Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds

Contact: Council and Executive Support Team 

Items
No. Item

116.

Late Items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

Minutes:

There were no formal late items of business submitted, however, at the meeting, Board Members were presented with supplementary information providing illustrative examples of how the floods had impacted upon local businesses, together with a draft Strategic Recovery Plan for Members’ consideration.  (Minute No. 120 refers).

 

117.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

 

Minutes:

There were no Disclosable Pecuniary Interests declared at the meeting.

118.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on the 16th December 2015.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on the 16th December 2015 be approved as a correct record.

RESOURCES AND STRATEGY

119.

Electoral Review of Leeds City Council - Council Size and Electoral Forecast Information for submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England pdf icon PDF 143 KB

To consider the report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) providing an update on the progress regarding the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s (LGBCE) Electoral Review of Leeds City Council which includes details of the Council Size evidence and Electorate Forecast information for approval by Executive Board prior to submission to the LGBCE.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) submitted a report which provided the Board with an update on the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s (LGBCE) Electoral Review of the Council’s size and also of the number of Wards and Ward boundaries that the City Council has. In addition, the report presented the Council Size evidence and the Electorate Forecast information, as appended to the submitted report, for the purposes of approval by Executive Board prior to submission to the LGBCE.

 

Members welcomed the significant work which had been undertaken in the compilation of the comprehensive documentation. In considering this matter, the Board highlighted the crucial role played by Councillors, especially in the local Wards that they represent, and emphasised how this role would become even more integral, given the current projections of population growth across the city. A point which Members emphasised needed to be strongly conveyed to the Commission.

 

Alongside the submission, it was agreed by the Board that the Chief Executive write to LGBCE in order to reiterate from a Council officer perspective the critical role played by Ward Members in a city with the geographic scale and diversity of Leeds. 

 

In conclusion, the Board received an overview of the LGBCE’s timeframe regarding the undertaking of the review through to the implementation of any decisions made.

 

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Council Size evidence and Electorate Forecast information, as detailed in the addendum to the submitted report, be approved;

 

(b)  That the Chief Executive write to the LGBCE highlighting from a Council officer perspective the critical role played by Ward Members in a city with the geographic scale and diversity of Leeds. 

 

ECONOMY AND CULTURE

120.

Storm Eva - Recovery Plan pdf icon PDF 138 KB

To consider a report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) which describes the impact of Storm Eva in Leeds taking into account the immediate response and the short-term recovery work, within the context of previous reports on flooding and relevant flood alleviation schemes. In addition, the report looks to secure agreement to the strategic recovery approach for the short, medium and longer term, and also outlines the approach towards learning lessons about the effectiveness of our arrangements to respond to, and recover from incidents of this nature.

 

 

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities) submitted a report regarding the extent of the impact of Storm Eva in Leeds, and provided details of both the emergency response undertaken at the time and also the short-term recovery work that has followed.  In addition, the report sought approval of the strategic recovery approach proposed, with specific reference to financial support, advice and guidance, community engagement, infrastructure repair and flood alleviation proposals. Finally, the report outlined the proposed approach to be taken towards a ‘lessons learned’ exercise regarding the effectiveness of the Council’s arrangements designed to respond to, and recover from incidents of this nature.

 

At the meeting, Executive Board received further information which provided specific examples of how the flooding impacted upon local businesses, together with a draft Strategic Recovery Plan for Members’ consideration. In addition, during the consideration of this item, a range of images illustrating the impact of the flooding across the city were shown.

 

In considering the submitted report, the following key points were raised:-

·  The Board as a whole paid tribute to the resilience of the local residents and those in the business community who had been badly affected by the flooding. In addition, on behalf of the Council, Members placed on record their thanks to all of those communities, Council officers, volunteers, emergency services, partner organisations and armed forces who had given up their time and who made valuable contributions towards the multi-agency recovery work which had taken place to date, and which continued to take place; 

·  Given the co-ordinating role which continued to be played by the Council in response to the flooding, Members emphasised how these recent events had illustrated the crucial role played by Local Government in the city;

·  It was noted that building upon the flood defence schemes as originally proposed, any future feasibility study would look to update and adapt such schemes in order to address the issues which came to light as a result of the recent flooding;

·  It was also highlighted that the scope of any future defence strategies would need to be widened in order to consider all water courses affecting the city, and which would require a co-ordinated approach with neighbouring authorities;

·  In addition to the comments made around the impact upon the city centre and those areas in close proximity to it, emphasis was also placed upon the impact that the flooding had had upon the more outlying communities;

·  Emphasis was placed upon the associated work that the Council could consider in order to mitigate risk of future flooding, such as the establishment of wetlands and reviewing the flooding risk of any sites proposed for development;

·  Members highlighted the need to ensure the involvement of any affected communities in the development of associated recovery and regeneration programmes, whilst also providing support to enable communities to develop their own capacity in such areas, in order to harness the community spirit which had been present throughout the response;

·  Responding to an enquiry regarding the issues which had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

DATE FOR PUBLICATION:  FRIDAY, 22ND JANUARY 2016

 

LAST DATE FOR CALL IN

OF ELIGIBLE DECISIONS:  5.00P.M., FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY 2016

 

(Scrutiny Support will notify Directors of any items called in by 12.00noon on Monday, 1st February 2016)