Issue - meetings

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report which set out progress to date in bringing forward a place vision document for Council approval following the initial vision agreed by to Council 12 months ago. It was also acknowledged that whilst Cheltenham Borough Council would take the lead in its development, the aim was for the strategy to be owned by everyone who had a stake in the success of Cheltenham. A wide range of groups had been involved in shaping the vision to date and it was an evolving process. He wished to put on record his thanks to Richard Gibson, Strategy and Engagement Manager and his team for their contributions in driving this forward.

The Leader then highlighted that the vision, ambitions and aspirations were laid down in paragraphs 2.7, 2.9 and 2.11 of the report respectively. For each ambition and for each aspiration clear action would be proposed and local partners would now work together to develop plans for how those actions could be made into a reality. He emphasised that there were two significant actions described in the document, the commitment to building more affordable housing which was the key thrust of the Joint Core Strategy and the Cyber-park which would generate employment and opportunities in the west of Cheltenham. The council could not deliver these in isolation but could play a significant role in making this happen by working in partnership.

In terms of next steps the council’s corporate strategy would translate issues from the place vision into actions for CBC. Alongside this a place governance group which will evolve out of the existing Cheltenham Strategic Leadership Group to manage the place agenda so all parties could be involved and sign up to it.

The following points were raised and responses given:

• Was the Leader confident that the council had the resources to deliver CBC’s contribution to deliver the place vision? In response the Leader explained that the senior officer restructure was being undertaken with this in mind and he emphasised that this was not solely a CBC vision but a partnership vision. He acknowledged that the council was ambitious and it would do whatever it could within the resources available.
• What method would be in place to measure the success of the outcomes ? The Leader highlighted that some indicative measures were set out in the document and also clarified that this was not for CBC to define but would be discussed in partnership with those involved.
• Could the council now progress the tourism strategy now that the place vision was submitted for council approval ? The Leader explained that the tourism strategy had not been put on hold but had been approved and Marketing Cheltenham was now up and running.
• Various strategies had been approved over the years but there should be continuity. In response the Leader said that although not all objectives had been achieved these had been important documents that had set out strategic objectives at the time . This new vision represented an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9