Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were none.

The Leader took the opportunity to thank two Members retiring from Cabinet:   Councillor Atherstone who has now joined Gloucestershire County Council following the May election, and Councillor Collins who is now Deputy Mayor.

She welcomed two new Cabinet Members: Councillors Harvey and Jamieson, responsible for Waste, Recycling and Parks, Gardens and Green Open Space, and Safety and Communities respectively.

There were none.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 14 April were approved as a true record and signed accordingly.

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

Three public questions had been received, with written responses published on the website:

1.     Question from Peter Frings to the Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

Due diligence regarding Horizon Aero Group and the attempted sale of the airport. The auditors of the most recent accounts of Gloucestershire Airport, in their notes to the accounts, highlighted that no formal letter of financial support was ever received from Horizon Aero Group. Neither of the two Horizon Aero Group Directors – who made the vague representations which the Airport directors relied on – have any other directorships in the UK. There is one other director of Horizon Aero Group who is a director of two micro companies valued at £8k and £5k (one of which is Vayu Aviation Services.). Horizon Aero Group is a shell created only in Jan 2025. It has no filing history. Its confirmation statement is overdue. No Identity verification of the 3 directors has been filed at Companies House. It has share capital of £100. The backing company was obviously Vensa Infrastructure in India, which seems a more substantial company… but it is a construction company in India. So my question is: as owners of the Airport, did Cheltenham Borough Council discover all these facts for itself, yet still go ahead and attempt a sale to a hastily established shell consortium with no substantive business experience, no experience of running an airport, and which was unable to demonstrate that it had the funding to complete the sale? Or did the council simply not do any due diligence at all?

Cabinet Member response

As often with the nature of such transactions, it is not unusual for investors to set up a special purpose vehicle, or SPV. As part of the due diligence process, it was agreed that Horizon Group's people, investors and the team behind them had significant experience across many fields within the aviation industry, which combined with the skills and experience that will come with Gloucestershire Airport Limited, was one of the key considerations behind the selection of Horizon.

Therefore based on the facts at the time, we were satisfied.

The fact that investors changed their mind as the due diligence process was undertaken is a standard risk of any transaction, as is with someone buying a house. There are never any guarantees.

2.     Question from Peter Frings to the Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

The most recent accounts for Gloucestershire Airport have an impairment charge of £6.7m, which contributed to a loss for the year of £7.6m, which is on top of a loss of £1.6m the previous year. Can the Leader of the Council explain how this impairment charge appeared out of nowhere? Could it be that with a sale coming up, there would obviously be independent valuations of assets which would expose all the over-valuations in previous years which had been used to mask losses, hence the need to reverse the previous over-valuations? Could the Leader of the Council also offer an explanation to residents of how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services introduced the policy, explaining that it had been reviewed by the Leaseholder Forum and the Cabinet Housing Committee, and recommended to Cabinet for approval with no significant amendments.

The Leader welcomed the consultation with leaseholders and noted that they are happy with the suggested moves which will improve their input. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services agreed that the Leaseholder Forum is important to ensure that leaseholders have been able to share their thoughts, and was pleased that this will provide them with assurance that their voice is being heard and improvements are being made.

RESOLVED THAT:

-       the Leasehold Ownership Policy be approved.

Report of Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets highlighted the council’s wider ambitions for the thriving and voluntary community sector, many of whom utilise buildings owned by the council. How the council can continue to support these groups within its own commercial journey can provide a challenge; rent support grants were introduced in 2016, allowing community organisations to receive a percentage discount of the commercial rent by demonstrating how their organisation, through the use of the building, contributes to the council's agreed corporate priorities. This is appropriate as the council needs to modernise and take Cheltenham’s communities on the journey in a supportive way. The Cabinet Member said that the report sets out the policy and this particular application, and highlighted with pleasure that once again the council has been able to support a community organisation.

A Member asked, now that ten years have passed, whether a review of the policy was planned. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets noted that he would need to check whether there has been a full review but agreed that this is worth considering. He suggested this review would probably sit with other Cabinet colleagues. The Leader noted that the council is very proud of the policy but agreed that the form applicants are required to fill in could be updated and improved.

The Cabinet Member noted that it would be interesting to ask the finance team and property team to provide a report on how much revenue the council has foregone in support of communities over the past ten years.

Members made the following comments:

-       a review of the policy and form by the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing, Culture and Public Realm would be a positive step, to ensure that both are more applicable to sporting clubs;

-       this rent support grant will have a small impact on the council but a huge impact on the club; obviously, collectively, the grants add up to a much bigger pot for the council but each one makes a difference;

-       the decision is welcomed as the council must do all it can to support the voluntary sector and local sports clubs who contribute so much to the town;

-       as the ward member, this is a favourite project, partly because it is part of the legacy of the late Paul Jones who helped to make it happen, and partly because it is turning a building previously used as a resource centre by Cheltenham Borough Homes back to community use. Nobody knew quite what to do with these buildings right in the heart of their communities, and this is one of the best solutions so far -  the club’s first ever proper community clubhouse. It is excellent that the council is providing financial support and can hopefully do more in the future.

-       Whaddon United has existed for over 70 years, has adult and youth teams but has never had a clubhouse. It is always busy and is already asking for more space,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cabinet Members briefed their colleagues on recent events as follows:

Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets:

-       housing benefit changed some time ago to universal credit but has taken a long time to be fully implemented; the council has received a letter thanking all local authorities for their support in that process, actually making government ideas happen. He said it has not always been a smooth process for some customers and residents but the transition is now slowly coming to an end.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services:

-       recently attended a meeting of the Cheltenham Street Pastors, with people from all over the country, the president, Gloucestershire’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, and the senior cleric from Tewkesbury Abbey. It was a great occasion where people were able to speak about what was important, and she was able to highlight Cheltenham’s work through No Child Left Behind, and what is being done in the night-time economy to make the town safer for women and young people. She had also had the opportunity to introduce the president of the Cheltenham Street Pastors to ITSA (IT Schools Africa) to build potential connections.

Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control:

-       the Strategic Local Plan is the main focus at present, and he has been impressed by the quality of work so far, the research and officer engagement, and how the three authorities are working together. Any concern that any of the individual authorities may lose some of their influence has not happened.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency reported on a month of steady, practical progress on climate and resilience across Cheltenham, including:

-       the opening of the greenhouse in St. Paul's, which is a permanent community hub for climate action, helping residents and businesses take practical steps locally;

-       Cheltenham Zero continuing to deliver funded projects supporting local businesses to reduce energy use and emissions;

-       the heat network project now formally underway, with governance established and feasibility work progressing, which will position Cheltenham to attract national investment;

-       over 100 council homes upgraded to EPC C or better, which cuts carbon and improves living conditions. Further phases are coming forward.

-       flood resilience strengthened with new protections installed and community flood wardens reaching thousands of households.

-       an acceleration of public engagement, with Cheltenham is hosting the internationally-renowned Everything Electric show from the 12–14 June at the race course. There will be EV test drives on offer, plus solar panels, heat pumps and opportunities to ask questions;

-       the upward trend in extreme weather events, demonstrated by the recent heatwave, is indicative of climate change, and some immediate measures have been put in place, such as waste collection starting an hour earlier. Going forward,  Cheltenham will continue to prepare for the future with urban tree planting and other heat resilience measures;

-       a long-term flood risk report to cover the period up to 2040 is also being prepared, and we are building awareness through initiatives like the national emergency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

There were three decisions to share on this occasion:

28 April: Decision of Cabinet Member Housing and Customer Services – CBC contribution to rough sleeping services across the county 2026-27

6 May: Decision of the Leader – Ubico – Shareholders Agreement and Amendment of Articles of Association

15 May: Decision of the Leader – Gloucestershire Airport Limited – Shareholder Decision

The Cabinet 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 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3; Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person (including the authority holding that information)

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 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3:  Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Joint report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets and the Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery

The Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets introduced the report as circulated to Cabinet, and provided an opportunity for questions to be asked.

RESOLVED THAT:

-       the recommendations in the report be approved.