Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2017.

The minutes of the special meeting held on 26 June will be considered at the September meeting of Cabinet.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 June were approved and signed as a correct record.

There were none.

Report of the Street People Scrutiny Task Group

In the absence of the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Members considered the report and recommendations from the scrutiny task group. The Cabinet Member Development and Safety said the report was a validation of the work the council was already undertaking including a number of successful initiatives, largely in conjunction with Cheltenham Borough Homes. The council had joined Project Solace and was reviewing the effectiveness of these arrangements. He therefore recommended to Cabinet that the recommendations be accepted.

The Cabinet Member Housing wished to put on record his thanks to those officers involved in the work and particularly to those officers on Project Solace who worked on the council’s behalf with partners to tackle the issues.

RESOLVED THAT

The recommendations of the Street People Scrutiny Task Group be accepted and it be noted that the authority has now joined the Solace partnership.

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety introduced the report. He explained that the council owned and maintained a number of public realm CCTV cameras covering predominantly the town centre but also a number of outlying areas in the Borough.  The day-to-day operation and monitoring of these cameras was undertaken by Gloucestershire Constabulary from its force control room at the Tri-Service Emergency Centre in Quedgeley, Gloucester. 

The corporate plan had identified a priority area for the council to work in partnership with Gloucestershire Constabulary to review town centre CCTV provision and associated monitoring arrangements. 

This report sought approval from Cabinet to move forward to the next stage of this project as outlined in the report.

The Cabinet Member Finance referred to Appendix 3 which listed the proposed upgraded camera sites. These had been discussed with the Police in terms of their priorities and the identified needs of the town centre. The Cabinet Member was confident that the proposed works to the CCTV network would be fit for purpose and improve the safety and police supervision of the town.

The Leader added that long and detailed discussions had been held with the Police and he was confident that the town would achieve maximum value out of this investment.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    The proposed works to Cheltenham’s public realm CCTV network as outlined in this report be approved.

2.    The capital expenditure required to carry out the proposed work within existing resources be approved

3.    Subject to resolution 2, authority be delegated to the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Development and Safety, to:

a)    approve appropriate specification requirements for tender processes;

b)    agree the capital and revenue implications within existing resources;

c)    agree prioritisation of works (if required);

d)    appoint a contractor to carry out the works following the tender process; and 

e)    appoint a contractor to maintain and service the public realm CCTV network.

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety introduced the report and explained that the Food Safety Service Plan was required under the Framework Agreement with the Food Standards Agency. It represented the Council’s expression of commitment to the delivery of an improving cost effective and efficient regulatory food service. It was an annual operational plan which detailed how Cheltenham was going to execute its statutory food safety functions.

The Cabinet Member referred to Table 3 listing the official controls programmed for 2017-18 and revisits estimates and was pleased to report that 97% of premises were broadly compliant with targets. This was an increase on last year which was 96 % and the council would continue to aim for 100 % compliance. He reported that 100 % of target interventions in 2016/17 were achieved which was very positive news.

RESOLVED THAT

The Food Safety Service Plan 2017-18 be approved.

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety introduced the report which provided an update on the key programme deliverables identified in the report adopted by Cabinet in July 2016 and also proposed the next stage of the commercial transformation programme. A wide range of activities were covered :

·         business management

·         car parking

·         economic development

·         visitor economy/destination management

·         fundraising/research,events

·         anti-social behaviour/public spaces

·         enviro-crime

·         marketing and entrepreneurial approach, financial position and funding strategy.

Section 2 of the report identified work to date and the next steps as part of the action plan 2017-19. The key drivers behind the programme were to improve efficiency of the council as a whole, improve customer service, refocus work to make the maximum benefit of existing resources and use this to create new resource.

The Cabinet Member referred Members to Appendix 4 which outlined the financial plan for the service and Appendix 5 set out an indicative delivery timetable/action plan.

The Leader acknowledged the positive progress that had been made so far. He hoped that further capacity would be created to enable the council to achieve its aims.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the success of the programme’s achievements to date be noted.

2.    the Managing Director for Place & Economic Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Development and Safety be authorised to continue with the next stage of the commercial transformation programme.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report and explained that CBC owned the freehold of the Cheltenham Enterprise Centre which was a small light industrial site off Arle Road. Planning consent was granted in 2003 to build 8 light industrial units and the construction of the first phase was completed in 2007 and comprised 4 units. These existing units had been fully occupied since completion generating a rental income of £44.5 k per year on a full repairing and insuring lease with all common area costs recovered by a service charge.

The report was seeking Cabinet’s support to build 3 additional units of a similar size as part of the council’s Property Portfolio Strategy as approved by Cabinet on 6 December 2016. These new buildings should deliver an additional £53k per annum in rental income, which after known costs would generate a yield of over 8% which was well above the 5% councils investment target.

The estimated construction costs of £585K would be confirmed via the tender process, but the build was to be funded through the investment property portfolio using unapplied capital receipts.

The Cabinet Member Finance explained that the Asset Management Working Group had been consulted and fully supported the proposal.

Members supported the proposal which they believed was an excellent use of funds which would generate an income for the council and help small businesses.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the further development of Cheltenham Enterprise Centre as part of the council’s Property Portfolio Strategy be approved, funded from unapplied capital receipts.

2.    Authority be delegated to the Head of Property Services and the Borough Solicitor to proceed with the required contractors tendering process to develop the site.

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report which sought Cabinet’s approval of a five year strategy to grow Cheltenham’s visitor economy. It set out the vision for Cheltenham’s tourism offer, the aims and outcomes and an action plan for achieving them. It also provided the framework for the council’s place strategy outcome of a thriving visitor economy. The Leader explained that Kelly Ballard had been working with partners on the strategy and key to the action plan for the first two years was the establishment of a new partnership-based marketing service. Once the five year strategy had been approved by Cabinet officers would work with the Trust to hand over the tourism marketing service ready for a go-live date of 1 August 2017. Officers would also begin the process of determining plans for the future of the TIC in consultation with the Trust and the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles which would include a review of the current model within the context of a 21^st century tourism marketplace to understand visitor need and to determine how best to meet that need in the future. The review would be completed by the end of November 2017. This would enable the legal, HR and financial implications to inform the negotiation of the management agreement and management fee beyond March 2019. Further Cabinet approval to implement the future model for the TIC would be achieved by October 2019.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the five-year strategy to grow Cheltenham’s visitor economy and its action plan be adopted

2.    authority be delegated to the MD Place and Economic Development to work with the Cheltenham Trust and Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles to undertake and complete the handover of the marketing service for a go-live date of 1 August 2017 and also to bring forward plans for the future of the Tourist Information Centre in line with the timescales outlined in the report.

3.    a Variation to the management agreement between the Council and the Cheltenham Trust to remove tourism marketing from the agreement be approved

Report of the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles introduced the report and explained that the Cheltenham Trust successfully bid to Sport England for a Swim Local grant that will fund a range of improvements at Leisure@ Cheltenham. The grant award was broken down into two elements. A revenue grant of £150,981 to fund improvements to the swimming experience and a capital grant of £184,480 to fund the creation of new disabled changing units and improvements to the female changing area at Leisure@ Cheltenham. She explained that due to the Trust only having 7 secure years left of their lease, Sport England have offered the capital grant to Cheltenham Borough Council to manage. This report put forward a solution for managing the capital grant in 2017.

The Leader welcomed the grant which was positive news for Leisure@ Cheltenham.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    It be noted that the Head of Paid Service has delegated authority under the Authority’s constitution to enter into the grant agreement with Sport England.

2.    Authority be delegated to the s.151 Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles and Cabinet Member Finance, to agree any subsequent arrangements with the Trust to manage the capital funds to achieve the completion and funding of the works as set out in this report.

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report which provided Members with an overview of how the council was performing in regard to the published milestones, performance indicators and outcomes set out in the 2016-17 action plan that was agreed by Council on 4 April 2016. He congratulated all involved in achieving completed milestones. 8 milestones were set at amber, meaning that there were concerns about the deliverability of the project against the original timescales. These were set out at 2.2 of the report.

The Leader informed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the report at its recent meeting and had raised the issue of devolution. It was noted that government capacity for progressing new devolution deals was much reduced other than for those authorities with elected Mayors and given Brexit negotiations little progress was expected.  However on a local level devolution of highways matters which had been raised by CBC was under discussion albeit complex. The County Council had now consulted all districts on the issue. There was a break clause in the Amey contract in 2019 and CBC would be happy to look at reverting back to the ‘old style’ arrangements with particular emphasis on keeping the parking spend in Cheltenham. CBC would pursue the agenda wherever it could but ultimately progress relied upon the County Council. The O&S Committee had requested a briefing on this issue and on the issue of side waste.

He agreed that it would be beneficial for the committee to receive further briefings on this and on side waste and changes to recycling services.

RESOLVED THAT

The review of performance in 2016-17 be noted.

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report which sought Cabinet approval to undertake public consultation on the Proposed Statement of Modifications in respect of amending a Draft Charging Schedule for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)  and approval to compile and submit responses received to the CIL Examiner for examination. Tewkesbury Borough and Gloucester City Councils would also be consulting on their Statements of Proposed Modifications. He explained that CIL enabled the local planning authority to charge a tariff on most new development of land in its area and this would be held in a local fund and used to support development by funding the provisions, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure. A four week consultation period was proposed following which feedback would be compiled and submitted to the CIL Examiner for examination.

RESOLVED THAT

1)    The Community Infrastructure Levy Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 2 be approved for public consultation.

2)    authority be delegated to the Director of Planning, in consultation with the Leader to amend the Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 2 and prepare any further statements of modification that may be required following the JCS hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken.

3)    The Director of Planning be authorised to agree the date of public consultation(s) with Gloucester City and Tewkesbury Borough Councils.

4)    The Director of Planning, following the conclusion of the public consultation(s), be authorised to compile and submit responses received to the CIL Examiner for examination.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report which highlighted the Council’s financial performance for the previous year which set out the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) revenue and capital outturn position for 2016/17. It had been another challenging year.

The Cabinet Member reported that in December 2016 a possible under-spend of £110,737 had been forecast and  in February 2017 Cabinet made recommendations to Council that this be transferred to the Budget support reserve which was approved and therefore formed part of the revised budget for 16/17.

She explained that continued government funding arrangements and changes, together with the economic climate, presented ongoing concern for this council’s budgets, particularly in light of the Business Rates retention bill having been dropped from the legislative plan and the uncertainty surrounding the next steps. It was important that this council looked to grow its economy at the same time as ensuring that it used under-spends to support economic growth, the budget strategy reserve and general balances, bearing in mind the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Cabinet Member was pleased to report that the year ended with an under-spend of £571,443 achieved through a great deal of hard work and sound financial management, by CBC employees and its partner organisations.  This saving had been transferred into the Budget reserve pending decisions for its use in 2017/18 and future years.

The Cabinet Member highlighted the following :

·         car parking and Cemetery & Crematorium income had increased

·         the business rate pool had delivered a positive variance of nearly £300K

·         The housing revenue outturn statement showed a net positive variance

She went on to explain that when the Council purchased Delta Place, the Section 151 Officer determined to pay additional voluntary debt repayments of £400k per annum from the current rental stream. Whilst this was a prudent decision at the time, the short-term challenges that the Council faces suggest that this rental stream would be better placed to support the revenue budget, which was the reason behind creating an investment portfolio.

The Cabinet Member reported that the business case for Delta Place had now been remodelled, based on revised occupancy needs. This confirmed that the rental stream previously used to finance voluntary debt repayments are better served to support the budget proposals in 2018/19 and 19/20, using the money now not paying off debt or cutting front line services.

The Leader reminded Members that this report would be considered by Council on 24 July.

RESOLVED THAT

Council be recommended to :

1.    Receive the financial outturn performance position for the General Fund, summarised at Appendix 2, and notes that services have been delivered within the revised budget for 2016/17 resulting in a saving (after carry forward requests) of £571,443.

2.    Approve £80,000 of carry forward requests (requiring member approval) at Appendix 5.

3.    Approve the use of the budget saving of £571,443 as detailed in Section 3.

4.    Approve the suspension of voluntary debt repayments to support existing commitments and future budget proposals as detailed in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles informed Members that she was meeting with the Head of Unit for the Atlantic Strategy that week which could provide funding opportunities.

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety reminded Members that attached to the Cabinet agenda was the Health and Safety Service annual update which outlined the performance for the year and provided a plan for proactive work for the year ahead. There were no significant issues to report. A full report would be considered by Cabinet in 2018.

The Cabinet Member Housing referred to the recent Ofsted report on Gloucestershire County Council children’s services. He had had the opportunity to ask questions at the County Council and had been robust in his criticism. However, with good partnership working in Cheltenham there were positive ways in which CBC could support the County Council. A Cabinet Member Working Group would be established to act as a critical friend thereby providing healthy, positive challenge  to the County Council. The Leader was supportive of this proposal and said that the second domestic homicide review in Cheltenham was expected in the autumn which a wider group in Cheltenham would consider.

The Cabinet Member Finance was pleased to inform Members that a sponsorship deal for the Tour of Britain had been sealed. She called for any unwanted bikes to be donated to the council in preparation for the big event.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment reported that he had updated the C5 group of Parish councils on plans for the waste and recycling collection service which included changes to collection days. Parish Councils had pledged their support in communicating the messages arising from this. He also reminded Members that a member seminar would be held prior to Council on 24 July, led by the Head of Ubico, to update Members on changes to the waste and recycling service.

The Leader informed Members that the JCS Examination in Public would be held over the next 2 weeks and the Inspector would take a view in respect of the soundness of the plan. Residents would have an opportunity to input into the process.

The Leader informed that there was concern that the Government had not included the business rates bill in the Queens Speech. As this was a two year programme there was therefore continued uncertainty surrounding existing funding arrangements in local government.