Agenda and minutes

Councillors Sudbury, Smith, Lillywhite, McCloskey, Williams, Lansley and Prince had given their apologies. 

Councillor Seacome had advised that he would be a little late and arrived at 3:00pm.

Councillor C. Hay declared an interest in agenda item 12 (Financial Outturn 2013/14 and quarterly budget monitoring report to end of May) as a CBH Board Member, should discussion arise on the HRA or CBH.

Councillor Malcolm Stennett declared an interest in agenda item 12 (Financial Outturn 2013/14 and quarterly budget monitoring report to end of May) as a Director of Gloucestershire Airport, should discussion arise on the Airport.

Councillor Jacky Fletcher declared an interest in agenda item 12 (Financial Outturn 2013/14 and quarterly budget monitoring report to end of May) as a Director of Gloucestershire Airport, should discussion arise on the Airport.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 2 June 2014

The minutes of the last meeting had been circulated with the agenda.

The Leader highlighted that the Cabinet portfolio titles were incorrect.  This would be amended and the minutes republished.

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the minutes, as amended, of the meeting held on the 2 June 2014 be agreed and signed as an accurate record.

The Mayor welcomed newly elected Councillor Paul Baker and paid thanks to the outgoing member, Councillor Penny Hall, for all of her excellent work during her time as a borough councillor. 

He took the opportunity to commend all of those involved in the recent Twinning visit to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.The weekend had been very successful. 

A presentation will be made by the Mayor to former Councillors Les Godwin and Rob Garnham.

The Mayor presented former Councillors Rob Garnham and Les Godwin with a scroll to mark their election as Honorary Aldermen of the Borough, in recognition of their eminent services as members of Cheltenham Borough Council. 

The Leader of the Council welcomed recently elected Councillor Paul Baker back to the chamber, some 22 years since he had last held a seat.  He thanked Councillor Penny Hall for the major contributions she had made in her time as a Councillor and wished her luck for the future.

The Leader had recently attended the Local Government Association (LGA) conference.  Following the publication “rewiring public services”, the LGA had published “Investing in our nation’s future: the first 100 days of the next government”, which was available on the LGA website and a copy of which would be placed in the Members’ room. 

The Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) had visited Cheltenham as part of the review, which the Leader felt was significant.  The visit had been good for the CLG Committee and useful for the Council.  He thanked those that had arranged the visit. 

These must be received no later than 12 noon on the fourth working day before the date of the meeting

No public questions had been received.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Chief Executive, Andrew North, introduced the report which explained that following the election of Councillor Paul Baker (Liberal Democrat) as the member for Charlton Park Ward replacing former Councillor Penny Hall (Conservative) at the election on the 3 July 2014 there had been a slight change to the political balance of the Council which had required some adjustment in order to maintain political balance on each committee and across all the committees as a whole. The report set out the decisions required by Council in a table. It was also suggested that the Planning Committee be reduced from 15 to 14 to support the political balance overall.

Councillor Regan proposed Councillor Jacky Fletcher as vice-chair or Planning Committee.

The Leader advised the following for the Liberal Democrats:

• Councillor Paul Baker had replaced Councillor Wheeler on the Planning Committee who would now be a substitute.
• Councillor Paul Baker was nominated for the Appointments and Remuneration Committee

The Conservatives had advised the following nominations:

• Councillor Smith as substitute on the JNC Appeals Committee

• Councillor Wall to stand down from the JNC Disciplinary committee

• Councillor Harman to be a substitute on Licensing Committee

• Councillor Regan to be a substitute on O&S Committee

The PABs had advised that Councillor Lillywhite was nominated to join the JNC Disciplinary Committee with Councillor Stennett as a substitute. It was noted that this was a change to the current composition of the committee but would ensure that there was cross-party representation.

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

i)                    the amendments to the membership of the committees as set out in the table and with the additional nominations presented at the meeting be approved

ii)                  Councillor Jacky Fletcher be appointed as vice-chair of Planning Committee

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Mayor referred members to the process for dealing with petitions at Council which had been circulated with the agenda.  Before he invited the petition organiser to address Council, the Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer offered clarification as to the decision making process in relation to this issue.  She advised that Cabinet would consider a recommendation in September and make onward recommendations to Council in October.

As petition organiser, Captain Steve Smith, presented the petition;

“We the undersigned, petition the Council to;

• Issue no further Sexual Entertainment Licenses (SEVs) in Cheltenham
• Note our objection to the granting of a license to operate a permanent lap dancing club in the former Voodoo Lounge on the Bath Road
• Note that we want our town to be free of sexual entertainment venues, such as lap and pole dancing clubs and therefore set a NIL Policy for SEVs in the future.”

A copy of his statement was circulated to members and is attached at Appendix 1.

In his statement, he reminded members that there had been an unprecedented number of objections to granting the licence referred to in the petition. The Licensing Committee appeared to have granted the licence based on their understanding that there was no evidence to support the concerns of the objectors. These centred on the risk that sexually charged males coming out of the lap dancing club would be more likely to commit sexual assaults in the vicinity. The committee had been specifically advised at the meeting that there was no such evidence. In his view this was untrue and a lot of scientific research had been done, mainly in London, which clearly showed that such incidents would increase. On that basis he urged members to support the petition.

In response to a query from a member of the Licensing Committee, the Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer confirmed that members of the committee were permitted and entitled to participate in the debate as they were entitled to represent their views in all parts of the democratic process. 

Louis Krog, Business and Support Team Leader, gave the following answers to questions from members relating to the covering report;

• It was the activity itself that was licensable under the policy and as such the policy was gender neutral.
• Should a zero tolerance policy be adopted, there will be a presumption against the grant of the renewal, at the point at which any existing licences were up for renewal.  It was important that members understood that the Licensing Committee had powers of discretion to deviate from any such policy and/or advice. 
• Despite having an application granted in February 2014, the sexual entertainment venue on Bath Road, now known as Fantasy, had only been open for a few weeks.  Having spoken to the Police Licensing Officer, he had reported that there had only been one incident during this time which related to crime and disorder.
• A statutory exemption exists whereby any premises can offer sexual entertainment provided it lasts no longer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report as circulated with the agenda.  A copy of his introduction is attached (Appendix 2) and key points included;

·        There was a £490k under spend which equated to less than 1% of the Council’s gross annual budget.  This was the result of the continued efforts of council staff to deliver services as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

·        It was being proposed that £100k should be used to speed up delivery of the five year programme of investment in ICT infrastructure.  

·        £97k would be held back to strengthen reserves.

·        £100k of new money would be put towards the restoration of the war memorial in the Promenade.  Work on the first phase would start on the 21 July as paving and lighting are renewed.

·        A number of budget allocations were being carried forward where projects overlapped or where there had been unavoidable delays. 

·        There had been a significant reduction in short term borrowing which had cut costs.

·        Tabled, were £30million worth of capital programme projects that members and officers had proposed, of which £18m required funding.

·        On a like for like basis the council had lost roughly £4.2million of Government funding since 2009/10, with the expectation of a further 15.3% cut next year (approx £835k).

·        Part of the budget saving will be used to fund a major review of Regulatory and Environmental services with the aim of cutting costs.

·        A review to determine the costs of the One Legal shared service was planned of whether these could be reduced and/or revenue increased.

·        Looking at the possibility of setting up a solar farm on council land.

·        Exploring the option of setting up a joint company with a number of other councils in order to reduce  overheads.

The Cabinet Member Finance gave the following responses to questions from members;

• The £10k for Christmas lights that the member had referred to was simply a carry forward sum which would be used to replace/improve existing lights rather than the total display budget. 
• There were robust measures in place to address the revenue overspend at the Art Gallery and Museum.  The Cabinet Member Finance was happy to provide a written response outlining the specific measures.  The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles confirmed that fundraising would bridge the £31k funding shortfall in relation to capital funding but she was not in a position to divulge any more information than this at this stage.
• Restoration of the St. Peter’s Church memorial had been delayed due to issues surrounding ownership.  He was keen for these issues to be resolved and felt that this could be one of the memorial restorations in which the council provided help. 

A member  felt that the fact that the Cabinet Member Finance was able to report such figures deserved congratulations.  He felt that the people of Cheltenham would feel reassured about the council’s financial position, given the current economic climate and would welcome the mix of investment and strengthened reserves. 

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services, Councillor Jon Walklett

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services, Councillor Jon Walklett introduced the report, as circulated with the agenda and referred members to an email that had been sent to all members on Friday (18 July) which contained revised recommendations.  He indicated that Councillor Colin Hay was now being proposed as Chairman of the Audit Committee. He highlighted an amendment to the recommendations that had been circulated in his e-mail and iv) now proposed that the selection criteria be delegated to the Audit Committee in consultation with the Borough Solicitor and the External Auditor.

A member questioned a reference in the e-mail that the Audit Committee required a chairman with knowledge and experience of the governance arrangements. He queried whether that related to knowledge of the governance of this council in particular or whether it related to more general knowledge of governance in local government.

The Cabinet Member replied that his understanding that it was specifically related to the local governance arrangements of this council but that somebody with knowledge of governance at the county council for example could be considered

.

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that;

1. Councillor Colin Hay be appointed as Chair of the Audit Committee.

2. The terms of reference of the Audit Committee be amended to allow it to appoint up to 3 co-optees as non-voting members.

3. The decision to co-opt be delegated to the Audit Committee.

4. Selection criteria pertaining to the appointment of independent co-optees on the Audit Committee, including any restrictions, be delegated to the Audit Committee in consultation with the Borough Solicitor and External Auditors.

5. The Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the necessary changes to the Constitution, to reflect the above. 

Report of the Chair of O&S committee – Councillor Tim Harman

Councillor Harman, as Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, introduced the 2013-14 annual report.  As the newly appointed chair of the committee, he gave thanks to former Councillor Barbara Driver and Councillor Smith who had chaired the committee in the last 12 months. He also wished to give thanks to former Councillor Rob Garnham for his excellent work in supporting the Budget Scrutiny working group and similarly to Councillor Penny Hall for her contribution to the scrutiny task group on dog fouling.

In his view scrutiny was a powerful tool which should not be political. It was his intention to operate scrutiny in a fair and balanced way and be a critical friend to Cabinet. He would very much like to engage all members in the process and he encouraged members to consider new topics for scrutiny and complete the registration form with any ideas. He acknowledged that there was a need to match scrutiny workload with resources and this would be considered at the next committee meeting when planning their workload for the rest of the year.

The Leader commended the report and considered that scrutiny was a very useful function within the council.   He indicated that the Cabinet were very happy to work with scrutiny task groups to achieve better outcomes for the people of Cheltenham. He urged the O&S committee to consider what was the appropriate number of groups to be operating at any one time. Clearly there was a practical limit to avoid too many resources being drawn from other important projects in the Council's business plan. He thought the written Cabinet Briefing he provided for each meeting of the committee was helpful in highlighting items of interest to the committee which were not necessarily in the Forward Plan.

The chair of O&S responded that the regular update from Cabinet was welcomed by the committee. He acknowledged the point about limited resources and the importance of scrutiny task groups having well-defined terms of reference and not being open-ended.

The vice-chair of O&S, Councillor Colin Hay, was keen to point out that when the new arrangements were put in place, it was identified that not all scrutiny task groups needed the full support of Democratic Services. There could be some scrutiny task groups where members could do it for themselves including writing their final report.

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the Annual Report of Overview and Scrutiny be noted. 

No notices of motion had been received.

Councillor Payne presented a petition to the Mayor, on behalf of residents of Pittville, relating to the proposed increase from 650 to 800 students at the Pittville Campus.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Mayor referred members to the process for dealing with petitions at Council which had been circulated with the agenda.  He invited the representative of the petition organiser, Liz Gaffer, to present the petition;

• “We the undersigned, call on Cheltenham Borough Council to give financial support to local badger vaccination projects being undertaken and to financially assist other badger vaccination projects which may be set up in Gloucestershire.”

The petitioner explained that the county of Gloucestershire had become a hotspot for TB and the disease had a devastating effect on farmers once it had been detected in a herd.  This resulted in significant cost to the farmer and was an extremely stressful experience for them. Badgers were one factor in the spread of disease and though there was no current vaccination for the cattle, vaccination of badgers was an efficient way of dealing with the issue. Badger vaccination had the potential to reduce the incidence of the disease by 74% and only 70% of a badger set needed to be vaccinated. The badger cull last year had cost an extraordinary amount of money, well over government estimates, due to the extra policing required. Their research indicated that 82% of the public were against badger culling. She reassured Members that any vaccination programme would be carried out by properly trained operatives supported by volunteers. There was such a group in Gloucestershire and they would take responsibility for coordinating and organising a programme, training operatives and volunteers and supplying matched funding.

The Mayor invited Members to ask any questions on the supporting officer report.

A member asked what would be the arrangements for receiving and determining any application for funding.

The Chief Executive advised that this has not yet been agreed and suggested that the Cabinet Member may want to deal with this in his response.

A member asked for figures on the number of badgers and cattle in the Cheltenham Borough and was advised that officers did not have this information.

A member referred to in paragraph 4.2 of the report and was concerned that over 300 of the 750 signatures required were not local residents and this could be setting a precedent for the future.

The Chief Executive advised that the scheme required signatures from those living, working or studying in Cheltenham. On contacting the petition organisers on this issue, officers were assured that these requirements had been made clear to all those signing the petition.

Councillor Rawson, as Cabinet Member for Finance, responded to the petition and advised that he had set out to provide a proportional response to the petition. There was a general acceptance that badger vaccination was widely accepted as a potential useful way to combat bovine TB and this was accepted by the government and the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. He was proposing that the Council made a contribution to this vaccination programme if a suitably qualified organiser came forward with a plan. As he was only proposing a modest amount of matched funding, he suggested  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report as circulated with the agenda.  There was a legal requirement for the council to have a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which set out procedures and methods the council would use when consulting on planning applications and during preparation of new development plans and related documents.  This was formally adopted by the council in October 2006 but since this time there had been a number of legislative changes resulting in the need for updates to the SCI.  Public consultation on the revised SCI started in July 2013 and four responses had been received, though some were seemingly automated responses which did not relate to the document.   

Upon a vote it was unanimously

RESOLVED that  the revised Statement of Community Involvement be adopted.