Agenda item

The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Members of the Committee were invited to raise questions for the City Mayor:

Rutland Street / Granby Street Junction

Councillor Newcombe said that he had expressed concerns at the previous meeting of the Committee about road safety at the Rutland Street / Granby Street junction.  He asked for an update on the issue.

The City Mayor responded that some Give Way markings had been put on the street which appeared to be effective. The initial response was therefore positive, but the situation would be kept under review and further signage would be added if necessary.

Sports Services Review

Councillor Newcombe stated that he had previously asked for updates on the review of the Sports Services and he questioned the current position. The City Mayor said that the review was underway and officers were looking at the underlying costs and usage figures of the sports centres. The City Mayor hoped that the findings of the review would be published within the next few months.

Leicester Market

Councillor Newcombe asked how the market development was progressing and what action was being taken to address the issue of empty stalls in the market.

The City Mayor responded that there were arrangements in place to enable discussions with market traders about future developments. He suggested that the Chairs of the appropriate Scrutiny Commissions might wish to meet with him and the Assistant Mayors to discuss the market proposals.   Councillor Newcombe asked to be kept informed on the market developments.

Councillor Khote, Chair of the Economic Development, Transport and Tourism Scrutiny Commission said that in respect of the number of empty market stalls, a recommendation had been made for stalls to be rented out on a daily basis.

Admission Policy at Beauchamp College

Councillor Grant said that he had earlier that day written to the Secretary of State at the Department of Education about the admissions process at Beauchamp College. He understood that they were breaking the national admissions code by requesting parents to provide certain information and operating selectively. Children from Leicester schools attended Beauchamp College and he requested that officers in Children’s Services inform parents of the situation. Councillor Grant added that the Lionheart Trust, of which Beauchamp College was a part, was looking to operate in Leicester City.

The City Mayor said he was grateful to Councillor Grant for the information. He needed to make some enquiries to look into this further, but would be very concerned if this was happening. He was aware that the Lionheart Trust was looking to expand its operation in the City and there was a need for a good understanding of their intentions and how they managed their admissions procedure. He would ask officers to look into this and feedback to Councillor Grant.

Knighton Library

Councillor Grant asked the City Mayor if he could allay residents’ concerns about the future of Knighton Library. He had been contacted by residents who had received information from Councillors in the Castle Ward advising that the library was under the threat of closure.

The City Mayor stated that the Transforming Neighbourhood Services Review was looking at all buildings across the City where the Council operated, but he knew of no proposals to close the Knighton Library.

Feedback from the Ward Walk around Knighton

Councillor Grant asked the City Mayor if he could provide an update on the Knighton Ward walk he participated in last year, as no feedback had been received.

The City Mayor expressed some disappointment at this but said that a number of issues had emerged from the walk and actions may have already been taken. He would look into this and ensure that Councillor Grant received a progress report.

Councillor Dr Moore commented that she understood that two of the issues raised at the time were being put into action. These related to traffic lights on Chapel Lane and also schemes to help pedestrians cross the Welford Road.

Council loans to businesses and organisations

Councillor Porter stated that proposals had been announced for the Council to lend money to businesses and organisations and asked for details of how much had been lent and repaid.

The City Mayor said that information was in the public domain. The Council were obliged to set aside money to repay its capital debt and were penalised for repaying this early. It was therefore more productive to use cash balances in ways that would benefit the economy rather than earn a low rate of interest in a bank account. There was an item relating to this on that evening’s agenda. Councillor Porter expressed concerns that a business or organisation receiving a loan at a preferential rate would have an unfair advantage over others.

Haymarket Theatre

Councillor Porter asked the City Mayor how the £3.5m spend on the old Haymarket Theatre could be justified.   The City Mayor responded that the justification for this was set out in the report on Investment Opportunities in the agenda. He added that when he became City Mayor he inherited a building which was a very considerable liability and continued to cost the Council significant sums of money. However it had the potential to become a significant asset for the City instead of a liability, and one which would complement the Curve Theatre. However investment was needed in the Haymarket Theatre in order to make long term revenue savings.

Councillor Porter asked the City Mayor if he knew of any other similar facilities in the country that had demonstrated that they were assets rather than liabilities. The City Mayor responded that such arts and cultural facilities brought people into the city and money into the economy and for example, there were public supported artistic facilities in Derby, Nottingham, Coventry and Birmingham that operated as major assets within the community they served.

Housing Repair Service

Councillor Cutkelvin expressed concerns that she had received an increase in the number of complaints since the Housing Repair Service had moved from individual areas around the City to a central office on Blackbird Road. She believed that the level of service had deteriorated since the move and she asked the City Mayor to look into this.

The City Mayor responded that the purpose of centralising the service was to make it more efficient and he would raise this issue with the Director of Housing and the Assistant Mayor for Housing.  Councillor Newcombe, Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Commission added that the Commission were aware of those issues and were looking into them.

Planning and Development Control Meetings

Councillor Dempster questioned whether the City Mayor could look at how agendas at Planning and Development Control meetings could be managed differently. The meeting held the previous night, which she had attended to represent a constituent, had lasted five hours.  Councillor Dempster had heard that it was not that uncommon for meetings to last that long and she expressed concerns that it might be difficult for Members to concentrate for that length of time. She added that shorter meetings would lead to better decision making.  Councillor Dempster also asked the City Mayor if there could be a drinks machine, as there were members of the public present who had not had an opportunity to get a hot drink although they would have been happy to pay.

The City Mayor agreed that it could be difficult to concentrate during meetings of that length. A suggestion might be to split the agenda and arrange a special meeting or defer some of the applications. The City Mayor added that he thought it would be possible to provide refreshments in a cost effective way by providing flasks of hot water with sachets of tea, coffee and some milk, particularly where members of the public and elected Members were likely to be there for some hours. Discussions were taking place in relation to a similar request for refreshments at Appeal Hearings and he would raise this issue as well as part of those discussions.

Councillor Dempster expressed concerns that at Planning and Development Control Committee meetings, Members were restricted in the decision making process by central government legislation.

The City Mayor responded that Government Planning Policy Guidance had made a lot of development difficult to refuse, but where appropriate the Committee could go against officer recommendation where there were valid planning reasons to do so. The Committee should be helped by officers to formulate those planning grounds.