The Very Reverend Michael Tavinor, Dean of Hereford, led the Council in prayer.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: DJ Benjamin, SPA Daniels, BA Durkin, DW Greenow and NL Vaughan.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

Councillor RC Hunt declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 5, part 5.1 as he had personal involvement with the developers of Minster College.

Councillors RJ Phillips and DB Wilcox declared personal interests in agenda item 5, part 1.1 as Members of the Youth Justice Panel.

Councillor PJ Edwards declared a personal interest in agenda item six as a Member of the Local Access Forum. He also declared an interest as a recipient of a Royal Mail pension.  Councillor JA Hyde also declared a personal interest as a recipient of a Royal Mail pension.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 July and the extraordinary meeting of the 4 September 2008.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July and the extraordinary meeting on 4 September 2008 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to amendment to Extraordinary meeting Minute 4 proposed by Councillor SJ Robertson.

To receive the Chairman's announcements and petitions from members of the public.

The Chairman informed Council that an emergency Notice of Motion had been received with regard to the closure of post offices in the County. He added that the notice of motion would be put to Council immediately after the Chairman’s announcements.

The Chairman thanked Councillors involved in the recent Local Democracy Week. This involved several Members attending local high schools and answering questions from pupils. The Members involved were then subject to a vote. Councillor A Taylor was runner up and Councillor SJ Robertson won the vote and was elected Youth Champion for Herefordshire.  Council joined the Chairman in congratulating Councillor Robertson on her victory and noted the importance of Councillors engaging with the school communities. On a similar note, Councillor PGH Cutter was thanked for his hard work as the appointed Energy Champion for Herefordshire.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor PJ McCaull, newly elected member for Leominster South, to his first meeting of Council.

Congratulations were offered to Countess Darnley, a resident of Thornbury, near Bromyard, as the newly appointed Lord-Lieutenant for Herefordshire. She would be replacing Sir Thomas Dunne who served as Lord-Lieutenant for the county for 32 years.

The Chairman informed Members that Herefordshire was in the running to be named Enterprise Capital of Europe after winning the runner up prize for the United Kingdom’s Enterprising Britain Awards. Herefordshire and Scarborough, the UK winners, would go to represent the UK for the chance to be named Enterprise Capital of Europe.

Members were reminded of the forthcoming meeting with the Chief Fire Officer and Chief Constable to take place at Brockington on 9 December.

The Chairman passed on his congratulations to Mrs Sonia Rees, the Council’s Director of Resources, who would be leaving Herefordshire shortly to take up a post with the Audit Commission and wished her all the best for the future.

Members were reminded that public questions and answers from Councillors were circulated at the beginning of the meeting. This was done in line with the amended constitution. Supplementary questions would be invited from Councillors under agenda item seven. The Chairman reminded Members to address the Chair when speaking during the meeting.

The Chairman offered his congratulations to the Brockington Fundraising Group on their successful year to date. Over £3000 had been raised for good causes and new volunteers from the Council and PCT staff were always welcomed.

The Chairman informed Council that the Leader, Councillor RJ Phillips and the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Community Services, Councillor AJM Blackshaw wished to give notice as a matter of urgency of an emergency Notice of Motion.  This was due to the rejection of the Council’s response to the consultation exercise by Post Office Limited and the announcement of the closure of a number of Sub Post Offices, which was received on Wednesday 29 October. 

The Chairman moved that under standing order 4.32, that standing orders be suspended to allow for Members to debate this issue.

Councillors RJ Phillips and AJM Blackshaw submitted the following Emergency Notice of Motion:

“Herefordshire Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the process and conclusions of the recent review of the County's Post Offices by Post Office Ltd, received on 29 October.

The time and energy invested in the public consultation by MPs, Council Members, Parish Councils and the public, in both rural and urban locations across the County, is now seen as a total waste of time.

This Council calls on our Members of Parliament and our Local Government Association to expose this process as a sham and urges the Government to demonstrate genuine commitment to sustainable communities.

This Council informs Post Watch that it opposes the closure of the Tudorville Post Office.”

The Chairman ruled urgency.

Councillor RJ Phillips spoke on the Emergency Notice of Motion and stated:

• On Wednesday (October 29), Post Office Limited announced the sites that would be closing. Herefordshire Council recognised that there would be the inevitable need for some closures within the county, but he believed the manner and culture of the methodology used by the Post Office to decide the branch closures was totally unacceptable.

• A question on the subject was raised in the House of Commons by the Wyre Forrest Member of Parliament at Prime Minister’s Question time where a comprehensive answer was not given.

• He believed the results had been manufactured and explained that Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Dudley and Wolverhampton had been grouped together. Dudley Walsall and Wolverhampton are part of a well recognised sub group of the Black Country which was added to Herefordshire and Worcestershire. He pointed out that Herefordshire and Worcestershire shared few characteristics with the Black Country

• The Post office had done this to ensure that the area in question would have 95% of the population within three miles of a post office.  When considering the two urban centres of the Black Country in conjunction with Herefordshire and Worcestershire, this average would have been easy to comply with. If Herefordshire and Worcestershire were considered individually, there would be many more Post Offices saved from closure.  He believed the process, therefore, was a sham.

• Herefordshire’s local communities united to come up with viable alternatives to such wide-ranging closures. For Example in Lyonshall, residents met and agreed to place an occasional Post Office inside the village pub. Suggestions from this and other area of the county were simply ignored by the Post Office in an arrogant manner. The government’s promotion of sustainable communities was, in this instance, meaningless.

• He informed Council that the way in which the post office have calculated closures meant that if one site was saved from closure, another had to close in its place. He added that Council needs to send a message in the strongest possible terms to the Post Office that Herefordshire is not going to accept the closures.  The Leader paid tribute to the work of the Council’s Parish Liaison Officer for his work on the proposed closures. 

The Emergency Notice of Motion was seconded by Councillor AJM Blackshaw who reserved his right to speak until later in the debate.

Councillor JA Hyde spoke on the Emergency Notice of Motion and thanked Councillor AE Grey and her husband for their hard work campaigning against the closure of Tudorville Post Office in Ross-On-Wye. Their enthusiasm and motivation had brought the community together. She added that she felt the current situation regarding office closures was ridiculous and that no community’s post office would be safe.

Councillor GA Powell stated that she was disappointed that the Brampton Road and Redhill Post Offices would be closing. She said that the Post Office had shown no thought to the devastation this would cause to the community. Post watch, the government’s Post Office regulator, was disbanded half way through Herefordshire’s consultation process and she said this put the county at an unfair disadvantage. The Post Office disregarded a hard fought campaign, which would have a detrimental effect on the communities the post offices served.

Councillor ACR Chappell spoke to express his anger at the announced closures. He said that his allegiance to the people of his ward came first and was hurt that his Labour government could disregard such strong public feeling. He urged that party politics be put to one side and that Members unite against the closures.  He added that post offices were social outlets for vulnerable members of the community and that residents of Redhill would be forced to cross the busy A49 road to use the Post Office in Putson, which in itself would present a safety hazard. Urban centres such as Dudley had ready access to a very frequent bus service – something that Herefordshire residents did not have.  The closures, he concluded, would isolate residents.

Councillor PGH Cutter, as a regular user of the threatened Tudorville Post Office, spoke to express his anger at the announced closures. He said the announcement was an affront to local democracy and associated himself with the earlier comments of Councillor Hyde. He mentioned specific problems with the current post office in Ross-on-Wye, and the proposed alternative for Tudorville post office users, such as access and long queues. He highlighted Tudorville Post Office as having on site parking and being within walking distance of over 1000 houses. He concluded by saying that a commercial company, such as the post office, should be attempting to increase trade at its outlets before announcing closures and thanked the people of Ross-on-Wye for their support.

Councillor JG Jarvis added his support to the comments made earlier in respect of Councillor Grey’s dedication. He pointed out that the remote villages to the East of Ross-on-Wye that currently use Tudorville Post Office would be severely disadvantaged if it were to close as would neighbouring villages over the Gloucestershire border. He informed Members that a post office representative proposed a pilot scheme at a consultation meeting removing certain services form Tudorville’s office. This scheme was not mentioned in the results of the consultation and he said it appeared the Post Office was playing games with the community. He highlighted the access problems to the centre off Ross-on-Wye for vulnerable members of the community and urged pressure to be applied to the government. He questioned why the government seemed unable to assert the same authority over the post office system as it had done over the banking industry of late.

Councillor AE Grey spoke to support the Emergency Motion and said that the Council must condemn the decision to close post offices. She said she was lucky to be able to generate such a large amount of support in Tudorville and echoed Councillor Jarvis’s concerns for the villages surrounding Ross-on-Wye. She added that considering a new car park had been recently constructed, the Tudorville Post Office must be kept open.

Councillor A Seldon proposed an amendment to the Emergency Motion suggesting it was changed to incorporate the sentiment that the Post Office had shown contempt for the people of Herefordshire when reaching their decision. He added that the statistics had been manipulated by the Post Office and that it was shambolic for them to leak the closures to the media. 

Councillor WU Attfield spoke to support the Emergency Motion and thanked the residents of Redhill for their support in trying to prevent the closure of their post office. She added that politicians must listen to people at grass roots level in the community. She emphasised that a post office should be regarded as a service for the community and not a business and criticised the government for this approach.

Councillor AJM Blackshaw spoke on the emergency motion and informed Council that he had attended seven consultation meetings in his role as Cabinet Member. He sympathised with the communities involved and was impressed at the level of enthusiasm he witnessed. He added that the village post office often props up and supports the village shop. He highlighted several examples of post offices that presented a strong case to remain open and added his thanks to the Parish Liaison Officer for his work.

Councillor RJ Phillips accepted the amendment proposed by Councillor A Seldon, which was seconded by Councillor AJM Blackshaw.

Councillor G Lucas stated that the post office in Tudorville should remain open, as the queue at the Ross central post office was quite often unacceptably long.

Councillor SJ Robertson said that although her own ward did not benefit from a Post Office, she could sympathise with the previous speakers and their communities. She highlighted the fact that once a service had been removed, it was more difficult to restore it. She reminded Members of the ongoing struggle to retain rural telephone kiosks and along with Councillor Gray, paid tribute to Councillor GA Powell and Jesse Norman who had delivered a large petition to Downing Street on the issue of Post Office Closures.

Councillor TM James added his support to the Emergency Notice of Motion with its amendment and asked if it could be amended further to question whether the Council could seek legal advice over the flawed process of consultation. He asked whether a judicial review of the decision could be sought.

Councillor RJ Phillips said that it was important for the Local Government Association to progress any potential legal matters, as a collective approach would add weight to any argument. He said that necessary enquires would be made to pursue both collective and individual legal proceedings.

Councillor AM Toon seconded the further amendment to the Emergency Motion and said that as Post Watch was closed down half way through the consultation periods, Herefordshire was not consulted on a level playing field. She recorded her thanks to Wendy Jones and the Redhill Resident’s Association in their efforts to keep their post office open.

Councillor PJ Edwards proposed a third amendment to the original Emergency Motion asking that the Council is recorded as being against all post office branch closures. He said that efforts were still required to campaign to keep post offices open.

Councillor B Hunt said that it would be the residents of rural villages and hamlets that would be hardest hit if the offices were to close. He added that the public were cynical about government consultations, as it was perceived that they were not listened to.

Councillor JP French reminded Members of the Essex model in relation to post office closures. She pointed out that individual legal challenges mounted there proved costly and fruitless. She suggested that, similarly to the work done in Essex, that the network of post offices could be devolved into local government responsibility. She gave the example that certain grants from National Health Service budgets were devolved into local government hands. She said this had been successful and that if the same thing were to happen to the post office network, Local Government would be capable of maintaining a useful and responsive service that would remain as a valuable community service.

Councillor RI Matthews thanked all the members of the public for their tireless efforts in campaigning to keep their local outlets open. He endorsed the previous comments of Members and said that a partnership approach would be the way forward with potentially large financial savings.

Councillor RJ Phillips accepted all the amendments listed previously and emphasised that the closure programme and the logic behind it was done in a deliberate and devious way. He mentioned that there were post offices that were known to be only remaining open in the short term due to retirement of staff and were being deliberately excluded from the announced closures. He said that the communities of Herefordshire were realistic and did accept that some closures would be necessary but this was dismissed by the post office. He added that the government had disregarded its own previous work on sustainable communities by not challenging post office closures. He said that the case to keep Tudorville Post Office open was very strong and a concerted effort must now be made to publicise this. He said that the Council would seek legal advice especially regarding the closure of Post Watch in the middle of the consultation period.

A vote on the Emergency Motion, with its amendments, was taken and carried unanimously.  The Chairman thanked all Members for their passionate views and wished every success to Tudorville post office.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Copies of all public questions, received by the deadline, with answers was distributed prior to the commencement of the meeting.  A copy is attached to these minutes at Appendix One.

To receive any written questions from Councillors.

There are no Notices of Motion.

No notices of Motion, under standing orders, had been received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 31 July, 11 September and 2 October 2008.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor RJ Phillips, presented the report of the meetings of Cabinet held on 29 May, 12 June and 10 July 2008.

In response to a question on Agenda Item 4.1 on the Review of Service Delivery Partnership, the Leader informed Council that there would be an independent consultant brought in to look at the results of the Service Delivery Review.

In answer to a question on Agenda item 5.1 Minster College Building Schools for the Future the Leader assured Council that discussions with the relevant people would take place to review the current level of provision for children with special educational needs in the county.

In response to a series of questions on Agenda Item 10.1 concerning Swimming Provision for Primary Schools in Hereford City – the LEA pool - and the decision not to reopen it, the Leader informed Council that the Herefordshire Schools Forum is a properly constituted body comprised of members of the teaching community as well as elected Councillors. The Schools Forum decision was based on the fact that they did not want to divert funds away from education provision to provide the pool.  He assured Members that the report from the call in meeting by the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee was due to be heard by Cabinet on the 20 November. He stated that the main direction of any swimming pool funding should be directed towards the HALO pools and the Council was also making a bid to offer free swimming to the under 16s as well as the over 60s.

In responding to questions relating to Agenda Item 8.2 the Edgar Street Grid (ESG) and specifically its retail development and Cattle Market site, the Leader said that the site proposed was thoroughly researched.  Other sites including land at Gaol Street or at the back of Woolworths was deemed either not large enough or had multiple landowners.  The current site was in Council ownership, close to the city centre and had considerable private sector support for the project.  He emphasised that he was committed to delivering the retail quarter as planned and that to unpick it at this stage would jeopardise investment already secured. The Leader assured Council that all members of the ESG board lived in the county, and one in fact lived within the city, so they were all able to act with the best interests of county residents in mind. He paid tribute to those who served on the board without payment.

With regard to Agenda Item 11.1 the Leader endorsed Members’ appreciation of the Treasury Management system within the Council especially considering the ongoing world financial crisis.

The Leader informed Members that he was recently appointed to a regional advisory panel to advise central government on local issues and to ensure continued sources of funding. In the past, Herefordshire had been fortunate enough to benefit from a great deal of external funding but this was not set to continue in the future.

RESOLVED:  That the reports  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 15 August and 26 September 2008.

Councillor TW Hunt presented the report of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 15 August and 26 September

In response to a question, Councillor Hunt assured Members that Bloor homes had not purchased any additional land in Herefordshire since the site at Bullinghope was acquired.

RESOLVED:That the report of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 15 August and 26 September 2008 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meeting held on 17 October 2008.

Mr David Stevens presented the report of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 17 October.

In response to a question on the Independent Member recruitment process, Mr Stevens assured Members that equal opportunities policies were strictly followed.

Mr Stevens informed Members that legal advice would be sought to establish whether the Standards Committee could monitor the operation of parish councils within Herefordshire.

Regarding some incorrect Minutes of a previous Standards Committee meeting, Mr Stevens assured Members that these would be altered to make them accurate.

A Member expressed concern over the consultation paper mentioned in the report and felt that some of the proposals went too far bordering on the private lives of Councillors being invaded.

In response to a question on anonymous complaints, Mr Stevens read from the minutes of a Standards Committee meeting to reassure Members on the way such complaints would be handled:

“The Assessment Sub-Committee may decide that an anonymous complain will be referred for investigation or some other action if it includes documentary, photographic, or some other form of evidence, indicating an exceptionally serious or significant matter.

The Sub-Committee can protect the confidentiality of the identity of the complainant where that is justified by a real fear of intimidation or victimisation.  However, where there is not an obvious risk, the fact that the complainant has not disclosed his/her identity can indicate that the complaint is less serious, is malicious or is politically motivated.”

RESOLVED:  That the report from the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 17 October 2008 be received and the recommendations set out below be adopted:

That:

         (a)    the redraft of the Code of Corporate Governance and Foreword be adopted by Council;

         (b)    Ms Isabel Fox be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee; and

         (c)    the recruitment of a fourth Independent Member of the Standards Committee be approved.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 10 September and 20 October 2008.

Councillor PJ Edwards presented the report of the meetings of the Strategic Monitoring Committee held on 10 September and 20 October 2008.

Councillor Edwards reassured Members that Scrutiny was effective within the Council as approximately 80% of points raised were responded to by the executive.  He added that it was important to achieve a balance between over scrutinising and effective scrutiny of decisions.

In response to a question, Councillor Edwards said that he would look into the possibility of full Scrutiny Committee reports being made available to Council meetings.  He added that it was hoped to be able to scrutinise the smallholdings policy and accommodation strategy soon.

Councillor Edwards further assured Members that the Chief Executive and other senior officers were continually reminding officers that communication to the public about scrutiny must improve.  He reaffirmed his desire that the work of scrutiny was to be shared with the public.

RESOLVED:   That the report of the meetings of the Strategic Monitoring Committee held on 10 September and 20 October 2008 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meetings held on 12 August, 9 September and 7 October 2008.

Councillor Brigadier P Jones presented the report of the meetings of the Regulatory Committee held on 12 August, 9 September and 7 October 2008.

RESOLVED:   That the report of the meetings of the Regulatory Committee held on 12 August, 9 September and 7 October 2008 be received.

To receive the report and to consider any recommendations to Council arising from the meeting held on 25 September 2008.

Councillor ACR Chappell presented the report of the meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee held on 25 September 2008.

RESOLVED:   That the report of the meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee held on 25 September 2008 be received.

To receive the report of the meetings of the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority held on 22 September 2008.

Councillor Brigadier P Jones presented the report of the meeting of the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority, which was held on 22 September 2008.

RESOLVED:            That the report of the meeting of the Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority which was held on 22 September 2008 be received.