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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX

Contact: Marianna Ritchie, Democratic Services  Email: marianna.ritchie@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

27/21

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on:

 

·        13 December 2021;

·        31 January 2022;

·        3 February 2022;

·        23 March 2022; and,

·        25 July 2022 as accurate records.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on:

 

·        13 December 2021;

·        31 January 2022;

·        3 February 2022;

·        23 March 2022; and,

·        25 July 2022 were agreed as accurate records.

 

28/21

Disclosure of Interests

Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that, in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, they are required to consider in advance of each meeting whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI), another registrable interest (ORI) or a non-registrable interest (NRI) in relation to any matter on the agenda.  If advice is needed, Members should contact the Monitoring Officer in good time before the meeting.  

If any Member or co-opted Member of the Council identifies a DPI or ORI which they have not already registered on the Council’s register of interests or which requires updating, they should complete the disclosure form which can be obtained from Democratic Services at any time, copies of which will be available at the meeting for return to the Monitoring Officer.

 Members and co-opted Members are required to disclose any DPIs and ORIs at the meeting.  

·             Where the matter relates to a DPI they may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not stay in the meeting unless granted a dispensation.  

·             Where the matter relates to an ORI they may not vote on the matter unless granted a dispensation.   

·             Where a Member or co-opted Member has an NRI which directly relates to their financial interest or wellbeing, or that of a relative or close associate, they must disclose the interest at the meeting, may not take part in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not stay in the meeting unless granted a dispensation.  Where a matter affects the NRI of a Member or co-opted Member, section 9 of Appendix B of the Code of Conduct sets out the test which must be applied by the Member to decide whether disclosure is required.

The Chair will invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3, to be recorded in the minutes.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Esther Sutton expressed the wish to have it recorded that she was a resident of Oval Road, since one of the public questions on the agenda related to that location.

29/21

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

30/21

Announcements

To receive Announcements, if any, from the Civic Mayor, the Executive Mayor, Head of Paid Service and Returning Officer.

Minutes:

As this was the first meeting of the Council since the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the Chair, Civic Mayor Councillor Alisa Flemming, invited Mayor Jason Perry and Councillor Stewart King to pay tribute. Both members described the great dedication and devotion the late queen showed to her country over seven long decades of reign. Council then held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

 

The Chair also paid her respects to Badsha Quadir, who had sadly died in post only a few weeks before. Mayor Jason Perry and Councillor Stewart King also made tributes to Badsha Quadir, noting his commitment and contribution to the Borough of Croydon during his twelve years as a councillor.

 

Councillor Sean Fitzsimons also paid tribute to former councillor John Barlow, who had also died recently.

 

Council then held a minute’s silence.

 

The Chair also updated the Council on the progress from the efforts to support the victims of the fire at Sycamore House in Thornton Heath, which had had a huge impact on their lives.

31/21

Public Questions pdf icon PDF 74 KB

To receive questions submitted by residents in advance of the meeting.

 

Two Public Questions will be heard at this meeting, which will be responded to. The questioners then will have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question based on the answer received.

 

The questions are as follows:

 

1.     What is the council doing about fly-tipping in alleyways and other hot spots?

2.     What is the council going to do to help residents of Oval Road who have had their bins taken away in March 2020 without their consent and suffered from a dysfunctional bag trial since, and the subsequent increase of rats to the road, which have already done damage to properties on Oval Road.

Minutes:

By the deadline two members of the public had submitted questions to be asked at this Council meeting. The first was asked by Kostandinos Dexiades, who was in attendance and was called upon by the Chair to ask his question to Councillor Scott Roche, Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment. Mr Dexiades asked what the council was doing about fly-tipping in hotspots in the borough, and what it would do about catching the culprits of fly-tipping, to which Councillor Roche responded that the council no longer had a budget for the Environmental Response Team, but that there was an app in use through which residents could report incidences of fly-tipping.

 

Mr Dexiades was offered the opportunity to ask a supplementary question. He asked whether dog waste bins could be replaced, to which Councillor Roche responded that he would look into the matter and respond in writing.

 

The second question was from Melanie Felten who was also in attendance and asked how the council was going to resolve the issue for residents of Oval Road whose bins had been removed and replaced with a trial bin bag scheme, due to the narrowness of the public footpath, as the bags had attracted rats. Councillor Roche responded that this had been part of a trial scheme which the council would now review.

 

Ms Felten was offered the opportunity to ask a supplementary question and asked whether the Cabinet Member felt the council had been negligent, and when something would be done to solve the problem. Councillor Roche responded that there had been a meeting that day with residents, pest control, and the council’s waste management provider to address the issue, and that he hoped there would be a solution by the end of November. Councillor Roche declined to comment on the question of negligence.

32/21

The Croydon Debate

Three types of petitions may be presented to full Council under the Croydon Debate item: Borough Petitions; Local Petitions; and Member Petitions.

 

Two Member Petitions have been received ahead of this Council meeting from Councillor Humayun Kabir, Bensham Manor Ward. These two petitions are directed to the Mayor and Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, Councillor Scott Roche.

 

The petitions have been verified and are worded as follows:

 

1.1                Petition for resident parking permits: Haslemere Road CR7 7BF / 7BE

For the attention of The Parking Permits Team at Croydon Council

We, the undersigned residents of HASLEMERE ROAD, request the Parking Permit Team to consider resident only parking restrictions on our road. Since the implementation of resident only parking on Lakehall Road, parking outside and around our homes has become a huge problem. With the local hospital, doctor’s surgery, local bus depot workers, mechanic’s workshops on Haslemere Road and Brigstock Road, as well as the new Whitehorse School site, parking is extremely difficult for those of us who live here, as vehicles from staff at these facilities dominate the parking spaces here. From around 7am until 7pm Monday to Saturday, it is virtually impossible to park out cars on the road that we live on.

As the residents of HASLEMERE ROAD, we request the following:

·         Resident parking permits for all residents, along with guest permits, to be effective at times that will avoid local facilities and businesses dominating all parking spaces. FOR EXAMPLE, resident only parking between the hours of 8-6pm, Monday to Saturday.

·         The enforcement of the yellow lines at the bend of the road opposite the mechanic’s workshop to avoid cars parking on the corner and obstructing the road, which causes congestion and sometimes damage to other parked vehicles, where drivers try to manoeuvre around this tight bend.

 

Yours faithfully,
The undersigned residents of Haslemere Road, CR7

 

 

1.2                Petition for resident parking permits: Penhurst Road CR7 7EE / 7EA

We, the undersigned residents of PENHURST ROAD, request the Parking Permit Team to consider resident only parking restrictions on our road. Since the implementation of resident only parking on Lakehall Road, parking outside our homes has become a huge problem on this road. With the local hospital, doctor’s surgery, local bus depot worker, mechanic’s garages on Brigstock Road and Haslemere Road, as well we the new Whitehorse School site, parking is extremely difficult for those of us who live here, as staff and vehicles from these facilities dominate parking spaces here. From around 7am until 7pm Monday to Saturday, it is virtually impossible to park our cars on the road that we live on.

 

The absence of yellow lines at the junction with Brigstock Road means that two oncoming cars cannot drive down the road, as there is nowhere for either car to pull in. We witness almost daily arguments and ‘stand-offs’ at this part of the road and a number of parked vehicles have been damaged. Resident parking permits would mean the road can be easily accessed by  ...  view the full agenda text for item 32/21

Minutes:

Two Member Petitions had been received for this Council meeting, both of which requested residents’ parking permits on two streets in Bensham Manor Ward. These had been delivered on behalf of residents by Councillor Humayun Kabir, whom the Chair invited to say a few words.

 

Councillor Kabir stated that he supported these petitions as all the surrounding streets had been designated residents’ parking permits, causing build-up on these roads, which not only made it difficult for residents to park near their houses but also made it difficult for emergency vehicles to access the streets.

 

The petitions were put to the Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, Councillor Scott Roche, who responded that the residents of these streets had provided negative feedback to proposed Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) in the area when consulted in 2019, but that this petition gave cause to go out to consultation again.

33/21

Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Review pdf icon PDF 93 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Maria Gatland introduced the report, which gave an update to members on the work of the Corporate Parenting Panel for the 2021-22 municipal year. Councillor Gatland thanked the staff in the department who had worked so hard during the struggles presented by the Covid pandemic, financial struggles, and other difficulties to support the young people. Councillor Gatland also thanked foster carers and paid tribute to all the young people involved for their resilience, energy and the Children in Care Council.

 

In response to questions from members Councillor Gatland explained that all Looked After Children who went missing in the borough were assessed for risks of exploitation as they were more vulnerable than others, and the Corporate Parenting Panel decided any actions needed. Councillor Gatland also explained that the number of asylum-seeking children coming into the borough had decreased as the national transfer scheme that Central Government had introduced was initially not mandatory; it had since become mandatory which meant that other boroughs were taking in asylum-seeking children, reducing the number in Croydon by about 56%.

 

Councillor Gatland also clarified what was meant by Pathway Plans, and that young children in care suffered a lot of trauma, and that the council had a good record of getting Looked After Children into Higher Education.

 

Councillor Gatland MOVED the recommendations. This was SECONDED by Councillor Mario Creatura, put to the vote and:

 

RESOLVED, to:

 

Receive and note the Corporate Parenting Panel Annual Report.

34/21

Use of Special Urgency Procedures for Key Decisions Quarterly Report pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Minutes:

At commencement of the item, the Chair drew members’ attention to an error in the report, which stated that the decision-maker for the urgent decision was the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration. The report should have stated that the Executive Mayor was the decision-maker.

 

Members noted the correction and RESOLVED:

 

To note the use of Special Urgency for the key decision listed at section 3.4 of this report during the quarter July to October 2021/22.

35/21

Mayor and Cabinet Questions

For the Mayor and Cabinet to receive questions from members of Council.

 

 

Minutes:

Mayor Jason Perry, supported by members of the Cabinet, invited questions from Council on various topics affecting the borough. The Chair called upon councillors in turn and Mayor Perry responded that:

 

·       The previous political administration had left legacy budgeting issues, preventing the delivery of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in many areas;

·       That there was a £10million hole in the budget from expected parking income;

·       That the Opening the Books exercise was demonstrating that further prohibitive measures would be needed before the council could reassess its spending;

·       That a Public Space Protection Order had been implemented in areas which experienced high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour, and that the graffiti removal team had been reinstated in order to build back residents’ pride in the area;

·       The council had provided a discretionary support fund and a household support fund to support residents with the cost of living, and that information on those, as well as a benefits calculator, could be found on the updated Croydon council website;

·       The Mayor was holding conversations with the Voluntary and Community sector to identify funding going forwards;

·       A independent liaison officer had been appointed by the council to coordinate communication between the council and residents to ensure residents received support where necessary;

·       Residents of the Regina Road block of council-provided housing had been engaged with at least twice by the Mayor, and future meetings with residents were planned;

·       Issues with the procurement and contract management of bus shelters were being dealt with to ensure that previously removed bus shelters would be replaced;

·       There were financial implications with using council-owned buildings as warm banks out of hours, but residents were welcome to access libraries and other public buildings whilst open during the cold months if they wanted to;

·       The Early Years Partnership Strategy was approved and the council was working hard with schools to understand the issues around children not returning to school following remote learning that took place during the pandemic;

·       Money loaned to other indebted councils was £10million and originated from the Pension Fund, and this had been recovered;

·       Vulnerable residents who required assisted bin collections would continue to be supported and the council was conducting a data cleansing exercise to ensure that the service was accurate and contracts for the service could be properly managed;

·       Healthy Start vouchers were administered by the NHS and links to request them were available on the council website;

·       Hubs were being set up in the most deprived areas of the borough to tackle the digital exclusion problem;

·       The revocation of the Suburban Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document, SPD2, had ensure that more Planning applications were being refused and as a result developers were engaging more with the council for approval, and there was more consistency between decisions made by the Planning department and decisions made by the Committee on Planning applications;

·       A new protocol for identifying and supporting rough sleepers was being put in place, as it was absent from the previous administration’s work;

·       The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35/21

36/21

Maiden Speeches

To hear maiden speeches from up to five Councillors newly elected at the election held on 5 May 2022.

Minutes:

The following councillors delivered their Maiden Speeches to Council:

 

·       Cllr Simon Fox, representing Waddon Ward;

·       Cllr Appu Dhamodaran, representing Norbury Park Ward;

·       Cllr Esther Sutton, representing Fairfield Ward;

·       Cllr Adele Benson, representing New Addington North Ward; and,

·       Cllr Rowenna Davis, also representing Waddon Ward.

 

37/21

Council Debate Motions

To debate any motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

 

The following two Motions, one from the Administration and one from the Leader of the Opposition, will be debated:

 

Conservative Administration Motion on support for the LGA Debate Not Hate Campaign

The Executive Mayor and this Council believes that:

1. Debating and disagreement is a fundamental part of a healthy democracy, and that this should always be done with respect;

2. It is a privilege to be elected to public office and comes with the responsibility of representing everyone, regardless of how they voted and anyone, regardless of their background or political affiliation, should feel safe to become a councillor and be proud to represent their community.

The Executive Mayor and this Council notes that:

1. The Local Government Association (LGA) has amassed a considerable volume of evidence and personal accounts of the impact of abuse, intimidation, and aggression at a national level. The research showed that seven in 10 councillors reported experiencing abuse and intimidation over the last 12 months and councillors reported feeling that abuse is becoming more common and increasing in severity;

2. If left to continue, this negative and unacceptable behaviour can prevent elected members from representing the communities they serve, deter individuals from standing for election and undermine local democracy.

The Executive Mayor and this Council further notes that:

1. The LGA has launched its “Debate Not Hate” campaign which aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in their communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the responses and support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation;

2. This research outlines seven recommendations that Councils, the LGA, police forces, the Government and social media companies should take to improve the environment for current and prospective councillors, ranging from protecting privacy to creating a long-term culture change that de-normalises the abuse of politicians and other high-profile individuals;

3. This campaign has received support from across the political spectrum, as well as representatives from bodies such as the National Association of Local Councils, Compassion in Politics, the Local Government Information Unit and the National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

The Council resolves to:

1. Endorse the LGA Debate Not Hate campaign and call on all political groups to sign the public statement;

2. Support the LGA’s proposal for a national working group to produce and implement an action plan that addresses the abuse and intimidation of elected members and candidates and ensures their safety while they fulfil their democratic roles;

3. Assess how it can take greater responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of its members, taking a proactive approach to preventing and handling abuse and intimidation and addressing the impacts of abuse on mental health and wellbeing

As the Executive Mayor and Councillors, we agree to continually promote diversity and inclusion ahead of the 2026 Local Elections and beyond, including diversity of thought – publicly condemning politically fuelled abusive behaviour.

 

 

Labour Group Motion

 

This council acknowledges that we are in the midst of a  ...  view the full agenda text for item 37/21

Minutes:

The first Debate Motion was submitted by the Executive Mayor. Councillor Samir Dwesar MOVED and spoke in favour of the motion and argued that:

 

·       The Campaign should not be needed in 2022, but that 39 per cent of councillors had experienced abuse and intimidation of protected characteristics;

·       Debating and disagreeing was a healthy part of democracy but that abuse and intimidation were deterring people from stepping up as councillors, meaning the diversity of communities was not represented on all Councils;

·       The group sought to strive towards a more inclusive political discourse.

 

The motion was SECONDED by Councillor Lara Fish who reserved her right to reply. Councillor Callton Young then spoke to the motion on behalf of the Opposition, stating that:

 

·       A proactive approach to a more diverse Council would be welcome, and he knew of colleagues who were regularly abused especially online, which was exacerbated by the Government’s austerity measures;

·       The cost-of-living crisis made people angrier, which turned them against each other, including abuse misdirected at councillors;

·       Diversity of Thought provided a justification for the status quo, leaving those with protected characteristics out of the most important political positions.

 

Councillor Janet Campbell also spoke on behalf of the Opposition group, stating that:

 

·       Good standards of behaviour needed to be modelled within the Council;

·       The motion was timely as it was Black History Month, and that abuse and intimidation was a deterrent for great individuals to stand for election;

·       A listening exercise should be conducted between councillors to encourage the sentiment of this motion;

·       That change had to begin within the Chamber.

 

Councillor Lara Fish then exercised her right to reply on behalf of the Executive Mayor, stating that:

 

·       Debate was good for all, to determine the best way forward for residents;

·       Council must never set out to undermine others, or descend into arguments or discrimination;

·       There had been negative comments made during her campaign trail, and that they had been spat on whilst campaigning;

·       Many people were deterred, especially women, from entering politics because of the abuse they feared facing;

·       No one should fear abuse for representing communities;

·       Councillors had to take exceptional measures to ensure their safety.

 

Councillor Young asked that for the record, that whilst he was going to vote to agree with the motion, he had concerns and reservations with the ‘Diversity of Thought’ element of the motion for the reasons stated.    

 

The motion was then put to the vote, with Council voting UNANIMOUSLY in favour of the motion.

 

RESOLVED, to:

 

1.          Endorse the LGA Debate Not Hate campaign and call on all political groups to sign the public statement;

2.          Support the LGA’s proposal for a national working group to produce and implement an action plan that addresses the abuse and intimidation of elected members and candidates and ensures their safety while they fulfil their democratic roles;

3.          Assess how it can take greater responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of its members, taking a proactive approach to preventing and handling abuse and intimidation and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37/21