A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to items appearing on the agenda and will be submitted in the order in which they were received.

No questions were received.

Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

The Executive Member for Housing and Neighbourhoods declared an interest in item 7 on the agenda in relation to his position on the Board of Homes for Trafford.

To receive and, if so determined, to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on  25^th of July 2022.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held 25 July 2022 be agreed as an accurate record.

To consider any matters referred by the Council or by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

No matters were raised.

To consider a report of the Executive Member for Climate Change and Transport Strategy.

1.    That the content of the report be noted.

2. It be approved that the proposals for the junctions in the report be progressed to detailed design and, subject to no significant design amendments, proceed to delivery.

The Executive Member for Climate change and Transport introduced a report which provided the Committee with the outcome of consultation carried out for Mayor’s Challenge Fund.   The Committee were informed that first proposal had been raised following a petition submitted to full Council in February 2019 by a student, which was subsequently put forward by the Council for consideration as part of the Mayor’s Challenge fund. It was confirmed that the proposal had been accepted by TFGM and consulted upon alongside a second proposal for a crossing on the A560. Members were also informed that the consultation had been conducted by TFGM with support from the Trafford Highways Team and had received generally favourable responses.

Following the introduction Councillor Whetton raised concerns about the Devisdale Road/A56 junction. Councillor Whetton expressed a view that the works would put additional strain on other junctions and he believed that most of the aims of the scheme could be achieved without the Devisdale Road/A56 junction. The Executive Member for Climate change and Transport responded to confirm that the concerns and alternative proposal suggested by Councillor Whetton had already been considered as part of the consultation and while the alterations to the proposal may not impact the crossings it would impact the cycling proficiency the proposal would deliver, which was central to works being part of the Mayor’s Challenge Fund.

Councillor Jerrome commended the work of the petitioner who raised the initial petition back in 2019.  Councillor Jerrome generally welcomed the proposals but did question why the consultation of the A56 proposals were conducted alongside the A560/Gorsey Lane proposals. The Executive Member for Climate change and Transport responded to confirm that a specific request had been made to extend the consultation and offered to discuss the details with Councillor Jerrome after the meeting.

Councillor Welton welcomed the plans and added that they could be simplified by making Devisdale Road a cul-de-sac rather than leading onto the A56.   The Leader thanked Councillor Welton and the proposal was noted.

The Leader concluded the discussion by echoing Councillor Jerome’s comments commending of the petitioner for raising the petition.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the suggestions made by Councillor Whetton and Councillor Welton be noted.

3)    That the proposals for the junctions within the report be agreed, progressed to detailed design, and, subject to no significant design amendments, proceed to delivery.

To consider a report of the Executive Member Economy and Regeneration.

1. That the progress of the development be noted.

2. That the commitment to delivering 30% affordable housing be noted.

3. That it be approved that the Council nominees on the Homes for Trafford Board will only approve development of the scheme commencing on the basis it will deliver a minimum of 30% affordable housing.

4. That the plans and proposals including type and tenure mix be noted.

5. That the low carbon and sustainable measures be noted.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration introduced a report which provided an update on the Tamworth development. The development was on a brown field site which had been vacant for several years. In partnership with Trafford Housing Trust the development would deliver 161 new homes. The Committee were informed of the consultation that had been undertaken for the development. and that The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration explained that the projected profit margin for the development was only 5 – 6 % and so the development would not be required to have affordable housing at the planning stage. The development was to receive Homes England funding, but it would be after the planning stage and the development would have to meet their requirements. The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration concluded their introduction by thanking the officers for their work in a challenging commercial environment.

Following the introduction, the Executive Member for Housing and Neighbourhoods welcomed the development as it would provide affordable and sustainable housing on a brown field site in keeping with the Council’s Priorities.

[Note – Councillor Harding joined the meeting]

Councillor Jerrome spoke in favour of this development and the carbon reductions and the high standards of the properties within the development. Councillor Jerrome noted that the report mentioned submission of the planning application in October, but the development was not listed on October’s Planning Committee. Councillor Jerrome then asked what the reason was for the delay. The Corporate Director of Place responded that there had not been any delays as the planning application was to be submitted in October to be considered by the Planning Committee in January 2023.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the progress of the development be noted.

2)    That the commitment to delivering 30% affordable housing be noted.

3)    That the Council nominees on the Homes for Trafford Board will only approve development of the scheme commencing on the basis it will deliver a minimum of 30% affordable housing be approved.

4)    That the plans and proposals including type and tenure mix be noted.

5)    That the low carbon and sustainable measures be noted

To consider a report of the Executive Member for Adult Social Care.

The Executive Member for Adult Social Care introduced a report which provided an update on the progress towards ensuring all employees within the care sector received a real living wage.  Members were informed that a survey had been conducted in August 2022 which indicated that there had been considerable improvement in the older people’s care market with 100% now paying the real living wage. It was also explained that the picture was more complicated within nursing and residential homes with 21 out of 32 homes paying staff the real living wage, which was an increase from 33% paying the real living wage in January 2022. It was confirmed that day care providers were paying 100% of staff the real living wage and close to all supported living providers were also paying staff the real living wage.  It was also confirmed that an independent provider was performing an analysis of the fair cost of care within the borough which would aid the Council in understanding the real costs of care. The Executive Member for Adult Social Care informed Members that the Council had agreed to progress towards the real living wage accreditation in February 2022 and a working group had been formed to ensure it was achieved.

The Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing, and Equalities welcomed the report and thanked The Executive Member for Adult Social Care and the officers for all the work they had done and to achieve that progress in such a short amount of time.

The Leader echoed the comments made by the Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing, and Equalities and thanked the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure, and Strategic Partnerships for all the work done in the previous municipal year. 

Resolved: That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Director of Finance and Systems.

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance presented a report on the Council’s budget position. As the report was originally to be delivered in September the Executive Member noted the figures were out of date and picked out the key figures from the report. Members were informed that the outturn pressure as of July of £6.91M with an overspend of £912K once inflation had been accounted for and that the key pressures were home to school transport and the Strategic Investment Strategy which was predicted to deliver around £1.5M less than anticipated. Members were also informed that the rise in interest rates had given the Council an additional £850K due to surplus cash balances the Council held.  

Following the introduction Councillor Myers noted that the Council Tax Support Scheme draw down had been better than expected and asked was expected to happen over the winter months. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance stated that it was likely that more council tax support would be drawn upon during the winter months given the current economic forecasts.

Councillor Jerrome noted the section regarding electric vehicle charging points and asked whether the rising price of electricity meant that the Council’s EV Charging Scheme may run into problems. The Executive Member for Finance and Governance responded to confirm that there were no indications that it was running into problems. The Corporate Director of Place added that the main challenge with the programme was around connecting the charging points to the grid rather than the price of electricity and the Council were committed to delivering to roll out of the scheme.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Motion   (Which may be amended as Members think fit):

            That the public be excluded from this meeting during consideration of the remaining items on the agenda, because of the likelihood of disclosure of “exempt information” which falls within one or more descriptive category or categories of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, and specified on the agenda item or report relating to each such item respectively.

At this point of the meeting, an exclusion resolution was passed. This was an error owing to confusion caused by the order of items within the agenda. The error was acknowledged and rectified immediately. The exclusion resolution was rescinded and the meeting reconvened in public. 

To receive the attached decision notice and report of the Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration introduced a report which had been due to come to the meeting scheduled in September. The report presented detailed the Council’s position with regards to utility supplies and contained recommendations for the delegation of decision-making powers to allow contracts to be agreed. Members were informed that due to the need to make the decision in a timely manner the Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration had made a delegated decision which was reflected in the decision notice provided alongside the report. 

RESOLVED: That the report and Decision notice be noted.