Agenda and minutes

Members of the Council are requested to declare any interests which they have in any items or issues before the Council for determination.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

1.   Councillor Connolly declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his partner is an employee of the Local Authority Trading Company, Persona.

2.   Councillor Jones declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee of Bury Council.

3.   Councillor Bevan declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury School.

4.   Councillor Mallon declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury High School.  

5.   Councillor S Wright declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his wife is an employee within a Bury School.

6.   Councillor Quinn declared a personal interest in respect of item 8, Notices of Motion (EU Referendum) as his daughter is employed at the EU Parliament.

7.   Councillor Shori declared a personal interest in any item which related to staffing as his partner is an employee of Bury Council.

8.   Councillor Kelly declared a personal interest in Leader’s Question Time (Q21) as an employee of the Care Quality Commission.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the last meeting of the Council held on 18 May 2016.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 18 May 2016 be signed by the Mayor as a true and correct record.

To receive communications from the Mayor and any announcements by the Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive on matters of interest to the Council.

The Mayor thanked all those who attended the Mayoral Sunday Church Service.

To answer questions from members of the public, notice of which has been given, on any matter relevant to the Council or its services to the community. Up to 30 minutes will be set aside for this purpose. If time permits, further questions will be invited from members of the public present.

The Mayor reported the receipt of three written questions as set out below:

On inviting questions from members of the public present, the following issues were raised:-

There were no recommendations of Cabinet or Council Committees.

To receive a Statement from the Leader of the Council on the work of the Cabinet and to answer written questions from Members of the Council to the Leader and Cabinet Members on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Borough, provided the necessary written notice has been given.

Verbal questions on the work of the Cabinet since the last Council meeting will be allowed subject to a limit of one question per Councillor.

(a)                   Written question (Notice given)

             The Leader of the Council, Councillor Shori, made a statement on the work undertaken by him since the date of the last Council meeting.

              The Leader and the relevant Cabinet Members answered questions raised by Councillors on the following issues:

Due to the lack of time to answer questions 19 to 37 inclusive, the Leader gave an undertaking that copies of those questions and responses will be circulated to all Councillors. The Leader also gave an undertaking to make these available on the Council Web Site.

(b)                 Oral questions on Leader’s Speech and the work of the Cabinet since the last Council meeting (without Notice)

(A)        A report from the Council’s representative on the work of Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel, Councillor Shori

(B)        Questions (if any) on the work of the Joint Authorities to be asked by Members of the Council for which the necessary notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.2

(a)        Councillor Shori, the Council’s representative on the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel gave a verbal report on the work of the Authority to all Members of the Council.

                    (b)        The following questions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.2.

The following Notices of Motion have been received:-

(i)                 EU Referendum

This Council notes the views of the people in our Borough, who by a clear and decisive majority expressed their wish to leave the European Union institution at the national referendum held on the 23^rd June 2016.

This Council will therefore respect the views of all of the Bury electorate who participated in the referendum and gave their views.  However, this Council will resolve to work together on a cross party basis with the Government to make the transition to life outside the EU institution as smooth as possible.

We also need to ensure that we keep a strong and positive relationship with our European neighbours and in particular with the towns of Angouleme, Schorndorf and Tulle who are our European twinning partners.

In the names of Councillors I Bevan, R Caserta, J Daly, I Gartside, D Gunther, M Hankey, J Harris, R Hodkinson, K Hussain, G Keeley, O Kersh, S Nuttall,  I Schofield, D Silbiger,  R Walker, and Y Wright

(ii)                Fracking

This Council acknowledges the growing public concern that unconventional gas extraction entails significant risks to the environment and to the health and wellbeing of neighbouring communities. These include, but are not limited to, earth tremors, potential air pollution, pollution of water resources and increased industrialisation of the countryside. There appears to be insufficient regulation and scrutiny of current unconventional gas extraction operations in the UK and as a consequence these operations risk irreversibly polluting fragile water courses, established nature and tourism activities.

Council further recognises that fracking may have a detrimental effect on house prices, as well as building insurance within the vicinity of fracking wells.  Additionally, an investigation by Greenpeace found that many fracking licenses have been issued to companies linked to offshore tax havens, raising questions about the purported economic benefits of shale gas extraction and any potential tax benefits to the Treasury.

There is also concern that exploration and extraction of fossil fuels by unconventional means can undermine investment in a safe and secure renewable energy future. The Conservative Government have been diverting incentives and investment away from renewable energy sources, while at the same time encouraging and supporting non-renewables such as fracking.

It is the duty of the Council to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and the integrity of our natural environment and to play its part in supporting sustainable energy for future generations. Bury Council has already demonstrated a commitment to providing clean, green energy and in accordance with this commitment:

i)             Council will not allow any exploratory drilling, fracking or coal-bed extraction on land it owns or controls.

(ii)         Whilst this Council is unable to introduce planning policies seeking a presumption against fracking because of national planning policy introduced by Central Government, the Council will nevertheless ensure in accordance with the law that there is a rigorous criteria for assessing planning applications for the exploration or extraction of gas, including the practice commonly known  ...  view the full agenda text for item C. 135

Three Notices of Motion had been received and set out in the Summons.    

(i)       Fracking

A motion had been received and set out in the summons in the names of:

              Councillors P Adams, N Bayley, J Black, S Briggs, R Cathcart,  M Connolly, A Cummings, E FitzGerald, J Grimshaw, S Haroon, T Holt, M James, D Jones, J Kelly, S Kerrison, J Lewis, A Mckay, J Mallon, A Matthews, E O’Brien, N Parnell, C Preston, A Quinn, R Shori, R Skillen, S Smith,  Sarah Southworth, Susan Southworth, T Tariq, J Walker, S Walmsley and M Whitby.

                     It was moved by Councillor Shori and seconded by Councillor Quinn that:-

                                  This Council acknowledges the growing public concern that unconventional gas extraction entails significant risks to the environment and to the health and wellbeing of neighbouring communities. These include, but are not limited to, earth tremors, potential air pollution, pollution of water resources and increased industrialisation of the countryside. There appears to be insufficient regulation and scrutiny of current unconventional gas extraction operations in the UK and as a consequence these operations risk irreversibly polluting fragile water courses, established nature and tourism activities.

    Council further recognises that fracking may have a detrimental effect on house prices, as well as building insurance within the vicinity of fracking wells.  Additionally, an investigation by Greenpeace found that many fracking licenses have been issued to companies linked to offshore tax havens, raising questions about the purported economic benefits of shale gas extraction and any potential tax benefits to the Treasury.

    There is also concern that exploration and extraction of fossil fuels by unconventional means can undermine investment in a safe and secure renewable energy future. The Conservative Government have been diverting incentives and investment away from renewable energy sources, while at the same time encouraging and supporting non-renewables such as fracking.

    It is the duty of the Council to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and the integrity of our natural environment and to play its part in supporting sustainable energy for future generations. Bury Council has already demonstrated a commitment to providing clean, green energy and in accordance with this commitment:

i)       Council will not allow any exploratory drilling, fracking or coal-bed extraction on land it owns or controls.

(ii)   Whilst this Council is unable to introduce planning policies seeking a presumption against fracking because of national planning policy introduced by Central Government, the Council will nevertheless ensure in accordance with the law that there is a rigorous criteria for assessing planning applications for the

exploration or extraction of gas, including the practice commonly known as fracking.  Planning applications will be assessed against appropriate planning policies and relevant material planning considerations to ensure that any such application is considered in appropriate detail. Council will oppose strongly any attempt to weaken or override its powers as a planning authority when considering any applications for fracking.

(iii)  Council agrees to consult with  ...  view the full minutes text for item C. 135