Agenda item

Member Question submitted by Cllr Ted Strike for response by the Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture (Cllr Steve Nelson):-

“Ingleby Barwick Town Council have been trying for the last 3 years to replace old and faulty Christmas lights at our expense. Unfortunately this has not happened yet.

The town clerk approached SBC officers in September 2022 to identify the town council were looking to replace faulty lights and provide more Christmas lights and was this possible for Christmas 2023.,

The response was that we should revisit this in April 2023 which would leave ample time to get them ordered etc. Unfortunately, the officer identified moved to another position in the council so nothing was done.

In January 2024 we received a notification that SBC were carrying out a condition assessment of all festive lighting, electrical equipment and infrastructure required to deliver our existing Christmas lighting programme in our community. We immediately reiterated our intention to provide additional lighting. We received an immediate response that they would be in touch once the initial assessment has been made, when Stockton council would have a better idea as to the required works and cost.

The clerk contacted the officer again in early July asking if there had been an outcome of the audit yet?

In August we were advised there could not be any new lighting for Christmas 2024.

We have budgeted for each of the last 3 years for replacement and additional lighting as quite frankly a lot of these old ones are either not working or only part working and have been like this for the last few years.

We would like to have replacement lights for this year and as an officer stated in his previous email that we should revisit this in April (2023) we really need to have this actioned next month. Can we have an urgent meeting with the officers involved and our town clerk and a member of the town council to identify the new lights and get them ordered so our residents can enjoy new and improved lights this Christmas? Ideally this meeting would be held before our next town council meeting on the 15th April.”

On behalf of the Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture, the Leader of the Council responded with:

“I am aware that officers have already responded to your question and offered to meet you as requested.”

Member Question submitted by Cllr Ted Strike for response by the Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture (Cllr Steve Nelson):-

“In 2022 Ingleby Barwick Town Council had two Community Public Access Defibrillators with plans to increase this by a further three.  However, along came Deborah Gale and CPAD IB  who in 3 years have installed 27 additional defibrillators with 2 more awaiting installation. They have also sited a further 41 in other areas. CPAD IB are a not for profit voluntary organisation with no funding.

They have raised finances by holding fund raising events, grants from the town council as well as donations of defibrillators from companies and even individuals.

So far in the 3 years since they started siting their Community Public access Defibrillators there have been 229 deployments including 4 this month at the time of writing this question 9th March. This proves the need for these lifesaving pieces of equipment.

SBC Defibrillator policy states that there are only three of their buildings with Defibrillators on the outside of them.  Surely if a small group of volunteers can install 68 in just 3 years SBC should be capable of fitting lifesaving Community Public Access Defibrillators to the buildings they own or rent that are less than 500mtrs apart?

Will this council follow the example of Deborah Gale and her amazing committee and install Defibrillators on their buildings?”

On behalf of the Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture, the Leader of the Council responded with:

“Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) acknowledges the valuable efforts of Deborah Gale and cPAD Ingleby Barwick in expanding access to Community Public Access Defibrillators (cPADs) across the borough. The cPAD system is dependent on volunteers who take responsibility for ongoing maintenance and upkeep.

As per the SBC Defibrillator Policy, the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) co-ordinate and advise on cPAD provision. Data from The Circuit (the cPAD system) shows there are currently 141 cPADs registered in Stockton-on-Tees which are accessible 24/7, and 295 including those with varied access times. The ambulance service also uses planning software to determine the most likely locations of emergency calls, and stage ambulances in these locations to provide additional coverage. 999 operators view a live map of available defibrillators, and direct callers appropriately.

As mentioned in the policy, SBC follow guidance from NEAS on areas in Stockton-on-Tees where cPADs are most needed. This is based on population demographics and numbers of cardiac arrests. Based on the guidance given by NEAS, two postcodes in Stockton-on-Tees are identified as priority areas for cPAD placement, TS17 9 and TS18 2. SBC offer funding to communities and organisations in these areas towards the purchase and maintenance of cPADs, to support strategic coverage across the borough. SBC also promote and facilitate CPR training by the British Heart Foundation and NEAS, to ensure more people feel confident in responding to cardiac emergencies.”

Cllr Ted Strike asked the following supplementary question:

“Each of the defibrillator units have to go on lampposts and be installed by the Council at a cost. Would it be possible for the Council to do this for free?”

The Leader of the Council responded with:

“I am unable to answer your question tonight as the Town Council would need to go through the Council’s process.”

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

“The Home Builders Federation recently undertook a national Freedom of Information request with Local Authorities in England and Wales and identified (from the 208 responses) that over £8 billion of infrastructure payments by developers, including over £6 billion from Section 106 agreements and almost £2 billion raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy is lying unspent in their accounts.

Can the Leader of the Council inform me how much money linked to Section 106 agreements is held unspent by Stockton Borough Council, what is the oldest of the unspent Section 106 agreements held by Stockton Borough Council, what is the average (value) unspent Section 106 agreement, and whether any of the unspent Section 106 agreements have had to be returned to the developer?”

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:

“The Council currently holds £13.37m of developer agreements, at an average amount of £181,000. The oldest agreement relates to 2006 and no unspent funding relating to these S106 agreements has been returned to the relevant developer.

It should be noted that funding from these agreements can come in significantly before the associated infrastructure is actually required and there are occasions where there are multiple triggers that dictate when the funding will be received. Each agreement is bespoke and will have its specific requirements that need to be considered to ensure that they are applied in the appropriate way. The Council takes its role as the administrator of these funds seriously and seeks to maximise the use of this money to support a growing borough.”

Cllr Tony Riordan asked the following supplementary question:

“Would you agree that residents and businesses have been let down and have failed to receive the much needed infrastructure from these Agreements.”

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing responded with:

“Sometimes Section 106 payments remain unspent until there is a trigger for the payment. These bespoke Agreements are set out in the Planning Consents.

I am proud that people want to live in this Borough. It is a vote of faith that Stockton is a good place to live and work. We need to make sure that infrastructure is provided and we have a fine record of doing that.”