Agenda item

To consider the following motions:

 

·  Bermondsey Business Improvement District

 

·  Whitworth House

 

·  Pop up shops on Canada Water Plaza

 

·  Ending Council Investment in Tobacco and Arms

 

·  Fairtrade

 

·  Stop the delay on Southwark Park Athletics Track

 

·  Support for the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ Association (BNTVA).

MOTION 1 – BERMONDSEY BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT

(see page 16 of the main agenda)

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor The Right Reverend Emmanuel Oyewole, seconded by Councillor Claire Hickson, moved the motion.

 

Councillor Paul Kyriacou, seconded by Councillor Nick Stanton, moved Amendment E.

 

Following debate (Councillors Victoria Mills, Anood Al-Samerai, Richard Livingstone, Neil Coyle, Nick Dolezal and Graham Neale), The Right Reverend Emmanuel Oyewole exercised his right of reply.

 

Amendment E was put to the vote and declared to be carried.  Thereafter Councillor Paul Kyriacou exercised his right of reply.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Congratulates the Bermondsey Business Association on the work they have done on supporting local businesses in Bermondsey and improving the local economy.

 

2.  Supports the Bermondsey Business Association in their bid to create a business improvement district (BID) in Bermondsey.

 

3.  Welcomes the council’s £30,000 investment in Bermondsey through the community restoration fund which allowed the Bermondsey Business Association to start a full BID proposal and the council’s continuing support to help make sure the BID becomes a reality.

 

4.  Recognises the economic benefits that the creation of a BID will bring to the area, including marketing The Blue as a new and alternative shopping destination, partnering with existing and successful business districts such as Bankside and Borough Market, promoting the interests of The Blue and exploring opportunities for managing retail units as well as other initiatives to increase footfall, attract new businesses and further revitalise the town centre.

 

5.  Also recognises the spate of burglaries which have occurred recently in and around The Blue, and commits to working with the police and other relevant partners to ensure the issue is tackled swiftly.

 

6.  Welcomes Simon Bell opening the new butchers’ shop in the Blue

 

7.  Thanks Russell Dryden as the chair of the BBA and the work of the South Bermondsey Partnership in getting the Blue to a place where it is today.

 

8.  Recognises that some shops in the area have been empty for many months, and calls on council to ensure that any prospective new businesses will add benefit to the area and its shopping mix.

 

9.  Calls on the cabinet member for communities and economic development to continue to work with the Bermondsey Business Association to ensure that Bermondsey businesses have the support they need to thrive.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 2 – WHITWORTH HOUSE

(see page 16 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen Councillors Poddy Clark and Tim McNally formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Claire Hickson and Cleo Soanes formally moved and seconded Amendment F.

 

Amendment F was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That council assembly welcomes the £130 million plus which has been spent (excluding the Leathermarket JMB) on this council's flagship warm, dry and safe (WDS) housing investment programme, which is on course to be fully complete by 2015/16.  Through the WDS programme, funding to address the highest risk high rise blocks identified through fire risk assessments has been done, with over 5,000 individual boilers replaced and over 100 lifts refurbished. The major works programme continues to deliver for residents through a mixture of partnering contractors and traditional procurement.  All of the original two year programme will complete this year (except for the Hawkstone).  The 2012/13 programme is on site or completed and most of the 2013/14 is due on site this year. In addition the popularity and success of the WDS programme has allowed an estimated nearly £15 million of works to be brought forward from 2014/15 and another £13 million works from 2015/16 to commit in 2014/15. 

 

2.  That in addition the council assembly welcomes the new 100% target for tenancy checks which picks up repair and damp issues irrespective of major works noting that 60% tenants have been visited to date this year.

 

3.  That council assembly notes that through this programme residents’ concerns with the partnering contractors have been acted on immediately and that the council has already terminated two poorly performing contracts and installed a new framework for contractors to provide more choice than the current partnering arrangements. An example of this is Whitworth House, Falmouth Road on the Rockingham Estate, where in response to residents’ concerns the council has tried to end the on-going relationship with the contractor on a mutually agreeable basis.

 

4.  That in order to achieve this council assembly calls on the cabinet to:

 

·  Ensure all residents are visited to individually assess the outstanding issues relating to damp, repairs and door and window replacementas part of the major works and completions and through the 6 months and 12 months defects periods before any payment is made.

·  Agree with each resident a plan and timetable for resolving each issue by December before full and final payment is made.

·  Arrange for close supervision of the replacement contractor to ensure completion of the outstanding issues.

·  Provide compensation to the residents for the missed appointments and disruptionfor missed appointments

·  Review the management and oversight of major works and ensure that the WDS programme is subject to ongoing scrutiny through the major works core group composed of contractors, residents and officers and chaired by the cabinet member for housing management.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 3 –  POP UP SHOPS ON CANADA WATER PLAZA

(see page 17 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen Councillors Michael Situ and Nick Dolezal formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Notes that several of the units for let on Canada Water Plaza, which are part of the new development, are currently empty.

 

2.  Notes the success of temporary ‘pop up shops’ in vacant retail units in East Street and Nunhead and considers this a good use of otherwise empty units to promote local business, develop the local economy and improve our high streets.

 

3.  Calls on cabinet to:

 

·  Explore the possibility of the council taking a one year lease for the empty units on Canada Water Plaza

 

·  Work with the owners of the shops on Canada Water Plaza to use these empty units as ‘pop up shops’, similar to those in East Street and Nunhead.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 4 – ENDING COUNCIL INVESTMENT IN TOBACCO AND ARMS

(see page 17 of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Eliza Mann declared a personal interest in this item and left the room whilst it was discussed and voted upon.

 

This motion was considered prior to the guillotine having fallen.

 

Councillor David Noakes, seconded by Councillor Poddy Clark, moved the motion.

 

Councillor Richard Livingstone moved Amendment G.

 

At 10.05pm the Mayor announced that the guillotine had fallen. 

 

Amendment G was formally seconded by Councillor Patrick Diamond.

 

Amendment G was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Welcomes the commitment of the leader of the council to undertake a survey of current and former staff who are members of the borough’s pension scheme to understand their views on investment into Southwark’s pension scheme, including issues around ethical investment.

 

2.  Recognises that decisions on individual investments in the pension fund are made by the strategic director of finance and corporate services, on the advice of our cross-party pensions advisory panel, which has equal representation from each of the three main political parties.

 

3.  Acknowledges that the council’s pension fund has a legal duty to put the financial wellbeing of members of the pension scheme as its foremost concern.

 

4.  Further acknowledges that a £200 million funding gap already exists in the council’s pension fund, which could become even larger if the council chose to invest in areas that do not provide a substantial return. Council assembly notes that this could open up the prospect of law suits from members on the basis that the council was not investing in their best interests.  It also notes that riskier investments would impact on future actuarial reviews of the fund, resulting in a need for larger contributions to the fund from the council and other members of the scheme. This in turn would require new savings from elsewhere in the council budget to fund.

 

5.  Notes that investments in the council’s pension fund have remained largely unchanged since the previous administration and welcomes the fact that, after years of inaction from the Liberal Democrats, Labour is now working with the cross-party pension advisory group to find more ethical ways of investing in the pension fund.

 

6.  Welcomes the agreement at the most recent pensions advisory panel meeting in September to further explore the adoption of ethical investment principles and further welcomes the commitment from the leader of the council that, subject to ensuring the best return for members, investment in some firms could be stopped.  Council assembly calls on the pensions advisory panel to carefully consider how this can be done without negatively impacting the ability to pay employees who have invested in the fund in good faith during their working lives.

In accordance with council assembly procedure rule 1.15(5) Councillor Toby Eckersley requested that his abstention be recorded in the minutes.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 5– FAIRTRADE

(see page 18 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen Councillors Andy Simmons and Helen Hayes formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Jonathan Mitchell and Graham Neale formally moved and seconded Amendment H.

 

Amendment H was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That Southwark Council achieved Fairtrade borough status in July 2007 with cross-party support. Council assembly recognises the work of the whole community in achieving this.

 

2.  That given the council’s proactive role in supporting Fairtrade, council assembly reconfirms its commitment to Fairtrade and expresses its support for the use, expansion and promotion of the range of Fairtrade products in the council’s office and other establishments.

 

3.  That council assembly calls on cabinet to continue to work with its catering contractors, staff, residents, visitors, businesses, the public and the voluntary sector to increase the availability and take up of ‘Fairtrade’ marked food, drink and clothing options.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 6 – STOP THE DELAY ON SOUTHWARK PARK ATHLETICS TRACK

(see page 18 of the main agenda)

 

The guillotine having fallen Councillors Jeff Hook and Eliza Mann formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

Councillors Veronica Ward and Lorraine Lauder formally moved and seconded Amendment I.

 

Amendment I was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Notes with sadness the state of disrepair into which Southwark Park athletics track has fallen after 8 years of inaction, and welcomes the allocation of £1.09 million from various funding streams to redevelop the facility.

 

2.  Further notes that the £1.09 million raised includes Olympic Legacy Funding for renewal work on the track and field.  A capital bid will be made for 2014/15 for the remainder of the funding required to realise plans for a full development of the site, including re-modelling of the building and changing facilities.

 

3.  Council assembly welcomes the current administration’s commitment to the completion of all the projects funded by the Olympic Legacy Fund.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

MOTION 7 – SUPPORT FOR THE BRITISH NUCLEAR TEST VETERANS’ ASSOCIATION (BNTVA)

(see pages 18 - 19  of the main agenda)

 

Councillor Andy Simmons declared an disclosable pecuniary interest in this item and left the room whilst it was discussed and voted upon.

 

The guillotine having fallen Councillors Ian Wingfield and Dan Garfield formally moved and seconded the motion.

 

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried

 

RESOLVED:

 

That council assembly:

 

1.  Notes that its commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant ensures the need of those residents of Southwark who serve, of have served, the country are recognised and supported at a local level.

 

2.  Further notes that many other residents have, through a range of professions, served the country in equally significant measure, such as in national security and defence – including those who participated in the testing of Britain’s nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s.

 

3.  Welcomes that, following a Ministry of Defence commissioned Health Needs Analysis in 2011 of British nuclear test veterans, the NHS have introduced a number of practical measures to support them.

 

4.  Believes that other parts of the public and voluntary sector should seek to introduce similar measures to support nuclear test veterans – and that the council should lead this at a local level by extending the provisions of the Armed Forces Community Covenant to those veterans who live in Southwark.

 

5.  Urges the government to support the campaign of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association by:

 

·  officially recognising the unique service of these veterans and acknowledge the nation’s continuing debt to them; and

 

·  supporting the intention to establish a benevolent fund of £25 million to provide assistance for those veterans and their descendants in need.

 

6.  Calls on Southwark’s Members of Parliament to back this campaign and join the council in urging the government to support the requests outlined in this motion.

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.