Issue - meetings

Public Issues

Meeting: 14/12/2022 - Cabinet (Item 88)

Public Issues

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

Decision:

The Leader advised that 20 Public statements had been received for this meeting. There were no public questions or petitions.

 

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet was advised that 20 Public statements had been received for this meeting. There were no public questions or petitions. The Democratic Services Officer advised that one question and two statements had been received but did not meet the requirements within the Council’s procedure rules for public items. The statements were dealt with as follows:

 

1.       Statement from Mr Bob Lister (Chairman, Poole Beach Huts Association) read out by Mr Alan Cook

 

Beach Hut Pricing:

We are disappointed that due process has not been followed, Councillors outside of the Administration, have been side lined and not been given the opportunity to question these policies or proposals.

 

In Poole 42% increase over 5 years for Beach Hut Tenants is totally unacceptable, the lack of service & facilities has deteriorated, Tenants asked to fund general Seafront costs.

 

Sadly, 8K circa will vote to replace this Tory Administration.  The PFH mistakenly wrote, that taxpayers should not subsidise Beach Huts, yet in Poole £3.2m pa is received only £400K is ringfenced, balance to BCP for Services!

 

2.       Statement from Mr Alan Cook (Chairman, Friar’s Cliff Beach Hut Association)

 

This proposal before Cabinet is a clear attempt to subsidise all the Seafront Operations and bolster the MTFP by penalising Beach Hut Tenants to the tune of an additional £10M over the next five years.

 

The tenants already pay rents of £7M a year which contributes £5M to subsidise the Seafront.

 

The Council sidelined our alternative proposal to uplift the rents by an inflationary 10% which would have given us a year to work on a sensitive and practical harmonisation plan.

 

Cabinet should not endorse this proposal, it penalises local residents and will cause political damage to this administration.

 

 

3.       Statement from Ms Debbie Dowsett. Vice-Chair Bournemouth Beach Huts Association - read out by Mr Alan Cook

 

Bournemouth Beach Hut Association strongly urges rejection of the proposal before cabinet.

 

To say we have been consulted and our views considered is a total misrepresentation. Councillors have failed to respond to our emails. Our costed alternative for 2023/24 and suggestion of a year to find a fairer alternative has been ignored. Promised updates and reports have not been provided so how is that consultation?

 

We believe this is a blatant attempt to get the proposal agreed without scrutiny. Beach hut users are expected to fund unrelated expenditure as they are deemed to be affluent.

 

4.       Statement from Mr Darren Pidwell, Chairman Mudeford Sandbank Beach Hut Association, read out by Mr Steve Barratt

 

Despite the fact that we presented an equitable alternative which would have still delivered the MTFP objectives and allowed both Officers and the various BHA’s to build a detailed harmonisation plan over the course of the next 12 months, this is a cynical attempt to raid the pockets of hut licence holders with the vague promise of improved facilities, details of which have not been established or presented to us. The plan as presented is flawed in its argument, our input has been ignored, and as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88