Agenda item
Motions
Minutes:
Parking charges
Councillor J Moher moved the motion circulated in his name and referred to a letter in the local paper from the Green Party supporting the position taken by the administration on this matter.
Councillor Lorber referred to the time when controlled parking zones (CPZs) were first introduced with the aim of protecting residents living close to stations and shopping areas and the first permit was free. Thereafter charges were levied in order to recover the costs of administration. The intention was not to use them as a means of raising income. He suggested that to be serious about penalising the 'gas guzzlers' a look needed to be taken at the level of tax on petrol. He stated that people had been betrayed when sold the idea of CPZs and they were now easy targets for raising revenue.
Councillor HB Patel submitted that whilst a lot was said about the environment it was more about raising revenue. A car was not a luxury and a visitor’s permit was at the same level whatever car was used. Councillor Patel stated that the users of 'gas guzzlers' were charged more in other taxes but the Council still wanted to charge them more as well. He referred to the fact that there had been no increase since 1999 and the reason for this was that it was not intended to be a revenue raising stream. He submitted that this represented a tax burden on residents and that the only way of protecting the environment was to educate the public.
The motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.
RESOLVED:-
that this Council notes the breathtaking hypocrisy of Brent Liberal Democrats who are campaigning against Labour’s emissions based parking charges having spent the past decade or so putting forward exactly the same policy. This is perhaps not surprising for a party which opposed increases in VAT before May 6 only to embrace a savage Conservative increase immediately after the election; a party which condemned the Conservative’s proposals to cut public spending too fast too deeply before the election only to enthusiastically do precisely that after the election and a party which now finds itself to the right of Boris Johnson who recently condemned the Government for cutting too far too fast thus provoking the risk of a double dip recession. Local voters will know that there are no principles which the Liberal Democrats will not sacrifice for temporary political gain and that only Labour is serious about tackling climate change.
Bulky refuse collection charge
Councillor John moved the motion circulated in her name. The motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.
RESOLVED:-
that this Council welcomes the impending abolition of the £25 charge for bulky refuse collection, which proves that Labour keeps its promises.
Members’ Allowances
Councillor Gladbaum moved the motion circulated in her name. The motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.
RESOLVED:-
that this Council notes that the Independent Remuneration Panel established by London Councils recommends a basic allowance for councillors of £10,597 compared with the figure of £7,974 paid by Brent Council. This Council further notes that special responsibility allowances in Brent are also way below the recommended level including the allowance paid to the Leader of the Opposition. We welcome the fact that Brent Council is saving tens of thousands of pounds by not accepting the recommended allowances and note that this saving significantly outweighs the cost of ‘Awaydays’.
Car repair and spray painting garages
Councillor Allie moved the motion circulated in the name of the Liberal Democrat Group. He referred to the residents present at the meeting who were asking that something be done about the problems cause by car repairs and car spraying. The issues had been raised before but without results. The reputation of the Council was being damaged by the failure to deal with this matter. Councillor Allie asked that the Council look at how byelaws could be used to deal with the disruption caused in residential areas by such activity being carried out.
Councillor John agreed that the problem should be investigated and where necessary enforcement action taken against operators causing a nuisance. Councillor HB Patel agreed that the issue needed to be addressed.
The motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.
RESOLVED:-
that this Council:
shares the concerns of residents who face disruption from the activities arising from and out of car repair and spray painting garages across Brent, particularly where these are unregulated;
notes that many areas of the Borough, including in particular the Alperton area, are adversely affected by the sometimes inconsiderate activities of these businesses;
recognises that problems caused to local residents have included not being able to park their cars in their streets, being unable to reverse out of driveways, smells from paint fumes, noise at all hours of the day, and abuse from workmen for challenging activity that clogs up local streets;
regrets the impact on safety, where emergency vehicles find it difficult to pass through, and on the overall character of our local communities;
recommends to overview and scrutiny that a panel be established to look into better regulation of car repair/spray painting garages in mainly residential areas, including the possibility of restricting their operating times to 9am to 6pm weekdays, and 10am-5pm on Saturdays, and to investigate how the impact on surrounding streets can best be mitigated and enforced against;
supports efforts to seek the relevant Secretary of State’s approval for any appropriate bye-laws which may be thought necessary or desirable to assist towards the objectives of this motion.
Executive awaydays
Councillor Lorber moved the motion circulated in the name of the Liberal Democart Group which opposed the Executive's practice of having 'awaydays' at venues outside the borough. The motion was put to the vote and declared LOST.
Refuse collection
Councillor Colwill moved the motion circulated in the name of the Conservative Group which deplored the decision to introduce fortnightly bin collections.
Councillor Powney stated that the rationale for the proposal to move to fortnightly collection had been explained a number of times. The Council was committed to increasing recycling in order to minimise the amount of landfill and it could only meet its targets by introducing this sort of measure. He submitted that if the Government was to abolish landfill tax, lower its recycling targets and provide more money to local authorities this measure would not need to be considered but neither would there be any impact on improving the environment.
Councillor Lorber stated that the proposal would have greater credibility if it had not been argued against before the election. He added that it was similar to the position on parking charges where residents were told one thing before the election and then found something else being introduced after the election.
The motion was put to the vote and declared LOST.