Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 21^st May 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

Councillor P Standen declared an interest in Agenda item 7 and advised during this item he would leave the Chamber.

The following announcements were made:

Councillor Mayor R Kingstone

“There have been a few questions as to why we are here in this Council Chamber this evening

I am firmly of the opinion unless we start to use this building it will fall in to a state of disrepair so the only way we can encourage other people to use this building is to use it ourselves.

So for the duration of my term of office as Mayor, all future full Council meetings unless there is a situation where we have a contentious issue and a large number of members of public wish to attend, all Council meetings will be held in this building if you have any problems with that please see me after.

With that in mind I have noticed Councillor Oates wanted to comment.

Councillor J Oates

“Thank you Mr Mayor. There was an announcement I have to make and that is that Council may be aware we applied for future high street funding earlier on in the year unfortunately we were unsuccessful with this first round of funding, so we will not be in receipt of any future high street funding at this stage, however we have bid for heritage action zone funding which is a spin off, of the same support and that bid has being submitted.

Going back to future high street funding  we have received a letter from Jake Berry MP and I would just like to quote the start of the second paragraph  “we were impressed by the standard of your application so I would like to offer you bespoke feedback on your bid and your proposal will be pass ported to the second round of the funding which will begin next year” so bad news is we didn’t get it this year, however from that paragraph there I would suggest we are in a good position to get it next year and they have offered  bespoke feedback on our bid so at this point there is light at the end of the tunnel Mr Mayor”

Councillor Dr S Peaple

“Thank you Mr Mayor as many of you attended earlier I’m sure that I need to say very little, Which I’m sure will be a blessing but Debbie Bates was one of those wonderful lovely people that gave herself to so many people and down in the hub the other day the number of ordinary simple straight forward people who were writing in that book saying their memories of her and the number of people who were there today demonstrated just how much she touched the hearts of so many people.

 It meant a huge amount to Councillor Bates and it made a real tremendous positive thing on a day which can never be right, which can never be good, but for which can be made better by the fact that there are those around you who value the person that you’ve lost and therefore Mr Mayor if we do agree I  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO. 1

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor Dr S Peaple will ask the Portfolio Holder for Heritage and Growth, Councillor J Oates, the following question:-

“Does the portfolio holder share the view of his Conservative colleague that it does not matter if the Tamworth Enterprise Centre never makes a financial return?”

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

“Thank you Mr Mayor, Yes the primary purpose of the Tamworth Enterprise Centre is to incubate growth from the local economy”

Councillor Dr.S Peaple asked the following supplementary question

Thank you Mr Mayor, Can I therefore ask the portfolio holder whether he is been completely inconsistent since we were told all other investments have to meet financial criteria and yet apparently this one doesn’t.”

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

Thank you Mr Mayor that very much depends on the measure you are using against success, an economy like crops will only grow if provided with the right conditions.

The Borough Councils investment in the Tamworth Enterprise Centre is about growth of the local economy.

We are only 2 years in, we have already seen some fantastic results from the enterprise centre in fact it’s that well thought of, only last month we had officers from Solihull come to have a look to see what we are doing and to see if they can copy our success to drive their economy.

The returns are far greater than our investment and making a profit in any individual buildings.

The Council has provided market leading, high quality, easy access, small business accommodation that has set the standard for other developments

We now have 3 other entities’ of a similar nature open in our town centre.

Every current tenant has grown to the extent where they have taken on extra members of staff who are giving people an opportunity to get stared.

Over the 2 years we have run training courses , Rented meeting rooms out and held floor space for interviews etc., to have 5000 people take advantage of those courses, the meeting rooms or a place for an interview venue so yes it is a success and yes it depends on the measure .

In fact we are not just pushing our way through Tamworth we also have the GBS LEP and the growth hub based in Tamworth and when they put a course on in Tamworth they get more people than they do at any other venue. It’s a real focal point and we should be proud of this.

We are constantly trying to become financially sustainable  we are only 2 years in, we will continue to strive to do that we need to re assess our charges and we need to make wherever possible the best return to the tax payer of Tamworth. But this is not just about an investment in cash terms to the Borough Council this is about an investment to our economy and the wider benefits which help the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The report of the Leader of the Council which details Tamworth Borough Council’s Pay Policy Statement so that statutory guidance as set out in S38 of the Localism Act is adhered to

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

(Report of the Chief Executive)

Councillor P standen left the Chamber at 18.36

The report of the Chief Executive to seek Council approval to appoint a Deputy Electoral Registration Officer (DERO), with the same duties as the Electoral Registration Officer, to provide resilience and business continuity in this role

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

Councillor P Standen returned to the chamber at 18.40

(Report of the Chief Executive)

The Report of the Chief Executive to seek Council approval to appoint a Monitoring Officer in accordance with local government legislation and the Councils Constitution

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)

(The updated Outside Bodies List for 2019/2020)

(Moved by Councillor D Cook and seconded by Councillor Dr S Peaple)