A number of controversial decisions were made by the Kirklees Council this week, with their impacts set to be felt right across the borough.
Tensions ran high at this week’s Cabinet meeting, with an agenda packed full of contentious issues from the future of two dementia care homes, to plans to roll out charges across 15 of the borough’s car parks that were previously free.
The meeting also saw a decision reached on how councillors can spend money in their wards, a multi-million-pound investment in council transport and the transfer of a village hall to a local community. Below is a summary of each issue in the order they were discussed and the decision that was reached:
Future of dementia care homes
As calls of ‘shame’ echoed in the council chamber, Cabinet agreed to move forward with the privatisation of its two dementia care homes – Claremont House at Heckmondwike and Castle Grange in Newsome.
This followed a lengthy discussion, with members from across the political spectrum voicing their strong opposition to the decision.
Families whose loved ones reside in the homes had previously formed a campaign group, when the council had initially earmarked the homes for closure in a bid to save cash last year. Their tireless efforts saw the council ultimately back down, agreeing to run the homes for the immediate term with a view to selling them off to private sector operators.
Now these plans have gained traction, with three operators currently interested in running the homes. As a result, families have reignited their campaign, speaking at meetings and launching a petition in an attempt to trigger a debate.
Cabinet’s latest approval means that the council can progress its negotiations with potential new operators to the point of being able to enter a contract with an alternative provider. Then, the matter will be brought back to Cabinet for a final decision.
Reduced ward budgets for councillors
Cabinet approved a new criteria and decision-making process for ward budgets – the cash given to local councillors to spend on local issues and priorities. With this in force, budgets will remain at an annual £10,000 per ward, rather than the £20,000 that was awarded previously.
In February last year, councillors were told they could not spend any more of their ward budgets, with immediate effect, although previous commitments would be honoured.
On top of this, any unspent funds had previously been rolled over to the next year but this was scrapped and the money clawed back by the council to help remedy its financial predicament. As a result, the council has recouped over £300k.
Going forward, cash that hasn’t been spent by councillors cannot be transferred into the next year.
Fleet replacement and investment
Cabinet green-lit a multi-million-pound capital investment to revamp the council’s ageing fleet. A total of £26.76m was approved, with this to be spread out over the next six years. The council says that this will save money in the long run.
Around 242 vehicles, or 33 percent of the council’s fleet are operating beyond their ‘useful economic life’, as are 64 trailers. According to an earlier report, this is causing “significant financial and operational delivery pressures”.
The latest report to this week’s Cabinet meeting set out the eye-watering cost of hiring gritters over the winter, with this totalling £355,796. Now, the council can go ahead and purchase gritting vehicles for £1.8m instead of hiring them, with savings to be made from the fifth year.
A further £21.78m will be spent by 2030/31 replacing “frontline critical operational vehicles” across services, and £3.264m will be used to replace the waste and recycling vehicles which the council currently hires.
Birstall tip closure
One decision that proved highly unpopular was the closure of Birstall’s Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Nab Lane, with this to take place from late Autumn/Winter.
At the same meeting, it was agreed two other sites which previously operated seven days a week, will open for two fewer days. This means that the HWRC at Bent Ley Road in Meltham will open from Wednesday to Sunday and Upper Cumberworth’s HWRC at Bromley Farm will operate from Friday to Tuesday.
Since being announced, the plans were met with masses of objection, with petitions launched and the decision successfully ‘called-in’ for further scrutiny amid criticisms of a lack of consultation and fears that only a limited number of options had been considered. Regardless of this opposition, the decision remained the same.
Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Josh Sheard (Con, Birstall and Birkenshaw), who had been instrumental in the fight against the Nab Lane closure, spoke of the negative implications for the community and environment. He added: “Ignoring the concerns of thousands of people undermines our credibility as elected officials and alienates those very people that we represent…”
New car parking charges
The plans for car parking had two parts which needed Cabinet approval – the first – to bring in charges at 15 car parks across Kirklees that are currently free – and the second – to increase the cost of residential and visitor parking permits across the borough.
Last November, the council revealed plans to introduce charges across its 57 car parks which were currently free. However, upon her election, Leader of the Council, Cllr Carole Pattison announced that she would be pausing the controversial plans for review.
After this was carried out, new proposals were put forward, with these taken to Cabinet and approved this week.
Instead of car parking charges being brought in at 57 car parks, Cabinet settled on rolling them out across 15, with this based on the number of spaces being over 25. As for permits, members opted to approve plans for a £35 annual charge for a residential permit compared to a one-off £15 previously.
A £65 yearly fee payable for a visitor permit was also approved, with no cost for a single visitor prior to this decision.
While several elements of the approved plans may be less severe than those originally proposed, a number of councillors and residents were still not happy and were left fearing for the impacts.
Jamie Ellison, Chair of the Town estate and Springbank estate tenants and residents’ association said residents living near John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield were being “punished” through the permit charges, and Amanda Grey described the permit hike from a £15 one-off payment to £35 annually as a “breach of contract” between the council and residents.
The transfer of Honley Village Hall to the community
A Community Asset Transfer of Honley Village Hall was given the go-ahead at this week’s meeting. The hall sits at Roundway and regularly hosts a variety of events and services like local youth meetings, monthly markets and seasonal craft workshops.
With this new approval, the Honley Village Community Trust Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) will be taking on a 125-year lease for the single-storey prefab building. In the long-term the plan is to replace the property with a larger building. New activities are also scheduled to be introduced following community consultation.
The move had been welcomed by ward councillor, Cllr Charles Greaves (Independent, Holme Valley North), who commented: “More than happy to support the transfer, long overdue!”
