Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield
Contact: Mr. M.I. Seedat (Tel: 0116 265 6037) Email: mseedat@leics.gov.uk
No. | Item |
---|---|
Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes
of the meetings held on 1 September and 8 September 2004 were taken as read,
confirmed and signed. |
|
Question Time. Minutes: The Chief Executive
reported that no questions had been asked under Standing Order 35. |
|
Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive
reported that no questions had been asked under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). |
|
Urgent Items. Minutes: There were
no items of urgent business. |
|
Declarations of Interest. Minutes: There were
no declarations of interest. |
|
Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no
declarations made under Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. |
|
Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive
reported that no petitions had been received under Standing Order 36. |
|
Integrated Tourism, Promotion and Inward Investment Services. PDF 49 KB The Chief Executive of LeicesterShire
Promotions has been invited to present a report on progress and future
developments. Minutes: The
Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive concerning the delivery
of tourism, promotion and inward investment services in Leicestershire, through
the not-for-profit company, Leicester Shire Promotions. A copy of the report marked ‘A’ is filed with
these minutes. The
Chairman welcomed to the meeting, Mr. Martin Peters, the Chief Executive of
Leicester Shire Promotions. Mr. Peters
outlined the background to the transfer of responsibility of tourism, promotion
and inward investment activity to Leicester Shire Promotions. He advised the Commission that in relation to
the two key areas of activity, tourism and inward investment, the key
objectives were: (a) Tourism (i) Better
return on resources: This
had been achieved by realising economies of scale as a result of the tourism
functions previously supplied to Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City
Council and the Leicester Shire Economic Partnership being bought
together. Less was now being spent on
administrative and support services and those resources had been deployed to
frontline operational services. The
rationalisation of printing arrangements and development of a comprehensive
combined website had assisted in this aim. (ii) Better
co-ordination and Marketing of the Brand: It
was hoped to conclude a single service level agreement with the three partners
within the next few months. In addition,
all district councils were committed to work with Leicester Shire Promotions to
deliver tourism services on their behalf. The
aim was to promote the identity of Leicestershire whilst at the same time
identifying and promoting the distinctiveness of the districts with
Leicestershire. The publicity material
now being produced aimed to do that. (iii) Lever-in additional funding: One
of the main reasons for establishing a not-for profit company to deliver the
tourism function was the potential the company would have to attract external
funding. To date the Company has managed
to attract an additional £350,000 much of which would be directed towards
promotion and publicity. (b) Inward
Investment The
primary aim was to re-energise the service and to be more proactive in efforts
to attract and protect employment. The
company had exceeded the targets set for ‘jobs created’ and was greatly
increasing the number of enquiries. The
private sector was also encouraged to play a greater role in promoting the City
and County as an area for investment. In response
to questions, Mr. Peters advised the Commission as follows: ·
an
inevitable consequence of the decision to externalise the tourism and inward
investment function was some loss of direct democratic control. The company had recognised this and a member of
the Council, Mr. H. Barber CC, had been appointed to serve on the Board of
Directors. In addition, the Company had
sought to ensure that an officer and member were represented on each of the
District Partnerships. ·
in
some district councils there was now an increased recognition of the importance
of investment in tourism and promotion and new budgetary provision had been
made available; ·
the
development of the single service agreement and the key performance targets
therein would reinforce accountability and enable members to monitor
performance. In addition, the Head of
Public Relations and Tourism at the County Council held regular meetings with
him and his management team to discuss issues and undertake more detailed
performance monitoring. The Company
expected the local authorities to set robust performance targets for
forthcoming year. ·
there
was some difficulty in establishing a singe brand name for the area which would
be acceptable to all stakeholders. There
remained considerable difficulties in promoting and branding Leicestershire as
a tourist destination, as it did not have a particular distinctive
identity. Much work needed to be done
and the regeneration of |
|
Draft Consultation Standards. PDF 33 KB Minutes: The
Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive covering a draft set of
consultation standards for the County Council which were published for public
consultation on The
Commission was also advised of the comments that had been received. A copy of the paper summarising these
comments was circulated to members and a copy is filed with these minutes. RESOLVED: That the draft
consultation standards and in particular Standard 7, which refers to providing
feedback to people and explaining how the consultation had been used to inform
Council services and policies, be welcomed. |
|
Section 106 Agreement with Developers. Minutes: The
Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive concerning the processes
and policy involved in securing financial contribution from new
developments. A copy of the report
marked ‘C’ is filed with these minutes. The Commission
was advised that the consultation paper referred to in paragraph 18 had now
been issued. The Government did not
propose for the time being to proceed with making regulations to set planning
obligations on a new statutory basis, using the powers established by the
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
However, it had indicated that these powers may be used in response to
the Chancellor’s decision at the end of 2005 on the Government’s response to
the Barker Review of Housing Supply. In response
to questions members were advised as follows:- (i) any proposal to move away from the
provisions of DoE Circular 1/97 would carry the risk that developers would
object and refuse contributions; (ii) the
formula for calculating the level of education contribution sought was based on
work undertaken by the Department in 1999; (iii) the County Council had a good working relationship with
District Councils and officers were satisfied with the arrangements in place
for negotiating and agreeing Section 106 agreements; (iv) the
concerns relating to the use of Section 106 for the benefit of parishes would
normally be best directed to the District Councils in the light of the
statutory responsibilities. RESOLVED: (a) That
the current processes and policy involved in securing financial contributions
for new developments, be endorsed. (b) That
consideration be given to reviewing the policy when the Government’s response
to the Barker Review of Housing Supply is available. |
|
Adoption of the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan. PDF 62 KB A Members’ Information Item attaching the report to be
submitted to the Cabinet on 18 November has been circulated to all
members. Members are requested to bring
a copy of this to the meeting. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive concerning the next steps in the adoption of the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan. A copy of the report is filed with these minutes. The Commission was advised that the County Council was still awaiting a decision from the First Secretary of State regarding the withdrawal of the Directive. RESOLVED: That the Cabinet be advised that, subject to the receipt of formal notification, the Directive has been withdrawn, the County Council be recommended to: (a) approve the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan, comprising the Written Statement and Key Diagram, set out in Appendix 1 of the report; (b) authorise the Chief Executive to publish a Statement of Decisions and Reasons on Objections to the Further Proposed Modification, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report, and a revised Technical Paper on Housing; (c) subject to Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council District Council also agreeing the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan, to authorise the Chief Executive to:- (i) give notice of the Council’s intention to adopt the Structure Plan after a period of 28 days and subsequently adopt the Structure Plan; (ii) to agree the date of adoption and undertake all actions necessary to give effect to the adoption of the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan. |
|
Dates of Future Meetings. The following programmes of meetings
has been agreed in consultation with the Chairman and Spokesmen. Separate arrangements will be made for
scrutiny of the budget. Minutes: RESOLVED: The following
meetings programme covering the period January to June 2005 be
agreed: |