Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Neighbour highlighted that he supported the comments the Chairman had made on Bramshott Country Park’s new wetlands area. He also reported on the Government’s recent announcements on Unitary Council solutions and confirmed that these did not include Hampshire.
The Cabinet Member for Community, Councillor Bailey updated on:
Homelessness
Many people will have seen the recent social media post about the young man found rough sleeping in Fleet in the pouring rain that the Housing Team managed to engage and bring inside. Very pleased to say that the team have managed to secure this gentleman a bed space in a project specifically designed to help young people who are homeless and in crisis. Here he will receive tailored support to address his mental health, and substance issues and will provide a brilliant stable base for him to reintegrate into society into permanent housing. The project is in Dorking & this is the first time we have worked with them, so it is really exciting.
Community Safety
Community Safety commissioned a drugs bus, known as the 'mobile crack shack'. Local schools, scouts and other community groups were able to immerse themselves in the experience and have a live lesson in exploitation and possible consequences of drug taking involving county lines. It was a great success and will be back next year. Last Saturday Community Safety attended the BID Pop up shop in Fleet high street and worked alongside the Police, the Foodbank and the Lions delivering messages about crime prevention and local initiatives. The highlight was the creation of fingerprint certificates for those that wanted them and remembering the last minute wet wipes for ink that would have got everywhere! It could be said that community safety left their mark.
The Cabinet Member for Place, Councillor Cockarill announced that Emma Whittaker, Development Management and Building Control Manager was leaving Hart District Council after 16 years and highlighted her hard work and the support she has given to him and the team. He announced that Steph Baker will be the interim manager until a new permanent officer is recruited.
Councillor Farmer asked what the timetable will be for this recruitment of a permanent Development Management and Building Control Manager.
Councillor Cockarill confirmed that the recruitment process for this role had begun, and members need to remember that the new manager may have up to three months’ notice period from an existing job. Further updates will be provided at Overview & Scrutiny committee meetings.
Over the past two years, we have had three permanent members of the Development Management team leave for career reasons. Obviously, I am unable to divulge personal details for GDPR reasons. This amount of turnover is what might be expected in a Local Authority the size of Hart.
It is true that the DM team have been working very hard under trying circumstances over the past 18 months, as have all of Hart's excellent Officers.
A number of the DM team stepped up to take on other roles outside of their normal work, to assist in the delivery of Hart's pandemic response. I and Mr Jaggard, the Head of the Place Service, take the welfare of our staff extremely seriously, which is why we are looking at ways, through the DM Improvement Plan, to streamline and reduce staff workloads and ensure that our team members continue to have the support they need.
Councillor Forster asked if the staff attrition rate we are seeing is roughly consistent and commensurate with other councils and what are we doing to look after the welfare of all staff.
The Chairman, Councillor Ambler responded:
That because this was a general staffing issue rather than a Place issue, that the Joint Chief Executive will supply a written response.
The Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Oliver announced that Garden Waste collections in Hart will resume following a recent 36 hour suspension last week. Press and social media posts will be issued this week informing residents. This is on the basis that no significant additional numbers of service staff have had to isolate due to the pandemic.
Councillor Forster asked if any credit would be given to residents affected by the garden waste missed collections. And can we have a policy that covers this in future?
Councillor Oliver confirmed that in agreement with Conservative colleagues in Basingstoke and Deane we have decided not to give credit in these extenuating circumstances due to collection services being disrupted due to inclement weather or pandemics.
The Cabinet Member for Commercialisation, Councillor Quarterman announced that as part of the ongoing Commercialisation strategy, the council has purchased Centenary House, Basingstoke, for £11.6 million. The office, which is let to a large construction company with a lease of over 16 years to run, will generate an annual rental income for the Council of £730,000 overall, representing a yield of 6%, comfortably in excess of a 4% target.
Councillors may remember that when we embarked on the Commercialisation strategy, our objective was to generate £2 million additional revenue by 2022. The three acquisitions we have made to date, flats at Edenbrook, the Pavilion at Hedge End and now Centenary House, mean that we have reached a total income from these three properties of £1.4 million - and so have reached 70% of our original target. An updated Commercialisation Strategy was debated at Overview and Scrutiny in June and approved by Cabinet at our most recent meeting in July, and we continue to seek opportunities to cover our remaining expected shortfall in line with that strategy. Councillors should note that all figures quoted here represent income before borrowing costs are taken into account, although we have covered all investment costs to date through internal borrowing.