Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Cllr Aziz Daji and Jonathan Milner.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 9^th December 2024.

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 9^th December 2025 be approved as a correct record.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

Cllr Alison Munro declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of agenda item 7.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Panel.

All agenda items were considered in public.

The Panel will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

In accordance with Council Procedure rule 11, Mr Andrew Wilson attended the meeting and asked a number of questions. Responses to the questions were provided by the Service Director for Skills and Regeneration.

To present the Draft Kirklees Transport Strategy including policy themes contained within the Draft Strategy document. Decisions are needed to commence a district wide public consultation on the Strategy and to endorse the Consultation Plan.

Contact:  Rory Davis, Transport Strategy & Policy Lead Tel: 01484 221000.

Cllr Moses Crook, Portfolio holder for Transport and Housing, introduced the Draft Kirklees Transport Strategy, advising the Panel that the Kirklees Transport Strategy in draft form is on route to Cabinet for approval to progress to public consultation and suggestions and comments from the Panel are welcomed.

Currently there is a great deal being developed in transport regionally, with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s (WYCA) local transport plan which is in progress.  In addition to the active travel position statement which has now been introduced. The Panel was informed that it is important to note that the draft strategy being considered is aligned with and compliments the WYCA’s local transport plan. 

The aim is to help deliver local priorities and to contribute to delivering the overall regional plan.  The strategy reinforces application of the local transport plan in the local setting, and ensures that policies, and ultimately the development of the transport offer through projects are compliant with and support the West Yorkshire aims. It will align with other council priorities locally and meet the hyper needs of local communities in Kirklees.

It is positive that this strategy is being developed at the same time as so much transformative development is underway in the region, with mass transit bus franchising and additional powers devolved to the mayoral authority through devolution.  It maximises the benefit for the area and also ensures that all development is co-ordinated regionally and working towards delivering the same outcomes.

Having a strategy can also bring additional focus to specific areas to prioritise in a local context to support regeneration and investment priorities.  It will also support prioritisation of net zero ambition through development of the active travel modal shift and move towards sustainable transport locally.

This is an excellent draft strategy document and there is confidence it will be adopted, albeit with some amendments through the governance process in due course. The officers in the Transport Team are to be thanked for all the work they have undertaken on this document.

Rory Davis, Transport Strategy and Policy Lead, advised the Panel that the Transport Strategy provides an opportunity to show, that as a district, there is compliance with the West Yorkshire Mayor and West Yorkshire Combined Authorities vision for transport.  Through this, Kirklees as a local authority draws down large amounts and increasing amounts of investment through bids put forward to the WYCA and to other bodies such as the Department for Transport (DfT).

This presents a good opportunity to consolidate the council’s position on transport matters across a range of themes, and this will enable the council to more successfully draw down funding and bring projects into the district.

The approach that will be taken with regard to consultation is that the consultation is anticipated to start in March 2025, and it is anticipated that communities will be given eight weeks of a conversation that will be taking place with the communities. A number of events will be held including on street events in some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will receive an update on Community Asset Transfer by way of a presentation.

Contact: Joanne Bartholomew, Service Director, Development.

Cllr Graham Turner, Portfolio holder for Finance and Regeneration, gave a brief introduction advising the Panel that the information being presented is in relation to the Community Asset transfers.

Referring to the presentation slides, Alistair Kimpton, Strategic Partnership Lead, highlighted to the Panel the breadth of the assets that had been transferred in the past.   He advised that the transfers have included the Civic Hall in Slaithwaite, the Staincliffe Community Garden, and Meltham Carlile Institute which is a wide variety and illustrates the cornerstone of the approach being taken which is one of flexibility.

Mr Kimpton explained that it is recognised that all communities are different, and that all community groups are different.  The buildings and assets are all quite different from each other and therefore, the approach is tailored, the policy is tailored to deliver flexibility, and it enables officers and community groups to come together to cooperate and make sure that the model is good for both sides.

The Panel was informed that Community Asset Transfer (CAT) - is the transfer of ownership and management of public land and buildings from the council to a community organisation.  The last thing the council wants to do is to burden community groups with unnecessary debt, and therefore assets are transferred at less than market value for local, social, economic or environmental benefit.  This is to try and ensure that they have a good chance of success.

The purpose of CATs in Kirklees is to bring to life the councils longstanding commitment as an enabling council to:-

-       Invest in our communities

-       Help our communities achieve their aspirations

-       Ensure assets and services remain available for the community

The council introduced the Asset Advancement Policy in 2013, in response to the Quirk Review and subsequent localism agenda and the current policy was updated in 2020 and is the third iteration of the policy. At each policy update, work has been undertaken to understand what has gone well and what needs work.  The result of the 2020 policy is a good example of how the community asset transfer can run in practice.  A total of 27 CATs have been completed to date, 16 across South Kirklees and 11 across North Kirklees.

The policy has been developed to support the council’s vision and the aim is to enable communities to deliver the services that they require.  It was developed in consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders including elected members, community organisations, Third Sector Leaders, Legal Services, Corporate Landlord and localities.  The policy sets out a clear and transparent framework for the asset transfer process. Including why and what assets will be considered for transfer and the eligibility criteria.  When a community group is looking at an asset transfer, they can be clear on how they can meet the criteria, the conditions of the transfer and how it will be processed.

Mark Valey, Asset Strategy Officer informed the Panel that the conditions of an asset transfer and that all transfers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.