Council Procedure Rule 12.6 provides for questions by any member of the Council to the Leader or any Portfolio Holder, without notice on:
(i) reports under item 7 above; or
(ii) any other matter of a non operational character in relation to the powers and duties of the Council or which affects all or part of the District or some or all of its inhabitants.
Council Procedure Rule 12.7 provides that answers to questions without notice may take the form of:
(a) direct oral answer from the Leader or, at the request of the Leader, from another member of the Cabinet;
(b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication;
(c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner; or
(d) where the question relates to an operational matter, the Leader or a member of the Cabinet will request that a response be given direct to the questioner by the relevant Chief Officer.
In accordance with the Council Procedure Rule 12.8, a time limit of twenty minutes is set for questions. Any question not dealt with within the time available will receive a written reply. The Chairman may extend this period by up to a further 10 minutes to ensure that all political groups and independent members may have their questions answered.
Minutes:
(a) Housing Portfolio
Councillor Murray asked the Housing Portfolio Holder which of the five achievements summarised in his written report was he most proud.
Councillor Stallan, Housing Portfolio Holder, said he was very proud of the Council House Building Programme which, if the estimated timescale and budget were met, would result in completion in 2015 of the first Council-built residential units for 30 years in Harveyfields, Waltham Abbey. He continued that the increase in the provision of off-street parking throughout the District was important and was being well received by residents in the areas where schemes had already been provided. The Portfolio Holder said that due to careful financial management a sum of £200,000 was being provided for the Oakwood Hill Environmental Improvement Scheme in Loughton. He said that little work had been undertaken on the Estate since he had first visited it in the 1980s and that there had been a marked deterioration of the environment. He was pleased therefore that match funding was being provided by Essex County Council and he said he hoped that Loughton Town Council would also contribute towards the proposed improvements. Councillor Stallan said that the Welfare Reform Mitigation Plan was very important because it was helping to minimise the effects of the Government’s Welfare Reforms. In summary, Councillor Stallan said that he was proud of all of the five achievements mentioned in his written report.
(b) Bridge between Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell
Councillor Spencer asked the Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder if he would ask the Essex County Council Highways Portfolio Holder why the contractors working on the bridge had not built their site office on stilts as the area was known to flood and now that the site office had flooded there would presumably be an even longer delay in completing the works.
Councillor Waller, Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder said that he had little influence over the County Council Highways Portfolio Holder on this matter or any other County Council highways and transportation issues. He agreed, however, to pass on Councillor Spencer’s comments to the County Council Portfolio Holder.
(c) Food Banks
Councillor Murray asked the Leader of Council for a comment about the continued use of a food bank in Loughton. He pointed out that the results of national research published during the day had stated that rising food prices, low pay and reducing income had led to an increased demand for food banks.
Councillor Whitbread, Leader of the Council, stated that food banks provided a much needed resource at a time when the country had suffered one of its hardest recessions. He said he would be happy to visit the food bank in Loughton. He agreed that the need for food banks had been due to rising food prices and in particular the rise in prices in relation to basic foods.
(d) St John’s Road Area, Epping
Councillor J H Whitehouse referred to the statement made at the last Council meeting by the Asset Management and Economic Development Portfolio Holder about a report being submitted shortly regarding the future of the St John’s Road area of Epping and asked if a progress report could now be made as it had been two months since the last Council meeting.
Councillor Grigg, Asset Management and Economic Development Portfolio Holder, said that a report would be submitted to the next Cabinet meeting regarding the District Council, Essex County Council and Epping Town Council entering into negotiations with a mixed development preferred bidder for a fixed period.
(e) Street Lighting
Councillor Knapman referred to the majority of street lights in the District being switched off at midnight with only a few in the vicinity of bus stops being left on. He said that he thought agreement had been reached with Essex County Council for street lights in the vicinity of London Underground stations to be kept on later. He asked the Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder if he agreed and if he would make further representations to the County Council on this matter. He also pointed out that Parish or Town Councils could take on responsibility for street lights.
Councillor Waller, Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder, said it was also his understanding that street lights in the vicinity of London Underground stations in the District would be kept on until the trains stopped running in the early hours. He said he would make further representations to the County Council. On the wider issue he advised that there had been no noticeable increase in road traffic accidents or crime as a result of street lights being switched off. The Portfolio Holder continued that the matter had been discussed earlier in the day at a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel and discussions would continue. In relation to Parish and Town Councils taking over responsibility for street lighting, he said that this should be encouraged if they were prepared to accept the costs and responsibilities.
(f) Council House Building
Councillor Markham referred to a statement made by the Prime Minister about the delivery of affordable homes during the term of the current Government and asked the Housing Portfolio Holder how many affordable homes had been built since 2010.
Councillor Stallan, Housing Portfolio Holder, said he did not have a figure for the country but would ask officers to provide members with details. He stated that in relation to the Epping Forest District there had been no affordable properties built by the Council for 30 years which was the reason for introducing the Council House Building Programme.
(g) Parking Enforcement
Councillor Pond asked the Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder why parking restrictions were not enforced in the evenings or on Sundays.
Councillor Waller, Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder, stated that parking enforcement should not be restricted to 9 until 5 although it should be accepted that the majority of enforcement would be undertaken during the working day. He said that the North Essex Parking Partnership needed to be reminded of the need to enforce restrictions which applied outside of the normal working day and he agreed to raise this matter with the senior officer for the western area of the North Essex Parking Partnership at a meeting due to be held shortly.
(h) Parking Bays in Loughton High Road
Councillor Mann advised that the white lines denoting some 20/30 parking bays in Loughton High Road had been worn away and this resulted in drivers parking in such a way that they used an area larger than a parking bay and thereby exacerbated the lack of parking. He pointed out that this practice also led to confrontations between drivers. He asked the Portfolio Holder if the lines could be repainted.
Councillor Waller, Safer, Greener and Transport Portfolio Holder, said that this was another matter to be discussed with the senior officer for the western area of the North Essex Parking Partnership. He said it was not just a matter of repainting the lines but also of maintaining them. He pointed out, however, that there would be a need to await better weather before repainting the lines.
(i) Planning Application Forms
Councillor Wagland said that approximately one year ago she had made representations to the Government about the need to include a “statement of truth” at the end of planning application forms as this was common practice on many other documents. She said that the Government had agreed to do so and having recently seen an application form from another authority it had included such a statement. Councillor Wagland said she assumed, therefore, that the necessary regulations had been made to include the statement and she asked the Planning Portfolio Holder if he supported this approach and if this Council had amended its forms to include such a statement. She suggested that the requirement should be published locally.
Councillor Bassett, Planning Portfolio Holder, said that he totally agreed with the inclusion of a “statement of truth” on planning applications forms and that he had a meeting arranged with Planning Officers on the following day at which he would raise the issue in order to establish the current situation.
(j) Discretionary Housing Payments
Councillor J M Whitehouse said that this Council had been included on a list of authorities which had allocated a low level of Discretionary Housing Payments to those in need. He sought views on why this had been the case and on details of the amount spent to date.
Councillor Stavrou, Finance and Technology Portfolio Holder, advised that £54,232 had been spent out of a total Discretionary Housing Payments budget of £206,998, consisting of 51 awards to Council tenants, 28 awards to RSL tenants and 23 awards to private tenants. She continued that exceptional hardship payments expenditure amounted to £1,844 from the total budget of £20,670 for 12 claimants. Councillor Stavrou stated that she was working with officers to identify those who were really struggling with a view to spending the total budget.