Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Evans, Glancy, Higgins, Illingworth, Pritchett, Steadman and Wilkinson.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 26 April 2022.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 26 April 2022 were confirmed.

 

(At 6:34pm, Councillor Chandler entered the meeting.)

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

An other registrable interest in respect of County Councillors Orson and Posnett, was noted as being on record for any matters which related to the Leicestershire County Council.

The Mayor provided a summary of his year in Office. He began by thanking Members for allowing him his term as Mayor of the Borough of Melton for 2021/22. He explained that it has been an eventful year and a difficult one due to Covid.

 

The Mayor explained that the first event he attended was to go to Dickinson and Morris to make a pork pie.

 

Other events the Mayor attended were:

·       two events for the Institute of Mechanical Engineers;

·       three events to Melton Lions including starting their swimathon;

·       Beating the Retreat at Oakham;

·       the Belvoir Hunt puppy show;

·       several functions at the Cattle Market including the Fat Stock show;

·       several charity events held by other civic heads;

·       a barbecue at Mowbray Court;

·       civic services in Stamford and Newark;

·       Scout’s St George's Day parade, and;

·       the Rotary Club Charter Night at Brooksby

 

The Mayor explained that he had opened the following events: the conker championships at Long Clawson; the air ambulance store and the McCarthy Stone retirement village. He was invited to be a judge at the artisan cheese awards and the British Pie Awards twice and presented prizes at the Cycle Classic. In addition, he planted trees outside Parkside and in the Country Park.

 

The Mayor informed Members that he and the Mayoress turned on the Christmas lights and that he presided over the staff Christmas Lunch.

 

The Mayor explained that he attended the Defence Animal Training Regiment for the visit of the Princess Royal. He was honoured to represent the Borough at the remembrance day service and lay the wreath.

 

He explained had the rare opportunity of bestowing the title of Honorary Alderman upon Mr Gerald Botterill, a former, and long-serving, Councillor.

 

Members were informed that on 1st May, the Mayor’s son completed his 22 mile swim for young lives versus cancer and the Mayor thanked Members who donated to the excellent cause. The total raised by the event, including gift aid, was £2,963.

a) To elect the Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

b) To invest the Mayor and Mayoress.

(New Mayor in the Chair)

c) The new Mayor to give thanks for their election.

d) To receive a vote of thanks for the retiring Mayor.

e) The new Mayor to make any announcements.

Councillor Chandler proposed Councillor Hewson be elected Mayor of the Borough until the Annual Council meeting in 2023. Councillor Orson seconded the motion and Council

 

RESOLVED

 

that Councillor Hewson be elected Mayor of the Borough of Melton for the period until the Annual Council meeting in 2023.

 

The Mayor signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and he and his consort, Mrs Jane Hewson, were invested with the Chains of Office. Once invested, Councillor Hewson stated the following:

 

“Thank you for electing me as Mayor of the Borough of Melton Mowbray for the coming Municipal year.

 

Thank you to Jane, family, friends & invited guests both here tonight or at home supporting me in this role.

 

As many of you will know I am a farmer.

 

Farmers constantly face many challenges, in his book the 'Resilient Farmer' Doug Avery makes the wise comment that if we only bounce back, we just get to the place that got us into a mess before. We need to bounce forward to a better place.

 

Covid has hit many hard, but together we can help our communities to bounce forward, to the benefit of those who chose us to represent them on Melton Borough Council.

 

My charities for the year are LOROS and Dove Cottage.

 

I would now like to invite Georgina Sanders from LOROS to the lectern to give a speech.”

 

Georgina Sanders from LOROS gave a presentation explaining the work of the charity.

 

Councillor Graham proposed and Councillor Douglas seconded a vote of thanks for Councillor Faulkner as the retiring Mayor.

 

The Mayor, Councillor Hewson, read out his announcements and said:

 

“During Covid, the Council meetings were made available for all time through the audio visual system. Enabling the community to watch meetings at home and see how their Council operates. Given this increased public awareness I am keen that Members are seen to be taking their responsibilities seriously, treating each other with respect, acting professionally, dressing appropriately and upholding the highest standards of conduct at all our meetings.

 

The constitution is a document which sets out how we should conduct our business and I will use this as a reference tool and take advice from Officers during a meeting, where appropriate.

 

As Mayor I commit to presiding over these meetings with integrity and whilst I recognise that robust debate is a good thing, I feel that ensuring our business is conducted in an effective and professional way is equally as important.

 

I will endeavour to make myself available to any Councillor or Council staff who have ideas to help Melton Borough Council work more effectively and provide a better service for the benefit of our community.

 

Our primary focus should be that our constituents are represented and I welcome all Members support with this for future meetings. These are some of my aims and prayer for our future year together.

 

There are a number of upcoming events, they are:

• On 13 May, I will be attending the mass rehearsal of the lyrics  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO5

a) To elect the Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

b) To invest the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress/Consort.

c) The Deputy Mayor to give thanks for their election.

Councillor Wood proposed Councillor Holmes be elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough until the Annual Council meeting in 2023. Councillor Carter seconded the motion and Council

 

RESOLVED

 

that Councillor Holmes be elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Melton for the period until the Annual Council meeting in 2023.

 

The Deputy Mayor signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and she and her consort, Mrs Janet Seston, were invested with the Chains of Office. Councillor Holmes gave thanks for her election as Deputy Mayor.

The Council is requested to note the appointment of the Deputy

Leader as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the appointment of members of

the Cabinet as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the Cabinet Portfolios as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the Leaders Scheme of

Delegation (to follow).

 

The Leader to provide a verbal review of the last municipal year

and to report on the proposed policies of the Council for the

forthcoming year

The Leader congratulated the Mayor and Deputy Mayor on their election and made the following speech reviewing the past year and announcing his Cabinet for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

 

“Members it now turns to me as Leader to review the last year and look forward to the coming one. As a Council, despite the unprecedented challenge of the last couple of years, we continue to deliver a phenomenal amount for our residents, and we should all be proud of what we achieve.

 

Whilst the impact of Covid restrictions is thankfully starting to recede, I must start by acknowledging that for at least half the year, Covid was looming large over everything we did. 143 people have died from Covid in Melton and so it is fitting that next week we unveil our Covid Memorial in the Country Park, which will be a tribute both to those who lost their lives and those who sacrificed so much to keep us safe and well. We cannot forget the fundamental role that this Council played in both saving lives and protecting livelihoods, and the wave after wave of business grants and rate relief programmes that we have had to administer and distribute. Teams across the Council have been under constant pressure and yet time and again they have risen to the challenge. I am sure all members will once again join with me in thanking them for their service, hard work and commitment throughout this period.

 

As we’ve emerged from the pandemic we have worked hard to support the economic recovery. The Discover Melton website launch last summer was a great success and through the Food Enterprise Centre, we’ve established a network of 65 small businesses, with access to direct technical support from our food technologist.  The recent Stockyard launch at the Cattle Market, and associated private sector investment, is starting to realise Melton’s investment potential. Projects like these reinforce our reputation as the Rural Capital of Food, and underpin our developing Town Centre Vision which we look forward to publishing for consultation shortly.

 

The last year has been huge for the MMDR. Just after our last Annual Meeting, you will recall the County Council published a report confirming their intention to hand back the £15m HIF grant, seriously jeopardising the southern section of the road. Through the rapid and co-ordinated action of this Council, alongside our MP and over 2,750 local people, the County Council listened and agreed to rethink. Following a significant amount of work over the following months, we had the fantastic news last November that the County Council had accepted the HIF grant and were committed to delivering the whole road. This was only possible because MBC followed through on its commitments, and delivered key policy documents on time, including the Developer Contributions SPD, 2 masterplans and a pioneering infrastructure funding agreement. We must not under-estimate what a fantastic achievement this was, with our reward seeing the first stages of construction starting just a few weeks ago. 

 

The MMDR  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO7

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer to consider:

 

a) The appointment of the Scrutiny Committee and Standing

Committees of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

b) Approval of the terms of reference and number of voting

places on the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees

of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

c) Approval of the political balance calculation.

 

d) Approval of the allocation of committee seats to political

groups and membership of each committee for the

Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

e) Election of Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees for the

Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

Appendices A and B are to follow.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the Political Balance and Allocation of Seats to Political Groups report and provided the following:

a)    The appointment of the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

b)    The terms of reference and number of voting places on the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

c)     The political balance calculation.

d)    The allocation of Committee seats to political groups and Membership of each Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

e)    The proposed Chairman and Vice Chairman for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

The recommendations were moved by the Leader, seconded by the Deputy Leader and voted on by Members.

 

RESOLVED

 

Council:

 

1)    Appointed the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees as set out in paragraph 5 of the report for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

2)    Agreed the terms of reference and number of voting places on the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees as detailed at paragraph 5 of the report for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

3)    Approved the political balance calculation set out at paragraph 5.2 of the report;

 

4)    Approved the allocation of committee seats to political groups as set out in paragraph 5.2 of the report and noted the membership of each committee as set out in Appendix A;

 

5)    Approved the election of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Committees as set out at Appendix B.

 

(Unanimous)

 

(Councillor Child left the meeting at 7:33pm and was absent whilst the vote took place. He returned once the vote had concluded.)

The Monitoring Officer is to submit a report on the scheme of

delegation and amendments to the Constitution.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the Scheme of Delegation and Amendments to the Constitution report. The Leader moved the recommendations of the report, they were seconded by the Deputy Leader and voted on by Members.

 

RESOLVED

 

Council:

 

1)    Confirmed the Constitution and agreed the Officer Scheme of Delegation.

 

2)    Noted the amendments to the Constitution as detailed in paragraph 4.2 of the report.

 

3)    Approved the proposed amendments to the Constitution as detailed in paragraph 5 of the report.

 

4)    Authorised the Monitoring Officer to incorporate the revisions and changes above into the Council’s Constitution and make minor in-year changes and legislative changes as required.

 

(Unanimous)

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report on the proposed

Calendar of Meetings for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

The Monitoring Officer provided a brief introduction and presented the proposed Programme of Meetings for the 2022/23 Municipal Year. The Leader moved the recommendation, the Deputy Leader seconded and it was voted on by Members.

 

RESOLVED

 

Council:

 

Approved the revised programme of meetings for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

 

(Unanimous)

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report which asks Members to

consider nominations for representatives to serve on outside

bodies.

 

Appendix A is to follow.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the Appointment of Representatives on Outside Bodies and Working Groups report. The Leader moved the recommendations and the Deputy Leader seconded.

 

During the debate it was noted that the Grantham Canal covers wards represented by four Members and therefore it would be appropriate that all four Ward Members are appointed to the Grantham Canal Partnership. In response it was explained that the number of Members appointed would depend on whether the Partnership would accept all four Ward Members, however the Partnership would be asked whether it would accept four Ward Members.

 

The recommendations were voted on by Members.

 

RESOLVED

 

Council:

 

1)    Noted the appointments in Column A of Appendix A (designated according to the role/portfolio holder/Ward Member), with the caveat that it proposed that all relevant Ward Members should be appointed to the Grantham Canal Partnership.

 

2)    Appointed representatives to serve on the outside bodies and working groups listed at Appendix A (other than those in Column A).

 

(Unanimous)