Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the previous meetings held on the 10 June 2020, 25 June 2020 and the exempt minute for the meeting held on the July 21 2020.

(Exempt minute not issued in public pack)

The minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 10 June, 25 June and 21 July 2020, were taken as read and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Michael Cooper and Martin Howard.

There were no communications.

To answer questions (if any) from elected members pursuant to Rule 11 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure (as amended by the Protocol and Procedure Rules for Remote Meetings.

Questions for Members must be received by 5pm two clear working days prior to the day of the meeting – the deadline for this is 5pm 5 August 2020.

The Chief Executive reported there were two questions from Councillor Brian Rush.

Question asked by Councillor Brian Rush pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Rules of Procedure as set out in the Constitution.

“Last Friday one of this Council’s amenities, became the subject of an illegal encampment, when about 25 vans and caravans were allowed to arrive on Woodville Road Playing Field, presumably parking illegally.  As the Portfolio Holder for Parks and Open Spaces, would you explain to me:

(a)  why only one enforcement Officer was on call, and;

(b)  what actions were taken to reassure residents in the area that Boston Borough Council was actively involved in resolving the ongoing issues with the travelling community?”

Response by Councillor Paul Skinner

“The Anti-Social Behaviour Team has one officer who covers Boston Borough Council area and one officer who covers East Lindsey District Council area, with a 22.5 hour a week part-time officer who supports both areas Tuesday / Wednesday and Thursday each week.

With regard to the working week ending Friday 31^st July (when the travellers arrived) the East Lindsey District Council officer was on annual leave, which meant one officer was covering both district areas. This is our standard officer coverage rota and has been since 2015.

On Friday 31 July notification was received of arrival of encampment at 1.03 p.m.   A Section 77 Notice under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 – the power of a local authority to direct unauthorised campers to leave land, was served on the illegal encampment at 3 p.m.  The Section 77 Notices were served on each vehicle, 19 on site at that time.

On Monday 3 August a summons to court for orders of removal of persons and their vehicles unlawfully on land, was served on each vehicle and occupant under Section 78 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

On Monday 3 August a court date was granted for Thursday 6 August to hear the case and obtain the order for the direction and removal of the unauthorised encampment.  The encampment then moved off the site during the evening of Thursday 6 August.

The Council’s cleansing team undertook a deep clean of the site during the night and it was open again by 8 a.m. on the morning of Friday 7 August.

Officers of the Customer Services and ASB Teams updated all callers who contacted the Council with the steps that had been taken, and would be taken once we had been court to obtain the eviction and removal order. Updates were also posted via the Council’s social media platforms.”

Supplemental question asked by Councillor Rush pursuant to paragraph 11.6 of the Rules of Procedure as set out in the Constitution:-

“No allowances were made for the distress caused by this incursion and the damage caused to equipment.  The pirate ship in the play area cost a lot of money had was used as a toilet. You need to talk to officers to make the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

To answer questions (if any) from members of the public pursuant to Rule 10 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure (as amended by the Protocol and Procedure Rules for Remote Meetings).

Questions by members of the public must be received by 5pm two clear working days prior to the day of the meeting – the deadline for this meeting is 5pm Wednesday 5 August 2020.

There were no questions from the public.

Councillor Alison Austin declared an interest in the report on Pavement Licences.  As a Member of Lincolnshire County Council she had taken part in debate on the matter at a meeting of their Full Council.

Councillor Martin Griggs declared an interest in the report on Pavement Licences.  As a Member of Lincolnshire County Council he had taken part in debate on the matter at a meeting of their Full Council.  However, he was not affected by that decision and would approach debate with an open mind.

Councillor Tom Ashton declared an interest in the report on Pavement Licences on the grounds of being a Member of Lincolnshire County Council, but had not previously expressed a view and would approach debate with an open mind.

Councillor Paul Skinner declared an interest in the report on Pavement Licences on the grounds of being a Member of Lincolnshire County Council, but had not previously expressed a view and would approach debate with an open mind.

Councillor Anne Dorrian declared an interest in the Accelerated Grant through the Towns Fund report on the grounds of being an employee of Haven High Academy, whose scheme for a 3G pitch was included as an intervention project.

Councillor Paul Skinner and Councillor Paul Goodale declared an interest in the Accelerated Grant through the Towns Fund report, on the grounds of being members of the Boston Town Deal Board.  The Monitoring Officer confirmed this would not preclude taking part in debate on the item.

Councillor Tom Ashton declared that, with respect to the item on the Severance Arrangements for the Former Chief Executive, he was an Elected Member of East Lindsey District Council and had taken advice from the Monitoring Officer in respect of the agenda item.  He confirmed that he was appearing in the meeting as a Boston Borough Councillor and as the Ward Member for Old Leake and Wrangle, he would make a decision on the item as a Boston Borough Councillor and confirmed that Boston Borough Council was entirely on his mind.

(Report by the Licensing and Land Charges Manager)

Councillor Yvonne Stevens introduced a report by the Head of Regulatory Services on the issuing of pavement licences being delegated to Lincolnshire County Council.

The report stated that the Business and Planning Act 2020 had received Royal Assent on 22 July 2020.  The purpose of the Act was to support business recovery including making it easier, cheaper, and quicker for businesses to obtain pavement licences for the use of outdoor space during the summer and at other times.

Sections 1 to 9 of the Act provided district councils in two tier areas the power to issue pavement licences until 30 September 2021.  Previously this was only a function of the County Council.

Lincolnshire County Council had offered to discharge the function under the Act on behalf of district councils in Lincolnshire.  As licensing was a non-executive function, discharging the Council’s function required formal delegation by Council and formal acceptance by Lincolnshire County Council.  An extraordinary meeting of Lincolnshire County Council had been held on 3 August 2020 when it was agreed to accept such delegations.

The potential volume of applications in Boston was considered by officers to be low, consequently application fees would be unlikely to cover the Council’s costs if it were to discharge the function directly.

During debate concerns were raised regarding the safety of pedestrians, particularly those who were visually impaired or had disabilities, who may have difficulty navigating around street furniture or ‘A’ boards.  It was noted that Lincolnshire County Council already discharged this function and would have criteria and safety measures in place to address these concerns.

It was suggested that Lincolnshire County Council be requested to inform Borough Councillors when any pavement licences were issued for the Borough area, which the Portfolio Holder for Licensing agreed to take forward.

It was moved by Councillor Yvonne Stevens, seconded by Councillor Jonathan Noble and

(Report by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place).

Councillor Nigel Welton introduced a report by the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) providing an update on the Towns Fund and the allocated accelerated grant funding of £750,000 delivered through the mechanism of the Towns Fund to support the delivery of capital projects in the financial year 2020/21, that met the Towns Fund Intervention Framework and would have the greatest immediate impact to aid economic recovery.

On 30^th June 2020 the Prime Minister gave a speech and laid put plans for a ‘New Deal’ to support Britain’s recovery putting jobs, skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of a post Covid-19 economic growth strategy. 

On 1^st July 2020, the Chief Executive received notification the Boston Borough Council, through the Towns Fund, had been selected to receive £750,000 in accelerated grant funding to support capital projects that would drive jobs growth, create further investment and had the ability to look to build a stronger and more resilient economy for the community.  The notification set out how the grant allocation had been calculated, potential project interventions and a requirement to respond by 14^th August 2020 to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) with project proposals.

The MHCLG was particularly keen to see, in collaboration with the Town Deal Board, capital projects that responded to immediate challenges and supported the economic recovery including the repurposing of empty commercial buildings, open space infrastructure, improvements to the town centre and, where an immediate benefit could be achieved, demolition or site remediation.

The Town Deal Board was the vehicle through which the vision and strategy for the town was defined.  The Board, through a well-evidenced based Town Investment Plan (TIP) would set out a clear programme of projects, collaborating with partners and other public sector bodies to ensure a holistic approach to deliver sustainable long term economic and productivity growth.

The Boston Town Deal Board were advised of the accelerated grant on 7^th July and encouraged to suggest potential interventions which related to the emerging investment plan.

It was highlighted that consideration should be given to those projects that could facilitate and deliver sustained growth and return the maximum economic Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) for all of the community in the shortest amount of time.   Any project should be in a position to move quickly as funding was only available for the financial year 2020/21. 

Listed within the report were potential project interventions which met the criteria set out by the MHCLG:-

Haven High Academy – 3G Pitch Development Project - £120,000

Haven High Academy was applying to the Football Foundation for funding towards a full size floodlit 3G Football Turf Pitch.  The facility would support students and also provide opportunities for the local community groups to access high quality facilities.  The new 3G pitch would complement existing facilities and promote the academy as the hub of the local community.

The cost of a full sized pitch was in the region of £750,000 including professional fees and contingency.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

To consider resolving that under Section 100A(iv) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

It was moved by Councillor Paul Skinner, seconded by Councillor Martin Griggs and

(Report by the Monitoring Officer).

The Monitoring Officer presented a report on severance arrangements for the former Chief Executive.

Council was reminded that at its meeting held on 21July, it had been agreed to defer consideration of the discretionary element of the settlement package until written confirmation had been given from Mr. Drury’s advisor that the proposed terms would be full and final settlement.  The confirmation had since been received.

It was noted that an additional payment was due under the statutory and contractual element for untaken leave.

During debate Members paid tribute to Mr. Drury for his dedicated and loyal service to the Council over many years and wished him well for the future.

It was moved by Councillor Paul Skinner, seconded by Councillor Martin Griggs and