Agenda item

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.4.

During his report the Leader covered the following areas:

• The council’s enforcement clamp down had continued with 1071 fixed penalty notices issued in six months up to May for littering, spitting and dog fouling offenses.  There had also been three successful prosecutions for fly-tipping in the past two months.  A new anti-litter campaign would soon be launched.
• The council had successfully prosecuted six rogue landlords resulting in over £23,000 of fines.
• In June the council targeted alcohol related anti-social behaviour, raising awareness of the Alcohol Control Public Space Protection Order.
• State of the art CCTV control room had now opened with a network of high definition cameras.
• A programme of investment in smart bins was underway.  They had the ability to alert the Council when they were nearly full and were hoped to help address issues connected to overflowing bins.
• The Fort Road Hotel had been sold at auction for £360,000.
• Cabinet approved the transfer of Birchington Memorial Ground and land at Alpha Road to Birchington Parish Council, and the transfer of the Old Look Out at Broadstairs into community management.
• The District had seen a 19% increase in the visitor economy.
• The Winter Shelter statistics had been published in May following its second successful year.  Thanks were offered to the 107 volunteers who had donated 4560 hours to the project.
• The government wished to have no rough sleepers by 2027 and had initially made £30,000,000 of funding available.  The council successfully obtained £367,000 of this funding.
• The housing team recently achieved ‘Highly Commended’ for two of the shortlisted entries at the National Municipal Journal awards.
• Kent as a whole has seen a rise in traveller incursions over the last 12 months.  The Council was looking at solutions to make unauthorised access on to land at Jackey Bakers more difficult.
• The new council website had been launched on 30 April.  Since then it had received 82,000 visits and feedback had been positive.  The Society of Information Technology Management had listed it as one of their recommended websites for best practice.
• The Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission had launched it conclusions in the 2050 Vision, the council was considering the detailed report.
• The 2019 Turner Prize would be hosted by the Turner Contemporary.  This would further raise Margate’s profile nationally and internationally.
• Democratic Services were holding public sessions to encourage more candidates to stand as Councillors.  The sessions would explain the role of a councillor and the support they would receive.

Councillor L Fairbrass as Deputy Leader of the Independent and UKIP Group made the following points:

• The Leader did not mention the Local Plan in his report.  When presenting the options for Council on 19 July the Leader must give due consideration to the legal and expert advice available to him.  Failure to do this could lead to the loss of the relative financial stability achieved  by the council over the last few years and would be symptomatic of the type of decision making made when the council was labelled toxic and dysfunctional in 2014.
• The new Landlord incentive scheme was to be welcomed and hopefully would help to address the growing number of  households facing homelessness in Thanet.

Councillor Reverend Piper as Leader of the Thanet Independent Councillors Group made the following points:

• He appreciated the Leaders efforts to keep the other political groups updated on his activities and aspirations.
• The housing team deserved congratulations for further recognition of their good work.
• Traveller incursions were on the rise and highlighted holes in the council’s capability of prevention.  Many residents wanted the council to take action to make the district more secure, particularly in Dane Valley and Jackey Bakers.
• Travellers and recalcitrant locals using motorbikes and all terrain vehicles in parks were a blight on the community and must be stopped.
• There was also concern about the lack of grass cutting as the seeds of some grass could be dangerous to dogs.

The Leader replied to Councillor Reverend Piper’s comments with the following points:

• The council took traveller incursions and other types of misuse of public spaces very seriously.  The council would come forward with proposals to address the issue.  Members of the public were also encouraged to contact the police if they saw any criminal activity.
• The Leader offered to raise the issue of grass cutting with the appropriate department.

Councillor Matterface as leader of the Labour Party made the following points:

• While taking a hard line on littering was good, there were multiple reports of dropped rubbish by council operatives during waste collections that did not get picked up, can this be addressed?
• It was good that the CCTV monitoring had been kept locally as knowledge of the local area was important.
• Could the Leader elaborate on the number of smart bins installed, and where they were located? Ordinary bins needed emptying more often as overflowing bins was an increasing problem.
• How many road sweepers with brooms did the council have? A traditional road sweeper on foot with a broom and litter picker was sometimes required when streets were full of parked cars.
• It was good that an organiser was already in place for the Winter Shelter project.
• The Leader was invited to attend a session at the GAP Project to see the work they were doing. The Chief executive had recently visited, and her visit was very appreciated.
• The number of women sleeping rough and homeless families was worrying, especially when they were placed in emergency accommodation out of the area.  What was being done to obtain more funding for more social housing?
• Consideration could be given to the house in a box scheme.
• Congratulations were offered to the housing team who were always helpful and go above and beyond the call of duty.
• The prospective councillor event was welcome, it would be supported by a number of Members of the council.  The Member Training Group had involvement in planning the event and thanks were offered to democratic services for their work with the group.

The Leader replied to Councillor Matterface’s comments with the following points:

• The national average percentage of rough sleepers that were women was 10%, however in Thanet the percentage was around 25%.  Part of the funding from government would be put towards a hostel for women rough sleepers.
• The Leader would take up Councillor Matterface’s offer to visit the GAP Project.
• The council had been looking at the house in a box scheme.