Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Will Fletcher, Clive Moesby, Duncan McGregor, Catherine Tite, Sally Renshaw and Rita Turner.

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 matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

The Monitoring Officer reminded Members that they were likely to have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in relation to the Level of Council Tax item as follows:

·       Any Councillor who was a resident of the District would need to declare an interest however there was an automatic dispensation to remain in the meeting and to speak and vote on the item.

·       Members in arrears of Council Tax of more than 2 months must not vote on a decision which might affect budget calculations and they must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applied to them. 

A failure to comply with these requirements was a criminal offence under Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

The Monitoring Officer requested that Members indicated by a show of hands whether they were a resident of the District and all of those present bar Councillor Chris Kane indicated that was the case. As previously advised the automatic dispensation applied.

Councillor Chris Kane indicated that he was not a resident of the District and therefore was not required to declare an interest in this item.

No Members indicated that they were 2 months or more in arrears with council tax which would preclude them from voting on the Level of Council Tax item.

Prior to the commencement of the next agenda item the Chair advised members that the minutes of the previous meeting would be considered before Chair’s announcements.

To approve the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 29^th January 2025.

Moved by Councillor John Ritchieand seconded by Councillor Phil Smith

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of Council held on 29^th January 2025

          be approved as a true and correct record.

To receive any announcements that the Chair of the Council may desire to lay before the meeting.

The Chair, Councillor Tom Munro made his announcements as follows:

Councillor Tom Munro confirmed that he had been advised by the Monitoring Officer that there had been a complaint received following the Council meeting in January relating to some comments made twice by him during the meeting.  Councillor Tom Munro confirmed that he had been provided with a transcript of his words which were as follows:

“thank you very much Councillor Moesby for your very detailed report can I assure all officers, elected members or members of the public that there won’t be an examination at the end of the meeting to see if you remember all those figures. No doubt social media will be buzzing already as I have observed members of the public busily working away on their mobile phones but whatever suits your fancy so be it.”

Later in the January meeting the Chair stated:

“thank you very much indeed and finally I do not withdraw my comments earlier about social media we’ve all seen the vast amount of information not necessarily all of it accurate information that has been bandied about on social media locally and it is my hope that moving forward these social media platforms will reflect the truth of the situation across all of our councils both town councils, parish councils and this district council. And with that I thank you all for your attendance, your contributions and wish you a very pleasant rest of the day.”

The Chair added that he was surprised that his remarks had been considered to be condescending by the correspondent and expressed his regret that this interpretation had been made.

Councillor Tom Munro confirmed that following the election of a new Leader he had accepted the offer of a new role as a Portfolio Holder. It was with regret that he would be resigning as Chair of Bolsover District Council after 8 years. He announced that during that time he had raised in excess of £20,000 for a wide variety of charities including: Sight Support Derbyshire, SSAFA,  Ashgate Hospice, the Army Benevolent Fund, Freedom Community Project, the Royal British Legion and this year the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Trust.

A cheque for the sum of £3,500 was presented to the Director of Finance at the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Trust.

Councillor Tom Munro expressed this thanks to the Vice Chair Councillor Rita Turner for her loyalty and support, his wife and the Governance team for supporting and organising events. In addition, thanks to Councillors Steve Fritchley and Duncan McGregor for their support over the years. Thank you to elected Members and officers as well and formally resigned as Chair.

Councillor Jane Yates expressed the appreciation of Council for the work carried out by Councillor Tom Munro.  Councillor Tom Munro and Mrs Munro were then presented with flowers and a gift.

To elect a Chair for Council for the remainder of the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

The Chief Executive sought nominations for the position of Chair of the Council for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Moved by Councillor John Ritchie and seconded by Councillor Jeanne Raspin

RESOLVED that Councillor Duncan Haywood be appointed as Chair of the

          Council for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8, to allow members of the public to ask questions about the Council’s activities.  The following submissions were received:

a)    Question submitted by Mr R Dell to the Portfolio Holder for Growth

b)    Question submitted by Mrs D Dell to the Portfolio Holder for Growth

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8, members of the public were able to put questions about the Council’s activities. The following questions were submitted by Mr and Mrs Dell and in their absence Mr Webb ‘put’ the questions to Councillor Tom Munro, the Portfolio Holder for Growth.

(a)      Question submitted by Mr Dell to Councillor Tom Munro, Portfolio Holder for Growth

          “Recently Council publicity advised the public that finally the Council had secured £15 million. Would you please advise on what date the Memorandum of Understanding was signed and by whom?”

          Councillor Tom Munro responded to the question as follows:

          “Thank you for your question. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Section 151 Officer on the 25^th of February 2025.”

          In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.8 Mr Webb put the following supplementary question on behalf of Mr Dell:

          “Everyone welcomes the collective efforts of Council officers and the previous and current MP and the many Councillors who secured the £15m. Mindful of the fragile balance sheets reflected in the soon to be published 31^st March 2024 accounts for both Dragonfly companies, Dragonfly’s request at May’s upcoming full Council for additional funds for the crematorium and presumably their funding request or approval to complete the purchase of the £4 million listed Arromax land in Langwith the capital intensive nature of building development is evident, timescales slip and clearly so do budgets. Where Creswell have 50 years of multi-generational debt due to the rising cost of cement; to quote Councillor McGregor, officers will have been aware of the cost of cement 10 days ago when the MOU was signed. Therefore, construction materials, inflation, employers NI costs etc on the agreed projects are all known, and I am sure are factored into Dragonfly’s costings for each project. Can the Council therefore confirm that no parish or town council or in the case of Pinxton, Church Diocese will be required to secure funding to bridge any budget changes or slippage in any of the projects that the £15 million has been secured for?

          Councillor Tom Munro responded to the question as follows:

“Thank you on behalf of myself to Mr Dell’s supplementary question a written response to the question will be forthcoming, if you can ensure we have a written copy of the question handed to one of our senior officers. Thank you very much indeed.”

(b)            Question submitted by Mrs Dell and put by Mr Webb to Councillor Tom Munro, Portfolio Holder for Growth

“Can the Council please list all economic development and/or regeneration projects that are planned for Clowne and/or Barlborough?”

          Councillor Tom Munro responded to the question as follows:

“Thank you very much for your question, I have a great long list I will read them out as it is important that all members of the public hear it.  Mrs Dell will receive a written copy of this list. So bear with me it is quite a long list. The list includes projects which  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL80-24/25

Councillor Jane Yates, Leader of the Council, confirmed the appointments to the Executive and respective portfolios for the 2024/25 Municipal Year as follows:

Council considered a report in relation to the nominations for Members to serve on committees and advisory groups for the 2024/25 Municipal Year. The report was presented by the Monitoring Officer who advised Members that the recent changes to the Executive necessitated changes to the membership on some of the committees as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

In response to a question the Monitoring Officer confirmed that discussion had taken place about the membership and attendance of Councillor Tom Kirkham at the Local Growth Scrutiny Committee. As he was now Junior Cabinet Member for Growth he would be replaced on the committee at Annual Council. 

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Tom Munro RESOLVED that the changes and appointments to Committees and Advisory

          Groups as set out below be agreed.

Committees

Finance & Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee (8)

Councillors David Bennett, Rowan Clarke, Steve Fritchley, Justin Gilbody,

Chris Kane, Lucy King, Duncan McGregor and Janet Tait

Local Growth Scrutiny Committees (7)

Councillors Will Fletcher, Duncan Haywood, Tom Kirkham, Jeanne Raspin, Sally Renshaw, Ross Walker and Jen Wilson

Customer Services Scrutiny Committee (8)

Councillors Anne Clarke, Amanda Davis, Louise Fox, Sandra Peake,

Lisa Powell, Rita Turner, Vicky Wapplington and Deborah Watson

Climate Change and Communities Scrutiny Committee (7)

Councillors Mark Hinman, Cathy Jeffery, Emma Stevenson, Ashley Taylor, Catherine Tite, Carol Wood and one vacancy.

Employee Appeals Committee (3)

Councillors Steve Fritchley, Duncan McGregor and Rita Turner

Deputies: Councillors (1) Jane Yates, (2) Rowan Clarke and (3) Janet Tait

Employment and Personnel Committee (5)

Councillors Mary Dooley, Duncan McGregor, Tom Munro, Sandra Peake and Deborah Watson

General Licensing Committee (10)

Councillors David Bennett, Anne Clarke, Amanda Davis, Mary Dooley, Will Fletcher, Lisa Powell, Jeanne Raspin, Emma Stevenson, Ashley Taylor and Rita Turner

Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee (10)

Councillors David Bennett, Anne Clarke, Amanda Davis, Mary Dooley, Will Fletcher, Lisa Powell, Jeanne Raspin, Emma Stevenson, Ashley Taylor and Rita Turner

Planning Committee (10)

Councillors Rob Hiney-Saunders, Chris Kane, Duncan McGregor, Tom Munro, John Ritchie, Phil Smith, Janet Tait, Deborah Watson, Jen Wilson and Carol Wood

Safety Committee (5)

Councillors Amanda Davis, Justin Gilbody, Tom Munro, Jeanne Raspin and Jane Yates

Audit Committee (6 plus 2 co-opted Members)

Councillors Cathy Jeffery, Chris Kane, Tom Munro, Lisa Powell,

Catherine Tite and Carol Wood

Standards Committee (6 plus 1 co-opted Member)

Councillors Anne Clarke, Louise Fox, Justin Gilbody, Duncan Haywood,

Tom Kirkham and Jane Yates

Union/Employee Consultation Committee (6)

Councillors Rowan Clarke, Mary Dooley, Duncan Haywood, Sandra Peake, Ross Walker and Victoria Wapplington

Joint Committees

ICT Shared Services Committee (3)

Councillors David Bennett, Steve Fritchley and Clive Moesby

Shared Services Scrutiny Committee (3)

Councillor Will Fletcher and two vacancies

Advisory Groups

Pleasley Park and Vale Conservation Area Joint Advisory Group (5)

Councillors Chris Kane, Tom Munro, John Ritchie, Janet Tait and

Catherine Tite

Local Plan Implementation Advisory Group (10)

Councillors Rob Hiney-Saunders, Chris Kane, Duncan McGregor, Tom Munro, John Ritchie, Phil Smith, Janet Tait, Deborah Watson, Jen Wilson and

Carol Wood  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL82-24/25

Council considered a report which included nominations for Chairs and Vice-Chairs to established committees.  The Monitoring Officer presented the report and confirmed that the changes in the membership of the Executive had necessitated making changes to the appointments of Chairs and Vice-Chairs as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Steve Fritchley RESOLVED that the following appointments to Chairs and

          Vice-Chairs be agreed:

Audit Committee

Chair – Councillor Tom Munro

Vice-Chair – Independent Appointed Person

Climate Change and Communities Scrutiny Committee

Chair – Councillor Ashley Taylor

Vice-Chair – Councillor Catherine Tite

Customer Services Scrutiny Committee

Chair – Councillor Vicky Wapplington

Vice-Chair – Councillor Rita Turner

Local Growth Scrutiny Committee

Chair – Councillor Sally Renshaw

Vice-Chair – Councillor Jen Wilson

Employment and Personnel Committee

Chair – Councillor Duncan McGregor

Vice-Chair – Councillor Deborah Watson

Finance & Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee

Chair – Councillor David Bennett

Vice-Chair – Councillor Rowan Clarke

Licensing Committee(s)

Chair – Councillor Emma Stevenson

Vice-Chair – Councillor Amanda Davis

Planning Committee

Chair – Councillor Tom Munro

Vice-Chair – Councillor Chris Kane

Safety Committee

Chair – Councillor Jane Yates

Vice-Chair – Chris McKinney (officer)

Standards Committee

Chair – Mrs Jean Ruth Jaffray

Vice-Chair – Councillor Jane Yates

Union / Employee Consultation Committee

Chair – Liz Robinson (officer)

Vice-Chair – Councillor Mary Dooley

Member Development Working Group

Chair – Councillor Sandra Peake

Vice-Chair – Cathy Jeffery

Local Plan Implementation Advisory Group

Chair – Councillor Tom Munro

Vice-Chair – Councillor Chris Kane

Council considered a report proposing the reduction of the number of Standards Committee meetings from six to four per annum. The Monitoring Officer presented the report and informed members that this had been previously considered and recommended by the Standards Committee at its meeting held on 27^th January 2025.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders RESOLVED the reduction of the number of meetings of the

          Standards Committee from six to four per annum be approved.

Council considered a detailed report presented by the Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, which set out the proposed level of Council Tax for 2025/26. Members were reminded that the Bolsover District share of the council tax was agreed at the January 2025 meeting at the maximum allowed for a Band D property. This report included the increases for the remaining precepts for the Council tax as detailed in the report.

The Localism Act 2011 required the billing authority to calculate a Council Tax requirement for the year. The approved demand on the Collection Fund for the Council should be £4,882,554. The Council had received all parish precept demands which totalled £5,196,507.48 so the total demand on the Collection Fund 2025/26 would be £10,079,061.48. 

In order to calculate the Council Tax requirement for the area at the relevant bands, the demands of the County Council, Police Authority, Fire Authority, and Parish Councils also needed to be taken into account. The Council had received all the relevant precept demands from these other local authorities that precept upon the Council as the billing authority for Council Tax.

Councillor Carol Wood suggested that the increase in council tax should be frozen for the remainder of the life of the Council due to upcoming local government reorganisation and the cost of living crisis. This was supported by Councillor Justin Gilbody.

The Chair reminded Members that a recorded vote would need to be taken on this item as required by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

Moved by Councillor Duncan Haywood and seconded by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders

RESOLVED that (1) the Council Tax for the Financial Year 2025/26 as set out

          in the report be approved;

          (2) the officers as set out in section 1.6 of the report be approved to undertake duties in accordance with section 223 of the Local Government Act 1972, and the Chief Financial Officer be delegated the authority to authorise any amendments to the list of named officers that may prove necessary during the course of the financial year; and

(3) the Director of Finance & Section 151 Officer be delegated the authority to recalculate the figures within the report if the Fire Authority approve different figures than those provisionally received.

For the motion (24):

Councillors David Bennett, Anne Clarke, Rowan Clarke, Amanda Davis, Mary Dooley, Steve Fritchley, Donna Hales, Duncan Haywood, Rob Hiney-Saunders, Cathy Jeffery, Chris Kane, Lucy King, Tom Kirkham, Tom Munro, Sandra Peake, Jeanne Raspin, John Ritchie, Phil Smith, Emma Stevenson, Janet Tait, Ashley Taylor, Vicki Wapplington, Jen Wilson and Jane Yates.

Against the motion (3):

Councillors Louise Fox, Justin Gilbody and Carol Wood.

Abstentions: (0)

Council considered a detailed report relating to the Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26 presented by the HR and Payroll Manager which sought approval for the Council’s Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26. This was a requirement of Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011 and Supplementary Guidance 2013.

The Pay Policy Statement had to be approved by Council on an annual basis and reflected the current position based on decisions previously taken by Council.

Under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 additional organisational information was required to be published annually on the website. This consisted of third tier organisation charts, senior salaries information, including functional responsibilities, budget amounts and numbers of staff responsible for, together with details of trade union facility time.

Moved by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders and seconded by Councillor Steve Fritchley RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement 2025/26 be approved.

Council considered a report which sought approval for the calendar of meetings for the 2025/26 municipal year presented by the Monitoring Officer.

Each year the Council considered a calendar of its meetings for the forthcoming municipal year. This was to ensure that the Authority had in place an efficient meeting schedule that met the needs of Members and facilitated decision making in line with statutory deadlines.

Councillor Tom Munro acknowledged the hard work that went into drafting the timetable and requested that the thanks of Council be passed to the relevant officer.

Councillor Ashley Taylor expressed his disappointment that following his comments on the same item last year, meetings were all still being scheduled during the day which did not take account of those Members who were in full time employment. He stated that other local authorities accommodated Members who worked full time and held evening meetings.

Moved by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders and seconded by Councillor Mary Dooley

RESOLVED that (1) the 2025/26 calendar of meetings as detailed in

          Appendix 1 be approved; and

(2) delegated authority be granted to the Governance and Civic Manager, following consultation with the Chair of the relevant Committee(s)/Working Group(s) to amend the calendar of meetings 2025/26 as and when required.

Council considered a presentation by the Chief Executive which provided updates on the discussions relating to Local Government Reorganisation by the Borough, District and Derby City Councils. It was confirmed that a report including detailed information would be provided at the Extraordinary Council meeting scheduled for 19^th March 2025.

Key information provided by the Chief Executive included:

·       Derbyshire had not been selected as one of the priority areas.

·       Government was looking for local authorities to work collaboratively and had set out its criteria as detailed in the letter dated 5^th February 2025.

·       The submission date for initial proposals was 21^st March 2025 with final proposals by 28^th November 2025.

·       Options were being developed with the support of KPMG and would be presented to the Extraordinary Council meeting on 19^th March 2025.

·       Interim plans would not be binding and may be subject to any political changes following local elections.

·       The District and Borough Councils were working together with Derby City Council to develop interim proposals. Derbyshire County Council had been invited to participate but not attended and had submitted their own proposals to Government.

·       A joint communications plan was being developed to ensure there was a joined up message and clarity for all partner councils moving forward.

·       There was a desire by the Borough, District and Derby City Councils to keep the existing boundaries of the county intact. There was no appetite for cross boundary arrangements which could create issues for other public services such as the NHS and Police etc.

·       The new councils had to be financially sustainable with a good council tax base, right level of population, sensible geography and to support the house building agenda of the Government.

·       All submissions had to be financially and geographically sustainable with good evidence base and clear outcomes identified including efficiency savings and value for money whilst also meeting local need.

·       Unitary structures had to support devolution and their local strategic authorities.

·       The Derbyshire County Council proposal was for one unitary authority combining the existing Boroughs and Districts with a population of approximately 811,000. Derby City Council would remain as it currently exists. This would create a ‘doughnut’ council which would mean Derby City Council would have a population of approximately 266,000 which would be significantly below the government’s benchmark of 500,000.

·       The Boroughs, Districts and Derby City Councils were collaborating to develop two unitary authorities around that 500,000 benchmark with KPMG developing options.

·       The timeline was for the interim proposal submission in March and full business case in November 2025. It was anticipated that a Government response should be received by May 2026. It will be a Ministerial decision as to the creation of the new unitary councils.

·       A shadow organisation could be created by 2027 with vesting date for the new authority potentially being April 2028.

The Chief Executive confirmed that the East Midlands Mayor was being informed of proposals and that the Mayor would be fully engaging with leaders across the county to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL88-24/25

The Bolsover Partnership video was screened for Members and was introduced by Councillor Mary Dooley.

The Chair confirmed that this was the end of the formal public part of the meeting and that Council would now be moving into private session.

To move:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the stated Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and it is not in the public interest for that to be revealed.”

The Chair Councillor Duncan Haywood moved and Councillor Tom Munro seconded

RESOLVED that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972

          (as amended), the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the stated Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and it is not in the public interest for that to be revealed.

Council considered a report presented by the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer which detailed the request received by a District Councillor for a dispensation for non-attendance.

Council considered the request for dispensation, reasons for the non-attendance, the options as outlined by the Monitoring officer and following discussion:

Moved by Councillor Steve Fritchley and seconded by Councillor John Ritchie RESOLVED that a dispensation for non-attendance be granted for a period of 3 months.