To receive the report of the Leader of the Council.
Minutes:
The Leader
(a) began his report by commenting on how much had been achieved in the last year and how the Council had built upon installing a team ethos, using the words ‘us’ and ‘we’ as part of the new culture;
(b) referred to the considerable progress made towards securing the Local Plan which set out the growth ambitions to 2036 and provided a blueprint for the future prosperity of the Borough. The Leader extended his thanks to the Local Plan team, Councillor Chandler and the Local Plan Working Group for leading this agenda in what had sometimes been a challenging environment. The Council had also supported and overseen the successful implementation of a number of Neighbourhood Plans within the Borough;
(c) mentioned that the Council’s investments and efforts at the Cattle Market had paid off and had been celebrated both by the official opening and visit by HRH The Princess Royal and more recently through winning the East Midlands Regeneration Award at the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveys 2018 Awards when the judges had recognised that the completion of phase one of the project would safeguard the market’s key role in the local economy for the next 20 years. The Leader congratulated the Corporate Services Manager, David Scott and the project team for this fantastic recognition. The new development also provided a platform for strengthening Melton’s status as a rural centre for food tourism and a feasibility into further options for developing the site was currently underway;
(d) referred to other considerable investments made by the Council into improving its housing stock by refurbishing Granby House and Beckmill Court;
(e) spoke about the key drivers to support the Council’s growth ambitions; improving Melton’s infrastructure and connectivity was a key focus. In conjunction with the County Council a significant funding bid to the Department of Transport for the new distributor road had been submitted. The outcome of this was due soon. Work had also started on the feasibility of improving rail connectivity with Nottingham which would improve the access to another major market as well as open up improved possibilities to benefit from HS2 and the East Midlands Airport developments;
(g) referred to a number of significant procurements which had been undertaken to maximise the value and quality of a number of major service areas. A new contract for the waste service would shortly be signed which would mitigate the loss of recycling credits and put the Council on a much more stable financial footing. The Regulatory Services Business Manager, the project team and the working group were commended for delivering a very complicated piece of work;
(h) advised that the Council was in the process of procuring a significant new housing repairs contract which should enable the Council to exploit new technology and improve the quality of service offered to tenants. The leisure contact had been aligned to cover the Melton Sports Village with the Waterfield site and would run until 2022. The Council could now look again at what the overall future leisure offer in Melton should be and a full options appraisal had been commissioned. The outcome of this would be reported to the Council later in the year;
(i) reported on a number of external accreditations and awards: the re-accreditation of the Customer Service Excellence standard and the award of the Matrix Standard for the quality of advice and guidance provided by the Me and My Learning service. The Council’s strong track record of partnership had also been recognised at the Local Government Chronicle Awards for the innovative Lightbulb Project;
(j) highlighted the progress being made towards becoming a more commercial organisation through the Timesage brand and the adoption of a Commercial Strategy to focus effort on maximising the value from existing trading services as well as exploring new potential commercial ventures;
(k) referred to a number of challenges the Council had faced in the past year, especially the snap general election in June 2017 which came so soon after the County Council elections, and the emergency evacuation of the offices due to a suspicious package. The latter incident had led to a review of the Council’s emergency planning procedures;
(l) mentioned the recent acknowledgement made to Councillor Graham MBE for his 30 years of service on the Council. The Leader also took the opportunity to acknowledge the commitment shown by the following officers who had also reached 30 years service to the authority:
· Sally Renwick, Elections Officer
· Julie Osbourne, Customer Service
· Sarah Evans, Senior Democracy Officer
The Director of Corporate Services, Dawn Garton, would also be reaching 30 years service in June. He invited Members to join him in thanking these members of staff for their efforts and dedication to the Council;
(m) concluded his report by referring to the past year as not just one of achievement but also a time of reflection and change with the adoption of a new corporate management structure, the LGA Peer Challenge process, and the resultant adoption of a new Corporate Delivery Plan and associated changes to the Council’s Governance arrangements, the second phase of which would start over the next few months. The Leader stated the Council could look to the future with excitement and renewed confidence; this was a significant time for Melton and the Borough. He thanked all Members and Officers for their hard work and commitment over the last 12 months and going forward.
The Mayor thanked the Leader for his report and wished to place on record her own thanks to the Officers and staff for their hard work.