Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration.

Policy priorities for 2018/19 were set out within the Council Plan, which was adopted at the Budget Council Meeting in February. This incorporates the shared outcomes from the Borough Plan alongside specific priorities of the Cabinet.

These priorities are articulated within the Portfolio Agreements, which form the basis for regular in-year reporting. Portfolio and Corporate Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs and CPRRs) will assess progress against key objectives, priorities, outcomes and budgets, enabling Scrutiny Committees to hold the Cabinet to account and for the Cabinet to identify current and future risks to delivery.

This report presents the draft 2018/19 Agreement for the Communities and Housing Portfolio for consideration and comment by the Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to review and comment on the draft Portfolio Agreement.

Officer contact: Alan Lawson/ Kora Yohannan on 474 5397/ 4032 or email: alan.lawson@stockport.gov.uk/ kora.yohannan@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the 2018/19 Agreements for the Communities & Housing Portfolio, which set out the policy priorities for the year ahead and incorporated the existing Council and Borough Plan priority outcomes alongside specific priorities of the Cabinet.  The Agreement would also form the basis for regular in-year reporting.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Sheila Bailey) also attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The proposal to tackle emissions along the A34 in Cheadle and Gatley as part of the GM Clean Air Plan was welcomed, but it was suggested that there were other areas of the Borough which similarly suffered from issues of poor air quality which needed attention such as the A6 in Hazel Grove and Bents Lane in Bredbury.

·         In response to a question about the potential for neighbourhood plans to be developed in less affluent areas of the Borough, it was stated that these were community lead plans and were not initiated by the Council.  It was stated that the Council would work with any community organisation that wished to develop a neighbourhood plan for their area.

·         A discussion took place in relation to the reported increase in fly-tipping and the actions the Council was taking to address this.  It was stated that in each instance the Council attempted to recover evidence to ascertain who was responsible for the waste.  Consideration was also being given to the use of covert cameras at known hot spots, however the results from other local authorities where this had been used had been mixed.

·         Members of the public had responded positively to the poster campaign in relation to dog fouling.

·         The highway tree replacement programme was welcomed and it was requested that local councillors be consulted on the locations of tree planting within their wards in advance of any works taking place.

·         The number of rough sleepers in Stockport was in single figurers, however the Council continued to offer support and accommodation to those people who were rough sleeping but this support was not always taken up.

·         Representatives of Greater Manchester Police would attend a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee along with representatives of the Safer Stockport Partnership.

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the contamination of recyclables which placed the Council at risk of receiving fines.  In response it was stated that this was one of the reasons behind the removal of the ‘bring’ recycling sites across where there had been issues with the contamination of recyclable materials, and there remained problems with residents’ understanding of which plastics, in particular, were suitable for recycling.

·         The position with regard to recyclables was particularly complex as discussions were ongoing with regard to the development of a Greater Manchester Waste Strategy and the re-tender for the waste collection service along with a lack of clarity on the status of existing legislation with regard to waste and recycling which was largely based on EU regulations and whether this would be translated into UK law following Britain’s departure from the European Union.

·         Concern was expressed with regard to the erosion of public transport throughout Stockport and the wider Greater Manchester area.

·         There was a need to make provision for the gypsy and traveller community.

·         There needed to be improvements in the provision of recycling facilities within Council offices.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.