Agenda, decisions and minutes

None received.

None received.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 15 November will be approved at the next Cabinet meeting on 13 December.

There were no minutes to be approved at this meeting.

None received.

Report of the Cabinet Member Sport and Culture

Councillor Diggory Seacome was in attendance at the meeting as chair of the public art working group review. He considered that the public art panel had been the "Cinderella" committee of the Council for a long time and the tightening up of the process was much needed. The independent chair would also bring better continuity to the leadership of the group.

The Leader asked for clarification on the recommendation E which proposed that the public art strategy and the public art SPG were in need of review.  Councillor Seacome said that the group had felt that a piece of public art for a major development should not be an addendum but an integral part of the initial plans for the site.  This would enable the Section 106 to be set at a sufficient level to meet the plan. He also hoped that the council could find a way round the legal technicalities that currently prevented any small amounts of monies left over being pooled and used on other schemes.

Members welcomed the report and the recommendations which they felt would achieve greater public buy in due to the independent members on the panel.  It was sensible that the whole cost of any piece of public art was covered and the report recommended a proactive approach to shape the direction of public art and ensure the money was well spent.  Councillor Hay was keen that a younger age group was represented on the panel as previously MAD Young People's Council had been represented.

The Cabinet thanked the group for their work and accepted the recommendations subject to the understanding that the Public Art SPG would be included in the list of documents that would be considered for review next year when resources were being allocated. 
 

RESOLVED THAT

1. The recommendations of the Social and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee in respect of the Public Art Review Working Groups findings-as set out in Appendix 2 be endorsed subject to the understanding that the Public Art Supplementary Planning Guidance would be added to the list of policies for review to be prioritised next year according to availability of resources.
    
2. The appointments method to the Public Art Panel identified in Paragraph 3.4 of the report be agreed.

Report of the Cabinet Member Sustainability

Councillor Whyborn introduced the report which set out the results of the review of the garden waste scheme.  After consultation with householders, the proposed improvements to the scheme included the provision of an alternative bag scheme in hard to access areas and the offer of a discount to existing and new brown bin customers for a set period. He emphasised that the scheme does pay for itself and compared this with the enormous cost of the previous green bag scheme which have been free to customers but heavily subsidised by the council.  He confirmed that the bags for the pay-per-bag service would be fully compostable and digested at a plant in Dymock. The bags would go on sale on the 30 January and be collected from the middle of February onwards. He referred to the list of streets in appendix B and suggested that there may need to be changes to the list before it was finalised.  To facilitate this he proposed an additional recommendation which would delegate authority to officers to amend the list and subsequently maintain it.

The Leader considered it was a very sensible scheme and that Cabinet were happy to support the recommendations.

RESOLVED THAT

1.      A pay-per-bag service be introduced, at a charge of £1.25 per disposable bag to be sold in rolls of 10, in those hard-to-access streets where the existing wheeled bin service is less appropriate as a practical solution for garden waste collections, with effect from 30 January 2012.

2.      A reduction in charge be introduced for the wheeled bin service to £34 per annum for new customers, and for customers who renew before their renewal date. This reduction is to run from 01/12/11 for a limited period of up to six months.

3.      Authority be delegated to the Director of Commissioning in consultation with Cabinet members (Sustainability & Finance) and S151 officer for future changes to charges for garden waste services,

4.      Authority be delegated to the Director of Commissioning in consultation with the Cabinet Member Sustainability, to complete the list of streets in Appendix B and thereafter maintain it.

Report of the Cabinet Member Corporate Services

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services introduced the report which reviewed the council's half-year performance for 2011/12.  He indicated that the report had been reviewed by the Economy and Business Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 28 November 2011 and he highlighted the comments that the committee had made.

The committee had raised the issue of the 95% appraisal return against a target of 100% and had been advised that there were good reasons why the outstanding appraisals had not been completed.  Councillor Webster was still concerned that 100% return was not being achieved as members across all parties considered this to be a critical part of management control and urged this message to be reiterated to the Senior Leadership Team. The Cabinet Member Corporate Services cited some examples where appraisals may not be carried out e.g. long-term sickness or recent reorganisation of a department. Councillor Webster favoured making the target more realistic rather than failing an unachievable one.

RESOLVED THAT

The corporate performance of the organisation at the end of Quarter 2 be noted.

Report of the Director of Resources

The Director of Resources introduced the Treasury Mid-Term Report 2011/12. He updated members on the latest information regarding the council's investment in Icelandic Banks. He was pleased to announce that the Supreme Court in Iceland had upheld the council's priority status as a test case.

The Leader congratulated officers for their hard work in achieving a satisfactory outcome regarding Icelandic Banks.  He also highlighted that the Local Government Association had been doing some very effective lobbying on behalf of the authorities affected. In this way the council had more than recouped their subscription for membership of the LGA which they had considered cancelling in the previous year.

RESOLVED THAT

1. The contents of the summary report of the treasury management activity during the first six months of 2011/12 be noted.

2. The new limits set for the Authorised Borrowing Limit to £109m and the Operational Boundary for Borrowing for 2011/12 to £99m which takes into account the additional HRA debt allocation as detailed in section 5 be recommended to Council for approval.

Report of the Cabinet Member Housing and Safety

The Cabinet Member Housing and Safety introduced the report which recommended the purchase and installation of seven CCTV cameras together with supporting infrastructure along the Honeybourne Line from Cheltenham Railway station to Jubilee Bridge.  The aim was to reduce antisocial behaviour and other acts of criminality and to help identify offenders and subsequently reduce the number of burglaries in nearby properties.

Members welcomed the report.  Councillor Rawson recalled the original purchase of the Honeybourne Line from British Rail in the early 80s for a nominal sum. The purchase had proved to be an asset for the community that was marred by the criminal activity. It was important that people using the line felt safe and this in turn would encourage others to use it and thereby further increase their feeling of safety.  He hoped that in future they would be able to find the funding to extend the CCTV cameras northwards. Councillor Hay felt the recommendations would improve the sustainability of the area and encourage the line to be used as an important cycle route into town.

RESOLVED THAT

The quote of £62,408.00 be accepted and the Waiver to authorise Delaware Communications to supply the equipment and carry out this installation be agreed.

Cabinet Member Sustainability
The Cabinet Member Sustainability advised that the re-turfing in Imperial and Montpellier Gardens following the Literature Festival was almost complete.  Work would now begin in Imperial Gardens on the hardstanding area around the bar and Skillicorne Gardens.

Regarding Pittville Bridge, he was pleased to report that the fabrication work on the bridge was almost complete and was now due to undergo a final galvanising treatment.  He had visited the workshop in the Forest of Dean where the work was being done and looked forward to the bridge finally being installed in Pittville Park.

He reaffirmed the commitment previously made that Christmas trees would be collected free of charge from all homes which had previously been accessed for green waste collection.

Cabinet Member Built Environment

The Cabinet Member Built Environment was pleased to advise members on an e-mail he had received earlier that day from the transport minister, Mike Perry, which announced that the work at Piff Elm had been put on hold. The announcement of the work had caused much consternation and there had been concerns from both Cheltenham and Tewkesbury about the local impact. He reminded members that a motion had been passed on this issue at the last Council meeting.  He welcomed the delay as it would enable the council to continue to press the Highways Agency to reduce the overall timescale of the project and to seek compensation for local traders. Gloucestershire Highways would also seek additional funding to cope with the resulting local traffic measures that would have to be introduced whilst the work was being done.

The Leader advised that he had responded to the consultation from the Boundary Commission for England. The proposals would result in no changes for Cheltenham and his response had been that the proposals were entirely sensible and he could support them.