The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
Minutes:
The Chair reminded members that questions for the City Mayor should be emailed to Governance Services in advance of meetings.
The Chair accepted the following questions to be asked to the City Mayor:
1. Councillor Cassidy asked the following:
The future redevelopment of Leicester’s market has received a lot of media attention in recent months. Please can the City Mayor outline the latest position in relation to the plans and confirm what will be brought to scrutiny on this matter and when?
In responding to this question, the City Mayor made the following points:
The area surrounding the site had buildings with attractive visages which ‘deserved to be seen.’He advised there was a high level of support in favour of opening up the area to other possibilities.
Cllr Porter voiced concerns of market traders feeling betrayed by the relocation plans. He asked the City Mayor if the relocation plan had always been in place & whether proposals were made and recorded. Also, he enquired whether contractors had been booked and if there was now a likelihood of legal action being taken on their behalf.
TheCity Mayor responded and stated that:
The site should return to multi-purpose use, adding that the size and visual appeal of the space had been fully appreciated upon the commencement of works.
2. Cllr Porter queried valuations of the New Walk Centre site. He stated that the council hadn’t conducted the appropriate monetary assessments prior to selling, but had spent £5 million. He asked if the City Mayor could confirm his awareness of the situation.
The City Mayor advised that property was valued and had been anticipated to have a negative valuation. It was expected that the council would face grave difficulties in selling them. The City Mayor went on to suggest that Cllr Porter raise the issue with auditors, if unsatisfied with the council’s actions. The Chair reminded Cllr Porter that he could also write to the City Mayor regarding his concern.
3. Cllr Osman referenced the Caribbean carnival cancellation and asked if the Diwali light switch on is still planned to go ahead?
In response, the City Mayor stated that it was with sadness that the Caribbean Carnival would not be held this year though felt it was reasonable to expect that it would return for 2025. In respect of the Diwali events, he advised that there were a number of stakeholder discussions taking place. The reasonable expectation is for a separate event to occur. If something had to be cancelled to allow the official Diwali day celebrations, then this could be the switch-on event. He reminded the committee of the significant expense incurred in staging the celebrations and explained that sponsorship avenues would be explored in future years.
4. Cllr Osman asked about recent housing target announcements, stating that the target for Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County’s had increased. He asked if this was likely to affect the planning & provision of green sites and the overall delivery of Leicester’s Local Plan.
The City Mayor commented that modifications to the proposed Local Plan were unlikely to be required.
5. A Youth Representative asked about libraries being under threat & referenced cuts to adventure playgrounds. The City Mayor was asked if there was some positive news and if assurances could be made that services won’t be closed down?
The City Mayor answered that local councils had lost had lost significant financial funding over the last decade. This had come at a time when looking after vulnerable young people, the elderly and people with special needs in the community has increased. and all services have been affected by this. He advised that more difficult decisions lay ahead. However, the City Mayor stated that the Council was determined to do all it could to enable services such as adventure playgrounds to continue to operate and find viable and sustainable futures for themselves and also to enable services such as museums, libraries and sports centres to remain open and to continue to provide the services that people in the city need and that are particularly important to young people.
AGREED:
That the responses to the questions raised be noted.