Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 26/03/2009 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A0 Record of Executive Decisions
RECORD OF EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
The following is a record of the decisions taken at the meeting of
CABINET on
THURSDAY 26 MARCH 2009. These decisions will come into force and may be implemented from
7 April 2009, unless the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee or its Committees object to any such decision and call it in.
School Organisation: The Outcome of Consultations on the Proposal to Replace the Esh Winning Primary School Building with a New Build School Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of Corporate Director, Children and Young Peoples Services presenting the
outcomes of consultation on the proposal to replace the existing school building at Esh Winning with a new build school,
commenting on those responses, and seeking a decision on whether the new building should be located on the existing
school site, or in the middle of the village. The new school would have a capacity for 210 pupils aged 4 - 11 and a 39
place Local Authority maintained nursery unit. Currently, the school is split-site with a public library and community
facilities also being located on one site and the Esh Winning Eco-Learning (EWE) Centre being located on the other
site.
230 responses to the consultation have been received, including 168 from pupils of Esh Winning Primary School who completed the Pupil Response Form produced by the School Organisation and Capital Projects Team in Children and Young People’s Services.
The 168 responses received from pupils can be broken down as follows:
o 114 were in favour of a new build school:
+ 83 expressed a wish for it to be built on the existing site;
+ 20 had no preference for where it should be built;
+ 11 wished it to built on the open space in the middle of the village;
o 36 were opposed
Diane Kime the Headteacher of Esh Winning Primary School, Deborah Watson a parent governor of the school and Julie Corrigan Special Educational Needs Teacher at the school attended the meeting to express their views. Whilst supporting the provision of the new build they were strongly of the view that the school should be built on the existing site for educational, environmental and community reasons.
Councillors Wilkinson, Southwell, Hopgood, Wilkes and Simmons were supportive of this view.
Councillor Chaplow believed that there were greater benefits for the school to be located in the Centre of the village and Councillor Vasey read out a statement on behalf of Councillor Armstrong expressing a similar view.
Decision The Cabinet noted the responses to the consultation and approved the new build of the Esh Winning Primary School
and having taken into account the advantages and disadvantages of the two possible sites agreed on balance that the
new building be located in the centre of the village.
Building Schools for the Future: Completion of all Contract Documentation Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of BSF Team seeking authorisation for -
· the BSF Project Board to enter into the Council’s BSF Programme (the
Project).
· the Acting Director of Corporate Resources to enter into and execute the BSF Project agreements as set out or referred to in this report (the Project Documents
· the relevant statutory officer to enter into and execute any necessary certificates under the Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997 in relation to the Project (the Vires Certificates).
Decision The Cabinet agreed that
i. approval be given to the financial implications for the Council of entering into the Project Documents;
ii. approval be given to the award of the Project Documents for the implementation of the Project to Inspiredspaces (the Consortium);
iii. the Acting Director of Corporate Services be authorised to enter into and execute the Project Documents;
iv. the relevant statutory officer be authorised to enter into and execute the Vires Certificates;
v. approval be given to the execution of any of the Project Documents by affixing the Council’s common seal in accordance with of the Council’s Constitution and to approve that the Acting Director of Corporate Services and Corporate Director may take any necessary action and execute any further documents to complete the Project including any final amendments to the Project Documents and give effect to members’ resolutions and authorised/delegated decisions referred to in this report;
vi. that the Council participate as a shareholder in the LEP and invest 10% of the pure equity in the LEP, which at the date of this report is £1,000.
Responding to the Economic Downturn [Key Decision BSE/RED/01/09].
Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development providing an
update on how the economic downturn is affecting County Durham and a high level summary of what is being done to
mitigate the impacts and setting what else could be done in partnership.
It was recommended that a Task Force is established in order to drive forward the local response to the economic recession in a strategic, corporate manner. The Task Force will provide leadership and will be able to respond to issues quickly and pull together a co-ordinated public sector response. Specialists from different Services and partner organisations will support the work of the task force.
Decision The Cabinet agreed the suggestions outlined in this report.
Arrangements for the Delivery of Tourism Services in County Durham The Cabinet considered a Report of Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development seeking
agreement to arrangements for the delivery of tourism services in County Durham post March 2009. Two central
aspects of this are: The role of Durham County Council and the role of the County Durham Tourism Partnership (CDTP).
It was proposed that the County Council should take responsibility on the development of strategic tourism policy
together with other aspects of the Service, such as the delivery of strategic tourism investments, museums and cultural
sites.
It was further proposed that the CDTP, which is a private sector led, customer focussed organisation, is best placed to
deliver activities such as business engagement, marketing, information management and visitor experience.
It was also recognised that visitor services (i.e. Tourism Information Centres) and major county events require further work to resolve the transitional issues arising from local government reorganisation.
The proposals will have resource and staff implications, which will require a more detailed business planning exercise to identify budget savings, more enhanced value for money, greater economic impacts and the potential need for transfers/secondments.
Decision The Cabinet agreed the general direction of travel set out in the report and that -
· The CDTP be commissioned to prepare a detailed financial business plan to support proposed delivery arrangements, for future consideration and approval by Cabinet
· The Head of Economic Development and Regeneration initiate scoping work for visitor services and major county events to inform future delivery proposals.
Proposed Protocol for Section 106 Agreements [Key Decision BSE/RED/01/09] The Cabinet considered a Report of Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development about a protocol
for dealing with Agreements entered into under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act (as amended) with the
specific aims of ensuring a common approach among the proposed locality Offices and to ensure proper financial
processes are followed when dealing with such Agreements. The report also provides a recommended approach for
facilitating effective community consultation and interaction with 106 issues; and also provides a robust framework for
ensuring Elected Members of the Authority are properly engaged in decisions as to how commuted sums received
through such Agreements are recycled back into communities.
The arrangements set out in the report will provide a protocol to ensure integrated and seamless service provision
within the County Council post Vesting Day but will also provide a framework for effective community and Elected
Member engagement in matters associated with Section 106 Agreements.
Decision The Cabinet adopted the arrangements for dealing with Section 106 Agreements as set out in the report.
Part B Relocation of Catchgate Children’s Home The Cabinet considered a Report of the Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Services about the plans to
relocate Catchgate Children's Home and seeking approval for the capital costs of the project.
Decision The Cabinet agreed the recommendations in the Report.
Lesley Davies
Acting Director of Corporate Services
30 March 2009
Attachments
Exec Decs 03.26.09.pdf