Agenda item

i)                    Councillor King to propose and  Councillor Hallam to second:

“7 in 10 young people have experienced cyberbullying. 26% of young people who have been cyberbullied report feeling suicidal.

Whether you are in the public eye or not, you cannot get away from social media and it is ruining a lot of people’s lives.

Building on the excellent BBC’s documentary ‘Odd One Out’, featuring Little Mix star Jesy Nelson, this Council believes that there is a real need to talk more about cyberbullying, how this is making us feel and how to tackle it.

NBC is proud to say that we held a primary school event on 16th October and has two more planned for this academic year 2019-20: 11th February and 5th June 2020, all focussing on various community safety messages, including online safety. 

Based on the feedback from the young people, the Council has this year also added the topic of cyberbullying and 540 year six’s will have attended the events and received this informal education.

This Council further commits to launching its secondary school programme covering cyberbullying, with the first one taking place on 24th November at Weston Favell secondary and this being rolled out to Northampton International Academy and other secondary schools before the end of the academic year.

We live in a social media obsessed world and people say things without realising the devastating affect on young lives and families. This Council is fully committed to leading the way in showing that bullying is not ok.

Lowdown offer free counselling and advice to young people aged 12-25yrs across Northampton. The following link provides information and guidance for young people facing these issues http://thelowdown.info/issues/cyberbullying/ “

ii)                   Councillor Marriot to propose and Councillor Stone to second:

“This council notes with dismay the recent 1% increase in interest for loans from the Public Works Loan Board. This comes at a time when all councils, including NBC, were looking to increase their building of social housing in order to address the housing crisis.

The 1% increases the risks attached to regeneration and development and creates the need for revision of existing plans and business cases. We note this has led to, for example, a delay in borrowing for the Berkley house rebuild.

We therefore call on the council to join with the LGA to make representation to the government to have this decision reversed.”

iii)                Councillor Joyce to propose and Councillor Ashraf to second:

“This council congratulates Norwich Council for winning the Stirling Architecture Prize for its recently developed housing estate, Goldsmith Street, comprised of almost 100 ‘ultra-low-energy homes’

This is the first time in the 23-year history of the Stirling prize that it has been awarded to social housing

“A modest masterpiece” is how the RIBA Stirling prize judges described the project, designed by London firm Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley, representing “high-quality architecture in its purest most environmentally and socially conscious form”. The 105 creamy-brick homes are designed to stringent Passivhaus environmental standards, meaning energy costs are around 70% cheaper than average. The walls are highly insulated, and the roofs are cleverly angled at 15 degrees, to ensure each terrace doesn’t block sunlight from the homes behind, while letterboxes are built into external porches, rather than the front doors, to reduce any possibility of draughts.

Immense thought has gone into every detail – from the perforated brick balconies to the cleverly interlocking staircases in the three-storey flats at the end of each terrace – to ensure that every home has its own front door on the street. The back gardens look on to a planted alley, dotted with communal tables and benches, while parking has been pushed to the edge of the site, freeing up the streets for people, not cars.

This year’s choice sends a clear message that, despite government cuts, it is eminently possible for brave councils to take the initiative and build environmentally sustainable social housing.

We call on NBC to be brave and develop similar sustainable housing projects.”

iv)                Councillor Brian Markham to propose  and  Councillor Beardsworth to second:

“The administration is in the process of preparing a draft budget,for 2020/21 which it will consider at the cabinet meeting on the 11^th December 2019. This comes at a time when  local government finances are being squeezed and this council is facing a deficit of £750,000+  in the current year.

In November 2014 the cabinet approved the purchase of Albion House for a sum up to £0.5M. The building has not been brought into productive use and this council believes the benefit of maintaining ownership of this under-utilised asset needs to be reconsidered.

The council requests that as part of the budget preparation, process, the Administration considers the disposal of Albion House to provide vital finance to protect vital public services.

If the administration decides not to dispose of this under-utilised asset, because it has a firm plans for the building then they should declare those plans and report back to the Council meeting on the 9^th. December.”

i)          Councillor King proposed and Councillor Hallam seconded:

“7 in 10 young people have experienced cyberbullying. 26% of young people who have been cyberbullied report feeling suicidal.

Whether you are in the public eye or not, you cannot get away from social media and it is ruining a lot of people’s lives.

Building on the excellent BBC’s documentary ‘Odd One Out’, featuring Little Mix star Jesy Nelson, this Council believes that there is a real need to talk more about cyberbullying, how this is making us feel and how to tackle it.

NBC is proud to say that we held a primary school event on 16th October and has two more planned for this academic year 2019-20: 11th February and 5th June 2020, all focussing on various community safety messages, including online safety.

Based on the feedback from the young people, the Council has this year also added the topic of cyberbullying and 540 year six’s will have attended the events and received this informal education.

This Council further commits to launching its secondary school programme covering cyberbullying, with the first one taking place on 24th November at Weston Favell secondary and this being rolled out to Northampton International Academy and other secondary schools before the end of the academic year.

We live in a social media obsessed world and people say things without realising the devastating effect on young lives and families. This Council is fully committed to leading the way in showing that bullying is not ok.

Lowdown offer free counselling and advice to young people aged 12-25yrs across Northampton. The following link provides information and guidance for young people facing these issues http://thelowdown.info/issues/cyberbullying/“

Council debated the motion.

Upon a requisition for a recorded vote:

There voted for the motion: Councillors Ansell, Aziz, Beardsworth, Bottwood, Caswell, Davenport, G Eales, Eldred, Golby, Hadland, Hallam, Hibbert, Hill, King, Lane, Larratt, Malpas, B Markham, Meredith, Nunn, Oldham, Parekh, Patel, Sargeant and Walker.

There voted against the motion: Councillor Duffy

There abstained: Councillors Choudary, Ashraf, Birch, T Eales, Haque, Joyce, Marriott, McCutcheon, Russell, Roberts and Stone.

The motion was carried.

ii)         Councillor Marriott proposed and Councillor Stone seconded:

“This council notes with dismay the recent 1% increase in interest for loans from the Public Works Loan Board. This comes at a time when all councils, including NBC, were looking to increase their building of social housing in order to address the housing crisis.

The 1% increases the risks attached to regeneration and development and creates the need for revision of existing plans and business cases. We note this has led to, for example, a delay in borrowing for the Berkley house rebuild.

We therefore call on the council to join with the LGA to make representation to the government to have this decision reversed.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

iii)        Councillor Joyce accepted an alteration to the original motion as published on the agenda. The altered motion was seconded by Councillor Ashraf.

Council agreed to the altered motion below:

“This council congratulates Norwich Council for winning the Stirling Architecture Prize for its recently developed housing estate, Goldsmith Street, comprised of almost 100 ‘ultra-low-energy homes’

This is the first time in the 23-year history of the Stirling prize that it has been awarded to social housing.

“A modest masterpiece” is how the RIBA Stirling prize judges described the project, designed by London firm Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley, representing “high-quality architecture in its purest most environmentally and socially conscious form”. The 105 creamy-brick homes are designed to stringent Passivhaus environmental standards, meaning energy costs are around 70% cheaper than average. The walls are highly insulated, and the roofs are cleverly angled at 15 degrees, to ensure each terrace doesn’t block sunlight from the homes behind, while letterboxes are built into external porches, rather than the front doors, to reduce any possibility of draughts.

Immense thought has gone into every detail – from the perforated brick balconies to the cleverly interlocking staircases in the three-storey flats at the end of each terrace – to ensure that every home has its own front door on the street. The back gardens look on to a planted alley, dotted with communal tables and benches, while parking has been pushed to the edge of the site, freeing up the streets for people, not cars.

This year’s choice sends a clear message that, despite government cuts, it is eminently possible for brave councils to take the initiative and build environmentally sustainable social housing.

We call on NBC to be brave and develop an ambitious long-term sustainable housing plan.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was carried.

iv)        Councillor B Markham proposed and Councillor Beardsworth seconded:

“The administration is in the process of preparing a draft budget for 2020/21 which it will consider at the cabinet meeting on the 11th December 2019. This comes at a time when local government finances are being squeezed and this council is facing a deficit of £750,000+ in the current year.

In November 2014 the cabinet approved the purchase of Albion House for a sum up to £0.5M. The building has not been brought into productive use and this council believes the benefit of maintaining ownership of this under-utilised asset needs to be reconsidered.

The council requests that as part of the budget preparation, process, the Administration considers the disposal of Albion House to provide vital finance to protect vital public services.

If the administration decides not to dispose of this under-utilised asset, because it has a firm plans for the building then they should declare those plans and report back to the Council meeting on the 9th. December.”

Council debated the motion.

Upon a vote, the motion was lost.