Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Richard Levell and Ian Jelley.

No declarations were received.

RESOLVED that: The Service Delivery, Performance and Customers Executive Advisory Panel agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 1^st November 2021 as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

None.

Members of the panel received a report that sought consideration of the disposal of residual waste in North Northamptonshire beyond March 2023 with a view to informing the decision of Executive at its meeting on 16^th December 2021.

The meeting noted the background to the existing contract for the treatment and disposal of residual waste signed in 2013 that had an initial term of seven years and was therefore originally due to have expired on 31^st March 2020. However, as the contract was extendable in increments for up to a further five-year period within the original terms, a decision was made to extend the contract to 31^st March 2023 by the former County Council in February 2019.

The meeting heard that a decision to extend the current contract by a further two-years to 2025 would allow additional time for the formulation of a full Waste Strategy and would add to the harmonisation programme as well as securing treatment facility capacity while continuing with existing terms and conditions.

Members asked questions in relation to:

·         The number of operators offering the disposal of residual waste service

·         How contractors accommodated additional waste generated as a result of the increase in new-build properties

·         The scope of work involved in the Council creating its own Waste Strategy

·         How the Council ensured that service provision adhered to the performance management framework

It was RESOLVED that the Executive Advisory Panel:

i)             Noted the requirement to make arrangements for the treatment and disposal of residual waste in North Northamptonshire Council; and

ii)            Considers the proposal to delegate authority to the Executive Member for Highways, Travel & Assets in consultation with the Executive Director for Place & Economy (Deputy Chief Executive) and the Executive Member for Finance and the Executive Director for Finance, to take decisions necessary and consequently enter into the legal agreements related to the extension in order to ensure continued service provision; and

iii)           Recommended to the Executive that the current contract for the disposal of residual waste in North Northamptonshire be extended to 31^st March 2025

The panel was asked to consider and provide comments on the draft quarterly Transformation Update that sought to provide details on the transformational activity across North Northamptonshire Council and offered an opportunity to celebrate the success and achievements as transformation was delivered.

It was noted that the Transformation Team was in the process of developing a coherent communication plan for members, with the draft update before the panel being once facet of this plan. It was noted that the document contained a Programme Overview and timescales for ongoing projects relating to:

·         Disaggregation

·         Critical Business

·         Service Improvement Structure

Members noted that there would be face-to-face sessions held in January/February which would provide further information regarding transformation progress and further details supplied in relation to specific ongoing projects.

Member feedback was encouraged, with the panel approving of the layout of the document, as well as the level of content and detail contained within it.

The panel received a report that sought to provide an update in relation to the Corby Town Fund and Multi-Use Project.

The panel heard that in September 2019, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had announced 101 towns who were eligible to bid for up to £25m through the Towns Fund, the objective of which was to drive sustainable economic regeneration for long-term economic and productivity growth. Corby was one of the towns eligible to bid for funding, with a successful bid attracting a total of £19.9m for four projects detailed within Corby’s Town

Investment Plan in connection to the Town Fund. These projects were:-

·         Sixth Form College at Chisholm House - Chisholm House, would be repurposed and renovated to be a carbon neutral building using the latest innovative technologies to bring this ground-breaking and modern building to the heart of the town centre.

·         Multi-use Building - The project was for a multipurpose facility to provide permanent new accommodation for a modern Arts and Community Centre, as well as meeting the identified demand for creative, media and the third sector uses.

·         Corby Station Links – will look to improve the public realm and provide an attractive and safe pedestrian/cycle connections between the town centre, Tresham College, and the train station along the southern route of Oakley Road. It would connect the station directly with the Chisholm House and the Multi-use Building projects and make a significant contribution to the active travel agenda and help to reduce congestion and emissions across Corby.

·         Smart and Connected Corby – This project sought to establish Corby as a smart and green town centre through harnessing connected and clean technologies. Using the latest connected and smart technology to enable monitoring of flows of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, shoppers, and visitors to understand the present and predict the future.

In regard to the Multi-Use Building, work was underway to formulate terms and conditions for the site, followed by the commissioning of a robust study on the potential uses and requirements of this building. Following on from this would be the design works, directly feeding into the business case to be submitted to government by June 2022. The successful completion of the business case would unlock the funding and allow the project to move into the implementation stage which was anticipated to commence in 2022/23.

Members welcomed the project and thanked officers for all their work in connection with the successful funding bid. The panel asked questions in regard to potential completion dates and uses for the Multi-Use Building.

The meeting received a report that asked the panel to consider the procurement of the Catering services at Kettering Library and Alfred East Gallery as part of the ‘GLaM’ development, with a view to informing the decision of Executive at its meeting on 16^th December 2021. The report also asked the panel to consider the delegation of authority from the Executive to the Executive Member for Sport, Leisure, Culture and Tourism in consultation with the Executive Director for Adults, Communities and Wellbeing, to take any further decisions and/or actions required to conclude this procurement.

The meeting heard that as part of the as part of the business plan development for the ongoing project development, an options appraisal had been commissioned to evaluate whether an inhouse/lease or concession model would be the best option for the catering provision at the site. The report had recommended a concession model operated by a local supplier.

It was noted that the café needed to be managed by a dedicated catering manager/business, to enable it to develop, deliver the services required in the facility, and to ensure profitability. It was therefore proposed that a procurement exercise be undertaken to identify a suitable concession supplier to manage the catering provision within the facility, with approval sought from the Executive in this regard.

Members asked questions in regard to the Blitz Café that was located adjacent to the development and noted that communication with the operators was ongoing and that they would have the opportunity to bid as part of the procurement process. 

It was RESOLVED that the Executive Advisory Panel recommended to Executive that:

i)             The procurement process as outlined in the report to be approved; and

ii)            That authority be delegated to the Executive Member for Sport, Leisure, Culture and Tourism in consultation with the Executive Director for Adults, Communities and Wellbeing to take any further decisions and/or actions required to conclude this procurement and deliver this service

Members received the Executive Forward Plan and the work programme for the panel and noted upcoming items for both.