Minutes:
The Leader submitted his report to the Council in which he
(a) began by congratulating Councillor Glancy on her appointment as the Council’s ‘Pet Champion’. This was a new venture for the authority and followed the Council recently receiving the most ‘Pet Friendly Town’ award;
(b) reported that following an informal discussion with the Deputy Leader, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Sajid Javid MP had invited a team of officers and Members to visit him in London to discuss housing in rural areas;
(c) referred to the Local Plan Examination which had started the previous week: it had been a very long and detailed process and whilst, at this stage, the outcome was unknown, the Council could be proud of the way in which its officers had conducted themselves, demonstrating a high degree of competence and professionalism. The Council now awaited the Inspector’s findings and would respond appropriately to any suggested modifications;
(d) provided an update on the issue of rail connectivity with Nottingham which the Council was continuing to explore. Initial discussions had taken place with the County Council about the possibility of engaging a rail specialist to explore this further. There were some technical challenges which needed to be better understood and a funding bid was being developed to the LLEP for assistance with meeting the costs of this process;
(e) advised that the draft report from the recent Peer Challenge had been received in response to which the Council had made some initial comments. The final version of the report was awaited from the Peer Team and this would be circulated as soon as it was received; it was anticipated this would be ready for the Council’s next meeting on 22 February;
(f) reported that the County Council’s Cabinet had recently approved the start of a consultation into proposed changes to the Early Help and Children’s Centre services across Leicestershire. This had the potential to impact on local service provision; officers were working with County colleagues to explore how any risks could be mitigated and to ensure that his Council continued to maintain a joined up approach to service delivery in Melton. Following these discussions the Council would be developing a formal response to the consultation and there would be opportunities for Members to feed into this process;
(g) stated he was very pleased to formally announce that on 7 March, HRH The Princess Royal would be visiting the town to officially open the new livestock building at the Cattle Market. Members were reminded that the Council had invested £2M into the scheme, alongside £3.5M from the LLEP. This official opening marked the conclusion of phase 1 of the project and a feasibility study would shortly be undertaken into the 2nd phase. Alongside groups of other stakeholders, Members of the Working Group would be invited to briefly meet with HRH Princess Anne and all Members would be invited to observe and share in the celebrations;
(h) referred to the imminent departure of the Head of Communities & Neighbourhoods, Mr Harry Rai. On behalf of the whole Council, the Leader expressed sincere thanks for the hard work and commitment Mr Rai had given the Council during his 14 years with the authority. Mr Rai had made a big impression during his time and had led many of the customer facing services; he had helped the Council to build the first Council homes in 30 years and had also established the Council’s first economic development and town centre teams. Mr Rai was leaving to take up his new position as an Assistant Director for Housing at South Kesteven District Council and Members joined the Leader in wishing him all the very best for the future;
(i) concluded by referring to the recruitment process for the two Director roles in the new corporate structure which had recently started. Later in the meeting, Members would be asked to confirm the establishment of a Recruitment Committee to oversee the appointments process. This would naturally take a number of months and therefore to ensure sufficient capacity and leadership during this time, the Leader welcomed to the meeting Mr John East who had joined the Council as Interim Director for Growth and Regeneration.
The Deputy Mayor then endorsed the comments made by the Leader in relation to the officers of the Local Plan team. In her capacity as Chair of the Local Plan Working Group she had been attending the Examination sessions and wished to express her congratulations to the team on their demonstrable professionalism. The younger members of the team especially had risen to this challenge and should be congratulated.
The Leader proposed that the Mayor write to the Local Plan team to congratulate them and express the gratitude of the Council. This was endorsed by Members.