Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Chair of the Sub-Committee, Councillor Mitzi Green, it was

RESOLVED: That Councillor Jean Lammiman be appointed Chair for the Meeting.

To note the appointment of Councillor Mitzi Green as Chair of the Sub-Committee for the 2004/2005 Municipal Year, as agreed at the Special Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 17 May 2004.

RESOLVED: To note the appointment of Councillor Mitzi Green as Chair of the Sub-Committee for the 2004/2005 Municipal Year, as agreed at the Special Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 17 May 2004.

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             after notifying the Chair at the start of the meeting.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from all Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests from Members present in relation to the business transacted at this meeting.

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee for the 2004/2005 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED: To appoint Councillor Jean Lammiman as Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee  for the 2004/2005 Municipal Year.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded on the grounds that it is thought likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that there would be disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence or of exempt information as defined in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

RESOLVED: That (1) in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1995, the following items be admitted to the agenda by virtue of the special circumstances and reasons for urgency detailed below:

(2) all business be taken with the press and public present.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 5^th February 2003, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 5^th February 2003, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Further to Minute 15 of the Call-In Sub-Committee meeting held on 5 November 2002, the protocol, which is being operated informally, is attached for information.

RESOLVED: That the above protocol be noted.

A local protocol was agreed by Cabinet on 17 December 2002 which applies in the event of a Portfolio Holder decision being referred back by the Call-in Sub-Committee.  Further to Minute 21 of the Call-in Sub-Committee meeting on 5 February 2003, the protocol is attached for information.

RESOLVED: That the above protocol be noted.

The Sub-Committee gave consideration to the decision of the Environment and Transport Portfolio Holder dated 12 June 2004 regarding the Cedars School/Whittlesea Road 20 mph Zone, which had been referred to them under the Call-In Procedure.

The Sub-Committee received the notice invoking the Call-In Procedure, the officer report on which the Portfolio Holder’s decision had been based, the record of the Portfolio Holder’s decision, and a statement submitted by the Portfolio Holder.

It was noted that the decision had been called in on the basis that there had been inadequate consultation with stakeholders prior to the decision, by virtue of the fact that a petition signed by 66 residents of Stafford Road, presented to Council on 29^th April 2004 and standing referred to the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel, had not yet been presented to that Panel for consideration and decision. 

The petition had set out local residents’ concerns in relation to the lack of parking in Stafford Road and concerns that this situation would be exacerbated by the parking restrictions proposed under the Cedars School/Whittlesea Road scheme.

A Member representing the signatories to the notice of Call-In put the case for the Call-In of the decision. He emphasised that he supported the scheme itself but considered that the response given to the particular concerns outlined in the above petition had been inadequate.

He explained that the Head Petitioner had originally sent the petition to the Transportation Section but, after several weeks, had not received any response from that Section. He had therefore then e-mailed officers and had subsequently received an acknowledgement of receipt of the petition but no detailed response to the points the petition had raised. The Councillor advised that at this stage the Head Petitioner had contacted him and he had, in turn, contacted the Transportation Section to discuss the petition with them. He informed the Panel that he had felt that the concerns expressed in the petition had not been given due consideration and he had therefore presented the petition to the meeting of Full Council which took place on 29 April 2004. Council had, at this meeting, referred the petition to the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel, the next meeting of which had been due to take place on 22 June 2004, but which meeting had subsequently been cancelled. The Councillor reported that, as a Nominated Member of the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel, he had been consulted regarding the cancellation of the meeting and it was noted that he had objected to it.

The Councillor concluded by re-affirming his concern that a solution to the matter be progressed urgently and a way forward be presented to the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel meeting scheduled to take place in September.

The Sub-Committee then offered the Head Petitioner, who was also present, the opportunity to address the Sub-Committee. The Head Petitioner explained that he also was broadly in favour of the Cedars School/Whittlesea Road Scheme, but reiterated his concerns that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.