(time limit 15 Minutes)
Minutes:
The Mayor advised that the next item on the agenda was Public Question Time. Questions had been received from members of the public and would be taken in the order in which they had been received. Council agreed to suspend Council Procedure Rule 10.4 so that the questions would be shared on the screen rather than be read out.
The following questions were submitted:
1. Question received from Robert Barnes via email:
Would the Council Leader please advise how much Oldham Council received in grant funding from Central Government for the financial year to date?
Would he please break down where this grant funding has been spent?
Councillor Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Green, responded that the Council had received £551m in revenue grants for the financial year to date. The net revenue budget of the Council was supported by £74.9m of Central Government Unringfenced Grant. Although unringfenced, it was made up of several different grants. Where the Government allocated funding with an intention that it was spent, rather than a direction, the Council allocated resources to service accordingly. This applied to funding such as the Improved Better Care Fund (£10.585m). The budget of the Council was also underpinned by £343.4m of ringfenced grant which must be used for the purpose it was given. The largest of these was £262.1m for the Dedicated Schools Grant. Since the start of the financial year, the Council had received a range of other revenue grants. There had been £2.759m of unringfenced grant of which the largest was £1.580m for the Opportunity Area. These grants had been allocated in line with the Government’s intention. A range of grants had been received to support the response to COVID :
· £22.696m in unringfenced grant to support its general COVID spending
· £1.282m to support lost sales fees and charges income
· £25.463m to compensate the Council for the business rate reliefs given to retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses
· £54.7m to support mandatory and discretionary business grants introduced at the first national lockdown
· £10.611m for business grants introduced for the tiered restrictions and second national lockdown – all such grants were being paid to eligible businesses
· A total of £0.211m had been received in new burdens funding to manage the grant regimes
· A total of £15m had been received for COVID-specific grants and all were being used in line with Government grant terms and conditions. These included £4.592m for the Infection Control grant.
The Council had also received £14.4m of additional capital grants. All were being used for the purpose intended.
2. Question received from Beth Sharp via email:
There are currently 11 vacant and derelict plots in Derker. These plots are overgrown with weeds, they are used for fly tipping, and the knee rails are rotting and have been vandalised. The appearance of these sites sends the message that this is a forgotten area in the town and this is all Derker is worth.
Will the relevant Cabinet member meet with me in Derker and see first-hand the blight caused by the Council's neglect and will they, without delay, arrange for these weeds to be removed and a maintenance plan put in place to ensure residents do not have to live with this neglect for the next 10 years as they have done the previous 10?
Councillor Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Culture responded that, since the termination of the Housing Market Renewal Project the Council had worked with partners and delivered 226 new homes in Derker at Churchill Gardens and on two developments on Acre Lane. Afghan Park had also been modernised and extended onto London Road.
Officers were working on proposals to deliver wheelchair accessible houses and bungalows that would be owned by the Council on one of the remaining sites.
A bid had also been submitted to the Brownfield Housing Fund, which, if successful, would provide grant funding to help deliver high quality, energy efficient homes in the area. The outcome of this bid to GMCA was expected early in the new year.
The area had benefited from some improvement work during the lockdown periods this year, as Acre Lane and London Road were both re-surfaced. Reports of littering and dumping would be investigated and the sites cleared as part of the scheduled work undertaken in the area
3. Question from Michael Newell via email:
With the Spatial Framework development plan developed by Andy Burnham being delayed. What are Oldham councils plans for the future of much needed new houses in the town.
Councillor Roberts, Cabinet Member for Housing, responded that the Council remained committed to building homes in the Town Centre and was actively looking for funding opportunities and investors to take forward the Town Centre Masterplan to achieve this. The Council’s Flexible Housing Fund, set up as part of Creating a Better Place, was being used to implement the Council’s Housing Strategy. One project under development was a small sites programme to build new adapted and wheelchair accessible homes including a site in Derker referred to by Cllr Brownridge in the previous answer. The Council was also looking forward to the completion of new Council owned homes on Primrose Bank which ware on schedule to be handed over early in 2021. At the same time, the Council was currently considering the options and potential implications for progressing the Local Plan and how best to take this forward given the GMSF had failed.
4. Question from Connor Green via email:
Another consultation on bus franchising has launched this month. What is the reason for a further consultation? The results of the first one was fairly conclusive.
Councillor Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Culture responded that, following the introduction of the Bus Services Act (2017), a proposed bus franchising scheme was prepared for Greater Manchester and the public were consulted on this scheme by GMCA. The consultation closed in January this year. The vast majority of respondents to the consultation supported GMCA’s proposals for a franchising scheme (83% of the 5,978 participants). However, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Greater Manchester’s bus market, including timetables, revenues, passenger numbers and the public’s attitudes to public transport. Due to this, further work was needed to assess the impact of coronavirus on the bus reform process before any decisions on bus franchising could be made.
5. Question from Dave Arnott via email:
Following the Council Leader's disclosure of the £9.5m cost of purchasing the Spindles, would he please answer the following questions - in addition to the £9.5m, how much was paid in fees and stamp duty?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that final costs for fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax were still being finalised due to transition arrangements still taking place following the formal contract exchange for the acquisition. It was estimated to be in the region of £700k.
6. Question from Laura Rogers via email:
I am asking this question as a resident of Oldham and a member of Rainy City Roller Derby, Oldham's women's roller derby league - in fact, I moved to Oldham (and now live and work here) to join Rainy. As a result of the upcoming regeneration of Oldham town centre, the building which had been Rainy's training and game venue is being demolished. While the news of investment in Oldham is exciting and deserving, we have had to vacate our premises with very little notice (as we were expecting to sign a new lease).
Rainy City has been located in Oldham (at the Thunderdome, 51 - 53 King Street) for nearly ten years. Prior to Covid, we had four competing teams, a junior division, new skater training and hired our space to the Oldham men's roller derby team. Our A team is the top ranked team in Europe and #10 in the world. People moved to the area from across Europe and commuted long distances to train with Rainy. We attracted audiences to Oldham from across the UK and welcomed teams here from around the world.
The Council has publicly pledged support for Rainy in looking for a new venue. In terms of finding that new venue, can you clarify what support we can expect now and in the near future? Can we count on this support going forwards?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that the questions was in relation to the support the Council could offer to help them find a new home.
The Council recognised the importance of the Rainy City Roller Derby team, locally, nationally and internationally and was keen to support them to find an alternative venue.
With regards to the purchase of the building, council officers had been in discussion with the owners of the Riley’s building regarding a potential purchase for number of months and on 25th November an in-principle agreement was reached for a purchase of the building.
Without agreement from the Council and with no prior warning, the owners then contacted the Roller Derby tenants to inform them the Council was purchasing the building and that their lease was being terminated.
This did not give officers sufficient time to enter into a dialogue with the Roller Derby and work up a support package /relocation.
As soon as he personally was made aware of the situation, he had instructed the Business Growth and Investment team to make contact and help find alternative premises. The Investment team had now spoken to the Rainy City Roller team and were offering support, this had included an extensive search of properties via the Council database, discussions with agents and furthermore a request had been sent out to businesses in the area to try and find a suitable venue. The Council was keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible and would continue to support the team for as long as required.
7. Question from Michael Newell via email;
The latest version of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework was set to protect the green belt in Woodhouses by keeping its protected designation. Now the plan has been withdrawn what is the status of the Woodhouses greenbelt.
Councillor Roberts, Cabinet Member for Housing, responded that the status of Woodhouses Green Belt remained designated in line with the national planning policy framework and Oldham’s Local Plan (Policy 22 on Protecting Open Land). It remained protected. The GMCA and Leaders were currently considering how best to proceed in light of the recent decision by Stockport which led to the fall of the GMSF.
8. Question from Dave Arnott via email:
How much is the total budget for refurbishment of the Spindles? Where is this money coming from?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that the Council was considering a range of different options for the Spindles and the cost would depend on what the Council wanted to move into there and how ambitious it wished to be. It would also depend on whether any tenants wished to vacate the building. Plans had already been announced to develop office space, including space for Council staff, and Tommyfield Market. The refurbishment works would be taken from the Council’s Creating a Better Place Programme. As the Spindles had been acquired at a lower price than anticipated, there was more than sufficient provision within the capital funds allocated.
9. Question from Dave Arnott via email:
Will the Council give financial assistance to market traders in order to facilitate any potential future move? For example, cutting business rates?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that the Council’s ambition was to move Tommyfield Market into the Spindles. The Council was in talks with the Market Trader Association. Councillor Fielding had met with them personally and many of the traders had indicated that a move into the Spindles would make the market more sustainable. The Council was talking directly to the traders affected to ascertain what support they will need for the move.
10.Question from Dave Arnott via email:
Will the Council consider cutting the current rents the market traders pay to assist them at this difficult time?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that market traders have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief since April 2005, which means that they don’t pay business rates. There had not been a rent increase since 2010.
There were a number of rent discount schemes for traders, which were based on individual business set-ups. All traders were currently eligible for between a 10% and an 80% discount on their rent.
The Council also assisted traders with free Wi-Fi, discounted storage space, subsidised utility costs, and subsidised parking.
The Council was currently running a marketing campaign, encouraging people to shop local and support the traders.
During the current difficult times, the Council is also helping traders with payment plans for their rent.
11.Question from Dave Arnott via email:
Would the Council Leader please provide the footfall figures for the past 12 months for the town centre?
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, responded that the Council did not hold footfall figures for the town centre as a whole, as gathering this information would require very expensive equipment. Footfall in Spindles for the 12 months up to December was 5.7 million people.
At this point in the meeting the Mayor advised that all of the submitted questions had received a response.
RESOLVED that the questions and responses provided be noted.