to consider the following motions received (if any) in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1
(a) By Cllrs Hodgson and Brazil
‘No trees on SHDC land will be felled without at least 3 days prior notification to the local Ward Member(s) that this has been proposed and the reasons why this is necessary.’
(b) By Cllrs Bastone and Birch
‘This Council will lobby MPs and write to MHCLG to express its concerns about the standards of new housing, calling for:
1. A minimum number of inspections to be carried out on every new dwelling by the Building Control body, local authority or private sector;
2. Quality of work to be incorporated to a higher degree than present, in the Building Regulations;
3. Newly constructed timber framed housing to be included in the Governments Building Safety Programme; and
4. Local Authorities to become the sole provider of Building Control, at least on high risk and all new residential buildings.’
Minutes:
It was noted that two motions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1.
(a) By Cllrs Hodgson and Brazil
‘No trees on SHDC land will be felled without at least 3 days prior notification to the local Ward Members that this has been proposed and the reasons why this is necessary.’
Cllr Hodgson introduced her motion and advised that it had been prompted by the recent felling works at Follaton House. The Member was strongly of the view that the local Ward Member(s) should have been notified in advance of these works being carried out.
In the ensuing debate, an addition to the motion was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:
‘unless the tree is in a dangerous state in which case immediate felling can take place, but the local Ward Member(s) must be informed at the earliest opportunity.’
The proposer and seconder of the original motion were supportive of this addition and it was therefore incorporated into the substantive motion.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That no trees on SHDC land will be felled without at least 3 days prior notification to the local Ward Member(s) that this had been proposed and the reasons why this is necessary, unless the tree is in a dangerous state in which case immediate felling can take place, but the local Ward Member(s) must be informed at the earliest opportunity.
(b) By Cllrs Bastone and Birch
‘This Council will lobby MPs and write to MHCLG to express its concerns about the standards of new housing, calling for:
1. A minimum number of inspections to be carried out on every new dwelling by the Building Control body, local authority or private sector;
2. Quality of work to be incorporated to a higher degree than present, in the Building Regulations;
3. Newly constructed timber framed housing to be included in the Governments Building Safety Programme; and
4. Local Authorities to become the sole provider of Building Control, at least on high risk and all new residential buildings.’
Cllr Bastone introduced his motion and made the following points:-
o A number of reports were being received by local authorities in respect of the poor workmanship associated with new housing developments that had been built by national building companies. In many such instances, safety was being compromised;
o Since they were able to choose from a range of Building Control service providers, it was frequently the case that national building companies were employing their own Building Inspectors, which was often to the detriment of the build quality;
o In support of a similar motion that had recently been approved by Cheshire East Council, the proposer asked that Members support the proposal for local authorities to once again become the sole provider of the Building Control service.
During the debate, reference was made to:-
(a) the views of the seconder. In support of the motion, the seconder emphasised that such poor quality work was leading to great stress and suffering being experienced by many young working families;
(b) newly constructed timber framed housing. A Member welcomed reference to this type of housing and felt that this aspect of the motion was very important;
(c) the need for local authority control. A Member stated that the standards of new housing would be greatly improved by the Building Control function being solely provided by local authorities.
It was then:
RESOLVED
This Council will lobby MPs and write to MHCLG to express its concerns about the standards of new housing, calling for:
1. A minimum number of inspections to be carried out on every new dwelling by the Building Control body, local authority or private sector;
2. Quality of work to be incorporated to a higher degree than present, in the Building Regulations;
3. Newly constructed timber framed housing to be included in the Governments Building Safety Programme; and
4. Local Authorities to become the sole provider of Building Control, at least on high risk and all new residential buildings.