Agenda and minutes

1.1

An apology for absence from Councillor Alan Law was reported during the meeting.

2.1

No Member declared an inability to vote on the setting of the Council Tax charge on the grounds of having Council Tax arrears of at least two months.

2.2

During the meeting, declarations of interests were made by Councillors Joe Otten and Mick Rooney as follows:-

(a) Councillor Otten declared a personal interest in item 8 on the agenda (item 6 of the minutes) - Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2021-22 – in relation to the reference made to a proposed highway crossing on Hangingwater Road on the grounds that his daughter had been offered a place at High Storrs School next academic year and would therefore benefit from such a crossing; and

(b) Councillor Rooney declared a personal interest in item 4 on the agenda (item 3 of the minutes) - Public Questions – in relation to the questions regarding proposed job losses at the Rolls Royce Advanced Blade Casting Facility on the grounds that his brother-in-law had one of the jobs at risk.

3.1

The Lord Mayor (Councillor Tony Downing) reported that three petitions and questions from five members of the public had been received prior to the published deadline for submission of petitions and questions for this meeting.  He invited the petitioners to present their petitions, and the questioners to ask their questions.

3.2

Petitions

3.2.1

Petition Requesting Action to Tackle Parking Problems on the Road Around Rother Valley Country Park

The Council received a petition containing 241 signatures requesting the Council to urgently tackle the dangerous parking on the road around Rother Valley Country Park, and to work with the Country Park and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to come up with a long-term solution to the problem.

Representations on behalf of the petitioners were made by Ann Woolhouse, who informed the Council that the car park at Rother Valley Country Park was small and in poor condition. There were problems with parking in the area and this was a concern for residents that lived in the area who had said that although problems had been exacerbated by the coronavirus, the situation was also generally bad during summer. People parked vehicles on Meadowgate Drive and this adversely affected visibility for residents coming out from their driveway and there was a potential for accidents.

Ann Woolhouse said that cars parked on pavements and this obstructed pedestrians. She outlined the effect on wheelchair users and their ability to access the Park because of the potential danger of having to walk on the road due to pavements being blocked by visitors’ cars. There was also concern about access for emergency vehicles, particularly when vehicles were parked on both sides of the road.

She asked what the City Council was going to do about the car park and the parking in the area.

The Council referred the petition to Councillor Julie Grocutt (Cabinet Member for Transport and Development). Councillor Grocutt thanked Ann Woolhouse for presenting the petition. She confirmed that action would be taken to tackle the dangerous parking in the areas around Rother Valley Country Park and that the Council would work with the Country Park and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to find a long-term solution to the problem. Discussions had already begun with Rotherham and as Cabinet Member she explained that she had met with residents, the local Councillor and Member of Parliament to listen and understand the issues residents were facing.

Councillor Grocutt explained that she had asked officers in the Strategic Transport and Infrastructure service and Parking Services to coordinate with colleagues in the Parks and Countryside and Woodlands Service to propose a plan to tackle the issues. The plan would be co-operative with Rotherham Borough Council and the Country Park and the adjoining highways authority and the ambition was to develop a joined up coherent plan to minimise the impact on local residents, improve traffic management and options for short term parking for Rother Valley Country Park.  Officers were investigating the funding options available to deliver an effective plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.1

There were no questions relating to urgent business submitted by Members under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

5.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Bob Johnson, seconded by Councillor Terry Fox, that approval be given to the recommendations in the report of the Director of Legal and Governance now submitted, to (a) adopt the changes to the Management Structure and Statutory/Proper Officers section of the Constitution to transfer the functions of the Returning Officer for Local and Parliamentary elections from the Director of Policy, Performance and Communications to the Chief Executive and (b) note the approval of an updated Leader’s Scheme of Delegation of Executive Functions, and the Leader’s Notice of Appointment of Executive Members.

6.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Tony Damms, seconded by Councillor Sue Auckland, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 4 (Suspension and Amendment of Council Procedure Rules) and 11 (Motions which may be moved without notice):-

(a)      Council Procedure Rule 17.5 be suspended to remove the 2 minute time limit on the speeches of the movers and seconders of amendments and a new time limit be set whereby a total of 20 minutes will be shared by the mover and seconder of each amendment, and all other speakers shall have 2 minutes;

(b)      Council Procedure Rule 17.6 be suspended to remove the 25 minute time limit for the item of business; and

(c)      Council Procedure Rules 17.7(d) and 17.12(a) be suspended to remove the right of reply for the mover of the motion.

6.2

It was formally moved by Councillor Tony Damms and formally seconded by Councillor Dianne Hurst, that the following recommendations made by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 17th February, 2021, arising from its consideration of a report of the Executive Director, Resources on the Council’s Revenue Budget for 2021/22 and the Capital Strategy 2021-26, be approved:-

“RESOLVED: That Cabinet recommends to the meeting of the City Council on 3rd March 2021:-

(a)      to approve a net Revenue Budget for 2021/22 amounting to £365.812m;

(b)      to approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax of £1,702.31 for City Council services, i.e. an increase of 4.99% (1.99% City Council increase and 3% national arrangement for the social care precept);

(c)      to approve the proposed amendments to the Long Term Empty premium which applies to Council Tax charges in respect of Long Term Empty Dwellings, as set out in paragraph 47 of the Revenue Budget report, with effect from 1 April 2021;

(d)      to note that the Section 151 Officer has reviewed the robustness of the estimates and the adequacy of the proposed financial reserves, in accordance with Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003; and that further details can be found in Appendix 4 and within the Section 25 Statutory Statement on Sustainability of Budget and Level of Reserves from paragraph 17 of the Revenue Budget report;

(e)      to approve the savings as set out in Appendix 2 of the Revenue Budget report;

(f)       to approve the revenue budget allocations for each of the services, as set out in Appendices 3a to 3d of the Revenue Budget report;

(g)      to note that, based on the estimated expenditure level set out in Appendix 3 to the Revenue Budget report, the amounts shown in part B of Appendix 6 of the report would be calculated by the City Council for the year 2021/22, in accordance with sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

(h)      to note the information on the precepts issued by the South Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner and of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority, together with the impact of these on the overall amount of Council Tax to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Dianne Hurst, seconded by Councillor Andy Bainbridge, that:-

(a)      Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards be appointed to replace Councillor Dawn Dale on the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Committee;

(b)      Councillor Jayne Dunn be appointed to serve on the Access Liaison Group, filling a vacancy; and

(c)      Councillor Tony Damms be appointed to serve as a substitute Member for Councillor Bob Johnson on the Yorkshire and Humber Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.