Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest

The minutes of the meeting on 22 February 2012 were confirmed as correct.

Assembly noted that Councillor Alasia had been appointed to the East London Solutions Members Review Group.

Assembly received this report introduced by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration.  The report focused on a revised approach to the regeneration of Beam Park, south Dagenham, an area of approximately 30 hectares of largely vacant land south of the A1306, two thirds of which was within Barking and Dagenham and the other third in the London Borough of Havering. 

The Cabinet Member advised that it had been intended that the site be for residential-led development.  However, recent interest from the market had suggested that a major leisure-led project could provide the essential catalyst to secure regeneration and deliver growth in the wider south Dagenham/ Rainham area.  With that in mind, a joint prospectus had been prepared which, although not changing or replacing current planning policy, provided an up-to-date statement of the two Councils’ aspirations for the area and described the key development objectives, an illustration of the expected planning benefits and a summary of planning and transport requirements including planning policy considerations.

In response to questions, the Cabinet Member welcomed Members' general support for the scheme.  He explained the effects of the Community Infrastructure Levy referred to at paragraph 5.4 of the report and advised that the proposed redevelopment could create up to 3,000 new jobs, thus making the area more attractive to potential developers. 

Assembly agreed to approve the Beam Park Prospectus attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

The draft Barking and Dagenham Housing Strategy document (referred to as Appendix A in the report) is available to view on the Council’s website at:

http://moderngov.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/documents/s57875/Housing%20Strategy%202012-2017%20-%20App.%20A.pdf

Assembly received and noted this report, introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing, on the Housing Strategy 2012-2017, setting out the Council's ambitions for housing in Barking and Dagenham.

Assembly agreed to approve the Barking and Dagenham Housing Strategy 2012-2017 as set out at Appendix A to the report.

Assembly received and noted this report on the draft Pay Policy Statement for the Council for 2012/13, introduced by the Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Human Resources.

It was noted that the Localism Act 2011 required all local authorities to publish an annual statement of its pay policy, covering areas such as the level and elements of remuneration for each chief officer and the relationship between the remuneration of chief officers, other officers and its “lowest paid employees”. 

The Cabinet Member advised that the Council’s previous decisions to reduce the level of Chief Executive pay and to implement the London Living Wage meant that the ratio between the highest and lowest paid employees was 1:10, which compared favourably to the Hutton Review recommendation that the ratio should not be greater than 1:20.  

The Cabinet Member referred to an amendment to figures in paragraph 5.6 of the report in that there were 9 posts at CO3 level and 3 posts at CO4 level.

Assembly agreed to approve the Pay Policy Statement for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for 2012/13 as attached at Appendix A to the report, subject to the amendment of paragraph 5.6 as set out above.

The Assembly received and noted this report on a revised Statement of Licensing Policy for the Borough, introduced by the Divisional Director for Environment (DDE).

The DDE advised that a number of changes had been made to the Council’s current policy to reflect new legislative arrangements as well as local concerns.  In this latter respect, the changes included restrictions on the hours of sale of alcohol both late at night and in the morning, the principle that alcohol licences would generally be refused for premises in the vicinity of schools, stricter requirements for the location of alcohol in off-licence premises and the active promotion of the existing Responsible Retailer scheme.

In response to Members' questions, the DDE advised that:

v  the policy was a requirement of the Licensing Act 2003;

v  activities covered by the policy were set out in Part A of Appendix 1 to the report but did not cover the sale of adult books;

v  he would provide Members with the number of applications that had been refused or revoked in the last year;

v  any licensing concerns that Members might have should be addressed to him rather than Licensing Board Members so as to avoid the perception of pre-determination;

v  concerns as to drug use in licensed premises would be a police matter;

v  the policy would be effective when approved by the Assembly.

The DDE also explained the methodology for calculating the maximum 30% of retail space allowed in off-licences for the sale of alcohol.

The Cabinet Member for Crime, Justice and Communities commended the policy to the Assembly and thanked officers and stakeholders for their hard work in the consultation and preparation of it.

Assembly agreed to adopt the Statement of Licensing Policy 2012-2015 as attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

Assembly received and noted this report presented by the Deputy Monitoring Officer, seeking an extension to the term of two Independent Members of the Standards Committee.

Assembly agreed:

1.  to waive paragraph 11.5 of Article 7 of the Council Constitution; and

2.  to an extension to the terms of office of Mr Kevin Madden and Mr Delbert Sandiford, Independent Members of the Standards Committee to 30 June 2012 or until such time as the Standards regime was implemented.

None.

None.

None received.

None.

Following a report from the Leader of the Council, the Assembly passed best wishes and good luck to Dagenham Rugby Club ahead of their next league game, which if they won would secure their promotion.

(* The Chair agreed that this item could be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency under the provisions of Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.)

The meeting closed at 7.40 pm.