Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.    

Minutes of the last meeting held on 18 November, 2015.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Township Forum held on 18 November, 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Deputy Chair.

The Chair welcomed the Leader of the Council, Councillor Connolly and the Bury MBC's Chief Executive, Mike Owen to the meeting who were in attendance to give a presentation on the Council's 20116/17 Budget Consultation and who had agreed to  deal with the following questions/comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting in relation to the recent flooding incidents in Radcliffe :-

·         Councillor Connolly reported that arrangements were being made to hold a public meeting regarding the recent flooding incidents in Bury, to be held at the Town Hall as soon as possible.  Representatives from the Council, the Environment Agency and United Utilities would be asked to attend this meeting.  A date for this meeting would be published on the Council's website and be advertised widely across the Borough.

·         Mike Owen informed the meeting that the Council had particular statutory obligations to meet for Six Town Housing residents in relation to those who may have been affected by the floods.

·         A resident from Selby Close, Radcliffe raised particular concerns relating to their personal experiences of the floods.  This resident was still living in temporary accommodation and felt let down by the agencies involved in dealing with the floods, was concerned that the flooding had been exacerbated by houses recently being built on flood plains in Radcliffe and felt that the public meeting to answer questions and deal with residents' concerns should have been held immediately following the floods, not weeks later.  In response, the Chief Executive explained the statutory obligations held by the Environment Agency as opposed to Bury Council and that answers to many of the questions needed to be provided by the Environment Agency.  The Council Leader and Senior Offices were in discussions with the relevant Government Department and  a meeting had also been scheduled between the Council and Environment Agency where all of the concerns raised by residents would be raised by the Council representatives.  It was reported that the Environment Agency were looking into the provision of future flood defences in Bury but had asked for £3 million from the Council towards the cost of implementing a scheme.  The Council would discuss flood defences at this meeting.

·         Mike Owen detailed some of the emergency procedures carried out by Council staff as part of the Council's emergency planning response.  The Council had needed to priorities their response to the flooding.  The Council had secured a Government grant which had been passed on to residents affected by the floods in the form of an emergency £500 payment.  It was reported that DEFRA rules dictated the distribution of flood payments to residents, not the Council.

·         Mike Owen explained that the sheer amount of rainfall, over 1200 mm in such a short space of time had caused the River Irwell to burst its banks which had been the main reason for the flooding in the Radcliffe and Ramsbottom/Summerseat areas of the Borough.  Any issues relating to planning permission being granted for new housing developments  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTF608

A presentation will be given at the meeting.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Connolly and the Chief Executive, Mike Owen gave a presentation setting out the budget consultation for 2016/2017.

It was reported that funding received from central government would continue to reduce and 2016/2017 it was estimated that the Council would have to cut £11.6 million from its budget as core funding was being reduced by 10.75%.

 It was anticipated that the Council’s funding would be cut by over 30% in the coming 4 years. This is on top of the £54million lost since 2010        and at a time when residents’ needs are changing, demands are increasing and expectations are high. The Council and its partners would have to work differently to deliver the best outcomes with the resources available.

The Council would need to prioritise services covering its legal obligations and its priorities to look after the vulnerable;

• promote a strong local economy and be a good place to live and invest.

The impact of the reduction is budget was set out:-

•      Service changes – can’t  rule out service closures and/or a reduced range of services in future years.

•      Explore different ways of delivering services and greater use  of partnership working.

•      Increased waiting times and /or reduced quality of service

•      Limits to what the Council can afford to provide and carry out

•      A different relationship with residents – understanding what the Council can and can’t do

•      Greater use of technology

The Chief Executive set out the cuts that the Council had experienced since 2011 and explained that these added up to £53.561million. The meeting was informed of where the Council spent it's money with the top three areas being Older People – 30p per £1, Children’s  Services (non schools) – 24p per £1 and Cleansing, Refuse Collection  and Disposal – 13p per £1.

It was explained that the way that the funding was allocated was based on a formula which looked at specific areas such as levels of deprivation and other demographics. This meant that Bury received £331pp compared to the national average of £387pp.

There would also be cuts to a number of grants that the Council receives as well as new concerns such as Apprenticeship Levy, Employers National Insurance and the Living Wage. It was also reported that there was uncertainty around the localisation of business rates and how this would impact on the Council.

Work had been carried out to address the cuts and the following measures had been or would be carried out :-

•              Alternative Service Delivery Models

•              Grant Optimisation

•              Grants to Voluntary Sector

•              Income generation

•              Better us of buildings and Assets

•              Procurement saving

•              Service Redesign

•              Staff Restructuring

•              Use of new technology

The consultation had been launched on 10 December 2015 and was asking residents to consider how savings could be made and suggest new ways of working.  The consultation was due to close on 9 February 2016 and all findings would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTF609

Updated Plan attached, for information.

Christine Maksymowski, Township Co-ordinator presented the draft report which included the issues raised by those who had taken part in the general round table discussions on each of the key priorities contained within the Township Action Plan for 2014/15, for approval by members of the Township Forum.  

It was agreed:

1. That the report be approved.

2. That further ideas/comments on the Plan be forwarded to Christine Maksymowski, Township Co-ordinator.

Colette Jones, Friends of Close Park thanked all of the volunteers who had assisted in the clean up after the floods, including the Mersey Basin Canal Trust.  The Chair also thanked all of the volunteers for their assistance in the clean up operation.  Councillor J Walker made reference to the support provided by Radcliffe Boys and Girls Club who had over 200 volunteers working on the clean up and had co-ordinated donations from local businesses and who were still providing a support network to the community.  A member of the public who is also employed by the Council asked if Council workers could still volunteer for the Council's Emergency Planning register.  It was reported that Council workers could still register via the Intranet.  

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.

A copy of the Community Funding Report for Radcliffe was submitted setting out details of the funding allocations to date in support of the work of local, voluntary and community groups.  The Township Co-ordinator provided clarification on the allocation of funding and the amounts available to the groups.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

It was reported that there had been no applications to the Township Forum Funding Panel since the last meeting of Radcliffe Township Forum held in November, 2015.

It was agreed

That the next meeting of Radcliffe Township Forum would take place on Monday 7 March, 2016 at 6 pm, at Radcliffe Civic Suite.