Agenda item

Councillor Nunn submitted his report as Leader of the Council and highlighted the salient points. In response to questions, the Leader confirmed that the “climate emergency” was considered in all decisions made by the Council and that it had been mentioned at the Economic Growth Strategy workshop held at the Park Inn in December. Regarding “Park & Ride”, the Leader explained that it remained a “long term aspiration” for the Council In response to several questions around the West Northamptonshire Joint Committee, the Leader explained that savings made would be through mainly County Council services and noted that leaders were kept up-to-date with this work through the Leaders Oversight Board. The Leader explained that virement of budgets was something that all S151 Officers had sight of, not just county staff. The Leader noted that a briefing specific to the unitary budget would be held later in the week. In response to a question relating to the St James Mill Link Road, the Leader advised of a potential opportunity for funding which related to a number of sites within the Enterprise Zone.

Councillor Larratt submitted his report as Deputy Leader. In response to questions, Councillor Larratt advised that Balfour Beatty would not be looking at any streetlights on highways or some footpaths. Council-owned streetlights would be replaced with LED lighting. He explained that maintenance costs had gone over-budget and a decision had been made to wait until the new contract with Balfour Beatty began before carrying on with repairs. The Deputy Leader further explained that an inventory of NBC-owned lights had been carried out and that all of these would be looked at as part of the replacement and renewal contract. Regarding events held over the Christmas period, Councillor Larratt suggested that the bad weather had prevented people from attending. In response to a question relating to S106 training, it was explained that work on the Constitution was required in order to allow councillors to be involved in pre-planning application processes.

Councillor King submitted her report as Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Safety and highlighted the salient points. In response to a question relating to crime statistics, Councillor King advised that if councillors required specific figures then she would be happy to provide these via email. With regard to “Days/Weeks of Action”, Councillor King advised that numbers of attendees were recorded, they were well-attended and would continue due to their success and positive feedback from communities. Responding to a question relating to literature for schools around road safety, Councillor King advised that materials were more focussed on “being a good citizen”, knife crime, CSE and cyber-bullying, however she was aware of road safety campaigns and would look into this. Councillor King reported that the Museum would be opening in spring 2020 and that councillors would receive an invitation to preview the new expansion soon.

Councillor Hibbert submitted his report as Cabinet Member for Housing and highlighted the salient points. In response to questions, Councillor Hibbert reported that the Council had been working closely with the Hope Centre and churches in the town who had been heavily involved in setting up the Rough Sleepers Strategy. Councillor Hibbert advised that the Homelessness Forums were setting up Task & Finish Groups to deal with various issues relating to homelessness and noted that these Groups would not necessarily be Council-led. In response to a further question, Councillor Hibbert advised that the Salvation Army would be operating a night shelter from 1^st February. He explained that regulations were necessary for the safety of staff and service users but would look into concerns raised by Councillors.