Agenda and minutes
PDF 83 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Municipal Offices
Contact: Saira Malin, Democracy Officer
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A moment of reflection Minutes: Reverend Robert Pestell had given his apologies to the Mayor but had supplied some words in way of a moment of reflection which the Mayor read out. |
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Apologies Minutes: Councillors Hibbert, Jeffries, McLain, Stennett, Sudbury and Whyborn had given their apologies and Councillor Wall had indicated he would be arriving late. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: Councillors Driver, C Hay, Lansley, Smith and Williams declared a personal and prejudicial interest in agenda item 17 as Board Members of Cheltenham Borough Homes. |
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Minutes of the last meeting 22 February 2013 Minutes: The minutes of the last meeting had been circulated with the agenda. It was noted that the correct spelling of the Mayor’s Chaplain was Reverend Pestell.
Upon a vote it was (unanimously)
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 22 February 2013 be approved and signed as an accurate record. |
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Communications by the Mayor Minutes: The Mayor announced the resignation of Councillor Jo Teakle, of Warden Hill Ward, for health reasons. On behalf of the Council he thanked her for her contribution as a Councillor and wished her well for the future.
The Mayor explained that the names of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the forthcoming municipal year being put forward to Annual Council was usually an agenda item. Having consulted Group Leaders, he confirmed that Councillor Wendy Flynn and Councillor Simon Wheeler would be proposed as Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively at the Annual Council meeting in May.
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Communications by the Leader of the Council Minutes: On behalf of the Cabinet and the Liberal Democrat Group the Leader of the Council thanked Jo Teakle for her contribution as a Councillor.
The Leader informed Council of a decision he had taken with regard to giving Ubico approval to enter into contracts with Gloucestershire County Council and Zurich Municipal Insurance.
He also congratulated One Legal on its contract to work with Herefordshire council.
The Leader made reference to the proposed Highways Scheme at the Air Balloon roundabout. He had received responses to his letters from both the Highways Agency and Stephen Hammond MP and informed Members that this scheme was no longer going ahead. Cheltenham Borough Council would be consulted before a further option was proposed.
The Leader also confirmed that Eric Pickles MP had responded with regard to calling-in the proposed incinerator application. However, he informed Members that last week the County Planning Committee had rejected the application for the incinerator. This was a complex issue which he hoped would be a topic of conversation within the waste partnership and in which CBC would be included in the consultation. |
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Public Questions These must be received no later than 10am on the fifth working day before the date of the meeting. Minutes: No public questions had been received.
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Member Questions Minutes: The following responses were given to the 10 member questions received;
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Corporate Strategy - Draft 2013-14 action plan Report of the Leader of the Council Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader of the Council introduced the Corporate Strategy 2013/14 action plan, the fourth annual action plan of the five year strategy. He thanked all officers involved.
He reported that the action plan included measures and performance targets and actions from County and Cheltenham partnership discussions. Resourcing issues would be kept under review. The action plan had been submitted to Overview and Scrutiny whose comments included bringing the draft action plan to the December meeting of O&S to review the priorities for the plan and identify any gaps. The Leader suggested that it would be more appropriate to bring the draft to the budget scrutiny working group to assess whether the targets were achievable within the resources available as this was more of a continuous process.
The Leader acknowledged that it was an ambitious and challenging plan but it was important that, despite the economic climate, the council moved forward. He highlighted the key projects of carbon reduction, commissioning and the provision of affordable housing. In addition he referred to the redevelopment of the Art Gallery and Museum and North Place and Portland Street Car Parks which were vital for the economic growth of the town.
Councillor Garnham, took the opportunity to thank Councillor Teakle for her work as Councillor on behalf of the Conservative party. He asked the Leader of the Council what sanctions were in place should Ubico fail to meet its targets. In response the Leader explained that it was very much about partnership working and communication was key. A service level agreement existed and regular meetings were held between the council and Ubico.
When asked about the target relating to increasing the number of VCS organisations supported by GAVCA and the danger that the more organisations reliant on GAVCA it could potentially weaken them, the Leader explained that this target related to the use of the training and other facilities of GAVCA as opposed to granting funding to more groups. Clarification was also sought as to the increase in the target for the percentage of identified “troubled families” who no longer met the criteria. The Leader explained that this concerned the Inspiring Families project and was an interpretation of national requirements.
In response to a question the Leader also confirmed that the GO user satisfaction survey was no longer intended to take place.
Upon a vote the recommendations were agreed (there was 1 abstention from a member who had arrived late).
RESOLVED that the 2013-14 corporate strategy action plan (Appendix A) be approved and used as a basis for monitoring the council’s performance over the next twelve months.
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Pay Policy Statement Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet Member Corporate Services explained that a requirement of the Localism Act 2011 was for councils to produce a pay policy statement in respect of employees each financial year. The key changes against 2012-13 were the addition of a reference to the Living Wage and deletion of the reference to Car Allowances. The approved pay policy statement would be published on the CBC website to comply with the government guidance that a council’s approach to pay needs to be accessible for citizens and to enable local tax payers to take an informed view of whether local decisions on all aspects of remuneration are fair and make best use of public funds.
The Cabinet Member referred to the drafting corrections to section 1.1 of the draft Pay Policy Statement which had been tabled.
A member higllighted that the role of Returning Officer had not been identified separately in the document. The Cabinet Member Corporate Services agreed to follow this up.
Upon a vote it was (unanimously)
RESOLVED that the 2013-14 Pay Policy Statement (Appendix 2) be approved.
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Review of council size and electoral cycle Report of the Leader of the Council Additional documents:
Minutes: The Cabinet Member Corporate Services introduced the report and set out the background and drivers for the review. The Chief Executive had already spoken to group leaders along with himself, One Legal and the Director of Commissioning. The recommendation before Council was to set up a working group as proposed in the report to take forward the review. He warned against the risk of coming up with a solution before the problems and issues had been properly identified.
It was noted that the target date of risk reference 3 in Appendix 1 of March 2013 was incorrect as the working group had not yet met.
Councillor Garnham, speaking as the leader of the Conservative Group, was pleased to see the report and indicated that his group were in support of option 4 and a move to four yearly elections and a reduction in the number of councillors. He was keen to set up a working group but made a plea that if Council decided to go down this route, any subsequent report would not get buried.
The Leader agreed that this was an important issue and thought that the review should begin with first principles. The starting point was not a money-saving exercise and the Boundary Commission would not accept this as a valid reason to change. He pointed out that although a unitary authority was not on the agenda for the next two years, it could potentially reappear in the future and this would need to be taken into account. His personal view was that the savings being made through shared services would diminish the arguments for a unitary authority in Gloucestershire.
Councillor Godwin, as Leader of the PAB group, considered that making changes in this area could be long and tortuous, and urged that each political group should ensure the groups views were fed into the working group.
Other members spoke in support of setting up of a working group. The aim should be for a council that the public would see as fit for purpose and providing cost-effective democracy for the town. Some reservations were expressed about the review:
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Council Diary September 2013 to August 2014 Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet Member Corporate Services introduced the report, which sought approval of the provisional diary of meetings for September 2013 to August 2014. He highlighted that the production of the diary was a logistical challenge and the rationale for the diary and the draft calendar had been circulated to interested parties in February as part of the consultation.
It was brought to member’s attention that there was a draft proposal that the European elections and borough elections be combined and held on Thursday, 22 May 2014. The safest course for the purposes of the diary was to assume that the draft proposal was likely to be adopted and thus the date of the annual meeting and Mayor making would need to be adjusted (along with other consequential amendments). It may be worthwhile to delay the printing of the diary inserts until this was finalised.
Upon a vote it was (unanimously)
RESOLVED that the draft Council diary of meetings for September 2013 – August 2014 be approved. |
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Notices of Motion Proposed by: Councillor Lansley Seconded by: Councillor Walklett
Motion on St Margaret’s Road traffic light experiment
Following the traffic light experiment undertaken in St Margaret's Road, Cheltenham during November 2012 the subsequent general perception of the trial amongst drivers was extremely positive with feedback suggesting that traffic flow through the area was much quicker. Previously expressed concerns regarding queuing in side roads were proved unfounded.
The council believes that the issues highlighted by a number of pedestrians and cyclists can and should be addressed using lessons learnt from the test. The council therefore fully supports the overwhelming positive public response to the scheme from the residents of Cheltenham and in particular the St Paul's ward.
Council requests Gloucestershire County Highways to vigorously explore permanent solutions to the horrific congestion problem caused by the current traffic management system in place on St Margaret's Road.
Minutes: Motion on St Margaret’s Road traffic light experiment
The following motion was proposed by Councillor Lansley and seconded by: Councillor Walklett:
Following the traffic light experiment undertaken in St Margaret's Road, Cheltenham during November 2012 the subsequent general perception of the trial amongst drivers was extremely positive with feedback suggesting that traffic flow through the area was much quicker. Previously expressed concerns regarding queuing in side roads were proved unfounded.
The council believes that the issues highlighted by a number of pedestrians and cyclists can and should be addressed using lessons learnt from the test. The council therefore fully supports the overwhelming positive public response to the scheme from the residents of Cheltenham and in particular the St Paul's ward.
Council requests GloucestershireCounty Highways to vigorously explore permanent solutions to the horrific congestion problem caused by the current traffic management system in place on St Margaret's Road.
Councillor Lansley introduced the motion as set out in the agenda and thanked all those involved in the experiment.
Councillor Driver indicated that she was happy to support the motion but proposed an amendment with the addition of the following words; and that any permanent solution must address the needs of disabled people.
This amendment was seconded and accepted by the proposer.
Another member speaking for the motion thought it was an eminently sensible request but added a note of caution. As work was about to start on the car park at North Place which may have implications on traffic flow, the Gloucestershire County Highways may want to consider this before coming to a decision on further work. Hence the result that members were looking for may not come as quickly as they would like.
Another member indicated that his issue had been raised at a meeting of the Cheltenham Development Task Force and all partners at the meeting considered that the experiment had been a success.
Councillor Walklett as the seconder of the motion was delighted with the responses from members. His only disappointment was that in the well-written report on the experiment, it suggested that as there had been no major accidents at this location, additional work may not be justified.
The Mayor agreed that it seems strange that the Highways Agency justified work on the basis of accident records instead of considering the economic impact of traffic delays and the potential health benefits if the pollution caused by traffic congestion was reduced.
Upon a vote on the motion as amended was agreed unanimously. |
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To receive petitions Minutes: No petitions were submitted, nor had any been received since the last meeting. |
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Any other item the Mayor determines as urgent and which requires a decision Minutes: There were no urgent items for discussion. |
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Local Government Act 1972 -Exempt Information The Council is recommended to approve the following resolution:-
“That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 and 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:
Paragraph 1; Information relating to any individual.
Paragraph 3; Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) Minutes: Upon a vote it was (unanimously)
RESOLVED that in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 and 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:
Paragraph 1; Information relating to any individual.
Paragraph 3; Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)
Councillors Driver, C Hay, Godwin, Smith, Prince, Lansley and Williams left the chamber for the remainder of the meeting.
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New Build Development - St Paul’s Phase 2 Land Assembly Report of the Cabinet Member Finance Minutes: The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report. The report explained that following a decision at Cabinet in October 2012, Cheltenham Borough Homes were mandated to progress development proposals for the St Paul’s Phase 2 site in Crabtree Place. This included assembly of the full site by decanting tenants and securing the freehold of privately owned properties. The report sought approval for a further £150,000 to complete the acquisitions and associated works to enable a better development to be provided. He was very pleased to be able to commend the report to Council.
Upon a vote the recommendations were agreed (there was 1 abstention from a member who had arrived late)
Resolved that the increase of £150,000 in the budget for site assembly costs for the St Paul’s Phase 2 development be approved.
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