Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2018.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2018 (copies of which had been circulated) were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider whether it is in the public interest to exclude the public during consideration of Agenda Item 10 – ‘Stockport Exchange Temporary Car Park’ which contains information ‘not for publication’ in its appendix by virtue of Category 3 ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority)’ as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOVLED - That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 10 –‘Stockport Exchange Temporary Car Park’ to prevent the disclosure of information which was not for publication as it contained ‘information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority)’as defined in Category 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the disclosure of which would not be in the public interest, would not be fair and would breach Data Protection principles.

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

The report outlines proposed updates to the Council’s Preventing Homelessness Strategy.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 0161 474 4319 or e-mail: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing details of an updated Preventing Homelessness Strategy to reflect legislative changes resulting from the 2017 Homelessness Reduction Act to ensure those at risk of or experiencing homelessness were provided with the advice and support that they need to alleviate these circumstances in addition to providing an up to date review of homelessness in Stockport.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         In response to question about the increase in the number of terminations of assured shorthold tenancies, it was stated that the main causes were the introduction of universal credit, the benefit cap and the sale of houses by landlords.

·         Members and former members of the armed forces were given additional priority in the housing allocation policy, however the number of people affected by this provision was very small in Stockport.

·         The Homeless Reduction Act sought to encourage people to present themselves to the local authority earlier.

·         Work was taking place at a Greater Manchester level to try and leverage more control over the private rented sector.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The report outlines proposed amendments to the Council’s Housing Allocation Policy.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 0161 474 4319 or e-mail: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing amendments to the Council’s Housing Allocation Policy to ensure that the Policy complies with the provisions of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.  Specifically, while the policy already provided for ‘reasonable’ preference to those who were homeless and some who faced losing their accommodation within 28 days, this would not be extended to all applicants who were threatened with homelessness within 56 days.  In addition, while not altering the priority afforded to applicants who were actually homeless, changes to the wording of the policy were required to reflect the legal framework created by the new act.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Points were not accrued beyond the fourth year an applicant was on the housing waiting list to prevent that becoming the determining factor in the allocation of a home.

·         While the policy stated that an applicant would be ineligible for housing if they had housing related debt to a private landlord in excess of £1,000 to avoid a person who intentionally made themselves homeless being given priority for housing, consideration was given to the individual circumstances of the applicant.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The report provides an update members on progress in developing the Strategic Outline Case which identifies a shortlist of proposed actions for further investigation, which will enable Greater Manchester to meet its statutory obligations with respect to Nitrogen Dioxide emissions in the shortest possible time, for submission to government.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Sue Stevenson on 0161 474 4351 or email: sue.stevenson@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on progress in developing the Strategic Outline Case which identified a shortlist of proposed actions for further investigation, which would enable Greater Manchester to meet its statutory obligations with respect to Nitrogen Dioxide emissions in the shortest possible time, for submission to government.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         It was explained that notwithstanding the ongoing congestion issues on the A6, the A34 had been included within the Plan as this was where exceedances had been identified in terms of roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

·         The opening of the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road alone was unlikely to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide by the 13% required to bring the A34 to within acceptable levels.

·         Emissions from licensed hire car vehicles and the controls that the Council as licensing authority can impose to reduce these were being looked at as part of the package of measures to address this issue.

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the lack of enforcement by the police against vehicles which had smoky exhausts which were proven to emit high levels of pollutants.

·         There needed to be improvements in the availability of electric vehicle charging points to encourage a modal shift to alternative fuels.

·         Further work needed to take place to encourage an uptake in alternatives such as cycling and public transport, and the reopening of Cheadle Railway Station would significantly improve the viability of rail travel for users of the A34.

·         There was a need to develop a rail link between Stockport and Marple.

·         There needed to be a significant increase in the availability of parking at railway stations to encourage drivers off the A34.

·         Air quality around the A34 was a significant issue for residents along the corridor and it was noted that there were a number of potential site allocations in the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework that should they be implemented would only serve to exacerbate existing air quality issues in the area.

·         There needed to be improvements in the provision of off-road cycling corridors.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

The November cycle of Scrutiny Committees considered a report seeking Members views on proposed priority areas for the Safer Stockport Partnership to focus on in a new Plan. 

Taking into account this feedback, an updated final draft Plan was approved by the Partnership Board on 8 February 2018.  This is now presented for consideration and comment by Communities and Housing Scrutiny Committee, ahead of being submitted to the Cabinet on 13 March 2018.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Steve Skelton on 0161 474 31714 or email: steve.skelton@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (copies of which had been circulated) detailing a final draft Safer Stockport Partnership Strategic Plan for 2018-21 which took into account the feedback received from scrutiny committees when the first draft was submitted for consideration in November 2017.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The report provides an update on the environmental campaign which was designed to achieve a level of behaviour change, with a borough wide communication campaign to promote positive behaviours and more focused and localised campaigns predominantly with Stockport Homes designed to increase recycling within neighbourhoods where more can be done.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Adam Forbes on 0161 474 3680 or email: adam.forbes@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the environmental campaign which was designed to achieve a level of behaviour change, with a boroughwide communication campaign to promote positive behaviours and which was more focused on localised campaigns, predominantly with Stockport Homes, designed to increase recycling within neighbourhoods where more can be done.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The potential for the introduction of on street recycling bins to replace existing litter bins was discussed.  In response it was stated that this had worked well in some areas and conveyed the right message in terms of getting people to think about recycling, however the quality of the recycling was often poor.

·         Posters were currently being put up in places where dog fouling had been an issues to encourage dog owners to pick up their animal’s waste.  It was stated that this would be followed up with enforcement for those people who continued to allow their dog to foul on the street without disposing of it.

·         It was suggested that there needed to be publicity around any successful enforcement activities.

·         It was requested that information relating to the success of the dog fouling initiative be circulated to members of the scrutiny committee once such data was available.

·         It was commented that Crookilley Way was consistently subject to littering from passing vehicles, and consideration should be given to the use of enforcement cameras as a means of tackling this.

·         It was not always possible to provide the full range of recycling facilities at all Council premises as it was not efficient to send vehicles to collect small amounts of waste for recycling. 

·         There needed to be a focus on the minimisation of plastic waste.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The report details a proposal to construct a temporary car park on the Cineworld site following its demolition in 2018.

(NOTE: This report contains a confidential appendix which has been circulated to members of the Scrutiny Committee only).

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Paul Richards on 0161-474-2940 or by email on paul.richards@stockport.gov.uk

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing a proposal to construct a temporary car park on the Cineworld site at Stockport Exchange following its demolition in 2018.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.                                                       

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Damian Eaton on 0161 474 3207 or email: damian.eaton@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and any relevant Forward Plan items.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.