Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Will Fletcher.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has

consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B)

4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business to consider.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable

Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the

Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a) any business on the agenda

b) any urgent additional items to be considered

c) any matters arising out of those items and if appropriate, withdraw

from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 3^rd October 2023.

Moved by Councillor Tom Kirkham and seconded by Councillor Duncan Haywood

RESOLVED that the Minutes of a Local Growth Scrutiny Committee held on 3rd October 2023 be approved as a correct record.

(Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List of Key Decisions for any further information).  NB: If Members wish to discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the meeting only.

The Monitoring Officer went through the items on the List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private document.

Committee’s consideration was sought for the Council’s proposed new Council Ambition 2024-2028.

Under the current Council Ambition (2020-2024): there were three aims; Customers, Economy, and Environment. These three aims would carry forward on to the proposed new Council Ambition 2024-2028, with a fourth and a fifth aim being added;

·       (4) Housing - by delivering social and private sector housing growth.

·       (5) Bolsover, Our Future.

The Information, Engagement and Performance Manager took Committee through the actions which would help deliver the priorities under the aims. Members provided feedback and raised questions to which officers provided a response.

The Director - Economic Development, explained that the objective of the new fifth ambition, Bolsover, Our Future, was to align the Council’s priorities with what would be coming forward from the East Midlands County Combined Authority (EMCCA). Five themes would be worked to under the fifth aim; transport, land and housing, net zero, business innovation, employment, and skills.

The Information, Engagement and Performance Manager advised Members that the new Council Ambition would be considered by the other three themed Scrutiny Committees and feedback provided to Senior Leadership Team for review. A report would then be presented to the Executive, with a final report to Council for adoption of the new Ambition 2024-2028.

A Member questioned how much change their was between the Council’s current plan and the new ambition. The Information, Engagement and Performance Manager advised that in the last four years a significant amount of work had been undertaken by the Council and this was reflected in the change of ambitions. The Strategic Director of Resources added that statutory duties and best practice had also changed over the last 4 years.

A Member queried the District’s current recycling rate. The Strategic Director of

Services advised that current levels were between 40-41%. Members were also

encouraged to promote recycling within their areas wherever possible. The Monitoring Officer added that the Customer Services Scrutiny Committee was currently undertaking a review on communication in relation to recycling and would be looking for a promotion to go out in the new year of what could and could not be recycled.

It was also noted that when the Waste Management team had attended the Langwith Show in the summer, people had engaged well with the team and the displays used.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Jeannie Raspin

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Director of Property and Construction, Dragonfly Development Ltd, provided Members with an update on the work that had been completed by Dragonfly and the ongoing projects as detailed in the report.

The Chief Executive advised that the Dragonfly Development Shareholder Board had been working on the Service Level Agreements which would be looked at in more detail in the next item. The Risk Management Group had also looked at the Strategic Risks in relation to Dragonfly.

A Member queried the difference in figures for the new Shirebrook Crematorium from what had previously been reported. The Director of Property and Construction, Dragonfly Development Ltd advised that costs of furniture and the cremator may have increased but would update further at a future meeting. The Monitoring Officer would also check what had previously been approved at Council.

Moved by Councillor Jane Yates and seconded by Councillor Duncan Haywood

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

The Strategic Director of Services left the meeting.

The Chief Executive presented Members with details of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Bolsover District Council and Dragonfly Developments Ltd.

The draft SLA was attached as appendix 1 to the report. A separate SLA was being produced setting out the support services that the Council would provide to Dragonfly. These included Legal Services, HR and Payroll, ICT, Procurement and Finance. Once this was finalised a report would be brought to the Committee for information.

The Chief Executive went through the SLA in detail and highlighted key areas of interest for the Committee. It was hoped that the SLA would be finalised and ready to go to the January Executive meeting for approval.

The Portfolio Holder for Growth noted that Dragonfly was an excellent opportunity for the Council and moving forward there may be potential to work with other local authorities.

A Member raised concern over the Governance Structures of Dragonfly Development Ltd and who would have the final say.

A further concern was raised regarding working with partnerships and agencies and further detail was needed on what happened with funding moving forward.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Jane Yates

RESOLVED that the contents of the Service Level Agreement be noted.

The Information, Engagement and Performance Manager and the Director of Property and Construction, Dragonfly Development Ltd left the meeting.

In 2022/23, prior to the local elections, the Committee undertook a review of the

Bolsover District Regeneration Framework. The review looked at the four main

settlements within the District namely Bolsover, Clowne, Shirebrook and South

Normanton, and how these areas could be improved through regeneration.

With the emerging East Midlands County Combined Authority (EMCCA), the Council was reviewing and aligning it’s priorities to ensure that it could maximise on all potential opportunities.

It was clear from the review that the Regeneration Framework no longer helped the Council compete for funding and also no longer accurately reflected the needs of the District.

It was suggested that the Regeneration Frameworks were not updated but used as background information to the Council’s ongoing work on the development of a place based narrative. Where appropriate this information would support the preparation of the Council’s Investment Plan that was intended to shape, influence, and deliver future economic development and regeneration within the District.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Jane Yates

RESOLVED that:

(1) the Regeneration Frameworks are not updated but are superseded by the Council’s ongoing work to develop a place-based narrative and investment plan as an appropriate mechanism to shape, influence and deliver future economic development and regeneration in the District; and;

(2) the Committee receive further reports on the development of these pieces of work in due course.

As part of the Local Growth Scrutiny Committee 2021/22 work programme, the

Committee agreed to undertake a Review of Integration of Social Value to BDC Policy and Delivery.

The Committee had put together six recommendations which would assist the Council in embedding social value in to the wider policy structures and operational delivery of services. To date 3 out of 6 recommendations had been achieved and 3 were overdue. The overdue recommendations were all actions that would be achieved upon formal approval of the Social Value Policy which was currently being prepared by the Partnership Team. It was intended that a draft Social Value policy would be brought to the Committee at its meeting on 12th February 2024, with a view to it receiving final approval by Executive on 4th March 2024.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Jeannie Raspin

RESOLVED that the progress against the review recommendations be noted.

The Chief Executive, Director of Economic Development, Dragonfly Development Limited and Councillor John Ritchie left the meeting at this point.

Committee considered their proposed work programme for 2023/24. It was noted that a new Scrutiny Officer had been appointed and would be starting in post in January 2024.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Tom Kirkham

RESOLVED that the Work Programme 2023/24 be noted.

The meeting closed at 11:51 hours.