Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from County Council Mike Devaney.

To approved the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – adoption of Estates meeting held on 22 January 2013 (enclosed)

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – Adoption of Estates meeting held on 22 January 2013 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

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.

No declarations of any interests were received.

A short practical workshop will be held to consider all the evidence of the review and pull together a set of recommendations to present to Executive Cabinet.

The Group participated in an interactive workshop that looked at pulling together a set of recommendations that fully reflected their findings and were aimed at improving processes surrounding the adoption process.

The following recommendations were amended:

Communication

Recommendation:

That arrangements be put in place to seek regular dialogue with individual developers to identify new sites coming on to stream.

Recommendation:

The development of a map based system on the Council’s website to show information about the status of the roads in the borough for use by the community.

Process

Recommendation:

That the Executive Cabinet asks Lancashire County Council to consider building on existing work with local planning authorities to put in place arrangements to ensure the consideration of road adoption issues commences at the planning application stage of the planning process, including:

·         Designing developments to provide separate access routes for residential and construction traffic

·         A phasing implementation of larger development

·         Laying out and constructing roads to adoptable standards

Information

Recommendation:

That the Executive Cabinet be requested to commission a study of the existing adoptions ‘caseload’ in the Borough, to provide a full picture of all completed and partially completed agreements, including Section 38’s and Section 106’s.

The following additional recommendations were AGREED:

Communication

Recommendation:

That a list of Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s be published on the Councils website.

Reason:

To provide information for residents to help them to understand the processes relating to the adoption of estates that will enable them to be more informed.

Process

Recommendation:

That a review be undertaken on a risk based approach for the adoption of open spaces.

Reason:

Developers commented that the transfer of open space to a management company instead of the local authority was mainly down to cost implications. If the costs were lower developers may transfer this land to the Council more readily. There was a view that often after around ten years the land was often in a neglected state and it was at this stage that the ownership for its maintenance was overtaken by the Council. Members felt that there was the potential to obtain the land sooner to avoid this from happening and asked for alternatives from the present policy to be explored, particularly on smaller developments in the Borough.

Recommendation:

That Lancashire County Council consider their approach to the pre-application processes to include the introduction of associated fees.

Reason:

This would not only generate additional income but would help to develop a change of culture whereby officers would become more focused on the effective provision of information.

Chorley Council officers had explained that they did a lot of work around pre-application and had implemented a scheme of fees and charges associated with this process. These fees had meant that the service had become more focused and encouraged officers to work in a more business-like fashion to ensure that deadlines where adhered to and ensured smoother delivery. The pre-application process enables officers to sort out a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.TG.14

The Chair explained that the draft Final Report would be sent out to all the consultee’s to enable them to comment on the Group’s recommendations..

It was also intended to invite the Executive Member for LDF and planning to comment on the proposals before the Group finalised the Final Report ready for its submission to the Executive Cabinet.

The next meeting of the Group is 19 March 2013.