Council is pleased that Lancashire County Council have changed their minds regarding the potential closure of Maplewood House as part of a budgetary requirement to reduce expenditure in the Children’s Directorate”.

“ That this Council requests that the Executive Leader reconsiders the composition of our membership on the Lancashire Local Committee so that it better reflects the composition of the Council”

To be proposed by Councillor John Wilson

The following Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with provision of Rule 8 of the Council Procedure Rules was moved by Councillor J Wilson and seconded by Councillor Edgerley.

“That the Council requests that the Executive Leader reconsiders the composition of our membership in the Lancashire Local Committee so that it better reflects the composition of the Council”.

The Executive Leader accepted the Notice of Motion.

RESOLVED - That the Executive Leader would look at the composition of the Council’s membership of the Lancashire Local Committee and report back to the Council.

“That Chorley Borough Council writes to the Lord Chancellor to formally object to the proposed merger of the three Local Justice Areas of Chorley. Ormskirk and South Ribble.

This means, for example, that prosecutions for offences committed in Chorley could be dealt with in Ormskirk Magistrates Court. This is a long distance to travel, particularly by public transport. We do, however, support a merger with South Ribble on the grounds of economies of Scale”

To be proposed by Councillor Peter Goldsworthy

The following Notice of Motion submitted in accordance with provision of Rule 8 of the Council Procedure Rules was moved by Councillor Peter Goldsworthy and seconded by Councillor J Wilson.

“That Chorley Borough Council writes to the Lord Chancellor to formally object to the proposed merger of the three Local Justice Areas of Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble.

This means, for example, that prosecutions for offences committed in Chorley could be dealt with in Ormskirk Magistrates Court.  This is a long distance to travel particularly by public transport.  We do, however, support a merger with South Ribble on the grounds of economies of Scale”.

The Motion was put to the vote and the Mayor declared it unanimously carried.

RESOLVED - That Chorley Borough Council writes to the Local Chancellor to formally object to the proposed merger of the three Local Justice Areas of Chorley, Ormskirk and South  Ribble.

This means, for example, that prosecutions for offences committed in Chorley could be dealt with in Ormskirk Magistrates Court.  This is a long distance to travel, particularly by public transport.  We do, however, support a merger with South Ribble on the grounds of economies of Scale”.