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Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 3rd May 2006

Minutes of a meeting of the Council of the City of Sheffield held in the Council Chamber within the Town Hall, Sheffield, on Wednesday, 3rd May, 2006 pursuant to notice duly given and Summonses duly served.

PRESENT

THE LORD MAYOR (Councillor Roger Davison)

THE DEPUTY LORD MAYOR (Councillor Jackie Drayton)

1 Arbourthorne Ward	10 Dore & Totley Ward	19 Mosborough Ward
Julie Dore	Anne Smith	Mike Peat
John Robson	Mike Waters	David Barker
Tim Rippon	Keith Hill	Sam Wall

2 Beauchief/Greenhill Ward	11 East Ecclesfield Ward	20 Nether Edge Ward
Anthony Holmes	Vic Bowden	Ali Qadar
Simon Clement-Jones	Graham Oxley	Pat White
Clive Skelton

3 Beighton Ward	12 Ecclesall Ward	21 Richmond Ward
Ian Saunders	Sylvia Dunkley	Martin Lawton
Chris Rosling-Josephs		John Campbell
Helen Mirfin-Boukouris

4 Birley Ward	13 Firth Park Ward	22 Shiregreen & Brightside Ward
Bryan Lodge	Joan Barton	Jane Bird
Mike Pye	Chris Weldon	Peter Price
Denise Fox	Alan Law	Peter Rippon

5 Broomhill Ward	14 Fulwood Ward	23 Southey Ward
Paul Scriven	John Knight	Tony Damms
Shaffaq Mohammed	Andrew Sangar	Leigh Bramall
	Janice Sidebottom	Gill Furniss

6 Burngreave Ward	15 Gleadless Valley Ward	24 Stannington Ward
Ibrar Hussain	Terry Fox	Arthur Dunworth
Steve Jones	Rosemary Telfer	David Baker
	Garry Weatherall	Vickie Priestley

7 Central Ward	16 Graves Park Ward	25 Stocksbridge & Upper Don Ward
Jean Cromar	Peter Moore	Martin Davis
Jillian Creasy	Ian Auckland
Mohammad Azim	Barrie Jervis

8 Crookes Ward	17 Hillsborough Ward	26 Walkley Ward
Brian Holmes	Robert MacDonald	Diane Leek
John Hesketh	Janet Bragg	Veronica Hardstaff
Sylvia Anginotti	Alf Meade	Jonathan Harston

9 Darnall Ward	18 Manor Castle Ward	27 West Ecclesfield Ward
Mary Lea	Pat Midgley	Alan Hooper
Harry Harpham	Jan Fiore	Trevor Bagshaw
	Jan Wilson

		28 Woodhouse Ward
		Marjorie Barker
		Mick Rooney
		Ray Satur

1.	RETIREMENT OF COUNCILLORS
	The Lord Mayor (Councillor Roger Davison) reminded members that Councillors Mohammad Altaf, Terry Barrow and Barrie Jervis would not be seeking re-election at the Municipal Elections to be held on 4th May, 2006 and Members paid tribute to their respective contributions to the work of the Council and the manner in which they had performed their duties.
	RESOLVED: On the motion of the Lord Mayor (Councillor Roger Davison), seconded by Councillor Jan Wilson, that this Council places on record its appreciation of the valuable services rendered to the City by the under-mentioned Councillors over the period of years stated:-

	Name	Years in Office

	Mohammad Altaf	4
	Terry Barrow	10
	Barrie Jervis	2

2.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
	Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mohammad Altaf, Terry Barrow, Alison Brelsford, Martin Brelsford, Kathleen Chadwick, Pat Fox, Andrew White and Alan Whitehouse.

3.	MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
	RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Pat Midgley, seconded by Councillor Jean Cromar that the minutes of the meeting of the City Council held on 5th April, 2006 be approved as a correct record, with the addition of a note on the fourth page of the minutes after the recorded vote on item 4.1 (e) relating to the petition concerning Charges for Non-residential Care Services to clarify that, in voting against the decision to refer the petition to the Cabinet Member for Social Regeneration and Adult Services, the 30 Members of the main opposition group listed in the recorded vote, voted in favour of the motion to refer the petition to the Health and Community Care Scrutiny and Policy Development Board.

4.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

4.1	Petitions
	(a) Petition concerning anti-social behaviour on Woodthorpe Road
	The Council received a petition containing 38 signatures of residents of Woodthorpe Road requesting the City Council to help them put a stop to loitering on their street by group gatherings of young people and heard representations from Stephen Meredith who stated that, associated with gangs loitering, residents had suffered from burglaries, vandalism, harassment and anti-social behaviour.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Regeneration (Councillor Chris Weldon), who sympathised with the plight of the residents and stated that the Council wanted people to feel safe in their communities and he undertook to arrange a meeting with the police and Mr. Meredith with a view to working together to resolve the issues.
	(b) Petition concerning speeding traffic on Long Line, Dore Moor
	The Council received a petition containing 108 signatures expressing concern at the amount of drivers travelling at high speeds on Long Line and heard representations made on behalf of the petitioners by Miss Leonora Meaney, who drew attention to the number of children under 12 years of age who lived on the road, which had no pavements, and requested the Council to introduce physical measures on the highway to slow down the traffic.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport (Councillor Terry Fox), who stressed the importance that the Council attached to road safety issues, but pointed out that road safety issues had to be processed by reference to adopted Council criteria and prioritised accordingly. He undertook to ask road safety officers to get in touch with Miss Meaney to discuss the issues.

	(c) Petition concerning Moorthorpe Way, Owlthorpe
	The Council received a petition containing 221 signatures of residents of Owlthorpe Housing Estate suggesting that the land situated either side of Moorthorpe Way be landscaped, with the inclusion of play areas for young and older children and a managed conservation/wildlife area, and heard representations by Ms. Raquel Pino del Barrio who, in support of the petitioners’ request, circulated information and drew attention to the possibilities for landscaping and recreational provision which would benefit all residents of the Mosborough Townships, rather than allowing the sites to be built on.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Streetscene, Parks and Green Spaces (Councillor Harry Harpham), who stated that he was aware, through the local MP and Ward Councillors, of the local concerns and that a public meeting on this matter had been arranged for early July. He undertook to keep in touch with the petition organiser.

	(d) Petition concerning trees in Holmhirst Road and Holmhirst Drive
	The Council received a petition containing 15 signatures of local residents calling upon the City Council to take action to prune the trees at the rear of Holmhirst Drive and Holmhirst Road as they were blocking out light, had become a major cause of nuisance and were detrimental to people’s quality of life and heard representations on behalf of the petitioners by Ms. Backhouse, who drew attention to the size of the trees and the damage the roots were causing to property and drains.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Streetscene, Parks and Green Spaces (Councillor Harry Harpham), who stated that he understood the residents’ concerns, whilst drawing attention to the benefit of having so many trees in the City, but undertook to follow up the issue with the appropriate officers and inform Ms. Backhouse of the outcome.

	(e) Petition concerning traffic lights at the Abbey Lane/Abbeydale Road South junction
	The Council received a petition containing 1,418 signatures requesting the installation of right turn filters at the traffic lights at the Abbey Lane/ Abbeydale Road South junction and heard representations on behalf of the petitioners from Mike Young, who drew attention to the dangerous manoeuvres for motorists on Abbey Lane who had passed through the lights at green waiting to turn right into Abbeydale Road South and often had to complete their manoeuvre against the red light, after oncoming traffic had stopped.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport (Councillor Terry Fox), who stated that a lot of responses had been received to a recent Council request for motorists to highlight traffic hotspots and these, along with the one highlighted by Mr. Young would be investigated. He undertook to follow up the issue with Mr. Young.

	(f) Petition concerning The Moor Outdoor Markets
	The Council received a petition containing 7,001 signatures asking for the outdoor market on The Moor to be saved and heard representations on behalf of the petitioners by Mr. George Glover, who asked for an explanation for a recent press statement saying that the Council did not want to be bounced into a decision relating to The Moor traders. He claimed that, whilst the Council was looking after the interests of the farmers and continental markets, The Moor traders were being neglected and if the number of traders dwindled, an outdoor market would be lost, which would equate to the loss of £400,000 in rents that would not be yielded by indoor markets in the new development.
	The Council referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Culture and Planning (Councillor Tim Rippon) who stated that it would be two years before a decision would be made on the relocation of the stalls and that it was important to find the most appropriate place to benefit the traders and the City. He agreed with Mr. Glover about the value of markets to the City, which had led the Council to look at relocating the Castle Market and that the outdoor market would benefit from the footfall. He stated that he would be happy to meet Mr. Glover again, along with Mr. Bartram, to further discuss the issues.
	Councillor Jan Wilson (the Leader of the Council) added that she felt the outdoor market traders had suffered from poor communications and undertook to provide Mr. Glover with details of planning and construction dates for the two year lead-in to the new work. She suggested that a Moor Market Group be established to contribute to a process of determining where the stalls might be provided. She acknowledged that open market trading contributed to the vibrancy of the city and hoped that a suitable alternative site could be found.

	(g) Petition concerning use of Norwood Allotment Site
	The Council received a petition containing 12 signatures of tenants of the Norwood Allotment site expressing concerns at the problems associated with community groups and schools using plots on the allotment site and referred the petition for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Streetscene, Parks and Green Spaces (Councillor Harry Harpham).

4.2	Public Questions
	There were no questions asked by members of the public.

5.	REPRESENTATION, DELEGATED AUTHORITY AND RELATED ISSUES
	RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Pat Midgley, seconded by Councillor Jean Cromar, that (a) delegated authority be granted to the Executive Director, Development, Environment and Leisure, to agree the allocation of grants from the small grants fund and the terms on which they are made, as recommended by Cabinet on 12th April, 2006, subject to his giving due consideration to any recommendations in this regard from the Performing and Community Arts Manager and allocations made through this process being reported to the Member Grants Panel;
	(b) authority be given for the City Council to undertake the role of Accountable Body in respect of the regeneration plans and any unallocated sums of Objective 1 and Yorkshire Forward funding, as recommended by Cabinet on 12th April, 2006, and delegated authority be granted to (i) the Director of Regeneration and Partnership, in consultation with the Assistant Chief Executive, Legal and Governance and the Director of Corporate Resources, to negotiate and enter into appropriate contractual arrangements to enable the delivery of these funding streams; and (ii) the Director of Regeneration and Partnership to approve the release of grant funding for specific projects; and
	(c) the Scheme of Delegations to officers relating to Private Sector Housing, as recommended by Cabinet on 12th April, 2006 and set out in the Appendix now circulated at this meeting, be approved with effect from 3rd May, 2006, and the Scheme of Delegations to officers relating to Private Sector Housing as approved by the City Council on 5th April, 2000 be rescinded with effect from the date the new Scheme of Delegations comes into force, subject to any delegation continuing to be in force insofar as necessary to enable outstanding matters commenced prior to the rescission to be concluded; and for each delegation to take effect from the date when an officer to whom such power is delegated has been authorised in writing to exercise it either by the Executive Director, Neighbourhoods and Community Care or the Director of Housing.

6.	SHEFFIELD AND ITS CITY REGION
	The Chief Executive introduced his presentation on Sheffield and its City Region by reference to the State of the English Cities report produced by Professor Michael Parkinson, which chronicled the progress of 56 primary cities with a population of above 150,000. The report concluded that cities were vital economic drivers and that, whilst there were encouraging pictures of revival and recovery, lessons needed to be learned from successful cities abroad and that there was a need to trust and encourage local leadership. Linked to this was a Government initiative which invited core cities to consider how they could help deliver greater prosperity for the people of their own cities, their wider regions and the country as a whole and to submit a City Region Development Programme (CRDP).
	He displayed a slide that showed the growth gap within countries and revealed that the United Kingdom had the widest gap. This was followed by a slide showing the UK regional Gross Value Added (GVA) per head, which revealed a large disparity between London and the South East with the North of England. He stated that this had led to the Northern Way Growth Strategy which had been drawn up to show how the North could unlock the potential for faster, economic growth and bridge the £30bn output gap between the North and the rest of the United Kingdom, with a vision to establish the North as an area of exceptional opportunity, combining a world class economy with a superb quality of life. He elaborated on the Northern Way Growth Strategy that was planned to produce greater impact by doing important things together across the North, with 10 key themes identified around employment, economy and transport. It was also intended to demonstrate how existing national programmes could be even more effective across the North, for example Pathways to Work, and to produce a robust evidence base for new investment and specific priorities that would meet the North’s requirements.
	He then displayed a map that identified key places for City Regions, which were a conglomerate of economic areas that would be key drivers of the Northern Way. He described the City Regions as enlarged territories from which core urban areas draw people for work and services and were areas where 90% of people lived, most businesses were located and most people worked. He pointed out that the exact boundaries of the City Region would vary depending on the issue, would not have an administrative centre and would not look the same in all parts of the country. He explained that City Regions were critical to a thriving North, where they would out-perform their regions and show higher levels of GVA growth and were the key to narrowing the gap with the South East of the country. He added that City Regions better reflected the economies of urban areas than traditional local authority areas and had more appropriate units for strategic planning and decision making than other Local Authorities or Regions.
	The Chief Executive then commented on the invitation by the Government to identify priorities to accelerate economic growth by submitting a CRDP, which provided an opportunity to set out medium and long term proposals for investment and, linked to delivery of regional strategies, would influence the Government’s comprehensive spending review 2007. He described the characteristics of a Sheffield City Region, which represented an urban/rural region with a number of strong centres and significant market towns that uniquely spanned a regional boundary and had a pivotal position relative to other city regions and the East Midlands/South, with a considerable growth potential in Sheffield/Rotherham and Doncaster. He then commented on the vision for the way ahead which needed to change the position from one of managed decline to that of providing opportunities for future growth and economic prosperity to make Sheffield a successful distinctive City of European significance and, at the heart of a strong City Region, a pivotal international business location and one of the most successful City Regions in the North of England. He highlighted developments such as St. Paul’s Place in Sheffield, the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, the Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood Airport and the Derbyshire countryside, which were key to the vision.
	He then went on to explain the process for progressing the Sheffield CRDP at national, regional and city region level. In laying the foundations for investment, it would be necessary to agree the big ambitions, build the evidence base, research the feasibility, identify the freedoms, identify the freedoms and flexibility and negotiation with Government Departments. In responding to the Government’s challenge for city regions to develop clear and visible leadership, able to take decisions and carry the community with them, it would be necessary to clearly identify the assets, opportunities, barriers and enablers in the City regions, with fit for purpose working arrangements. In terms of leadership and governance, he explained that issues would need to be addressed at the lowest practical level and the current South Yorkshire arrangements would need to be replaced by a proposed South Yorkshire Leaders’ board responsible for economic transport and spatial planning at sub-regional level and a proposed Sheffield City Regional Forum of all relevant partners to all oversee the CRDP.
	In concluding the presentation, he summarised the challenge for regions that would involve an alignment of policy and strategy at all levels, the Regional Development Agencies fully embracing City Regions, a reconfiguration of regional economic strategies to reflect City Regions and the devolution of delivery and outputs to City Regions. The challenge for the Government would be to give continued support for the Northern Way, to refresh national strategy on regional economic performance, to devolve decision making to the right level, to introduce fit for purpose governance and partnership arrangements and to provide new investment freedoms and flexibilities through the Spending Review 2007.
	A question and answer sessions then ensued, following which the Chief Executive was thanked for the comprehensive presentation and detailed answers to the questions asked.

7.	QUESTIONS RELATING TO URGENT BUSINESS
	There were no questions relating to urgent business under the provisions of Standing Order A18(6).

8.	OBSERVATIONS
	No observations were made on the minutes of meetings of the various Council bodies for the period 18th March to 14th April, 2006.

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