Tag Archives: Cllr Adrian Jones

by

What next for demolished Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory site (Joseph Proudman Building) on Bidston Hill?


What next for demolished Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory site (Joseph Proudman Building) on Bidston Hill?

Demolished Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Bidston Hill

First, a quick history of what’s been happening about this site. Last year in June, Wirral Council’s Cabinet received a report recommending demolition. People had asked the Cabinet about the effect of the Unitary Development Plan change in 2004 on a decision to demolish it, so as nobody seemed to know whether this was still in effect, a decision on it was deferred to the meeting on the 9th July 2012.

The Cabinet meeting on the 9th July 2012 was in postponed to the 10th July 2012 and was told that the bit of the Unitary Development Plan relating to Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory had been deleted in 2007. However between June and July an application had been made to English Heritage for listed status. A decision was then deferred again to Cabinet’s meeting of the 6th September (in the hope that English Heritage would’ve decided on listed status by then).

It wasn’t on the Cabinet agenda of the 6th September or the next meeting of the 27th September. By October a decision had been reached by English Heritage not to accept the application for listed building status and on the 8th October 2012 the Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources, Cllr Adrian Jones gave consent to demolition (effective from the 16th October) for the Joseph Proudman Building. Since then it has been demolished by Hunter Demolition.

Wirral Council owns the site of the former Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, but NERC (the Natural Environment Research Council) has a 99-year lease from 1973. Wirral Council receive £1,800 a year rent from NERC. However NERC have tried to sell their lease. Local residents are concerned that now the building has been demolished that there could a residential development on this site, especially as the Lighthouse Cottage and Bidston Observatory are now being used for this purpose.

In the evidence base (see page 112) for Wirral Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availablity Assessment 2012 it is listed as a site (it lists it as Bidston Observatory but the coordinates are for the Joseph Proudman Building) with a capacity for thirty-eight dwellings. This document gives it an achievability score of 3 (which means development of the site could be achieved in the next five years). It states in that document “Car park and other building require demolition/conversion” (which has already happened).

Any decision on new housing on the site of the Joseph Proudman Building would be first need planning permission and being a major development would be decided by Wirral Council’s Planning Committee. A future request for planning permission would attract opposition from local residents wanting to keep Bidston Hill as it is, its impact on the existing listed buildings (the Lighthouse and the Observatory) would also need to be considered. Until that happens the future of the site is up to NERC and Wirral Council.

Related articles
About these ads
by

Pension Committee (Wirral Council) 20th November 2012 Part 3


Continued from Pension Committee (Wirral Council) 20th November 2012 Part 2.

The next item on the agenda was the gifts and hospitality policy, Peter Wallach spent five minutes summarising the report. At the end the Chair asked if there were any questions. Nobody asked any questions and the recommendations were agreed.

The next report was an update on work on the Cunard Building. Cllr Hornby wanted a working party set up and for the committee to agree to a working party being created. Cllr Harry Smith said he would second it if Cllr Hornby added if needed. Cllr Adrian Jones said it was sensible and he would go along with it. Cllr Harry Smith said he would support a working party if needed. Cllr Hornby said that he was trying to save time and not wait till next year. Cllr Harry Smith said he wouldn’t name the officer, but the unnamed officer had said that they would make a decision, he said he was not happy with officers making decisions before councillors. The Chair asked for a vote. All voted in favour of a working party.

Peter Wallach said a report was expected at the end of the month, the next committee meeting was in January so there would be a working party by Christmas.

The next report was on the LGC Investment Conference. The officer said it was in the supplementary papers as it had a title similar to a previous agenda item which had been incorrectly duplicated. The investment conference in Chester was seen as an important element of their training and costs would be met from the training budget.

Cllr Harry Smith said he had discussed this at the briefing, he said this training opportunity should be open to members of the Pension Committee. The Chair agreed that training was important. There was a vote and it was agreed that people would be sent at a cost of £425 + VAT (which included a nights accommodation in Cheshire) + travel.

The application from Mellors Catering Services Ltd which had been agreed under delegated decision-making by officers was agreed.

The Chair asked if there were any objections to the Investment Working Party minutes. No objections were made. The press and public were excluded from the rest of the meeting.

by

Employment and Appointments Sub-Committee (Compromise Contracts) (Wirral Council) 20th September 2012


Employment and Appointments Sub Committee Compromise Contracts 20th September 2012
Employment and Appointments Sub-Committee (Compromise Contracts)
Date: 20/9/2012
Time: 5.15pm

Committee Room 4

Employment and Appointments Subcommittee (Compromise Contracts)
Cllr Chris Meaden, Labour
Cllr Andrew Hodson, Conservative
Cllr Mark Johnston, Liberal Democrat

Officers
Andrew Mossop, Committee Services Officer
Surjit Tour, Acting Director of Law, HR and Asset Management
Chris Hyams Head of HR and Organisational Development
Tony Williams, Employee Relations

In attendance
Cllr Jeff Green, Conservative
Cllr Adrian Jones, Labour, Cabinet Member (Corporate Services)
Two members of public

1 Appointment of Chair
Cllr Andrew Hodson proposed Cllr Chris Meaden as Chair.
Cllr Mark Johnston seconded Cllr Chris Meaden as Chair.
There were no other nominations for Chair.
Cllr Chris Meaden was appointed as Chair.
Cllr Chris Meaden took the Chair.

2 Declarations of Interest
The Chair, Cllr Chris Meaden, asked if anybody had any declarations of interest to make. None were made by Cllrs Meaden, Hodson or Johnson.

3. Exclusion of press/public
The Chair asked if the Sub-Committee agreed to exclude members of the press and public for agenda item 4 by a resolution moved using s.100(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 c. 70 (information relating to any individual). The other members of the Subcommittee, Cllr Mark Johnston and Cllr Andrew Hodson agreed with her.

The two members of the public left the meeting.

4. Compromise Contract
A four page report of Chris Hyams, Head of HR and Organisational Development (in conjunction with Legal) was considered by the Sub-Committee of Cllrs Meaden, Johnston and Hodson regarding a recommendation about a proposed compromise contract of over £30,000 to terminate the employment of a Wirral Council employee’s contract (who wasn’t a member of school staff).

by

Employment & Appointments Committee (Wirral Council) 23/11/2011 Part 2 Minutes, Delivering the Investment Strategy


Chris Hyams was going to respond but Cllr Jeff Green carried on talking. He asking if he would be hearing soon and referred to comments made at a previous meeting by Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive that they would be moving ahead with the timetable.

Cllr Adrian Jones asked if they were ok and happy for him to sign the minutes? The committee were, and Cllr Adrian Jones signed the minutes of the meeting of the 29th September 2011 and the minutes of the meeting held on the 13th October 2011.

Cllr Adrian Jones moved the meeting to agenda item 3 – Delivering the Investment Strategy but referred to the red pen he had used to sign the minutes.

Kevin Adderley went into the detail of the report and how the title of the post had changed. It had been funded on a temporary basis since April 2010, but was “vital for the Enterprise Zone, offshore wind farm and Peel Holdings”.

Cllr Adrian Jones asked if there were any questions.
Cllr Jeff Green said he had missed the briefing, was it in the Budget?
Cllr Steve Foulkes mentioned a report on structure that had gone to Cabinet.

Kevin Adderley said yes, resources were available in the current allocation.

Cllr Jeff Green asked about the role of the person, specifically what would be the role in terms of a series of successful environmental businesses? He said these were now cottage industries, but if they were linked as an area it would encourage more investment.

by

Employment & Appointments Committee (Wirral Council) 23/11/2011 Part 1, Declarations of Interest, Minutes


Present:
Cllr Jeff Green
Cllr Lesley Rennie
Cllr Peter Kearney
Cllr Mark Johnston
Cllr Paul Hayes
Cllr Adrian Jones (Chair)
Cllr George Davies
Cllr Steve Foulkes
Cllr Phil Davies

Officers present:
Chris Hyams
Andrew Mossop (Committee Clerk)
Tony Williams
Kevin Adderley
Others

Cllr Adrian Jones (Chair) said “Good evening” and asked for declarations of interest. Cllr Steve Foulkes declared a personal interest in item 8 (Appeals Sub-Committee Minutes) as the solicitor named was known to him.

Cllr Adrian Jones (Chair) moved the meeting on to the minutes of the meetings held on the 29th September 2011 and the 13th October 2011.

Cllr Jeff Green asked a question about page eight of the minutes in respect of the interim management arrangements. He asked for an update about “where we are”? He asked about the arrangements for the Policy Unit, which he had not been contacted about.

Chris Hyams updated Cllr Green on where the process was up to. However she said any discussion would affect staff in the room but they were completing the procurement process. She said the Policy Unit was the remit of the Corporate Governance Cabinet Committee.

Cllr Foulkes said it was one of the Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE).

Cllr Jeff Green said he was conscious that everything was sequential, but could it be done in tandem? Did the procurement exercise have to be finished?

Chris Hyams said it absolutely had to finish and that was the intention, to meet the timescale.

Cllr Jeff Green said from the 29th September they were getting to the end of November, and asked if it would take a further six months?

by

Corporate Governance Committee (Wirral Council) 17th November 2011 Part 1, Declarations of Interest, Minutes


Corporate Governance Committee

Chair (Cllr Steve Foulkes)
Cllr Phil Davies
Cllr Adrian Jones
Cllr Anne McArdle
Cllr Ann McLachlan

In attendance (right to speak, not to vote or make decisions)
Cllr Jeff Green
Cllr Tom Harney

Officers
Ian Coleman, Director of Finance/Deputy Chief Executive
Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive
Bill Norman, Director of Law, HR & Asset Management
Others including committee clerk etc

The agenda and reports can be found here.

The meeting started with an apology from Cllr Foulkes who said he was “sorry to be late”. There were no declarations of interest. The committee then discussed the minutes of the Corporate Governance Committee held on the 26th October 2011.

Bill Norman mentioned that Cllr Tom Harney had communicated with him about the minutes which were in draft form. The draft minutes gave the impression that both Cllr Tom Harney and Cllr Jeff Green had been recorded in the minutes as members of the committee. However this would be changed to “in attendance”.

Cllr Steve Foulkes said he wanted “to set our stall out”, “not force to votes” and hoped the invite [to Cllr Tom Harney and Cllr Jeff Green] would be accepted in the spirit it was given. He then went on to talk about the “rules of engagement” and how they would “shape decisions”.

Cllr Adrian Jones said it would be “nice to get consensus”.

Cllr Steve Foulkes said he accepted the suggested changes [to the minutes]. The minutes with changes were agreed and the committee considered item 3 Work Program, Progress and Associated Issues.

by

Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Job Evaluation, Merseyside Pension Fund accounts, Part 4


Chris Hyams, Head of HR & OD introduced Agenda Item 23: Job Evaluation. She said she sought Cabinet’s approval for the implementation of stage 4 which covered the Heads of Service and Chief Officers. The costs were in Agenda Item 35 – Exempt Appendix – Job Evaluation. She wanted to complete the process and they were working on stages 2 and 3. Stage 3 was underway regarding the evaluation of jobs.

Cllr Steve Foulkes asked if there was much option about taking it through to the upper grades?

Chris Hyams responded that there had been a local agreement in 2008 [by Cabinet].

Cllr Adrian Jones referred to 3.1 in the report . The recommendations were agreed.

Ian Coleman, Director of Finance introduced item 4 Merseyside Pension Fund Accounts. He said it was a statutory report that had already been agreed by the Pension Committee and the Audit and Risk Management Committee. The auditors had given an unqualified opinion.

Cllr Steve Foulkes said he was happy to endorse the accounts. The item was agreed.

Ian Coleman, Director of Finance introduced item 5 Audit Commission – Merseyside Pension Fund Annual Governance Report. He said it had already been presented to the Audit & Risk Management committee.

Cllr Steve Foulkes said that Wirral Council had been entrusted with the governance of one of the largest pension funds. Regarding best practice and skills, he asked how much it was possible for cross-skilling so Wirral’s corporate governance could pick up best practice from the Pension Fund?

Ian Coleman, Director of Finance said the Pension Fund was a division in the Department of Finance. He said the Pension Fund was a single service operation so governance was easier. The Pension Fund had to stick to Pension Committee policies and had oversight by the Audit Commission.

by

Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Declarations of Interest, Minutes, Child Poverty Strategy Action Plan – Progress Report Part 2


Cllr Foulkes welcomed people to the Cabinet meeting and asked for declarations of interest. There were three declarations of interest. Cllr Ann McLachlan declared a personal interest in items 4 and 5, Cllr Harry Smith declared a personal interest in items 4 and 5 and Cllr Adrian Jones declared a personal interest in items 4 and 5. All three declarations of interest were to do with their involvement with the Merseyside Pension Fund.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 22nd September 2011 were agreed.

Cllr Foulkes asked for a change in the agenda order, after Item 3 on Child Poverty Strategy Action Plan – Progress Report, he wanted to go ahead to Item 23 on Job Evaluation, then back to the agenda as planned. The reason for this change was there had been interest from a trade union official in item 23 (Job Evaluation). Dealing with it earlier in the meeting would allow this person to go home.

Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive introduced the Child Poverty Strategy Action Plan – Progress Report. Jim Wilkie said this report on progress was a statutory duty. He said the previous report had been in April, he referred to the working group and a consultation event at the Floral Pavillion. The strategy and the action plan were appendices to the report and he was asking for approval to authorise further consultation. There were links with the Liverpool City Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission, which was chaired by Rt Hon Frank Field MP. Jim Wilkie also referred to supporting families, partnership arrangements and the Children’s Trust Board.

Cllr Foulkes asked for any comments.

by

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 9 – Community Asset Transfer (Update), Community Asset Transfer – Various Properties


Bill Norman introduced the next report (Community Asset Transfer – Update) and Appendix A and Appendix B and said as a footnote that Heswall Hall had been completed today. Cllr Adrian Jones asked about the cost implications at 2.2. Bil Norman replied that if the transfers ran out of time they would have to use Community Fund money, however this would have to be agreed with Wirral Partnership Homes. He did see this as something reasonable and that could be achieved. However funding was only guaranteed until March.

Cllr Adrian Jones then referred to page 83, section 5.1 specifically the reference to the gap between £5.25 million and £4.8 million. Cllr Harry Smith declared a personal interest and asked what they thought the prospects were for Beechwood Recreation Centre. Bill Norman said he was awaiting a business case. Cllr Phil Davies said it would extend beyond 2012, improving the much-needed support to the community groups keen to take over. They would use financial help as proposed in 6.2 onwards. The remaining buildings would be transferred when ready and according to business plans. He was keen for as much support as possible for everybody who wants to be involved. The report’s recommendations were agreed.

The next item also introduced by Bill Norman was Community Asset Transfer – Various Properties, CAT – Various, CAT – New Ferry Village Hall, CAT – Westbourne, CAT – Kylemore Plan, CAT – Woodchurch Community Centre and CAT – Pensby Community Centre. Bill Norman said it detailed four properties in the list, with Pensby being the precursor. Cllr Phil Davies asked Cllr Adrian Jones if he had anything to add, he didn’t. Cllr Davies said they were content to agree the report.

by

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 8 – Street Lighting Central Management System Trial, Outcome Based Commissioning


Dave Green introduced item 11 Street Lighting Central Management System Trial. He said it was the outcome of a small pilot in New Brighton which had been well received and had led to a reduction in energy consumption. He would come back as to whether it was viable to roll it out to the rest of the streetlights under invest to save. There had been no adverse publicity.

Cllr Harry Smith referred to 13.1 of the report and the consideration made for disadvantaged groups on health and safety ground. Cllr Phil Davies said the report was accepted.

Ian Coleman introduced the next report on Outcome Based Commissioning. He said it was an update on progress as requested on the 22nd june. It was under review and there would be a further report. Cllr Adrian Jones said he was “quite happy”. Cllr Anne McArdle said that she welcomed it and asked specifically about discussions with the Department of Adult Social Services. Ian Coleman said that all departments were involved. Cllr Adrian Jones had a small comment about the range of risks identified in item 5. He said it was a “good report” and “nicely presented”. Cllr Phil Davies commented on the similarities between outcome based commissioning and Neighbourhood Plans.