Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheaf Street, Sheffield, S1 2BP

Contact: Paul Robinson, Democratic Services  Email: paul.robinson@sheffield.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

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2.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Members to declare any interests they have in the business to be considered at the meeting.

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3.

Public Questions and Petitions and Other Communications

(a)      To receive any questions or petitions from the public, or communications submitted by the Lord Mayor or the Chief Executive and to pass such resolutions thereon as the Council Procedure Rules permit and as may be deemed expedient.

 

 

(NOTE: There is a time limit of one hour for the above item of business.  In accordance with the arrangements published on the Council’s website in relation to meetings of the Council held whilst social distancing and other public health safety measures still apply, questions/petitions are required to be submitted in writing, to committee@sheffield.gov.uk, by 9.00 a.m. on Monday 31st January.)

 

 

(b)      Petition Requiring Debate

 

The Council’s Petitions Scheme requires that a petition containing over 5,000 signatures from individuals who live, work or study in Sheffield, be the subject of debate at the Council meeting.  A qualifying petition has been received as follows:-

 

Petition

 

To debate an electronic petition containing over 6,750 signatures opposing the plans put forward by Connecting Sheffield to extend bus lane operation times to 12 hours, remove parking and create a red route on Ecclesall Road and Abbeydale Road.  The online petition - Petition · Extensions to bus lane restrictions on Ecclesall & Abbeydale Road · Change.org - includes further information.

 

 

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4.

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 384 KB

5.1      Questions relating to urgent business – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(ii).

 

5.2      Questions on the discharge of the functions of the South Yorkshire Joint Authorities for Fire and Rescue and Pensions – Section 41 of the Local Government Act 1985 – Council Procedure Rule 16.6(i).

 

          (NB. Minutes of recent meetings of the two South Yorkshire Joint Authorities have been made available to all Members of the Council via the following link -

          http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13165&path=0)

 

5.3      Supplementary questions on written questions submitted at this meeting   – Council Procedure Rule 16.4.

 

 

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5.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and HRA Budget 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 225 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations made by the Co-operative Executive at its meeting held on 19th January 2022 in relation to the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and Budget for 2022/23, as set out in the report of the Executive Director, Place, published with this agenda.

 

 

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6.

Sheffield (Local) Plan Spatial Options pdf icon PDF 191 KB

To provide to the Co-operative Executive, the Council’s view on whether Option 3 or one of the other four options should be the preferred overall spatial option taken forward in the Publication (Pre-Submission) Draft Sheffield Plan, as set out in the report of the Executive Director, Place, published with this agenda.

 

 

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7.

Notice of Motion Regarding "Getting on the road to Bus Franchising" - Given By Councillor Terry Fox And To Be Seconded By Councillor Josie Paszek

That this Council:-

 

(a)      notes that the previous Administration has consistently, and repeatedly, called for the South Yorkshire Mayor to start the process of bus franchising;

 

(b)      welcomes the announcement in January 2022 from South Yorkshire Mayor, Dan Jarvis, that the Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) would consider whether Franchising should be considered in further detail;

 

(c)      notes that a franchising model would give South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) the powers to set routes, timetables and fares - which are then managed through tenders to operators - but that all of the costs and risks associated with service delivery would rest with SYMCA under this option;

 

(d)      believes, therefore, that as part of this process the financial implications must be clarified as to what impact this will have on the Council’s finances and on the city’s taxpayers, and that SYMCA should conduct a Franchising Scheme Assessment (FSA) to consider the legal, financial, and operational case for moving away from a commercial bus network to a Franchised network;

 

(e)      notes that the MCA have estimated that developing a Franchising Scheme Assessment could cost around £4-5 million and take 3-4 years to complete;

 

(f)       believes, therefore, that this decision should not be taken lightly due to the cost impacts but that, ultimately, Sheffield’s transport offer is simply not good enough and radical action is required to get the service to where it should be for Sheffield; and

 

(g)      notes that Franchising is no panacea to the problem of poor ‘public’ transport, with sustained government underfunding and privatisation the root problem, but that franchising may provide a crucial step in the right direction of reform.

 

 

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8.

Notice of Motion Regarding "15-Minute Neighbourhoods for Sheffield" - Given By Councillor Richard Shaw And To Be Seconded By Councillor Tim Huggan

That this Council:-

 

(a)      acknowledges and welcomes the diverse range of neighbourhoods and settlements across the Sheffield area, believes that the Covid pandemic has served to remind us all of the range of parks, local shops and leisure facilities available in Sheffield, but recognises that access to these services is often limited by poor mobility, distance, and limited transport options;

 

(b)      welcomes the latest update to the Highway Code that introduces a ‘hierarchy of road users’, giving more responsibility to operators of motor vehicles to reduce danger towards more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, and includes updates and clarifications such as giving pedestrians greater priority at crossings and junctions;

 

(c)      believes that traditional zoning of land uses has in many cases led to limited access to services and local amenities by active travel, mass transit or mobility aids;

 

(d)      therefore believes that as a Council we should work towards the concept of ‘15 minute neighbourhoods’, reducing time and distance to access services; meaning residents should have within a 15-minute journey via foot, cycle or other mobility aid from their home: living, working, commerce, healthcare, education, entertainment, parks and green spaces;

 

(e)      notes that 15-minute neighbourhoods concept would also support regeneration of district centres and local and independent businesses, something this Council wishes to see across Sheffield;

 

(f)       believes that the Council’s recently established Local Area Committees provide a great way to work to establish 15-minute neighbourhoods, designed by local communities from the bottom up and believes that Local Area Committees need to be empowered to identify where zoning rules can be changed to make work and leisure sites more accessible to local residents;

 

(g)      believes the creation of vibrant district centres and neighbourhoods would be supported by greater local retention of the neighbourhood portion of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL);

 

(h)      notes the EU Objective One investment in 2007 to break up the Parson Cross estate and create hubs around community facilities and shopping centres, which could have led to the creation of 15-minute neighbourhoods, and believes regretfully that the previous Administration did not have the vision to use CIL to enhance the local centres, improve active travel and reduce car dependency;

 

(i)       believes that the building of up to 2,500 houses in Attercliffe, using the Council’s Compulsory Purchase Order powers if necessary, should be used as an example of how to deliver 15-minute neighbourhoods;

 

(j)       believes that 15-minute neighbourhoods will also benefit our environment, reducing the reliance on cars for many residents, helping Sheffield reach its goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, alongside the switch to electric vehicles and the decarbonisation of the electricity supply;

 

(k)      believes that the principles behind 15-minute neighbourhoods could also be adapted to benefit our rural communities by improving access to basic services and amenities;

 

(l)       acknowledges some of our city’s current policies are a good step towards this, such as the low traffic neighbourhoods where appropriate, but believes that the Council needs to do more to encourage  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

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9.

Notice of Motion Regarding "Net Zero Energy Homes for Sheffield" - Given By Councillor Douglas Johnson And To Be Seconded By Councillor Christine Gilligan

That this Council notes:-

 

(a)      the proposed 87% increase in community heating charges in the Housing Revenue Account from 3.04p to 5.69p per unit, with further increases mooted, and the consequent impact on those tenants on the lowest incomes;

 

(b)      the significant difficulties delivering retrofit solutions to make homes energy efficient due to a severe lack of skills and capacity in the energy efficiency sector, and that, conversely, there is real potential for training to help create new skilled jobs;

 

(c)      in May 2020 the charity, National Energy Action, estimated that 1 in 10 households in the Sheffield Area were in Fuel Poverty; with huge price hikes expected in energy bills, this is going to get significantly worse, and only through energy efficiency schemes that significantly reduce energy demand will householders be protected from the fluctuations of volatile energy markets;

 

(d)      achieving a zero carbon Sheffield by 2030 will require the Council to develop a viable way of reducing emissions at scale in the built environment while ensuring warm, healthy homes that are affordable to heat;

 

(e)      the work being carried out by a number of councils in the Retrofit Accelerator Homes Innovation Partnership using the Energiesprong method (first developed in The Netherlands) to retrofit homes in around a day;

 

(f)       the Retrofit Accelerator Homes Innovation Partnership provides a way for councils, and other social housing providers, to collaborate, share information, procure and jointly bid for government and other funding streams;

 

(g)      that Energiesprong, a not-for-profit company, works with local councils on developing a programme to deliver warmer homes through a retrofit programme delivering a home which is net zero energy, meaning it generates the total amount of energy required for its heating, hot water and electrical appliances; it also provides superior indoor comfort; this is achieved using bespoke prefabricated facades, insulated rooftops with solar panels, smart heating, and ventilation and cooling installations, and a refurbishment comes with a long-year performance warranty on both the indoor climate and the energy performance for up to 40 years;

 

(h)      Energiesprong are not contractors themselves but work with councils to help procure contractors to deliver to the Energiesprong specification;

 

(i)       the Energiesprong finance model for the Council is viable due to the reduction in future costs to the Council due to less boiler replacement and servicing costs, improvements to the property guaranteed for 40 years; there is also a “comfort charge” to tenants which, when added to their new energy bill, following refurbishment, will be less than their current energy bill, and this is guaranteed so tenants can not be required to pay more than they would without the scheme;

 

(j)       there is a significant opportunity for Sheffield to develop a manufacturing facility to deliver energiesprong components for the South Yorkshire Region, creating jobs and skills in the region, and providing for a pipeline to deliver retrofitted homes; and

 

That this Council resolves:-

 

(k)      to request the Administration to consider developing an approach to a Partnership with Energiesprong and the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

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10.

Notice of Motion Regarding "Cost of Living Crisis" - Given By Councillor Karen McGowan And To Be Seconded By Councillor Ben Miskell

That this Council:-

 

(a)      believes that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, with rising bills and ballooning prices;

 

(b)      notes that we have seen a decade of low growth under Conservative- led governments, and believes that this is holding back Britain and has left the national economy weakened and unable to deal with shocks;

 

(c)      notes that this is particularly felt in northern cities like Sheffield, leaving many of the city’s residents acutely vulnerable to a worrying combination of factors – such as inflation, rocketing energy bills, increased costs for food and fuel, and the forthcoming rise to national insurance;

 

(d)      notes that eligibility for Free School Meal Vouchers in Sheffield is increasing, indicating that poverty in the city is increasing, and Council Hardship funds are coming under increased pressure;

 

(e)      notes that a Labour government would immediately cut VAT on domestic energy bills to ease the burden on households during winter – giving a potential saving of up to £400 for many Sheffield residents – which would be paid for by a one-off windfall tax on booming oil and gas profits;

 

(f)       believes that we need radical long-term change to keep energy bills low in the future, and yet this Government have consistently failed to keep in check rising energy bills and have a very poor record on insulating homes and improving energy efficiency; and

 

(g)      believes the Government should get a grip and tackle this crisis – but instead they continue to sit back complacently; trapping us in a high-tax, low-growth economy, and rather than putting the interests of the country first they are consumed with infighting and, as such, are failing to take the decisive action needed.

 

 

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11.

Review of Polling Districts & Polling Places pdf icon PDF 365 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report of the Chief Executive, published with this agenda, regarding boundary changes to polling districts and proposed polling places.

 

 

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12.

External Audit Re-procurement pdf icon PDF 172 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report of the Executive Director, Resources, published with this agenda, to endorse the recommendation of the Audit and Standards Committee on 23rd September 2021 in relation to the appointment of the Council’s external auditors.

 

 

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13.

Temporary Change to the Constitution - Budget Amendments At The Special Meeting Of The Council On 2nd March 2022 pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To approve, with or without amendment, the recommendations in the report of the Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer), published with this agenda, seeking approval for a temporary change to be made to the Council Procedure Rules to stipulate a limit on the number of budget amendments able to be submitted by each political group for consideration at the Special Meeting of the Council to be held on 2nd March 2022.

 

 

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14.

Minutes Of Previous Council Meetings pdf icon PDF 510 KB

To receive the records of the proceedings of the meetings of the Council held on 18th November and 1st December 2021 and to approve the accuracy thereof.

 

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15.

Representation, Delegated Authority and Related Issues pdf icon PDF 90 KB

To consider any changes to the memberships and arrangements for meetings of Committees etc., delegated authority, and the appointment of representatives to serve on other bodies.

 

 

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