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_______________________________________________________________
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Date: 14 March 2014
Meeting of the Council
Monday, 24 March 2014 at 6.35pm
Council Chamber, Town Hall, Warrington
Steven Broomhead Chief Executive
Agenda prepared by Sharon Parker, Councillor Services Manager –
Telephone: (01925) 442161, Email: [email protected])
1. Apologies
2. The Minutes of the Council
To be moved by the Mayor and seconded by the Deputy Mayor:
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2014 be agreed
as a correct record.
3. Correspondence from the previous meetings
Council are asked to note any written responses and associated
correspondence in relation to questions asked and debate at the
previous Council meeting. Council Procedure Rules – Paragraph 7
(7.1b) – (iv).
There is no correspondence to be noted at this meeting.
4. Code of Conduct – Declarations of Interest Relevant
Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012
Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any
disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have in
any item of business on the agenda no later than when the item is
reached.
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mailto:[email protected]
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The Solicitor to the Council or representatives in Democratic
and Member Services are available prior to the meeting to advise
and/or to receive details of the interest and the item to which it
relates.
Declarations are a personal matter for each Member to decide.
Whilst officers will advise on the Code and its interpretation, the
decision to declare, or not, is the responsibility of the Member
based on the particular circumstances.
5. The Leader’s Announcements
6. To receive Reports from the Executive Board and the Council’s
Committees
6.1 Pay Policy Statement 2014/2015
Report of the Executive Board.
Proposed by Cllr H Patel Seconded by Cllr T O’Neill
6.2 Potholes - Report of the Building Stronger Communities
Policy Committee
Report of the Building Stronger Communities Policy Committee
Proposed by Cllr McLaughlin Seconded by Cllr K Simcock
6.3 Development Management Committee/Planning Applications Sub
Committee
Report of the Development Management Committee
Proposed by Cllr T McCarthy Seconded by Cllr D Keane
6.4 Constitutional Issues
Report of the Constitution Committee
Proposed by Cllr C Fitzsimmons Seconded by Cllr B Maher
7. Questions Received from Members of the Public
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In accordance with Standing Order 13.11-13.24 questions from the
public must be received by the Head of Democratic and Member
Services by 12 noon on Monday, 17 March 2014. No more than 3
questions shall be addressed and no person or body or organisation
may submit more than 1 question at any one meeting. A time limit of
five minutes shall apply per question to cover the asking of the
question, the response and any supplementary question and response.
Responses will be given either orally or in writing.
The Mayor will invite the questioner to put the question to the
Councillor nominated to answer it. The Mayor may receive 1
supplementary question, which must be related to the original
question.
Should any questions be received after the date of agenda issue
but prior to the closing date for receipt of questions further
details will be provided.
8. Questions from Members of the Council
In accordance with Standing Order 13.1 – 13.10 Questions must be
received by the Head of Democratic and Member Services, in writing
by 5.00pm on Tuesday, 18 March 2014. The time allowed at Council
meetings for asking and responding to a question including any
supplementary questions should normally be five minutes.
Should any questions be received after the date of agenda issue
but prior to the closing date for receipt of questions further
details will be provided.
Question 1 – From Councillor S Woodyatt to Councillor H Patel,
Executive Board Member Personnel and Communications
In view of the amount of time and effort from members, officers
and young people in setting up the Youth Café, please will the
interim Executive Board Member tell us what steps are being taken
to find a new site for this important facility when the Time Square
re-development goes ahead?
9. Motions
In accordance with Standing Order 15, motions must be delivered
to the Head of Democratic and Member Services by 9.30am on Friday,
14 March 2014.
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Motion 1 Mersey Gateway Toll
Proposed by Cllr Brian Axcell Seconded by Cllr Ian Marks
This Council
• Welcomes the new Mersey Gateway Crossing and the benefits it
will bring to economic development in the region
• Is greatly concerned that the proposed toll charge of £2 will
displace traffic and cause increased congestion through
Warrington
• Notes that as a result of local opposition, toll charges have
been withdrawn by the Government on the A14 from Cambridge to
Huntingdon
• Calls upon the Government to similarly withdraw the tolls on
the Mersey Gateway Crossing
• As a back-up, requests that pressure be put on Halton Council
to agree mitigation measures for Warrington residents as originally
agreed
Motion 2 - Warburton Toll Bridge
Proposed by Cllr Bob Barr Seconded by Cllr Ian Marks
This Council
• Accepts that the Thelwall Viaduct needs to be closed at times,
or becomes congested due to weather conditions or accidents
• Acknowledges that such closures, or severe delays, divert
traffic and cause disruption and congestion in Warrington
• Believes that the problem is exacerbated by traffic queuing to
pay tolls on the Warburton Toll Bridge
• Requests Peel to stop collecting tolls when there are
tailbacks of more than an agreed length in either direction on the
approaches to the Warburton Toll Bridge
• Calls on Salford and Trafford Councils to join Warrington in
this campaign
10. Recommendations of the Independent Renumeration Panel
Scheme of Allowances – 2014/15
Please note that the Information Technology and Telephony
elements of the Scheme of Allowances will be presented to Council
at its Annual Meeting on 9 June.
Proposed By Cllr T O’Neill
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Seconded by Cllr M Hannon
11. Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places 2013/2014
Report of Returning Officer
Proposed By Cllr C Fitzsimmons Seconded by Cllr T McCarthy
12. The Mayor's Civic Announcements
If you would like this information provided in another language
or format, including large print, Braille, audio or British Sign
Language, please call
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01925 443322 or ask at the reception desk in Contact Warrington,
Horsemarket Street, Warrington.
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Agenda Item 2
MEETING OF THE COUNCIL
3 March 2014
Present: The Mayor (Councillor P Carey)
Councillors: B Axcell, R Barr, M Biggin, S Bland, R Bowden, P
Bretherton, W Brinksman, J Carter, A Dirir, L Dirir, T Finnegan, C
Fitzsimmons, G Friend, C Froggatt, K Gleave, J Guthrie, K Hannon, M
Hannon, T Higgins, T L Hoyle, W Hughes, W Johnson, C Jordan, D
Keane, P Kennedy, J Kerr-Brown, B Lines-Rowlands, B Maher, I Marks,
T McCarthy, M McLaughlin, H Mundry, L Murphy, P Nelson, T O’Neill,
S Parish, H Patel, D Price, F Rashid, J Richards, S Roberts, G
Settle, K Simcock, C Vobe, J Walker, P Walker, G Welborn, T
Williams, S Woodyatt, P Wright and S Wright
C 65 Apologies
Apologies were received from Councillors K Bennett, J Joyce, L
Ladbury and T M Wood.
C 66 The Minutes of the Council
Resolved:
That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 2
December were agreed as a correct record.
C 67 Correspondence from the Previous Meetings
Resolved:
That members of the Council noted the written responses and
associated correspondence in relation to questions asked and
debated at the previous Council meeting.
C 68 Code of Conduct – Declarations of Interest
Councillor B Barr declared an interest in Item C72 as a non
Executive Director of Helena Partnership. Following advice at the
meeting Councillor Barr voted on the matter.
C 69 The Mayor’s Announcements
The Mayor made the following announcements:
Attendance at several commemoration events including a service
at Queen’s Gardens with the South Lancs Regiment to remember the
Pieters Hill massacre; a service at St Elphin’s to mark the work of
the Brownies and
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Agenda Item 2
Guides; Appleton Village Hall to mark 100 years on the Women’s
Institute. The Mayor also referred to the successful Ladies Evening
that had recently taken place.
C 70 The Leader’s Announcements
The Leader’s announcements were restricted to the budget process
and the agreement of the budget for 2014/15.
The Leader stated that he did not need to tell Members about the
financial pressure the Council had been put under since 2010. The
Council had already seen cuts of more than £50m in funding in
previous years and needed to find another £16.2m on top next year.
These were startling cuts imposed by the Coalition Government, with
local authorities across the country having seen cuts in their
revenue budgets of around 30% - all at a time when some Whitehall
departments had seen cuts of just a few %.
Local Government had shown itself to be incredibly resourceful
in dealing with this situation which was really hurting Councils
and there did not seem to be any good news on the horizon. The
austerity programme looked like it was here to stay and it was
important that local authorities kept innovating and changing if
they were to remain financially resilient.
The Leader stated that regardless of where Members sat in the
Council Chamber, he was sure that everyone sought election in order
to do the best for their ward residents and for the town as a
whole. The common duty was to do the utmost to protect the delivery
of local services that people in Warrington relied and depended
upon. It was to protect the most vulnerable people in the town, to
support the growth of the local economy and to make strong and
active communities. These were the three core principles of the
Corporate Strategy which full Council adopted in 2012. These were
also the guiding principles that underpinned the budget for the
coming year.
It was not only cuts to funding which threatened communities,
there was a whole host of major changes which had come through the
Government’s welfare reform agenda that had significant
implications for so many people in Warrington. As a Council, it was
necessary to continue working with all of our partners to ensure
that residents were informed, prepared and well-supported in
dealing with them.
The Leader stated that the Administration had provided strong
leadership since 2011, striving to continue investment in
Warrington, to regenerate and revitalise the town and to provide
genuine opportunities for young people. In times of financial
difficulty, it would be easy to pull up the drawbridge and cut back
on spending and investment. That policy was not working nationally
and it would not work here in Warrington either.
The Leader stated that they were facing the challenge by using
their resources to keep Warrington as an attractive place to live
and work, as well as a great place to come and do business. Funding
had been secured for a
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Agenda Item 2
UTC (University Technical College) and incubator facility on the
Stadium Quarter site and other ambitious projects for the
regeneration of the Town Centre were continuing at a pace. After
years of stagnation, Omega was now well underway and we are
ensuring the infrastructure is in place to attract business and to
provide transport access for local people.
On top of continued investment, the Leader was personally
delighted with the progress of the local apprenticeships programme.
The Council now had 42 committed and enthusiastic apprentices. The
work of the Warrington Skills Commission looked closely at the mix
of businesses in the town and the skills that young people needed
in order to maximise their chances in the local jobs market. This
was being followed through by delivering quality employment
opportunities to a generation of young people so that they were
properly equipped to take them, particularly in the STEM (science,
technology, English and maths) subjects.
Many independent studies show that Warrington remained strong
economically and was well-placed both regionally and nationally to
ride out the storm. The budget process, led by Councillor Russ
Bowden, had remained forward looking, whilst also dealing with the
massive budget cuts. It was both creative and innovative, looking
at opportunities to realise income and efficiencies, rather than
simply passing all of the funding cuts on to local people through
cuts to key frontline services.
The Leader stated that he did not underestimate the impact of
the budget and knew that some of the proposals would be tough and
challenging. He was, however, confident that the Council could
remain committed to its principles and maintain Warrington as a
vibrant town that could lead the way.
There were no questions put to the Leader.
C 71 2014/15 Treasury Management Strategy
The Council considered a report of Councillor R Bowden,
Executive Board Member, Corporate Resources and Assignments which
sought approval to the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for
2014/15 including Prudential and Treasury Indicators, Minimum
Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment
Strategy.
It was proposed by Councillor R Bowden and seconded by
Councillor C Fitzsimmons and it was resolved,
That Council approve the Treasury Management Strategy for
2014/15.
Reason for Decision: To ensure the Council complies with the
2011 revised CIPFA Treasury Management Code of practice, CIPFA
Prudential Code and DCLG Investment Guidance. The Council was
required to comply with both codes through regulations issued under
the Local Government Act 2003.
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Agenda Item 2
C 72 2014/15 Medium Term Financial Plan, Revenue Budget and
CapitalProgramme
The Council considered a report of Councillor R Bowden,
Executive Board Member, Corporate Resources and Assignments which
sought approval to the annual budget proposals, Capital Programme
and proposed Council Tax. On 10 February 2014, the Executive Board
endorsed the proposals which were set out in the report presented
to Council for its consideration. The report also outlined the
prospects for the Council’s finances for the medium term.
In agreeing its 2014/15 revenue budget, Council was asked to
consider the options set out in the report, having regard to the
2014/15 proposed Treasury Management Strategy which was the subject
of a separate report.
Councillor Bowden provided a comprehensive overview of the
Administration’s budget proposals. Councillor P Walker responded on
behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group and Councillor P Kennedy on
behalf of the Conservative Group.
It was proposed by Councillor R Bowden and seconded by
Councillor C Fitzsimmons and it was resolved,
That Council –
(1) noted the result of the consultation with the public,
partners and business community set out in section 10 of this
report in setting the 2014/15 budget.
(2) noted the Director of Finance and Information Services’
judgement on the robustness of the estimates made for the purposes
of the budget calculation and the adequacy of the proposed
financial reserves and following this consideration determine that
the estimates are robust for this purpose and that the proposed
financial reserves are adequate.
(3) agreed the 2014/15 to 2016/17 capital programme and funding
arrangement set out in section 6 of this report.
(4) agreed the 2014/15 revenue budget of £145.453m set out in
section 3 of this report.
(5) noted that at the Audit & Corporate Governance Committee
meeting of 16 January 2014, the 2014/15 tax base was set at
62,499.
(6) noted the calculation of the council tax as directed by
section 3A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 contained in
section 8 of this report.
(7) adopts the formal Council Tax Resolution requiring council
tax to be increased by 1.98% to a Band D of £1,182.09 set out in
Appendix 7 as detailed below:
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Agenda Item 2
That it be noted that on 16 January 2014, the Audit &
Corporate Governance Committee approved the following amounts as
the Council’s Council Tax Base for the financial year 2014/15:
(a) for the whole Council area as 62,499 [Item T in the formula
in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended
(the "Act")] ; and
(b) for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish
precept relates as in the attached Appendix 8; and that
(c) the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees approval be
affirmed.
2. That pursuant to section 31(A) of the Act the Council Tax
requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2015/15 (excluding
Parish precepts) is £73,879,504.
3. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2014/15
in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:
(a) £146,877,350 being the aggregate of the amounts which the
Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the
Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish
Councils.
(b) £71,072,619 being the aggregate of the amounts which the
Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the
Act.
(c) £75,326,731 being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a)
above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the
Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council
Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B
of the Act).
(d) £1,212.90 being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all
divided by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in
accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its
Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts).
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Agenda Item 2
(e) £1,424,203 being the aggregate amount of all special items
(Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as per
the attached Appendix 9).
(f) £1,182.09 being the amount at 3(d) above less the result
given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (1(a) above),
calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the
Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for
dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept
relates.
4. That it be noted that the Police Authority and the Fire
Authority have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with
Section 40 of the Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the
Council’s area as indicated in Appendix 9.
5. That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of
the Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the
Appendix 9 as the amounts of Council Tax for 2014/15 for each part
of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.
6. That it considered and determines whether the relevant basic
amount of Council Tax for 2014/15 is excessive in accordance with
the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Act.
Reason for Decision: To fulfil the Council’s statutory
responsibilities under the Localism Act 2012 of calculating a
council tax requirement.
In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting was recorded as
follows:
FOR – Councillors B Axcell, R Barr, M Biggin, S Bland, R Bowden,
P Bretherton, W J Brinksman, P Carey (The Mayor), J Carter, A
Dirir, L Dirir, T Finnegan, C Fitzsimmons, G Friend, C Froggatt, K
Gleave, J Guthrie, K Hannon, M Hannon, T Higgins, T L Hoyle, W
Hughes, W Johnson, C Jordon, D Keane, P Kennedy, J Kerr-Brown, B
Lines-Rowlands, B Maher, I Marks, T McCarthy, M McLaughlin, H J
Mundry, L Murphy, P Nelson, T O’Neill, S Parish, H Patel, D Price,
F Rashid, J Richards, S Roberts, G Settle, K Simcock, C Vobe, J M
Walker, P Walker, G Welborn, T Williams, S E Woodyatt, P M Wright,
S Wright.
AGAINST/ABSTAINED – NIL
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Agenda Item 2
C 73 Appointment to Outside Body – Liverpool Airport Joint
Consultative Committee
It was proposed by Councillor T O’Neill and seconded by
Councillor M Hannon and it was resolved,
That Councillor S Parish be appointed to the Liverpool Airport
Consultative Committee.
Signed………………………….
Dated………………………….
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Leader’s Announcements - Cllr Terry O’Neill
24 March 2014
Regeneration
We continue to drive forward and deliver our ambitious plans for
the town, including the Town Centre and Omega. The regeneration of
the town centre has reached an exciting stage with all of our sites
progressing well. With regard to Omega we are now looking at the
internal infrastructure on site which will help take traffic off
our roads.
An economic review of Warrington East, covering the employment
areas of Birchwood and Woolston Grange, has recently been
undertaken by Warrington & Co and is due to report in April.
This review is expected to provide recommendations and priorities
for improvements in access and infrastructure, provision of
commercial property, support to strategic employment sectors and
housing provision. In addition, infrastructure investment in
Birchwood is forming a key part of the funding requirement that is
accompanying the Local Enterprise Partnership’s Strategic Economic
Plan that is currently being discussed with Government
Ministers.
It is also nice to see that the renovation works on our green
spaces has commenced. Plans are moving forward fast for Bank Park
(as you can see), Victoria Park and Walton Hall.
HS2
We continue to lobby Government, HS2 Limited and Network Rail to
ensure that the town gains the best possible outcome from
construction of High Speed Rail. Officers are working closely with
staff from HS2 Limited on a daily basis to ensure that economic
gain is maximised and local environmental impact minimised. We plan
to ensure that all interested parties continue to be fully involved
in this process through establishing an 'HS2 Liaison Group', with
an initial meeting scheduled for this summer. I attended Sir David
Higgins 'HS2 Plus' national launch event at Manchester Town Hall
last Monday morning to ensure that Warrington continues to exert
influence befitting our status in the wider Regional Economy and
that we benefit from infrastructure improvements arising from and
as part of HS2 Phase2. You will have no doubt seen the extensive
media coverage on 'HS2 Plus', but this has tended to focus on the
changes proposed in London at Euston, Old Oak Common and the HS1 -
HS2 link with some coverage of Crewe. The news regarding Crewe is
very positive for us within the wider Cheshire and Warrington
setting and the key proposal for HS2 Limited to work quickly and
closely with Network Rail and Rail North authorities to identify
and implement vastly improved east-west links across the North of
England during CP6 (2019 - 2024) is very welcome as it fits well
with the 'Warrington Connectivity Package' we submitted as part of
our response to the Phase 2 consultation. Officers are currently
arranging for me to meet Sir David Higgins at the earliest possible
opportunity.
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Broadband
By the end of this year 96% of the residents of Warrington will
have access to fibre-based broadband offering much higher internet
speeds. This will come as a huge benefit to those who find mobility
difficult by being able to access online services, to children when
doing their homework and to individuals and families in having a
wider choice of methods with which to access local services.
Equally importantly is the boost that fibre-based broadband
presents to Warrington's economy. Businesses will be better able to
recruit and to provide online services where appropriate, allowing
them to tap into new markets and help drive their growth
ambitions.
The roll-out programme, in conjunction with BT, is happening at
a pace faster than anywhere ever seen in Europe and Warrington is
one of the first towns to benefit in our region. On March 17 a
well-attended event was held at the Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood
Hub where residents were able to find out more about the roll-out
programme and register their interest in receiving the fibre-based
service from a choice of over 70 different service providers.
Businesses attending this event were able to get access to the
support programme that is being run by the Connecting Cheshire
Project, of which Warrington Borough Council is a key partner.
Work is underway with this project to understand how the fibre
roll out can be extended beyond the initial 96% target whilst
remaining within the original budgeted figures.
Warrington
It’s official! Warrington is one of the best towns in the NW to
live according to a survey published in the Sunday Times. This is
fantastic news for Warrington. We are committed to driving the town
forward not only through our big regeneration projects but by
providing more affordable homes, enhancing our culture, and
attracting new business and investment. Warrington’s economy is
thriving and has a good variety of businesses, from global
companies to local traders, but it is also a great place to live
and visit and we are delighted it has been recognised.
Also, apart from the town’s economic prosperity the Council is
also doing well with its ‘softer-end’ services. We were
short-listed for five awards. These were Children’s Services,
Support 4 Change, Safe Places, WWiSH adoption service and the
WWiSHing tree campaign as also mentioned in the portfolio holder’s
report.
Apprentices
It was National Apprentice Week at the beginning of March, which
the council supported once again. We have a huge commitment to
ensuring our young people have access to education, employment and
training opportunities and an apprenticeship is a fantastic route
to follow. The careers for young people service is asking anyone
aged 16-24 to call into the careers centre in Time Square for
advice and information. The team can help with CVs, job
applications and put people in touch with employers.
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Rewiring Public Services
On Wednesday, 12 March I attended a “Rewiring Public Services”
event in Manchester. The council is contributing to the Local
Government Association’s review of public services by giving
examples of good practice in Warrington.
Peace Centre
The award of funding for the victim support services project at
the Peace Centre, as announced by the Chancellor in his budget
speech, is very welcome. I would like to congratulate everyone
involved who has worked so hard lobbying for this excellent
project.
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Portfolio Report, 24 March 2014
Cllr Mike Hannon – Deputy Leader
World Ward 1 Commemoration
It will, “All be going on in Warrington”, as we launch our four
year programme of events to commemorate World War 1.
Throughout Britain, the huge war effort and sacrifice touched so
many lives and Warrington was no exception.
That is why, as a council and with our partners, including
Culture Warrington, Live Wire, local media, local history and
community groups; schools and parish councils across the borough,
we are planning a wide range of commemorative events.
Work has already started on planning our big, high profile
events, and we are also asking local residents for their
suggestions about how we can best commemorate the Warrington
connection, families and individuals who made such huge
contributions to the war effort.
I can announce today that with the 75 Engineers, we are
organising a Proms in the Park event on Saturday July 19th.
This well-established annual concert will, in this first
commemorative year, enjoy the beautiful backdrop of Bank Park
following its £2.2 million make over. Proms in the Park 2014 will
be a fitting tribute to the deep and historic relationship between
local regiments and Warrington Borough Council.
Other highlights include: In August, Culture Warrington will
present: “Talbot House – A home
from home”, which tells the moving story of thousands of allied
troops who enjoyed the comforts of home at this Belgian home,
behind the front line. Poetry and music from the great war will be
included in this play aimed at a family audience.
In June, Orford Park will be the venue for a World War 1 style
paradewith military band; and Orford Hub Library will host a glass
painting event, including the names of Warrington soldiers.
And, for all members, we plan to launch our four year programme
with a small civic ceremony at the Town Hall on August 4th. This
will be an all council, all Warrington commemoration and we look
forward to hearing your suggestions.
Heritage Lottery Fund grant will bring history to life in
Warrington
WARRINGTON Borough Council is one of the first groups in the UK
to receive a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Sharing Heritage grant for
an important history project for the town.
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This exciting project, Our Past, Our Present Our Future which is
being led by the council in conjunction with Culture Warrington,
has been given £9,800 to help fund the creation of three linked
digital resources to enable schools and the wider community to
learn more about Warrington’s rich history in particular the story
of Bridge Street and other key heritage sites.
This project arose from the commemorative event held in March
2013 to mark the 20th anniversary of the IRA bombing of Warrington
and subsequent art projects that are taking place across 20
schools.
The project focuses on Warrington’s historic town centre and
notably Grade II listed Bridge Street which has played a major part
in Warrington’s history for more than 800 years.
There are three main strands:
A web based virtual library of downloadable resources, documents
and people’s memories of the area showing change through time
The Guardian Game will take players on a virtual walk through
time to rescue the Guardians who have disappeared from Market
Gate
‘Augmented reality application’ to be downloaded from the web or
on location via a smartphone *
Schoolchildren will visit key locations, take pictures, search
the Warrington Museum archives, study medieval artefacts and maps
to enable them to gather all the information that is needed to
create the digital resources.
School children create town legacies Artistic legacies
representing peace, hope and reconciliation to mark the 20th
anniversary of the IRA bombing of Warrington are being crafted by
local school children. And a sculpture is also being designed which
draws upon some of the themes from the artwork and will be
presented to the town when completed this year.
20 primary schools are currently taking part in the project, in
conjunction within families and wellbeing, Culture Warrington and
two artists. This project follows on from the commemorative events
held in March to mark the 20th anniversary. With ‘peace’, ‘hope’,
‘respect’ and ‘the future’ as their inspiration, the children are
using their creative talents to design an individual piece of
artwork using watercolour paints, coloured pencils and oil
pastels.
Their final artwork will be put on display in each school and
there are plans to turn the imaginative pieces into a public
exhibition.
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Portfolio Report, March 2014
Cllr Linda Dirir – Executive Board Member Highways,
Transportation & Climate Change
As we near the end of another financial year there are some big
areas of work that we will be embarking upon.
The Street lighting Invest to Save project is about to start in
April. Communication with parishes, ward members and the public is
being rolled out with a dedicated section of the web site listing
all the questions and answers that may arise. This is a key project
primarily to save the authority from rising energy prices but also
aimed at replacing the older street lighting columns that we have
across the Town. The programme will be running for 3 years and the
council meeting will enable members to see the rollout of this
programme.
The New Highway Maintenance and Improvement contract with
Lafarge Tarmac will be commencing in earnest come the 1st April.
This is a new start with the contract developed collaboratively
with Halton. A key outcome is to see a step change in quality in
the overall repair and maintenance of the roads. Surveys have
already started across the Borough that will be identifying where
the £30m of major investment in road surfacing would be best
targeted in the next 3 – 5 years. A report on this investment and
how it will be spent from 15/16 will come later in the new
financial year.
Throughout 2013/14 Highways maintenance has continued to be
delivered as in previous years with £2.4 million of Local Transport
Plan Funding plus additional £1m of Warrington’s own capital. This
total budget has enabled 23 stretches of priority roads to be
improved across the Borough. In addition there have been 5,975 pot
holes filled this year. An additional £3m of Warrington’s own
capital has been allocated to the road resurfacing programme that
should see this improvement double in size during 2014/15.
2013 was one of the wettest on record and the Authority has
continued to manage its new obligations and duties effectively. A
major flood event in early December 2013 was successfully handled
with the Environment Agency. The newly completed phase 1 of the
Mersey flood defence works on Knutsford Road that the council is
supporting and contributing to was tested during this event and in
effect over 200 properties that would normally have flooded were
protected. Localised flood improvement works are also being
identified and the launch of Warrington’s Local Flood Risk Strategy
that is currently out for consultation demonstrates that the
council is committed to managing this risk to local residnets.
The growth that Warrington is beginning to re-experience is
likely to see an increase in road works activity. To enable
Warrington to better manage the roads and reduce the disruption
that road works can cause the authority is progressing with the
implementation of a permit scheme in accordance with the Traffic
Management Act. An application is proposed to be submitted to the
Department for Transport in July 2014 for implementation in early
2015. Consultation is also due to be launched in the coming 6 weeks
on this major project also.
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Palmyra Cultural Quarter – Transportation and Public Realm
Consultation A public consultation on Transportation and Public
Realm issues in the Palmyra Cultural Quarter commenced on 6th March
and runs through to 10th April. We are very keen to understand the
views of local residents and businesses on current transportation
and public realm problems and issues and what suggestions people
have for improvements. An information leaflet has been prepared
with full details of the consultation and map and questionnaire to
be completed to allow respondents to record their views. This has
been distributed to all residents and businesses in the Palmyra
Cultural Quarter.
We want to know views on all transportation and public realm
issues including for example:
Traffic numbers Rat running Traffic speeds Pedestrianisation
Public Realm improvements Cycling Parking Disabled access Traffic
Management – one way systems / road closures or restrictions Buses
and taxis – routes, stops and ranks movements Servicing and
deliveries
We are holding the following events for residents and businesses
to be able to air their views:
Public Events – These will be drop in events where officers are
available to answer questions and discuss transportation / public
realm issues
- Saturday March 22nd 9am - 5pm - Golden Square Wednesday 26th
March - 11am - 2pm - The Gateway Wednesday 26th March - 5pm - 8pm -
The Gateway
Stakeholder Event – a more structured event with a presentation
and discussions in breakout groups – All Councillors have been
invited to attend.
Thursday 27th March - 9am - 12noon - The Gateway
Contact Officer: Jamie Birtles Consultant – Transport Planning
and Development Control [email protected]
Birchwood Station – Major Station Improvements
A major improvement programme is now underway at Birchwood
Station. Works have recently been completed by First TransPennine
(the station operator) on a DDA compliant ticket window and
accessibility improvements to the Liverpool bound platform waiting
room.
Work is also underway to correct the subsidence to the platforms
at the Manchester end of the station – Network Rail are undertaking
this work.
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Most importantly though a major scheme is now underway to build
a new footbridge with lifts at the station. This will ensure that
the station is fully accessible to all passengers including those
with mobility difficulties, customers with children in pushchairs
and cyclists. The scheme is being delivered as part of the
Department for Transport’s Access for All programme which is
intended to make rail stations fully accessible to all
passengers.
The Council was successful in bidding for Department for
Transport funding towards the cost of the scheme and has been
working in close partnership with Network Rail and
FirstTransPennine to develop the scheme. The scheme is being
delivered by Network Rail on Warrington Borough Council’s behalf
and they have appointed Murphys as the contractor.
Work has now started on site and completion of the works is
expected by the by end of October 2014. The station will remain
open at all times during the works apart from around 3 or 4 weekend
closures of the line to put the bridge in place the dates of these
closures will be widely publicised once confirmed.
Contact Officer: Steve Hunter Transportation Service Manager
[email protected]
Manchester Ship Canal Swing Bridges
Following a recent high level meeting with Peel Ports work is
progressing well on an Early Warning System which the council will
introduce with the support from Peel Ports. Detection equipment is
now in place at Latchford Locks and Runcorn Old Quay, which will
detect ships passing these points heading towards Warrington’s
swing bridges. Work is now underway to link this equipment with the
council’s traffic control room and to develop systems to send this
information out to the travelling public via social media and email
alerts. It is expected that this system will be introduced by July
2014.
The council is also preparing a bid for additional government
funding via the Strategic Economic Plan (more details on this
appear in the following section) to enhance the early warning
system via the introduction of additional electronic warning signs
providing motorists whose journey is already underway with advance
notice of bridge swings. It is expected that the outcome of this
bid will also be known by July 2014
Further to this agreement discussions between the Council and
Peel Ports on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement which
will commit both parties to take action to both reduce the numbers
of bridge swings during peak traffic periods and to introduce the
aforementioned early warning system. Subject to final agreement
being reached it is intended that this MoU will be signed in the
very near future.
Contact Officer: Dave Rostron UTMC and Parking Services Manager
[email protected]
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Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)
Warrington is working jointly with its partners in the Cheshire
and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (C&WLEP) to produce
a Strategic Economic Plan - Cheshire and Warrington Matters. The
plan is a new and ambitious strategy to support our sub-region’s
growth and economic development over the next decade.
The plan includes a number of major transport schemes alongside
small packages of local improvements all intended to support
Warrington’s economic growth. Key schemes for the early years of
the programme include a major upgrade of M62 J8 to support growth
in North West Warrington, a new station on the Liverpool to
Manchester rail line in Chapelford (Warrington West Station) and
junction improvements in Birchwood.
The plan will be submitted to government at the end of March
2014, with funding coming on stream from April 2015 onwards.
Contact Officer: Alan Dickin Transport Planning and Development
Control Manager [email protected]
Roll Out of 20mph Speed LimitsThe appointed contractor JPCS is
progressing the delivery of signs for roads identified for 20mph
roll out and are presently completing works in and around Poulton,
Poplars and Hulme. Traffic Regulation Order 1st Notices are being
advertised for roads in and around Latchford, Stockton Heath,
Grappenhall and Thelwall from 20th March. The contractor has
already been provisioned with working drawings for these areas and
will commence on site as soon as the notice period has ended
(barring objections).
Due to the use of a new product called Groundscrew (which
removes the need for concrete sign post foundations) and with
competitive tendering (through THE CHEST) officers have been able
to make a substantial reduction in the cost of this Borough wide
provision. It is now estimated that the overall cost of
implementation will be in the region of £550,000 compared to the
£740,000 initial estimates derived from the Term Maintenance
Contract rates.
All of the remaining roads including areas such as Appleton,
Burtonwood, Winwick, Lymm, Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft will be
advertised towards the end of April. All working drawings for these
areas have been completed and following the legal advertisements
these will be passed on to the contractor to complete all works
which is intended to be by the end of 2014/15.
Contact Officer: Jamie Fisher Principal Engineer Collision
Investigation [email protected]
Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) 2015/16Warrington
Borough Council will be submitting a bid to the DfT for funds to
extend the revenue programme of the LSTF programme into 2015/16.
The Warrington bid is valued at
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£850,000 and the deadline for application is 31stMarch. A
decision on the successful projects will be made by the transport
minister in July.
The bid will consist of four integrated packages of smarter
choice measures which have been designed to complement Warrington’s
long term capital transport programme within the Atlantic Gateway.
These measures will enable people to travel to work and training
more sustainably, particularly to the emerging priority employment
sites of Omega and Warrington Waters as outlined in the Cheshire
and Warrington Strategic Economic Plan (SEP).
The packages are:
1. Direct smarter choices interventions with local employers,
trainers and education establishments using a small team of
experienced travel advisors.
2. Personalised travel planning with residents in west
Warrington. 3. Improving cycling and walking legibility for the key
travel to work corridors. 4. Improving public transport
connectivity to work.
Contact officer: John Nichol LSTF Programme Manager
[email protected]
Taxi Licensing
New Policy
We have recently obtained approval to consult with all
stakeholders on a new Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing
Policy. The document, which brings together all elements of the
Taxi Licensing Function for the first time has been widely
distributed and is available on the Council's website, it is open
to consultation until after the upcoming elections. There are
numerous changes proposed within the Policy, such as a requirement
for CCTV, clear guidance on appropriate behaviour and dress code
for drivers and the vehicle testing regime. Officers will review
all responses received and we will return to the Licensing
Committee with any suggested alterations, prior to the Policy being
put before Full Council later in the year for permission to
formally adopt it.
Hackney Carriage Tariff
The Council is also consulting on a potential increase to the
Hackney Tariff. The Council is proposing to allow Hackney Carriages
to charge an additional 50p per journey, applied to the first half
mile of each booking, from 1 April 2014. This would be the first
approved increase in the tariff since 2010, during which time fuel
has increased in cost by more than 20%. If the proposed tariff is
introduced Hackney Carriage owners / operators can still decide to
charge less than the metered fare - a choice which is already
available to them now.
Unmet Demand Survey
We need to refresh this survey every 3 years due to our policy
of restricting the number of Hackney Carriage vehicles. The latest
survey reviewed the utilisation of our existing taxi ranks and
consulted with a wide range of license holders across the Borough
as well as
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the general public and partner agencies, to measure perceptions
within the provision of Taxi services. The outcome of the survey
was that the number of existing Hackney Carriage vehicles in the
Borough was adequate for our needs. A copy of the report is
available for inspection on the Councils website.
Taxi Marshalls
The provision of Taxi Marshalls was recently reviewed through an
open tender exercise. The outcome of this process was that
additional qualitative measures have been introduced, a new
supplier has been identified and the cost to the Council has been
reduced. This has enabled us to trial the use of marshals in
Stockton Heath, in addition to their historic utilisation in the
town centre - on Friday and Saturday nights. The trial has been
positively received by both the taxi trade and Cheshire Police. We
will soon be reviewing the impact of the trial to determine what
our long term strategy for the use of Taxi Marshalls will be.
Contact Officer: Alyn Jones Specialist Transport Services
Manager [email protected]
Parking Services Contract
The tender for Civil Parking Enforcement has been issued and
tender returns are expected by 16th April with a view to commencing
the new contract on July 1st. We are looking to appoint a
progressive and forward thinking external provider as our Parking
Services contractor to undertake on the Council’s behalf, the
enforcement of on and off street parking restrictions and the
initial processing of penalty charge notices.
Throughout the life of the contract, it is expected that the
innovative service provider will be able to assist the Council in
implementing Warrington’s Parking Strategy. This is to include the
introduction of advanced payment methods including pay on exit for
car parks and cashless parking, bus lane enforcement, the use of
CCTV for enforcement purposes, on-street parking charges in the
Town Centre, electronic parking permits and the use of dynamic
parking apps.
As there have been considerable advances in parking enforcement
technology over recent years and Civil Parking Enforcement is now
much more established across many transport authorities, the
Council is now seeking to achieve a significant reduction in the
cost of the service through this procurement exercise.
Contact Officer: Dave Rostron UTMC and Parking Services Manager
[email protected]
Coastal Communities Bid
The Coastal Communities Fund has announced that a £654,000 grant
will be awarded jointly to Warrington Borough Council and Halton
Borough Councils in order to sustain and facilitate economic growth
on the section of the Sankey Canal that exists between Widnes and
Warrington.
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The successful partnership funding bid was made by the two local
authorities in conjunction with the Sankey Canal Restoration
Society (SCARS). It will finance a new, permanent Marsh House
Bridge for the Riverside Trading Estate, create apprenticeships and
training opportunities and improve marketing, signage and branding
in order to protect and grow existing businesses and help create
new ones along the Sankey Canal.
Twelve apprenticeships will be created along with two direct
jobs and, it is anticipated, up to a further 23 indirect jobs.
Wider than the current temporary bridge and its predecessor, the
new Marsh House Bridge will be a lift bridge which can be opened
for water traffic as and when the aspiration to clean and open up
the canal to the west of the bridge is realised. The council is
also contributing £225,000 capital funding to the grant sum to
enable high quality bridge to be installed.
Contact Officer: Rachel Waggett Climate Change Manager
[email protected]
Pavement Parking consultation
The council is aware that parking on pavements and grass verges
has become a common behaviour on most roads in Warrington. This
parking practice has potential implications for road safety by
restricting the passage of pedestrians in particular wheelchairs
and prams, and can cause damage to verges, pavements and
utilities.
A proactive intervention on a borough wide level would have a
significant impact on resources and the delivery of other services.
The prevention of all parking on pavements and verges would also
inevitably have unintended consequences of creating other road
safety and access problems as parking is likely to migrate to other
unsafe locations.
Officers have been working via the council’s enforcement board
to understand what interventions are available to the council and
Police. The Parking Executive Task group is also working on the
development of a council policy that guides officers to appropriate
interventions based on risk.
The task group has recognised that although the practice is
widespread, there may be gaps in the council’s intelligence of
where the parking creates problems for other road users. In view of
this, all elected ward members were e-mailed on 28th February 2014
requesting that they support the work of the task group by
identifying locations in their wards where pavement parking is
frequently taking place and if they feel it creates issues such as
damage to the highway or difficulties for other road users.
Contact Officer: Mark Tune [email protected]
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Portfolio Report, 24 March 2014
Cllr Kate Hannon – Leisure, Community and Culture
Community meetings growing in the westCommunity meetings (tier
one group) have continued to grow in the west area, with 35 people
attending both the Burtonwood and Winwick ward and Whittlehall ward
meetings.
Burtonwood and Winwick ward community meeting was held on 4
February at Burtonwood community centre and the meeting agreed to
look at finding ways to get to know people on their street to
support the ‘invisible vulnerables’, to establish a credit union
collection point at Burtonwood Community Centre, and the work on
the cross boarder health issues that are faced in Burtonwood.
The Whittlehall ward community meeting had a speaking about
developments at Omega, and gained volunteers for residents’
associations, as well as agreeing to invite speakers from
Connecting Cheshire and BT Openreach to the next meeting. Great
Sankey South’s community meeting has brought community groups
together to plan the summer fair.
Connecting older people Over 40 older people from the west
Warrington area came together at Whitecross community centre for
its second tea dance. With transport often a barrier to getting to
activities the west neighbourhood wardens provided a minibus
service. The event brought together older people who live by
themselves, as well as those in residential settings and care
homes. All those involved formed new friendships and improved their
mental wellbeing through getting involved in dancing, singing and a
lot of laughter. There are plans to build on this work in the New
Year.
Winter warmth pilot project The east neighbourhood team, working
in partnership with Your Housing and colleagues from public health,
have carried out a pilot winter warmth project in Oakwood and
Fearnhead, mirroring activity previously undertaken in the central
area.
Residents who are over 65 and living alone have been identified
and offered a bag of things to help keep them warm during the
winter. The bag also contains information on what groups and
activities are in their area and what services are also available.
Recipients will be revisited in the spring to see how useful they
found the bag and its contents.
Integrated working increases access to football pitch for local
people Following the development of the 3G pitch at Whitecross
community centre there has been much local interest in having the
pitch open for the local community to use. The area has access to
multi use games area and open spaces for kickabouts and the purpose
of the 3G pitch is to develop involvement in formal sport.
Working with Active Warrington, five sessions a week have been
developed for local children to be involved in and also Bank Quay
Bulls have started a training evening looking to engage local young
people in rugby. Now a partnership with Active
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Warrington, YVOW (Young Voices of Warrington), Golden Gates
Housing Trust and the West Warrington Neighbourhoods team means
that funding has been accessed from the local fund and Community
First to enable there to be a two hour coach led session every day
of the week for local children and young people.
This work will feed into the door step club that has started on
a Friday evening. It will increase volunteering, as volunteers are
engaged to run the sessions in the long term, improve engagement in
physical activity and engagement in formal sport.
Culcheth youth shelter After several years of hard work, a wide
ranging consultation exercise and several funding applications, a
brand new youth shelter was installed on the common in Culcheth on
14 January.
A group of partners and residents have worked to secure over
£10k in funding from various sources including iGas and the east
neighbourhood board.
Adults visit Imperial War Museum trip The east neighbourhood
wardens took a group of eight adults with learning disabilities
from the Greenwood centre and James Phoenix House to the Imperial
War Museum North in January.
The visit was a great success as it was the first time any of
the clients had visited the museum. They enjoyed trying on
different helmets and trying out the interactive displays.
Third Sector Assembly On 12th March the Council, together with
colleagues from the Third Sector, held the annual Third Sector
Assembly at Alford Hall. Delegates were able to ask questions of
the Council and heard the progress being developed in relation to
social value in commissioning.
LiveWire and Culture Warrington Live wire and Cultural
Warrington's performance continues to go from strength to strength,
with leisure membership, use of libraries and successful changes to
people's lifestyles exceeding targets.
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Portfolio Report, 24 March 2014
Cllr David Keane – Executive Member Environment and Public
Protection
Waste & Recycling
Compost Give Away Event:
The Waste Minimisation and Recycling Team organised a really
successful Compost Give-Away Event at Victoria Park on Saturday 1st
March 2014.I was pleased to join them, and it was nice to see
fellow councillors attend as well as hundreds of residents who
turned up to collect free compost made from garden waste collected
in Warrington residents green bins. We gave away over 20 tonnes of
free compost and over 60 free home compost bins. Residents were
also provided with advice on how best to reduce their waste,
recycle and compost at home. The give-away coincided with the
re-start of the council’s garden waste service and we hope to do
more events in the future.
Arpley Inquiry
The Inquiry has now finished into the Council’s refusal of
planning permission to extend the life of the Arpley landfill site
by a further 12 years. The Inspector is aiming to write his report
by the end of April 2014 and it will then be sent to the Secretary
of State (E Pickles) who will make the final decision. A final
decision is likely in June/July 2014. The Council was represented
by David Manley QC, an Environmental Health Officer, Planning
consultants (Urban Vision), air quality consultants (Atkins), odour
consultants (Ricardo AEA) and particulates consultants (Miller
Goodall)
Public Protection
Doorstep Criminals Two members of an organised crime group were
sentenced to 6 years and 3 years respectively following an
investigation led by North Yorkshire Police including Warrington
Trading Standards offences. The gang had targeted resident of Park
Homes, including the one at Moore, claiming that they could
insulate the underside of the home. Once they started work they
claimed that the underneath of the property was so rotten that the
home was likely to collapse. The homeowner so worried that he paid
£6500 to have the work completed. NY investigation led to the
arrest and successful prosecution of the traders and a Proceeds of
Crime hearing is due later this year. The Moore resident has
assisted in publicity and has appeared on regional and national TV
during which he acknowledged the work and support from Warrington
Borough Council Trading Standards staff. In excess of £100,000 was
defrauded from consumers across the country.
Doorstep Criminals A prolific doorstep trader was prosecuted for
driveway work he carried out in Widnes as he had failed to supply
the necessary paperwork which would have given his prospective
customers a cooling off period which would have included his
trading address. The prosecution resulted in a fine and costs
totalling £520 and Warrington and Halton Joint Trading Standards
Service had offences which formed part of a case brought by Wirral
Trading Standards for which the trader
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received a two year prison sentence and an ASBO which prohibits
him from cold calling in England and Wales for 5 years
Counterfeiter ordered to pay £76,000 A Liverpool man, Bernard
O’Toole of Princess Drive Liverpool, has been ordered to pay
£76,720.55 after admitting criminal offences concerning counterfeit
clothing and footwear.
The extent of O’Toole’s offending was discovered following him
being stopped for using his mobile phone while driving on the M62
motorway at Birchwood in November 2012. Officers discovered 2 large
bags of counterfeit tracksuits, the badges and labels required for
counterfeiting and £4745 in cash hidden in his van all of which
were seized and confiscated from O’Toole. The investigation
progressed to O’Toole home address, officers discovered a
significant manufacturing operation of sewing machines, logo heat
presses, packaging materials and all the materials necessary to
produce more counterfeit clothing and footwear. Officers seized
nearly 38,000 counterfeit items from O’Toole home.
O’Toole was sentenced by Recorder Ford at Chester Crown Court on
October 4th 2013 to 6 month imprisonment suspended for 2 years and
80hrs Community Order follow his guilty pleas to 13 offences
contrary to the Trade Marks Act. Recorder Ford also ordered the
forfeiture of all the seized counterfeit goods and the van used by
O’Toole. The court also set a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation
timetable to allow for a full financial investigation into
O’Toole’s affairs to be conducted by the Warrington Trading
Standards Financial Investigators to allow the Court to impose
Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order.
On March 5th 2014 at Chester Crown Court Recorder Menary QC
handed down a Confiscation Order for £76,720.55 under the Proceeds
of Crime Act 2002 which the Court ruled was O’Toole’s benefit from
his counterfeiting crimes. The Record, said failure to pay this
confiscation order within six months would lead to a term of 12
months’ imprisonment and O’Toole was order to pay £9000 towards the
costs of Warrington BC who brought the prosecution case.
Housing
Homelessness Commission will bring ‘real and lasting change’ On
6 December the council hosted the first public session of the
Warrington Homelessness Commission.
Commission members and members of the public heard a
cross-section of expert witnesses present evidence on a range of
topics related to homelessness. The public session also heard
evidence from:
Tommy Allman, a rough sleeper for 20 years. Paul Connery from
charity Homeless Link. Danielle McCann and Emma Perris from Verve
Place, which offers accommodation within a
safe environment for young people who are homeless, have a
housing problem or are currently living in insecure accommodation
or an unsafe environment.
Neighbouring local authorities and the Drugs and Alcohol Action
Team.
The Warrington Homelessness Commission, which was launched in
October, is scheduled to take four months to conduct its work and
its final report is expected to be published in February 2014. It
is anticipated that a cross-sector action plan for change will be
produced, with a series of recommendations intended to improve how
Warrington tackles the issue.
£4 million new homes bonus for Warrington
http:76,720.55http:76,720.55
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The council will be rewarded by the government for its work in
increasing the supply of affordable homes. The New Homes Bonus is a
grant paid by central government to local councils for increasing
the number of homes and their use and Warrington expects to receive
almost £4 million for the financial year 2014/2015.
Operations: Fleet and Support Services
Our Investment in our Operational Services and efficient working
continues with;
Three new deliveries for Passenger Transport due on the road 1
April which completes this sections fleet replacements for
specialist Bluebird buses.
Walton golf course has received a new John Deere tractor with
backhoe, a new out front mower and a new greens procurer. The
tractor has made light work of installing drainage for the course
in the bad weather with the out front mower and greens corer now
good to go as the weather improves. In hand to purchase are a new
greens mower and tee’s mower to help develop an excellent
course.
A new Profihopper flail mower has been purchased for Victoria
Park Sports Arena for maintenance of the new pitches.
A new HGV with remote control crane and dropside body has been
ordered for Street Lighting to assist with the installation of new
lighting columns. Delivery is expected in September.
A new Gully Cleansing vehicle on a DAF chassis with a Whale
Tankers body for the Highways Asset team is due delivery in
May.
A new electric site vehicle for Warrington Cemetery is due
delivery in April providing a quiet operational vehicle on a
sensitive site.
The In-cab vehicle telematics system is now being installed into
the Waste Collection fleet following successful trials. The system
is a significant step forward and will provide up to the minute
communication between the vehicle, Waste Services office and the
Contact Centre.
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Portfolio Report – 24 March 2014
Cllr H Patel – Executive Board Member Personnel and
Communications Children and Young People’s Services
IT Champions at Warrington Youth Café Five local young people
are involved in developing the upstairs of the youth café into an
IT hub. This is part of a national project sponsored by Microsoft
and UK Youth to encourage digital literacy and community
engagement.
Alongside responsibility for project planning, budgets and peer
group updates using the ‘Yammer’ social network, the IT Champions
have also been supporting the café management team.
Short breaks service statement published The update of the short
breaks services statement has recently been published on the
council.
Short breaks allow for parents and carers of disabled children
to take a break from their caring responsibilities. The statement
sets out the range of short breaks available in Warrington and the
priorities for developing the services and support available.
The new statement has been developed in partnership with parents
and carers and takes account of the feedback obtained from the
annual short breaks survey.
New arrangements for access to services for children, young
people and families – FIS Hub A project is currently underway to
establish a single gateway to services for children, young people
and families. The one contact point will be the Families
Information Service (FIS) who will extend its role and deal with
calls for a range of services over a number of phases.
The whole service, once it’s implemented, will be known as the
FIS Hub and will be for both the public and professionals to use to
access services for children, young people and families including
things to do, family support, children’s safeguarding and other
council services for children, young people and families – one
point of contact for all.
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The project is in its second phase in that all calls to the
children’s duty and assessment team (DAT) are now being diverted to
the FIS as a first point of contact. When through to the FIS, the
team will listen to the caller and then either deal with the
enquiry direct or transfer them through to the relevant team/member
of staff who will be able to help. Members of the CAF team are now
located with DAT team on a rota basis to develop integrated working
to deliver an effective service to families in Warrington.
Services shortlisted for local government awards Warrington was
one of the most shortlisted councils for the LGC awards this year,
with all five entries coming from the Families and Wellbeing
directorate. There were three Children's Services submissions.
Children’s Services is one of Warrington’s five shortlisted
entries for the LGC awards and was shortlisted after undergoing a
radical transformation, taking it from a ‘notice to improve’ in
2009 to a current rating of ‘good’ from Ofsted.
The most innovative service delivery model and campaign of the
year are both for WWiSH adoption service, due to WWiSH being the
first of its kind in the country, established in 2012. From
September 2012 to March 2013 the team had 190 enquiries and
approved 20 families for adoption.
Although we did not win the awards it is a real acknowledgement
of the hard work of staff and managers that we were shortlisted
against tough competition.
Child sexual exploitation campaign launches across Cheshire
Warrington, along with other neighbouring local authorities, is
part of the campaign titled ‘The more you know, the more you see,’
which has been launched across Cheshire.
Schools across Warrington, Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire
East and Halton will be working to raise awareness of child sexual
exploitation among children and their parents. ‘The more you know,
the more you see’ aims to create debate amongst young people,
professionals, parents and others people responsible for caring for
young people, about how to spot the signs of child sexual
exploitation.
There are many agencies across the county engaged in the
campaign, including schools, local authority and health workers,
police officers and people whose role it is to help youngsters in
tough situations. A forward-looking social business, Catch22 has
more than 200 years’ experience of providing services that help
people turn their lives around. Driving forward the agenda on child
sexual exploitation are the four Local Children’s Safeguarding
Boards.
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Young people near top of the class for education and training
Warrington is currently ranked second in the country with 98% of 16
and 17 year olds in education or training.
The council is using this information as a reminder to young
people that they are required to continue in education on training
until the end of the academic year when they turn 17.
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Portfolio Report, 24 March 2014
Cllr Pat Wright – Health & Wellbeing and Adult Services
Breastfeeding campaign The council has launched local support
for breastfeeding via the Amazing Breast Milk campaign. On Monday
10 March the campaign went to ASDA Cockhedge between where families
were invited to chat with the experts and find out more about how
to access support and help.
The event provided a great opportunity for members of the public
to receive peer support and information on the benefits.
Breastfeeding has numerous benefits for both the baby and the
family; it boosts a baby’s immune system, protecting them from
illnesses and disease; thus reducing the chance of being admitted
to A&E and other emergency healthcare settings.
More information on healthy baby development, visit the Start
for Life website and register with their free information
service.
Sexual health centre In February 2014, Warrington’s new centre
for sexual health was opened at Bath Street’s Health &
Wellbeing Centre.
The centre was opened by the Mayor and was well attended by
young people in the borough.
James Phoenix House CQC inspection James Phoenix House, a CQC
registered service that provides respite accommodation and care for
adults with learning disabilities, was subject to an unannounced
inspection in November 2013, in order to ensure that essential
standards of quality and safety were being adequately met.
The inspection looked at the personal care records of service
users, observed how people were being cared for, and inspectors
talked to people who use the service and their carers as well as
staff and managers in the service.
The service was found to be compliant in all areas of the
inspection which included: Care and welfare of people who use
services Meeting nutritional needs Cleanliness and infection
control Management of medicines Assessing and monitoring the
quality of service provision.
Some of the highlighted comments from the inspection report
were: ‘Following our visit we spoke with the relatives and carers
of four people who used the service. They told us positive things
about their experiences of the service. Their comments included
"brilliant"; "excellent in every way"; "they ensure that people
have the support they need and always get staff time" and
"fantastic service”. We saw that people's care and support was
planned in a manner that supported people safely. People who used
the service were offered choices with regard to their meals.
Systems were in place to ensure that infection control procedures
protected people. Systems were in place to help ensure that
people's medicines were managed safely”.
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____________________________________________________________________
5BP named as best performing trust in mental health5BP has been
named as the best performing trust in the mental health category at
the Advancing Quality Awards for the early intervention in
psychosis teams. A clinician from the Warrington and Halton team
joined John Heritage of 5BP at the event in Manchester on 4
December and received the award on behalf of the trust.
Services shortlisted for local government awards Warrington is
one of the most shortlisted councils for the LGC awards this year,
with all five entries coming from the Families and Wellbeing
directorate. There are two entries from adult’s services.
The Safe Places scheme has been shortlisted for community
involvement. The scheme is commissioned by the Hate Crime
Partnership, and delivered by Speak Up, a community group who
represent people with learning disabilities, and other partners.
The scheme allows vulnerable people to enjoy the freedom to
participate in the life of the town as they - and their carers -
know they can get assistance at shops and other buildings
displaying the Safe Places logo.
The “Support 4 Change” project has been shortlisted for
innovation. The project enables people in the criminal justice
system to be screened for lower level mental health, learning
disability, substance misuse and other vulnerabilities so that they
can be supported early in the offender pathway as a sentencing
alternative to custody. The support is offered via the multi-agency
Warrington Criminal Justice Liaison Service and the Mental Health
Outreach Team.
Although we did not win the awards it is a real acknowledgement
of the hard work of staff and managers that we were shortlisted
against tough competition.
Fulfilling Lives - Big Lottery Bid updateWarrington’s Fulfilling
Lives bid for £2.6 million Big Lottery funding to tackle social
isolation amongst older people is progressing well:
Over 60 people, including local older people and representatives
from a wide range of organisations took part in a ‘Vision and
Strategy’ event at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in January 2014. The
event focused on the key outcomes that will be achieved through the
Fulfilling Lives programme and how we can ensure that older people
are truly involved in every aspect of programme development and
implementation.
Led by Warrington Voluntary Action, the ‘Engage to Change’
consultation is now underway, with the aim of ensuring that
socially isolated people, whose voices are not always heard, are
included in the development of Warrington’s vision and strategy.
Volunteers are being trained to engage with older people who are at
risk of social isolation and to encourage them to complete a short
questionnaire.
Warrington successfully progressed to the next stage and have
been allocated 20k initial funding by the Big Lottery. Another
application will be submitted by August to secure 50k to develop a
full strategy and action plan after which a decision will be made
to allocate significant funding to areas which qualify.
Dignity Action Day “a great success” A number of events took
place across Warrington for Dignity Action Day.
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Dignity Action Day at Woolston Hall included a Wii ten pin
bowling tournament. There were also pamper sessions offering
hairdressing, manicures and pedicures, and a buffet lunch was
served.
Padgate House held an afternoon tea and sing-along session which
was thoroughly enjoyed by all service users to celebrate Dignity
Action Day.
Hidden carers project launched WBC and Wired Adult and Young
Carers Services Warrington (Wired) have begun working in
partnership with Sainsbury’s to identify hidden carers in the
community and direct them to valuable sources of advice,
information and support.
For a week in February 2014 a carers information stall was
available at Sainsbury's (Church Street) which offered valuable
carers information. Customers shopping in store were able to talk
about their caring role with members of staff from WBC and Wired
Adult and Young Carers Services and discuss services that are
available to support them in their caring role.
Sainsbury's stores across Warrington will continue to provide
assistance to identify hidden carers in the community through
offering relevant carers information to customers purchasing
shopping for more than one person.
First ever Time to Talk Day On 6 February we aimed to inspire a
million conversations about mental health on our first ever Time to
Talk Day. People of all ages took part by having a conversation
with a friend, family member or at work, so that together we made
as much noise as possible about mental health.
Warrington Mental Health Forum, Mood Swings Network Warrington,
Creative Remedies and Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group held
a public event at Warrington Market on 6 February which was
supported by Warrington Market stall holders and management.
The day involved volunteers in the market giving out cards with
examples of what people do to improve their mental health;
displayed around the market were posters with more examples. There
was also a marquee run by volunteers and professionals which was an
informal place where people could talk in confidence and have
access to information on a wide variety of services.
Warrington Market stall holders fully supported the day, to
demonstrate this each stall displayed a card promoting the
event.
Children and Families Bill – vote of parliament In February 2014
parliament voted in favour of standardised packaging, proxy
purchasing, age of sale of 18 for e-cigarettes and to prohibit
smoking in cars with children.
The vote on prohibiting smoking in cars with children was won on
a free vote 376 for only 107 against. A larger majority on smoking
in cars than for Smokefree legislation in 2006 and an even bigger
majority for standardised packaging, proxy purchasing and age of
sale of 18 for e-cigarettes which were whipped votes, 453 for only
24 against. It was very helpful of Philip Davies MP to force a vote
through as the will of parliament is now loud and clear.
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CQC inspection for Crime Reductions Initiatives Warrington
Pathways to Recovery, part of the Crime Reductions Initiative
charity (CRI) was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on
16 January 2014. All essential standards of quality and safety were
met; consent to care and treatment, care and welfare of people who
use services, requirements relating to workers, complaints, and
records.
Inspectors talked with service users and staff and found that
there was good communication between staff and the people receiving
support from them and heard good feedback from service users about
the service provided. Inspectors also found that staff were
positive, upbeat and well-motivated.
The CQC stated in the inspection report that: ‘Warrington
Pathways to Recovery’ provided a fully integrated drug and alcohol
service with
rapid open access to assessment and treatment for people who had
problems with drugs and/or alcohol’.
‘Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was
intended to ensure people’s safety and welfare’.
‘There were effective recruitment and selection processes in
place’ and ‘people were care cared for, or supported by, suitably
qualified, skilled and experienced staff’.
‘…The service had regard to the complaints and comments of
people who used the service’ and ‘people we spoke with had not had
cause to make a complaint’.
‘People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate
care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were
maintained’.
Better Care Fund The June 2013 Spending Round announced the
creation of a £3.8 billion Integration Transformation Fund – now
referred to as the Better Care Fund – described as ‘a single pooled
budget for health and social care services to work more closely
together in local areas, based on a plan agreed between the NHS and
local authorities’. In Warrington, the minimum fund is £13.9m from
2015/16. The £3.8 billion is not new or additional money: £1.9
billion will come from clinical commissioning groups (CCG)
allocations in addition to NHS money already transferred to social
care.
In Warrington, the Better Care Fund offers an opportunity to
build on our integrated approach to health and social care by
formally pooling our resources and providing joint oversight
through the Health and wellbeing Board. Our draft plans have been
developed jointly with NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group
and approved by the Health and Wellbeing Board who are keen to
extend our fund beyond the minimum level where it contributes to
integrated care. Our final plan will be submitted to NHS England on
4th April.
North West Older Persons Champion Network
On 13th March, Warrington Borough Council hosted the North West
Older Persons Champion Network. The Network was very impressed with
the Lifetime centre and the presentation given on the innovative
project which the council is leading on regarding isolated Older
People in Bewsey and Dallam.
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Agenda Item 7.2
WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL COUNCIL – 24 March 2014 Report of:
Councillor M McLaughlin – Chairman
Building Stronger Communities Policy Committee
Report Author: Jennie Cordwell – Democratic Services Officer
Contact Details: Email Address:
Telephone:[email protected] 01925 442139
Ward Members: All
TITLE OF REPORT: Response to Council from the Building Stronger
Communities Policy Committeein relation to a referral from Council
regarding Potholes.
1. PURPOSE
1.1 The Building Stronger Communities Policy Committee have
considered the following motion referred to it from Council on 24
June 2013.
Potholes
Proposed by Cllr Brian Axcell Seconded by Cllr Bob Barr
This Council
1. Notes that there are strict criteria for the filling of
potholes such that only holes of a sufficient depth are filled and
nearby holes of a lesser depth are left untouched
2. Is concerned that some repairs are of insufficient quality
meaning that repeated patching up may be required and urges that we
learn from other councils’ more effective ways of filling
potholes
3. Recognises that the public is concerned about the policy for
repairing potholes which has a negative impact on the reputation of
the Council
4. Expresses concern that motorists and cyclists are being
exposed to risk of damage and injury by leaving untouched potholes
that do not meet the criteria for repair
5. Understands the constraints on spending but believes our
policy is inefficient and not the best use of resources
mailto:[email protected]
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Agenda Item 7.2
6. At the earliest opportunity requests a change in our
procedures so that more potholes in an area are treated and not
just the worst ones.
2. CONFIDENTIAL OR EXEMPT
2.1 This report is not confidential or exempt.
3. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
3.1 The Committee at its meeting on 26 November 2013 received a
report from the Executive Director Economic Regeneration, Growth
and Environment which detailed the current pothole repair
procedures as detailed in paragraphs 3.2 – 3.8.
3.2 The criteria for deciding which potholes warrant repairs had
evolved as a result of case law following claims for damages made
against highway authorities. As a result accompanying guidance had
been produced as set out in the Code of Practice for Highways
Maintenance Management ’ ‘Well Maintained Highways’ (COP).
3.3 The COP is nationally recognised industry guidance endorsed
by the UK Roads Liaison Group. The COP sets out a wide range of
processes and procedures on how to manage and maintain the highway
network and includes guidance on intervention levels i.e. at what
depth to repair potholes for safety purposes.
3.4 The assessment of a pothole and the need to repair is
primarily undertaken by highway inspectors who through the regular
safety inspections undertaken on a daily basis will identify the
repairs needed to the road based on the criteria in the COP.
Potholes are also reported by members of the public and by other
means and these are also assessed by the highway inspectors to
determine if they meet the criteria for a safety repair based on
the COP. Typically the highway inspectors respond to on average
3000 pothole or road deterioration problems per annum.
3.5 The term pothole can be perceived and judged differently by
those affected or observing a problem with a road but essentially a
pothole is a localised feature that is an expression of failure of
the road. For the purposes of a safety repair it is assessed at
40mm or more in depth over a 300mm width in area. The size is
considered based on previous case law at which a cyclist /
motorcycle or vehicle wheel can dip significantly causing the
potential for a safety risk at that location.
3.6 The Policy Committee were further informed that funding for
pothole repairs is from the Council’s revenue resources and due to
the accelerated deterioration and costs associated with raw
materials used in repairs it is not considered cost effective or
affordable to continuously increase revenue to support the demand.
A
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Agenda Item 7.2
strategy of investment and an appropriate range of repair
techniques to prolong the life of the roads is what is required to
be in place.
3.7 The industry and local highway authorities including
Warrington recognise the need to develop and follow best practice,
standardise procedures and maintain the highway to a safe and
serviceable condition. Hence during the recent re-procurement of
the Highways Maintenance Term Contract the form of contract that
was used was based on the new Highways Maintenance Efficiency
Partnership (HMEP) suite of documents and principals.
3.8 The re-procurement of the highways term contract was
undertaken during 2012/13 and was a joint procurement exercise
involving Halton Borough Council. The re-procurement option was
supported by Members following a number of reports presented to the
Highways and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2012
that also covered the issues of quality within the existing term
contract with Amey (formally Enterprise).
4. FINDINGS OF POLICY COMMITTEE
4.1 The Building Stronger Communities Policy Committee
acknowledged the points raised in the original motion and
highlighted the following areas;
4.2 That the new contract, agreed in 2013 would result in a
contract to better suit Warrington’s needs and the proposed changes
by the new contractor in terms of the materials and technology that
would be used for repairing potholes is welcomed.
4.3 The Committee also found that wider research was being
carried out nationally to ascertain best practice for pothole
repairs. Further investment targeted at addressing potholes was
welcomed along with the implementation of a permit scheme for when,
for example, utility companies were required to carry out works on
the highway.
4.4 The Committee also felt it necessary to recommend that when
inspections of highways are undertaken, particular attention be
given to the sides of roads that could affect cyclists.
5. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.1 Funding resources are to be used from existing Economic
Regeneration, Growth and Environment budgets.
6. RISK ASSESSMENT
6.1 Associated safety risks should potholes not be dealt with
appropriately.
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Agenda Item 7.2
7. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY/EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
7.1 Not required.
8. CONSULTATION
8.1 None required.
9. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
9.1 To report back to Council their findings of the Council’s
Pothole Repair Policy.
10. RECOMMENDATION
10.1 That Co