Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies.

The Leader welcomed Councillor Baker to the Cabinet, as newly-appointed Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling, Parks, Gardens and Public Greenspace.

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 08 April 2025 were approved with the following amendment:

Agenda item 8:  Briefings from Cabinet Members

Paragraph 4, Briefing from Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Public Realm

-       he has spent four hours earlier today planting trees at Boroughs Burrows Field, together with the CBC greenspace team…

The Leader signed the minutes as a true record of the meeting.

Questions must be received no later than 12 noon on Friday 9 May

There were no public or Member questions, and no petitions.

Report of the Leader

The Leader invited the new Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Wellbeing and Public Open Space to introduce the report, which had been approved by his predecessor.

To present the report, the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Wellbeing and Public Open Space read out the introduction of the report as published, which explained the background and recommendations.

He said the report received positive feedback at Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday night, with a lot of questions and comments.  The focus on football and the question of supporting more sports raised; the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Wellbeing and Public Open Space commented that this follows on from the recent Playing Pitch Strategy, and the benefits of drawing in outward investment from the Football Association and other levels, creating facilities that can be used for many sports and also taking football teams and matches off existing sites which were originally intended for other sports.  Also discussed was what communications can be put out to encourage people in Cheltenham to get active, in addition to the current Youth Activity Pass.

He said the report was a good starting point for the action plan to move forward, encourage investment and external funding, and improve and develop our own facilities. It is important to support both the people who play and love team sports, and those who enjoy other activities such as cycling, running and walking, and to do all we can to make provision and facilities better for the people of Cheltenham.    

Members all welcomed the excellent report and recommendations, thanking the Cabinet Member, his predecessor, and officers for their hard work, and made the following comments:

-       anything we can do to improve and encourage sport and sporting facilities is to be encouraged, as involvement in sport has so many benefits for both physical and mental health;

-       the focus on 3G pitches is welcome and a move in the right direction, although it is a sad indictment that there is currently only one artificial pitch available locally - the Cheltenham Tigers pitch, technically outside the borough.  It is widely used by many clubs from all over Cheltenham when their grass pitches are not available, and has even been used by visiting national teams as a camping base during world cups in Europe;

-       it would be good to highlight walking more in the next version of the strategy.  The council has opened footpaths around at least two parks in recent years – Naunton Park and Burrows Field – and these are welcomed by residents and well used by walkers, power walkers and joggers.  The council should continue to take walking seriously and to work with officers and the county council to improve the footpaths which criss-cross Cheltenham, including the reopening of Gustav Holst Way in Cheltenham parks, which has been closed for many years;

-       walking is an important physical activity, which can be enjoyed by and encouraged for people who are not otherwise involved in sports.  Our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Leader invited Members to share any briefings.  Some had only been in position in their new portfolios for eight days, but briefings were as follows:

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control reported that hehas recently signed off the Cheltenham Non-residential Monitoring Report for 2024-25, covering all non-residential permissions in that period, which was interesting reading. He also advised that:

-       work has started on the draft Housing Delivery Test Action Plan, which shows the current situation with regard to the council’s five-year land supply.  The report will help to monitor progress more closely than in the past, and hopefully with Elms Park, Golden Valley and other strategic developments coming forward, CBC will get much closer to achieving its supply;  

-       the Director of Community and Economic Development has signed off a decision authorising a financial contribution from SAMM (Strategic Access Management and Monitoring) to Stroud District Council to facilitate an onsite ranger service at Cotswolds Beechwoods for the next two years.

The Cabinet Member for Major Developments and Housing Delivery said she was happy to have met with the excellent team, who shared their ambitious ideas for Golden Valley, a huge part of her portfolio.  High Street regeneration and housing delivery are also major items, and it is great to hear that the Monkscroft development, which had hit a snag due to economic factors, is now back on the agenda, with 100% affordable housing, mix of tenures to actively reflect the shortcomings on the housing waiting list, very high climate standards, and easy walking paths. 

She also reported on the promotion over the last few weeks of the Jam Coding project, with the Golden Valley team putting money into coding passes for children in local primary schools to have fun and develop skills for careers not only in the Golden Valley but also in the wider tech eco-system.  Her predecessor worked hard on the social value that Golden Valley gives back to the community, and this is the tip of the iceberg.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Wellbeing and Public Open Space was also getting to grips with his new portfolio, with meetings already taken place and many more planned.  He is enjoying meeting leaders and organisations which contribute so much to our festival town, its culture and wellbeing, and all the very positive things that make Cheltenham the wonderful place it is, where people want to live and to invest. 

One of these, he said, is the Cheltenham Lido which is celebrating 90 years on Sunday.  It is a fantastic facility, supported by the council over the years, and a great asset to the town.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, having recently been elected to Gloucestershire County Council, said he was looking forward to bringing the county and the borough together on issues such as footpaths, and playing a role in liaison between the two councils to ensure that what they do is as effective as possible for the people of Cheltenham.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Leader briefly described four Cabinet Member decisions taken since the last meeting of Cabinet:

08 April 2025:  Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing and Culture

Approval of the award of grant funding for the Cheltenham Health and Wellbeing grants 2024

10 April 2025:  Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

To allocate the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for 2025-26

17 April 2025:  Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

Cotswold National Landscape Management Plan 2025-30

17 April 2025:  Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing and Culture

Cheltenham Feel Good Pass

There was none.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 10 June.