Minutes of a meeting of Shobnall Parish Council

held at the Princess Street Training Education and Enterprise Centre, Princess Street,

Burton upon Trent on Monday 16 March commencing at 7pm

Present

Councillor Dennis (in the Chair)

Councillors Asghar, Dittmer, Donlon, Hoare, Shilton and Yousaf

In attendance

County Councillor Clarke

ESBC Councillors McKiernan and Walker

Mary Danby, Clerk

2 Members of the public

Public Forum

Concern was expressed regarding the Selective Licensing Consultation:

• The drop-in events were Q&A sessions and some enquiries could not be answered by the Officer Team as the queries were said to be of a political nature.

• The process of using Q&A sessions does not fulfil the spirit of consultation and does not demonstrate engagement with the community.

• English is not the first language of some of the landlords and therefore their understanding of the written proposal is compromised.

• Not all landlords have access to computers or the internet and this impacts on their ability to peruse the proposal online.

Agreed That the parish council respond to ESBC:

5. Asking for an evening face to face meeting with landlords to be organised at, say the Princess Street Training Centre, starting no earlier than 5.30pm/6pm to enable as many landlords as possible to attend.

1. Given the strength of feeling expressed by landlords at Shobnall Parish Council meetings it is recommended that both elected Members and the Officer Team attend the meeting and that they be briefed and able to answer all questions put by the landlords. ESBC is also requested to consider extending the consultation date given the current limitations imposed by the Government due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

2019-20/165       Apologies

None, all Councillors were present.

2019-20/166       Declarations of interest

None declared.

2019-20/167       Written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 2011

None were received.

2019-20/168       Updates to Councillors’ Register of Interest Forms

No updates were notified.

2019-20/169       Minutes

Resolved             That the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 February 2020 be approved and signed as a true record.

2019-20/170       Matters arising from the previous

ESBC Selective Licensing Consultation

Rachel Liddle, ESBC’s Environmental Health Manager had responded on 04 March as follows to the parish council’s queries:

• Request for an additional consultation event(s) meeting to be arranged for residents/landlords – the Princess Street Training Centre is a possible venue.

This has been organised for 4 March at the Town Hall.

• Meeting noted that ESBC were not contacting the landlords that the scheme would impact.

All landlords that the Council has contacts for have been notified of the scheme.

• Why are only private landlords being targeted and having to pay for the license? The meeting noted that there is a shortage of accommodation and the private landlords are providing the shortfall in provision.  It was noted if any other product was being used or purchased the same standards of quality would be expected to be provided by all to everyone.

Registered Social Landlords are exempt from Selective Licensing. Similarly, some private landlords may be exempt depending on their tenancy agreement with the tenant. Exemptions are specified by legislation and are available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/370/made.

• Meeting noted that there are standards and regulations that a landlord must comply with and this was not questioned. However, the proposed licensing being put in place for private landlords only raises questions as to why all landlords are not being measured in the same way.

All Landlords have to comply with the same standards – Selective Licensing enables the local authority to ensure all local private rented stock in the designated area meets the legal standard by ensuring all housing meet the conditions set out within the licence. Many of the provisions relating to selective licensing are similar to those relating to the mandatory and discretionary licensing of HMOs and ensure a minimum standard of management is met by Landlords. Landlords are not required to undertake works over and above the legal requirement or best practice and therefore no additional work should be necessary.

• The license would be an additional financial burden to providing much needed accommodation within the area.

The standard fee is £466, with additional discounts for landlords and is for the full five-year period. This means that the lowest fee is £266 which equates to less than £5 per month.

• The selective licensing is per property.

Correct – there is a discount for landlords with multiple properties.

• There are existing measures in place for tenants to raise their concerns to ESBC regarding their accommodation.

Correct – however many tenants are scared to complain for fear of eviction. Selective Licensing ensures standards are correct before tenants are put at risk from unsafe housing and is a proactive method of enforcement.

• What staffing does ESBC have in place before the start of the introduction of the selective licensing and now?  Does ESBC have the staffing in place with the correct knowledge to facilitate this to justify the cost of the scheme?

Staffing resources will be in place should the scheme be designated. The licence fee covers the amount of resources required to deliver the scheme to ensure that sufficient resources are in place.

• What are the findings since the scheme was introduced in another area of Burton?

Please see the Selective Licensing Proposal which details a reduction in housing complaints and compliance/enforcement levels.

• Why are the current areas being selected for the selective licensing and what are the facts and figures to support this?

The number of housing complaints and reports about poor condition of properties- please see proposal document for further details.

• How many complaints have ESBC received for all tenants within Burton on Trent and how have these been resolved?

Please see proposal document.

• Does ESBC provide evidence of the survey they carry out as part of the selective licensing scheme?

I need further clarification on what you mean by survey. All properties are inspected as part of the licence application and the scheme is reviewed each year which is presented to Councillors and at the Landlords Forum.

• Why is the scheme so expensive?

The fee is based on the cost to administer the scheme which is ring-fenced for the scheme meaning that we do not make any profit from the scheme. Compared to other Selective Licensing Schemes East Staffordshire Borough Council is one of the lowest fees.

Minute No. 2019-20/153

Re: CCEO Shobnall Initiative

The CCEO has responded saying “Any information you have regarding clean ups would be gratefully received. In regard to days allocated, this depends on factors including the size of the ward, population, and intelligence gathered by officers. From this we then decide whether CCEO’s patrol for three or five days.

I have also received confirmation from my team leader that there will be another Shobnall initiative in June, as part of the upcoming service plan. As the weather will be on our side (and hopefully no floods!), this initiative will take place over five days.”

The parish council had also been advised that the initiative had been put back as the Team was needed for priority visits regarding the recent floods. The initiative would now take place from 23-25 March.

2019-20/171       PCSO’S report

None of the PCSO’s were available to attend the meeting and a report had been provided which had been circulated prior to the meeting.

2019-20/172       Borough Councillor report

Councillor Walker reported that:

• The car situation in Gordon Street seems to have gone away as the cars have been moved.
• Some Shobnall Street houses have problems with their cellars flooding with water coming up from the basement.
• Business rates will be affected by the recent Government Budget and this will be discussed at an ESBC Council meeting.

2019-20/173       County Councillor’s report

Councillor Clarke reported that:

• He will push for a feasibility study around the Town Hall because of parking issues.
• The St Paul’s Square consultation on double yellow lines is underway.
• Removal of yellow lines at Edwards Street, Princess Street and Gordon Street – the TRO Officer will deal with this as quickly as possible.
• Henhurst Hill, he had met with County Councillor Philip White, concerns had been expressed by residents at HGV’s using the road. A consultation would be launched week commencing 23 March on proposed traffic calming measures for the B5017.
• A High Street Camera enforcement consultation would take place at the Town Hall on 17 March.
• Price Court, residents had said that they could not get the drains cleared. The road is unadopted and Trent & Dove Housing accept that this is their responsibility and they are making arrangements for the drains to be cleared.

2019-20/174       Financial matters

2019-20/174.1    Schedule of Payment

Resolved             That the above payments be approved and that the documents be signed following the meeting.

2019-20/174.2    Bank reconciliation

Resolved             That the above was a true record.

2019-20/175       2019/20 Budget as at 29 February 2020

Resolved             That the Budget report showing receipts and payments as at 29 February 2020 be received and noted.

2019-20/176       Shobnall Parish Council website

It was noted that there had been 54 visits to the website in the 30 days to 07 March 2020.

2019-20/177       Planning matters

2019-20/177.1    Planning Applications                     

 2019-20/177.2    Planning decisions

Resolved             That the notified planning decisions be received and noted.

2019-20/178       Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service Safety Plan (2020-2024) Consultation

Resolved             That the Plan be received without comment.

2019-20/179       Kingfisher Project

An invitation had been extended for the parish council to be represented at a Kingfisher Project Stakeholder Meeting to be held on Trent & Dove Housing Board Room on 31 March 2020 from 11am – 1pm.

The consultation session will consider the recommendations made in an evaluation of the Kingfisher Project, conducted by Dr Scott Jones; Mind the Gap Research and Training, commissioned by Trent & Dove and The Kingfisher Project Management Group.

This will be an opportunity to consider the project’s successes and discuss how we can all play a part in closing any gaps and strengthening weaknesses.

The recommendations from the external evaluation give a flavour of how together we can start to take Kingfisher forward and future proof it with increased and renewed input from yourselves and others.

Resolved             That Councillor Shilton be provisionally nominated to attend the meeting on behalf of the council.

2019-20/180       The Link Park (Minute No. 2019-20/144 and 160 refer)

Bloomin’ Gardens advise that “once the play equipment is removed the contract will cease. The grass cutting we charge per visit but to be fair it doesn’t grow very quickly there as the ground isn’t very good. A more scheduled program could be sorted if you felt you needed it. Litter picking could be as often as you want, and areas could be scheduled in more or less frequency visits.”

Resolved             That once all the equipment has been removed from the site Bloomin Gardens be requested to litter pick the site fortnightly on a Monday and the grass to be cut once a month with the arrangement being reviewed at the June 2020 meeting of the council.

2019-20/181       To receive questions from Councillors and reports from representatives

2019-20/181.1    Councillor Shilton informed the council that the Paget School Farm group had met with the Headteacher and a deal is being put together and funding is being sought to keep the farm going.

2019-20/181.2    Councillor Hoare asked the council to consider two suggestions:

1. That the council organise and sponsor a writing competition for the four primary schools in the parish.

Agreed         That a detailed proposal be put to a future meeting of the council.

1. Would it be possible for the council to buy a mobile CCTC for use around the Parish to stop fly tipping, anti-social behavior, etc? What are the legalities of this?

Agreed         That the options be investigated, and advice sought for consideration at a future meeting of the council.

2019-20/182       Correspondence and circulars

2019-20/182.1    SPCA: Weekly Bulletins had been forwarded to all Councillors.

2019-20/183       Items for next meeting

None raised.

Date of next meeting

Monday 20 April 2020 commencing at 7.00pm at The Princess Street Training Enterprise Centre, 25-28 Princess Street, Burton on Trent DE14 2NW.

The Meeting closed at 9.10 pm

Signed …………………………………………………….

Date ……………………………………………………….