Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Holliday.

The Mayor’s recent events were published as a supplement prior to the meeting.  He took the opportunity to thank staff for all their support during both his Mayoral year and in his time as a Councillor.  He then gave a short photographic presentation of the highlights of his civic year.

To elect the Mayor (Chair of Council) for the Municipal Year 2026-27

The Mayor called on Councillor Baker to move the motion proposing Councillor Horwood as the new Mayor.  Councillor Davies formally seconded the motion.

Resolved (unanimously) that:

Councillor Martin Horwood be, and is hereby, elected Mayor of the Borough of Cheltenham and Council Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.

The outgoing Mayor congratulated Councillor Horwood on his appointment and invited him to take over the chair.

The Chief Executive asked the newly elected Mayor to sign a declaration of acceptance of the office of Council Chair 2026-27.

To elect the Deputy Mayor (Vice-Chair of Council) for the Municipal Year 2026-27

The newly elected Mayor invited the Leader, Councillor Hay to propose Councillor Mike Collins as Deputy Mayor for the upcoming municipal year.  The motion was formally seconded by Councillor Smith.

RESOLVED (unanimously) THAT:

Councillor Mike Collins be, and is hereby, elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Cheltenham and Council Vice Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.

The Mayor congratulated Councillor Collins on his appointment and invited him to take his seat.

The Chief Executive asked the newly-elected Deputy Mayor to sign a declaration of acceptance of the office of Council Vice-Chair 2026-27.

There were none.

Minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2026

The minutes of the meeting held on the 23^rd of March were signed as a true and accurate record.

The Mayor thanked Council for his election. He was proud to become Mayor and was looking forward to the year ahead, not only all the civic events, but the charity events that are planned too.

The Leader addressed Council and made the following points:

-       She thanked all those Members who had stepped down and wished them well for the future, and offered a warm welcome to those who were newly elected and returning.  She also congratulated Councillor Atherstone on her election to the County Council and thanked her and Councillor Collins for their time as Cabinet Members.

-       She thanked Dr Willingham for a very successful Mayoral year and for being Chair of Council.

-       Work on Local Government Reorganisation was continuing and the best interests of the town are uppermost.

-       The Leader reported that alongside the Golden Valley team, she had attended CYBERUK in April, the UK’s premier summit for digital resilience,. There was a significant increase in interest in the Golden Valley project compared to previous years with some stakeholders discussing specific space requirements for potential involvement. The Leader thanked colleagues from CBC, GCHQ, HPD, and Plexal for their contributions and support.

-       In her address to delegates at CYBERUK, she had emphasised that Golden Valley must translate into real local benefit and addressing the everyday challenges of the cost of living, decent housing and good job opportunities would be a measure of its success. Golden Valley represented a once in a generation opportunity for the town and the wider South West. She spoke about how proud she is of Cheltenham’s long relationship with GCHQ, and the shared commitment and accountability needed—including from partners in government, industry and education—to ensure Golden Valley creates opportunity for everyone, with a strong focus on diversity and helping more women thrive in science and technology.

The Leader stated that following the recent election, Councillor Atherstone had stepped down as a Cabinet Member as she was now a Member of Gloucestershire County Council.  The Leader confirmed that Councillor Jeffries would continue as Deputy Leader of the Council. 

Following the appointment of Councillor Collins as Deputy Mayor, there were two vacancies on the Cabinet.  She confirmed that she has appointed Councillor Jamieson Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities and Councillor Harvey as Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Green Open Spaces.  Councillor Baker has changed portfolio to be Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control.

TO FOLLOW

It is proposed that the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of these committees be appointed by Council, rather than by the individual committees in separate meetings. The proposed nominations are TO FOLLOW

Appeals

Appointments and Remuneration

Audit,Compliance and Governance (including Standards)

Disciplinary

Licensing

Licensing Sub-Committee – Miscellaneous

Overview and Scrutiny (The Chair shall not be a Member of the Political Group which forms the Cabinet)

Planning

The Mayor invited Members to establish and appoint to the committees and to appoint the Chairs and Vice-Chairs as set out in the supplement.

Members voted unanimously to approve the appointments and nominations.

A)   Appointment to Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (and substitute)

B)   Appointment to Gloucestershire Economic Strategy Scrutiny Committee (and substitute)

C)   Appointment to Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel (and substitute)

The Mayor invited Members to appoint the joint committees as set out in the supplement, including substitutes.

Members voted unanimously to approve the appointments.

Constitution Working Group

Treasury Management Panel

To note the following appointments :

Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Panel

Joint Monitoring and Liaison Group – Building Control

One Legal Management Board

Member Development Panel

Planning and Liaison Member Working Group

The Mayor invited Members to appoint the Advisory Panels and Working Groups as set out in the supplement.

Members voted unanimously to approve the appointments.

Armed Forces Covenant

Cycling and Walking

Mental Health

Refugee

Safeguarding

The Mayor invited Members to appoint to the Member Champion roles as set out in the supplement.

Members voted unanimously to approve the appointments

There were none.

Report of the Leader

The Leader of the Council introduced the report

In response to a question with regard to the layout of the flowchart at Appendix it was noted that this would be improved.

In debate, a Member commented how the Planning Protocol was well thought out and represented an important document.  He stated that planning can be a complicated issue and that all Members should take the time to familiarise themselves with it, particularly as they might be speaking on behalf of residents in their wards at planning committee.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the revised Planning Protocol as set out in Appendix 1 replace the existing Planning Protocol at Part 5D of the Constitution.

2.    the addition of the Head of Public Protection as an Authorised Officer under s 27, 28 and 2of 9 the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in Part 3F of the Constitution (Statutory and Proper Officer Appointments) be approved.

3.    the amendments made to the Constitution by the Monitoring Officer as set out in Para 2.5 below under her general delegation as set out at Part 3D of the Constitution be noted

4.    authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make all necessary changes to the Constitution to reflect these decisions.

There were none.