Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Jeffries.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were none.

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment introduced the report and reminded Members that in December Cabinet had considered a report from Overview and Scrutiny on Accessibility which highlighted some of the issues raised by wheelchair users at a meeting held at St Vincent’s and St Georges with regard to the lack of accessible public toilets in Cheltenham. He reported that the administration had previously made a commitment to bid for funding to install one Changing Places Accessible Toilet to serve the accessible Pittville Park Play area. An application for funding had subsequently been submitted to the Disabled Children and Young People Short Breaks Capital grant and the council was successful in securing the capital cost of installing two Changing Places Accessible Toilets on the basis that one would be at Pittville Park Play area and the second facility within the town centre. The identification and securing of funding for future maintenance and cleaning regime of the two facilities was still required. The Cabinet Member highlighted that Cabinet and officers were keen to consult on the town centre location and a number of local organisations would be consulted directly to ensure the facility met the needs of residents and visitors. Finally, the Cabinet Member wished to thank all officers who had been involved in the project.

Members recognised that due to the reduction in toilet provision in the town many were at a disadvantage, particularly those who required extra assistance. This proposal represented  a huge step forward which was to be welcomed.

RESOLVED THAT

the project to develop the proposal and the business case be approved, subject to existing budgets, to install and maintain two Changing Places Accessible Toilets within Cheltenham, one in Pittville Park and another in a town centre location to be determined, following consultation with user groups and stakeholders.

Report of the Head of Paid Service

The Leader introduced the report and explained that as a founding member of the business support service’s company part of Publica the council had a right to appoint a non executive director. Following the usual processes for appointing to bodies external to the council two expressions of interest had been received initially with one Member, Councillor Babbage, subsequently withdrawing from the process. It was noted that Councillor Babbage had still expressed an interest in being involved in the future. Councillor Wendy Flynn had also come forward and in the Leader’s view, having been a representative on the 2020 Partners Joint Committee, was ideally placed for the post. The Leader informed Members that the other partner councils had decided to advertise more widely for their representative and had collectively agreed for the need for an independent Chair. He explained that the due diligence checks supported by external consultants had now been completed.

RESOLVED THAT

Councillor Wendy Flynn be appointed as a non-executive director of Publica as set out in the terms of appointment in Appendix 2 and in accordance with the following principles:

·      all nominations are made on the basis that the nominee/appointee is a representative of Cheltenham Borough Council (insofar as that is compatible with any overriding legal duty to an outside body); and

·      the appointor reserves the right at any time to withdraw/terminate a nomination/appointment which it has made

·      a nomination/appointment to an outside body is referred to Council for determination where consensus on that nomination/appointment cannot be achieved between the political Group Leaders

Report of the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles introduced the report which outlined an improvement scheme requested by the Cheltenham Trust which would deliver much needed investment into Leisure@ Cheltenham to keep it competitive and to enable a growth in income and footfall. She referred Members to the financial information in the report and the conditions for the loan and governance going forward.

She believed that these improvements would be great for children and families and the change would provide a foundation for the Trust to grow going forward which would provide economic benefits to both the Trust and the council. She wished to put on record her thanks to those officers who had been involved in bringing this report forward and whose work had been outstanding in this regard.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the proposed improvements to Leisure-at-Cheltenham as set out in this report be approved

2.    Council, subject to the conditions set out in section 6 being met to the satisfaction of the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member Finance be recommended to authorise :

3.    The Authority to offer a loan of up to £1.5million at an interest rate of 3% per annum to the Cheltenham Trust for onward funding of the improvements to Leisure-at-Cheltenham as detailed in Section 3 of this report;

4.    The Authority entering into a loan agreement with The Cheltenham Trust for the sum of up to £1.5m at an interest rate of 3% per annum for onward funding of the improvements to Leisure-at-Cheltenham as detailed in Section 3 of this report.

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment introduced the report which provided an update on the development of Cheltenham’s new crematorium as it moved through its design stage. He referred Members to an additional appendix 6 and 7 which had been circulated earlier that day which contained feedback from the recent consultation. He went on to say that the primary focus for the authority had been the building of a new crematorium on council owned land to the east of the current cemetery retaining the existing chapel for services. This was the only viable scheme at the time due to the finances involved. At the November meeting of Cabinet consideration was given to pursuing the business case around the building of a second new chapel as part of the development. The business case had shown that if this was pursued there would be a number of interesting possibilities for the existing listed buildings which would derive income for the authority. However, now was not the time for a project on the use of the existing building but the proposal being recommended was to proceed with the building of a second chapel. This was to be funded by using the capital receipt from the sale of the cemetery lodge and money from the revenue budget reserve arising from the introduction of new crematorium fees with the balance being supported by prudential borrowing.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that building two new chapels at the same time was reasonable and postponing the second chapel build into the future would not be in the best interests of the town. He recognised however concern for the future of the existing listed buildings but wished to express his intent for securing the long term future of those buildings which would remain an integral part of the service provided.

The Cabinet Member then referred to the requirement for a new access route and the recommendation was for a new route on the southern boundary of the site which would be subject to planning permission. He then highlighted the need for a temporary route for construction traffic leading to the new crematorium with the preferred route to be informed by professional advice and the results of public consultation.

In concluding, the Cabinet Member emphasised that this was a very significant step in the project and Council would be recommended to allocate the budget for the construction of the second chapel at its meeting on March 27 and with the application for planning permission expected in April or May. He wished to put his thanks on record for the commitment of officers in the project to date.

The Leader recognised the enormity and complexity of the project and believed that incorporating the build of the second chapel now was the appropriate way forward.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the approach to providing public access to and from the new crematorium, including the development, subject to planning consent, of a new permanent road linking the new facility to Bouncer’s Lane be approved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment referred to the ongoing work of the waste and recycling service redesign and reported that some Members of the cabinet member working group had visited Cinderford recently to inspect the Romaquip vehicles that the council had ordered. He reported that feedback had been positive from both the crews and residents. The next step in the project would be route utilisation and Members’ views would be sought on the launch of the service.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles informed Members that the invitation to tender for the redevelopment of the Town Hall was now live and had generated significant interest to date.