Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Dave, Joel and Surti. 

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to disclose any pecuniary or other interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest. 

The Chair wished all present a very happy new year. 

The Monitoring Officer submits a report informing the Committee that the Executive Decision taken by the City Mayor on 7 December 2023 relating to the creation of a new link and development site at Market Place North has been the subject of a six-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D, City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee is recommended to either

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn (If the committee wish for there to be no further action on the call-in, then they must actively withdraw it. If withdrawal is agreed the call-in process stops, the call-in will not be considered at a future meeting of Full Council and the original decision takes immediate affect without amendment).

A report was submitted informing the Committee that the Executive decision taken by the City Mayor on 7 December 2023 relating to the creation of a new link and development site at Market Place North had been the subject of a six-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D, City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, of the Council’s Constitution.

The Chair clearly outlined the process that he would follow in determining how to resolve the call-in.  The Commission was recommended to either:

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in would be considered at Full Council); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in would be considered at Full Council) or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn

The Chair invited the proposer and seconder of the call-in, Councillor Kitterick and Councillor Bajaj to address the committee.  The following points were raised:

• The proposal marked a huge investment into the city centre, and this was not a priority given the spending constraints that councils faced.
• Considerable spend had been injected into the city centre over recent years.
• The areas away from the city centre were not being adequately supported.
• The funding earmarked for this work should instead be spent on children’s play or youth provision. 

The Chair invited the City Mayor and relevant lead Directors to respond to the call-in.  The following points were put forward:

·         Developing the City Centre was vital in attracting significant sums of capital investment and helped to ensure a very high level of shopping unit occupancy. 

·         This work presented a continuation of the ‘Connecting Leicester’ programme, and there had been strong public support behind previous schemes.

·         There had not been a disproportionate level of spend towards the city centre, with approximately 90% of capital expenditure benefiting Leicester’s neighbourhoods. 

·         The Director, Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment, described the detail and benefits of the scheme via a series of presentation slides. 

·         The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services provided a presentation that showcased the level of investment and progress in providing play equipment across the city. 

Members of the Commission discussed the report which highlighted the following points:

• There were a number of ways in which the surrounding retail area could be developed.  A ‘box park’ approach was a potential solution and had been increasingly popular in other cities, but that but other options would also be considered. 
• A ‘box park’ approach or alternative solution would be subject to commercial investment.
• There was further re-iteration that the City Council invested significantly in both the city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods.
• This scheme and other strands of the Connecting Leicester programme provide a significant number of job opportunities. 
• Previous schemes such as the development of the former Apple Street Car Park into Jubilee Square as well as the demolition of the former Fish Market had hugely transformed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Monitoring Officer submits a report informing the Committee that the Executive Decision taken by the City Mayor on 21 December 2023 relating to therelease of £1.6m from the policy provision in Highways & Infrastructure to the Connecting Leicester capital programme for the delivery of the final phase of the St Martins street improvement schemehas been the subject of a five member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D, City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee is recommended to either

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn (If the committee wish for there to be no further action on the call-in, then they must actively withdraw it. If withdrawal is agreed the call-in process stops, the call-in will not be considered at a future meeting of Full Council and the original decision takes immediate affect without amendment).

A report was submitted informing the Committee that the Executive decision taken by the City Mayor on 21 December 2023 relating to the release of £1.6m from the policy provision in Highways & Infrastructure to the Connecting Leicester capital programme for the delivery of the final phase of the St Martins street improvement scheme had been the subject of a six-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D, City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, of the Council’s Constitution.

The Chair again clearly outlined the process that he would follow in determining how to resolve the call-in.  The Commission was recommended to either:

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in would be considered at Full Council); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in would be considered at Full Council) or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn

The Chair invited the proposer and seconder of the call-in, Councillor Bajaj and Councillor Porter to address the committee.  The following points were raised:

• The proposal and level of investment did not represent the priorities of the people of the city.
• Given recent events, increased funding was required for flood prevention measures and the money earmarked for this scheme should be diverted to deal with flood prevention.
• The funding could also be diverted to increase the level of investment into road resurfacing across the city.  
• The scheme was described as a ‘vanity project’ that provided little public benefit. 

The Chair invited the City Mayor and the Director of Planning, Development and Transportation to respond to the call-in.  The following points were put forward:

. 

·         This scheme represented a further continuation of the Connecting Leicester programme, and the completion of previous strands of the programme had led to significant investment into the city centre.

·         This scheme would provide a significant number of job opportunities.

·         The scheme would greatly improve accessibility within an area of the city centre that experienced a high level of footfall. 

·         Once the work had been undertaken, this scheme would complete Leicester’s pedestrian zone, providing safe cycling and walking links.

·         National figures indicated that every £1 invested in city centres by local authorities was likely to return £13 in private sector investment.

·         City Centre businesses had been very supportive of this proposal. 

·         The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation further described the detail and benefits of the scheme via a series of presentation slides. 

Councillor Cassidy moved that, following the points raised during the meeting, the call-in be withdrawn. This was seconded by Cllr March.

It was agreed that a recorded vote be carried out.  Councillors Cassidy, Dawood, March, Waddington and Whittle voted in favour of the motion.  Councillors Bajaj and Porter voted against the motion. 

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

That the call-in be withdrawn and that the Committee supports the implementation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Director of Housing submits a report to set out the business case to increase the number of council-owned properties by 225 to aid tackling temporary accommodation budget pressures in the Council’s General fund, and to lease 125 permanent homes, and highlight operational changes to the current enhanced Rough Sleeper offer, ensuring people continue to get help and support to get off the street.

The Committee is recommended to comment on the proposals in the report before it is considered at the meeting of Council.

The Director of Housing submitted a report that set out positive actions and steps that were proposed to be taken to support families and people facing homelessness in Leicester which helped address very challenging homelessness pressures.

The Director of Housing initially introduced the report and explained that a revised version of the report had been provided to members in advance of the meeting.  This version would be submitted to a Special Meeting of Full Council on 18 January, when a decision on the matter would be taken.  He explained that the main alteration to the report was to remove an amendment to the enhanced rough sleeper element of provision and that this was no longer being proposed. 

The Director of Housing made the following comments as part of an introduction:

-       The national growth in homelessness was well known and was being experienced significantly in Leicester with 337 families in Temporary and B&B accommodation.

-       The use of bed and breakfast provision to house people was extremely expensive, with anticipated costs to the local authority to rise by a further £7million by the end of 23/24.

-       Demand for permanent homes could not be met even with the Council’s own delivery of 1,100 homes, current delivery of 1,500 homes over 23-27, access to LCC properties and though increased access to registered providers stock & PRS stock (linked to the PRS landlord offer) had enabled access to an additional 1,400 homes.

-       Furthermore, as a result of Government speeding up asylum decisions (SAP), there was a growing number of people and families (1,000) approaching Leicester City Council adding further pressures to Homelessness services and this had a significant and direct impact in Leicester.  As there was no permanent accommodation to offer, those affected would ordinarily be placed in bed and breakfast provision or temporary accommodation.  It was stressed that there was no direct financial support from central government to support with this. 

-       There was huge pressure on Homelessness Services, with a 20% increase in the number of people presenting themselves as homeless.

-       Tackling the current demand on the homelessness service coupled with the impact of the Streamlined Asylum Process (SAP) equated to up to an additional £50 million of pressure on City Council finances over the next two years. 

-       This proposal aimed to manage and mitigate the current circumstances and would result in an investment of £45m and would involve:

a)    The lease of 125 units of accommodation at an estimated annual net cost of £0.3m;

b)    The acquisition of up to 225 units of accommodation at an estimated capital cost of £45m and annual revenue cost of £1m in 2024/25 (and £2m per year thereafter).

c)    The addition of £45m to the Council’s capital programme, to be financed from Prudential Borrowing.

-     The proposed additional accommodation would comprise self-contained units and flats, each with their own cooking facilities; a significantly improved situation over the use of bed and breakfast provision.

-     The current enhanced rough sleeper  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There were no other items of urgent business.