Agenda item

To receive matters of report from the Leader and members of the Executive.

The Leader congratulated SWTC on its recent award and welcomed the Youth Council members to Full Council.

He said the Administration was working on a number of priorities and highlighted the improvements being made to the democratic process, such as the establishment of the Governance Review Working Group, which was reviewing the current governance model in place, and looking at potential alternative systems. Furthermore, Cabinet had been enlarged and the number of Topic Leads had been expanded to increase inclusivity and utilise the great deal of enthusiasm Members of the Administration had to offer. The Planning system was another area under review and changes had already been implemented to increase public speaking time at Planning Committee. Governance improvements to the Council’s investment process were underway and the proposed Investment Board would be meeting later in the month to discuss potential opportunities. A working group had also been established to tackle the issue of climate change and the Council had declared a climate emergency at its previous meeting. Finally, the Leader said the Inspector’s report on the proposed Local Plan was expected imminently. Development Boards and local forums would be setup for each of the proposed Garden Communities to allow further input from the local communities affected.

Councillor Lees, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, provided an update on the housing of refugees in the District through the Essex Resettlement Programme. Since October 2017, the Council had housed five families within the District. She said the Council were committed to playing their part in the Government’s plan to resettle 50 families across Essex.

Councillor Lemon expressed his support for the scheme and said that two families who had been housed locally had settled in well.

Councillor Light updated Members on her portfolio responsibilities for Education, Libraries, Culture and Heritage. She said a successful STEM event had been held at the Council Offices with the help of Councillor Luck and she was looking into improving the availability of adult learning courses across Uttlesford. She said she also had ambitions to establish a Culture Steering Group with the aim of holding an arts festival next year, and would be working with Saffron Walden museum in the hope of displaying exhibitions in other parts of the District.

Councillor Eke updated Members on his portfolio responsibilities of Stansted Airport, Infrastructure and Transport. He said he had met with Councillors Bentley and Mitchell of Essex County Council (ECC) to explore the synergy between Uttlesford and ECC on the matter of transport. He said there was a need to tailor transport services to the rural needs of the District and this approach was supported by ECC. He had also met with Abellio, a leading operator of transport services in the region, to discuss future capacity in light of the Local Plan and Stansted Airport expansion of passenger numbers. He had been in discussions with Network Rail regarding line capacity and with Sir Alan Haselhurst regarding the high accident rate on the M11. He said work would start next year on Junction 7, which in turn could have a positive impact on Junction 8. In terms of highways, he had raised the issue of potholes with Councillor Bentley and how the system of repairing roads was an inefficient process. He said Uttlesford’s Cycle Strategy had not progressed since its approval in 2014, due to the stipulation of Essex Highways that cycle paths had to be of a certain width. This was at odds with the space available in the medieval infrastructure across towns and villages in Uttlesford and this arbitrary measure would need to be changed if the scheme was to move forward. He added that S106 monies had been set aside for cycle improvements which had not been spent and he was meeting with relevant parties to utilise these funds. He said he had been in talks with Stansted Airport, with particular regard paid to the Stansted Area Transport Forum, which raised monies through a parking levy that could be used to fund transport services for the District, as well as bus services for Airport staff from further afield. The issue of flyparking around the Airport was also being looked at and he would be inviting North Essex Parking Partnership to a Forum meeting. He wanted MAG to release resources and take enforcement action to tackle the problem.