Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the designation of the Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum as neighbourhood forum for the Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum Area be approved;

2.    The Director of Community & Economic Development will formally write to Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum to recommend that they consider reviewing the designated Neighbourhood Area to fully assess the impacts of the future boundary changes, including engagement with Benhall & The Reddings and Springbank ward councillors.

The Leader said this application was for a renewal of the original application, granted in 2017.  The Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services explained further that the council was obliged to check the forum complied with regulations before recommending approval for a second time.  He stressed the importance of handing real power back to local communities, introduced by the coalition government in 2011, which was taken up widely in parished, rural and affluent areas, but notably less so in urban, less well-off areas.  It was a matter of great pride that this unparished area, and one of Cheltenham’s least well-off areas, had really grasped the nettle of neighbourhood planning and put an enormous amount of work into it. 

He added that the neighbourhood forum area was based on Hesters Way ward, which made engagement with borough councillors easy.  The slight changes being made to ward boundaries will result in small numbers of residents moving between Hesters Way, Springbank and Benhall/Reddings wards; a formal letter will be sent to the Neighbourhood Forum, requesting that they look at the boundaries and engage with the borough councillors in adjacent wards.

This is a very positive step, recognising the work done in the Hesters Way community to engage in the decision-making process which will affect the lives of local people for many years to come.  He is proud to recommend the report to Cabinet.

The Cabinet Member for Cyber, Regeneration and Commercial Income said the report makes very good reading, and agreed that it will be excellent for the community as a whole.  As ward member for Benhall and The Reddings, he looked forward to engaging with the Neighbourhood Forum.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Tourism and Well-being welcomed decisions being made at the most local level, not just in parished areas but in less affluent parts of town.  He welcomed this important proposal, and would like to see more unparished areas doing the same to strengthen their communities.

The Leader said she was a strong believer in ‘bottom-up’ communities, asking communities how they want to engage.  Not all wards have the capacity to do this, and Hesters Way is lucky to have a community resource centre to take the lead.

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the designation of the Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum as neighbourhood forum for the Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum Area be approved;

2.    The Director of Community & Economic Development will formally write to Hesters Way Neighbourhood Development Forum to recommend that they consider reviewing the designated Neighbourhood Area to fully assess the impacts of the future boundary changes, including engagement with Benhall & The Reddings and Springbank ward councillors.