Agenda item

The Chair invited Members to raise items for general discussion arising from the Information Booklet of Executive Member reports which detailed activities conducted within the respective Executive Member portfolios (Section 1), Executive decisions taken (Section 2) or to be taken where known, prior to and following the meeting (Sections 3 and 4).

 

Councillor McCabe advised that he wished to withdraw his question on the Mayor’s Executive report.

 

Question in relation to the report of the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture

 

Councillor M Storey in relation to Culture.

 

The Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture advised that more big events were planned for the town. The Council wanted to ensure that Middlesbrough remained at the heart of culture in the Tees Valley.

 

Question in relation to the report of the Executive Member for Community Safety

 

Councillor Livingstone in relation to Community Safety.

 

The Executive Member for Community Safety advised that she was aware of the issues with parking around and in the town centre, particularly on the Linthorpe cycle lane. The Executive Member advised that she had been sent photographic evidence of illegal parking and this had been passed on to the Enforcement Team. This issue had also been reported by a number of businesses in the area, The wardens were conducting regular patrols in the area and would continue to do so to try and address the problems. The Executive Member advised that given the issues currently being experienced in terms of illegal parking, that she agreed with the councillor’s views with regard to the removal of the cycle lanes.

 

Councillor Kabuye in relation to requests undertaken by the Neighbourhood Safety Team for the month of September 2023.

 

The Executive Member explained that the anti-social behaviour and crime figures came from a range of sources, including the police, fire authority, Thirteen and the local authority. These statistics were monitored through the Active Intelligence Mapping (AIM) meetings.

 

The data was used to investigate trends and patterns in crime and anti-social behaviour. Any trends were reported to the Community Safety Partnership. The Community Safety Partnership was a multi-agency forum, and they had a strategy to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

 

The town centre had been discussed at the last meeting of the Community Safety Partnership, and as a result, a multi-agency strategic Town Centre Group was being established to review the delivery plan. This approach had been used successfully, to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in other ‘hotspot’ areas such as Hemlington and Berwick Hills. A strategic group was already operational in the Newport area, and they were addressing the recent spike in the data.

 

Since locality working had been introduced, there had been a significant reduction in crime and ant-social behaviour. Action plans would be produced and monitored and delivered by the multi-agency teams.

 

The Executive Member also announced that funding had been secured to employ an additional ten Street Wardens which would mean that there would be a presence on the estates as well as in the town centre, in addition to CCTV. The street lighting would also remain on.

 

Councillor Hubbard in relation to Netherfields.

 

The Executive Member advised that the Council was working with partners to respond to the issues around anti-social behaviour around 31 October. An update would be provided at the November Council meeting. In terms of fireworks being used inappropriately, the effects of fireworks could have an impact on the whole community, and consequently, the Executive Member urged members to report any illegal sales of fireworks to the Council so that they could take any appropriate action.

 

Question in relation to the report of the Executive Member for Environment

 

Councillor Livingstone in relation to Area Care - Lack of resources.

 

The Executive Member for Environment advised that lack of resources was an issue, particularly when the Council was facing budget pressures. He stated that it was imperative that resources were used wisely, to be imaginative and collaborative, to consult with and listen to external organisations. He advised that at the last Council meeting on 18 September he had invited councillors who had any ideas for transformation to meet with him. He stated that he had already had a useful meeting with Councillor McClintock, and this offer was open to all members. The Council was also keen to meet with third party organisations and businesses to look at their innovative skills to help the Council deliver a better service for residents.

 

The Executive Member stated that he had already had two meetings with third party organisations, and this would be pursued further. The Council was looking at transforming services in order to deliver a better service for residents. Council staff had also been consulted regarding their views on how services should be delivered. The aim was to deliver efficient services that provided value for money.

 

Questions in relation to the report of the Executive Member for Regeneration

 

Councillor Dean in relation to Opening of Tollesby Shops.

 

The Executive Member for Regeneration advised that the area had been blighted for a long time with anti-social behaviour. The building of the new shops, in addition to the other commercial units that would be rented out by the Council and the twenty-four residential units above the shops, had resulted in an improvement to the area. It had also helped older people as they now had access to shops in the vicinity of their homes.

 

Councillor McClintock in relation to Local Plan.

 

In response to the question from Councillor McClintock, the Executive Member advised that a review of assets was underway because of the current financial position of the council.

 

The Council was starting to rethink what the authority did in the future. It was also good practice to review the assets that the Council owned. The review of assets was the reason why the consultation process on the Local Plan had been put back as some land might become available for development. The public consultation on the Local Plan would be conducted in January and February. The full Council would make a decision on the Local Plan.

 

The Executive Member highlighted that the Local Plan was one of the most important documents that the Council had in terms of the allocation of housing and this was the reason why it was considered to be a priority.

 

Councillor Ewan in relation to Asset Review November 21^st.

 

The Executive Member advised that the Council needed to review what it did as a Council. It was good practice to review any assets that the Council had, particularly considering the current financial position. The Council would need to reprioritise how it worked in the future.