Minutes:
The Mayor stated that he had ten things that he wished to discuss.
1. Gresham
Building of the first social housing to be built in Middlesbrough in decades is due to commence in 30 days in Gresham. Initially 145 houses were due to be built followed by another 90 houses, costing in the region of £30m. The Mayor stated that the population of the town had reduced by 20,000 over the past 40 years and the building of new social housing would attract people back to the town.
2. Trees
The Mayor stated that the town were on schedule to plant 14,000 trees but it hoped to increase that number to 25,000 to 35,000 trees. He encouraged any member of the public who wanted to be involved in the initiative to get in touch.
3. CCTV
The Mayor stated that CCTV deterred crime and assisted in capturing criminals. He advised that there was a new grants system which would assist residents wishing to install CCTV cameras in the front or back of their homes or back alleys.
4. Boho X
The Mayor announced that the planning application for the new BOHO X building was due to be considered by the Planning and Development Committee in three weeks’ time. He stated that it was a fantastic landmark building with excellent facilities to host the digital sector and it was likely to be operational in 2 years’ time.
5. Captain Cook Square
The Mayor referred to the Council's purchase of Captain Cook Square. He stated that it was initially up for sale for £30m but the Council had managed to purchase it for £8m. People would come from all over the town to use the leisure facilities that would be available.
6. Street Wardens
The Mayor stated that Street Wardens often carried out unseen work and he outlined some examples of the work that they did. He stated that they also worked with the police to gather intelligence to assist in detecting crime.
7. Farm
The Mayor announced that the Camphill Village Trust charity was building a new farm to the North and West of the old Town Hall and it would not be costing the Council anything. The farm would grow food and work with vulnerable people and it would also work with volunteers
8. Green Strategy
The Mayor stated that the Council aimed to set targets to make the town the greenest and cleanest in the whole of the Tees Valley.
9. COVID-19
The Mayor stated that he wanted to thank local businesses and residents for their assistance in bringing the number of COVID-19 cases down. The figures were now in the high to mid-200s. He stated that he was unsure as to which Tier the town would be placed in, but he suspected that it would likely be Tier 3.
He acknowledged the work that Council staff had done in terms of handing out leaflets, facilitating grants and delivering facemasks to every household in the town.
10. Section 106 Agreements
The Mayor advised that the Council had introduced a scheme whereby if the Council was disposing of a piece of land and they achieved the expected price or higher than the expected price, the Council would allocate 3% of the money received towards local community projects.
The Mayor stated that he was optimistic for the future in terms of jobs and prosperity.
The Chair invited Members to ask questions in relation to the Mayor's report.
Councillor Cooke indicated that he was concerned in case areas where there was a low incidence of reporting issues, might be overlooked when deciding which areas required CCTV cameras. He advised that the fly tipping in Aire Street was an issue and in some alleyways there had been incidents of drug dealing. He queried whether Council staff had a say in where the cameras would be located?
The Mayor advised that when deciding where to locate CCTV cameras, there would be input from the Police, Street Wardens and Neighbourhood Safety Officers. He urged residents to report fly-tipping, bin-rummaging or any other crime.
Councillor Storey stated that he welcomed many of the initiatives that they Mayor had outlined in his report. In terms of the planting of 14,000 trees building up to 25,000 and he queried whether this would include whips and requested further information on how this initiative would work?
With regard to CCTV, Councillor Storey stated that the Ward Councillors had secured CCTV through the Members Small Scheme Allocation Fund but if additional funding was available, the Ward would welcome additional CCTV.
Councillor Storey stated that he was pleased that BOHO X was progressing as it would allow the digital to expand. In terms of Captain Cook Square, he queried regarding the viability of the initiative, how it would work in practice and what the rental income would be?
In relation to Street Wardens, Councillor Storey he stated that they did a fantastic job, he acknowledged that they were coping with additional responsibilities in relation to environmental issue and COVID-19. He queried with regard to the number of additional Street Wardens?
Councillor Storey stated that he welcomed the new farm in Middlehaven.
In terms of funding for COVID-19, the Council required adequate funding and support for businesses. Many members had been assisting during the pandemic by getting message across to residents, handing out food parcels and delivering leaflets.
In relation to the Section 106 Agreements funding, he stated that this money had always been used to fund community issues and he requested further detail on this issue.
The Mayor stated that the trees would be a mixture of 15ft older trees and new ones. With regard to CCTV, grants were available. With regard to the number of Street Wardens, the Head of Stronger Communities would be able to provide the exact number. In terms of Captain Cook Square, the Council had consulted experts and they had designed a really good scheme.
Councillor Uddin queried with regard to the working hours of the Street Wardens.
The Mayor advised that he was not certain about the exact timing although he knew some wardens worked until 9pm. The Mayor advised that the Head of Stronger Communities would be able to provide this information. He stated that the new Head of Service in this area would make a real difference.
Councillor Wright welcomed the Mayor's Green Plan and the planting of trees. He stated that he was resurrecting the Community Garden in Easterside and he invited the Mayor to visit it.
Councillor Wright also thanked the Mayor in respect of the CCTV initiative. He advised that he had supported many residents in accessing the private property CCTV which was innovative and would help in reducing anti-social behaviour and crime. Councillor Wright stated that it would cost in the region of £36k to repair CCTV in his Ward. The Head of Stronger Communities was looking at funding for this and he queried when the private CCTV would be in place.
The Mayor stated that he was pleased that the community garden was being resurrected and he suggested that every Ward should have one.
The Mayor stated that he would speak to the Head of Stronger Communities with regard to when funding would be in place.
Councillor Cooke referred to the ambition to become a hunger free town. He queried whether going forward, the Council was going to establish any further schemes to capture people that did not currently meet the finding criteria.
The Mayor advised that funding needed to be distributed fairly. The Council were the first Council to commit to provide free school meals when the Government did not agree to fund them. The Council were working to find out how to fund people that did not meet the current criteria for assistance.
Councillor J Walker stated that in the Viewley Centre, they had been trying for years to have the CCTV linked to the main Bus Station CCTV. There had only been one additional camera sited on Dodford Estate. She also queried with regard to who qualified for the private CCTV.
The Mayor stated that Hemlington should qualify for more cameras. The grant scheme was innovative and new and was hugely over-subscribed which meant names had to be pulled out of a hat. The Mayor stated that he was not aware that the Viewley Centre was not connected to the Bus Station CCTV but this could be looked at in the future. The Mayor advised that he would provide whatever help he could in respect of the above issues.