Agenda item

Member Question submitted by Cllr Ted Strike for response by the Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety (Cllr Norma Stephenson):-

 

“Ingleby Barwick Community Partnership held their Tenth market anniversary in September, sadly our Christmas market in December looks like this will be the last one.

 

Since SBC changed the rules on street trading in March this year which left us with a choice of charging an entrance fee or paying £100 for each market.

 

Paying the tax would make our market not worthwhile holding from a financial point of view so we chose to put on a charge, and although at our first market we gave out vouchers to the value of the entrance fee, and a committee member donated hundreds of 10 pence pieces to pay a 10p entry fee at our other markets footfall has fallen by between 30/40%.

 

When I raised this last year I said this would have a negative impact on our market, officers and councillors said it was only £5 per stall, well this is presuming we have 20 stalls, which is not the case and if we were to increase our stall fee I am sure a number would stop attending.

 

At our Light switch on in November we only have a coffee van and a stall selling hot food but we had to pay £100. Surely this is not what was envisaged when the changes were made, negatively affecting community events.

 

If the rules are not changed then our market will no longer be held.

 

Will the council

 

1.         Exempt Community events from this Street Trading Temporary Event Tax

if not

2.         Change the current rules to allow a small number of stalls to attend events free of charge, i.e. 2, 3,4 or 5. At least this way small events such as Christmas Light switch ons would be exempt?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety responded with:-

 

“The whole Borough Street Trading regime was implemented on 1 March 2024, after a period of extensive consultation, of which Cllr Strike was included, as all members were. 

 

During the consultation period changes were made to the procedural guidance on community events, and charity events on religious or school grounds, themes which were concerns raised during the consultation period.

 

Community events are exempt from the Street Trading regime if there is no commercial gain from trading and all profits made are put back into the purpose of the registered charity / association.

 

Although Ingleby Barwick Community Partnership markets are organised by a registered charity / association, the profits made from this trading in the Borough are not put back into the registered charity / association, the traders are commercial traders.

 

The first street trading consent was issued in 04/05/24, there is a commitment to review the operational procedural guidance which sets out how this regime will be manged within 12-18 months of operation (by August 2025), this will include a public consultation and consultation with the General Licensing Committee. This information and any proposed operational changes to the way the regime is managed will be considered by the Cabinet Member and Service Director for this area, this is not a matter for Council to determine.

 

A full list of temporary event street trading consents can be found on our website and included similar events, including SBC temporary events, Friends of Ropner Park events and Yarm Town Council events. Although the organisers of these events may not make a profit and are arranging the event for the benefit of the community, the traders at these events are not selling goods for the benefit of the registered charity / association, they are commercial traders, making profit from these well attended resident events.

 

Any operational changes to the way the regime is managed will be considered by Cabinet Member and service Director for this area following a consultation later this year as agreed.”

 

Cllr Ted Strike asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“What would the Cabinet Member say to our stall holders who will no longer be able to trade and residents who will no longer be able to visit the market?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety responded with:-

 

“Council policy is that if a stall holder is making a profit, they should be paying for a licence. The policy will be reviewed in August and would encourage anyone to make representation then.” 

 

Member Question submitted by Cllr Jack Miller for response by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing (Cllr Nigel Cooke):-

 

“Can the Leader inform me what the Council is doing to tackle the potholes blighting our roads?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:

 

“As the local Highway Authority, we take care of about 860 km (534 miles) of roads and other related assets like bridges, footpaths, streetlights, drains, signs, and lines. Government funding for maintaining these assets has been lower than needed for many years, so we've been doing our best to manage the backlog of work.

 

We use well-known asset management methods to make sure our limited funds are used effectively to reduce road deterioration as much as possible. We have two main ways to handle road deterioration, including potholes.

 

1.         Reactive Maintenance: Our Highway Inspectors regularly check all Council-owned roads and fix any potholes that meet our repair criteria. They also investigate and repair potholes reported by the public through our website, phone, or email.

 

2.         Proactive Maintenance: We have an annual program that includes preventive treatments. This program is based on data from road condition assessments, accident data, observations, and reports from stakeholders like local Councillors. It also considers future road work plans.

 

By using these methods, we manage our road network as efficiently as possible with the limited funding we receive.”

 

Cllr Jack Miller asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“When is Stockton on Tees Borough Council going to get on with fixing the potholes in our roads, instead of following the Labour trait of wrecking things?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:-

 

“Government funding has been inadequate to properly maintain our roads. Potholes are being repaired in line with the asset management methods outlined. Transport funding has been passported to the Tees Valley Combined Authority and I will raise questions about allocation of the funding at the next Tees Valley Transport Committee.” 

 

Member Question submitted by Cllr Marcus Vickers for response by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing (Cllr Nigel Cooke):-

 

“What is happening with the £10m allocated for Billingham Town Centre back in February 2021, before levelling up funding was available?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:

 

“The MTFP report February 2021 approved prudential borrowing of up to £10million to allow the Council to negotiate the acquisition of Billingham Town Centre and undertake any immediate repairs and remediation

 

Council are familiar with the course of events between February 2021 and the subsequent award of Round 3 Levelling Up Fund in November 2023, which preceded the most recent decision taken by Cabinet on the matter in May 2024.

 

Within the Cabinet report it was stated that

 

Options for securing a development partner will be explored to facilitate the future redevelopment of the West Precinct site. Depending on the nature of any future development agreement, it is likely some funding will be required to support the redevelopment of the site and as such, the previously approved borrowing allocation of £10million in February 2021 will remain in the Medium Term Financial Plan(MTFP), with a further report to Cabinet setting out any future recommendations for its use once progress has been made on seeking a development partner and establishing an appropriate residential product and achievable route to delivery.

 

This remains as the current position in regard to said funding allocation.

 

We are still awaiting a funding agreement from MHCLG at which point we will be able to progress with the project,”

 

Cllr Marcus Vickers asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“Can the Cabinet Member inform me how much was paid to Evolve Estates?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:-

 

“As the Councillor very well knows, that information is commercially sensitive and I therefore cannot comment.” 

 

Member Question submitted by Cllr Barbara Inman for response by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport (Cllr Clare Besford):-

 

“I was very pleased to see lots of positive comments on social media regarding the new Letters to Heaven post box at the Crematorium.

 

Are there plans to keep this as a permanent feature?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport responded with:

 

“We all handle grief in our own way and for some the act of writing and posting a letter to a departed loved one will bring comfort so I am pleased to confirm that this will remain a permanent feature at the Crematorium.

 

The crematorium has gone from strength to strength since opening in September 2019, with over 6,500 cremations taking place to date and the Letters to Heaven post box is just one of many memorialisation offers available to residents at the crematorium. I know the team have been working hard to digitalise the memorial offers and are always looking at other offers to aid with the remembrance of loved ones, from the book of remembrance to newly offered memorial trees.”

 

Member Question submitted by Cllr Paul Rowling for response by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People (Cllr Lisa Evans):-

 

“From employment and educational opportunities to home ownership, evidence shows that care leavers face substantial barriers in comparison to other young people. As a Corporate Parent, Councillors have a duty to do all that is possible to break down these barriers. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has always aimed to be a leader in this area. Can the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People update me on what work we are doing, and what ambitions she has for the future?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People responded with:

 

“Over the last 18 months we have worked hard to improve our support for care leavers. So far we have strengthened the support offered by Personal Advisers and are committed to ensuring that this is high quality and purposeful. We have done lots to redevelop the Local Offer including the development of a rent guarantor scheme and the provision of rent top ups to support the affordability of good quality accommodation. We’ve expanded our employability pledge with a clear pathway of advice and guidance from our Training and Employment Hub through to paid work placements and apprenticeship opportunities. We are recommissioning our supported accommodation offer to ensure that we have good quality accommodation and support which helps prepare young people to live independently when the time is right for them.

 

We’ve made some progress but we are absolutely determined to do more. From listening to the views and experiences of our young people and by learning from other areas of the country that are recognised as good practice, we know where we need to focus. We are passionate about helping our young people to have good mental health and will be providing opportunities to build and maintain positive connections with others, get involved in community activities and recognise and praise their achievements – all of which are the building blocks of emotional health and wellbeing. Alongside this and with our partners in the NHS, we will be working to improve our mental health services and therapeutic support. Access to routine healthcare services is critical for the future wellbeing of our young people and we have the ambition to secure free prescriptions alongside free dental and optical care.  We are working with housing providers to recognise care leavers as a priority status for housing and to look at innovative ways of developing high quality accommodation options across the Borough. Whilst we are working with our statutory partners to expand our employability pledge, we want to work with local businesses to increase paid work placements, training opportunities and apprenticeships. We value the free public transport for 16- to 18-year-olds as set out by the Tees Valley Mayor but are working closely with our neighbouring Local Authorities to campaign for free travel for care leavers up to the age of 25. We are reviewing the roles within the care experienced team and are considering whether we can introduce specialist workers; one with responsibility for accommodation, and one for EET, to further strengthen our support to care experienced young people in these two important areas. Some of these ambitions will be quicker and easier to achieve than others, but we are passionate in our drive to achieve them.”

 

Cllr Paul Rowling asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“Can the Cabinet Member assure me that as a Local Authority, we will always consider the voices of young people in our care when making decisions?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People responded with:-

 

“Yes, it is integral to our role as corporate parents and we are working with our partners also to achieve this.” 

 

Member Question submitted by Cllr Paul Rowling for response by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing (Cllr Nigel Cooke):-

 

“From providing money to fund council services, to multiple wider economic benefits, the Hampton by Hilton continues to be a success story for our town. Can the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing update me on both the benefits of the hotel, and the wider economic regeneration work planned around Stockton Town Centre, and over the river in Teesdale?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:

 

“The Hampton by Hilton Hotel continues to be a success with very strong midweek demand, meeting the needs of local businesses. This strong performance is reflected in the income generated and dividend paid to shareholders for last financial year which is in excess of £250,000 on top of the previous year’s dividend of over £200,000 for financial year ending March 2023

 

Across central Stockton work continues on the transformation of Stockton Waterfront supplemented by the final stages of work on the CDC, enabled and supported through strong partnership working between the Council and NHS Trust in advance of opening to the public in early Spring.  

 

Wellington Square continues to be an attractive and vibrant retail heart for the town centre, with growth year on year in footfall and ongoing demand from retailers for space that will be evidenced in new lettings in the pipeline over the coming months alongside proactive steps to retain the post office within Wellington Square.

 

The council has developed a comprehensive blueprint for Central Stockton and North Thornaby and officers are now working to being forward options for members to consider which will see us working in partnership to unlock investment opportunities and deliver new homes.  The recent signing of MoU with Teesside University to seek to deliver a medical school as an integral part of the emerging aspiration to create a Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone, with early signs of confidence in this approach evidenced by investment in the redevelopment of the former Barclaycard offices into BOAZ House, providing modern, high quality riverside Grade A office space which is due to complete soon. and new tenant in cavendish House, Practice Plus providing a range of services including the 111 service. We can also see successful residential regeneration with the build out of the final phase on northshore completed in 2024. 

 

In the coming year work will focus on continuing to deliver Stockton waterfront and ensure that it brings new footfall and animation to Stockton town centre when it opens in 2026.

We are working hard to strengthen relationships with partners as we explore further regeneration opportunities, including the former Marshalling Yards, improvements to Teesdale and the development of a Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone.

 

We are progressing well to turn the initial blueprint into future opportunities for commercial and residential development and bring new investment and economic activity in the heart of the town centre.”

 

Cllr Paul Rowling asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“Can the Cabinet Member confirm that all partners are working together to ensure we get the best of schemes to benefit our residents?”

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:-

 

“We have a successful track record of working in partnership in Stockton Town Centre and across the Borough. It is our ambition to deliver high quality jobs in Stockton and further afield.”